Lead Thoughts

Bad Behavior In The Neighborhood

A Drive By Performance By The Maine

(9)Saturday, February 25, 2017 - 03:18:01 pm
(Posted Under: Tempe Music Scene, Music, 8123)

In the last week we got an email from 8123 management that the band wanted to come by this weekend and personally deliver "a special gift" for supporting the band over the years. So obviously we've been wracking our brains trying to guess what it could be.

It was somewhat of a mad dash driving back from Tucson this morning to be around for it, and get the house a bit cleaned up. Around 1pm, Tim Kirch calls to make sure that we'll be around in the next hour or so so he can drop off the "gift" from band. Unlike what we'd been thinking the past week, there was a strong implication he'd be dropping off something from the band, as opposed to the band being present.

The door bell rings about 2:30, and it's Tim, Lupe & another guy from the 8123 crew that we recognize from shows. Parked out the front of our house is a U-Haul truck, and Tim tells us the gift is big and he needs the other guy's help to get it out. What the what?!? We're even more puzzled as to what it could be.

We walk out to the curb, Tim tells us where to stand, Lupe is filming and they slide open the back door to the U-Haul. Loaded in the back are all 5 guys from The Maine, decked out in their leopard print suits from the APMAS and instruments in hand, and after a quick "hi guys!" break into Bad Behavior.



Wow - mad props to Tim who totally had us fooled. It was an awesome and surreal 3 minutes and 10 seconds as our favorite band played their new song just for us (and some confused neighbors who came out to see what the hell was going on). Humorously John gave a shout out "to those in the back" referring to someone about 6 houses away checking out the scene.

The song closed with a "good night Phoenix!". We had no idea what was going to happen next, as despite knowing we were going to be receiving something from the band, the whole thing was quite a surprise. John as always said it was great to see us, and "gotta go, we're doing this all afternoon". Too cool, their driving around Phoenix doing this for fans.

And just like that we're calling out thanks to Tim, who is packing everything up to drive on to the next location. Which raised so many questions. Is the band literally hanging out in the back of the U-Haul as they drive around Phoenix? Is Pat still in a foot brace? Will he be okay back there? How many other people are going to get this special treat?

Y'know how I always say The Maine is the best band ever? It's cause they are.

8123 Fest - The #MakeAmericaEmoAgain Party

The Offical 8123 Fest After Party

(0)Saturday, January 21, 2017 - 10:30:00 pm
(Posted Under: Tempe Music Scene, Music, The Maine, 8123)

It's no surprise that DJ parties are neither my thing, nor my scene. But this was a whole hell of a lot of fun. We were pretty lucky to score Gold Bundle Tickets to 8123, and equally lucky to get tickets to the after party before they sold out.

To whatever degree, it was also nice to grab a beer and chill out a bit while the kids partied to the DJ sets. The night really kicked it up after John took over the DJ duties, and the guys from the band came out. A lot of fun, ridiculous ensued and was really cool to get to be there for.

Towards the end of the night we headed out to the Crescent patio for a smoke and a sit. Before long 2am approached, marking the 12th hour of being at the Crescent for this event. It's been getting easier to feel old these days, so it's nice to know that we can still pull of that sort of stamina. And I can't say that a certain song didn't come to mind in the wee hours of the morning, summing up this whole weekend as the patio lights came on, security announced last call and people started exiting the venue into the night...

We may not be gettin' younger
Our days might be slippin' away
Yeah we're still so fucking young
So we'll party like it's our last day

-- We'll All Be

8123 Fest - Day Two

The Main Event

(0)Saturday, January 21, 2017 - 02:00:00 pm
(Posted Under: Tempe Music Scene, Music, The Maine, 8123)

Or The Maine event? Get it? Yeah.

And what an event it was.

Given how long of a day it was going to be, we planned to show up at 2pm when the first act was starting. Considering the incredibly long merch lines even when we first walked in, we probably should have taken advantage of the Gold Ticket early entry.

John The Ghost

We talking in right as their set was beginning. This is what I can only assume is a quite rare performance of John's solo project from last year, with Jared & Brennan on guitars, Halvo on bass and Andrew Destefano on drums.

Obviously it was a short set of 5 out of the 6 songs from the EP, which was very cool to get to see performed live.

With their set over, it was time to get our bearings. Tents lined the perimeter of the parking lot behind Crescent Ballroom. Blow up cactus' were everywhere, there was some sort of bouncy house in the far corner, the Maine's graffiti-ed van was parked inside the gates. Lines of people zig-zagged through the crowd of people watching the music. It actually wasn't obvious what line was going to where. Yeah, we should have gotten here earlier.

After some wandering around, we checked out what merch there was, and got in line. A line which streamed front the merch tent, out almost to the middle of the parking lot by the sound board, curved and went right back to the merch tent and ended somewhere near the entrance. Crazy. You would think that with the ridiculous amount of money we'd spent on Thursday night there couldn't be anything else we needed to buy, but of course there was no shortage of different stuff including an 8123 Fest t-shirt only at this show.

Brighten

We were standing the sed merch line for the duration of Brighten's set, who were great. One of the bands I know the least about, they were notably jangly, which makes me regret not paying much attention in the past. I know we've seen them on tour with The Maine years and years ago, but do not remember anything about it.

At some point, Garrett walked past and stopped to say hi, much to the surprise of the girls behind us.

By the end of Brighten's set we were not that much closer to securing any merchandise.

Beach Weather

By the time Beach Weather were ready to start their set, we were at least in a better position to see the band, now at least somewhere behind the sound board. Katie held the spot in line, which I went up a little closer to watch the band.

After their set, I eventually found Katie, who'd finally made it to the merch table. Unfortunately by which time a lot of what we had wanted had sold out.

We then set out to get a drink, and find out what the deal was with the Maine cups we'd seen people carrying around. More lines - but thankfully that went a lot quicker. Turns out there was a Maine signature cocktail in a souviner cup. Of course, when we got to the bar, those too were sold out. Stuff was sold out like 2 hours into the festival - which puts into perspective what a big shing dig this whole thing was.

The Technicolors

It was about time to venture more into the crowd and find a good spot to watch The Technicolors. Obviously great as always. And it was cool to see Bob Hoag up there with them, beating the hell out of a tambourine for their first song.

Notable for their set was their opener Lilies For My Lily, which is such a great song and was oddly so familiar. I spent most of the song trying to work out if it was a cover, though it's entirely possible it's an original that I'm familiar with from other performances. Certainly if it is an original, I'm really looking forward to it being on record.

Great set, with ended with an impressively frenzied attack of the keyboard at the end of Hollywood.

A Rocket To The Moon

ARTTM were the defunct band that everyone wanted on this bill, and were the "secret" billing hold out until late last week. As the crowd around us tightened in, it was hard to miss the general excitement for their performance.

While I have technically seen the band before (opening for the Forever Halloween CD release - which I also remember very little about), we really got into them post humorously via Nick's involvement in Beach Weather. So it was pretty cool to get the opportunity to see them play and this time know all the songs.t

During The Summer Set it was a good chance for us to find a spot on the fringes and rest our aching feet. It had already been such a long day. It's rare for me to go to a music festival to see more than that one band I want to see. 8123 Fest was a completely different animal, with a line up of so many of your favorite bands. And as weird as it may be to say, getting to see all these bands together, and everything going on throughout the day, it was easy to forget the real reason why you were here, why this was all happening. It had already been such a great day with all the other bands.

However, once The Summer Set finished, and the stage was set up for the headliner - you started to remember again. We wandered out into the crowd to assume our spots. And as the intro music began to ring out, the rest of the day started to melt away. John, Jared, Kennedy, Garrett & Pat walked out and the night turned into something else.

Appropriately, they kicked off with We All Roll Along, with no doubt that they were the reason everyone showed up. 3,000 people crammed into the parking lot behind the Crescent Ballroom screaming "eighty one twenty three means everything to me" was quite the thing to be part of. It's always been a favorite of mine - 9 years ago the opening power quartet of tracks from Can't Stop Won't Stop defined my daily commute to work - but the song took on a whole new level of poignancy tonight in this parking lot.

The next hour and a half was a high energy show spanning the band's 10 year history. Midway through they broke out Bad Behavior which just like last night received a huge crowd response, and every word sung back to the stage.

Take Me Dancing was very welcomed surprise to the setlist.

Funnily enough, I think we'd posed the question some time this week on whether they would close out Another Night On Mars or We'll All Be. The answer was both as they were the final two songs of the night. Just like their opener, We'll All Be was incredibly poignant tonight. Throughout the set, I'll admit that we both had some emo moments. And We'll All Be was definitely one of them. Y'know, just doing a part in Making America Emo Again.

Really great night and an amazing show put on by the boys. As the lights came up and the crowd started dispersing from the car park, we took a quick stop off to the car to drop of the stuff we were carrying (cameras, t-shirts) before walking back to Crescent Ballroom to find our way in to the official after party.

8123 Fest - Day One

The Pioneer Show

(1)Friday, January 20, 2017 - 08:00:00 pm
(Posted Under: Tempe Music Scene, Music, The Maine, 8123)

It was the afternoon of September 19, 2016. Tickets went on sale for this 8123 Fest shingdig. I had a feeling that the more expensive "Gold Ticket Bundles" were going to sell fast, and was kind of militant about being ready to secure two. To an extent where Katie thought I was a little crazy. Yet I was not. It was 2 minutes past 5 o'clock when I managed to get 2 tickets in my cart. And within 30 seconds later, it was all over - all 300 tickets were sold. That's right, in less than 3 minutes gold bundles were sold out.



While there were several perks of gold tickets over the other 2,700 general admissions ones, the huge one was happening tonight - the opportunity to see the band perform Pioneer in it's entirety, in the intimate setting of the Rebel Lounge. If there is ever a good reason to be quick on the refresh button, this was it.

Tonight's show started with a Q&A session with the band, before a performance by Gorgeous War, Joel Kanitz's latest project.

Around 9pm, The Maine came back out on stage, this time with instruments in hand. If were to pick an album to play in it's entirety it would likely be another one (can you say "Forever Halloween"?), but it was really amazing to see Pioneer played from start to finish. I don't by default play this record as much as some of the others, but whenever I do I'm reminded of how great it actually is. Tonight was the same sort of experience and definitely felt like the perfect option.

Funniest part of the night was John commenting that Thinking Of You was nobodies favorite song - and then proceeding to play it 4 times. A normal version, a reprise version, a ska version then a Limp Bizkit version. Oh the silliness.

A close second was the short rendition of Superman, aptly mocking that terrible band's very recent return to public consciousness for all the wrong reasons. "Speaking of politics, and speaking of Trump, this song is called Misery". On point.

The Pioneer portion of the show closed on Waiting For My Sun To Shine, but not without (thankfully) the crowd immediately chanting for One Pack Of Smokes. It might be the hidden track, but it's a crowd favorite, including mine. Despite announcing they hadn't practiced it, the band obliged with John reading the lyrics from a not so reputable internet source. This was quite entertaining, and hardly an issue since the rest of the room knew and recited the actual words loudly. So good, it wouldn't have been Pioneer in it's entirety without One Pack Of Smokes.

Surely they were going to give us more than just Pioneer, and One Pack Of Smokes went right into a 7 song run of hits focused on largely on American Candy and a few Forever Halloween tracks. Oh, and three songs in, Bad Behavior.

We had hopes we'd hear that this weekend, and indeed it received it's debut performance on the Rebel Lounge stage tonight. And it sounded great. But what was really amazing, was being in a room of 300 people that already knew and were screaming every word of the song. New songs are often the less enthused part of live shows, but that was anything but the case tonight. Amazing. Did I mention this song only came out 24 hours ago?

Appropriately, the night ended with the Pioneer era Ice Cave. Although it wound up on Forever Halloween Deluxe, it'll always be associated with those pre Pioneer live shows, so that was a nice touch.

A really amazing show and I'm so thankful we were able to score the tickets for it. Tomorrow is sure to be great, but I can't imagine the experience being the same without being at this show.

8123 Fest - And It Begins

8123 Popup Store, Bad Behavior & Lovely Little Lonely

(0)Thursday, January 19, 2017 - 04:00:00 pm
(Posted Under: Tempe Music Scene, Music, The Maine, 8123)

The weekend we've been looking forward to since September kicked off a little early, with early access to the 8123 Pop-up Store at Cityscape in Downtown Phoenix this afternoon.

A bit of a wait in line to get in. Once inside, it was pretty cool. Custom art of several albums (Good Love, Forever Halloween portraits - which I would have totally dropped cash for if they were for sale an not just for ambience). Inflated saguaros, couches, a turntable and 8-track. You can trust these guys to not half ass things. The phrase Lovely Little Lonely adorning one wall. New album title? Based on the line of t-shirts with the same phase, likely.






Of high importance was picking up the vinyl re-issue of Stay Up Get Down - the EP I illegally* downloaded 8 years ago that started this crazy ride. Very cool to finally have a own physical copy of it, especially since we weren't hip enough to get a copy of the very limited CD pressing in 2011. Very cool that there were reprints of the Wild West tees, and 8123 ball caps that actually fit my weird shaped head perfectly. (Thanks guys!)

(* Admittedly not actually very illegally given the way this EP back in the day, but suspend the belief. )

I have a credit card, and I'm not afraid to use it

That's been our running joke this week, and we definitely lived up to it. I think even Katie was surprised to the degree I was embracing it. I can think of many items I regret not just buying in the past, so not this time. Which definitely showed once we did make it up to the checkout counter, with two bags chocked full of t-shirts, sweat pants, flags & vinyl. YOLO is my mantra right now. The dude ringing us was probably thinking "these two are looking to make a killing selling this stuff on eBay". There would probably be less shame in that, if that's what our intention was. Alas, no, this ridiculous plunder of merchandise is actually for us.

There was little time between getting home from that shopping spree before tuning in to AltAZ to hear the band debut the new song. And of course, to further overload our senses mere hours after spending an obscene and undisclosed amount of money at the pop-up store, the announcement of pre-order bundles for Lovely Little Lonely on the air. This was unexpected, and had us scrambling for laptops to secure the deluxe bundle, determined not to have an American Candy pre-order repeat where we missed out (in only 16 minutes) the very limited vinyl. Listening to the new single really got lost in the frenzy of dropping a second large sum of money into the 8123 / Maine fund.

We did circle back on the song after we got done with pre-ordering. Sounds great, very Third Eye Blind / Out Of The Vein inspired. That record has been on high rotation in our house since recently picking it up (thanks actually to John), so we're looking forward to the new album even more. Early signs indicate a combination of American Candy and Out Of The Vein which sounds pretty good to me.

What an afternoon! I need a nap...

The Maine Zia Instore Performance

(0)Friday, December 13, 2013 - 11:20:21 pm
(Posted Under: Music, Tempe Music Scene, Live)

The last Maine in-store we went to way pretty cool, on the eve of the release of Forever Halloween at the Tempe store. But we didn't really get to see the actual performance, nor even really hear it.

Tonight's in-store for the release of Imaginary Numbers was much different. It's the upside of the bigger Chandler store. And the performance aspect of it being seeming a little more organized. Rather than what seemed like about 15 minutes last time, this was probably about an hour acoustic set from John and Jared, with lots of banter and question taking. Although we were deep in the "Rock - M" aisle, and couldn't see John until he stood up between songs, there was a decent PA and the acoustic renditions of Ho Ho Hopefully, Whoever She Is, Love & Drugs, Into Your Arms, These Four Words and Rain In Paris sounded great.

We weren't sure if we were going to stick around for the signing - we did that last time, which was a pretty rad experience, which probably could not be topped. But since we wound up back in line fairly close to the front, we decided to go for it. On Tuesday we'd brought two copies of Imaginary Numbers on CD (gaining us entry to the in-store) in addition to the vinyl copy we pre-orders - so we should at least get one signed. We ended up back inside Zia a lot quicker than when we'd lined up an hour earlier for the performance. The upside with this line was the opportunity to browse CD's while waiting. Amazingly I noticed Three Hundred sitting at the front of the shelves. It's the one Stereo CD we don't have and I have been searching out for years. Sweet.

Surprisingly to us, when we arrived at the signing tables, John actually remembered us from the Tempe in-store. His "great to see you guys again" seemed genuine, and was very impressive coming from someone in an internationally touring band who probably meet hundreds of people per night, especially given how accessible this band makes themselves. Had there been any question about whether it was just a line (which there wasn't), he then launched into The Replacements and suggested that they might cover Here Comes A Regular at the upcoming Tempe Center for the Arts show (harking back to the Replacements conversation we had 6 months ago). It's been a long and exhausting week, and thus hadn't thought of much to say, I was happy to get our CD signed and make way for all the adoring teens to talk to the band, but I regret that in hindsight. I'm like a broken record on how great this band is, and this is yet another reason.

Great time, and obviously we're both very glad we opted to stick around for the signing.

Hoco Fest 2013 - Day 3

(0)Saturday, August 31, 2013 - 11:02:02 pm
(Posted Under: Tempe Music Scene, Music, Live Shows)

It's been about a month and a half since we've seen any live music. And what better way to get back into it than HoCo Fest's Desert Rock Rival night of music at Hotel Congress?

For once we were on time, and had an opportunity to check in, drop our stuff in the room and chat with Thomas before the music started. Many rarities in terms of playing out, starting out with the River Roses. Standing out in front of the stage watching them in the Congress plaza, I couldn't help but reminded of standing in the same spot a few years back waiting for Gentlemen Afterdark to take the stage. Good times at Congress!

Following the River Roses was Walter Salas-Humara. With all the fun we'd had during the day, we'd neglected to eat anything throughout the day, and we're planning on doing a fast food run. However, with Dead Hot Workshop up next, and our experience with trying to find fast food in downtown Tucson last time we we're at Congress, it seemed risky. We opted to eat at the Cup Cafe, and had no problem (which was surprising to me) getting an outside table. Which meant we were able to have some dinner and not miss this band. As a side note, the chips that make up the Cup Cafe's fish & chips were to die for.

I'd noticed Winston Watson milling around the stage during the River Roses, and wondered if he was just there for the experience, or was playing with the Rubies. I was wrong on both accounts. He was on the skins with Walter Salas-Humara. Amazing, just as he has been every time I've seen him play with the mirade of different bands.

It's been a while since we've seen Dead Hot Workshop, another band that made the 2 hour trip trek south a new brainer. Much hilarious between some banter courteous of Brent. While we were heading to Zia today, we'd mentioned hoping they'd play Speedway tonight. Alas, that did not happen. Not that we didn't know that was wishful thinking.

The area in front of the stage filled up significantly when the Sand Rubies took the stage. It's the Sand Rubies playing at Congress in Tucson - so no surprise there really. Just like every other few and far between opportunity I've gotten to see, they sounded amazing. Here's a band that sound great on record, and pull that off perfectly live.

And a happier band on stage you probably will not see. The shit big grins on all four members faces throughout the entire set was hard to miss.

Both Katie and I were in awe of Ken throughout the set - completely rock-staring it up. I was actually quite entertained during the soundcheck with him checking the length of bass lead, hoping across the stage and ensuring he had enough slack to reach Hopkins' side of the stage. Then walk back, re-adjust, and repeat. That is the sort of rock n' roll preparation I appreciate in a bass player. That was tame in comparison to his rock n' roll posturing throughout the actual set, with moves that I can't even describe in words. Towards the end of the set as he wrestled with (and then completely abandoned) a guitar strap that just wouldn't stay on, the rock n' roll moves just continued. If you want to be a cool bass player, here's my advice - be more like Ken Andree.

A great set by The Rubies, with a powerhouse of What Am I Supposed To Do? followed up Doesn't Anybody Believe early on the set. And only Solitary Man separating them from We Don't Do That Anymore. A jangle tasting set list that had me grinning about as much as the band themselves. Directly followed was Goodbye, which kept that grin planted on my face. Just a great 40 minute set, though you couldn't help but wished they'd play for double that (and then some).

Rounding out the Desert Rival portion of the evening were The Pistoleros. What was evident tonight, which may have been true the last time we'd seen them play, was that by the end of Wasting My Time, they've more or less transformed into a metal band. Any band which Thomas Laufenberg is a member flirts with that by sheer virtual of Thomas, but on Wasting My Time it's not just that. Pretty awesome.

It's was a somewhat short set from The Pistoleros due to schedule running a little bit behind at this point. Of course, of late I've we've been spoiled with some quite long 'eros sets.

A set list highlight was certainly 1,000 Miles. Maybe they've played that one of recent times, but it seems like a deep cut live, and given how much I love that song, it was great hearing it tonight.

After The Pistoleros, we took advantage of having a room, and retreated upstairs to take a nap while two bands we didn't know played downstairs. Not the most rock n' roll today, but by this stage we'd been watching bands for 5 hours, so we were owed a bit of rest. Walking through the lobby of HoCo, I was struck, as I am many times, how cool the place is, and what a cool vibe it has. Like everything in the world is happening right there. Which is the great thing about staying at Congress (along with it facilitating napping between sets).

