Last May, I was one of the lucky few able to attend FORM Arcosanti, an electronic music festival in the “experimental” hamlet known as Arcosanti, located in Yavapai County a few clicks north of Phoenix. The festival was one of the most bizarre experiences of my life, and the site…
It shouldn’t seem surprising a band with Sunsquabi’s pedigree would come from Boulder, Colorado. Even the band’s name has a kind of stoner mountain vibe to it. Yet, Sunsquabi is not exactly stoner rock, at least not in the sense of bands (Fu Manchu, Kyuss, Eagles of Death Metal, etc.)…
We don’t normally post about concert ticket prices, but this is too good a deal to pass up. From May 13 to May 20, Live Nation is offering $20 tickets to outdoor concerts. That means you can get a lawn seat at Ak-Chin Pavilion for $20 instead of the usual…
When Jack Tatum bought a car after relocating to Los Angeles, he needed some music to accompany his drives through the smoggy metropolis’ traffic. Without an AUX outlet in his older car, he discovered an old CD booklet filled with unmarked CD-Rs at his parents’ house and started to listen…
Things have an uncanny way of coming full circle for John “Johnny D” Dixon, longtime Valley music scene fixture. Example: Back in 1967, he rolled tape at a small Scottsdale club called the Red Dog a Go Go, recording an act fresh from Las Vegas called the Nooney Rickett IV…
Looking for a memorable show to see over the next few nights? Consider any of the following seven options in our list of concert picks for this week, which include such stellar acts as The Internet, Immortal Technique, Daniel Martin Moore, Four Tet, and Drab Majesty. As always, if you’re looking…
It was a night of mixed emotions at the Trunk Space — the final show in the indie venue’s storied 12-year history. There were fewer tears than there were faces of joy amid reunions and tight hugs, but the atmosphere still felt sullen, like a funeral. Sure, Trunk Space may…
This weekend’s slate of concerts happening around the Valley includes a few significant gig. There’s the final show at Trunk Space’s current home, of course, as well as performances by such esteemed and ground-breaking artists as surf king Dick Dale, the legendary avant-garde musicians of Negativland, and rock icon Todd…
When I was much younger, lyrics were supreme. Nothing else mattered as much as what the singer was trying to express via libretto. It was only after years of reviewing music and hearing the same sentiment over and over — the voice is just an instrument — that I finally…
For all the goth-related hype that once surrounded his beloved first band, Bauhaus, and for all of the vocal/artistic parallels made with the late David Bowie, Peter Murphy has always been able to rely on being a voice of originality without artifice. Oh sure, there are moments where the man…
McDowell Mountain Music Festival announced its dates for next year’s festival yesterday. The three-day music festival, which brings major headliners to downtown Phoenix, will take place March 3-5, 2017. Last year’s festival saw Beck and Avett Brothers play. The previous year, Widespread Panic and others came down for the festivities…
Sadie Switchblade of Girls Living Outside Society’s Shit (G.L.O.S.S.) had a pretty simple answer when she was asked why she chose to call her new solo garage rock side project “Dyke Drama.” “It’s pretty straightforward. I’m gay, and the first batch of songs were just like, really personal lesbian love…
Look, we know it’s coming and so do you. And truth be told, there’s nothing that any of us can do to stop it. Summer is just around the corner, its probably going to be as miserable as ever, and the only thing you can do is make sure your…
Few bands have had the power to unify youth the way the Violent Femmes did in the early- and mid-1980s. The band, which stops by Marquee Theatre in Tempe on Tuesday, March 3, had an extraordinary ability to unify the various cliques found in American high schools and colleges. Putting…
It’s not exactly something that’s touted in ads for Sauza and Patron, but did you know tequila is really good for you? True story. Depending on who you ask, the spirituous substance hewn from the agave plants of Mexico can not only work as a sleep aid, but can also…
The year is 1983. Punk is dead, and the undead appears to be on the minds of many post-punk ingénues and avant-garde crowds alike. Nowhere did the dark light shine more forebodingly than in Tony Scott’s campy erotic horror cult film The Hunger, which starred David Bowie and Catherine Deneuve…
Just as the phone conversation between myself and Stephen McBean, leader of the Vancouver, British Columbia band Black Mountain, is warming up, it gets cut short. The quintet’s van is being pulled over by California Highway Patrol. He calls me back 20 minutes later and assures me everything is okay…
Remember that big Rihanna show that was supposed to happen back in March (but wound up getting rescheduled due to RiRi’s bout with bronchitis)? It’s finally going off this weekend. The R&B/pop star is bringing her ANTI tour to Talking Stick Resort Arena on Sunday, and according to everything we’ve…
When you’re already a founding member of the self-anointed “Greatest Rock Band In The World” all the rest is gravy really, and a flute, because nothing says rock more than a toy recorder. In his time away from Jack Black, Kyle Gass has assembled a posse he’s dubbed The Kyle…
Although firmly entrenched in people’s minds and hearts as a power pop band, The Posies were never the rigid adherents to the “verse-chorus-verse-chorus-bridge” structure as that movement suggests. While always exhibiting impeccable harmonies, the band never skimped on the power part of the equation, which is why they came into…
For Mexican artist Carla Morrison, a decade’s worth of blood, sweat, tears (especially tears) and hard work as an independent artist brought her to Coachella, where she played an early Friday afternoon set both weekends at the Outdoor Theatre. It was a literal dream come true for the Latin Grammy…
In 2012, A$AP Rocky closed out Saturday night of Coachella in the Gobi tent. Considering he had only released his first mixtape, Deep Purple, the summer before, it was a plum set time for the Harlem rapper. Being a rap and Rocky lover, I was excited to see him perform…
