My name is Benjamin Leatherman and I’m a former Shizzaholic. Back in 2004, local music message board The Shizz was practically the center of my universe. I used to regularly check the site several times a day to catch up on the most recent gossip and goings-on of the downtown…
Heavily tattooed blues singer/songwriter Jake La Botz will perform twice this weekend – at West Phoenix’s Rogue West on Friday and Tempe’s Last Exit Bar & Grill on Saturday. The Friday show, kicking off somewhere around 9 p.m., will be a more intimate gathering with drink specials throughout the night…
For those of you who may not know, this coming Tuesday is St. Patrick’s Day – a day to revel in the sheer glory of Ireland and all that Irish culture has bestowed upon us. As I have also been told, St. Patrick’s Day is an excuse to get shitfaced…
[jump] THURSDAY, MARCH 12: Bob That Head Tour With Rascal Flatts, & Jessica Simpson [country/pop] 8 p.m., $40-$78.75 (visit www.ticketmaster.com) Cricket Wireless Pavilion, 2121 N. 83rd Ave., Phoenix, 602-254-7200. Neil Halstead With Courtney Marie Andrews [indie/folk] 8 p.m., $10-$12 (visit www.ticketweb.com) Rhythm Room, 1019 E. Indian School Rd., Phoenix, 602-265-4842…
By No Age standards, last night’s 45-minute show at Modified Arts was an epic. After all, the the Los Angeles-based noise-pop band’s last album, the critically-beloved Nouns, clocks in at only 28:17. Though it normally feels a little short for a headliner, even at a small club, 45 minutes was…
All week we’ve been sharing personal essays about Jimmy Eat World’s Clarity, online and in print. Sadly, I don’t have a Clarity story because I wasn’t in to the Mesa emo/pop act until my college paper got an advance copy of Bleed American, the follow-up to Clarity, in July 2001…
I’ve been in my fair share of mosh pits, but I’m pretty thankful that I wasn’t in any of the three or four that raged on all through Slipknot’s show at Jobing.com Arena on Thursday night. Swirling like tornadoes full of teen angst and shirtless fat dudes, the pits dominated…
For those of you who have been keeping tabs on the Arizona Brewer’s Guild recent run of beer festivals, you know, full well, that the 21st Annual Great Arizona Beer Festival is this Saturday and Sunday at Tempe Beach Park from 2-6 PM. Hoping to piggyback on the success of…
[jump] THURSDAY, MARCH 5: Asylum Street Spankers[folk/jazz/roots/world]8 p.m., $14 (visit www.rhythmroom.com)Rhythm Room, 1019 E. Indian School Rd., Phoenix, 602-265-4842. Margarita Escarpa[Latin/Spanish guitar]7:30 p.m., $7-$18 (visit music.asu.edu)Katzin Concert Hall, 40 E. Gammage Pkwy. (ASU School of Music Building), Tempe, 480-965-3371. Dominick Farinacci[jazz]8:30 & 10 p.m., $10 (visit www.voceristoranteandlounge.com)Voce Ristorante & Lounge,…
You’d be hard-pressed to find a better-preserved 57-year-old rock star than Chrissie Hynde. Onstage at Dodge Theatre Wednesday night, the Pretenders frontwoman looked incredible and sounded exactly as she did 30 years ago, when the band recorded their eponymous debut. Really. Her distinctive voice — a raspy coo that’s been…
Zack de la Rocha Leads an Army Against Joe Arpaio’s Racist Rule: My conservative estimate is that today 3,000 to 4,000 people braved 90 degree weather to march from Steele Indian School Park to the Sandra Day O’Connor Federal Courthouse in downtown Phoenix to protest Sheriff Joe Arpaio’s immigration abuses…full…
Like a lot of people, I really, really need to be in the mood to listen to third wave ska. And by “in the mood” I mean I need to be in high school again. Still, I kinda dig Tempe’s 2 Tone Lizard Kings. Sure, the time I saw them,…
Considering Frank Zappa’s vast catalog of music, I’m pretty sure I wasn’t the only person at Dodge Theatre Thursday night who was surprised when Zappa Plays Zappa’s set kicked off with a Van Halen cover. After a half-hour delay reportedly due to an exhaustive sound check, Dweezil Zappa took the…
The Venue of Scottsdale is gonna become a house of hyphy this Saturday, as the NoCal rap superstar E-40 (a.k.a. the “Ambassador of the Bay”) will take over the joint. We’re expecting plenty of slick rhymes from the “King of Slang,” as well as the myriad local hip-hop artists that…
Looking for something different to do on Sunday fun day? Check out Furio’s new Sunday option, which combines half-price bottles of wine and live music, similar to Phoenix’s The Vig. But where as The Vig gets their party started around three with a cover act featuring Gin Blossoms guitarist Scotty…
Shake! Fourth Year Anniversary at The Rogue William “Fucking” Reed with special guests The Rapture DJs brought the Rogue to the dance floor on Saturday, Feb. 21, 2009. Weekend Out: Dear and the Headlights, Matsuri and Rhythm Room We got artistic with Dear and the Headlights at the Heard Museum,…
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…
Now that the chill of winter is starting to subside (temps are supposed to get into the high 70s) you’ve got little excuse to stay cooped up inside your domicile this weekend. Why not book it to the ongoing Renaissance Festival, or perhaps take a splendid moonlight hike? Better yet,…
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…
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,…
There’s a Janis Joplin tribute band playing in Phoenix, and as the late ’60s icon herself would say, “Get it while you can.”Phoenix resident Susan Ballard has been impersonating blues singer Janis Joplin since 1997, when she played her first tribute show at a club on 7th Avenue called Desert…
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…