Just after midnight we wandered down to catch Corey & PC with DYRC, before heading back up to the room to call it a night. Congress stayed alive and kept partying with a dull thumping of Club Congress and the chatter of a lobby full of people beneath us. Or at least I'm sure it did - not even the noise of Congress could keep me awake 5 minutes after my head hit the pillow.

Adios To The King Of Last Call

(0)Friday, July 19, 2013 - 08:42:23 pm
(Posted Under: Tempe Music Scene, Music, Live Shows)

With how crazy and exhausting work has been lately, there isn't much that could get me to go out on a Friday night after work, especially on short notice.

But Steve Larson's final show in Arizona before he moves to the Pacific Northwest - well, that will do it.



There is much I could say two hours of music and stories that went down at The Western, but I'll keep in simple - it was absolutely great, and I wouldn't have missed it for the world. Seeing Steve perform one last time (in theory anyway - I have no doubt we'll see him again at some point) was something we just couldn't miss, and it was a great set list that included some of my favorites I haven't heard in a long time.

Jimmy Eat World @ Wickenberg Community Center

(0)Friday, May 10, 2013 - 10:26:55 pm
(Posted Under: Tempe Music Scene, Music, Live Shows, Instagram)

Jimmy Eat World? The Wickenburg Community Center? Kind of hard to believe.

This year has started out pretty great for seeing big names at small intimate venues. First Green Day @ The Marquee, and now this. I was happy to recent hear news of their forthcoming album, and then that of their regional "Home State Tour". Looking at the dates a month ago, the Wickenburg one stood out to us. The thought process was that it might draw less Phoenicians than the Casa Grande show, while still a reasonable distance to travel. And having been in Wickenburg last September, and specifically to its community center, we knew how intimate this show would be. Essentially Jimmy Eat World in a decent sized high school gym. It was a no brainer.

To some extent, we weren't 100% sure what to expect when we rolled into town. Everything was very low key, with hardly anything in the name of security, save for the guy scanning tickets and the other guy affixing Crescent Ballroom wrist bands to wrists. Not your typical sort of show. Walking in, it was still kind of hard to believe Jimmy Eat World was going to be on stage there within the hour.

The set was kicked off with I Will Steal You Back, the new single that has been out for a couple of weeks now. I thought that was a great move. Maybe because I already love that song so much. What followed was an equally great set list. Not surprising either, as it's Jimmy Eat World. They'd be hard pressed to put together a bad set list if they tried.

Initially the sound was a little off, but within no time the sound crew had that sorted out. Scattered throughout the set were five songs of the forthcoming record - Steal, Damage both of which I already know, and three others. I've certainly been anticipating the new disc, and the new tracks furthered that anticipation. All were great, and in particular Appreciation.

This being the first time I've seen Jimmy Eat World live (long story), I was interested to see how they performed live. With the layering and ambiance, and just how great they sound on record, I wanted to see how well they replicated that live. Within a few songs, it was obvious that the answer to that is "perfectly". The other thing that really stood out was Adkins vocals. How great he sounds on record isn't studio tricks - he simply that good of a singer. To that end, I actually thought he sounded better live on some of the older songs, 20 years later. That right there was pretty impressive. Many people 20 years later don't sound as good, let alone better. Additionally, he was great to watch perform, rocking out and completely selling ever word he sang.

Other highlights:

• Work - one of my absolute favorites, and I was hoping to hear both that and Kill. Definitely happy to get one of them. I screamed the lyrics like a fucking lunatic. It was great.
• Heart Is Hard To Find. Great song, but not one I would have picked to see over a lot of others. Turned out to be a highlight in a live setting. Being in a room full of people clapping that out might have been part of it.
• Bleed American, The Middle and Sweetness. The whole place went nuts for those. I certainly have listened to Futures, Chase This Light and Invented much more in the last few years, and didn't even think of hearing these songs live. But it was simply hard not to get caught up in the energy both on the stage and in the audience during those. And, well, being reminded how much those songs rock.

The most surprising moment to be a highlight was for me was Goodbye Sky Harbor. This has always been a song I've wanted to really like, given my relationship with Sky Harbor. But pre Bleed American Jimmy Eat World is a bit hit and miss for me, and this song is just a but too dissident and weird for me. But live, it was impossible not to enjoy the intense energy the band put into that one. Turned out to be a highlight and a really cool thing to see live.

Of course, in all honesty, picking highlights from the show is actually as difficult as picking favorite Jimmy Eat World songs. The whole hour and a half was great. The only thing I would have changed if I could would have been Coffee & Cigarettes being on the set list.



Oh, and their Arizona flag backdrop was awesome. I always enjoy when bands use the state flag for their backdrop (The Maine being the other band that's great like that), but theirs was particularly cool. Given the opportunity to steal it, I probably would have.

At the end of Sweetness, the band lingered on stage, and Jim very genuinely expressed his appreciation to everyone making it out. That was a cool thing.

All in all a fantastic show, and definitely worth making the trek for it.

Sideshow

(0)Sunday, March 17, 2013 - 11:28:43 am
(Posted Under: Tempe Music Scene, Music)

A Framed Life In Charming Light

(0)Tuesday, January 15, 2013 - 09:30:19 am
(Posted Under: Tempe Music Scene, Music)

I was up early this morning to try to get Woolford's new solo record on to my iPod before work. It's been deathly cold here in the desert over the past few days, and this morning was no exception, so the fact that I was out of bed and shivering before 7am downloading it goes to how much I've been anticipating this release.

If there has been anything that I've learned over the past 7 years, it's that anything Woolford related should be brought immediately with no question. So, I'm not at all surprised at how good this album is.

Early favorites for me are Julie, She's On Fire, A Framed Life In Charming Light, Rock Beats Money, A New Independence and This Isn't Goodbye.

And interestingly I recognise No Contact, the song that I've seen Let Go play live over the last few years, that I was calling "Atom Bomb".

Christmas

(0)Tuesday, December 25, 2012 - 11:37:35 pm
(Posted Under: Tempe Music Scene, Music)

We've had a nice and relaxing Christmas day, which has been quite welcomed, given what a crazy whirlwind of a December we've had. Opening of presents in the morning, chatting with those back home, and then chilling on the couch watching the Replacements documentary that Katie had gotten for her birthday, which we've not had time to watch. Damn good too.

After watching Color Me Obsessed, we were out the door for some rock n' roll with Los Guys, The Persuaders and The Pistoleros. Yes, a Zubia rock n' roll trifecta on Christmas night. Seeing the Pistoleros on Christmas is a bit of a tradition, and a nice one at that.

Rock For Tots 8

(0)Saturday, December 8, 2012 - 11:08:55 pm
(Posted Under: Tempe Music Scene, Music, Live Shows, Photography)

Another fun Rock For Tots this year, with a great lineup.

Hearing Hey Jealousy early in the night, performed for the second time this week was pretty cool.

One of the highlights of the night were Zero Zero. Tonight was the first time we've seen them live, and I was sold pretty quickly. Which wasn't really the much of a surprise to me. Michael Johnny Walker is the eptome of cool.



Much like last year, The Black Moods proved why they were the headlining band, with a blistering and long set. It was actually actually reminiscent of the days of old, what with Josh losing his shirt somewhere along the way, and the lengthy encore.

I really indulged the photographer in me during their set, snapping about 649 shots of the guys. Parring that down to a reasonable number was no mean feat, but produced a couple of really cool shots. And after 3 years of trying, I almost nailed a Josh Kennedy airtime photo. Almost. I guess I'll have to keep trying for that.

Persuaders @ Revolver Records

(0)Friday, December 7, 2012 - 08:30:00 pm
(Posted Under: Tempe Music Scene, Music, Live Shows, Instagram)

First Friday with The Persuaders @ Revolver Records. This was a really cool gig. At one point I was staring past Lawrence at the Revolver sign, and it hit me how much this seemed like a scene from Empire Records.

14 Years Ago In Tempe

(0)Monday, December 3, 2012 - 08:48:59 pm
(Posted Under: Music, Tempe Music Scene)

Los Brick Wall

(0)Saturday, November 24, 2012 - 11:53:05 pm
(Posted Under: Tempe Music Scene, Music, Live Shows)

Well that was unexpected. Not long after walking into Teakwoods tonight to catch what we could of Los Guys, Mark called up Andrews and Riggs to play a few old songs with them.



I was pretty happy to see the pair play together on Wednesday night. Getting to witness this also was like having your cake, and eating it too!

I love Tempe*.

* Or Chandler...whatevs!

The Pistoleros 20th Anniversary

(0)Wednesday, November 21, 2012 - 11:48:19 pm
(Posted Under: Tempe Music Scene, Music, Live Shows)

Tonight has been much anticipated. And even that might be considered an understatement. It's not every day that you get a show like this, or a lineup like this.

A last minute lineup change (yesterday) saw Dani Zubia and Tramps & Thieves added to the lineup, which pleased us greatly. And made for a very Zubia night, which seemed quite fitting. Despite every best intention, we missed the start of Dani's set due to parking, though I doubt we actually missed much. Tonight was the first time we've managed to see her cover Hey Jealousy. Wow. Immediately before hand, I had one of those gut feelings that she was about to do it, and was not surprised when she started singing "do you think it'd be alright...". Despite that, I wasn't ready for her version of it, almost losing it moments into the song. Amazing.

A great acoustic set by Emmett and Scotty. Tramp & Thieves as a full band would have been such an obvious billing for the night, though it was pretty cool to see the acoustic duo under the lights and with the amazing sound of the Crescent Ballroom. And I got to hear the amazing acoustic version of Galloping Hearts which just kills me every time.

A definite highlight, in what was a great night all 'round, were the Sand Rubies. For me, from the moment Dave & Rich hit the first chords of What Am I Supposed To Do?, the room was electric. I was majorly impressed by the band the last time I saw them, probably 2 years ago. But this was different. I've since had the time and means to devour pretty much their entire discography. Rather than a really good band playing songs I mostly didn't know, tonight it was a really good band playing songs I desperately wanted to hear. I could not have been happier, but my night was definitely made when Babb requested We Don't Do That Anymore, which Dave gladly honored as he "would do anything for that man". God bless you Brent.

The intensity of the Sand Rubies, a band that has been around for over 25 years, was amazing. Winston Watson looked akin to Animal behind the drum kit, particularly through the first song. And served up a blistering drum solo covering Dave while he changed a string during Primevil Love; a drum solo that would have made any 80's hair band proud. Hell, Dave ended up with at least two more strings dangling off his guitar by the time they got to their closer. Witchdoctor. Watching the band tear through their exhilarating 45 minute set, I was reminded not to waste any time or tears on bands that are phoning it in. There are bands on the complete other end of the spectrum, that will just amaze you every time. They're not the richest, and their not the most popular, and will go largely unsung while the fame and fortune goes elsewhere. But by god, if you happen to find those bands, and they exist, hang on to that. The Sand Rubies are one of those bands. Actually, everyone on tonight's bill is.

There was one negative aspect of the Sand Rubies once they'd finished though: the unshakable desire to see them do it all over again tomorrow night, and knowing that ain't going to happen. Love that band; it was a great 45 minutes of bliss.

Dead Hot Workshop followed up with a great set, with Brent delivering a particularly great performance. I remember reading an article from 1990 about an early Dead Hot show, which was described as starting loose and working up into a tight frenzy as the night progressed. It's kind of a profound account to me, because 20 some years on, I myself witness pretty much what was described in that article. And that's not a diss. Dead Hot Workshop have remained a consistently amazing band, and it's remarkable (but not all that surprising) how specific elements are still visible, to the point that seeing Dead Hot Workshop is almost like it's still the famed Mill Avenue days of Tempe. You need to experience it to fully understand it, but it's not a negative - it's part of the charm and that "undefinable" thing that makes Dead Hot Workshop that makes them the band that everyone loves, always. With all that said, there was no build up tonight, with the band incredibly focused and tight from the first note.

Wilson joined them for what turned out to be a rather interesting rendition of Ray. For about three minutes, it was like your brain was collapsing on itself, trying to cognatively process what was happening, but being completely unable to. You can count on Brent to have the perfect remark for a given situation, and "we're going to take that back to the garage and put it back together" after the final "Raaaaaaaaay" was absolutely one of those moments.

The Pistoleros were obviously the main event. Although I didn't know it at the time, I would give anything to have been at the first Chimeras gig, which took place 20 years ago last night. And I absolutely wanted to be around for their 10th anniversary. So needless to say, I've been highly anticipating tonight, to celebrate their 20th anniversary for the past 6 months, when Zubs first mentioned it to us. I wouldn't have missed for anything in the world. A definite highlight of the night was Another Time, Another Place from Mistaken For Granted, which was also re-released tonight. Amazing to hear that one live, it being one of many that hooked me on the band all those years ago.

Another highlight, which we were clued in on about a week or so ago was Mark Riggs, the original Chimeras drummer, making it out for the show and joining the band for a few older songs. Seeing the Pistoleros is somewhat of a rare opportunity. Seeing Riggs perform with them - well that is much closer to a "once in a lifetime" one, and one that I'm grateful for.

Like the Sand Rubies, performing before me were absolute pros. They kinda got screwed on the fame. And the fortune. But it doesn't matter, because these guys are the real deal, bonifide rock stars. I couldn't help but think, watching Lawrence execute his patented rock moves, and deliver that growling voice through the microphone, that these guys to me, are every bit of what the Rolling Stones are to them. And how there was absolutely no place in the world I'd rather be than here, yelling out the words to the songs that have musically shaped my life over since the mid 90's.

The world famous Truckers On Speed finished out the night with a blistering set of cow punk, to a largely cleared out Crescent Ballroom. I realize that The Pistoleros were the headliner, but I don't know how anyone can leave when Truckers are on the bill. People - I don't get 'em. Despite the fact that I wanted to rock out closer to the band, my feet just didn't have anything left and we had no choice but to retire to the bleachers. But that was no reflection on Truckers, who played a thoroughly enjoyable set, and much like everyone else, exact what I wanted to hear. And having a perfect view of the band from the front row of the bleachers was probably the one upside about the thinned out crowd.

Other random show notes:

Levy runs a hell of a tight ship - or at least he did tonight. In between set smoke breaks were incredibly rushed, and I barely made it back inside for some of the sets, as the set up / breakdown time's were unbelievable.

Picking up the new Mistaken For Granted was very cool, despite having an original 1995 pressing. That became even more true seeing the extended liners once we got home. Additionally, I was pretty happy to be able to pick up a Sidewinders shirt.

20 Miserable Years

(1)Saturday, August 4, 2012 - 12:05:23 am
(Posted Under: Tempe Music Scene, Music)

There's nothing like your favorite album of all time turning 20 years old to slap you in the face with a harsh realization: you're fucking old. Maybe that's something you manage to avoid if your favorite record is a Beatles album that was released decades before you were born. But when it's one that came out when you were an angsty teenager, well that sort of milestone is just plain scary.

For me, that record is New Miserable Experience, which was released 20 years ago today. I remember it like it was literally just yesterday. That just makes it more scary. Where have those 20 years gone? I'm not quite sure.

Of course, what I remember like it was yesterday isn't the day it was released as much as the night I became aware of it. Thanks to the album initially lingering in obscurity, it was about a year and a half later that I became savvy to it. December 1993. It was then another 7 months before I was able to have a local record store order me a copy, as it took that long for it to hit the shores on which I resided. Yep, I had it on "order" for probably a little under a month before it hit the store shelves. I was probably one of the first people in Australia to own a copy of the album. I was ahead of the game, on the cutting edge. In July 1994 - uh, 23 months after it's original release in the US. So it's actually been a key part of my music collection for closer to 18 years. But does that make me feel any less old, or it feeling like yesterday any less scary? No, not really.

A record can change your life

We all have that album that changed our life. Well, the lucky ones among us do.

"If you don't expect too much from me, you might not be let down" / "All I really want is to be with you, feeling like I matter too"

That December night, I discovered the song that said everything I ever wanted to say. The guy that wrote it had been booted from the band, which pissed me off to no end. As that song ended, the band's second single started playing immediately, also penned by the guitarist. Was it pure coincidence that both songs were back to back on top 40 radio that week? Or was that fate's hand, just making sure my life would be altered that night?

Whispers at the bus stop / I've heard about nights out in the school yard / I found out about you".

The imagery delivered in these three minute pop songs were stunning. This wasn't abstract stoner rock. The words Hopkins wrote perfectly painted a complete picture. The lyrical style was clear and deliberate. And brutally honest. The songs made you feel like you were there.

Prior to 1993 I'd had a handful of "favorite" bands and records. While I stand by some of them to this day, it was a combination of the music and/or image of the band that had caught my attention. Lyrics weren't lost on me, but it wasn't often the thing that initially drew me in. The majority of those earlier records I considered as favorites, were lyrically hardly what you'd consider high caliber Rimbaud poetry. With New Miserable Experience, I connected to the lyrical content immediately. For probably the first time, the lyrics resonated before the music did.

I still remember the day picked up the album on cassette. I had the wrapping ripped off and the liners out before I'd even arrived home, scanning for song writing credits. After 7 months of playing the two singles (recorded from radio) over and over, I still knew very little about the band, but I knew I wanted the majority of the album to be written by Hopkins. 6 out of 12. Not bad. I doubt I could get home fast enough to hear all these other tracks. By the time I had made it home, I'd probably already memorized who'd penned which songs. Right from that first listen, it was Hopkins songs that resonated the most with me. And it wasn't through preconceived notions. These songs were written to draw me in. At age 15, if anything is going to make you feel like someone else gets it, it's lines like "She had nothing left to say / So she said she loved me / I stood there grateful for the lie".

My view on, and place within the world is a little different than it was back then. As you might hope. Though, every word Doug Hopkins wrote still rings to true. The moment that "drink enough of anything, to make this world look new again" isn't relevant to some situation, you've stumbled into some bizarre mythical charmed life. That is the brilliance of Hopkins' writing, and what makes it such an incredible album. It made the cold, cynical world bearable when you were 15, and still does 20 years later.

There will never be another New Miserable Experience. That fact was etched out when Hopkins was canned, prior to the album being released. Then set in stone by Hopkins himself, the night he checked out. Which was right as I was discovering the band and the record. The anger I had over that was palpable. It's cruel to find a band that makes you feel a place in the world, only to have it ripped from you almost immediately. Your cold calculated move against the world, that you might have planned all along. All these years later, I have more peace with all of that. But I'd be lying if I said those feelings of anger and frustration are ever too distant, ready to surface at the opportune moment. 20 fucking miserable years.

What was lost in terms of ever hearing new music from the incarnation of the band that delivered this record, was found in music I discovered because of it. In the past 20 years, there has been a plethora. The addition of that album to my collection has seen it morph radically. For the most part, with artists that were in some way connected to the scene that record was born out of. It was never really a conscious thing. It just kind of happened. I heard one band that used to play with the Gin Blossoms. Someone sent me a tape of another band Hopkins had been in. I checked out MP3's of some other band coming up through that scene. Progressively, albums in my collection had to make way for bands that more or less came out of the Tempe area. I can't really put my finger on when it went from "a few bands" to a keen interest in the scene. It certainly wasn't overnight, and I don't think it was a big epiphany moment. But at some point it happened. I've discovered countless amazing bands because of that record. Some influenced the Gin Blossoms, some contemporaries, some were influenced by them. Others have very little ties to that "scene" and I've stumbled across them through six degrees of separation.

My collection has also grown, making room for bands that I grew up with, liked, but never really paid that much attention to when I was the kid. The likes of The Cure, The Church and The Replacements (to name a few) have become poignant in my collection thanks to that record. All of that I'm pretty grateful for. It hasn't all been miserable.

20 years on, the "record that changed my life" adage can throw me, in times where I look around at my life while saying it. There are numerous big life decisions and paths taken, which wouldn't have been the case if it weren't for that record. Christ, I recently brought a house a stones throw away from where half of that band grew up. Not that all of the specifics are deliberate. Because they're not, and some things just work out a certain way. It's not all "I moved to Minneapolis because of The 'Mats". Like the "stones throw" thing - that just happened that way. But when you pass McClintock High School on the way home, especially when you grew up on a different continent in an entirely different hemisphere, just how literal that adage is is going to hit you now and then. After all, if it weren't for this record, I'd probably have never even heard of "Tempe, Arizona".

Several elements make this such a quintessential album for me. First and foremost is Hopkins song writing and guitar style work. That shouldn't come as a surprise to anyone.

Another is Robin's vocals. Now, he's essentially been a "could sing the phone book" singer his whole career. Well, after Dusted anyway. But with that said, he's never sounded as good as he did on New Miserable Experience. His performances during the sessions, both on material that did and didn't make it onto the record is nothing short of amazing.

Additionally, he also penned one of the best songs on the record. Forget the Grammy Nominations; never mind the "number one hit"; Until I Fall Away is the best song Robin's ever written. It's never been the song he's been most known for, which is something I'll never understand.

