The only thing Marilyn Manson and The Smashing Pumpkins seemed to have in common, other than cynicism, were successful ‘90s careers. Manson’s was punctuated with public hatorade and embraced for waking a decade to the darkly perverse, and the Pumpkins became spokesmen for the grunged out and pissed off people…
The Pizza Underground is so last year. In terms of this year’s hit junk food parody cover band, it’s so-called “drive-through metal,” brought to you by the greasy sarcasm of Mac Sabbath, who turned Crescent Ballroom into a corporate cesspit for two hours on Friday night. I had a flat…
It’s bad enough to pay full-meal prices for a soda at a concert, but when even the show’s headliner is selling you something, you know you’re being manipulated. Before the popular country artists Lady Antebellum took the stage at Ak-Chin Pavillon on Saturday night, the trio consisting of Hillary Scott,…
Songwriter Dan Stuart has been at it for more than three decades, but his upcoming album, Marlowe’s Revenge, shows he’s still in full possession of his verve, ranking among his finest albums with Green on Red, the band he founded in the early ’80s, which brilliantly straddled the lines between desert rock,…
Controversial, ego-driven, demanding, and at times excessive, Billy Corgan has never ceased to do whatever the hell he wants. Recently, the Smashing Pumpkins frontman publicly lamented the fact that his career-long fans still “live in the past” because they want to hear music from Gish, the band’s 1991 debut album…
Going to a BroLoaf show is like nothing else you can experience around Phoenix. A BroLoaf show is like a full contact sport, complete with all of the free beer and barbecue you can eat. Really, it’s a win-win for everyone, unless you get pulled over on your way home…
There’s no mistaking the popping horns, staccato guitar licks and gritty lyrics pushing the infectious dance groove that’s the English Beat Now, some 30-plus years after the band’s last proper release (there have been at least a half-dozen hits albums), Here We Go Love is being readied. “I can’t believe…
On one of the last, sickeningly hot days of June, Numb Bats are a little on edge. The punk trio are still deciding on a set list for their gig at the Echo in Los Angeles while also trying to wrap up an EP and prep for an extensive Midwestern…
Here are the best concerts happening in Phoenix this week. For more options, browse our comprehensive concert calendar. Lonna Kelley – Valley Bar – Wednesday, July 8 Kelley surmises that to her, happiness means freedom. Her new EP, Take Me Home Spiderman, is a record about the ideal: freedom from…
The way Wilco’s Jeff Tweedy kept bringing up the heat at the band’s performance at Salt River Fields, you’d think the Deadheads who had descended upon their hometown of Chicago the same night had banished the group to perform outdoors in the sweltering summer heat of Arizona as punishment for…
“I’m starting to get really nervous about the show,” Wilco bassist John Stirratt says from Maine when asked if the band’s booking agent was fired for scheduling an outdoor concert in July in the desert. “We’ve played in some pretty harsh environments, but I’ve had more people ask me about…
Kanye West will cap off this year’s Summer Ends Music Festival, when the rapper is scheduled to play Tempe Beach Park on Sunday, September 27. Performing with Ye will be Chance the Rapper, Travis Scott, Vic Mensa, and Kaytranada. The announcement is yet another big get for Lucky Man Concerts…
Let’s face it: As a Valley resident, life as you know it right now is all about seeking refuge in a series of refrigerated boxes until the scorch outside subsides enough to become tolerable. Its a sad state of affairs, frankly, but is just one of the realities of surviving…
So you want to be a rock ‘n’ roll star and be a part of the best punk rock summer camp? Don’t be speak so soon, as we got the lowdown on what it’s really like being apart of the Vans Warped Tour from two musicians who grew up in…
If you’re headed to Electric Forest this weekend, you might not want to advertise it by decorating your car. Police are profiling the shit out of anyone driving in the greater Michigan area who looks like they might enjoy bass in their face. Police representing numerous small Michigan municipalities —…
The John Butler Trio is all about making good music. Sure, every band says that, but Butler takes a more spiritual approach to his songwriting. His intention is to let the listener not only into his world, but perhaps become him. “It’s with intention, a sense of purpose, and a…
By sheer coincidence, when we call Aaron Weiss, it is exactly one year to the day from his getting married. If you know a little about the mewithoutYou frontman, you understand how bizarre tying the knot was for him. But for a band that is consistently and creatively reinventing itself,…
Electric Daisy Carnival is such a massive assault on the senses that, after the dust has settled (mostly in one’s lungs), it can be hard to pick out the highlights and lowlights. We’re still processing everything we heard and saw out there on the Las Vegas Motor Speedway, but here…
At least Nickelback chose not to subject its fans to a terrible Chad Kroeger. The band announced today that it has canceled all of its North American tour dates due to the frayed vocal chords of its lead singer. Kroeger has an “operable cyst” on his vocal chords, according to…
Warped Tour was once a showcase for punk and its various subgenres, but recent years have seen a wider spectrum, even including pop and spoken word artists. These artists represent both classic and newer genres on this year’s ticket, so at least one of them is bound to catch your…
The rumors started yesterday with a mysterious update to Tool’s website. “Wait for it…” was all the post read. It is known that Tool fans are an obsessive bunch, and the speculation started immediately. Well, now, the wait is over. Tool will be playing Tempe Beach Park on Halloween. Lucky…
If you had plans to attend the Fourth of July outdoor concert by Little Big Town at Salt River Fields, said plans just went up kaboom like a skyrocket. Word broke earlier today that the by the performance by country music act on Saturday, July 4 — which was part…
