Phoenix still can't seem to wrangle a Wilco show (the band played Tucson in June) but we're getting the next best thing at the end of December as singer Jeff Tweedy plays a solo show at the gorgeous Orpheum Theatre on Sunday, December 27.
Tickets for the show will be $30 on go sale Wednesday November 25 at 10 a.m. through the Phoenix Convention Center box office (100 N. 3rd St., 602-262-7272) or Ticketmaster. Check out Stateside Presents for more info.
Apparently this is all going down because of a canceled date in Albuquerque. The band plays the much-bigger Orpheum in Flagstaff tomorrow, so take advantage of seeing what should be a pretty intimate and enjoyable show here.
Get ready for one of the biggest local shows in December, filled with 12 bands on two stages--and when you go, you'll be helping out kids in need over the holidays.
The 5th Annual Rock for Tots event goes down Saturday, December 12 at Olive Branch in Tempe. The event benefits The Marine Toys for Tots Foundation (www.toysfortots.org), which gives disadvantaged children new toys for Christmas.
The Rock for Tots show is packed with local groups such as Mike Mercier, Violet Wild, Shawn Johnson and the Foundation and Strange Young Things. Admission is only a $10 donation, or an unwrapped toy. The event is for ages 21 and older and starts at 7 p.m.
Slayer and Megadeath will tour together for the first time since 1991's Clash of the Titans tour
It was briefly mentioned on Monday that Slayer and Megadeth are planning a North American tour that will kick off in January. Phoenix metalheads can rejoice because the aptly named American Carnage Tour is coming to the Dodge Theater on Saturday, January 23. Megadeth is currently busy with their Endgame Tour, while Slayer has postponed their own U.K./European Tour for the spring of 2010. The American Carnage tour will be the first time both bands have shared the same bill since the Clash of the Titans tour in 1991 (which came through Veterans Memorial Coliseum on May 23). My advance kudos goes out to those fans who will have successfully attended both Phoenix concerts.
The Clash of the Titans tour is most noteworthy because the upcoming American Carnage tour will feature "1991" ticket prices at $10. Tickets for the Dodge Theater date will go on sale at 10 a.m. tomorrow. Ticket info can be found here.
We already told you about two of last week's bigger concert announcements, Weezer and Passion Pit, but there's a whole lot more in this week's list. Like, for example, Metric. The Canadian indie outfit will drop by Scottsdale on December 12. Give 'em a listen below or click through for a full rundown of just announced shows.
As I reported on Friday, Arish "King" Khan and Mark "BBQ Show" Sultan -- as well as their tour manager -- ran into some legal problems in a sleepy Kentucky town. They were a no-show at their Thursday show in St. Louis amid speculation that they had been arrested. Friday's gig in Lawrence, Kansas was canceled as well as Saturday's show in Denver. As you may have figured out by now, tonight's show at the Rhythm Room has been canceled. Refunds will be available at the point of purchase. There has been no word of any rescheduled dates. This is rather unfortunate -- however, Phoenix is obviously not the only city that Khan and Sultan have let down thus far.
Word has come that King Khan & BBQ Show will resume their tour in Los Angeles at the Troubadour tomorrow night. Most bands that choose to skip out playing Phoenix on their way to/from LA usually don't schedule a date in The Valley. Looks like King Khan & BBQ have found another, more creative way to avoid playing in Phoenix.
So wait, you meant to tell me these two gentleman may have been arrested on drug charges? Hold the phone...
Arish "King" Khan and Mark "BBQ Show" Sultan have been making some news headlines this morning after not showing up to their gig at St. Louis' Off Broadway last night. As reported by the Riverfront Times' music blog A to Z, members of the band were nabbed in Hopkinsville, Kentucky on drug charges. The band is out on bail while their tour manager remains locked up. It has been confirmed that they will miss tonight's show in Lawrence, Kansas. Those Valley fans of the band know that The King Khan & BBQ Show are set to play The Rhythm Room come Monday. Just what this means for that particular show is yet to be determined. More information on this situation, including the status of their gig on Monday, will be reported as it becomes available.
UPDATE: Our friends at The Riverfront Times -- St. Louis' version of The Phoenix New Times -- have pieced together the events of last night on their music blog A to Z. It appears that the van driven by tour manager Kristin Klein was pulled over in Oak Grove, Kentucky, and Klein was nabbed for driving with a suspended license and possession of a controlled substance. She remains in Christian County Kentucky Jail on $3,000 bond. Head over to A to Z to find out all of the details of the events. Still no word on the band's Monday gig in Phoenix.