The other key element that makes New Miserable Experience incredible is John Hampton. The record has probably never made any traditional "best guitar album" lists, and probably never will. However, for me it is absolutely one one of the best guitar albums made. The beauty in the subtleties, both through Hopkins' arrangements (as evident on Dusted, pre Hampton) and in John's production. This is something I noticed early on. A casual listen reveals the typical three guitar arrangements. But on a closer listen, the number of guitars in the arrangements is truly amazing. It may have been the songs that initially grabbed me, but it was the subtleties that continued to keep this album fresh over the surely obscene number times I've listened to it. Throughout the years, there has always been a note that I've never heard before, a deep in the mix guitar that's revealed itself. That's the sort of sonic texturing shit I live for. New Miserable Experience continues to deliver.

In more recent years, two other notable Hampton productions have made their way into my collection: Please To Meet Me (The Replacements) and Based On Happy Times (Tommy Keene). Both share that sonic quality and subtle layering that I've always known of New Miserable Experience, which seems to be Hampton's brilliance. On both accounts, after listening to those records for a while I've had that "this sounds like..." moment, done some Googling and confirmed my thought that indeed Hampton was somehow involved.

There are countless examples of where the production and the record proves to be ear candy, especially for a guitarist. One of the more obvious examples is Hold Me Down. Grab a pair of headphones and crank the volume. That production and arrangement, it's just amazing. The split channels / guitars, haphazardly dueling power chords against each other, building a wall of tension and then coming together in unison at the end of the phrase blows my mind just as much as any ridiculous finger tapping solo Eddie Van Halen has laid down. That's rock n' roll.

A lot has changed in the past 20 years, but this record has remained constant throughout it. And I'm sure it will for the next 20.

While there are numerous albums I cannot imagine living without, if you're ever going to banish me to a desert island, be sure there is a copy of New Miserable Experience sitting under a palm tree. Oh, and be kind: original cover artwork version, please.

Rumble In The Tumbleweeds

The Open Road, Hotel Congress & Some Rock N' Roll

(0)Friday, June 29, 2012 - 05:09:19 pm
(Posted Under: Travel, Music, Tempe Music Scene, Live Shows)

This is the weekend. End. Begin.

And the beginning of a fairly long one for us, since we've taken Monday and Tuesday off next week, which combined with the July 4th holiday, gives us a 5 day weekend. Which started the moment we got out of work. Rather than going home, we were headed south down the I-10, destination: Tucson.

Just being out on the open road was pretty awesome. At least until we hit perpetual road work on the I-10. That section of highway is just like that on the way to Geelong - always under construction.

On hitting Tucson, our first stop was at Wendy's for some food, then down to Congress. We were greeted with many roads being closed off for work on the street car line. Including Congress Street, which made getting to the Congress Hotel interesting and prompted some driving around in circles. In Phoenix that would have driven me absolutely nuts. In Tucson, not so much. But we finally made it to the hotel, checked in, devored our somewhat cold and chewy dinner, then headed down to Club Congress.

Tonight's show was a mix of Tempe and Tucson bands - our boys The Persuaders and Tramps & Thieves, and Four Killer Flats and Greyhound Soul from Tucson. Good times. I made a comment to Katie that the singer from Four Killer Flats looked like the new bass player for Silverbell. "That's because he is the bass player for Silverbell". They were the only act I didn't know, and I was quite impressed by them. Tramps closed out their second set in fine form, with a one hell of a rockin' version of Porcupine Jacket.

It was pretty nice being able go up to bed after the show. It's the first time in the past three years we've seen a show in Tucson and not driven back to Phoenix right after. Pretty nice. As was staying at Congress and not having a fractured shoulder as I did the last time I stayed here in 2006.

We Keep Our Smiles In Our Left Breast Pockets

(0)Saturday, June 23, 2012 - 11:58:31 pm
(Posted Under: Tempe Music Scene, Live Shows, Music)

How many times I have I said "at least we have Strange Young Things"? Many. Most times in reference to being let down, or something pissing me off.

Sadly, I can no longer defer to that statement, as my favorite band called it quits tonight.

Lately I have a weird, nagging feeling that that might be on the cards. One of those feelings that you shrug off, as it's not based on any rumors or facts, just a gut feeling. Sadly, in this case, Adam confirmed this gut feeling to be actually accurate a couple of weeks before they made the announcement public. Sometimes it sucks to be right.

We walked in half way through Jonesin' For A Good Thing to a fairly packed room inside the Sail Inn. If there was any show not to be late for, this was it, and somehow we were. Though Katie had seen Gloden and Gross outside while we were getting our Banana Gun CD's, so we couldn't have missed much.

While we started out towards the back of the room (very unusal for us at a Strange Young Things show), it wasn't long before we were making our way through the crowd. I'm not sure how many songs in, we were close enough to be joined by Corey in a group hug / sing of Left Breast Pocket.

It was hot. It was sweaty. It came as no surprise whatsoever that Corey was not holding back one bit. Katie noted that on a few occassions it seemed like he was going out of his way to injure him self. Rock n' fucking roll. And Dan wasn't holding back any more than Corey. I've for years been blown away and commenting on what a power house of a drummer Dan is, and tonight he was absolutely abusing the drum kit (maybe with a bit more of a techniqued not holding back to Glodie admitadly). A sight to behold.

It wasn't long before I was dripping with sweat, screaming every word with the band. As unfortunate it was that we had to miss Sara's birthday show at Teakwoods, a few songs in there was not a question that there was nowhere in the world I'd rather be. Nothing, and I mean nothing compares to a Strange Young Things show. It's almost been 6 months since the last one. And even though not fully, I'd forgotten the extent of what a release it is. 45 minutes of absolute fun, where you forget about and don't care about anything but the glorious rock show happening in front of you. It's one time I can be in a crowded sea of people, get pushed, get bumped, having my personal space completely invaded, and I don't care one bit. In that moment, I realized that's what is going to hurt the most with this split - that 45 minute complete escape.

A great set from the boys, with just as much new material as old. That's the second biggest loss. They had a slew of amazing material that would have made for a killer second album, that may never see the light of day. Bang The Dash, Spoils Of War, Good Times, Not That Kind, The Bitch Has Got Problems, New Blood, School, Grave Depression. Dudes are rock n' roll scholars. And that album would have just killed.

I both had tape rolling and was shooting photos. I expect the results of both to be absolutely terrible. Tonight just wasn't the night to be precious about either.

As the final chord of School rang out, you knew that rock 'n roll was dying a little. But the preceding 45 minutes, the sweat, the ringing ears, the dirty jeans (from a final Bitch circle on the Sail Inn floor), the dry and scratchy vocal chords all made it just that bit easy to take.

Still, I'm going to miss this band more than I can say. Fuck Strange Young Things.

The Maine @ The Marquee

(0)Saturday, June 9, 2012 - 08:49:01 pm
(Posted Under: Tempe Music Scene, Music, Live Shows, Instagram)

It was Wednesday night this week, driving back from the Botanical Gardens that we past The Marquee and noticed the billboard listing for The Maine that we didn't otherwise know about. Well, I didn't, but it wasn't news to Katie. While saving the money on the show right now was the right call, it didn't make the knowledge of missing this show that much easier.

That disappointment however was turned around on Thursday morning, when we won tickets through The Morning Infidelity on KWSS. And thank god that we did, because this was a great show and would have been a shame to miss.

Unlike shows in the past we virtually missed the openers. It wasn't that much of a conscious decision as much as it just being hard to peel ourselves off the couch where we'd been watching episodes on The Surreal Life (finally) on Hulu. The couch being so comfortable and hard to leave is such a common occurrence right now. Spending every waking hour unpacking / cleaning / random home improvement stuff will do that to you. Anyways, the openers - we got to The Marquee not long before the second band finished their set. This ended up making for a more enjoyable experience, not having stood at the Marquee for hours before The Maine started. We did see enough for me to be reminded what I like in music - 4 chords, and a verse chorus structure. I'm sure the sea of teenage girls loved Lydia, but they were mostly lost on me.



A few songs into the set, it was pretty obvious that saving money and sitting this one out would have been a mistake. I've probably said this after every time we've seen this, but this was the best Maine show we've seen. John's vocal performance and stage banter was noticeably improved since we saw them a year ago.

I know I've said this every time I've seen them, but tonight was definitely their best show I've seen. The band sounded tighter than ever, and John's vocals sounded a lot stronger. And the new songs from Pioneer sounded great live.

A few of the older song got some cool new arrangements. The highlight of those was the slowed down groovy version of The Way We Talk. I wish I had that on tape.

Great show. And Katie walked away with a new shirt - sugar skull with the band's logo for eyes. Too cool.

Ghost Ship Sailors CD Release Party

(0)Saturday, May 12, 2012 - 11:01:25 pm
(Posted Under: Tempe Music Scene, Music, Live Shows)

Zubia & Laufenberg

(0)Sunday, May 6, 2012 - 09:04:25 pm
(Posted Under: Tempe Music Scene, Music, Instagram)

For months, literally, we've wanted to check out Lawrence and Thomas' bi-weekly gig at The Herb Box. Weekends are rough to find the time. But our bigger issue is that we tend to end up seeing The Persuaders either on Friday or Saturday nights, which just makes Sunday afternoon seem like over kill.

However, the planets lined up right this weekend. And by god, what a great Sunday afternoon for it. We had some house business to discuss and finalize, and what better way to do that on this glorious day over Kilt Lifter's listening to Lawrence and Thomas. Just the perfect. And so relaxing. Relaxing. That was so very welcomed.

It was also a great opportunity to pick up tee's, which are both bitchin' and rad. And to pick Lauf's brain about the artwork over lunch.

Really, really great time and I think we both really needed it!

Randomonium @ Tempe Beach Park

(0)Saturday, April 21, 2012 - 04:25:10 pm
(Posted Under: Tempe Music Scene, Music, Live Shows)

It was cutting it fine to get from North Phoenix back to Tempe Beach Park by 1pm following our Record Store Day extravaganza all over the Valley.

As I was walking in, The Persuaders were sound checking. Was this the first time I've seen music at Tempe Beach Park since Tempe Music Festival in 2005? I think it might be. It being such a cool venue to see your favorite bands was not lost on me. Though, an afternoon show in mid-April was somewhat of an interesting choice, with no shortage of that bad crazy sun overhead. Nothing short of thoroughly enjoyable.

It was pretty awesome to see the guys on the big stage and hear the roar of Thomas' guitar when they started. I was particularly pleased that they did that new "Loser" song again. Love it. Real shame I didn't have the Tascam with me.

Sadly were only able stay for a few Tramps & Thieves songs before heading off for the house inspection. The boys seemed to be in fine form, which made it a real shame that we weren't able to stay. We could hear them for the entire walk to the car behind Macayo's, so that was kind of cool.

Ghost Ship Sailors

(0)Saturday, April 7, 2012 - 11:27:04 pm
(Posted Under: Tempe Music Scene, This Desert Life)

High Times, Cheap Thrills

(0)Monday, April 2, 2012 - 11:04:51 am
(Posted Under: Tempe Music Scene)

Don't Let Them Get Ya Down

(0)Thursday, March 29, 2012 - 06:12:47 pm
(Posted Under: Tempe Music Scene, Music)

Tapes In The Mail

(0)Monday, March 26, 2012 - 04:42:57 pm
(Posted Under: Tempe Music Scene, Music)

Stephen Ashbrook @ 910 Live

(0)Saturday, March 10, 2012 - 11:09:52 am
(Posted Under: Tempe Music Scene, Music, Live Shows)

Tonight's Stephen Ashbrook show is definitely the coolest I've seen. Surprisingly different to all those times we've seen him at Martini Ranch. Typically at those shows we don't know anyone. Tonight we knew everyone. And the setlist was much longer, and more varied, than what we typically see at Martini Ranch. I guess that's what you get when you don't have to finish before 10:30 for a cover band to play.

Highlight of the night would definitely be Steve Larson's guest appearance on Folsome Prison Blues, Mr S.O.B and About Last Night. Yeah, that's right. There's was definitely something cool about seeing half of the original Dead Hot Workshop lineup doing Mr. S.O.B. Andy Jensen also special guested on bass, and Jim Swafford taking Ashbrook's Guild for the closing moments of Rock N' Roll.

Can we please have Stephen always play 910 Live when he's in town?

I Am AZ Music

(0)Saturday, February 18, 2012 - 07:28:47 pm
(Posted Under: Tempe Music Scene, Music, Instagram)

No, that's not a big self important statement. It's the name of the current exhibit at the Phoenix Music Instrument Museum, in conjunction with the state's centennial, which opened today. You had me at...err..."I Am AZ Music". I've been looking forward to it for weeks.

As excited as we both were to see the entire exhibit, let's not bullshit here - there was one item on display we were most excited to see, and headed straight for it. Doug Hopkins white 1986 Studio Les Paul. I've seen many Les Pauls, some famous, some worth obscene amounts of money. But I don't think seeing any other guitar, Les Paul or otherwise, will compare to this one. Actually, I know it won't. You just can't top seeing your guitar hereo's infamous axe. You just can't.



If how beat up your main instrument is an measure of what a rock n' roll musician you are, and in my experience it is, there is no mistaking that this was Hopkins guitar. Volume knob missing, cigarette burns, beer and sweat stains and no shortage of chips and misuse. That's rock n' roll.

Bill's displayed basses were also cool items. Particularly of interest to me was that they were noted as used on Dusted, Up and Crumbling, New Miserable Experience and Congratulations I'm Sorry respectively. That and the older P-Bass was sporting a Guns N' Roses sticker. Which funnily enough harked back to a conversation from earlier this morning. I don't think either of use were expecting that. A pretty cool display all around. How can you not be impressed by a massive background of the art work of your favorite album of all time?

The rest of the I Am Arizona exhibit was well done. It was just after 10 when we originally went up there, are returned for the tour later on in the day. Lot's of stuff donated by John Dixon, who was also there in person. Kind wished we'd gone up and thanked him on that recent vinyl purchase of ours that came from his collection.

And the rest of the museum it's self - wow. We've known about the museum for a couple of years, and while we wanted to check it out, we had thought that the $15 admission seemed a little steep. And this morning, I expected to spend only a few hours there. Well, I take it all back. The museum is fantastic, and well worth the money. Having the I Am AZ Music exhibit made it a no brainer for us this weekend, but after seeing the museum I think that $15 is completely reasonable, even without a special event. And we struggled to see everything by 5pm when it closed.

My only complaint was that they didn't have I Am AZ Music t-shirts. A big disappointment to both of us. Which meant we had to buy this... I've never been as quick to purchase something without even knowing the price. (Okay, I would have had to buy this, even if they did have t-shirts).

Everybody Wins Sometimes

Mill Avenue Of The 90's at The Crescent Ballroom

(0)Saturday, January 14, 2012 - 08:02:46 pm
(Posted Under: Tempe Music Scene, Music, Live Shows)

Y'know, the David Letterman segment Is This Anything? If Letterman had posed the question to Paul Shaifer at the Crescent Balroom tonight, the answer would have been a resounding "yes, yes this is something".

We've been pretty excited about the show since we first caught wind of it back in November. An old school Long Wongs/Mill Ave. night, with an original billing of Gloritone, Ghetto Cowgirl, Dead Hot Workshop and The Pistoleros. It became apparent a while ago that Gloritone wasn't going to happen. Minor setback.

Despite the excitement, and the killer lineup, I wasn't anticipating this as something I haven't seen before. These days Pistoleros and Dead Hot Workshop performances may be a bit far between, but not non existent. We saw Dead Hot Workshop on New Years Eve, and Pistoleros back on Thanksgiving. And while they don't happen necessarily every weekend, great "must see" lineups happen frequently enough. So this was going to be a great show, but nothing that out of the ordinary.

Though, on walking into the Crescent Ballroom tonight, it was quickly evident that I had slightly under estimated what we'd plunked our $8 down for. There was of course the stage. And then the fact that you couldn't walk more than a few steps without running into someone you know. Even before Ghetto had taken to the stage, there place was a buzz with people. There is nothing like seeing a room full fill up for your favorite local heroes.

The degree to which I'd under estimated tonight's show became fully apparent once Ghetto hit the stage, and launched into Ten Tons. The size of the stage, the lights, the sound and the general sense of excitement in the air - this wasn't any regular show.

Ghetto delivered a hell of a performance, with Marc giving the huge crowd a dose of his pageantry. Even with the much large stage than usual, it wasn't long before he was off it, getting closer to his adoring fans.

Much like on New Years Eve, Thomas was on triple duty tonight, playing with all three bands. And Curtis pulling a double, with Ghetto Cowgirl and Dead Hot Workshop. During their set we were joined by Bobby. Haven't seen that dude in forever, and it was great to catch up with him. When Dead Hot Workshop gave into the audiences request for "one more", there was shared excitement among the three of us that the closer was Hanging Out With Ray.

The Pistoleros took the stage after a rock star introduction from Nico, and proceeded to command the stage for the next hour and 20 minutes or so. The set list was reminiscent of Thanksgiving Eve, with some notable exceptions. Iggy Pop's Something Wild was the first of such exceptions, something I've never heard the band before, and they tore it up. Some impressive crowd jumping was witnessed on that one. In addition to that, they pulled out Running Underground with Mark taking over lead vocals for.

Two thumbs up go to the Crescent Ballroom, which indeed is a cool venue. Aside from going down to the stage while shooting Ghetto, we stayed up in the bleachers virtually for the whole night, which provided an excellent vantage point over the sea of people on the floor.

Definitely an awesome night. We should do this again some time!

New Years Eve

(0)Saturday, December 31, 2011 - 11:22:40 pm
(Posted Under: Tempe Music Scene, Music, Live Shows)

It's goodbye to 2011 and hello to 2012. Our night was spent at Tempe Tavern with Dead Hot Workshop, Ghetto Cowgirl and The Persuaders. It was a not bad turn out, given the slew of other options that were out there. Not that I thought they were good options, but I'm sure others would have.

Seeing Dead Hot Workshop close out the year was a treat, since we've only seen them one other time in 2011, back in April. Unfortunately their set was shorter than I was expecting. But maybe that's the spoilt part of me who watches them play multiple sets at Teakwoods talking. Regardless, there were a lot of cool moments. Opening with E Minor was a nice out of the box move. And we did get to learn that Ray couldn't make it, because he doesn't exist. And Norman took the stage for Push Luck Shove, so it was a great set, even if it was short.

Speaking of Norman, as far as I'm concerned, he takes out "player of the week". He was on fire all night. Maybe it was New Years Eve. Maybe it was the new microphone. It was certainly something.

How many set's do I have to play to get an O'Douls around here?!?

If Marc was player of the week, Thomas was certainly the hardest worker of the night, on stage with all three bands, as well as taking on the New Years Eve countdown duties.

During The Persuaders set, I couldn't help but think to myself "I'm pretty sure that this sort of drumming ain't happening at the Tempe Block Party". You can take that to the bank. Speaking of Rhodes, he was incredible fun to watch tonight on Cocaine Blues. While he usually deafens you throughout the set, he never looks it's that much of an effort. But I did notice how much even he was flailing around on that song. Rock n' roll!

Really fun New Years Eve. And the first song of the year we heard was Just The Same. So I've got to figure that bodes well for 2012!

Jimmy Eat World

(0)Thursday, December 29, 2011 - 08:30:18 pm
(Posted Under: Tempe Music Scene, Music)

It's pretty safe to say that 2011 will be remembered as the year I rediscovered Jimmy Eat World. And more to the point, discovered Chase This Light.

"Rediscovered" feels like the right term to use, and also feels vaguely strange. Because at the turn of the last decade, I pretty much hated the band. While barely having heard any of their material. It wasn't their fault. At the time I was in a situation where I continually heard about them, but never asked to. It drove me crazy. And incubated a healthy dose of resentment, albeit unfairly, towards a band I hardly knew. That might seem weird. Trust me, you had to be there.

At some point after Bleed American came out, I made a point to borrow a copy. Because, while I was steadfast on the fact that I despised the band, I did also realize the basis of that judgement was somewhat laughable. As stubborn as I can be on somethings, given the opportunity, I'll generally come around to at least educating my stance. I'd give this CD a listen, see what all the "fuss" was about, and be able to say "they suck", now with something to back up my highly opinionated opinions.

Of course, contrary to what I expected, I kinda dug the record. I spun it a bunch, then forgot about it for a little while. A few weeks or months later on a trip with friends in early in 2002, I had a "I know this song!" moment while driving around a beach town whose name escapes me. But I couldn't place the song. It annoyed me the whole long weekend, knowing that once I got home and was able to research it, I wouldn't remember anything about it (y'know, the days of not having Google in your pocket).

But clearly, that was when The Middle was released to radio in Australia, and I heard it again the following week and able to place it as Jimmy Eat World. Which re-ignited my interest in Bleed American. It was definitely considered by myself as one of those "solid" records. Not necessarily my favorite record of all time, but still one that you can put on and not have to skip a lot, if at all. I hold records like that in high regard, regardless of how often I spin them, because they're rare to come by. But once I do find such a record, they come to mind for years to come, even if it's not every other week.

And that was true for Bleed American. I never "followed" Jimmy Eat World, or thought to look into them any further - partially because I just had other forefront music things going on - but I always went back to that album throughout the years.

