Maria Vassett

Anthrax

​Anthrax
Marquee Theatre
Tuesday, January 24

Everyone knows Anthrax played the Big Four in Indio last year, of course. And as much as I hate to admit this out loud or on paper, I missed them, even though I was in Indio.

See the full Anthrax slideshow here.

They played first, sometime in mid-afternoon, and my friend Britney and I rolled into town late after leaving Phoenix that morning and were too busy drinking whiskey from a Jim Beam bottle in an ice filled trash can to realize how late we were. But while sprinting from the parking lot we heard them, and what I heard sounded awesome.

Last night I got a chance to make up for missing out. Anthrax played at the Marquee Theatre to a packed crowd. Death Angel opened and Testament followed close behind, ending around 9:45. They put on quite a stage show; dramatic, colorful and crazy loud. At 10:15 Anthrax went on, and before they had even played a note, half-full water bottles flew from the crowd, drenching moshers in anticipation of what was to come. When Anthrax catapulted into "Earth On Hell," people from the pit were already crowd surfing.

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Roadrunner Records

Don't count on Korn to stop growing anytime soon.

​Korn has been full of announcements during the past year.

The veteran rockers added a fresh new chapter to their catalog with a 10th album, The Path of Totality, which found the band shifting its style onto a path a lot of people didn't see coming. Another "single rockstar" bit the dust when guitarist James "Munky" Shaffer tied the knot to his girlfriend Paris right after the New Year. Former Korn guitarist And Brian "Head" Welch said that enough time has passed now that he has an open mind about reuniting with his former bandmates musically (he even played a Korn tune live at the Alice Cooper Christmas Pudding event).

And now the announcement has come out that the band will be dubstepping into Phoenix's Comerica Theatre on Thursday, March 1. Singer Jonathan Davis will also show off his brand new DJ set as his J Devil alter-ego at the show.

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​Folks, it's just a few days more until that jolly old elf slides down your chimneys, so we at Up On the Sun have been loading you up with a ton o' tunes to get you through the season. For instance: Are you in a grinchy mood? Check out our recent run-through of eight classic un-Christmas songs.

But if you're feeling the season, there are options. Sure, you could track down winking, knowing, tongue-in-cheek versions of classics, but y'know, when it comes to Christmas music, irony has no place. What every good Christmas tune needs is a good bit of nostalgia, but it needs sincerity and comfort, like a sweater or pair of socks your grandmother gifts you. It's better to err on the side of corny.

We're here to guide you in the right direction. If you're tired of the tyranny of the usual, delve into past installments of our Christmas Songs that Don't Suck (Part I, Part II, Part III). Or just scroll on down for the jumbo-sized fourth and final entry, starting off with some international music. Merry Christmas, Phoenix!

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Time to stop living in the past, people.

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Editor's Note: As we continue our observations of 2011, Up on the Sun contributor Christina Caldwell looks at the state of venues around town, and speculates about what the Phoenix music scene has and what it lacks. Answering "what makes a perfect music venue" is a tall order; here's one person's ideas.

Phoenix, you're a fickle town.

We here at Up On the Sun live in a bubble - one where local music reigns supreme and smaller, more intimate venues totally rock our locally-manufactured socks. But with the recent closings of some fairly exciting Valley music venues (Goodbye, Venue 104,) we've come to realize that not all Phoenicians feel the same.

And that's cool. To each their own, but our hearts break for the local entrepreneurs that poured their life savings into well-intentioned projects. (Yeah, everyone opening a small business should gulp a dose of reality, but pipe dreams are pretty fun. Especially if those dreams are, theoretically at least, a good idea.)

Go ahead and complain that Phoenix lacks culture, but the very places attempting to provide culture are the ones that are shutting their doors.

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Last week Up On the Sun brought you Part I of our weekly series "Christmas Songs That Don't Suck."

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​Family time over the holidays carries enough stress with all the arguments about who sits where, who brings what, and why Grandpa really shouldn't have another Harvey Wallbanger. Again. So to ease some of your Thanksgiving anxiety, we in the New Times kitchen offer up a bunch of tunes to up your gratitude quotient during these trying times.

Oh, is it our turn? What are we thankful for? Why, it's you, dear readers. We're thankful for you! Now quick now, listen to these 13 tunes before the heartfelt "awwwww" gets too overpowering.

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Robots: friend or foe?

​One of our favorite weirdo acts is Captured! By Robots, and the gang of automatons and their human slave JBOT are back in town tonight at the Rhythm Room. In honor of their inevitable rise, we thought we'd try to appease the cold and heartless droid rage by demonstrating how we as a species have celebrated in song the coming of our future mechanical overlords. Dig these killer songs about robots -- resistance is futile.

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Dead Meadow

​Dead Meadow's coming through town tonight with Drainbow and Strangers Family Band, so expect the Rhythm Room to get a little frizzle-fried by the band's psychedelicized rockers. Three Kings, the band's most recent release, drags listeners through a bluesy, backwards-glancing psych-rock reminiscent of proto-metal bands like Blue Cheer.

While Dead Meadow veers towards the heavier end of the psych spectrum, the band certainly draws on some of the more mind-warping tunes that've come before. Wanna get yourself, uh, psyched for tonight's show? We've assembled a primer of tunes -- some accessible, some less so -- that'll get you in the mood. Substances not required. Get 'ya mind blowed by the following.

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​New York's experimental rock band Gang Gang Dance hits up the Valley tonight, headlining the Crescent Lounge during its inaugural week. Jamming on the band's latest album Eye Contact is a mind-warping experience, and between all the loopy sound-scapes, abstract synth structures and aural embellishments, we found our thoughts wandering to other acts with repetitive names.

There's a particular poetry to it, y'know? (Especially when it comes to the A-A-B structure Gang Gang Dance digs.) And so, being the sort of people into that sort of thing, we came up with a blog post about it!

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Silverback Management/Slightly Stoopid

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The members of Slightly Stoopid have been making music together for more than a decade.

Slightly Stoopid's sound is varied. Its six members wield an array of instruments including congas, harp, trumpet, keyboard and saxophone. They've toured with such legends as the Dave Matthews Band, Sublime (Bradley Nowell helped bring them to the public eye), Snoop Dogg, G. Love & the Special, Sauce and Pepper.

And although they aren't touring to promote a new album (their last was 2008's Slightly Not Stoned Enough to Eat Breakfast Yet Stoopid) fans can expect to hear a handful of new songs when the band comes through Mesa Amphitheatre this Friday.

Drummer Ryan 'RyMo' Moran sat down the Up On The Sun to dig into their record label and upcoming album, his top surfing locations, and the band's favorite post-show activity.

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