Weezer will play Dodge Theatre on January 15. Touring on perhaps their worst reviewed record ever ( a record, admittedly, I have not bothered to actually listen to yet) Rivers Cuomo and Co. seem to be getting more ink for Snuggie-style publicity stunts, like playing with Kenny G, than playing solid rock and/or roll anymore, which is not how publicists are spinning it.
With its rollicking communal spirit Raditude upends any expectations audiences may have of Weezer, amplifying their trademarks to a dizzying degree - the pop hooks dig deeper, the rock hits so hard it bruises - but the group subverts these signatures with a sly hand while pushing boldly into new territory. Within these 10 songs lie boundless possibilities and ceaseless excitement, proof that Weezer remains a band that defies easy summations and can never be taken for granted, a band who has grown as they've opened their horizons.
Annie Clark, better known as St. Vincent, will return to the Valley this February to play The Rhythm Room
It's a good thing Annie Clark -- better known as St. Vincent -- is such a relentless touring machine. The Dallas-born, Brooklyn-bred singer/songwriter played a show in the Valley just this past May at the withering-on-the-vine Modified Arts. It was May 31st, to be exact, and I know this because I was set to attend that show, only to have my hopes crushed by some jackass who rear-ended me on my way there. Long story short, that car was totaled and I didn't get to see Annie play. All hope was not lost, however, on the heels of today's news that St. Vincent will be playing Phoenix's Rhythm Room come February.
Passion Pit -- a band I regard as a poor man's Hot Chip but every girl I know seems to be crazy about -- is coming to The Clubhouse on Sunday, December 6.
Like I said, this band, which was started by a guy writing songs for his girlfriend as a Valentine's Day present (no joke) does seem to have a following made up primarily of hipster girls who enjoy dancing, but as you can hear below, they've also got the potential for mass appeal. Should be a cool show. Tickets here.
Unless you're pretty young you probably don't take notice of teen/tween pop sensations liek Taylor swift until they're, say, trashed talked by Kanye West or appearing on Saturday Night Live.
If so, maybe you don't know who Selena Gomez is. Gomez who was named after the Selena you probably have heard of (does that make you feel old?) is another Disney-launched child star who has gained enough ground to play The Marquee in December. Yes, the Marquee will be hosting a teen-pop concert. Should be a weird scene.
Gomez is a little more like Hannah Montana than like her namesake, as you can hear below, but I'd say she has a good chance of playing a much larger venue next time through town. Read on for more just announced concerts.
The band announced that they were reuniting for 2010 not too long ago, yet their announced dates were either in NYC or abroad, leaving fans that live pretty much anywhere else out in the dark. This Saturday brought the optimistic news that Pavement will headline the 2010 Sasquatch! Music Festival, held over Memorial Day Weekend at the Gorge Amphitheater in George, Washington. No word on what night the band will be playing, but expect whatever night that is to be packed to gills with eager fans. 3-day advance passes go on sale this Saturday at 10 AM PST, so if you want to plop down $170 before the entire festival lineup is announced on February 16, then check out the festival's website. Could the Coachella Valley Music & Arts Festival, which takes place about a month earlier, also be in the band's plans? Only time will tell. However, this recently announced Sasquatch! date sure is encouraging.
Between The Buried And Me rock so hard that they have the power to levitate their instruments.
North Carolina rockers Between the Buried and Me just released their 6th studio album - The Great Misdirect - on October 27. To celebrate this achievement in proper fashion, the band is taking their show on the road as part of The Great Misdirect Tour. As inherently confusing as "The Great Misdirect Tour" sounds, make no bones about BTBAM's live shows. The band has etched their name perfecting that widespread heavy metal/nü-metal sound -- complete with hoarse, frightening vocals, power chords and that trademark frenetic metal drumming. It's nothing new or revolutionary, but goddamn does it get the fans riled up -- and those Valley metal fans are in for quite a treat come January.
70s rock act The Doobie Brothers will play the main stage at the Fiesta Bowl Block Party in the Mill Avenue District of Tempe. The band, which has sold 50 million records, won several Grammys, and charted 16 top 40 hits (including two number 1 hits), played the half-time show of the Orange Bowl last year, warming up for this.
The Fiesta Bowl Block Party, by my calculation the largest in the time zone, will also have a beer garden, dueling pianos, a dance club, country stage, fireworks displays, and street performers. The show starts at 5 p.m. and goes until 12:30 a.m. on December 31, with The Doobie Brothers scheduled to perform at 11:15 p.m. Tickets for the Block Party can be purchased for $15 at Fry's Food & Drug Stores or for $20 through the Fiesta Bowl Ticket Office. Call 480-350-0911 or go here.
When I talked to Laci Lester a couple months back she warned me more cool concerts were coming to The Downtown Civic Space (aka Jellyfish Park). Now, we're getting something pretty cool as The Fair Trade Store, City of Phoenix, and Arizona State University Downtown Campus, bring "The Civic Space Jam" to the space on the third Sunday of every month.
