THU 14 You pretend you’re joking around, trying to be funny by singing “The Greatest Love of All” at karaoke. But your friends can tell by the spirited way you grind out, “They can’t take away my dignity!” that you’re serious about this singing thing. So why not take a…
THU 7Tequila snobs understand why “silver” tequila from the blue agave cactus beats the hell out of that cheap “gold” tequila with the gimmick worm floating around the bottom of the bottle. We’re told that silver tequila has a more intense flavor, since all of its sugars come from the…
Mark Newport makes goofy art about subjects that are anything but goofy. He knits superhero costumes from the sort of overly bright, plastic-y acrylic yarn elderly ladies sew into afghans. Aquaman, Batman, Daredevil, Spider-Man, they’re all here in his “Super Heroics” show at Arizona State University Art Museum. At least…
“Surrealism U.S.A.” at Phoenix Art Museum: This spirited exhibition that includes works by artists such as Salvador Dali, Max Ernst, Joseph Cornell and Robert Motherwell is the first major survey of American surrealism in 25 years. Some of the works are as melodramatic as a 13-year-old’s art project. But whether…
Mark Newport, 40, knits costumes for the likes of Batman and Spiderman, mixing the womanly art of sewing with the manly world of superheroes, and making fun of gender stereotypes in the process. The fiber artist’s life-size costumes and embroidered comic book covers are on display in a solo exhibition…
If you’re short on reasons to be grateful these days, look no further than March of the Penguins, the astonishing if imperfect nature documentary from first-time director Luc Jacquet. Hard times may have befallen you, but at least you are not a penguin, an animal destined to repeat a devastating…
Hans Fjellestad loves making a run for the border, especially if he’s heading for Tijuana. One could conjecture the 37-year-old San Diego-based filmmaker and musician, whose documentary Frontier Life screens Friday, July 8, at Modified Arts, journeys down Mexico way for a narcotic-fueled binge of illicit behavior and sexual depravity;…
Do you ever wish Andrew W.K. would just die? Well, thanks to the creators of Punk Rock Holocaust, which screens Friday, July 8, at the Paper Heart, you can watch the W.K. and several bands on the 2003 Vans Warped Tour be murdered in disgusting, bloody, and all-around violent ways…
SUN 7/10Ever seen a melodramatic series filled with conniving story lines, sexual innuendos and wanton women who live only for sensuality? Nope, it isn’t Desperate Housewives. It’s Carmen, the 1984 film version of the famed 19th-century Georges Bizet opera. At 2 p.m. Sunday, July 10, the Phoenix Art Museum, 1625…
SAT 7/9Word on the street is that Phil Buckman, front man (okay, only man) of I Hate You When You’re Pregnant, is going to hang up the thong and go in other musical directions. Fans from Baltimore to San Pedro are preparing for a time when live performances of “Desiree”…
FRI 7/8Local junior-welterweight boxer Jesus Soto is humble about his skills in the ring. When asked about his strategy in regard to the upcoming match at Fight Night at the Den, Friday, July 8, at Glendale Arena, Soto says, “I just try to be prepared, go for the best, get…
SAT 7/9Get your geek on with the members of the United Federation of Phoenix, the nation’s second-oldest continuous Star Trek fan club, as they party poolside on Saturday, July 9, sipping sodas and swapping stories of Klingon valor. The universe may be a lonely place for some people, but not…
We’re a town lousy with theater awards: the ariZonis, the Scotties, the Milties and the Tilties. Chris Page at the Tribune has his Spotlight Awards, and even Mark Turvin hands out something called The Fishy Awards, which sounds sort of — well, you can finish that thought yourself, can’t you?…
Quite simply and quite literally, Steven Spielberg’s adaptation of H.G. Wells’ War of the Worlds is Close Encounters of the Third Kind turned inside out: They’re still out there, only this time the aliens are out for our blood, which they spray all over the countryside like so much red…
Martin Lawrence has never exactly been among the world’s more gifted comedians, yet his movies seem to keep raking in the cash, so there must be legions of loyal Lawrenceheads out there somewhere. But even they, who made financial successes of Black Knight and Big Momma’s House and National Security,…
You’re a talented young resident at a New York hospital, first-generation Chinese, and you happen to be gay. In fact, you’re dating a new and exciting woman, a dancer with the city ballet, and she wants you to share the relationship with the world — and your family. But can…
Ditch the masses on the grasses this Independence Day and revel in your freedom with bouncy swing tempos, jazzy brass instruments, dance-igniting beats, and most importantly, a powerful swamp cooler. On Monday, July 4, several Arizona bands, including Captain Squeegee and the Soap Suds, The Dietrichs, and Tucson’s Kool Shades,…
Look out for the 22-foot blonde with the boob job! She’s part of Phoenix artist Hector Ruiz’s room-size installation Westernization, a tragicomic take on America’s image in the world, and part of his “La Realidad (Reality)” show opening Friday, July 1, at the Heard Museum. “America is so appealing to…
MON 7/4 This year, you can choose to fire up the grill and celebrate America’s independence by inviting over your near-and-dears, replete with the usual band of screaming kids and unruly pets, or you can go to the City of Phoenix’s 20th annual “Fabulous Fourth” celebration at Steele Indian School…
MON 7/4If you have a hot jalopy that you’re dying to show off to a group of ogling, salivating spectators, gas it up and drive to Chandler, where the Arizona Veteran Rodders Club hosts a classic car show at Tumbleweed Park on Monday, July 4, as part of the Lions…
7/1-7/30 While typecast TV stars have quotation-marked middle names for faster recognition — witness Jaleel “Urkel” White — it’s quite uncommon for a fine artist and portraitist. But avant photographer Heidi “Bluegirl” Calvert, whose photographic retrospective opens with a reception from 6:30 p.m. to midnight at Perihelion Arts on Friday,…
SUN 7/3The local hip-hop underground goes above ground, as the true record playas of the Valley will turn on their turntablism talents during Reign of the Tech on Sunday, July 3, at the Old Brickhouse Grill, 1 East Jackson. Myriad mixmasters from around the PHX will mass for the 21-and-over…
