Saturday night was a good one for emotional rock ‘n’ roll. The Jealous Sound (featuring former and current members of Knapsack, Sunday’s Best, Foo Fighters, and Sunny Day Real Estate) aired tunes from its brand new record, A Gentle Reminder, at the Rogue Bar in Scottsdale. Source Victoria, whose last…
George Strait at US Airways Center Wow, I truly underestimated the amount of country fans in Arizona. Rising to their feet for the only and only “King of Country,” George Strait walked onto the stage and the crowd went crazy. They whistled so loud that my ears continue to ring…
Social Distortion Marquee Theatre Friday, February 3, 2012 Phoenix loves Social Distortion, and the band loves Phoenix, including not one but two stops on their most recent tour. Last night was business as usual: The band played a packed venue to a sea of drunk burly guys and tiny girls…
Roll Acosta, Field Tripp, and The Foleys Rogue BarFriday, February 3When you first think about modern, professional Beatles cover bands, you’ll likely think of a few things. Primarily, middle-aged men will use any excuse to wear a Sgt. Pepper’s jacket. They’ll also take any opportunity to speak in a Liverpool…
George Strait US Airways Center Friday, February 3, 2012 Wow, I truly underestimated the amount of country fans in Arizona. Rising to their feet for the only and only “King of Country,” George Strait walked onto the stage and the crowd went crazy. They whistled so loud that my ears…
“All My Ex’s Live in Texas.” That’s true for me. What about you? The one and only “King of Country”, George Strait, will be in Phoenix performing live tomorrow night, Friday, February 3. Now maybe it’s just the fact that I am originally from Texas that makes me excited to…
It’s official, folks: Emo is cool again. Don’t believe me? Listen to “Fall In,” the third track on the highly buzzed about Attack On Memory from Cloud Nothings. The song is straight out of the late ’90s/early ‘aughts emo playbook: Strained vocals, frantic drums, and the kind of guitar tone…
The Lost Leaf in Downtown Phoenix is notoriously loud. Both on the crowd side and on the music side. Last summer, I saw Former Friends of Young Americans singer Toby Fatzinger and Marco Holt of The Tremulants perform solo sets there and they were literally drowned out by the bar-hopping…
Zola Jesus, Talk Normal Crescent Ballroom Wednesday, February 1, 2012 In my interview with Nika Danilova, the leader of Zola Jesus, she spoke of her reticence to embrace her childhood dream of pop stardom. While there’s little chance of her tearing up the Billboard charts, Danilova commanded the stage with…
Citizen Cope at Marquee Theatre I’ve been to more exciting Citizen Cope shows over the past few years, but last night’s solo acoustic gig was still a tight show for different reasons than I’m used to. Clarence Greenwood sounds fabulous when he plays with his band, but he held his…
They Might Be Giants Marquee Theatre Sunday, January 29, 2012 How many F-bombs can you drop in a PG-13 movie? Is it one? Two? However many, last night’s They Might Be Giants show certainly earned its 14-and-over “rating,” with the “Johns,” Flansburgh and Linnell, peppering their set with colorful language…
Strung Out Clubhouse Music Venue Saturday, January 28, 2012 Strung Out plays in Vegas tonight, but that didn’t stop the band from having a good time in Phoenix last night. Frontman Jason Cruz showed off Chris Aiken’s brand new Fender signature bass and the band took shots to celebrate as…
Citizen CopeMarquee Theatre Friday, January 27, 2012 I’ve been to more exciting Citizen Cope shows over the past few years, but last night’s solo acoustic gig was still a tight show for different reasons than I’m used to. Clarence Greenwood sounds fabulous when he plays with his band, but he…
Sundown Showdown IV (Night Two): TOAD, Sleep Money, Destruction Unit, Radio Moscow, Graveyard Yucca Tap Room Friday, January 27 See the full Sundown Showdown slideshow here. Let’s contrast, for a minute: During opening band TOAD’s (it’s an acronym: Take Over and Destroy) second song, “Midnight Hunger,” a few straggling Yucca…
Okay folks, start ‘yer engines: It’s looking to be a pretty good weekend for music in the Valley of the Sun. You’ve got a lot of choices to make. Do you want to take in the hippie-dippy good vibes of Citizen Cope? The anything goes, doom metal-to-psych punk Sundown Showdown…
Dengue Fever Crescent Ballroom Thursday, January 26 The setting was the Crescent Ballroom in Phoenix, but given the atmosphere and exotic sounds emanating from the stage, it may as well have been Cambodia circa mid-1970s. Eyes closed, it hardly mattered, Dengue Fever was in its element, and that element joined…
Ludachrist UK Thursday at School of Rock Thursday, January 26 The scene: Two dudes in plaid vests, decorative cross necklaces dangling from their necks. The song: “Jump,” by Kriss Kross, colliding with “Ass” by Big Sean, then samples of Nicki Minaj fading into AC/DC’s “Thunderstruck.” Boom. Their name recalls Dirty…
O.A.R. Marquee Theatre Wednesday, January 25 2012 O.A.R. kicked off their most recent tour with Tempe — and the buzzing crowd and multiple encores indicated that they picked a good place to start. As soon as the stage lit up, so did some trees — if you know what I…
Anthrax Marquee Theatre Tuesday, January 24 Everyone knows Anthrax played the Big Four in Indio, California, last year, of course. And as much as I hate to admit this out loud or on paper, I missed them, even though I was in Indio. See the full Anthrax slideshow here. They…
The members of electronic pop outfit Factories put themselves in a tight situation last year when they locked themselves in a shipping container in the middle of the summer. With a wall full of amps, flashing strobe lights, and of course a ton of balloons, the Tempe trio had themselves…
Starting a revolution of your own is a difficult task, but jam band O.A.R. (Of a Revolution) makes it look pretty easy. Of course, it’s harder than it seems. I spoke with drummer Chris Culos, in hopes of finding what lessons O.A.R. has learned in its transition from garage band…
Wilco Gammage Auditorium Saturday, January 21, 2012 Plenty of derisive things get said about Wilco being “dad rock.” You can’t get around the fact that songwriter Jeff Tweedy, bassist John Stirratt, drummer Glenn Kotche, guitarist Nels Cline, and multi-instrumentalists Pat Sansone and Mikael Jorgensen, are indeed pushing or well into…
