Godhunter: Dirt Weed Metal from the Old Pueblo

Even though it’s only about two hours away, Tucson and the musical happenings within it can seem distant and obscure to a Phoenix resident like myself. For instance, I only found out about Tucson metal act Godhunter today — despite the fact that it appears that they have been consistently…

The Cigs: Defunct Tempe Rockers Peddle Mystery and Feces References

A band with genuine mystery is hard to come by in the Internet age, but Tempe scrap-pop outfit The Cigs had it: Not much is known about the short-lived project, but last week, the band posthumously released its second full-length, Marble Red, on Bandcamp. The band started in January 2012…

The 17 Most Anticipated Metal Albums of 2013

I’m almost a little bummed that the world didn’t end on December 21. No War of the Worlds or 2012 scenes became a reality, although I was so sure that the only reason gas prices were down was because all the rich people were holed up in their submarines, burrowed…

Gregg Allman @ Talking Stick Resort

On “Just Another Rider,” from 2011’s Low Country Blues, Gregg Allman’s first non-compilation album since 1997, raw emotions well up on this heavy Southern-blues tune as he sings, “Just another rider on that train to nowhere.” And nowhere was where the Allman Brothers Band namesake was headed had it not…

The Growlers

Go ahead and call The Growlers “beach goth.” It’s not only an apt term that hints at the Orange County band’s sound — dark psychedelic rock with a slacker, surfer edge — but when The Growlers put together a big homecoming show in October, they called it a “beach goth…

Aristeia @ Nile Theater

San Fernando Valley-based heavy metal act Aristeia is all about grandeur — and the band doesn’t try to hide it. On 2011’s Era of the Omnipotent, the quartet juxtaposes guttural screams against high-pitched ones (don’t worry, you won’t find any angular-haired boys singing pretty here), but the group sounds best…

Jared and the Mill @ Crescent Ballroom

Lest you think that “Mill” in Jared and The Mill is an ironic reference to the Valley’s ’90s alt-rock heyday, tune in to “The Returning Half,” in which the mostly rootsy combo cranks up the amps and the intensity, breaking off a dusty chunk of desert jangle rock that sounds…

DJ Kim E. Fresh @ Hidden House

Call us weirdoes for noticing something like this, but it seems a good chunk of the local DJ crowd can’t dress for shit. Though it’s true that the focus of any spin gig should (understandably) be on the quality of sounds coming from the mixers instead of what the particular…

Club Candids: iji at The Trunk Space

The Trunk Space is a fun place to check out music and casually hang out. The intimate location has a welcoming vibe thanks to friendly regulars and the bands that play so close to the crowd. Winter is officially here, so the espresso bar definitely comes in handy on cold…

Happy New Year From Up on the Sun

Happy New Year, readers. Thanks for hanging out with us in 2012. Stick around — 2013 is going to be even better. See also: -10 Favorite Local Hip-Hop Tracks of 2012 – 12 Favorite Local EDM Mixes of 2012 – New Year’s Eve Guide 2013 – Top 10 Phoenix Albums…

12 Favorite Local EDM Mixes of 2012

The overwhelming popularity of electronic dance music continued its exponential growth over the last 12 months, both nationwide and here in the Valley of the Sun. Beats were bumping nearly nonstop across the local music landscape in 2012 as new dance clubs (such as the Monarch Theatre and EPIQ) debuted…

Samuel L and the Cool J’s: Mod Soul and Pure Pop

As 2012 draws to a close, we’ll be looking forward to the 2013 and spotlighting 13 Phoenix bands that will be making a mark on the Southwest throughout the new year. This blog entry from Jason P. Woodbury turns up the retro soul sound of Samuel L and The Cool…

Of the Painted Choir: Warmly Familiar

As 2012 draws to a close, we’ll be looking forward to the 2013 and spotlighting 13 Phoenix bands that will be making a mark on the Southwest throughout the new year. We wrote a bit about Of the Painted Choir’s Lula in 2012, and felt the mini-review of the mini-EP…

Psychic Blood, & Otro Mundo @ Trunk Space

I don’t know what’s going on in western Massachusetts, but if Psychic Blood’s Drrrty 7-inch is any indication, it’s something fucked-up. Grinding guitars, trashcan drums, and howled vocals give way to a vintage heavy metal riff before exploding back into the post-Sonic Youth storm of fuzz. “Something’s going down,” vocalist…

Maybe 2013 Will Be Better @ The Compound

Maybe it’s just us, but New Year’s Eve soirees can sometime be a bit milquetoast. Set aside all the fireworks and midnight countdowns, and i’s just another party or club night. The thing that really sets the best and brightest Auld Lang Syne affairs apart from most other champagne-soaked shindigs…

Camp Lo @ Stray Cat Bar & Grill

If the ’90s era of rap effectively ended with the violent deaths of Tupac Shakur and The Notorious B.I.G., the new era began the emergence of Sonny Cheeba and Geechi Suede of Camp Lo. The Brooklyn duo quietly introduced their ’70s soul, funk-, and jazz-inspired rap sound on 1996’s Great…

Queensryche @ Marquee Theatre

The Queensrÿche intent on pummeling the Marquee is not your father’s Queensrÿche. The 30-year-old band recently underwent a major overhaul, with only founder and principal singer/songwriter Geoff Tate remaining. “After working with the same people for 30 years, it gets very difficult,” Tate said in a September blog post on…

Wolfgang Gartner @ El Santo Cantina

If Wolfgang Gartner were to compile a list of his biggest moments of 2012, the 30-year-old electro and progressive house producer would have plenty of fodder from which to pick. He not only collaborated with such EDM heavy-hitters as Deadmau5 (on the spectacular club banger “Animal Rights”) and Tiësto (co-producing…

French Girls: Oddball Lyrics, Purring Delivery

As 2012 draws to a close, we’ll be looking forward to the 2013 and spotlighting 13 Phoenix bands that will be making a mark on the Southwest throughout the new year. Today Anthony Sandoval pops in and checks out the rambunctious rock ‘n’ roll of Francophiles French Girls. The Phoenix…