Tonight: Tool at U.S. Airways

Tonight is a home-coming show of sorts for Tool, whose frontman Maynard James Keenan graced our cover a few months back because of his ambitious wine-making operation near Sedona. We’ll have a review for you tomorrow morning.Some other things to read before the show:Our somewhat controversial advance from last Thursday’s…

Slayer Plays Through The (Dry) Heat

Two stages, 13 bands, more than nine hours of music, and yet the Rockstar Mayhem Festival could easily be summed up in one word: SLAYER! Unfortunately, New Times doesn’t pay me for one-word reviews, and to be honest, a handful of other bands on the bill definitely made an impression…

Toadies Fans, In Arizona, In 2009: Who Knew?

“Huh? The Toadies are back together?” was pretty much my reaction last week, when I heard a radio ad for Wednesday’s show at Martini Ranch in Scottsdale. Clearly, I’d been out of the loop, since Todd Lewis had reconstituted his Dallas-Fort Worth band — known nationally for 1994’s Rubberneck and…

George Jones Shows At Celebrity Theatre

The last time I was at Celebrity Theatre, I saw country legend Loretta Lynn do most of her set by request, politely declining to sing the songs with lyrics she was fuzzy on. George “No Show” Jones, one of a handful of living musicians who can claim a place near…

Rise Against: Nazi Wingnuts or Just Plain Lazy?

If you thought skinhead punk was a fringe phenomenon occurring only in clannish groups like the one depicted in American History X, think again. Chicago punk act Rise Against appeared to send a clear message that they’re outraged with the Obama administration at Mesa Amphitheatre last night, offering a bitter…

Jenny Lewis and OBSCURA Over the Weekend

Jenny Lewis at The Marquee: Not Quite Convincing Jenny Lewis is certainly an entertainer. “From Los Angeles, with love, here’s Jenny Lewis,” the announcer belted Vegas-style as she took the stage at the Marquee on Saturday night, and Ms. Lewis wasted no time making her indie-diva status abundantly clear. As…

Jenny Lewis at The Marquee: Not Quite Convincing

Jenny Lewis is certainly an entertainer.  “From Los Angeles, with love, here’s Jenny Lewis,” the announcer belted Vegas-style as she took the stage at the Marquee on Saturday night, and Ms. Lewis wasted no time making her indie-diva status abundantly clear.  As her ace-card backing band cranked out solid seventies-folk…

Hoodlums Music Screens Girl Talk Documentary For Free

Hoodlums Music, at 6434 S. McClintock in Tempe, will be screening RiP! a remix manifesto for free Wednesday evening at 8 p.m. Here’s a bit from the movie’s promotional materials:In RiP: A remix manifesto, Web activist and filmmaker Brett Gaylor explores issues of copyright in the information age, mashing up the…

Deer Tick Gets Sweaty At Modified

Despite sweltering heat and scarce air conditioning, about 160 folks crammed into Phoenix’s Modified Arts last night to watch the much-hyped Deer Tick as they rolled into town in their converted school bus to support their new record, Born on Flag Day.  The boys, lead by singer/songwriter John McCauley, plowed…

Jay-Z, First Friday, and Joey Arroyo Over the Weekend

Could Jay-Z Replace Michael Jackson? Jay-Z’s claim to being “The Best Rapper Alive” is delivered so flippantly it’s almost filler anymore. Certainly, there was a time after 2003’s The Black Album dropped that it’d have been indisputable to any serious fan of hip-hop music, but, in the years since, it’s…

Deer Tick Tonight At Modified Arts

We already told you a lot about Deer Tick in this week’s paper, and we’ll tell you a little more tomorrow, after tonight’s show at Modified Arts but in the meantime we just wanted to give you a little reminder: DEER TICK IS TONIGHT.In case you’re too lazy to click…

Joey Arroyo Band at The Marquee Theatre: Sheer Joy

The last time I went out to The Marquee Theatre, The Offspring made themselves at home amongst the sweaty, aging punk audience. Friday night’s performance by The Joey Arroyo Band at this very same venue can be described in two words that The Offspring show could not: civil and desolate…

Could Jay-Z Replace Michael Jackson?

Jay-Z’s claim to being “The Best Rapper Alive” is delivered so flippantly it’s almost filler anymore. Certainly, there was a time after 2003’s The Black Album dropped that it’d have been indisputable to any serious fan of hip-hop music, but, in the years since, it’s become such a droning constant that…

Let Young Buck Get Things Going Proper This Weekend

Sometimes a show falls through the cracks that deserves more coverage in the ‘Nix. It’s no one’s fault in particular — it can be a tough task to be on top of every single noteworthy show that comes to The Valley. Such is the case for this Friday night as…

John Vanderslice Hugs It Out At Modified

By Heather Hoch About two years ago, John Vanderslice made a promise to a Phoenix audience that he would return to Modified Arts again. Though you couldn’t blame anyone who wanted to avoid Phoenix this time of you, Vanderslice delivered, while supporting his newest release Romanian Names, making his Sunday show at…