Mastodon’s Bill Kelliher on Covering Feist and The Flaming Lips

Mastodon is old-school American heavy metal at its finest. The band is known for a distinctly sludgy sound, mixing stripped and distortion-heavy instrumentals, intricate grooves, and vocal harmonies that alternate between clean melodies and harsh screams. The band has five full-length albums under its belt to date, with its latest,…

Flier of the Week: Snail Quail

We can’t tell a lie: We’re always amused by Snail Quail’s humor and antics. (The band’s handwritten notes sent to the New Times office have served to endlessly amuse us.)It’s only natural that we’re looking forward to the band’s upcoming show on June 16 for the release of their new…

Top Five Reasons Electric Daisy Carnival Rules

Christopher VictorioSee more EDC Vegas coverage: EDC 2012: House Music Beef With DJ Sneak Plays Out in Steve Angello’s DJ Set EDC 2012: Coachella or Electric Daisy Carnival: Which One is Better? EDC 2012: Calvin Harris Plays CDs of Himself Singing Slideshow — EDC Day 1 Slideshow — EDC Day…

EDC 2012: The Underground Has Left The Building

Christopher VictorioEDC girls give PLUR.See more EDC Vegas coverage: EDC 2012: House Music Beef With DJ Sneak Plays Out in Steve Angello’s DJ Set EDC 2012: Coachella or Electric Daisy Carnival: Which One is Better? EDC 2012: Calvin Harris Plays CDs of Himself Singing Slideshow — EDC Day 1 Slideshow…

Lazer Sword @ Monarch Theatre

Some things in life are totally worth the wait. Like, for instance, a return visit to the Valley by electronica wizards Lazer Sword. It’s been almost two years since the team of L.A.’s Lando Kal (a.k.a. Antaeus Roy) and Berlin-based beathead Low Limit (better known as Bryant Rutledge) hypnotized locals…

One Direction @ Comerica Theatre

There just aren’t enough musical groups out there that allow grown women to cheer for barely legal eye candy. So thanks, One Direction, for filling that void. The British-Irish boy band has conducted a hysteria-inducing worldwide invasion that has won over fans of all ages, with Justin Bieber-esque good looks…

Destroyer @ Crescent Ballroom

It’s a whole two minutes before the airy New Age flutes break the waves of ambient, billowy synth sounds and plucked nylon-string acoustic guitar that opens “Suicide Demo for Kara Walker” from Canadian art-rock crew Destroyer’s 2011 release, Kaputt. Then the drums — as canned and processed as the synth…

David Liebe Hart Band @ Trunk Space

We wish we could tell you exactly what to expect when David Liebe Hart and his band take the stage at Trunk Space, but we don’t know. On second thought, it’s much better that way. An outsider artist more “outsider” than most (he claims he was abducted by Korendian aliens…

Super Stereo @ Crescent Ballroom

In an age when Henry Rollins does Acura commercials, what does “selling out” even mean any more? Tempe “futurepop” band Super Stereo knows a thing or two about product placement: Their ditties have been featured on The Real L Word, TNT’s Rizzoli and Isles, and E!’s Keeping Up with the…

Club Candids: El Hefe Super Macho Taqueria

El Hefe Super Macho Taqueria brings the classic taqueria environment to Old Town Scottsdale by making it a place to see and be seen. There was no shortage of that, patrons were dressed to the nines while sipping on beergaritas…

Metal Mondays: Metal’s First Music Videos Ooze Green Jellÿ

There’s never been a huge a market for heavy metal music videos. Praise is far and few between, and they don’t garner awards like pop music videos, clips like Lady Gaga’s “Bad Romance,” which won seven MTV Video Music Awards in 2010, and even grabbed a Grammy for Best Short…

Flier of the Week: Sundressed

Nothing says “it’s officially summertime” quite like seeing a dude nonchalantly sporting a short sun dress. Appropriately, Sundressed has got us pumped up for a great summer gig this weekend that’s part of the June F-Boms series.This Friday at 8 p.m., Sundressed will be performing one of five residency shows…

Pierced Arrows @ Yucca Tap Room

What does true belief sound like? Something like Fred Cole’s guitar, I reckon, or his busted voice, backed by the thumping bass lines of his wife, Toody. Both in their 60s, they’ve rumbled along the back roads of punk rock, garage, and country music for nearly 40 years, most notably…

Stryper @ Marquee Theatre

Though it seems most of the indie bands of the ’80s disappeared for a while (perhaps waiting for Coachella to offer them a stack of cash to reunite), plenty of rock acts — especially those working during the big hair/power-ballad-as-the-second-single era — have stuck around, playing smaller venues, cruise ships,…

Toys That Kill @ Meat Market Garment Factory

It’s high praise for a band to get compared to ’80s pop punks Descendents, and fellow Los Angeles County melodic-punk vets Toys That Kill share a similar backstory. Todd Congelliere previously fronted F.Y.P., a hardcore band with a rotating lineup. F.Y.P. followed a strategy employed by Descendents: changing the band’s…

Caifanes @ Comerica Theatre

It was a year of landmarks when rock en español pioneers Caifanes released their self-titled debut. The Washington Redskins were crowned Super Bowl champions, then-presidential candidate George Bush made “read my lips” a catchphrase, and the hottest woman on the planet was a cartoon character named Jessica Rabbit. That year,…

Frequency Fridays @ DWNTWN

Fridays used to be one of the pimpest nights of the week at Central Avenue danceteria DWNTWN, even dating back its days as Crowbar more than a decade ago. The crowds were huge, the DJs were top-notch, and the beats were hot. Then proprietors pulled the plug on Fridays, preferring…

Club Candids: Star Wars Turns 35 at Rips

The year 1977 had a slew of watershed moments for both science fiction and pop culture as a whole. In theatres across the country, George Lucas’ bombastic space opera flick Star Wars was blowing up like the Death Star and changing the cinematic landscape. Every child who was lucky enough…

Metal Tuesday: Confessions of a Groupie (Well, Sort Of)

Editor’s note: We normally run Metal Mondays on, well, Monday, but took yesterday off in honor of Memorial Day. So please enjoy today’s “Metal Monday” column, by our resident rock ‘n’ roll lady Lauren Wise, one day later than usual. Groupies have always fascinated me. They look like supermodels, wear…

Flier of the Week: Donavon Frankenreiter

If this flyer doesn’t put you in a happier mood, we don’t know what will. This soothing watercolor painting was taken from the cover of Donavon Frankenreiter’s new album Start Livin’, which drops today.Frankenreiter is a longtime friend of Jack Johnson, the most mellow man in America, so he performs…