By the time I'd hit Arizona, I did consciously tell myself that I should investigate the Jimmy Eat World thing. The way I looked at it, I'd already devoured so much from around here by that point, I might as well branch out into that. And hey, I really liked Bleed American. Plus, it'd be a lot easier one town away from where they hail. But the road to hell is paved with good intentions, and while that idea was more forefront in my mind than ever before, putting it into action was an entirely different thing. In my defense, I kinda had a lot going on in my life as it was , and anyway, I didn't know where to start. Someone suggested Futures to me which helped. Still, life kept getting in the way of acting on that suggestion.

Not that long after, Invented was released. And there lay my opportunity to come good on checking them out beyond that one record I had. There was some buzz in these parts, so it was in my face and I wasn't going to forget about it. And there was some excitement about checking out something that had just came out. All made for a good combination, and I did check out Invented not long after it came out.

It had me at "hello" (unlike that other album the same day ). And let's not bullshit here, it was Coffee And Cigarettes that did all the work. Love at first sight...err, listen...that's what it was. There are a select number of songs that make me want to burst with uncontrollable emotion, and Coffee And Cigarettes is one of them. The fucking perfect pop song. The one that on the very first listen, once it's over, you can't hit the repeat button fast enough. As simple as it gets. Coffee and cigarettes.

The final months of last year were good for songs like that. Just over a month later Jason Longo came out with Puncher's Chance. Although Katie swears we'd seen him play it before, it wasn't until Thanksgiving - right before the CD release - that I took notice of the song. It immediately gave me the exact same reaction as Coffee And Cigarettes. There must be some formula to it. It definitely includes four chords and eighth notes, I know that much. And lyrics that make you feel like you're gasping for breath while screaming them for dear life, bleeding every word. Both songs definitely have both. But I digress...

Overall I didn't think Invented was quite as consistent as Bleed American. But that didn't seem to matter much - it was in high rotation last year, and with a few days left, it's on course to be the album I've played the most this year. I guess it being not "quite as consistent" comes down it having more songs on it that are different than I'd typically listen to, at least in comparison to Bleed American. But then again, I've kind of embraced and enjoyed that difference, which I think speaks to why it's ended up as one of my top albums over the past 12 months. As much as I hate change with a passion, a trait deeply ingrained in my being, it's hard to look back at my life over the past however many years and deny how much I've revealed in and fed off difference. Either way, Invented has been a big player of 2011.

Once I was able to put down Invented long enough, the obvious place to go was to Futures, going back to the recommendation from a friend. Mind you, it wasn't until the start of this year that I managed to get there. Overall, Futures seemed a little more hit and miss to me. But looking at the track list, not so much in quantity. I think favorites vs. not weigh up about the same as with Invented. It comes more from the extremes on both ends of the spectrum. Forgetting Coffee & Cigarettes for a moment, the absolute highs on Futures are above that of Invented and the few lows are certainly lower than Invented. And by lows, I mean Drugs Or Me, which I have to skip. But the highs kill me (no pun intended), moreso than on Invented. Work, Kill and Polaris slay me. Pretty much equally. And in that "no this one is the best" way, until the next one comes on. Pure brilliance. Then you have The World You Love which virtually ranks as high as those other three in terms of making you want to bleed. This record came out in 2004, and I'm just discovering it this year. That hurts.

Beyond Futures, I'd given Chase This Light a few spins earlier in the year. But it wasn't until midway through this year that I really took notice of it. I clearly remember being in Old Town Scottsdale, having just realized how great the album was. When it comes to consistency, forget Bleed American. Nevermind how the songs on Futures kill me. Chase This Light is my favorite Jimmy Eat World record. Or at least it is right now. But I don't realistically see that changing. The whole record blows me away, there is not a song on it remotely skip-able. Just like with Futures, only more, I'm questioning where this record has been my whole life.

Delving backwards further into their catalog has actual proved a different experience. It's actually compelling the degree to which I don't care for the majority of material prior to Bleed American, in contrast to how much I love everything since. It's pretty much indirectly proportional. And not through lack of giving it a chance. It just isn't my thing, for the most part. But that's fine, given how everything (virtually) since is - and more.

I just wish it hadn't taken this long to realize it. Which isn't the first time. And probably won't be the last.

"I've always been an easy kill. I guess I always will."

Rock Shots 2011

Best Music Photos Of The Last Year

(3)Tuesday, December 27, 2011 - 12:43:37 pm
(Posted Under: Tempe Music Scene, Music, Photography)

Someone I know recently posted an album of music photos from the past year. Which I thought was a cool idea. Cool enough to steal.

Going through my photos from the past year, I've learnt a few things. That I've seen The Persuaders perform a ridiculous amount of times this year. That it's been another great year for live music. That if I put this together soley on photographic merit, there would be a lot of redundancy of the usual suspects - including Laufenberg & Gloden's Les Pauls. And that drummers are ridiculously difficult to photograph, unless you're going to get up on stage. And let's face it, I'm just not that guy. So unfortunately I don't have photos of Chico, Dan Petrossino or Phil Rhodes good enough to make the cut. Which is a real shame.

But without further ado...


Corey Gloden (Strange Young Things)
PF Chang's Rock N' Roll Marathon, Phoenix, AZ (January 16, 2011)

Glodie "takin' it to the streets".


Johnathan Scott Howard (Tramps & Thieves)
Corey Gloden's Birthday Bash - Yucca Tap Room, Tempe, AZ - January 28, 2011

So yeah, it's only Scotty's foot. But I love this photo.


Mark Zubia & Paul Cardone (Los Guys)
Sunday A'Fair - Scottsdale Civic Center, Scottsdale, AZ - February 27, 2011


Josh Kennedy (The Black Moods)
Martini Ranch, Scottsdale, AZ - Feb 21, 2011

2011 didn't see me snap the ellusive Josh Kennedy "airtime" photo. Maybe in 2012. But still, there were plenty great ones of Josh, with this one probably being the best.


Shelby James
St. Patricks Day, RT O'Sullivan's, Mesa, AZ - March 17, 2011


Tramps & Thieves
St. Patricks Day, RT O'Sullivan's, Mesa, AZ - March 17, 2011

No prizes for guessing they were doing Galloping Hearts when this was shot.


Thomas Laufenberg (The Persuaders)
Hard Rock Cafe, Phoenix, AZ - April 8, 2011

Laufenberg rocking a suit and gold Les Paul.


Marc Norman (Ghetto Cowgirl)
The Sail Inn, Tempe, AZ - Apr 13, 2011

"Then comes my birthday and I'll be reborn"


Walt Richardson
The Avenue Screening, The Sail Inn, Tempe, AZ - May 13, 2011


Josh Kennedy & Stephen Ashbrook
The Spirit Room, Jerome, AZ - May 15, 2011

Now THAT's rock 'n roll.


Emmett DeGuvera
O'Donoghues Pub, Scottsdale, AZ - May 21, 2011

Stick singing about his feelings.


Lawrence Zubia (The Persuaders)
Tempe Tavern, Tempe, AZ - June 6, 2011

Probably the best rock photo I've taken in 2011. Given how many times we've seen The Persuaders this year, I'm not surprised it's one of LZ.


Rich Hopkins & The Luminarios
Teakwoods Tavern & Grill, Phoenix, AZ - June 4, 2011


Jim Swafford (The Persuaders)
District Stage, Tempe Marketplace, Tempe, AZ - August 5, 2011


Joe Pena (Greyhound Soul)
The Sail Inn, Tempe, AZ - July 2, 2011


Andrew Brown
The Sail Inn, Tempe, AZ - July 2, 2011


Marc Norman (Ghetto Cowgirl)
The Sail Inn, Tempe, AZ - July 2, 2011


Curtis Grippe (The Persuaders - of sorts)
LZ's Open Mic Night - Tempe Tavern, Tempe, AZ - August 10, 2011

"The Grip" sitting in with three fifths of The Persuaders.


Jamie Woolford (The Stereo)
Long Wongs @ The Firehouse, Tempe, AZ - September 3, 2011

Jamie Woolford fronting coolest reunion show of 2011. My face still hurts.


Corey Gloden & Patrick Kelly (Strange Young Things)
Steal The Show - The Rogue Bar, Scottsdale, AZ - September 9, 2011


Marc Norman & The Marc Normans (Ghetto Cowgirl)
Long Wongs @ The Firehouse, Tempe, AZ - October 26, 2011

The most fun you can have while wearing a Marc Norman wig.


Adam Gross (Strange Young Things)
Halloween - Long Wongs @ The Firehouse, Tempe, AZ - October 29, 2011

If you haven't done Halloween with Strange Young Things, you haven't done Halloween. This was my third year in a row, so just trust me on this.


Emmett DeGuvera & Mark Zubia
Crescent Ballroom, Phoenix, AZ - November, 13 2011

I don't know who set up the lighting at Crescent. But the photographer in me thanks you.


Scott Andrews & Mark Zubia (Los Guys)
Tempe Tavern, Tempe, AZ - December 24, 2011


Lawrence & Mark Zubia (The Persuaders)
Tempe Tavern, Tempe, AZ - December 24, 2011

That long last lonely mile gets everyone smilin'.

Mink Rebellion Reunion

(7)Tuesday, December 13, 2011 - 08:49:55 am
(Posted Under: Tempe Music Scene, Music)

I saw something about this on Sunday night on Facebook, which ignited some excitement. And the Martini Ranch website confirmed it. But something this good just seems too good to be true. However, this flier seems to confirm it.



I was pissed when Mink reunited a mere 3 months before heading Stateside. But it is all good now. It's also pretty amazing it came up when it had, since it was on Sunday, driving around trying to source reptile lighting that I mentioned how much I miss seeing Bobby.

Rock For Tots

(0)Saturday, December 10, 2011 - 11:59:18 pm
(Posted Under: Tempe Music Scene, Music, Live Shows)

Rock For Tots 7

(0)Wednesday, December 7, 2011 - 08:34:25 am
(Posted Under: Tempe Music Scene, Music)

Coming up this Saturday, a great night for a great cause. Be there!

Silverbell CD Release

(0)Monday, November 28, 2011 - 09:27:38 am
(Posted Under: Tempe Music Scene, Music)

This is going to be a great night, especially since I've been anticipating this album for at least the last 10 or so months.



I'd actually seen this flier at Teakwoods on Saturday night. Love the album title, and the artwork.

Drinkin' & Stinking

(0)Saturday, November 26, 2011 - 11:32:12 pm
(Posted Under: Tempe Music Scene, Music, Live Shows, Instagram)

Post game wrap of this crazy rock n' roll weekend. Very high Zubia quotient, seeing at least one Zubia every night. And impressively on Friday saw all three in the one night, with Dani & Lawrence performing acoustic early in the night, and then Mark with Los Guys later. Saw Long Last Lonely Mile performed twice in three days. Heard some long gone Pistoleros tunes. Jammed Poison songs with one half of Tramps & Thieves. Drank more in terms of volume and frequency than I have in a long time. And came closer to copping a microphone to the face at a Ghetto Cowgirl show than I ever have at a Strange Young Things show. It's been quite the long weekend.

Thanksgiving Eve with Tramps & Thieves and The Pistoleros

(0)Wednesday, November 23, 2011 - 11:47:21 pm
(Posted Under: Tempe Music Scene, Music, Live Shows)

There is so much I could say about tonight. But I think it's best summed up by quoting the Zubia's: if everybody's heart is with you, you'll be alright. That line resonated with me tonight anyway.

Amazing show. Amazing night. There is no better place to be on Thanksgiving Eve than Teakwoods.

Like A Wave Video

(0)Sunday, October 30, 2011 - 05:34:35 pm
(Posted Under: Tempe Music Scene, Music)

Halloween

Pumpkins, Muddy Violets & The Ex-Presidents

(0)Saturday, October 29, 2011 - 11:39:54 pm
(Posted Under: Instagram, Tempe Music Scene, Music, Live Shows)

Busy night. It's not technically halloween yet, but given it's on a Monday, for all extents and purposes it may as well be. With tonight's Ghetto Cowgirl gigged canceled due to a Laufenberg injury, we had time to start carving our pumpkin after dinner. Or at least hollowing out, before heading out to Yucca to see Muddy Violets. It's been forever since they've played. Actually, a year according to Jason. I can believe that. Their intensity is definitely something to behold. Actually, Jason's scream at the end of INXS' Don't Change For Me feels like it's going to break you.

After their early set, it was back home to finish up the pumpkin carving. Which looks pretty damn good, if I may say so myself.



Once that was finished, we'd reached the point of the night where there was nothing left to do but kill time with a beer, running out the clock before we headed back out to see Strange Young Things.

This year, not being a band to ever disappoint on Halloween, they stormed the stage dressed as the Ex-Presidents from Point Break. Money bags, guns and all. An absolutely surreal experience watching them play their set in that get up. I love those glorious bastards!

We Could All Wear Fros and Jersies

Pre Halloween Sillyness

(0)Wednesday, October 26, 2011 - 11:26:38 pm
(Posted Under: Tempe Music Scene, Music, Live Shows)

If you were to write a song about tonight, it would go something like "we could all wear fros and jersies and pretend we're Marc Norman".

Some pre Halloween fun. We got a call on Monday night from Annmar looking for buy in on the plan that she and Thomas had just cooked up. Despite the last night being pretty busy, we managed to pick up a pair of afro wigs before heading out to Old Town Tavern. Not surprisingly we dropped the ball in the basketball jersey department, but my Phoenix Suns style Maine shirt was the next thing.

It's impressive how hard it is to recognize people when they're wearing fro wigs. Annmar came up and started chatting to me, and it took a second for me to realize it was her. Others I didn't recognize until the wigs came off after Ghetto's set.

It was a lot of fun. At least for us. Marc stated on occasion that he was freaked out, and I think there was actually some genuineness to that statement. Which I can actually understand. Best fro on stage would have to have been Serafini. And best 80's porn star.

At the end of the night, AnnMar orchestrated those of us fros getting on stage for Bar Room. Yes, instead of sharing the stage with 3 impersonators, he had to do so with about 10 or so.

Tramps & Thieves @ Teakwoods

(0)Thursday, October 20, 2011 - 11:11:22 pm
(Posted Under: Tempe Music Scene, Music, Live Shows, Instagram)

Second school night in a row at Teakwoods. This week is one for the books.



Fun times.

Robin Wilson @ Teakwoods

(0)Wednesday, October 19, 2011 - 11:13:05 pm
(Posted Under: Music, Tempe Music Scene, Live Shows, Instagram)

Stop For A Beer

(0)Monday, October 10, 2011 - 02:28:51 pm
(Posted Under: Tempe Music Scene, Music)

The Persuaders @ Tempe Marketplace

(0)Friday, October 7, 2011 - 11:53:14 pm
(Posted Under: Tempe Music Scene, Music, Live Shows, Instagram)

Tonight's plans involved Pete's Fish & Chips while watching The Persuaders at Tempe Marketplace. Now there is a great Tempe combo right there.

Before leaving we decided to clean out Genev's terrarium, which meant we were cutting things pretty tight time wise. And we didn't factor in how many other people had devised similar plans as ours. Well, the Pete's Fish & Chips portion of it anyway. Note to self - Pete's in Tempe is pretty hopping on a Friday night.

After the long wait at the drive thru @ Pete's we made it down to Tempe Marketplace in time to catch 2 of the 3 sets by Dani and then The Persuaders.

Between sets I got the scope on the upcoming CD release party. That's going to be an awesome night!

Anniversary Lunch

(0)Tuesday, September 27, 2011 - 04:31:03 pm
(Posted Under: Tempe Music Scene, Instagram)

Things are busy as always, and with our schedules it was impossible to make going out to dinner for our anniversary work. Solution? Lunch at Restaurant Mexico. Got to love the 4 minute walk from work on my lunch break.

The Bringer Of Pain To Your Face

(0)Saturday, September 3, 2011 - 11:25:03 pm
(Posted Under: Tempe Music Scene, Music, Live Shows)

At 10:05pm tonight we made a quick exit out of Teakwoods, headed back to Tempe for the secret The Stereo show. Can I say that now that it's happened? Surely I can.

Given the time we got back to Tempe, there was concern that we were missing it, however we got their in plenty of time. As a matter of fact, we probably could have hung out at Teakwoods and caught Corey's set. Sorry Glodie. With that said, I enjoyed getting to see what we did of Big Moxie.

The thing about a great show is that it makes all the bullshit associated leading up to seeing it worthwhile. Tonight was no exception - both in terms of the amount of bullshit to deal with, and how worth it was when The Stereo took the stage. They sounded great, and the set list was absolutely awesome. And with guest on stage appearances from Thomas Laufenberg and Jason Sukut, there was absolutely nothing to complain about.

We never made it back to Teakwoods to complete the major trifecta diminished (as coined last night), but both Zubia Brothers and The Stereo made for more fun than you should be allowed to have in one night anyway.

VH1 Storytellers?

Zubia Brothers @ Teakwoods

(0)Saturday, September 3, 2011 - 10:21:28 pm
(Posted Under: Tempe Music Scene, Music, Live Shows)

It was like VH1 Storytellers tonight at Teakwoods. How totally awesome! Thankfully the Zubia Brothers started at 9, making it possible for us to make it to Phoenix for their show, and then split back to Tempe, working perfectly with the rest of our plans for the night.

Great to hear the stories behind many of the songs, and the set list was pretty incredible, with some stuff that went way back. Too cool.

Slowing Down To Speed Up?

(0)Thursday, September 1, 2011 - 09:25:48 pm
(Posted Under: Tempe Music Scene, Music)

Please Come To See Me Play!

Pleeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeease!

(0)Thursday, August 25, 2011 - 09:45:53 pm
(Posted Under: Tempe Music Scene, Music)

Well, Roger Clyne & The Peacemakers aren't a band I've thought about in a while. Though I happened to randomly stumble across a flier on Facebook, promoting an upcoming Vegas show, billed as "Roger Clyne & The Peacemakers with The Refreshments, featuring Roger Clyne and P.H Naffah".

But that can't be true, can it? Surely not? Though I never imagined that Clyne would share the same stage as Blush ever again, and I was proved wrong on that last year.

Indeed, it appears to be true...

Vegas!
Somehow the House of Blues already leaked that we’re going to play “Fizzy Fuzzy Big and Buzzy” in order and in it’s entirety. True. I was planning on announcing it at the Foundry show, but might as well fess up now; that rumor is true. The Labor Day show in Vegas will be another long show; another “evening with” Roger Clyne and the Peacemakers. We’ve never played our seminal album top-to-bottom, even in The Refreshments. It’s going to be a fun trip. We hope you’ll come along. I’ll don a loud Hawaiian shirt and my red Converse on for the first set, and will pull on my trusty, dusty Mexican cowboy boots for the rest of the show.

If this doesn't speak volumes about how hard up Clyne is to get people to come to a show, I don't know what does. It's pretty sad when you start pandering to the absolute lowest common denominator.

And "...with The Refreshments..."? Seriously, are Buddy and Brian going to be there. I highly doubt it, especially given the "featuring Roger and P.H" thing. Given that they never let go of the Refreshments songs, and over the years there is probably nothing off Fizzy Fuzzy Big & Buzzy that they haven't played as The Peacemakers. So how this is anything other the "Roger Clyne & The Peacemakers with...err...Roger Clyne & The Peacemakers", I do not know.

Pretty sad on all accounts. Especially since from what I can see, most people who (rightly) abandoned the band are actually being into this cheap ploy and going. Wow.

The Refreshments breaking up was rough. But the silver lining that become apparent to me so many years after the fact (it took a while to see it), is that they went out on a high. While terribly unfortunate that they imploded, there's no way to look back on them with anything but fondness. They burnt out prematurely, but that also means that they're one band that isn't tainted with becoming half baked and lame. Years ago, there was certainly a sense of being robbed, but all this time later, in times like these, that's been replaced with a deep appreciation that the band was always, and will always be flat out awesome. So Roj, how about you leave us all with that, instead of screwing with the The Refreshments thing. Enough with the Fizzy Fuzzy Big & Buzzy shirts with the sun tattoo replace with a petroglyph (can a t-shirt get laser tattoo surgery? ), and being "The Refreshments" with P.H to try make a buck. You were part of something pretty awesome once. How about you leave it that way and go back to your candy ass no more beautiful world Peacemakers. Make some more moonshine and sing about whatever lame ass crap you sing about these days. Paper plates and stuff, or so I hear. Let us remember that cool former self, that has long since gone, as how it was.

Edit: I listened to the entire Refreshments discography today, which reinforced how this band broke up before anything became tainted. And particularly listening to European Swallow from Wheelie, I was left screaming "how did it all go so wrong?".

Siesta. Rock. Siesta

(0)Friday, August 19, 2011 - 11:59:07 pm
(Posted Under: Tempe Music Scene, Music, Live Shows)

The best time you can have at Yucca is with Strange Young Things. Always.

