When childhood friends Marcus Pepperell and John Hamson Jr. formed THUMPERS, they were in need of a musical escape. One dumped, the other fired from his previous band, the London-based duo started putting together songs in pieces, working toward a deeply layered indie-pop that fits somewhere between the Polyphonic Spree…
Mavis Staples can be found in the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame’s traveling “Women Who Rock” exhibit, currently on display at the Musical Instrument Museum. However, the soul icon, who ironically won a 2012 Grammy Award in the Americana category, easily could fit in several of the loosely genre-demarcated…
Country music favorites Lady Antebellum have hit the road, again. The trio of Charles Kelley, Hilary Scott, and Dave Haywood, who have been kicking around the country scene since 2006, are relentless travelers who constantly crisscross the U.S. and are currently pounding the pavement on their “Take Me Downtown” tour…
Downtown Phoenix definitely came alive this past weekend. The various sidewalks were packed with people, activity, and — most importantly — the sound of live music wafting from more than a dozen different venues, nightspots, and locations that comprised the Viva PHX music festival on Friday night. Music lovers, scenesters,…
After a harrowing accident totaled their van and gear in November, the members of Seattle surf-noir quartet La Luz didn’t just feel lucky to be alive. Singer-guitarist Shana Cleveland says the outpouring of support during the band’s recovery came across as a message that a life in music is where…
Want to get in a show this week? There are plenty of concerts over the next five days around Metro Phoenix to choose from, as you can see for yourself by viewing our extensive online concert listings. And we’re fairly certain that there’s something for everyone, regardless of your particular…
Viva PHX feat. David D’Alessio, Brian Marquis, Dylan Pratt One Coffee Co. 3/7/14 While rock, pop, and hip-hop respectively blared from other Viva PHX venues around downtown Phoenix on Friday night, the scene at One Coffee Co. was a bit more subdued. Folk artists, acoustic guitarists, and troubadours from both…
Although it was definitely one of the more smaller of the outdoor stages at the Viva PHX last night, I’d be willing to bet the PHX Alley Stage offered, by far, the highest energy and most raucous crowd out of the entire music festival. This shouldn’t come as a surprise,…
YACHT, Nite Jewel, Painted Palms, Bogan Via Viva PHX Crescent Ballroom 3/7/14 Let’s just be honest here: Viva PHX, at its very heart, was an attempt to mimic Austin’s South By Southwest. (Even its promoter Charlie Levy essentially admitted as much to us in a recent interview). And that’s not…
PigPen Theatre Co., Prowling Kind, Dry River Yacht Club, & More Hotel San Carlos 3/7/14 True to Hotel San Carlos’ history as a schoolhouse the Viva PHX lineup schooled the audience in the art of drama (and banjos, but we’ll get to that later). There were a few surprises throughout…
Sir Mix-A-Lot, Blackalicious, MURS, Z-Trip Viva PHX’s Crescent Ballroom Outdoor Stage 3/7/14 Crescent Ballroom’s outdoor stage at the first-ever Viva PHX festival featured traditional hip-hop sounds, an energetic audience and a show stopping set by hometown hero Z-Trip. With the liquor flowing and hundreds of people thirsting for quality hip-hop,…
The Technicolors, Kitten, Pinback and The Neighbourhood Viva PHX’s Central Avenue Stage at Cityscape 3/8/14 While it was expected to be one of the most diverse lineups of any stage at Friday night’s Viva Phoenix Festival, the CityScape main stage offered up rock performance after rock performance. Local darlings The…
Xavier Mosley (a.k.a. Chief Xcel) has always been about the craft. Known as one of the co-founders of Quannum MCs, Xcel has helped carve out lanes for artists like Lyrics Born, Pigeon John, and DJ Shadow. As the DJ/producer half of the legendary hip-hop duo, Blackalicious (which also features the…
Hear that? It’s the clock counting down the hours until your weekend begins and it’s nearing the magic moment known as quitting time. To help the time pass more quickly, you might consider what it is you’ll actually be doing during the next couple days and nights of work-free bliss…
Like a good watch, beautiful machines require intricate movements and many parts to work right. Kan Wakan, the grandiose and dark pop act that’s fronted by vocalist Kristianne Bautista with composer Gueorgui Linev and guitarist Peter Potyondy at its production core, is such a finely tuned act. With a sound…
With age comes wisdom. Like the common sense notion that the best way to tackle an event as big and complex as tonight’s Viva PHX music festival is to have a plan, and a good one at that. And given the sheer number of bands and venues involved (more than…
Time can be unkind to indie’s progenitors. Bands either burn out or fade away, eclipsed by the newest trend with careers measured in years rather than decades. Pinback, the Southern California forerunner of both indie rock and the home recording movement, is an exception to such aging, keeping true to…
Some of the best things in life are misunderstood by most, and even better things are often worth waiting for. Such is the case for Los Angeles’ In the Valley Below, a duo consisting of vocalists/instrumentalists Jeffrey Jacob and Angela Gail, whose success with their thumping, melodic hit “Peaches” last…
It’s not an easy feat to strike a balance between seriousness and goofiness as successfully as Boston rock band Krill does. You title a song “Turd” or sell your second album as a USB drive stuck into a ball of mozzarella, and you’re inviting some derision. Krill, however, sidesteps all…
Dee Dee Penny, founder and frontwoman of Dum Dum Girls, is known for her shy disposition. She’s probably also tired of hearing about it in the press, but only one second into our phone call, it’s obvious how reserved, quiet, and thoughtful she is. The way she speaks is absolutely…
Dave Hause Rhythm Room Tuesday, March 4, 2014 “Don’t tell the Internet, but there is no Loved Ones.” Sorry, Dave, the secret’s out. Dave Hause, frontman of melodic punk band The Loved Ones, performed his first solo show in Arizona Tuesday night and stuck to his own material, save for…
