Phoenix Music Blog

Luke Holwerda

See more shots in our Snoop Dogg slide show.

For rizzle, the D-O-Double G knows how to throw a party. Check out these pics from his blow-out bash during All-Star Weekend.

Before we jump into the review, here are a few stats you should know about Cedric the Entertainer's show at Celebrity Theater last night.

• Number of performing comedians: 5 (including host Cedric and Aries Spears, Deray Davis, Tommy Davidson, and Kevin Hart)
• Number of comedians in the audience who didn't perform: 1 (Katt Williams)
• Number of other celebrities in the audience: 3 (including Shaq, Nelly, and Ashanti)
• Number of stretch Hummers spotted in the Celebrity Theatre parking lot in the hour before the show: 5
• Number of chicks spotted who might as well not have been wearing clothes at all: 10+
• Number of fishbowl-sized pimp chalices spotted: 1
• Number of standing ovations: 8+
• Number of Hustle and Flow stars who danced with a black-and-red-spandex-clad group of Pussycat Doll lookalikes: 1 (Elise Neal)
• Number of times Shaq spoke during the event: 0
• Number of times comedians referenced Barack Obama: 7+
• Number of times comedians referenced O.J. Simpson: 4
• Number of times comedians referenced the Rhianna-Chris Brown incident: 5
• Number of times a dude walking by my section "made it rain" by throwing a giant handful of singles into the air: 1
• Number of times audience members got up in enthusiastic support of a joke a comedian told: Too many to count
• Number of times I felt the whitest I've ever felt in my life: Too many to count

Adriane Goetz

See more shots in our Playboy Slide Show.

How did Playboy Magazine represent during All-Star Weekend? With a massive issue release party complete with bunnies.

See shots from the event in our Playboy party slide show.

And if you haven't seen it yet, don't skip out on scoping our coverage of the 1st Annual Arizona Porn Star Ball direct from club Babylon.

Snoop Dogg is scheduled to appear at Scottsdale nightspots Club Rain and Barcelona during All-Star Weekend.

If we learned anything from the hullabaloo over last year's Super Bowl in Glendale, it's that the actual sporting event is almost secondary to the slew of celebrations that take place. It seems like every major hip-hop and R&B artist was in town for both the big game and the celebrity-laden festivities.

And it's turning out to be the case with next weekend's All-Star Game in downtown, as plenty of blockbuster names will be booking first-class flights to the 'Nix (Busta! Luda! T.I.! Jeezy!).

Here's a rundown of who's gonna be where:

Nelly will attempt to fill Chris Brown's shoes during this weekend's All-Star festivities.

The Valley's about to get a little "derrty."

Universal Records rapper Nelly is doing the Nix's hip-hop fans a solid by filling in at the two gigs that Chris Brown abandoned eartlier this week due to the recent legal problem's the R&B singer has become embroiled in. As a result, tomorrow night's party at the Corona Ranch in Laveen and Saturday night's shindig at Club Rain (both of which were scheduled to be hosted by Brown) will still be happening, but "Country Grammar" and "Hot in Herre" will likely be blasting out of the loudspeakers instead.

If Nelly's isn't your particular brand of vodka, don't worry. As we're sure you're aware by now, there are countless other fetes taking place throughout the Valley over the next four days that are connected to the All-Star Game in some fashion.

Following the break you'll find our compilation of some the more groovier parties. (Be sure to check out the previous post giving the 411 on some of All-Star Weekend's various big-time hip-hop concerts and comedy events).

And just in case you're looking for a ride home, Valley Metro will be offering extended hours starting tomorrow through Sunday evening/Monday morning. The final trains will depart downtown Phoenix (a.k.a. the epicenter of All-Star madness) at 1 a.m. on each of those nights.

Party hard, P-Town!

Jonathan McNamara

See more shots in our Arizona Porn Star Ball slide show.

We gotta admit it: the 1st Annual Arizona Porn Star Ball wore us out.

The feral festivities started at 9 p.m. and lasted well beyond last call. The list of special guests was longer than John Holmes' tool, and included adult film stars Pharyn Sparxxx, Mya Lee, Taryn Thomas, Priya Rai, and Sophia Rossi; hip-hop artists Justus, Pokafase, Baby Bash, and Too Short; and members of the Arizona Cardinals.

The scene was low-key at 9 p.m., with only about 20 or so patrons in the massive show club. Babylon is true to its name: a gigantic, smiling gargoyle greets guests at the front door. Inside, the décor is like that of a classy bordello: red and black zebra-striped carpet, black leather chairs, crystal and glass bead curtains, faux silver chandeliers, flashing green lights, and mirrors. Like most strip clubs, Babylon was thick with the smell of perfume and cheap body spray, but it's also the cleanest strip club we've ever been in (and we've been in many).

Music selections were limited to hip-hop and R&B. Dancers got on stage and ground their goodies around for spectators to the tunes of Chingy, OutKast, Jay-Z, 2 Live Crew, and Kanye West. (The one exception of the evening was a dancer who performed to Slipknot's "Psychosocial." We tipped her just for bringing some metal into the hip-hop-heavy club.

Maybe the "v" stands for "villain"?

Can't say we didn't see this coming.

E! Online is reporting that Chris Brown has canceled his participation in a few of this weekend's festivities surrounding the NBA All-Star Game. The 19-year-old R&B artist was arrested early Sunday morning in connection with an alleged assault of his main squeeze, pop vocalist Rihanna.

In addition to appearing at this Sunday's All-Star Game at US Airways Center, Brown was also scheduled to participate in the NBA's Celebrity Game on Friday. It's currently unknown whether he will also put the kibosh on pair of parties/performances he was planning to make at the Corona Ranch in Laveen on Friday and Club Rain in Scottsdale on Saturday. (UPDATE: Brown has been replaced by Nelly at both parties).

Brown already ducked out of an appearance at Sunday's Grammy Awards due to his arrest. Wrigley Chewing Gum also pulled their commercial featuring the singer earlier today.

Brown was booked into L.A. Country Jail on Sunday, charged with making criminal threats after he reportedly committed felony battery on an unknown female (who the L.A. Times later identified as Rihanna).

TMZ is also reporting that the pop singer's injuries from the alleged assault are "horrific," including various contusions and bruises.

Hope you have a good lawyer on retainer, Chris.