It was a weird night. Putzed around at home after work until we laid down around 8:30, in attempt to survive tonight better. We were both pretty tired, but I had no problem believing that at least I'd wake up in about an hour, leaving plenty of time to catch Los Guys. Though, I turned out to be a lot more tired from this week than I first thought. I actually did technically wake up in time to have seen Los Guys, but my waking words were "fuck Los Guys" before rolling over. Y'know, in the most affectionate way, but there wasd no way in hell at that stage I was going to even entertain the idea of dragging my ass out of bed and down to Yucca.

The next thing I knew it was close to midnight. And my attitude towards Strange Young Things wasn't that much different to that of Los Guys. I was still tired as hell, and the last thing I wanted to do was get out of bed. But there is one band I would do it for, and it's these guys. Not that I didn't curse them while getting ready in a sleepy haze. Fuck Strange Young Things indeed! ha! I was still half asleep when we got to Yucca. But I knew that if anything had any hope of waking me up, it was these bastards. And I was right. Y'know, about 25 seconds into Bang The Dash I was awake. Wide awake. Such is the power of Strange Young Things. And kicked in was that adrenaline that confirms why you knew you had to suck it up and get down here.

Great show! It was Yucca, so of course it was. Really cool that they pulled out Dabble In The Mix and got PC up on stage for School. And a cool Bitch Has Got Problems circle, with Corey and Katie in the middle of it. Encore by popular demand. Everything you'd expect from a SYT at Yucca.

As quick as they woke me up, I realized how tired I was the moment they finished playing. It's back to bed for me.

Zia Records Find

From Neyond The Back Burner

(0)Wednesday, August 17, 2011 - 09:29:14 pm
(Posted Under: Tempe Music Scene, Music)

We found this weird copy of From Beyond The Back Burner at Zia tonight after work - pictured on the bottom.



Same track listing, but with a different liners and CD. No reference to Atomic Pop on it at all, and a Uranus label on the back. I'd like to think this is some pre Atomic Pop pressing, though I have no idea if it actually is.

New Blood

(0)Sunday, August 14, 2011 - 11:45:32 pm
(Posted Under: Tempe Music Scene, Music)

Wow. It's the newest Strange Young Things song, and kicks some major ass. You had me at that dirty guitar riff.

We heard it for the first time a while back at The Sail Inn. And although I remember thinking it was cool at the time, I was a little to buzzed that night to have thought about it since. Or really to remember anything specific about the song. But we heard it again tonight at the Lexington pool party, and it may be my new favorite Strange Young Things song. It pains me that I don't have a recording of that one...yet.

How Much Fun Can You Have At Teakwoods?

(0)Friday, August 12, 2011 - 11:52:28 pm
(Posted Under: Tempe Music Scene, Music, Live)

Well tonight was a hell of a lot of fun. Some nights at Teakwoods you expect to be something out of the ordinary, others just seem like it's going to be a usual night. I was pretty much expecting the latter. However, we showed up to find the place absolutely packed, with just the opener playing. I guess there were some birthdays going on. So we ended up pulling up at a table on the other side of the bar near the entrance. Definitely a different take on Teakwoods for us. Sara even came past and said "what the hell is going on tonight?!?".

When my nachos arrived, the plate seemed to me to be piled higher than it has ever been before. Katie didn't think that it was, but I'm not really sure. The plan tonight was to use my anniversary coupon, and as such we'd held out from eating until after 9pm tonight. Needless to say I was as hungry as well when we got to Teakwoods. But even then, I had some major doubts about being able to get through all the nachos! Which were fucking awesome btw, and so needed. And a plate of nachos that big takes a fair while to eat. Actually, I was working through them through Random Karma's opening set and just finishing up when Tramps started playing. I can report that I did make it all the way through the nachos - just. I view that as an accomplishment.

There were so many familar faces there tonight. Chatted about Toiys For Tots, which sounds like it's going to be a big one this year. And met Lee.

Typically around 10:30 or 11 there is some fall off at Teakwoods, but tonight, which was great to see. The ridiculous number of people there when we walked in remained for most of the night. Tramps put on a great show, which the floor in front of the stage packed the whole time. Even we were up there by Golden Tee due to lack of anywhere to sit. Plenty of dancing happening. Including us, when Emmeett insisted we danced during Call You Baby.

With a show this fun, we absolutely wanted to see it closed out with Ducks, Ages and Porcupine Jacket. We got Ages, after which there was pretty of tension in the air between us - was it going to go into that familiar Unfortunate Souls intro (that I could literally hear in my head at the end of Ages, or was it going to be something else. There was a pause, before Emmett announced that Ryan was player of the week, and Scott started playing the Porcupine riff. Yes! Now that's how you end a show. Towards the end of the song, Emmett jumped off stage to ask if I wanted to play the rest of it for him. Which I delcined, and pretty much regretted the moment after the words left my mouth! After they got finished, he berated me, because he wanted to go out for a smoke! ha! And then said he wants me to do it next week. Given my regret of saying "no" to the guitar, I'm glad that I may be able to redeem myself next week.

Great food, great music, great people. One hell of a fun night!

Tramps played an awesome set,

The Persuaders @ Tempe Marketplace

(0)Friday, August 5, 2011 - 11:28:25 pm
(Posted Under: Tempe Music Scene, Live Shows, Music)

The Persuaders at Tempe Marketplace was a good way to end the working week. And given our whole plan to (finally) do as little as possible and get to bed at a reasonable time, the whole 7 - 10pm timeslot was very welcomed to both of that.

All week I'd thought it started at 8, until about 6:30 tonight, which presented the delima of whether to take our pizza with us or try to shove it down as fast as possible. We opted for the later, and hence didn't get down there until 8, however amazingly didn't seem to miss anything.

We showed up as Thomas was setting up Dani with his red guitar. Dani opened the show. Pretty amazing at age 13. She pulled out 3 songs (two originals and a cover of Dancing In The Dark) before her dad and the rest of The Persuaders took the stage.

Lawrence absolutely looked like he was born to be on a huge stage. And did a remarkable job of censoring himself for the family orientated crowd. Who knows what the hell Laufenberg was singing during Jesus Christ though. It probably wasn't the original lyric, but whatever it was, it didn't take much imagination to guess what the lyric actually is.

Definitely fun to see them on the outdoor stage. And it was quite the summer night for it. When we left, I checked the temperature - 100F, or 38C. Not bad for after 10pm!

The Black Moods @ The Marquee

(0)Friday, July 8, 2011 - 09:26:59 pm
(Posted Under: Tempe Music Scene, Music, Live Shows)

Supporting Local Music

(0)Sunday, July 3, 2011 - 11:54:58 pm
(Posted Under: Tempe Music Scene)

You Live In Phoenix Dude

(0)Sunday, July 3, 2011 - 08:10:45 pm
(Posted Under: Tempe Music Scene)

Y'know, whenever local bands are on the radio, I always want to listen and record. It's been true for so many years. The funny thing is that I still immediately go to the online stream to do so. Funny, because it's been almost two years that I've been living within the airwaves of Phoenix stations and don't need to do online streams any more! Old habits, y'know...

It's a busy night in that regard, with Josh from The Black Moods on Local Frequency and Lawrence Zubia on Danny Zelescko's new radio show on KDKB.

Edit: In an ironic twist, I just (re)discovered that not only did my the cassette decks on my stereo get junked up in the move across the world, but the AM/FM switch got battered in such a way that it's stuck on AM. So I guess I'll be using the online streams for a bit longer anyway.

Sail Inn Fun

(0)Saturday, July 2, 2011 - 10:40:44 am
(Posted Under: Tempe Music Scene, Music, Live Shows)

Saturday night was going to be a relatively quiet one for us, until last night Corey let us know that Strange Young Things were playing at the Sail Inn. With Ghetto. And Andrew Brown. And Greyhound Soul. Cause for a big night in other words. And a great opportunity to use the Groupon we'd brought for the Sail Inn recently. Which really made it an inexpensive and very fun night!

The show was billed as Larson's birthday. We were fashionably late, and bummed that we probably missed Andrew, however walked in as he was setting up, which was sweet. We've missed him so many times lately, not at all due to wanting to. Although I guessed he was going to play solo, he had an instant band up there with him including Icard and Mesner. It was fun seeing him get up with Greyhound Soul later.

Having had so much fun last night, you wouldn't have thought that tonight would have matched it. I would like to say that it was because we were drinking and I had a little buzz on, but y'know it wasn't just that. Ghetto rocked again.

And then Strange Young Things was just crazy fun. We'd been fairly busy today and I guess I hadn't thought that much about tonight, and wasn't really prepared for the ridiculous fun that is Strange Young Things. Later in the set Corey broke out the Bitch Has Got Problems circle, which we haven't seen for a while. Of course, he called out for Katie to do her microphone holding duties. And tonight the microphone was passed around for solo performances by Katie, Norm and myself (it's a shame I wasn't recording tonight). Later on both Pat and Allison commented on what a good singer Katie is, which was cool. Just a hell of a lot of fun. After Lonely Hearts the crowd insisted on more, which I always like to see.

It's been (another) fun rock n' roll weekend, that's for sure!

Glodie & Ghetto @ Teaks

(0)Friday, July 1, 2011 - 11:53:17 pm
(Posted Under: Tempe Music Scene, Music, Live Shows)

Tonight was night one of using our Teakwood's Groupons. With Glodie opening for Ghetto Cowgirl, it seemed like a good opportunity for it.

I'd decided hours before we got there that I wanted the fish and chips, and was quite happy that it was on the specials menu. Thank you Teakwoods, I love you. I have to re-iterate what an awesome idea jalapeno coleslaw is. Rocks my world. With that said, it was also almost the death of my tonight. The jalapeno in it was from the fiery depths of hell. Of course, I had no idea that it was until I'd finished the coleslaw and carelessly devoured the jalapeno. The tiny little jalapeno that set my mouth on fire for the next 20 minutes. I love them, but I often get one at Teakwoods (typically in the nachos or fajitas) that has a little bit of an extra kick to it. But more often than not it just causes my eyes to water for about a minute and prompts me to chug a little bit extra of my drink. Which is what I expected with this one. But no matter how much I drank, there was no putting out the fire on my tongue that this puppy had ignited. After 5 minutes with no relief, was I sure I wasn't going to die? Not entirely! After a decent amount of time and a ridiculous amount of both Pepsi and water, and then finally a cigarette, the flames in my mouth finally started to go out. Whoah.

It was really fun seeing Corey, especially since it's been so long between shows, both solo and with Strange Young Things. It was a quieter night at Teakwoods, which made for a set list customized for us. You can't complain with that. After about 45 minutes Corey called Katie up to the stage to ask her if he was done. Hilarious. What does she look like, Sara Cina?!? ha

I'd totally forgotten about this, but last Saturday Norm announced to everyone there that if they didn't show up next week that he would kill himself. He hadn't forgotten though, bringing that up to the much smaller crowd this week. A lesser man would have taken it as blow and broken (to pieces ). But not Norman. It was clear before he even took the stage that it was a challenge - to be even more rock n' roll and more ridiculous than if more people had shown up. And he proceeded to deliver on that challenge, giving a performance of ridiculous proportions and entertaining the fuck of out the 3 couches and few tables worth of people that were there. Last week was a hell of a lot of fun because so many people were there, tonight was so much fun because there weren't.

He proceeded to pull out all the stops - jumping on the couches to sing, jumping on the bar stool next to us to sing (and terrifying everyone, or at least us, that it was going to go horribly wrong), harassing Sara anytime she came close to the stage (but what's new? ), doing 80's hair metal spins on the stage floor, hilarious banter and...well, just all around being all the Marc Norman he could be! Glorious. The rest of the band we're having a hell of a time also, with Thomas pulling out some absolutely ridiculous guitar solos. Even breaking out some finger tapping. Rock! On that note of Laufenberg solos, he stopped me on the way out to talk about the solo in Paralyse, which brought some exciting news.

Also walking out Norm handed me a t-shirt after bumming a smoke. Sweet. We actually wanted to pick up shirts tonight, but neglected to get cash this afternoon, so that worked out nicely. This whole unspoken and unplanned trade of cigarettes for Ghetto merch of late works out pretty nicely, I must say. ha!

Ghetto & Tramps @ Teakwoods

How Much Fun Can You Have On A Saturday Night?

(0)Saturday, June 25, 2011 - 11:54:30 pm
(Posted Under: Tempe Music Scene, Music, Live Shows)

Ridiculously fun night at Teakwoods tonight. We'd actually planned to eat there, which we had been quite frankly looking forward to all week, but since we'd effectively stuffed ourselves earlier in the afternoon meeting up with Aaron at Pete's Fish & Chips, neither of us seemed that hungry by the time 9 o'clock rolled around. I guess there is always next week. Yes, there is always next week!

Neither of us felt like drinking tonight either, but the whole part atmosphere changed that and it wasn't long before beers and Jack Daniel's were flowing. It was that sort of night.

Curtis was out of town, and Mike Hill from Sledville sat in on drums, which was a welcomed, since we'd actually just expected an acoustic Ghetto set. As such, we were treated to a blistering full band electric set. The band was on fire, and the most impressive part of the whole thing is that they haven't played with Mike in 10 years. No rehearsals before the show or anything. Now that is impressive! And it was really good for me to get to see Mike with the band.

It was also an impressive crowd out tonight, which may have had to do with it being Sara's birthday. It was one of those nights (that you wished happened more often) when it seems like everyone you know is there. Tramps finished up with a fun set. There was no shortage of dancing in front of the stage. I guess you could say it was one of those rowdy Tramps nights. Scotty took a microphone to the face during Next Time when someone fell onto the stage. Which he recovered from nicely, considering the force to which the microphone hit him. It was also fun when Norm jumped up on stage for Galloping Hearts. Fun times!

The Maine @ The Marquee

(0)Saturday, June 18, 2011 - 11:29:40 pm
(Posted Under: Tempe Music Scene, Music, Live Shows)

This weekend we've had two high profile concerts. Last night, Poion and Motley Crue, and tonight The Maine. You'd think that the former would be the more obnoxious crowd. But you'd think wrong. Teenage girls are such a weird and annoying species of being, and being in the presence of a sea of them is not something I'd wish on my worst enemy. Thankfully it's something we hardly ever have to deal with, unless we're seeing The Maine. Which I think goes to how highly I think of that band. I will endure they're audience of Maybalene painted screaming teens to see them play.

We had brought our tickets on a day that offered a special package of early entry and a signed poster. We had no hope of getting there for the early entry, which was fine, however it might have meant avoiding standing in the line of obnoxious teenage girls.

Austin Gibbs opened, and for much of his set we stood in line waiting to pick up the posters. The one guy working the merch table for The Maine and Augustana had a tip jar. Here's a tip for you, oi more so the organizers - if you're playing a venue the size of the Marquee Theatre, pay a few people to work merch! Or let the Austin Gibbs merch guy (who looked very bored and lonely) help out with the other stuff. The upside is that we could hear Austin's set fine, and managed to walk in for the last song or two, so it wasn't a huge problem. Incidently, when we did get to the front of the merch line, we discovered that the band was in the process of signing the posters and we had to come back. Though, we wanted to get tee's, so it wasn't a complete loss.

We ended up sitting outside the Marquee for Augustana's set. We know nothing about them, but despite the roars of screaming girls approval we could here, a few songs in we weren't overly impressed and preferred to hang around outside. It did allow us to easily pick up the posters we were owed before their set ended. We did of course go in for a song or two, and checked out the song that Austin Gibbs and The Maine joined in on.

A bit more waiting until The Maine went on at around 10:15. Tonight's show was the final show of their current North American tour, as well as being a hometown show and so it was a pretty cool show for both of those reasons. And it's a continuing trend that each time we see these guys we see a better show. Comparatively this was a cooler show than what we saw at Arizona State University. Which I guess when it's a show that your fans have actually paid for tickets to, as opposed to a show in front of a bunch of drunk college kids that are most likely there because they have nothing better to do, or are there for the opening band. The enthusiasm and showmanship of this show was certainly much different than the ASU show.

It was kicked off with Don't Stop Now, and was quite Black & White heavy. It there was anything that resembled last night's concert, it was Garrett's insane rock n' roll out of control moves across the stage. How exactly he can throw himself all over the stage like that and actually play bass amazes me. I think he's always been Katie's favorite in the band, and I now understand why.

I always comment on how much this band has done in a small span of time, and we had to laugh when John announced they were going to do "an old song" and they broke into Can't Stop Won't Stop. Here I was thinking we were going to hear something off their first E.P! And then proudly announced later that the band is "4 years old". Yes, 4 whole years. And they have put out 3 EP's, 2 major label full length albums, a movie soundtrack, a book...and probably a whole bunch of things I can't think of. And of course, are going into the studio after this show to finish the next record. On a similar note, before their set we'd discussed whether or not we'd know all the songs or not this time around, and it was only a few songs in until we heard one we didn't know. Admittedly it could have been a cover, but if not, it goes to how quick these kids are pumping out material. And if it wasn't a cover, it certainly may hint towards a more alternate grungy direction on the next record.

The band pulled out a strange, kinda regae version of Everything I Ask For. It was a cool thing to witness, but one of those things that left you feeling conflicted, because you wanted to see that, but also kinda wanted to hear it the original way. The other bands came out for the Ryan Adams cover of Dance All Night. It looked like they were also going to do a cover of The Car's My Best Friends Girl before John shut it down and farewelled one of their crew members, and proceeded to get emotional about...well, everything. It being their last show of the tour, playing their home town.

The rock n' roll aspect of the show continued with an elongated of Girls Do What They Want complete with John jumping into the crowd and crowd surfing towards the end of it, and they closed out the night with Growing Up. It was somewhat surprising that an encore didn't follow. It certainly seemed like the type of night where one would.

A great show, and like I said, the most enjoyable one yet. Again the Marquee proved to be a great venue, getting a good view of the band without having to be anywhere near that sea of screaming teenage girls. I can't state how much I appreciate that! And hell, this time we found an industrial fan to stand by, and avoided the typical complaint about a show at The Marquee...the heat!

Ghetto Cowgirl & The Persuaders @ Tempe Tavern

(0)Saturday, June 11, 2011 - 11:59:06 pm
(Posted Under: Tempe Music Scene, Music, Live Shows)

Well, it's been another cool rock n' roll weekend with The Persuaders. Last night was the Goat Head Saloon with Silverbell. Once again we were both exhausted and would have just waited for tonight, if it weren't for Silverbell. Once again we were blown away by them. I can't exactly pinpoint exact what it is with them, but there is something about them that is just amazing. We really can't wait for their record to come out.

The Persuaders were great. We were way up the back, but even from there we could see Lawrence, in his shades, completely rock starring it up. Since Katie was almost falling asleep, we split right after they finished.

Tonight was Tempe Tavern. A place we've been wanting to check out for quite a while, but it just hasn't happened until tonight. Very cool place, and it's nice to have a good music venue in Tempe. And personally I loved the stage lighting, which made it easy to get some really good shots. And to play around a lot with different settings. I've got to say, the ability to drop back from ISO 6400 to 1600 and not have blurred motion was much appreciated by me. The old building makes for a really cool aesthetic also, particularly the side wall on of the stage. Kinda reminded me of Scorpion Gulch actually.

Another nice lineup tonight, with Ghetto Cowgirl opening. They didn't even get through the first song before Norm was in the phone booth singing. Classic! When he saw the photo later he insisted that I post it to Facebook immediately. Like I wasn't going to do that anyway! Great Ghetto set as always, with the highlight being not one, but two new Ghetto songs. Well, "new" anyway. Both Paralyse and Break To Pieces. Is this a sign of things to come? While they've done Paralyse a few times of late, it's been years since I've heard them do Break To Pieces.

The Persuaders rocked again, and musically everything I always say about them applies. It was a fun show, with Thomas mocking Lawrence for mistakenly introducing them as "The Pistoleros" and later berating the hell out of Norman from stage. The whole "Planets" thing was enjoyable also.

It was definitely a fun night for me, being able to really play around with getting some cool photos. And hey, a really good photo of Phil! That's probably a first for me. These are some of the better ones.

Robin Wilson @ Teakwoods

(0)Thursday, June 9, 2011 - 11:52:19 pm
(Posted Under: Tempe Music Scene, Music, Live Shows)

Well, tonight was loads of fun. I showed up at Teakwoods at about 6. With the price of gas it just made more sense, since Katie works right down the street. I opted for soda tonight, and was probably a good thing given how long I was there. If I'd been drinking tonight - well, I'm sure I would have been passed out long before midnight when we left.

It was a good opportunity to get some work done. I met up with Will for the first time tonight, who came over and introduced himself at about 7:30. Given that Robin's starting time had been pushed back from 8 'til 9 because of the NBA game, it was provided a good opportunity to chat, and quite frankly I was happy to put the laptop away and stop coding at that stage. I've met a whole bunch of really cool music out here through the music I'm into, and Will's another one. It's a cool thing.

Robin hit the stage at about 9 and started strumming Teenager In Love in the final moments of the game. It didn't actually seem to me like the game was over, but there was no mistaking that Rob was ready to get the show on the road.

