We at Up on the Sun are looking forward to tonight’s performance by Usher at Jobing.com Arena. It’ll be nice to see his little song and dance while we wait for the headliner. What’s that? You say Usher is the headliner? Come on now. We all know that the only…
There’s something of an unwritten law here in the Valley that dictates the following: Anything remotely cool will eventually either die or start to suck. Don’t believe me? Try tuning into KUKQ on your car radio while heading over to the Mason Jar or Jugheads to catch a show, followed…
As Tempe self-described desert reggae rock n’ roll group The VeraGroove gears up for their Travlin’ Man EP release show Saturday, December 4 at Marquee Theatre, the guys graciously decided to share an exclusive track from the EP with Up on the Sun readers before anyone can get their hands…
Lollapalooza has expanded to Chile, according to Billboard.Perry Farrell’s music festival will be going down at O’Higgins Park in Santiago, Chile for the first time on April 2 and 3, 2011. This will be the first time that Lollapalooza has ever gone international. Presumably Chile got the honor in part…
The times, they are a’changing, and traditional wedding songs just don’t cut it for everyone anymore. That’s why we’ve suggested some more modern alternatives to keep your wedding rocking, as well as some selections to stay away from that mean you probably shouldn’t be getting married if you have to…
ddie Lebario (a.k.a. DJ Manchester) is old school, just like his favorite musical genre.As you’ll read in this week’s version of DJ Dossier, the cat has been spinning up the hits inside local clubs since the mid ’90s. And more often than not, said hits have typically been from the…
Song: Girl Talk, “All Day”Context: So you’re probably thinking it’s cheating to make Today’s Soundtrack the entire new Girl Talk album. Well, not only has been it impossible to download this damn thing from the official site since it came out, it’s actually supposed to be just one track. So…
Mos Def, the Hollywood actor who you may remember was once a respected rapper, has joined Zack de la Rocha’s Sound Strike.Yes, #69 on the official list of Stuff White People Like, will not be bringing his enlightened rhymes to Arizona because of SB 1070, a stupid anti-immigrant law which…
Want to get out of town for New Year’s Eve, but not so far out of town that you’re in California or Vegas?Roger Clyne and the Peacemakers are planning a pretty cool option: a show at Flagstaff’s historic Orpheum Theatre. Clyne’s shows are always a big drunken party, and sometimes…
Kings of Leon has stooped to a new low by bringing a potentially offensive yet interesting idea to the table, according to NME.The band posted an ad in an effort to recruit “characters with scars, pockmarked skin, physical abnormalities or deformities” for their next music video.In the ad, Kings of…
Portland-based indie band The Thermals gave the world a piece of their mind yesterday on Twitter before playing the Rhythm Room in Phoenix, going on a rant against the Arizona Sound Strike boycott and any bands who don’t play Arizona because of SB-1070.Among the Tweets that helped add fuel to…
We all agree that Nat King Cole’s 1951 version of “Unforgettable” is a wonderful piece of music. Timeless. Velvety. A real soul-warming hymn of devotion. Can we also agree that the song is more overused than Michelle Duggar’s uterus? Kenny Rogers recently covered it. So did Jackie Chan. And let’s…
It helps to have friends in high places. Just ask This Century, a Phoenix pop-rock band that, thanks to its pals in another local pop-rock group, The Maine, recently scored a record deal with a Warner Bros. subsidiary. The Maine, which released its 2010 album, Black & White, on Sire…
Vincent Gallo has done a lot of weird stuff in his day. The on-screen fellatio, the hexing of Roger Ebert, the marketing of his own reproductive fluids — these are just a few of Gallo’s performance-weirdness masterworks. So the actor-director-screenwriter-painter-musician-model (and part-time astronaut-obstetrician?) had something of a reputation to uphold…
This week, New Times ran a list in our print publication highlighting some of the most interesting posts published at Up On The Sun over the past week. Here are links to those posts.Has My Chemical Romance also abandoned the Sound Strike boycott of Arizona?Which song by local band Gospel…
Song: Mini Mansions, “Thriller Escapade”Context: Mini Mansions, an LA-based trio featuring Queens of the Stone Age bass player Michael Shumanthat, are playing Nov. 30 @ the Yucca Tap Room The Mini Mansions – Thriller Escapade by Vlady Turner…
The Strokes have finally finished a long awaited album, according to SPIN.While the mixing and mastering still has yet to be done, the recording process itself has been completed.After working out their differences and deciding to go forth with making a new album, they worked with Beck and White Stripes…
Wishy-washy Sound Strikers My Chemical Romance have posted a short and sweet statement about their re-boycott of Arizona.We want to apologize to all our fans for the cancellation of our Phoenix show on May 24, 2011. This show should have never been booked due to our affiliation with Zach de…
Artist: StereolabTitle: Not MusicRelease date: November 16Label: Drag CityNo, Stereolab, the long-running and influential indie-pop band, is not necessarily “back.” (In fact, the band is still reportedly on indefinite hiatus.) The near-hour of music found on Not Music comes from the sessions that produced the 2008 record Chemical Chords. The…
Song: Digable Planets, “Nickel Bags”Context: Not only are Digable Planets coming to town, Nickel Bags are, too. Up On The Sun is so proud of how our sister blog Valley Fever is quickly becoming Arizona’s paper of record for the coming medical marijuana program. Digable Planets – Nickel Bags…
My Chemical Romance may be re-boycotting Arizona over SB 1070. Yesterday we pointed out that the band had formerly joined The Sound Strike during the height of the outrage over our state’s crazy immigration law, SB 1070. Then they announced a date at Tempe’s Marquee Theatre (without any comment) and…
In case you haven’t heard or come from a foreign land, Thanksgiving is next week. That means the holidays are upon us, and show announcements are becoming more and more scarce.This week’s group is lead by the Smashing Pumpkins playing a casino. That is literally the most compelling show in…
