You’ve got to wonder about a band that’s opened for both Gil Scott-Heron and Joan Jett. Phoenix-based Hot Birds and The Chili Sauce has done just that, managing to move the crowds of both the proto-rap pioneer and the hard rocker. Credit the band’s power to woo disparate audiences to…
It seemed to happen when no one was looking, but all of a sudden, Australia has turned into a hotbed of electronic music. Credit Cut Copy’s brilliant 2004 album, Bright Like Neon Love, for luring the eyes and hears of music fans Down Under. The attention hasn’t hurt Sydney electronic…
Ever since George Clinton promised, “Free your ass and your mind will follow,” funk bands have aimed to find the perfect cerebral groove. Orgone, a nine-piece Los Angeles-based Afrobeat/funk/soul ensemble keeps the axiom in mind, searching for the midpoint between booty-shaking and chin-stroking. The group has been playing together for…
Axis/Radius has something for everyone. Axis is geared toward fans of top 40 and R&B and Radius is a great place to check out up and coming electronica acts. Admission grants access to both clubs, which are joined by a sleek catwalk patrolled by servers dressed as hot nurses. The…
La Liberación on SPIN 0 false 18 pt 18 pt 0 0 false false false /* Style Definitions */ table.MsoNormalTable {mso-style-name:”Table Normal”; mso-tstyle-rowband-size:0; mso-tstyle-colband-size:0; mso-style-noshow:yes; mso-style-parent:””; mso-padding-alt:0in 5.4pt 0in 5.4pt; mso-para-margin:0in; mso-para-margin-bottom:.0001pt; mso-pagination:widow-orphan; font-size:12.0pt; font-family:”Times New Roman”; mso-ascii-font-family:Cambria; mso-ascii-theme-font:minor-latin; mso-hansi-font-family:Cambria; mso-hansi-theme-font:minor-latin;} It’s only been five years since Brazilian new-ravers, CSS…
This year’s new flock of freshmen will be welcomed by Lupe Fiasco and Jason Derulo. The show is going down on Tuesday, August 16 at Wells Fargo Arena on the Tempe campus.Admission is free for all ASU students, so don’t miss out if you have a Sun Card (even an…
Check out Peachcake’s gig this Saturday, August 13. It’s the second date on their string of four shows they will be playing at Rogue this month.The show will begin at 9 p.m. and end at 2 a.m. Tickets are just $6. Get ’em right here! A big plus for Peachcake fans…
Editor’s Note: We here at Up on the Sun are sad to announce that we are losing Michael Lopez as a staff blogger. Lopez is moving back to his hometown, Portland, Oregon. Over the past three years, M.Lo has been a distinct voice on this blog and in print. You…
For dance-driven electro acts, there’s no grander feat than managing to stay “big in Brooklyn” while inching toward the mainstream. Melbourne-bred quartet Cut Copy has got the trick down, parlaying its steady buzz into one of the ultimate status symbols for a band, a headlining slot at the Coachella music…
Phoenix-based stoner-metal band Twingiant doesn’t screw around when it comes to material. “Songs about being accidentally shot out into space on a giant garbage barge because y’all was sleeping in a pile of garbage when the tractor beam picked y’all up by mistake,” reads the bio on the group’s (hilarious)…
When the name of your band comes off like a warning, you can be sure no one is going to mistake you for a straightforward pop band. Sure enough, Chandler hardcore band Keep Your Distance makes aggressive music, but songs like “For I Am the Sky” may surprise listeners expecting…
The naysayers doubted, but The Summer Set has proved they’re more than a one-hit wonder and they have a future beyond dating Disney Channel stars. Yeah, the audiences still consist mostly of rabid, screaming teenage girls, but Everything’s Fine, the band’s solid sophomore album, balances a knack for writing catchy…
We’re going to play nice. Days of the New singer Travis Meeks has had it rough over the years. A kidney stone in 1999 led to an addiction to painkillers, which led to cocaine and, finally, meth. He even appeared in 2005 on A&E’s Intervention to document the whole thing…
Following a 16-year career and four-year album-making process, Los Angeles-based DJ Jaybird’s first full-length record was finally released in March, and it’s all him — sort of. At least that’s the title. It’s All Me features a collection of DJ Jaybird originals and dubstep-ified remixes of high-profile tunes like Cee-Lo…
Mill Avenue is loud, and Vintage is no exception, perched on the corner of 4th Street and Mill blasting dance music to passerbys. It’s loud for a reason, Vintage has a huge dance floor full of Tempe’s finest. We captured the mischief in this week’s Club Candids slideshow…
They say it ain’t bragging if it’s true — but last time we wrote about someone’s Kickstarter project, big things happened. Now I know that we aren’t the sole reason Shawn Demumbrum’s Smiths comic met and exceeded its goal. It’s a great idea on its own, and the fact that…
Lucky for us all, NPR Music has given the album its exclusive first listen treatment, streaming The Rip Tide in its entirety before its release…
Don’t miss indie pop band NEBA throw it down tonight at the Yucca Tap Room. Flamingo and DJ Adrian Flanagan will take the stage as well. Unfortunately, the word on the street is that Andrew Duncan Brown had to cancel…sad trombone noises.The show is going down 9 p.m. In good…
As if the reign of Ticketmaster didn’t already suck badly enough, now you can get overcharged in a new convenient neighborhood location. You know, because buying tickets from your home computer wasn’t convenient enough. That’s right, Walmart and Ticketmaster are teaming up to bring you more locations where you can…
It’s nearly impossible not to yawn at the mere mention of the term “singer-songwriter.” You’ve heard it before — some Lisa Loeb or Elliott Smith clone crooning about a botched relationship over the sounds of a barista cranking out another chai latte. Singer-songwriter Ari Herstand has worked hard to distance…
Someone should really make a movie about the saga of The Wailers. This band — founded by reggae legends Bob Marley, Peter Tosh, and Bunny Wailer in 1963 — is the seminal reggae band, and its various members have influenced every style of reggae imaginable, from roots to rocksteady to…
Do you remember when Dave Grohl issued the Probot album? The Southern Lord Records release found the Foo Fighter teaming with Lemmy, King Diamond, and members of Soulfly, Saint Vitus, Voivod, Corrosion of Conformity, and more. It was good fun, and it allowed Grohl to shake loose the pop format…