Y'know, if you've been listening to this guy as long as I have been, you can pretty much predict the set list. And so it was quite exciting that his first set had a lot of stuff he hadn't played before. Rad. The pinnacle of that for me, without a doubt was 18 And Life. Yes, you heard me right, the Skid Row song. If there was any song I would never expect Robin to do, it would be that! When he started, I was actually thinking it was Living On A Prayer (y'know, with "Ricky" and "Tommy" and the 80's being so long ago, it's an easy mistake to make) and almost fell off of my chair when I realized moments later that it was actually 18 And Life. Not to say that Living On A Prayer would have been much less of an unexpected cover from Robin. But certainly less enjoyable for me. Suffice to say, that was the highlight for me for sure. But there were a bunch of other not some common choices like Sorrow (Bad Religion), Slide Away (Oasis), I've Got A Message To You (Bee Gees), Am I Wrong? (Love Spit Love). Major props to Robin for changing things up. My Polaris made an appearance in the first set also. I'm glad to see that song hasn't faded away, it's a great song.

On the way down to Teakwoods this afternoon, Katie and I had been discussing our excitement over the new Ghetto Cowgirl stickers. If you haven't seen them, they're cool ass. So I couldn't not bring that up when Norm appeared and came over and said hi. I traded him a cigarette for two stickers. Seemed like a fair trade. We chatted about last night (Josh's birthday bash), and it seemed like we missed out on a really fun night. I had just showered and was ready to roll, when we fed Genevelyn some crickets. One got loose, and I spent the next half an hour chasing this freakin' cricket. After which I was hot, sweaty and it was too late to go out (on a school night). Norm thought the whole story sounded pretty rock 'n roll at least. Anyways, I suggested that they should get Velvet Elvis rolling again, and he'd said that he and Josh were talking about that last night. So that's some pretty bitchin' news!

The upside of the late start because of the basket ball game was that Robin's second set didn't start until 10 and Katie was off work and was able to catch all of it. That was a major coop that I'm thankful. The second set was a lot more of the typical stuff, but still a lot of fun. And of course, with some of my favorites including Friday I'm In Love, There She Goes and Bad Reputation and Insider. I've also got to say, despite the amount of shit we've given it of late, I really enjoy when Robin does Sunnyslope, which of course he finished out the night with.

So once again a really fun night with Robin doing his Love, Strength, Hope Foundation show. I'd be great if he could do these a little more often.

Rich Hopkins & The Luminaros

(0)Saturday, June 4, 2011 - 11:12:13 pm
(Posted Under: Tempe Music Scene, Music, Live Shows)

Well, it's been quite a day and I think it's safe to say that we were both absolutely exhausted tonight. If tonight had been anything but Rich Hopkins & The Luminarios I think we would have crapped out and not gone out. Hell, if the venue had been anywhere but Teakwoods the same is probably true. If a laid back environment was ever in order, it was tonight!

Unlike the Sand Rubies, I'm not that familiar with the Luminarios. I was not disappointed. The dueling guitars solos, and that south of border influence in many of the songs completely work for me. Plus, and this is true whether it be the Sand Rubies or Luminarios, Rich always looks like he's having so much fun, it's hard not to entire the show just for that fact alone. I'm fairly convinced that he's another bar star.

And speaking of bar stars, Los Guys really brought it home. Katie and I had agreed that we were going to leave early, out of sheer tiredness. Once Los Guys started playing, all hope of that flew out the window. It was just one of those shows, fun as hell. Mark was taking requests for virtually the whole set, and as such broke out a lot of rarer songs from the catalog. So yeah, we stayed long past the initially agreed time, and had no problem doing so. A great night!

Planking In North Scottsdale

And The Persuaders

(0)Saturday, May 21, 2011 - 11:59:03 pm
(Posted Under: Tempe Music Scene, Music, Live Shows)

So it was The Persuaders tonight at O'Donoghue's. It would have been an easy one to skip, since everyone in that band by now is probably sick of seeing our faces in front of them when they play , plus the gig was in North Scottsdale.

Of course, I'm such a sucker for that band, and without anything more compelling happening on a Saturday night, I knew forewell in the back of my mind that I was going to break and go. Honestly, who are we trying to kid here? At 6 o'clock when Emmett was added as the opener when Joe Pena had to pull out our minds were made up.

O'Donoghue's was a very cool joint. Another Irish pub (two in two nights for us), with the band area in and open air area, which was quite cool. Em saw us as soon as we walked in, and we had to face the music about abandoning him and the rest of Tramps last night. ha! Despite how often we've seen Emmett acoustic with either Scotty or Mark, tonight was the first time we've gotten to see him solo, so that was cool and in itself worth the trip up to North Scottsdale.

After his set, I went out for a smoke, and Lawrence joined me, confirming "you're Australian, right?" and proceeded to mention that there were a bunch of Australians there trying to get the band to drink. We had a good old chat about that and a bunch of other stuff, before wandering back inside. No sooner had I relayed to Katie that there were other Aussies here, but outside I noticed what I've heard about via Facebook - planking!. There was no doubt at that point that there were Australians at the bar! I explained the "craze" to Emmett, who at this point was sitting with us having something to eat. Crazy shit. I must say, this whole "planking" thing totally perpetuates some ridiculous image of the country that I originate from - however, there was something cool about witnessing it. It continued throughout the night, with that party "planking" on everything they could, including a Jeep parked outside. Clearly I was meant to come out to this show, if for nothing to else, to witness my fellow countrymen bring this ridiculous crazy across the ocean to North Scottsdale.

Of course, witnessing planking first hand wasn't the only thing that confirmed that we were supposed to come out to tonight's show. While I'd expected about an hour's worth a music from The Persuaders, they actually played for near on 2 hours and 45 minutes. In addition to the usual Persuader's songs, both sets were opened up with a bunch of N.A.P.P tunes, as well as older Feedbags tunes getting thrown in as well. Got to love that.

Beyond the rare tunes, it was another great show. Sitting there it was obvious how ridiculous even remotely considering skipping this one was. I think we've probably seen the band at least once every weekend for the last two months, and it's just not possible to get sick of seeing them play.

Busy Night

Pirates, Tramps & Strange Young Things

(0)Friday, May 20, 2011 - 11:39:35 pm
(Posted Under: Movie, Tempe, Music, Tempe Music Scene)

Well, it's been a fairly non stop night. We started out heading over to Arizona Mills to see Pirates Of The Caribbean 4. The previews before the movie for both the Transformers movie and Green Hornet confirmed why I rarely go out to see a movie - the absolute shit that comes out of Hollywood is astounding.

Of course, Pirates was fantastic. There really isn't any aspect of those movies that isn't custom built for Katie or myself. I was also ready to say "Penelope Cruz is no Keira Knightley". And I guess while that is still technically true, I didn't feel the need to say it after the movie as I expected.

After the movie, we had some time to kill before Strange Young Things. And a hunger to kill also, since we hadn't had time to eat. So we headed over to Flanny's to grab some food and chow down while watching Tramps & Thieves. The plan worked well, despite the fact that I'm sure we're going to get in trouble for leaving the show. I think we slipped it to the night fairly stealthily, but... It was great to see the turn out that Tramps got, and given that it was lucky that we showed up when we did, otherwise I doubt we would have gotten a table.

We split at 10, and headed down to Robbie Fox for Strange Young Things. Fun times, though it was hot as hell in there, the techno music between sets was hard to take, and well - the place was absolutely packed with college kids. Actually, it was a freak show in that regard. It was good to see the band in front of them, though the majority were outside with the techno music. Y'know, the sea of college kids does raise the point that all our venues being off Mill these days isn't all bad. We hung out for three sets, before taking off since Katie has to do another healthy cooking gig tomorrow morning. While it was somewhat of a relief to get out of that cluster fuck, it was unfortunate that it meant that we missed out on some great tunes including Tripped and Fuck You.

A Moody Sunday Night

(0)Sunday, May 15, 2011 - 11:28:53 pm
(Posted Under: Tempe Music Scene, Music, Live Shows)

Well, when it comes to rock 'n roll this weekend, we've been pretty spoilt, with great music on Friday night, Saturday night and then again on Sunday night with The Black Moods at Martini Ranch. So it's been a damn good weekend if I was say so myself.

Jerome

(0)Saturday, May 14, 2011 - 11:08:56 pm
(Posted Under: Travel, Tempe Music Scene, Live Shows, Music)

We headed up to Jerome this afternoon. Our initial plan was to head up early and hit Wildlife Park Zoo and then continue on to Jerome, until Katie remembered she had to work this morning.

However, it worked out and we still got to Jerome while it was still light and with plenty of time to check out the town. I've known about Jerome for music related reasons for years, but was quite surprised when we were approaching the town limits and saw that the entire town is built into a mountain. That was completely not what I expected. The other notable part about the drive up to Jerome was being able to see Sedona in the distance.

Jerome was very cool and unique. Almost immediately the narrow streets with buildings virtually built right on them made me think of what London seems like it'd be like. Or at least a more hilly version thereof. Which goes to the diversity of Arizona, with Jerome being worlds away from what you see in Phoenix or Tucson (which in themselves are quite different cities). Having just watched the Mill Ave Inc / The Avenue movies last night, you couldn't help but think about the fact that Jerome isn't in any fear of a corporate take over.

In addition to the coolness of the town itself, the views from up there out over the Verde Valley towards Sedona are amazing. The steepness of the roads around the whole town would make living there a pain no doubt, but you really can't beat the picturesqueness of the town and the amazing views from it, that's for sure.

We found a car park and decided to get out and explore the town on foot, rather than trying to navigate the narrow roads in the car. As luck would have it, we parked a few shops fronts away from where the Spirit Room is. That was pretty convenient, I don't think we could have planned it better if we tried.

There were no shortage of great photo opportunities, and what I particularly loved was that there were so many ruins of buildings that haven't been torn down. As far as great photos go, this was definitely my favorite.

Of course, that was just down the street from the remains of this building, which with the backdrop of Verde Valley behind it certainly made for my second favorite photo of the afternoon.

At some point during our adventuring through the streets, a sherrif cut off the road into town. We couldn't at all work out why. But soon a local shop owner explained the predicament to us. A semi had begun to drive through town and had got stuck down one of the narrow streets and about 2pm this afternoon. It was now almost 6pm and they were finally getting it out of town. Apparently driving trucks through Jerome is illegal, and the driver was going to also get a $500 violation as a souvenir.

Further down the road, someone honked at us and we turned around to see Josh waving hearty the car. It was our hope that they were playing early, so we could get an early start of the trek back home, and so seeing Josh at 6pm gave us hope for that. As did hearing Stephen sound checking as we continued walking around the town a little later. But more on that later.

We were both starved, and ended up opting for the Haunted Hamburger. Great food, a cool little place, which actually reminded me a little bit of an Aussie pub. We got a seat by the window at the back of the haunted building, and got to have dinner overlooking the amazing views of the Verde Valley.

The timing of dinner worked out great, giving us something to do until show time and placing us perfectly to wander back down to the Spirit Room right before the show. The Spirit Room was really cool, and certainly seemed like walking into a bar from the Wild West. Again, there doesn't seem much fear of Jerome loosing it's identity. The show started a little after 8, with no opener and Stephen taking the stage right from the get go. Which seemed to indicate we might get back to Phoenix at a reasonable time. Y'know, his Martini Ranch shows are always decent sets, but surely we'd be back on the road after 10pn. Right? Well, y'know, the "8 til midnight" show time was no lie. And there was no other bands. It was Stephen Ashbrook the whole time - 3 sets and virtually four hours. Now that's what I call getting your $15 worth for a show.

In addition to the sheer length of the show, it was a different experience to the Martini Ranch shows I'm used to. Stephen started out by himself, kicking things of with Kansas City and a few others before bring the rest of the band up. So it was a completely different experience to the shows I normally see Stephen do. While our going to this show was initially just because we weren't able to make Friday's Martini Ranch show, it certainly turned out to be a blessing in disguise. I would have to say that you haven't really seen Stephen Ashbrook until you've seen him in Jerome. I certainly loved the variety in songs we got, including a lot of stuff from older live shows I've grown up on (I'm On Fire, All Along The Watch Tower, Houston).

While the party was going to continue down the street when the show finished at midnight, it was time for us to hit the road, and said our goodbyes and headed back down to the highway towards Phoenix, making it back by 2:15, which by all accounts wasn't bad!

Save The Boobs 5

(0)Saturday, May 7, 2011 - 11:59:14 pm
(Posted Under: Tempe Music Scene, Music, Live Shows)

How much fun was had tonight? Ridiculous amounts. Is that surprising? No, not in the slightest.

Yes, it was Save The Boobs 5 (or Rock For The Cure if you're being politically correct) at Teakwoods tonight. Rocked up at 8 - or a little bit past 8 - we're hopeless and grabbed some grub while The Bellwethers and Audra played inside. Lance's two charity event / shows are always awesome, and tonight was no different. The venue choice was certainly exciting to us, and totally proved to make this the best Save The Boobs yet, even if the acoustic sets on the patio were a little on the packed side. Seeing Teakwoods so crawling with people was great. Early on in the night I ventured out there to snap some photos, but otherwise stayed inside.

As tends to happen to me at Teakwoods on occasions, I found myself having a jalapeno incident. Though, I must say, this was the worst by far. My fajitas were otherwise on the very mild side (spice wise), however towards the end bit into a jalapeno straight from the fiery depths of hell! Maybe it wasn't a jalapeno. I don't know, but it was hot as hell. And I'm a guy who is all about jalapenos. I'm not sure I've ever chugged down a glass of water faster than tonight. Fun times. But the fajita's were awesome and I was glad to get to try what is I believe a relatively new (and welcomed) addition to the Teakwoods menu. And y'know, I must say - both during dinner and throughout the night, the $1.50 PBR pints went down very easy. Yaay for PBR drink specials. $1.50 for a pint, you can't beat that.

I spoke to Josh after eating, who informed me that they had switched with Ghetto Cowgirl. Having seen Ghetto plenty lately (unlike the moods), that came as great news to me. You know, best case scenario would have seen them both as full band, but given the choice I'd definitely rather see the Moods electric tonight. When Josh confirmed they were going to be doing a full band rock set I approved tell him "that's how I liked it". He was in agreement. They were on soon after that conversation and tore it up. It's been quite a while since Katie and I have seen them (at least as a full band). And I can't even remember the last time we saw them play at Teakwoods, so their set was one of the best of the night for us.

The other cool Black Moods related part of tonight was their merch stand with new t-shirts. I've wanted a Moods t-shirt for years. So there was no question about shelling out more dough tonight for those. Sweet ass. I've been berated from stage many times at Violet Wild and Black Moods shows for sporting Gloden's face on my t-shirt. Clearly it's now time to even the score by wearing Josh's face to Corey's shows. hahaha. Beratement from stage is probably the least I need to worry about in that instance.

Up next were Ghetto Cowgirl, or at least the healthy half of them. So we ventured out to patio for their set. Since Lance always has these on a tight schedule, there was some concern that we wouldn't get back inside before The Persuaders started - until remembering that their guitarist extraordinary was performing in front of us.

The other "best set" of the night award has to go to The Persuaders. Lawrence just brought it tonight. Not to imply his performance isn't always amazing, because it is, but tonight - man, those Lawrence Zubia vocals were like a freight train. I don't know if it was Teakwoods, or the crowd, or a combination of other things, but holy shit that set rocked. It seemed that it was going to be a short set (never surprising with 9 bands on a bill) after a couple of songs where Lawrence thanked everyone for coming. But no, it was just a random early set shout out, and the guys proceeded to rock Teakwoods for just under an hour. We even got One Soul (sans Lawrence) which was unexpected given the tight schedule. I continue to like that song more and more. And of course, this is completely redundant, but in addition to Lawrence, Phil's drumming completely blew our minds...and ear drums. Again. The guy is amazing behind the kit. Actually, seeing Chico and then Phil virtually back to back made for some of the best drummers in town being in the house tonight. Y'know, if Dan Petrosino had been there, it would have made the trifecta.

Following The Persuaders, it was back outside for Glodie. Given the time, the patio had cleared out a little bit making it easy to get a comfy spot for Corey's set. It's been ridiculously long since we've seen him and was good to catch up with him about what's been going on in the Strange Young Things camp. And of course, he delivered one hell of an entertaining and fun set. It's Corey Gloden, of course that's what he delivered.

Last up was the ever fashionable Andrew Brown with The Dirty Rascals. During their set they did a speed up version of I Want To Be A Bird. Well, actually, it became a sped up version. Possibly Garvin was responsible for that. I'm not sure how Andrew felt about it, but holy shit, I loved it. It's one of my favorite Andrew Brown songs anyway, and with the tempo raised somewhat it was amazing. Other favorites like All That You Need and Midnight Radio also were broken out during the set, making me a happy camper.

When everything was said and done, it was about 1:45am when the Dirty Rascals got finished and we got ready to go. Which could be latest we've ever been a Teakwoods. What a real awesome night.

Coolest Show Flier Ever?

(0)Friday, April 29, 2011 - 11:53:33 pm
(Posted Under: Tempe Music Scene, Music)

As I was about to walk into Teakwoods tonight I was greeted by this. The boys make some great fliers, but this is a whole 'nother thing all together. It had to be mine, and it looks great framed in our living room if I may say so myself.

The Persuaders @ Sky Bar

As Opposed To "Sky Box"

(0)Saturday, April 23, 2011 - 11:22:59 pm
(Posted Under: Tempe Music Scene, Music, Live Shows)

What's the worst thing you can do after traveling to Tucson to see a band? Go to the wrong bar at show time. Well, maybe there are worse things to do, but still, it's not a great thing to do.

After leaving Zia's, it was somewhat concerning driving out to Skybox, which seemed really reminiscent of driving to Eltham especially since I FELT like this place should be somewhere near 4th Ave. Or at least somewhere that looked like 4th Ave more than East Jesus Tucson. And even more concerning when we got there, right on 9, but there was not a familiar face to be found! But this HAD to be the place, right? Right?!? Or were we confused with the place in Gilbert that the Black Moods play? After sitting around and having a smoke for 10 minutes, we decided use the downstairs library's free wi-fi to confirm we were at the right place. As it turns out, the Skybox is where the Black Moods play, and they happen to have one in Tucson also. And it wasn't where The Persuaders were playing tonight. That was the Sky Bar, as I'd thought, on 4th Avenue. Damn you Josh Kennedy!

Thankfully, rock never actually starts at 9pm, and tonight was no exception, which completely saved our bacon. It was a good 25 minutes to get down to 4th Avenue, and we didn't leave Sky Box until at least 9:15. I noticed tonight another thing about Tucson that is more like Melbourne than Phoenix - the drivers. They're not lunatics! However, in our desperate attempts to get to Sky Bar, I think I bitched out everyone on the road like I that would have made any Phoenician proud. My sincerest apologies to Tucson drivers. You should all be applauded, and I would have done as much in any other situation that the one we were in. We happened to pull up at the bar at 9:45 to find the band only just finishing setting up. Phew. It's times like these that I really appreciate the fact that rock never really starts at 9pm!

The guys put on a great, and quite long set which really made it even more worth the trip down. As to appreciated that we didn't actually miss any of it! It was certainly the longest single set we've seen, so it was cool to get the entire catalog, including One Soul (which we haven't seen in a while) and a couple of covers.

This afternoon's photo shooting had left me with virtually no space left (yes, on and 8GB card - shooting RAW at full res will do that to you), but I was amazingly able to shoot one video before completely running out of space. Given how dark the stage was, I could barely see what I was shooting, and am kind of amazed that I managed to keep everyone mostly in frame.

Given that later start and long set, Silverbell didn't go on until a little before midnight. Halfway through The Persuader's set we both realized that it was going to be pushing it to stay for all of Silverbell, which was a shame as we had gone down to see them as much as the Persuaders. We did however manage to get in 5 songs before agreeing that it was time to hit the I-10, at least if we wanted to get back to Tempe alive. It seemed like a lot of our favorite Silverbell songs were played in that first five, which at least made the unfortunate reality of having to bail a bit easier.

After doing the rounds out the back we were back out on the road, with a short diversion to find a fast food restaurant that was open, since we'd had nothing to eat all day. As much as we pride ourselves on being hard core, there is an argument that we probably should start making our rock n' roll road trips to Tucson an overnight stay. While that's true, we managed to make it back to Tempe in one piece, and by 2:20am, which was pretty impressive.

The Persuaders @ Goat Head Saloon

(0)Saturday, March 26, 2011 - 11:26:56 pm
(Posted Under: Tempe Music Scene, Music, Live Shows)

We got back from the arts festival and some grocery shopping this afternoon to find tickets for tonight's show in the mail. Gracias to Lawrence and The Blaze for that! In all honesty, given that we 'won' them on Thursday, we had doubts that they were actually going to get here before today.

Headed out to the Goat Head around 11. Immediately was tackled by the New Times street team for pics. Given that we signed our lives away, it'd be nice to think that we'll actually appear in the New Times this week. I guess we'll see.

I'd really figured that tonight would be nothing but a sea of familiar faces. I was surprisingly mistaken. With the exception of Andy, who came over and chatted about last night's gig, we basically didn't recognize anyone until we saw Annemar not long before the Persuader's hit the stage. Strange, and certainly couldn't have been due to lack of promotion of the show.

