Concerts

This time around, it’s all about the music…

Tollett and Goldenvoice were determined to make 2011 as different from 2010 as best they can. Their work, so far, is a marked improvement over last year…

The Jeff Dahl Band is gearing up for its first gig in three years tonight.Dahl is back in town from Hawaii to celebrate drummer Russ Covner’s 50th birthday with a one-off gig at Hollywood Alley. Bassist Jason Smith made the trek back from Kentucky and guitarist Frank Labor is on…

​The Black Keys with Cage The Elephant and Stone Foxes Mesa Amphitheatre Thursday April 14, 2011 The duo is dead. That fact hadn’t occurred to me until about ten songs into The Black Keys set at Mesa Ampitheatre last night when I realized the band had doubled in size after a few songs…

Arcade FireComerica TheatreWednesday April 13, 2011Considering his band hasn’t played a Phoenix show in nearly seven years, Arcade Fire singer Win Butler seems to have a pretty good sense of the place.That connection goes deeper than a few localized references Butler slipped into last night’s show at Comerica Theatre in…

This week’s issue of Phoenix New Times features a preview of Motown Memories, a revue show currently playing at Scottsdale’s Talking Stick Resort that features American Idol alum and Valley native David Hernandez. Check out more from the interview with Hernandez, plus videos from the show, below.New Times: Catch us…

Toby KeithCountry Thunder 2011 at Canyon Moon Ranch in Florence, ArizonaSunday, April 10 If Woodstock ’94 holds the title for “Muddiest Music Festival, Like, Ever,” then Country Thunder 2011 out in Florence over the weekend has to go down as a solid runner up. Although the country fans in attendance…

Janet Jackson Comerica Theatre April 8, 2011 It’s easy to forget how impressive a career Janet Jackson has had over the years. But when you come from one of America’s most dysfunctional families, it’s probably not hard to get lost in the shuffle. Especially when your siblings tend to grab…

As a crowd numbering more than 1,100 watched on, M2 had his hands full to say the least. While large digital screens flashed his logo (based off the old school Phoenix Suns logo) and a countdown clock ticked off his allotted 15 minutes, M2’s hands flew and fluttered across turntables, mixers,…

Jocks chugging beer bongs, snorting lines of cocaine, and hazing nerds on stage — welcome to the magic that is a Broloaf show. The Scottsdale punk band that has been entertaining the Valley with wild on-stage antics for the past three years and will do so again when they open…

Boasting a collection of over 8,000 45’s, you never know exactly what Sir Smeezy, AKA DJ Smite is going to bring out for his Hot Plate night ever first Tuesday at The Lost Leaf. The man’s vast collection spans genres from funk, salsa, punk and gospel, and all are fair…

Akron/FamilyRhythm RoomMonday April 4, 2011Akron/Family is not from Akron, Ohio.I just wanted to clear that up right up top since I am, in fact, from Akron, Ohio while the proggy/jammy/folky/experimental indie band that awed a crowd at Rhythm Room is from Brooklyn/Portland/an energy vortex near the North American continental pole…

Pinky Tuscadero’s WhiteKnuckle AssFuckYucca Tap RoomSaturday, April 2, 2011There are two schools of thought when it comes to band reunion shows:1. “Man, they’re time is past. They broke up and should stay that way.”2. “Awesome. They’re coming back to fuck shit up one more time. Righteous.”Given a choice betwixt these…

Wolfgang Gartner Marquee Theatre April 2, 2011 Wolfgang Gartner (a.k.a. Joey Youngman) took an interest to electronic music at an early age. Gartner taught himself how to DJ by making remixes with a recorder and tape deck when he was only 12 years old. In 2007, he began producing house…

The Pink Floyd Experience at Comerica Theatre Last Night It used to be that tribute acts were typically seen in casino showrooms. Lately, it seems that if you’re a good enough tribute act, you can bring in good audiences at concert halls. Already this year we’ve seen a orchestral version…

The Pink Floyd ExperienceComerica TheatreMarch 26, 2011 It used to be that tribute acts were typically seen in casino showrooms. Lately, it seems that if you’re a good enough tribute act, you can bring in good audiences at  concert halls. Already this year we’ve seen a orchestral version of Led…

​Lady GagaMay 26, 2011US Airways CenterFor fans who were seeing Lady Gaga’s Monster Ball a second time last night, they definitely got a little something new.She closed out the show with a “Born This Way” performance reminiscent of her spot on the Grammys. She also performed a stripped-down version of…

The Baseball ProjectMartini RanchFriday, March 25There’s really no better tune to sum up The Baseball Project’s set than their opening one, “All Future and No Past.” In its 3-odd minutes, the tune encapsulates everything that makes the band so great, the opening day optimism that makes eager fans believe that…

Girl TalkMarquee Theatre in TempeWednesday, March 23, 2011You know that moment at a Pixies show when the first wooooo-ewwww of “Where Is My Mind?” kicks in and the old grungers in the crowd go crazy? Or that instant where the tween girls with Miley Cyrus posters on their walls hear…

Davila 666Yucca Tap RoomTuesday, March 22One of the great things about rock & roll is its lack of language barrier. I don’t need to speak any of the many languages of Nigeria to know that the Nigeria 70 comps rule — don’t need to learn Japanese in order to turn…

South by Stateside Day 2Sail InnMarch 21, 2011 Last week, roughly 35,000 music lovers, journalists and industry types made their way down to Austin for a week’s worth of music and cheap booze. Fortunately for everyone who didn’t get to go to SxSW, a handful of bands who performed there…

It’s a real shame that Mother Nature didn’t see if fit to cooperate with Stateside Presents’ plans for South By Stateside: Day 2, the annual Phoenix run off of indie-bands on their way to the West Coast from Austin’s South by Southwest Festival. The nine band bill was divided pretty…