The event will have a rotating line up of DJs, B-Boys/Girls and other beat focused talents in the Downtown Phoenix community. The first one goes down from 5 to 9 p.m. on November 15 at the park, 424 N Central Avenue in Phoenix.
DJs for the debut include Hartbreaks, DJentrification, and Meaty Ogre. The event is free, as all events t the space must be, but they will be selling $4 raffle tickets (3 tickets for $10) with proceeds benefiting the Fair Trade Store organizations Karuna Village Fair Trade and Las Otras Hermanas, so make your donation thusly.
Mid-November appears to be a great time to stage a concert in an Old Town. The Big Pour will have Everclear (also known as "My Favorite Band of Sophomore Year of High School"), in Scottsdale and Old Town Cottonwood (near Sedona) has three mellowish shows planned for people who don't want to get bombed high-octane suds.
Crystal Antlers are scheduled to perform on Wednesday at Yucca Tap Room in Tempe during the Vice 15th anniversary party.
The first Vice party was so nice, they've decided to do it twice.
On the heels of the raucous Desert Bender Party they threw a couple of weeks back, the clever hipsters behind Vice are putting on another blockbuster bash this coming Wednesday at the Yucca Tap Room in Tempe. The publication is celebrating its 15th anniversary of existence and wants y'all to join in on the fun.
The set-up is basically the same deal as the first go-round: big-time indie acts and local DJs will perform (in this case it will be Touch and Go noise rockers Crystal Antlers along with the Valley's own Black Carl, Pickster One, and DJ Tricky T) with an open Hornitos Tequila for those who'd like to get drunk on the magazine's dime.
As before, the party is free, but attendees hafta RSVP through this site in order to attend.
And if you weren't lucky enough to attend the Desert Bender, revisit Adriane Goetz's slideshow from the evening.
Phoenix-based shock rock icon Alice Cooper has scheduled his ninth annual holiday show, Christmas Pudding. The Christmas-themed variety show is a blend of comedy, music, and dance and will take place on Friday, December 18 at Dodge Theatre.
This year's acts has a heavily hair-metal bent. Besides Alice Cooper and fellow Valley-dwellers Roger Clyne & The Peacemakers, the show has Warrant, Dee Snider from Twisted Sister, and Lita Ford.
With the last Shake! scheduled for this Saturday, it's a safe bet a lot of hipster types are going to be looking for new indie dance nights. Obscura is stepping up to the plate at CenPho's Ruby Room with a Flight of the Conchords night on Friday, November 13.
DJ Funkfinger of Shake fame is the night's new permanent house DJ, along with DJ Roya. In addition to some great music they'll also have CDs to give away from Flight of the Conchords, Snow Patrol, Kings of Convenience and Cold Cave! and tickets to Cage The Elephant, Pete Yorn, and Skinny Puppy.
Before 10:30 you can get $1.50 PBR's and $2.50 wells.
New Jersey lo-fi indie rockers Real Estate will be bringing their charming, stripped down music to CenPho just in time for Thanksgiving
New Jersey has a rich music tradition -- artists such as Bon Jovi, Bruce Springsteen,Tom Verlaine, Blondie and, of course, Frank Sinatra. People often focus on how shitty certain parts of New Jersey can be, overlooking the talent that the Garden State has produced. Ridgewood foursome Real Estate are New Jersey's freshest exports, with their subdued, decidedly lo-fi indie rock. It is a sound that is insanely popular right now and one that the band does with great skill. Such is CenPho's luck that Real Estate will be coming through Modified Arts, adding another marquee show before the current version of the venue shrivels up and dies.
It's hard to tell how much mileage Pete Yorn sure is getting out of his collaboration with actress Scarlett Johansson. On one hand, touring in support of Break Up, the New Jersey singer-songwriter is charging $37 for tickets to a show at The Marquee, which seems pretty steep -- not that we didn't recently see a $60 Marquee ticket. On the other hand, Yorn has always charged a bundle for tickets.
Obviously, touring with the actress would take things to a new level for Yorn, but out on his own it's kinda like he's charged with single-handedly promoting a mediocre project that may just hurt his credibility. Not that "Realtor" (above video) is anything less than great -- but how's he supposed to play that live by himself? Yorn has tied career to a project that involved his partner "sewing up" her contribution in "two afternoon sessions" and has otherwise solely contributed with a few television appearances. Seems like a pretty big gamble; it'll be interesting to see how he does on this tour.
Gym Class Heroes are scheduled to perform on Wednesday, October 28, at Tempe Beach Park.
