This Weekend: Brad B., Monster Commute and Kate Voegele

By Jonathan McNamara Friday, September 12: Brad B. CD Release Party at Hollywood Alley Call me optimistic, but if there’s free music to be had, I want to hear it. My external hard drive clamors to be fed even more 320 kbps MP3s, especially if we’re talking about local acts…

Concert Calendar for This Weekend

By Benjamin Leatherman Nightwish is scheduled to perform this Sunday at the Marquee Theatre in Tempe. — FRIDAY, SEPTEMBER 12: Death Pilot With Ethnic Degeneration, Impulsive Agression, Aizen, Slip Micky, and Ethan 103 [metal/rock] 7 p.m. $11 (visit www.13thfloorentertainment.com) The Sets, 93 E. Southern Ave., Tempe, 480-829-1822. Vic Dunlop [comedy]…

The Lost Art of the Concert Poster

By Martin Cizmar So, hey there, I’m Martin, the new Music Editor here at New Times. It’s Thursday, when Niki usually does her Flier of the Week but, I gotta say, I’m not feeling a lot of the local fliers I’ve been seeing on MySpace this week. I feel like…

Slideshow: The Complainiacs

By Steve Jansen The Money Shot In case you haven’t been able to check out a performance by The Complainiacs since my most recent Noise Boy column ran last week, check out these supercool images of the band practicing in Matt Spastic’s old bedroom at The Firehouse…

Wu-Tang great GZA takes Liquid Swords back on the road

I recently watched the video for GZA’s “Liquid Swords” — from the Wu-Tang Clan’s poet laureate’s classic 1995 album of the same name — for the first time since the Clinton era, and I found the shadow world contained therein just as relevant today as it was then. Indeed, the…

The Black Crowes interview that Maxim couldn’t get

Deep inside a fortified bunker in the mountains near Arco, Idaho, the Black Crowes have convened to rehearse in the midst of their world tour. Chris Robinson is seething. “I wanna tear that guy’s head off,” he screams, “and shit down his fucking throat!” Chugging the remnants of his fourth…

Seven nights of DJs and dancing

THURSDAY 11 Axis/Radius: LMFAO, DJ Circle, DJ MCB (hip-hop, Top 40) Bar Smith: Peppermint Lounge with DJ Brazilia, DJ Mara, & guests (electro, funk, ’80s) Bikini Lounge: DJ HFE (rockabilly, surf, jazz, classic country, indie, obscuro) Blooze Bar: DJ El Dedo (rockabilly) Bunkhouse: DJ Doom (dance) Cash Inn: DJ Sting (hip-hop, dance)…

Whip Lounge

Maybe it’s just us, but the stale Mill Avenue nightlife scene has been in dire need of a shake-up recently. We’ve grown somewhat bored with the same old clubs pumping out the same old hip-hop and Top 40 tunes every weekend, and have longed for something better to come along…

From Dark

Nestling somewhere between metalcore and screamo/post-hardcore, From Dark sounds a lot like a bunch of other bands you’ve probably heard: The Used, Atreyu, Avenged Sevenfold, Underoath, Thrice, and Senses Fail, to name a few. The formula? Spiraling, melodic guitars; dissonant lyrics; steady drum rhythms; and vocals that alternate between singing…

The Walkmen

On You & Me, The Walkmen’s signature organ wheezes as though it’s on the repair bench, and the hazy, back-corner guitar tones haven’t changed much, either. One of the decade’s most riveting bands channels its energy on this, their fifth album, into electrifying climaxes and a surplus of early ’60s-era…

David Byrne & Brian Eno

My Life in the Bush of Ghosts, released in 1981 (and recently reissued), was an attempt by David Byrne and Brian Eno to forge new territory via found sounds, samples, and assorted Africanisms that foreshadowed a good many musical trends. In contrast, Everything That Happens represents a retrenchment, albeit an…

J-Live

If sanity in hip-hop is sexy, then J-Live might fuck around and become Denzel. The New York underground fixture’s fifth indie release, Then What Happened?, is a consistent collection of songs that promote common-man sensibilities and simple humanity — traits often absent in hip-hop these days. J’s strength is his…

Ryan Cabrera

Young hunk Ryan Cabrera’s third effort, The Moon Under Water, is supposedly his entry into serious music. Check out Cabrera’s brunette locks and soul patch as well as his Bono-inspired attire on the album’s back jacket — this guy is a thoughtful rocker, dammit. He’s been listening to Springsteen (actually…

Kate Voegele

Even though she has barely reached legal drinking age, this Cleveland-born singer-songwriter has accomplished much more than many other troubadours of her generation. In addition to scoring a regular spot on the CW soap One Tree Hill, she has also earned enough respect to be able to share the stage…

Common

Unlike many of his rap contemporaries, Rashid “Common” Lynn has matured artistically — but he had a head start. Back in 1992, when he released his debut CD, Can I Borrow a Dollar?, under the name Common Sense, he was already sage beyond his age — and since then, his…

Boilermaker

As far as local “supergroups” go, Boilermaker’s got some street cred. The quartet includes Neil Jay Impossible, guitarist and vocalist of the Impossible Ones, vocalist and bassist Luke Lanham from North Side Kings, and bassist Ms. Butcher and drummer Thrashley from The Dames. Although all the members’ mainstay bands are…

Martin Cizmar takes over as Music Editor at Phoenix New Times

After covering the local and national music scene for the past two years, I will be moving on to a Staff Writer position here at Phoenix New Times. I have immensely enjoyed immersing myself in music and have met so many amazing people during the course of my tenure as Music Editor. But I am equally excited to assume the Staff Writer position and will be leaving the music section in the very capable hands of the new Music Editor, Martin Cizmar.