1. Mars Volta, De-Loused in the Comatorium (Universal): A redefinition of prog rock that pries the scene from the death grip of pasty dudes in Rush shirts, De-Loused adds swing to the most stilted of subgenres and gets it laid for the first time. Santana, King Crimson, and Fugazi all...
11/22-11/23 "It's like taking a vacation and being a dictator for two days," says Mimi Altree, the actress playing Queen Elizabeth in the 21st annual Devonshire Renaissance Faire. "But it's good to be the queen, even if it's for only a few days." Altree has played Elizabeth I at the...
Not much happens in Litchfield Park. A community of just 3.1 acres and 3,800 residents, this place's only appeal to "outsiders" has always been the Wigwam Resort. The Wigwam is a gorgeous luxury property, a historic jewel, and home of the national-award-winning restaurant the Arizona Kitchen. The resort is a...
As soon as the Suns game wraps up, they come busting out of the north doors of the America West Arena like a pack of hungry wolves. "The party's in there," declares a young black woman in micro-braids and a form-fitting blue dress, checking out the long line that has...
Downtown Deluge Artistic statement: Thank you very much for the in-depth articles on downtown Phoenix. ("Exploding Downtown," October 2 and "Jerry's World," October 16) Your special project deserves kudos for bringing to light the many opportunities that the Phoenix metropolitan area has to create a vibrant, creative, and "live-able" downtown...
Letters, I get letters. Usually, if a reader takes the time to write or call, he's pretty passionate about his food. It's impressive how worked up some folks get over a taco or a burger. Sometimes, these readers are almost scary in their pleas. I have here in my hand...
"People accuse me of being a pussy. But that's cool. I don't care. " Shawn Harrington sits quietly on the patio of the crowded sports bar McDuffy's in Tempe, nursing a Corona. He squirms as he searches for the right words to describe his songwriting process, which has enabled him...
Once upon a time, in restaurants far and wide, food was food. There was Italian, Chinese, Mexican . . . but we pretty much always knew what we were getting when we ordered. Spaghetti, chow mein, a burrito. There was high-end cuisine -- but the genteel recipes were protected by...
Thursday, September 25 The Phoenix Symphony toasts its new season on Thursday, September 25, with champagne, a gala atmosphere and a rare appearance by the legendary pianist Van Cliburn, who hasn't visited the Valley in nearly 30 years. Among other works, he performs Tchaikovsky's Piano Concerto No. 1, the piece...
Fibber Magees, see, is an Irish restaurant and pub. It celebrates the Celtic concept of "craic" (pronounced "crack"), meaning a fun, down-to-earth experience. Like any proper pub, it's smoky and loud, thundering with live music on weekends, and pouring huge amounts of draught beer, like Harp, Guinness and Bass. It's...
8/7, 8/9 Last year, with her debut book The Idiot Girls' Action-Adventure Club, Valley humorist Laurie Notaro hit the New York Times best-seller list right about the same time her long-running column for the Arizona Republic was unceremoniously canceled. Much of the book, and its just-released follow-up, Autobiography of a...
Arizona's prison system is in crisis. The state's prisons are built to hold 26,000 inmates. They now hold more than 30,000. Under Arizona's current sentencing laws, the state's prison population is expected to continue exploding with more than 1,000 additional inmates every year. By next summer, Arizona prisons are estimated...
I can't blame the bands that have skipped town or gone into hibernation for the summer. Hell, I have to carry a bottle of water with me just to drive down the block, and that's with the air-conditioning blasting. In the local lexicon, I suppose that makes me a pussy...
This weekend's Cinco de Mayo Phoenix Festival is set to celebrate Mexico's 1862 Battle of Puebla victory in a big way: by piling up the world's largest plate of nachos. Some 200,000 revelers are expected at the three-day fiesta, where the chips will be stacked so high that the Guinness...
Thursday, May 29 Many celebrities owe their success to the early-'90s TV variety show In Living Color: the Wayans brothers, Jim Carrey, David Alan Grier, Jamie Foxx and Jennifer Lopez. Tommy Davidson can also include himself in that list, having launched to stardom as one of the comedy hit's original...
4/25-4/27 One of the more interesting aspects of this particular planet's people is the way we compartmentalize ourselves into identifiable groups. Nations are formed; flags are waved; and beliefs, customs and practices become identifiable over time as part of individual cultures. The word "culture" also can mean the enlightenment and...
People in different parts of the world take pride in their local specialties, especially if they have a high alcohol content. So in the Southwest, with our proximity to Mexico, it's practically patriotic to knock back some mighty fine tequila, which takes its place in the pantheon of world libations...
I'm in mourning. My favorite Mexican restaurant in the world has closed. It blew up, actually. Earlier this month, Costa Brava was flattened by a gas explosion. So what if the cafe is an almost five-hour drive away, in Rocky Point, Mexico? I've been known to make the journey for...
"Phoenix, MEXICO!"² Lupillo Rivera's shout is swallowed up by a deafening roar from the tightly packed audience in front of him. The singer grins at what he sees. Men in cowboy hats and women wearing tight jeans and halter tops fill Club 602, a large nightspot in west Phoenix and...
THU 2/27 The word "masterpiece" comes up frequently in reference to The Decalogue, written and directed by the acclaimed Polish filmmaker Krzysztof Kieslowski. Unfortunately for North American audiences, screenings of the 10-part film cycle, loosely based on the Ten Commandments, have been as elusive as the Holy Grail.Now, The Decalogue...
Too many people I've met wrinkle their noses at the prospect of joining me for a Vietnamese meal. I can't get them to seek out delicacies like pho bo vien, a magical masterpiece of soup that's rich and complex with slender rice noodles, beef meatballs, bean sprouts and a flurry...
After days of eating sleep-inducing Thanksgiving turkey, I'm ready for a jolt to my taste buds. And Bradley and I are absolutely starving. After spending the day fastening a new, remarkably heavy metal roof to my barn, struggling in the chill and gusting winds of a wintry Sunday, we've worked...