Lawrence kicked off the show by introducing everyone and then announcing "that was then, this is now" and overall seemed pretty excited about the show. There was no screwing around, launching straight into Drove It All Away. That's the way to start a show of right.

Despite the billing as the "debut" of the band, we've seen them quite a few times over the past 2 years. Starting out as Rusty Buckles (previously N.A.P.P) sans Lawrence, and Stellanova since. With that said, there was definitely a sense that this was a debut, and the band stepping out into the spotlight, which is a great thing. For the past year and a half we've desperately wanted more shows and an album. Tonight definitely made it seem like we're going to get our wish. On both accounts, with word that they album may be released in August.

The show was great, but that's hardly anything different from any other time we've seen them. Impressively there were at least 2 songs that were new even to us. Unfortunately, other than Christmas Eve, it's been a while since they've played and it's hard to remember if there were any songs that they didn't play tonight. Though I'm pretty sure the one Thomas plays with a drum stick was absent from the setlist.

Before leaving we signed Lawrence's guitar on the way out. A cool thing, and certainly a role reversal, being on the other end of the signing experience.

A New Tempe Music Venue?

Tempe Tavern On Apache

(0)Thursday, March 24, 2011 - 04:46:31 pm
(Posted Under: Tempe Music Scene)

Every time I've gone down McClintock over Apaoche I've noticed this place. It's kinda hard not to, it's a cool looking building. Over the past month a patio had been added to the front, which I thought was unfortunate, as it obstructs the view of the building. However, I read something last week that explained the change - the place is apparently opening as a live music venue. Yes, a live music venue in Tempe. That's pretty amazing.

Who knows what it's going to be like, but hopefully it'll means there will be a good music venue on Apache. I guess time will tell, but I did learn today that it's owned by the guy that owned Edcels, so that sounds like a good sign. Here's to hoping.

Guest DJ Week

(0)Thursday, March 24, 2011 - 12:25:22 pm
(Posted Under: Tempe Music Scene, Music)

It's been Guest DJ week on The Blaze. It's kinda amazing that I even got wind of it this year, because there is absolutely no advertisement for it anywhere. I guess no-one from the Phoenix New Times has a slot this year.

Without any information or schedule about who is going to be guest DJ'ing has been interesting. Listening to The Blaze for 8 hours straight over the past 2 days does confirm that there is a lot of crap out that is passed off as music. It's certainly has been a trying experience. However, finally the pain pays off - Lawrence Zubia up next. Thank god!

Rock N' Roll Marathon Video

(0)Wednesday, March 9, 2011 - 06:06:56 pm
(Posted Under: Tempe Music Scene, Music)

Ghetto Cowgirl @ Yucca Tap Room

(0)Friday, February 11, 2011 - 11:34:44 pm
(Posted Under: Tempe Music Scene, Music, Live Shows)

The Maine @ Devilpalooza

(0)Friday, February 11, 2011 - 07:40:23 pm
(Posted Under: Tempe Music Scene, Music, Live Shows)

If This Isn't Irony, I Don't Know What Is

The Maine Touring Australia

(1)Monday, January 31, 2011 - 05:24:10 pm
(Posted Under: Tempe Music Scene, Music)

So we've kinda known about this for a while, but The Maine are touring Australia as part of the Soundwave festival.

In 2008, Katie and I would have been on this like Oprah on canned ham. One of the things we had on this list of things to be excited about in regards to the pending move to Tempe is getting to see these guys live.

What further makes it ironic, is that in my 32 years of living in Australia, and 17 years of being into bands from this scene, the only band from here to tour Oz was Jimmy Eat World - long before I was into them. The fact that one of my more recent favorite bands from here (and okay, so there are a lot) are touring Down Under not even two years after I've left is unbelievable.

Though, the fact that this kids are the new black makes it more believable. But not really any less ironic.

Scottsdale Arts Festival & Old Town

(0)Sunday, January 30, 2011 - 04:49:00 pm
(Posted Under: Tempe Music Scene, Music, Live Shows)

Went down to the Scottsdale Arts Festival to catch Shelby James & The Crying Shames. Amazingly, in no small part due to several mishaps, it's been a good 6 months since we've seen Shelbs. That's a long time between drinks.

We were slightly late, and virtually pulled up the same spot up the back as we did last year when we caught Los Guys. It was fun, although despite taking the recorder and forgetting to press record, and a dog pissing on our cooler bag. My demeanor wasn't much different to last night (I blame the cold. Okay, no, I'm just a bitch ), but while "are you fucking serious?" flies at a bar after 12 when directed at a college kid too drunk to stand up, it does less so at 12pm on a Sunday around a bunch of Scottsdale old farts, so I at least kept that in. Though I didn't hold back with a "oi!" as the mutt started sniffing around the camera back. Dog friendly events are cool, but for fuck sake, if you're can't control your dog, don't take the fucker out in public. Just fucking don't. And don't be surprised if people around you have the desire to kick you and you're stupid little mongrel. And if you dog pisses on someone, or someone's belongs, fucking acknowledge it, and here's an idea, maybe apologize. Lest you want to perpetuate the Scottsdale stereotype (you self important old bitch).

I had no idea that Civic Plaza backed right on to Old Town and completely unplanned we spent the afternoon walking around. We stumbled on a great Mexican Imports place, which we'll definitely have to go back to. Out the front on the corner was a busker playing the blues. This guy was absolutely awesome. As it turned out he was a snow bird from Detroit for the winter. No idea who he was, and he was probably wasn't "anyone", but he was the real deal when it came to rootsy blues. Absolutely loved listening to him while browsing the stores near by. And too boot, it was a really nice sunny Sunday afternoon and such a good day for it.

Our Lady of Perpetual Help Church was open today, and we took the opportunity to take a look in there today. Something we wanted to do back in 2006, so that was pretty cool.

On the way home we looked out for Sugar Daddies which we couldn't remember where it was on Thursday night. Place is guttered and looks like it's not far off being torn down. Really sucks, because I really liked that place and have some cool memories from there. I think we both had some quiet hopes than someone would buy it and open a new bar there. It would seem not. Which is unfortunate, because it had a great set up for a both a bar and a live music venue.

Glodie's' Birthday Bash

The Best Party In Town

(0)Friday, January 28, 2011 - 11:23:08 pm
(Posted Under: Tempe Music Scene, Music, Live Shows)

If there has been any shortage of seeing live music lately, I've definitely made up for it at the tail end of this week.

Katie was looking forward to napping when she got home from work. And after finally succumbing to her cold, I was on board with that idea - which is such a rarity. Late in the afternoon we got word of Emmett and Glods playing at Iguana Macks before Yucca. There's a combo worth seeing. So all previous plans got shot to hell. No fucking sleep 'til Brooklyn! (Or Chandler ). Fun time, and absolutely worth our putting sick selves putting ourselves. You're not hardcore unless you live hardcore. (And the legend of the rent was way hardcore).

From there it was over to Yucca for all of us. It was impressive how full the parking lot was for 9:20. Hell, for the matter, it was impressive to see a Yucca show start before 9:30. Tramps put on a fine opening set, and had the birthday boy up for the closer. Throughout the song was a display that undeniably proves that Glodie has all the moves. But like there has been any confusion about that!

It was a long wait for us until our guys hit the stage. Which was fine, except that with the bar absolutely packed for Dry River and Black Carl, it was a pretty damn cold night outsides, and with our colds to contend with it was a little rough. However, we managed to resist the temptation of going home and returning at 12:30am. Living 3 minutes away from Yucs, it's very tempting temptation. The coldness almost got me loosing it and going into the anti Yucca. But I even with the temperature, I couldn't actually bring myself to do it.

There was some concern about Dan making the show, due to also being sick. Rich was on hand. But with minutes to spare, "Captain Dan" walked in. Katie had actually spotted Glods with a costume bag earlier in the night, so the sight of the sailor costume from Halloween past wasn't a complete surprise to us.

Adorned in their sailor costumes, the beast that is Strange Young Things at Yucca was unleashed. The set was electric. Dan's cold was well hidden as he went berzerk behind the kit. Nothing new, but I was in awe, particularly early on in the show watching him behind the kit.

The night was everything you expect from a Yucca show - pseudo stage diving, singing on the bar, singing behind the bar, the Bitch circle... Yucca remained pretty packed during the set, and the whole room lapped up the rock 'n roll show.

After Lonely, no-one was leaving without an encore. A sick Dan Petrosino visibly had different ideas. And after drumming his heart out for about 50 minutes with a cold, I was feeling him. Though, somehow he was convinced to get behind the kit for a finale of Bring It On Home To Me. What a fucking trooper.

I know I say this every time we walk out of a show at Yucca - but best show to date, hands down.

Black Moods Video Shoot

(0)Thursday, January 27, 2011 - 11:12:34 pm
(Posted Under: Tempe Music Scene, Music, Live Shows)

P.F Chang's Rock N Roll Arizona Marathon

Mimosas For Breakfast

(0)Sunday, January 16, 2011 - 11:57:49 am
(Posted Under: Tempe Music Scene, Music, Live Shows)

Early morning this morning, heading out to Camelback and 40th in Phoenix to catch Strange Young Things set at the P.F Changs Rock N Roll Marathon. Up at 7, and out the door at 8:15. At Camelback by about 8:45.

Our timing was pretty great, as was getting a ridiculously awesome parking spot right before the fuzz shut down that portion of 40th street. Walking down to the U-Haul parking lot on the corner, we heard It's A Drug and hence expected there'd been a mix up with the stage locations of The Moods (who were were also intending to see) and Strange Young Things. Alas not, The Moods were just part of the pre show mix - pretty cool - as our boys were on stage setting up.

Ridiculously fun time, even for 8:30 in the morning! And furthermore, the boys sounded remarkably good for that hour of the morning. Especially since the poor bastards had to get out there at 6am to set up. There is something about seeing these guys in an outdoor during the day setting, and today wasn't any different. The combination of that plus the stream of marathon runners provided for a real cool and unusual show. Corey played up to his passing audience wonderfully, at times jumping off the stage and running out on to Camelback to really bring the rock 'n roll to the runners. Glorious. The guy is pure unadulterated rock 'n roll! Only once did the microphone cable give out. Not bad, considering that it's less often than what will typically happen at Yucca only feet from the stage on any given night.

At the end of the first set, we checked out Dan's other band for a bit before deciding to see how feasible it was to walk from there to Osbourne and 48th Street to catch some of The Black Moods. The plan was aborted once we got too 40th and Campbell, as there is no way we'd get there and back in time for SYT's next set. Hence we turned around, deciding to catch another set of SYT, and then go over and see The Black Moods afterwards.

That turned out to a wise choice, as the marathon ended (at least at Camelback) earlier than expected, and so SYT's next set was the final one at that stage. Definitely wouldn't have wanted to have missed it.

Lonely And Call It. Or Not

Despite it all ending earlier than scheduled, the final runner still hadn't made it by the time Lonely Hearts Are Wild ended, and hence organizers called for the band to keep going. A nice change from the norm, where it's last call and they (or particularly a certain someone) almost needs to be dragged off stage. Two more songs until they got the all clear to retire for the day. For something that we didn't even know about until Glodie mentioned it on Friday night, I can't think of a better way to spend this Sunday morning.

From there we attempted to get down to see The Moods. Getting down to Osbourne and 48th, while not that far away, was a major headache in light of all the road closures due to the marathon. It seemed to take close to an hour to get the two blocks south and four blocks east. I guess we also had a walk from Indian School to Osbourne in there as well. Not completely shockingly, once we got there, the band they were alternating with was playing their final set. If things had been on schedule, we would have made it in plenty of time for the final Mood's set, but just like at Camelback, things were finishing up earlier than excepted. A shame. But not as much as the news of the apparent Moods line up change.

Still, it was a hella fun morning. Definitely a hearty rock 'n roll breakfast! It's actually a shame there were no mimosas being served.

Starting The New Year Off Right

Strange Young Things @ Yucca Tap Room

(0)Saturday, January 1, 2011 - 11:40:00 pm
(Posted Under: Tempe Music Scene, Music, Live Shows)

What better way to start off the New Year than with a Strange Young Things show?

It is of course unfortunate that Muddy Violets were playing at Teakwoods tonight, especially given how long it's been since we've seen them, and how bleak (for us) the January calendar at Teakwoods is. Unfortunate scheduling. Would have really liked to see them, but some bands trump everyone. Strange Young Things are such a band. Plus, the closeness of Yucca was a very good thing tonight.

Fun night. And just being nice at Yucca. Y'know, nothing makes you appreciate a good bar more than going to a crappy bar. Which prompted a the purchase of a cold beverage despite not really being that thirsty. I love me some Yucca Tap. Sat at the bar and worked on the aforementioned beverage while Hot Birds & Chili Sauce played. Pretty sweet to get to check them out at a SYT show.

While we were both pretty tired, as usual, all was forgotten once the boys hit the stage. If anything is going to wake you up, it's Strange Young Things. The downside is that tiredness returned almost immediately after Lonely Hearts Are Wild, and so we were quick to split for a place known as bed.

With the first show of the year being Strange Young Things. surely 2011 is going to be a good one!

New Years Eve @ Teakwoods

with Dead Hot Workshop & Ghetto Cowgirl

(0)Friday, December 31, 2010 - 11:47:40 pm
(Posted Under: Tempe Music Scene, Music, Live Shows)

Fun tonight for New Years Eve at Teakwoods. Went down early to eat before the show. Kinda hard to choose between nachos, or fish & chips, purely because the it doesn't seem like you see the latter on the specials menu often. But the nachos won out, given the frequency in which I order fish and chips last week in Warsaw. Had the foresight to take a photo tonight of what I like to call "a mess of awesomeness on a plate". And yes, I had the telephoto lens on - and that's the cause of the shadow. Now that's what I call a lens.

Really fun to be in town this year for New Years Eve. Two guest appearances with Dead Hot. Norm jumped up for Push Luck Shove. Yaay! It seems forever since I've seen that happen! I didn't realize until the end that Serafini had also gotten up, and Thomas had taken Babb's guitar. Dead Hot Ghetto Cowgirl. And later on, their set was closed out with David Rhodes on drums for Choad.

Ghetto delivered a fun and rock and roll set set. Stopping right before midnight for the New Years countdown. Norm had been joking all night he was going to "fail his only job of the year", and hilariously the countdown was touch and go for a moment there! ha! But he pulled through like a champion.

Some good setlist additions tonight in the form of Paralyse, Mood Swings and a killer version of Sympathy For The Devil. I hardly ever care for Sympathy being covered, but their version was great.

Tonight was the first time I've opted for the telephoto lens at a show. The brilliance of it was evidence with this photo of Norman. Nice depth of field. It was also sweet being able to snap some decent shots of Curtis. It's normally so hard to get a photo of the drummer.

And let's not forgot about the ability to snap this from the comfort of the booth we were sitting at, without having to move. Now that's a first.


Happy new year indeed!

Christmas Eve @ Yucca Tap Room

(0)Friday, December 24, 2010 - 10:03:16 pm
(Posted Under: Tempe Music Scene, Music, Live Shows)

An hour delay in Minneapolis. Some issue with the flight to Memphis that is also leaving from our gate. So not bad, but it still made me somewhat antsy as the streaks of red light over the snowy runways of St. Paul International Airport transformed from dusk to night.

But after an hour, we were on route to Phoenix. Once we got off the ground, things were good. Not that much could go wrong. It might be tight, but we were on our way.

It was about 8:30 when we got in to Sky Harbor. We were absolutely all good now. All fears about not making it back in time were put away. And hell, we didn't have the car at the airport, so we didn't even need to worry about a flat battery this year. Picked up our bags, and grabbed a cab. $10 just to get out of the airport. That was fun. But the cab got us home by 9:15 and was hassle free. After spending most of today traveling, it was money well spent.

That left us just enough time to haul our stuff upstairs, throw down some food and jump in Pepe for the 3 minute drive to the Yucca Tap. We rolled up just as Marc & Thomas were setting up. Which left enough time to catch up with the magnitude of familiar faces inside the bar. Despite the fear all week of something going wrong and getting delayed or stuck somewhere, we made it.

Up next were Los Guys. As has been true the last few times I've seen them, I've forgotten and been plesently surprised that Jim Beach is back with them. Once again, the guy blew me away. Lawrence got up for the final two songs, Sara Says and Hotel Defeated.

A short break before The Pistoleros were ready to go. After all, there wasn't much to be setup, all it takes to morph into the Pistoleros is Jim and PC switching with Thomas and Scott.

Obviously there was no shortage of excitement in the room for this, which can more or less be equated to hell freezing over. At least in these parts. With the long day, I guess I'd somewhat forgotten what a big deal this was, as to date, in the 14 years of being a fan, this was the first time I'd gotten to see them play live as The Pistoleros (with the exception of 2 songs at Teakwoods a few weeks ago). Moments into Hang On To Nothing I was absolutely reminded though. The chorus coming from in front of the stage when Lawrence forgot part of Everybody Sometimes was rather overwhelming. Being in the midst of the Yucca audience chanting in unison "Tell me why you're feeling down. Has the luck stopped coming around..." was easily likened to seeing The Rolling Stones in a huge arena. That doesn't happen very often. It was fucking cool. And while the crowd excitement hung in the air like electricity throughout the entire set, there were clear favorites of the night, if the crowd participation is anything to go on. Both had been yelled out for during the set, and the volume of the crowd singing My Guardian Angel and Long Last Lonely Mile was something to behold. It's moments like that where everything feels right with the world.

Only a few weeks ago I'd expressed to Katie how it's been way too long since Stellanova played. During either Los Guys or The Pistoleros sets I'd noticed Phil show up. Was this the makings of a Christmas miracle? Sure it was. After the Pistoleros set, Stellanova took the stage, which was really cool. First up with Lawrence, and then Swafford closing it on vocals for the last two songs. Reasonably short set, and sadly Drove It All Away was missing from the set, but still pretty great to see. Hopefully they'll play again somewhere soon.

After Stellanova, it was outside to dump the camera and stuff in the car, have a smoke and do the rounds before heading off. As we walked back in, Los Guys were back on stage for a second set. A "Silly Set" as it was. Despite both of us being absolutely exhausted, and the idea of getting home a little after 1am was nice, we decided to see out the night with Los Guys, who played right up until last call. After final Christmas wishes to those like us that had stuck it out to the end, we headed out to the car. Tonight was one of those nights where our decision to live 3 minutes from Yucca is such a blessing.

It's said that a bar is the most lonely, sad and un-festive place someone can be on Christmas. I guess it depends on which bar you're at, because tonight at Yucca was the complete opposite on all three accounts.

Rock For Tots

(0)Saturday, December 11, 2010 - 11:30:32 pm
(Posted Under: Tempe Music Scene, Music, Live Shows)

Like with all benefit shows that Lance Wilson puts on, Rock For Tots was a lot of fun tonight.

Definitely a long ass day, being the designated photographer for Simple Entertaining, this time in Chandler. Which incidentally was a good opportunity to give the new 50 - 200mm lens a work out. Which proved to be a good thing to have brought along, and made shooting a lot easier today. Absolutely no regrets in spending a little extra and getting that in addition to the wide angle lens.

As such with the long day, by 6:30, I was pretty tired. We got to the Sail Inn a little late, but caught the tail end of Jed's A Millionaire. Given the tiredness, being able to pull up a chair outside at Sail was appreciated. Mojo Farmers were up next. Have heard a lot about them over the years, but have never heard them. I'm not a jam band guy, but their set was enjoyable, since they weren't that jam bandy. Lucky D. Hip hop is not my thing either, but definitely a cool thing that Lance really puts in some variety on his bills.

First up with "our" bands was Let Go, inside. Good rockin' set. The really cool part of that was seeing Lance get up there to sing You Got Lucky. I guess that's a tradition, but since Let Go weren't on the bill last year, I was unaware of it. Fun stuff. He did a good job too. I guess Robin isn't the only Wilson that can sing.

Watched a bit of Nameless Prophets outside, until moving inside again when we heard The Black Moods sound checking. And that really wasn't the worst idea, facilitating finding a decent spot before they started, as it got pretty packed inside once they started. It seems like it's been forever since we've seen those guys and cool to have a brief chat with Bobby before the set.

I definitely let loose with the photo taking. Ironically, I'd just brought the wide angle lens, since I figured I wouldn't have much use for the telephoto tonight - and knew I certainly wouldn't be up for much changing of lenses. However, when trying to get a shot of Chico, it became clear that I probably should have brought that as the default lens. It's all a learning experience, and this photo kinda came out cool anyway.

Definitely a blistering set, filled with new songs, including about 2 that were new to even us. There was definitely something "vintage Black Moods" in the air tonight with the set. To the point that halfway through Josh was peeling of his shirt. Which marks the first time since 2006 that I've witnessed what used to be a common sight - shirtless Josh Kennedy. Just like old times.

