Music

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Future Shock: King Diamond, Jonathan Davis, Nile, and more

By Niki D'Andrea

Spandex tights? Check. Can of Aqua Net? Got it. Copy of Ratt’s Invasion of Your Privacy on vinyl? You betcha. Sounds like you’re locked and loaded for this week’s edition of Future Shock, which focuses on the often-outrageous genre of heavy metal. From dank and dirty death rock to glass-shattering superstars who’re known for their screaming talents, we’ve put together a list of some of the “just announced” concerts from a multitude of metal acts that will be visiting the Valley in the upcoming months. So strap on your leather pants, knock back a few cans of Schlitz, and get ready to rock out with your cock out.

Seven Nights of DJs and Dancing

Thursday 18 Anderson’s Fifth Estate: MODE Thursdays with Sonique des Fleurs, Sol Martinez, & guests (deep house) Big Fish Pub: Chronik Frequency Thursdays with DJ Ladykilla, DJ Papi Cholo, DJ Spawn, Kyle Wise, AWOL, & Dmok (breaks, electro, hip-hop, drum ‘n’ bass, rock) Bikini Lounge: Sophisticated Boom Boom with DJ…

Maverick Mavis

By Michael Roberts

Mavis Staples may be 68 years old, but the righteous fire that distinguished so many of her rich, bottomless vocals during an extraordinary 50-plus-year career continues to burn brightly. When asked why the songs of struggle that make up We’ll Never Turn Back, her moving new CD, need to be…

Pit Stop

By Niki D'Andrea

There was a time, in the early ’90s, when there was no mosh pit I wouldn’t brave. I loved the sweat-drenched chaos, the primordial release of pent-up aggression, the feeling of being one with a motley mass of metalheads. I even took pride in my post-pit injuries. At one show,…

Make It Merc

By Lilia Menconi

After taking a week off, we wanted to return to the scene with some class. So instead of slumming it with plastic cups and scummy restrooms, we decided to check out the Phoenix dig that’s known for a hot mess of $30K millionaires, the Merc Bar. On Friday, October 12,…

The Diva in Mr. John

By Serene Dominic

Until now, Elton John, Philip Norman’s 1992 unauthorized biography of the piano man, has stood as the definitive word (also updated in 2000 as Sir Elton: The Definitive Biography, for those who missed the point). That’s the tome where we first learned about “Elton’s little moments” — his frequent tantrums…

Peel It Up

By Mike Appelstein

Were you one of the thousands of hopefuls who submitted demo tapes to BBC Radio 1 DJ John Peel? Perhaps he didn’t play it, let alone include it on his annual Festive 50 list. But consider this: Did you describe your music as “jazz”? Boast about your saxophone player? Profess…

Witchcraft

By Niki D'Andrea

This CD sounds like sitting in the back of a 1976 Dodge van, surrounded by blacklight posters, clouds of incense smoke, and stacks of 8-tracks. Musically, it’s like some time-warped orgy of Cream, Black Sabbath, and Electric Light Orchestra; lyrically, it’s all dragons, wizards, and cryptic cheesiness oozing over macabre…

Shelby James and the Crying Shames

By Sarah Ventre

Shelby James and the Crying Shames’ Cadillac Valentine is an often sprightly blend of ’90s rock, country, blues, driving bass and drums, and ’60s-esque guitar and vocal riffs. Drawing on influences far and wide, the lyrics quote songs by everyone from Pink Floyd to Oasis, and the melodies are reminiscent…

Bruce Springsteen

By Michael Roberts

Magic is being hyped as Springsteen’s rocking return to his classic period, and that’s understandable: The album contains lotsa familiar musical totems, not to mention lyrics about driving a highway until the road turns black, and a diner on the edge of town (bet it’s dark there). But while Boss…

Konono No. 1

By J. Poet

Konono No. 1 is from the Congo, and they make music unlike anything you’ve ever heard. Their music is based on the sound of the mingiedi, the Congolese thumb piano, also known as the kalimba and sanza. Band leader Mawangu Mingiedi moved to Kinshasa (Congo’s capital) in the ’70s and…

