Maria Vassett

Roger Waters performs The Wall last night.

Roger Waters Performs The Wall
US Airways Center
Tuesday, May 15

The spectacle that is Roger Waters' The Wall tour deserves more than a cursorily run-through. The concert is as much theater and cutting-edge theatrics as it is a musical production, and each aspect deserves -- requires -- equal respect, as the masterful merging of sound, imagery, and imagination went off without a hitch.

See our full Roger Waters Presents The Wall slideshow.

For those not familiar with Pink Floyd's double album The Wall, released in 1979, the story chronicles a fading, troubled rock star dealing with issues of childhood and authority, but with misguided visions of leading a fascist-styled authoritarian society. Pink, as he's known, builds a wall to hold it all in before eventually breaking out in a return to sanity.

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Photos by Benjamin Leatherman

Keeping it real at the Big Fish Pub on Friday, May 11. See more pics from this week's Club Candids slideshow.

If you've ever wanted to witness the diversity of the Valley's hip-hop crowd, check out a rap gig at the Big Fish Pub on any given weekend.

You're likely to see a varied assortment of both dudes and dames checking out cyphers spitting fresh rhymes on the microphone, whether its tattooed metalheads, Mohawked punkers, or Latina chicas.

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Dee Snider

Dee Snider fronted heavy metal act Twisted Sister in the '70s and '80s, but we'd forgive you for knowing him more for reality TV, radio, voice acting, screenwriting, and hanging out with Donald Trump.

The dude likes to keep busy.

Which is why it made sense to release a new book, Shut Up and Give Me the Mic, and a new album, Dee Does Broadway, on the same day. "I'm running around like a chicken with my head cut off," Snider says over the phone. "But I like staying busy."

The often-misunderstood singer ("You go on conservative sites, and they say I'm liberal scum; You go on liberal sites and they say I'm a conservative wacko. You go on Christian sites they say I'm Satanic; you go on Satanic sites and they say I'm a Christian," he laughs) discussed the new book with Up on the Sun and touched on topics near and dear to his heart: putting in work, the current state of the music business, and never letting the bastards wear him down.

Dee Snider is scheduled to appear on Friday, May 18, at Changing Hands Bookstore in Tempe.

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Photoshopped by Melissa Fossum

Mick Jagger, Arcade Fire, and Foo Fighters

Saturday Night Live is ending its 37th season with a bang. Last week, classic alum Will Ferrell hosted the show, reprising his parody of George W. Bush, and the 100th SNL Digital Short was aired.

Things look to get even bang-ier with this Saturday's season finale, featuring Mick Jagger taking the reins as both host and musical guest. Jagger won't be performing with The Rolling Stones; instead he's getting a little help from Arcade Fire, Foo Fighters, and possibly Jeff Beck.

The musical legacy of SNL has been hit-and-miss, at best (ahem, Ashlee Simpson and Lana Del Rey; hello, Sinead and that picture of the Pope), but this performance has serious potential. Hopefully, Jagger, Arcade Fire, Foo Fighters, and Beck will be half as great as the following seven collaborations.

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Emma Garr

Don't let this sad picture fool you: Fear Fun is hilarious.

Former Fleet Foxer J. Tillman turned Los Angeles mystic/comedian Father John Misty took Pitchfork to task on Monday afternoon, taking to Twitter to express his beef with the website's review of his latest LP, Fear Fun (previous records were released under his given name). His mammoth rant against indie rock's most popular publication had a few high-quality burns but could also be seen as a showcase for his chipped shoulder.

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Snake! Snake! Snakes!

With temperatures rising well over 100 degrees on the regular, it's easy to understand why Phoenix-based indie rock band Snake! Snake! Snakes! is longing for the relaxing vibes of some coastal region. We're feeling the same way, but they've got a whole month of local gigs to play before they can take off for the beach, though.

This week's best flier features some groovy cut and paste lettering and a faded, vintage Sunset Magazine-style scene. Join the band for their next date of their month-long residency at Long Wong's.

On Friday, May 18 the guys will be rocking out with Bison Island, Colorstore, Future Loves Past, and balladeer Sareena Dominguez.

The show is for those who are 21 and up, and it's a freebie (cause that's how Long Wong's rolls).

Last year's ticket sales for Coachella were a complete clusterfuck. This year, the good people of Goldenvoice are enstating some interesting changes, both for the better and for the worse, depending on your individual situation.More >>

Troy Farah

The Donkeys groove at Yucca Tap Room

The Donkeys
Yucca Tap Room
Monday, May 14, 2012

It's hard to tell your friends "I'm going to the Donkeys show" with a straight face. No, not some perverted freakshow in Mexico. I mean the psychedelic San Diegan blues rockers The Donkeys, who tore the Yucca Tap Room apart with their '60s-inspired pop and '70s-era jams, a blend that's earned praise from indie contemporaries like The Mountain Goats and The Hold Steady.

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A Silent Film, under the KUKQ banner.

See also: KUKQ Returns to Phoenix (Via the Internet)
See also: KUKQ Phoenix Launches Online; We Speak With Nancy Stevens, Craven Moorehead, and Jonathan L

KUKQ Phoenix -- the Internet radio station bearing the classic call letters of a bygone Phoenix institution -- launched in March, but as station director Nancy Stevens indicated it would, it's taken some time for the station to lock down its programing schedule.

But the past few weeks have seen the station starting to really take shape. An all-volunteer outfit, the lineup of shows shares some crossover with local low-power FM station KWSS (Beef Vegan and Buddha of KWSS' The Morning Infidelity hosts a new show, Reefer a Friend on Weekends), as well as Live Transmission with William "Fucking" Reed, which is no longer listed on KWSS' schedule.

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This is proving to be a great time for the Valley's hip-hop circuit. Mouse Powell's music video for his Arizona anthem "Holding Home" dropped only a week ago, and already the clip has seen over 7,000 YouTube hits en route to grabbing all kinds of local and national attention. On top of that, Arizona's longest-running weekly event, The Blunt Club, is celebrating 10 years of servicing the Valley with a two-day celebration.

Festivities start on Thursday, May 17, with special appearances at the weekly event's current home at Yucca Tap Room, and will conclude the following night at its previous home at Hollywood Alley.

Friday night's "Classic Blunt Club" goes down with a special purpose, as 50 percent of the door will go to helping recovering owner Ross Wincek with his medical expenses after suffering a stroke in March.

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