Pitchfork isn’t always wrong. They may be horribly opinionated with a healthy self-image (read: full of themselves), but they manage to get things right every once in a blue moon. Case in point: Lemonade. The trio from Brooklyn and San Francisco fall into the “experimental” category, sometimes an inescapable kiss…
Jim Jones has canceled his show scheduled for the Marquee Theatre on Friday, Jan. 16. No reason was given and we haven’t even seen a press release yet, but we caught it on Lucky Man’s site. Also, Jones doesn’t have concert dates on his MySpace or the DipSet site, so…
The first batch of bands for the hottest music festival around, the Coachella Valley Music and Arts Festival, has been leaked. Confirmed Artists: the Killers, the Airborne Toxic Event, the Bug, Buraka Som Sistema, Crystal Castles, Drop The Lime, Fleet Foxes, Flying Lotus, Girl Talk, the Hold Steady, the Killers,…
One of the funny little things that came out of World War II is the way the Conquered Peoples of Germany and Japan joyously adopted American popular music from the time, and continue to do so. Japan, of course, has a thriving jazz scene and Germany, apparently is still in…
Amazon just announced their list of the Bestselling Albums of 2008 on their MP3 digital service. At first glance you might not think much of the list: Coldplay, Death Cab For Cutie, 3 Doors Down, Beck, and Radiohead are all near the top of the list. What is remarkable and…
It’s a safe bet the music aficionados reading this post or new contributor Michael Lopez’s posts on Fleet Foxes and Animal Collective are not going to care much about this news, but here on Up on the Sun, we cater to all musical tastes, so it’s imperative we share this…
Greetings, Up on the Sun readers! My name is Stephen Chilton and I am the newest addition to the Up on the Sun writing crew. Some of you may know me by the moniker under which I’ve promoted Valley concerts since 2000, Psyko Steve. I want to fill you in…
We’re going to be overhauling the links to other music and culture blogs on the right hand side of the page (the “blogroll,” as the kids call it) and we thought we’d solicit your suggestions. We’re looking for critics, labels, promoters and fans but not band blogs. We’re most interested…
It’s almost quittin’ time Friday which means it’s time we brought you this week’s concert announcements. Nothing too big this week, just a little Dokken, some AP Tour and confirmation of the Dave Matthews Band show we told you about a month or so ago.There’s also “Shaq & Cedric the…
Darren Robinson, now a (temporary) member of Miniature TigersIf you happen to be attending the Miniature Tigers performance tonight at Modified Arts (which we wholeheartedly recommend), you’ll probably notice there’s been a small change to the indie trio’s line-up. Namely, the addition of a new guitarist into the mix. Darren…
It’s probably an oddity that Columbus, Ohio had a reputation for producing quality country music for so long, but that’s what spawning Dwight Yoakam does for you. But whatever country cred the giant-Applebee’s-of-a-city had through Yoakam was quickly squandered in 2004 when Rascal Flatts’ “Mayberry” undid it all as quickly…
You’d think the good people of Scottsdale suffered enough during the reign of Dirty Scottsdale, when any drunken night in an Old Town club could lead to online humiliation, but they’ve been targeted again.No, Nik Ritchie is still basically ignoring his roots, and posting stuff about British soccer players instead…
These are tough economic times, what with a recession driven by the housing crash and skyrocketing unemployment. It’s damn near impossible in such a climate to splurge on our hobbies and passions. Who can afford New Kids on the Block tickets or iPods jam-packed with soundtrack-baiting Killers tracks when some…
A couple of years ago, The Loveblisters arguably were the hottest band in Arizona. They played out nearly every week — often several shows a week — and they still drew, which isn’t easy. Their 2005 record, Silver White Sunlight, was beloved locally and labeled “one of the finest slabs…
One Thursday last spring, Ted Myers was stuck in a cubicle, trying to figure out his future. He’d graduated from ASU with a degree in communications the year before, and got a job selling ads for a local newspaper (coincidentally, the one you’re reading), where he dressed business casual and…
Hot Chip’s “Ready For The Floor” is my favorite song of the moment, so I was interested to learn that the band’s next project, an EP with Robert Wyatt and Geese is scheduled to come out on Jan. 27. If you want it, though, you’re gonna have to go in…
Phoenix teems with guitar players, and some of them are actually pretty good. A handful of them are exceptional.
Did you miss Back Ted N-Ted’s performance at Trunk Space last night? No worries. They’re playing Trunk Space again on January 20 with Chronic Future and DJ Ben Collins. Until then, check out our Back Ted N-Ted slide show from the gig last night…
The International Pop Overthrow is coming to Phoenix.What’s that? You haven’t heard of International Pop Overthrow before this? Don’t worry, neither had I and I’m a) a music critic and b) someone with a softspot for indie pop.Still, this plucky little multi-city indie festival seems pretty cool, and will be…
Old timey rock chick Wanda Jackson has canceled her January 11 performance at the Rhythm Room due to a family emergency. The 71-year-old Oklahoma native is known as “The Queen of Rockabilly” once dated Elvis Presley… before setting down with a IBM programmer named Wendell. Refunds are available through The…
We’ve got a lot of show announcements for you this week, though by and large they’re D-listers. The major exception is The Game, who’s coming to the Celebrity on February 21. As a long time West Coast partisan, I’ve always admired the way the Compton rapper went to head to…
Judging from the traffic whilst journeying home post-party last night we can safely say that anyone and everyone was out last night ringing in the new year. In fact, we’ve got photographic proof in the form of these slide shows. Check out a few select shots from Downtown Phoenix, Scottsdale…