Eddie Daniels

By Ernest Barteldes

In his first appearance as a bandleader in New York in more than a decade, Santa Fe-based saxophonist and clarinetist Daniels played a four-day residence at The Iridium Jazz club, a well-known jazz spot best recognized for its regular Monday-night sessions with nonagenarian guitarist Les Paul. This two-disc package contains…

Matt Pond PA

By Chris Parker

Frontman Matt Pond doesn’t care for the term “chamber pop,” and it’s a loose fit. His band’s sound is more Delgados than Belle & Sebastian, which is to say that though the quintet frequently uses strings for texture and its melancholy tone, there’s a sturdy indie rock undertone recalling Sebadoh,…

Keali’i Reichel

By Ernest Barteldes

As one of the most prominent promoters of Hawaiian culture today, Keali’i Reichel (pronounced Key-ah-li-ee Ray-shell) takes an educational approach during his live concerts. “It’s a good mixture of hula, storytelling and music,” he says during a phone interview from his native Maui. Though he sings mostly in Hawaiian, he…

The Cave Singers, and Black Mountain

By Ray Cummings

Cave Singers frontman/guitarist Pete Quirk doesn’t need a band, really. He’s got a vocal delivery so weathered and lived-in — thin as a middle-aged woman’s croak, almost, or a limited Perry Farrell — that it’d even be a devastating weapon sans instrumental accompaniment. His voice speaks woeful volumes and drips…

Bobby Bare Jr.

By Tracy M. Rogers

It’s almost impossible to believe Bobby Bare Jr. is the son of legendary countrypolitan crooner Bobby Bare. Bare Jr.’s tongue-in-cheek lyrics, dry vocals, and ’60s pop-infused melodies are in direct opposition to his father’s schmaltzy country fare. To be certain, there is the occasional pedal steel lick, but the younger…

Tis Brillig

By Benjamin Leatherman

Beware the Jabberwock, my son, not to mention the Jubjub bird, the sneaky Snark, or any of the other boojumed bizarrities that will surely journey Through the Looking Glass for Tis Brillig, on Saturday, October 20, at the Starlight Room, 16737 East Parkview Avenue, in Fountain Hills. Dubbed by organizers…

Black Moth Super Rainbow + Aesop Rock @ The Clubhouse, October 13

By Matthew Neff

Have you ever wished more bands would take a cue from the Navy Seals and—as you’re quietly admiring the architecture of the venue rafters—creep up behind you, grab your hair in a fist, and open your carotid artery from ear to ear? I know I have, ha ha! Although Black Moth Super Rainbow didn’t quite do that to me, they did pleasantly surprise me in a manner akin to being licked on the back of my neck by a frisky unicorn. They stir up an extremely creamy blend of vocoder-heavy psychedelic synth pop, and ANALOG synth pop no less, meaning there’re nice fat waves of color rolling off your tongue and eyelids as the hard and heavy rhythm section crams it in your nostrils and/or armpits. Drums and bass were locked in, the Nord/Kawasaki synth axis roamed around like a freewheelin’ Atari astronaut, and the vocodings moved in and out of the proceedings with eyes agog.

Seven Nights of DJs and Dancing

Thursday 11 Anderson’s: S.W.A.G. Thursdays with DJ Essence, DJ Astonish, & Bryce Breeze (hip-hop, reggae, R&B) Axis/Radius: Ladies Night (hip-hop, rock, dance) Baja Tilly’s: DJ Adrian (old school, R&B, cumbia, reggaeton) Big Fish Pub: Chronik Frequency Thursdays with the Hazardous Crew feat. DJ Ladykilla, DJ Papi Cholo, DJ Spawn, Kyle…

Playa’s Paradise

By C.M. Redding

We’re just finishing up a nice dinner at Dick’s Hideaway on a random Wednesday night when I hint at the urge to slum it for a few. Carla picks up on my slobbering (and the fact that I’m done paying $9 for a glass of wine). She says she has…

Solo Survivor

By Niki D'Andrea

Shane Ocell has the biggest, hardest . . . callus I’ve ever seen. It’s the size of a small marble, sitting on the knuckle of his right middle finger. He cultivated the knot through his unconventional drumming style — holding the stick between his fingers while using the rest of…