There were all sorts of 4/20 shenanigans going on in Phoenix last weekend. An event didn’t necessarily need to be marijuana-themed to be fun, but no one was complaining much if it was. It was merely a coincidence that The Elevated Music Festival fell on 4/20, but that didn’t stop…
Providence, Rhode Island, combo Filthy Still plays a messy, busy, thoroughly enjoyable mix of punk, bluegrass, and country rock — and this busy, crazy flier courtesy of Evil Donkey reflects the manic energy the crew brings to its music. A quick look might fool you into thinking you’re in for a…
See also: Throwback Thursday: Everclear The announcement of the Summerland Tour (an a la carte delight of prominent ’90s soul-patch rock bands Everclear, Sugar Ray, Lit,The Gin Blossoms, and Marcy Playground) has me thinking hard about nostalgia. I learned of the tour’s Phoenix date, July 3 at Comerica Theatre, just…
Dfactor and friends will be throwing down for a night of punk covers. The flier looks like it could have come straight out of the mid-to-late ’70s, with kind of a New Wave meets punk rock vibe. And the flier isn’t the only awesome thing we’re expecting this Flashback Friday…
In a rather controversial concert review last December, New Times contributor Nicole Smith wrote of the indie sailor-pop band Tennis’ singer, Alaina Moore, “I generally hate chick singers who don’t have anything spectacular to offer.” Sure, it’s tough to paint 50 percent of the human population with one brush stroke,…
Anytime a huge band takes a hiatus, bands of a similar stripe get an opportunity to move in quickly and make Huge Band’s audience its own before Huge Band returns. It happened in the ’80s, when the Police took progressively longer to follow up their albums — we got all…
A few years ago, I worked as a hip-hop DJ at a nightclub in Illinois. I always tried to please the crowd, so when a girl came to my DJ booth and asked me to play some Feist, I did, though at that point in my life, I had no…
A day in the life of Florence Welch is a lot better than a day in yours: Her group, Florence + the Machine, taped the kickoff episode of MTV’s Unplugged in New York’s oldest synagogue, surrounded by dozens of candles, backed by a 10-person choir, and performing a version of…
It’s said that competitors are truly at their best when fighting with their closest rivals for the ultimate prize. Even the great Bob Marley knew this to be true when he sung “The hotter the battle / The sweeter the victory.” This weekend, the competition is guaranteed to be white…
New York City has a few moombahton nights spring up across its nightlife landscape in the last year, as has El Lay, London, Miami, and even Dallas. (Hell, the Bay Area has at least four or five separate events devoted to the genre). As for Phoenix? Eh, not so much…
As we inch closer to Record Store Day we’re directing our attention to the wonderful independent storefronts participating in this weekend’s revered event. In recent years the indie-moniker has been thrown around so much that it’s almost diluted the meaning of the word. Luckily RSD helps us revel in the…
See also: Coachella: The Best of Sunday, April 15Dr. Dre and Snoop Dogg closed out weekend one of Coachella with a performance that was unquestionably legen– wait for it –dary. While both rappers and the slew of guest stars were all fantastic, Tupac’s hologram stole the show.Chances are that when…
It’s almost here: Record Store Day. The day the industry bands together and does its best to shine a light on the independent record stores that dot neighborhoods in cities all over the U.S. Now, I could take this opportunity to lecture about how music fans should treat normal days…
See also: All Hail Jim Marshall’s Black Wall See also: The Ten Hottest Chicks in Metal By now most of you have seen the video from the Golden God Awards of Marilyn Manson (unfortunately sounding like shit) performing “Sweet Dreams” with Johnny Depp as a surprise guest. And while Depp…
Mountain music can, and should, be utterly terrifying to outsiders — at least in its traditional sense. Just imagine toothless hillbillies wearing overalls, rocking out on banjos and upright basses until they’re drunk enough on moonshine to wear their coonskin caps without considering the fashion implications. Cue “Dueling Banjos.” Take…
At an early ’90s Cocteau Twins concert in Denver, half-asleep and fully delirious, I drifted in and out of reality as strobe lights pulsed behind my eyelids, Elizabeth Fraser’s voice wafted about my head, and driving rhythms and reverb held me firmly entranced in a surreal world. This is my…
While the sibling rivalry that eventually took down Oasis was one of rock ‘n’ roll’s ugliest, the infantile “he’s a liar!” and “well, he’s a twat” tirades resulted in fans’ getting the best of both worlds: Liam Gallagher’s Beady Eye and Noel Gallagher’s High Flying Birds. Since 2010, the latter…
Springtime means wildflowers! Get out of the house! Springtime means outdoor festivals! Get out of the house! (Springtime also means snakes, snakes, snakes, but let’s just ignore that for now. Or at least put on some tall boots. Be safe. But still get out of the house.) This weekend merits…
March was filled with plenty of madness for Pickster One. The local turntablist whiz and moombahton specialist spent the month working different gigs around Austin during last month’s South by Southwest before jetting off to south Florida to perform for thousands at such parties as Hard Miami, during the annual…
For staunch practitioners of the Christian faith, the Friday before Easter is ordinarily devoted to worship and reflection. The heathens and hellions over at Scottsdale’s American Junkie, however, spent their Good Friday practicing some bad behavior. The Old Town sports bar and nightclub held a raucous Easter Egg Hunt on…
See also: The 10 Hottest Chicks in Heavy Metal So, the Revolver Golden Gods are this week. Screw you if you’re going. Yeah, I didn’t plan wisely. Too busy bumbling about how Dungeon and Dragon nerds are more metal than you (guaranteed a ton of those dudes planned ahead) and…
Reggae certainly has changed since Steel Pulse began in the mid-1970s. Back then, roots reggae ruled the roost. Dancehall, lovers rock, and reggaton were distant visions; dub was spacing outside mainstream circles. With a blend of tightly knit song structures packing pop hooks and sociopolitical lyrics, Steel Pulse gradually took…
