The Game: Slower Than Baseball, the Excitement of Curling

Even to those of us who aren’t huge proponents of mainstream rap, The Game’s second album, Doctor’s Advocate, was hugely influential a few years back. Advocate was a note-perfect throwback to gangsta rap’s halcyon days of the early ’90s and quite possibly the best mainstream rap album since, well, pretty…

Millionaires Get Paid and Laid (Presumably) at Modified Show

In this line of work, feeling a little old on the job is an occupational hazard. Still, few times have I felt more disconnected from the concertgoers around me than I did walking in during the last two songs by critically despised teeny-bopping post-hardcore act I Set My Friends on…

Jessica Lea Mayfield Impresses, Annuals Disappoint, at Rhythm Room

We don’t normally run two pieces previewing acts from a single concert in our print edition, but last week I made an exception for Jessica Lea Mayfield and Annuals at Rhythm Room. After tonight’s show I’m definitely glad I did.As the headliner, Annuals, a six-piece indie act from North Carolina,…

Over the Weekend: NBA All-Star Weekend

All-Star Weekend brought us many things. There was the Arizona Porn Star Ball, a Playboy party and of course that amazing game. Check out the highlights from the weekend. T.I., Juice and Pokafase at Celebrity Theatre 2009 NBA All-Star Game: Defense (For a Change), Jumpshots, and Forced Drama T.I. Proves…

T.I. Proves Why He’s the King

It’s been an interesting career for Bankhead/Atlanta-based rapper T.I. He’s currently weathering the brunt of charges brought against him for illegally owning three unregistered firearms, a part of his life he was not shy to mention while onstage at the Celebrity Theatre on Sunday night. He’s not stupid and he…

Kinch Kills at Sold-Out EP Release Party

After hearing Kinch’s new EP, The Economic Chastisement (review here), I was a little worried the boys were going soft on us. Chastisment is a solid CD, but it’s so much softer than their previous effort, the album Advances, it was hard for me to get as excited about it…

Arizona Invades Texas for SxSW

So, we don’t normally blog about shows outside the area, but our contributor Psyko Steve Chilton is putting a real dandy at SxSW in Austin next month. The “I Heart AZ” showcase features Dear and the Headlights, Miniature Tigers, What Laura Says, The Stiletto Formal, Kinch, Back Ted N-Ted and…

Pregnant M.I.A. Steals the Show at the Grammys

For those of you who tuned into the 51st annual Grammy Awards Sunday night, you were most likely treated to a lamely named performance of the “Rap Pack:” Jay-Z, Kanye West, T.I., and Lil’ Wayne. The four artists gave a dapper performance, no doubt flustering audiences of 40-year-olds in the Midwest…

Setting Chad Kroeger’s Hair On Fire: An Evening with Fucked Up

Toronto punk rock outfit Fucked Up graced the stage Tuesday night at downtown Phoenix art gallery PHiX, bringing with them their subdued, docile tones and serene, lucid vocals. Good one, right? Yeah, I had you going — admit it. Fucked Up absolutely slayed the crowd on Tuesday, a respectable sized…

Katy Perry Is One of the Girls Just as Much as Boys

Katy Perry is hot! Well, she’s cute and she’s hot. This seemed to be the general consensus from the sold-out audience at Tempe’s Marquee Theatre on Tuesday. Perry, who wore a flashy gold dress and looked like she should be adorned on the top of a cake of some sort,…

Super Bowl XLIII, Derby Dames and O.A.R. Over the Weekend

Steelers Win Super Bowl XLIII and Nothing’s Well In Cardinal-Ville At Upper Deck in Scottsdale hundred leave dejected after the Arizona Cardinals lost to the Pittsburgh Steelers on February 1, 2009. Meanwhile Steelers fans raise their terrible towels to the sky. See: a slide show of depressed Cardinals fans and…

Sunday’s Worst Super Bowl Ad

There were some truly awful ads on during yesterday’s insanely competitive Super Bowl. The economy is changing, America is changing, and the past two Super Bowls have been some of the best games in Super Bowl history. I remember watching some Super Bowls that were atrocious, lopsided affairs that were…