Odd Future at Marquee Theatre, 11/8/11

Odd Future hates me. Okay, so not me specifically (at least I don’t think), but what I do: write about music. The group’s relationship with the media has been complicated. They wound of up on the cover of Billboard, them promptly trashed the magazine at a SxSW showcase gig. Nearly…

M83 at Crescent Ballroom, 11/7/11

M83 Crescent Ballroom Monday, November 7 “Epic” is a word that has come to be synonymous with the music of M83. Fans use it to describe the band’s live experience and frontman Anthony Gonzalez himself has used it to describe the double-album, Hurry Up, We’re Dreaming; the new release he’s…

The Bo-Keys at Rhythm Room, 11/7/11

While M83 was bringing “epic” sounds to Crescent Ballroom, a very different kind of epic was going down across town at The Rhythm Room. The Bo-Keys, seven pieces lead by Scott Bomar and featuring Stax/Hi Records players Archie “Hubby” Turner on keys, Howard Grimes on drums, and Ben Cauley (the…

Authority Zero Over the Weekend

As we reported a few weeks ago, Authority Zero is getting ready to head across the pond for a tour of Japan. “Japan has come about from a combination of two things: one, the four records we have released over there since 2001, and two, the promoters we work with…

Phantogram at Crescent Ballroom, 11/5/11 (VIDEO)

Phantogram Crescent Ballroom Saturday, November 5 It’s been a good year for Phantogram. This trip-hop duo played a bunch of festivals, including Coachella, where they attracted a crowd of over 10,000 people in spite of sharing a time slot with The Strokes. Phantogram is currently touring in support of its…

LIGHTS at Nile Theater, 11/5/11 (VIDEO)

LIGHTSNovember 5, 2011Nile TheaterWhen Canadian electro pop artist LIGHTS, the project name of Lights Valerie Poxleinter, came to the Nile Theater for a headlining show last year, it was clear the crowd loved her, but for all her talent in unifying her fans under one roof, it wasn’t clear that…

Youth Lagoon at Crescent Ballroom, 11/4/11 (VIDEO)

Youth Lagoon Crescent Ballroom Friday, November 4, 2011 Last night can be summed up in one word: poetic. Phoenix got some long overdue rain, ushering in eagerly awaited hoodie weather, and Youth Lagoon, the brainchild of Boise’s Trevor Powers, played its second show in Phoenix. Youth Lagoon released its debut…

Peter Murphy at Marquee Theatre, 11/3/11

Peter Murphy and She Wants Revenge Marquee Theatre Thursday, November 3 Peter Murphy is a weird dude. Known as the “Godfather of Goth” for his work fronting Bauhaus, one of the pioneers of the genre. Murphy has released eight solo albums since Bauhaus broke up in 1983. He is a…

Reptar on Oblangle Fizz, Y’All

Reptar makes it look easy. Y’know, the whole “band” thing. The whole build a fanbase, tour, release albums… all that. But the way that the fast-rising dance-pop band’s career has evolved seems so by the book that it seems a little off. After all, didn’t the digital revolution mean that…

Das Racist at Crescent Ballroom, 11/1/2011

Das Racist Crescent Ballroom Tuesday, November 1, 2011 From the outside, last night’s Das Racist show seemed like a typical hip-hop show. The trappings were the same: a bunch of MCs on stage, a hypeman/woman, and a DJ — but on closer inspection, there was something unusually eccentric about Das…

Halloween Otoacoustic Emissions at St. Augustine’s Church in Tempe

Otoacoustic Emissions at St. Augustine’s Church in Tempe Monday, October 31, 2011 According to the Billboard Contemporary Christian Music charts, “Courageous,” by the Georgia-based band Casting Crowns, is the most popular Christian song in America. The song is a lot of things: vaguely arena rock, pitched somewhere between Coldplay and…

Skrillex and 12th Planet at Marquee Theatre (VIDEO)

As a rocker and vocalist, Sonny Moore was passable at best. As his alter ego Skrillex, however, the dude’s an electronic music maestro and fifth-degree party instigator. Moore displayed said skills last night at the Marquee Theatre in Tempe with aplomb as he whipped a crowd of more than 1,000…