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Mill Ave. Inc.

While there’s been much talk about the changing Phoenix area, Tempe is the part of town perhaps the most under siege. Long-timers remember the days when Mill Avenue was a cool place to be – when mom-and-pop businesses and live-music venues lined the street. Now . . . not so...
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Phoenix Light Rail Commute: Drawbacks Make it a Tough Choice for Some

[jump] The problems begin with the bike ride to the platform at 3rd Street and Mill Avenue. Though that part of the commute only took six minutes, the prep work involved can't be underestimated. Even a short bike ride requires a few steps: Backpack, shoes (to replace biking cleated shoes...
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Local Serial Novel Shows Vexing Side of Mill Avenue

Mill Avenue Vexations is an ongoing literary project of Kyt Dotson, a former anthropology major at ASU who hangs out on the busy Tempe strip every weekend. The novel revolves around the character of Vex Harrow, a goth hottie who drives a cab for a living. Many of the stories revolve around Vex's fares, friends, and family conflicts, and include details of familiar Mill hangouts like the Graffiti Shop and the Coffee Plantation.
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Two New Eateries Debut on Mill Avenue

In the last week, two brand-new Tempe restaurants have opened in the spaces where restaurants shut their doors last month. Upstairs at 414 S. Mill, in the spot that formerly housed the Coconut Club, there's a new upscale lounge called Vintage Bar & Grill (480-297-2195), where they feature a tapas-style menu along...
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How Dear and the Headlights Became the Most Important Band in Arizona

It's mid-afternoon at The Tiniest Bar in Texas, and Dear and the Headlights have just finished playing the fourth and final show they're cramming into four days at South by Southwest, a music industry circle jerk that's a make-or-break week for up-and-coming bands. Onstage, bearded singer Ian Metzger draws the...
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Vintage Lounge & Grill Debuts Tomorrow Night

The Mill Avenue scene is about to get another nightspot. Vintage Lounge & Grill, a slick new eatery and drinkery located at 411 South Mill Avenue in Tempe, opens to the public tomorrow night with a boffo grand opening fete. Occupying the second-floor space formerly occupied by the old Coconut...
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Omar Call Preaches Atheism on Tempe’s Mill Avenue

On a Saturday night in early December, it's business as usual on downtown Tempe's Mill Avenue. Dreadlocked buskers beat on bongos across from a head shop called Hippie Gypsy, banging over the strains of Jimi Hendrix's guitar on "All Along the Watchtower" screaming from the store's speakers. The scent of...
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Just Announced: Tears for Fears, KMFDM, Lyle Lovett, Ratt

Our weekly concert announcements are always a bit of a "Wait, those guys are still alive and playing music" shock, but I've never been quite as blindsided as I was seeing Tears For Fears slated to place Tempe Marketplace in July.Yes, Tears for Fears. They're still around. In fact, the...
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Billy Joel and Elton John Show Lacks Special Moments

In 1994, when Billy Joel and Elton John first took the stage together in Philadelphia, it was quite a novelty. Two piano-playing singer-songwriters -- who've each sold more than 100 million records on their own -- together in concert! Wowza!Five tours and 15 years later, the newness is gone. Last...
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Where to Celebrate Mardi Gras and Fat Tuesday in Phat Fashion

Hope you've recovered from whooping it up during All-Star Weekend, because yet another partying holiday is upon us: Fat Tuesday (a.k.a. Mardi Gras). For those of the Catholic faith, it means one last 24-hour session of excess before abstaining for the next 40 days during the Lenten period. But even...
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Owning the Old Mill sound

I haven't been overly enamored of local alt-country bands. The New Westerns had a nice sound, but spotty vocals, and suffer from occasional self-indulgence. Instant Hobo won points for being hobo-themed, but didn't take the motif far enough, and their record seemed a little sloppy. As a long-time alt-country fan,...
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Update on New Pho Place

Quel coincidence! A friend just stopped by for lunch at that new Mill Avenue pho joint I blogged about earlier today, Pho Thang Long. Apparently it's run by the same people who own Pho Mesa, another fine spot for Vietnamese noodles (502 S. Dobson). Good to know. On a related...
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“Mill Ave Inc.” Documentary Available on DVD

Valley residents have often bemoaned the gentrification of Mill Avenue. Up until the late 1990s, the Tempe strip was a cultural mecca of mom-and-pop shops and rock clubs. But when corporate entities started moving in, landlords started raising the rent on retail spaces, forcing small business off Mill to make...
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Performance Atheist in Multimedia

For this week's cover story, Niki D'Andrea witnessed the day-to-day experiences of a street preaching Atheist first hand. Now you can too. Take a look at the following videos of Omar Call in action and take a look at our slide show of alternate cover shots and images that didn't...