Arizona State University's Programming and Activities Board must've had a major bankroll at its disposal for this year's homecoming week (which starts tomorrow) since the student-run organizations is bringing in Travis McCoy and the rest of the Gym Class Heroes crew for the occasion.
The rap-rock group will headline a performance at Tempe Beach Park this coming Wednesday with support from Indianapolis indie rockers The Last Good Year and comedian Craig Robinson (The Office, Pineapple Express).
The party's open to non-students, albeit at an increased price ($22 in advance, $27 at the gate). Here's another caveat: Tickets are only available in limited quantities and can only be purchased through the ASU Bookstore. Better get moving ASAP if you're fittin' to attend this outdoor event.
If this week's U2 stadium show didn't slake your thirst for overblown artists from yesteryear, the coming weeks and months will undoubtedly satisfy your cravings for throwback acts: KISS is on their way to the Valley, as well as The Misfits, Y&T, MC Hammer, Cameo, and Brian Setzer.
You can scribble in Bon Jovi on said list as the Jersey fivesome are coming to Glendale early next year on their upcoming world tour. John Francis Bongiovi, Richie Sambora, and the boys have reserved a date at Jobing.com Arena on Wednesday, February 24, in what's sure to be a mullet mixer of gigantic proportions.
Make it past the jump for more details on the show, as well as video of a semi-famous take on the band and its fans.
This is a weird one: Kottack, a band that has the drummer from The Scorpions playing guitar and Tommy Lee's sister playing drums, will be at The Ruby Room on October 30.
Named for James Kottack, who is married to Motley Crue drummer Tommy Lee's little sister Athena, the band's drummer, the band plays power-pop akin to Cheap Trick. They're actually pretty decent too, according to the voters of LA-area music awards. Check them out for yourself below.
Let it never be said that there's never anything rad to do in Phoenix, especially since there's an overabundance of awesome events going down this evening.
We've saved the best event for last: Vice Magazine is presenting a big-time affair called the Desert Bender Party over at Black Forest Mill German Restaurant later tonight. The long-running indie publication has a penchant for putting on swank shindigs in both New York and L.A. and are finally giving the Valley its own version.
In addition to free tastings of Hornitos tequila and ticket giveaways to upcoming indie shows, both Kinch and Brothers Backword (the quasi-hip-hop side project created by a couple of members of Chronic Future) will perform while hipster DJs Jared Alan and Sean Watson will also spin.
Here's the kicker: admission to the event is free, but you gotta RSVP through this site. Doors open at 10 p.m.
Local indie band Dear and the Headlights has been tapped to play a Red Bull Soundclash show with SoCal Rock/rap/reggae outfit The Dirty Heads on November 4 at Marquee Theatre. You can get a pretty good feel for the event from the above video or read this blurb from the promoters:
Red Bull Sound Clash is an unparalleled live musical conversation performance between two bands with diverse sounds, styles and creativity.
The Red Bull Sound Clash experience features two bands with different music styles (e.g. Dub vs. Rock) facing-off on two stages positioned on opposite ends of the venue with the audience in the middle. In a series of four rounds, the bands perform various tasks--some rehearsed, some improvised--to showcase the range of their musical abilities. The audience participates in the back-and-forth exploration between the bands by judging each round.
We're willing to wager that a chunk of the 60,000 plus bodies that will be cramming into University of Phoenix Stadium tonight will be there specifically to watch opening act the Black Eyed Peas instead of the overwrought and over-produced spectacle known as U2.
If you're of those cats who's more into apl.de.ap and Miss Fergalicious than The Edge and Mr. "Save the World," make plans to be at Axis/Radius in Scottsdale after leaving Westgate, as will.i.am will be headline the official after-party with what's sure to be a killer DJ set. (Who knows, maybe he'll even bust out with some of that new-fangled hologram technology during the gig).
The other members of the Black Eyed Peas will reportedly be at the Scottsdale club as well, but we're guessing they'll be spending most of their time in the VIP section rather than kicking it with the commoners.
Doors open at 9 p.m. (with DJs LTJ and J. Alan opening things up) and will.i.am is supposedly going on around midnight.
Tickets (which run $17 for general admission, $32 for VIP access) can be found here.
Tucson's Golden Boots is one of the finest indie bands in the state, as we've told you before. Unlike a lot of Tucson bands they also occasionally play Phoenix -- which gives them a whole new level of cred in our book. It's cool to see the band land the opening slot for the Dirty Projectors show at Rhythm Room but even cooler to now learn they've got an in-store planned at Stinkweeds record store earlier that afternoon. Be sure to check out their excellent new record Winter of Our Discotheque and, if you get off work early that Monday (show starts at 5 p.m.), swing by Stinkweeds to see them.
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