Funnily enough, a new expensive camera didn't get me any closer to succeeding in my quest of taking a great (or really, at this point, simply successful ) Josh Kennedy "airtime" photo. In all of them, and there is no shortage, his feet are firmly planted on the ground. But it's coming, I at least know that. It was incredibly more fun shooting at a show with this camera. Which is a large reason for the ridiculous number of photos of Josh I ended up with (much more than what I even kept).

It was an absolutely cluster fuck where we were while they were playing. In part due to the draw they had, and in part to how badly laid out the Sail Inn is inside.

To Yucca We Go...

After The Moods were done rocking the house, we made a v-line to the car, headed to Yucca to catch Strange Young Things. Ash to University to Mill. From Sail Inn's parking lot to Yucca's parking lot in under 10 minutes. That ain't bad.

We were technically late, slightly after 11, but completely in time to walk into Yucca to see the band halfway through setting up the drum kit, have a quick smoke out back and walk in right before that droning note of Bang The Dash. Another night of leaving one bar for another to see Strange Young Things beautiful executed.

Not half as many people there as I would have expected, but then again, with Rock For Tots going on, not really that surprising I guess. It was Yucca's Christmas Formal, with Glodie adorned with the Santa hat that brought back memories of Alice Cooper's Christmas Pudding Finals 12 months ago. It was Strange Young Things @ Yucca - fun, crazy time, what more is there to say?

"Ya going to Sail?"

"Hell yeah!". Like he needed to ask. That was the entire conversation between us and Corey as he made darted from the stage to the Yucca bathroom and we made our way for the back door. In no time, we were back at the Sail Inn car park, amazingly pulling in to the same car park that we'd vacated earlier. It was exactly 12:04. A trip to Yucca, a Strange Young Things set and back to the Sail Inn in exactly one hour.

While we were gone, Vayden had played, and Mergence were probably halfway through their set when we walked back in, which thankfully went without a problem or request for more toys for the tots. We watched them for a little bit, before retiring out the back. Despite my tiredness, both the Black Moods, and frustration with what seemed virtually every woman at the Sail Inn pushing past me to get to the restroom, had really got me on an adrenaline high, which continued throughout Strange Young Things set. Back at Sail, I was coming done off it. No fun. The idea of Strange Young Things hitting the stage and picking me back up was as enticing as I'm sure crack is to a junkie. And it really couldn't happen fast enough, lest falling into a tired stupor. An appreciative Lance came over for a chat, and suggested that this looks like it'd been the most successful event to date. And y'know, judging by the attendance throughout the night, it seems like that was probably the case. Very cool.

Before long we wandered in as our boys were setting up. It was an oh so familiar sight. Almost like one we'd seen earlier tonight. Oh that's right, it was. After equipment setup was finished, and shots were brought to the stage, that downing 'A' note played out, for the second time tonight for us. Banging on the dash, you've got the speakers blowing up.

Yucca was fun. The Sail Inn was however the full and adulterated Strange Young Things experience. This set blew their one an hour earlier out of the water. Despite the guys being the last band and it being late, there was a nice contingent of people there ready to fuel the beast that was on stage. And fueled they were. Earlier in the night Woolford had mocking insisted that everyone move back form the stage with a huge dose of sarcasm behind every delivery. Strange Young Things however did not need to make any such announcements, the front of stage was a wall of bodies from the first note.

It was certainly fun to shot these guys with the new camera, this being my first opportunity to give that a try. Now, even with an expensive camera, those boys are still the hardest band to photograph! Intensely dynamic stage presence means that the moment you have the shot right, a split second later the whole scene has changed. I tried quite a few non flash shots. A few actual came out okay, however I've learnt that it's pretty much a lost cause unless you're going for a completely blurred motion shot.

With all that said, the best shot of the night came when Dan posed for this one. As a drummer, Dan has the intensity of a hurricane. Now don't be confused by this shot. This isn't taken in between songs. No, it's not even during a slow breakdown part of the song. Dan posed for this glamor shot right in the middle of one of their skin pounding songs. I'm unable to comprehend how Dan could pose for this, and not miss a beat. Dan's the Man. Don't let anyone tell you otherwise.

There was every classic Gloden move during the set.

The self hanging. Y'know, that move that you're always convinced is one day going end in an accidental fatality.


Climbing on anything you possible can, including your amp.


Face down on the ground in the crowd. Throughout the history of rock n' roll, this sight signifies a member has passed out from illicit drug use. Or some sort of exhaustion. Which is more often than not just the family friendly way of saying "passed out from illicit drug use". But with this band, it's a patented choreographed quintessential stage move, and the sign of a great show.


Bringing the show "to" your audience, in the way that only Corey Gloden can.


Although I hadn't seen them when we got back, Josh and Chico were still in the house. Which made for some duel Glodie / Kennedy guitar action which was a lot of fun to watch. Duel, but with one guitar that is. And the Bitch Has Got Problems torch was passed from Katie to them tonight. Josh's improv was classic.

After the fun was over, we retired to the outdoor stage, overhearing "Corey, you humped everything in here!" as we walked out. And it was true. The mic stand, the monitor, Dan's drums, audience members in the front row, the dance floor, his guitar. Josh may have been the only thing to escape a Corey humping, and let's be honest, that too probably happened while I wasn't looking! But anyways, it's a good way to sum up their set in one sentence.

There are a buttload more photos from the night using the Photos link at the top of the entry.

Really, really fun night!

Party Town Of Tempe...

(0)Sunday, December 5, 2010 - 10:34:19 pm
(Posted Under: Tempe Music Scene)

What Are The Odds?

(0)Sunday, December 5, 2010 - 07:23:12 pm
(Posted Under: Tempe Music Scene)

Thanksgiving Eve @ Teakwoods

Hell Freezes Over

(0)Wednesday, November 24, 2010 - 11:58:34 pm
(Posted Under: Tempe Music Scene, Music, Live Shows)

Awesome night at Teakwoods tonight, which was certainly the place to be. Great thing about music on Wednesday at Teakwoods, it's Baja Wednesday, and I absolutely took the opportunity to down a lot more Corona's than I normally would!

Got there early to catch Longo's happy hour set, which was pushed back to 7pm this week, to sit right against the music at 9. Very nice. Not long after we got there he switched the solo acoustic for his band (Grippe, Pate and McLaughenbur). Very cool. In short, their version of Lead Thoughts was pretty amazing and different. Y'know, when Jason sings it I pick up so many words that I've never been able to understand when Babb sings it. Which is definitely part of the charm of Brent, but neither the less I had quite a few "oh that's what that word is!" moments. There was also a cool, and again very different version of Famous in the set. Jason was plugging Friday night's CD release (and well the CD), and I've got to say, when they did the Bianco co-written Punter's Choice it was immediately obvious that that alone is reason to buy the record. According to KT, I've heard Jason do the song before (which I believe, but have no recollection of) and was totally blown away by it tonight.

Both Dead Hot and Ghetto ripped through the most energetic sets I've possibly seen them do, there was definitely electricity in the air. Amazing that neither band did Push Luck Shove though.

It seemed like everyone who was anyone was at Teaks tonight. Included in that were both Lawrence and Scott Andrews. And hence came out delima. We actually had plans to leave at some point during Los Guys to see Strange Young Things. Two issues then presented themselves. Los Guys started much later than we expected, and we were going to practically miss their entire set if we left for Strange Young Things, rather than just the end as we'd previously expected. The second issue was the possibility that hell was going to freeze over at some point, and we'd miss it. Both of those issues, combined with the vibe happening at Teakwoods and the promise of $2 Corona's, it wasn't really a hard decision to make (for once). Sorry to the Strange Young Things boys, but in this instance the idea of leaving Teakwoods early was loco talk.

Sure enough, we made the right choice - as if there was any doubt. A few songs in, Mark got Lawrence up for Hotel Defeated and Sara Says. Following that, hell completely froze over as PC and Freddy gave their instruments to Thomas and Scott, completing the Pistoleros lineup, for the first time in I don't even know how long, for two more Pistoleros songs. It's not often that you see a local band get a standing ovation at Teakwoods. But we saw it tonight. It didn't seem like there was anyone in the room that wasn't extremely excited to see this happen!

Much like the Breast Cancer Benefit a few months ago (which actually had a similar lineup) it was another incredible night at Teaks.

Vinyl .45 @ George & Dragon Pub

Glass Heroes 19th Anniversary

(0)Saturday, November 13, 2010 - 11:40:35 pm
(Posted Under: Tempe Music Scene, Music, Live Shows)

I've been wanting to check out Vinyl .45 for I'd say about 6 months, since they first started playing out, though it just hasn't happened.

So the fact that they were playing a free gig tonight was welcomed news. I'd just heard of it in terms of Vinyl .45, but looking into it, discovered it was the Glass Heroes 19th Anniversary gig. Pretty sweet, since it made it even more worthwhile going.

Really enjoyed Vinyl .45. Unfortunately the vocal mix was all but non existent, which was unfortunate, and an annoyance to their singer as well as myself. Though, admittedly the reason I was there to check out McCaleb's guitar chops I've heard about for years, and there was no problem in achieving that end. With that said, I would definitely like to see them again with a better mix, where you can actually hear the vocals. 'Cause lyrically, I don't think I knew any more about them than I did before tonight.

First time at George & Dragon, which was kinda cool, however I must say the stage placement was very weird. I don't know if it's a permanent thing, or that area is usually used for restaurant seating. But if not, it'd be really worthwhile ripping out the wall between the stage and main room.

Chilled on the patio for the following band, who were from LA. I like punk rock, but I definitely have a beats per minute threshold, over which it becomes lost on me. Just like the way thrash metal is completely lost on me. Rogue Anthem definitely went over this threshold almost immediately, and so the patio was a fine place to be.

For the Glass Heroes, we pulled up at a booth, in preference of trying to find a spot in the small space in front of the stage. Which is fine with me, the amount of the Glass Heroes catalog that I know is sparse, though I dig what I do know. Ironically, they only played one song (Kick Down The Doors) out of that small subset. Would have been good if the sound was better, the vocals were maxing out, but still worthwhile sticking around for.

Cold Dead Eyes

(0)Saturday, November 13, 2010 - 05:32:40 pm
(Posted Under: Tempe Music Scene, Music)

The Golden Girls Of The Yucca Tap

Strange Young Things @ Mary Helen's Dazed & Confused Constume Party

(0)Saturday, October 30, 2010 - 11:59:43 pm
(Posted Under: Tempe Music Scene, Music, Live Shows, Halloween)

So we got to Yucca and Dry River were packing up, so once again we rocked the Teakwoods to Yucca thing! Though, there was admitadly no sign of Strange Young Things.




The sight at Yucca was much more Halloween-y than it'd been at Teakwoods, us now being in the majority rather than the minority. Plenty of great costumes out there. I commented on how much I enjoyed the 80's rockers, and later realized one of them was Rich.

After a while we went inside to check out what was going on, and Katie exclaimed "they're about to play". Pretty weird, since we hadn't seem the load in. And, it took me a double take when I looked on stage. Now, we'd seen Corey on Wednesday night, who'd told us that he'd been planning this costume for years, and that he didn't want to tell us what it was or give it away. And then, proceeded to effectively do just that. Or so I thought! However, once glance on stage, and I totally had to do a double take, and work out who the fuck was Corey, Adam, Pat and Dan. Well, Dan was pretty obvious being behind the drums, and the full beard kinda gave Pat away. But when it came to Corey and Adam, all I could see were the Golden Girls! Once again, this band had completely upstaged everybody, and this time before they'd even played a note.

The reaction from everyone inside Yucca was pretty much the same - laughing, getting composed, and then dying laughing again. It was cool seeing Rich up the front, amused as hell at the whole thing. I could definitely relate. The costumes were ridiculously good, which made the first two songs fairly disturbing. Watching Bang The Dash come out of the Golden Girls was an absolute mind fuck. That's how good the costumes were. Particularly given that you can recognize a Glodie move anywhere, your brain was trying to tell you that it was him, but your eyes just weren't seeing it!

Needless to say, the entire set was a riot. To be honest, I can't even recall that much of what they even played. It was that sort of night, where there was just too much ridiculousness happening on Yucca's stage to even process the music. I vaguely remember yelling the words to Bang The Dash and Spoils Of War, and that's about it. (Although, if I think about it hard enough, other details are coming back). But honestly, the outrageousness of these four old ladies on stage was overwhelming.

Midway through, Corey yelled out to Katie to do her usual "microphone holding" task during Bitch which was pretty cool, especially with it being such a big show. Norm showed up after a while, said hey, and not surprisingly expressed his amusement with the whole thing. There wasn't much to say other than "I know!". We were both glad he didn't miss out on the madness.

Towards the end of the night I managed to snap this killer photo of Adam that he was posing for. As always, my camera let me down at the worst time, refusing the focus, but I snapped anywhere (to avoid Adam having to pose like that any longer) and thankfully the photo came out focused regardless. My favorite of the night, although there were so many good ones.

During Lonely Hearts, Corey wanted people to come up with them. How could Katie and I resist that? We were up on stage singing with Andrew and Adam before no time. It was one of those things where you get up there, then question "what the fuck am I doing", and then you just go with it! It's a little over a year after moving here, and I guess I now know what Yucca looks like from the stage. I'd love if someone had a photo of us up there!

The whole night was just a riot! Definitely my best halloween to date. We'd actually had such a great day all day, but y'know....god, the final hour and a half of it definitely upstaged everything. It just did!

Incidentally, Glodie's Superman undies, weren't actually visible as the photos suggest. It's a flash thing. But god, it sure does add to the ridiculousness all the same!

And speaking of photos, here's some more of the gals...

Let Go & Ghetto @ Teakwoods

(0)Saturday, October 30, 2010 - 11:43:32 pm
(Posted Under: Tempe Music Scene, Music, Live Shows, Halloween)

On top of the added getting ready time, we also had to get gas, which proved to be somewhat a fuck around, which wasn't helping the cause of getting to Teakwoods on time. Kinda funny pumping gas in our costumes though. The upside is that we weren't the only ones.

Despite that, when we got to Teakwoods nothing was happening, thankfully. Somewhat surprisingly, we were about the only ones there in costume, at least initially. Had a brief chat with Thomas, who enjoyed the costumes before going out for a smoke. The best sign that we'd done good with the costumes was when Norm called me over as I was going back inside, saying that he'd seen me over there but hadn't realized it was me until he heard me talk. I pointed out Katie inside, and he commented that he had been standing behind us and had no idea it was us. I don't know if there is a better sign that we'd rocked the costumes than that!

We'd snagged one of the tables up front, which seemed like a major coop, but despite what I expected, there just weren't a lot of people there. I thought it would fill up, but it didn't really.

Was really good to see Let Go, especially given that I had watched a bunch of their rehearsals over the past few weeks. The levels were much better (as is always the case at Teakwoods) than when we last saw them at Long Wongs which was very welcomed.

Ghetto were awesome as always. Highlights of the night were hearing Catastrophelia, and even moreso Paralyse. Neither of which I think I've witnessed live before, and more to the point, I had no idea that they even did Paralyse. Hearing that full band was awesome.

Throughout Ghetto's set a few more costumed people showed up. And Norm left the stage and paced back and forth in front of the couches, and all round rocked things up. Kinda similar to a Strange Young Things show, you had a shit big grin on your face most of the time. And that was all Norm! Throughout the set, Jason came up and said hi and complemented our costumes before heading off, it was cool he noticed us sitting there.

Things were pushed awefully close to 12, and so it we did quick goodbyes to Tom and Marc (and mentioned how cool Paralyse was) before darting out the door for Yucca and Strange Young Things. Y'know, that common thing that we do after Teakwoods!

Black Moods @ Teakwoods

(0)Friday, October 29, 2010 - 05:00:00 pm
(Posted Under: Tempe Music Scene, Music, Live Shows)

It was nice being back at Teakwoods tonight, first time for almost a month. Strange, but true. Bobby & Josh opening did make me think how much I miss the Baja Wednesday days.

The rock show was full of, well, rock. One new Black Mood's song in the set that we hadn't heard before, which was cool. At some point Josh played a very familar riff, which left you wishing they'd play that song. And hence, I was elated when he played it again a few songs later, this time with the whole band joining in on Found Out About You. If there is anyone I'd love to hear play a Hopkins song, it's Josh. And when you've got Bobby singing in the band, it's a recipe for magic. Y'know, in terms of songs for the Black Moods to cover, I wouldn't pick that as an obvious choice, but it was actually a fantastic fit. It's the best version of it I've heard live since...I couldn't even say when. Would have loved to have gotten that on tape.

Sugar High @ Hollywood Alley

(1)Friday, October 22, 2010 - 11:25:43 pm
(Posted Under: Tempe Music Scene, Music, Live Shows)

We've had plans all month to see Glodie, Zubs and Martinez tonight at Teakwoods. But the announcement of a Sugar High show a few days ago through a wrench in those plans. As did crashing the fuck out for a couple of hours this afternoon.

In many ways it was not an easy decision to be made. But Sugar High going on at 11:30 really made it unfeasible to pull our usual "Teakwoods and then bolt to Tempe" trick. So we opted for just doing Hollywood Alley. On top of everything, the cover (admittedly for charity) was more than advertised. And to boot, we both kinda felt fucked from today. Wasn't really sure about Singleton's other band that went on before Sugar High, though points for virtually playing the early Blossoms' set list, including Be True To Your School. Such a hideous song, but still kinda enjoyable in when you hear it covered in town.

But the moment Sugar High started playing, it was amazingly clear that we'd made the right choice. God, that band is so damn good! The fact that they're not bigger than they are is completely lost on me. The moment they launched into 100 Years To Love You (yaay!), I couldn't help but think: screw Ezra - this is the band that we should be calling "Better Than the Gin Blossoms". I'm glad that there is someone who hasn't forgotten the power of a killer arpeggio.

Great set. The mix was sub par, and they were a little loose in some places, but when you've got killer songs, it really doesn't matter. Really cool set list too. Highlight was definitely hearing 100 Years, but there were a lot of others that we hadn't heard before, including an old Autumn Teen Sound song Love In Stereo. Cool shit.

Great set, great tunes. and despite it being unfortunate that we missed acoustic night at Teakwoods, there was no doubt we'd made the right choice. Now, if only there was a way to get the Sugar High boys play out more these days. It would make the world a better place.

Technology

(0)Thursday, October 21, 2010 - 07:10:11 pm
(Posted Under: Tempe Music Scene, Music)

Domo @ The Ice Houe Tavern

(3)Saturday, October 16, 2010 - 11:31:03 pm
(Posted Under: Tempe Music Scene, Music, Live Shows)

From Emmett & Scott, it was back over to the Ice House Tavern.

Pretty sweet timing on our part. And since we were only going to be seeing the last band, the venue only charged us half of the cover. How fucking cool is that? The Ice House Tavern gets my recommendation based on that alone. Mind you, unlike most venues it was a very reasonable cover to begin with!

Very cool set from the guys. I opted for not recording, which I prompted regretted when Jason announced that they (again) were going to play a full set of songs that nobody knew. (Yes, their new album is still under 6 months old, and they're already onto new songs). With that we said. we actually got a few off of Friends, most excitingly Middle Class Life. As well as s few less familar "ones you don't know" in addition to Getting Seriously and Holiday.

The cool thing with this venue is that it fronts onto the ice hockey rink. Yes, in the middle of the desert we have an ice rink. Strange, but true. In any case, I believe it's the first ice hockey rink I've ever seen. It seems like there is very little I'm not just accustomed to now, and feels like "the norm", so having a "whoah, I'm in America!" moment was really kinda hit me.

Cool bar, and definitely something new.

Black & White CD Cover

A.K.A Cool Shit Seen In Downtown Phoenix

(0)Saturday, October 16, 2010 - 10:06:12 pm
(Posted Under: Tempe Music Scene, Music)

Katie had noticed this in the last few weeks, and since we were in the area, she drove me past it.



"It's a big M painted on a wall, big deal!" you might be thinking. Well, by all accounts, it looks like it's where the cover for The Maine's latest CD Black & White was shot. On comparing the photo with the album cover, I think I can confirm it to be true.

Pretty cool.

Emmett & Scott @ Portlands

(0)Saturday, October 16, 2010 - 09:28:17 pm
(Posted Under: Tempe Music Scene, Music, Live Shows)

Amazingly, given the way tonight has gone, we managed to get down to see Emmett and Scott and Portlands. We stopped briefly at the Ice House, determined that Domo were probably going on last, and made a plan to go downtown and catch the Tramps boys.

Kinda cool place for something upscale, and props for not having the guys shoved in some corner, like most places.

Cool to finally get to see those two play (despite the fact I kept saying Mark & Emmett all fucking night until we got there ) after having said that we were going to for god knows how long (maybe even since Save The Boobs ). Emmett was all over getting requests from us, but I think player of the week needs to go to Scott for opting to do that amazing version of Galloping Hearts. I had my recorder with me, and I can't express how painful that I didn't have it running due to that! Wow.

D.I.Y T-Shirt Framing

The Vintage Long Wong's T-Shirt Rides Again - Finally!

(0)Monday, October 11, 2010 - 04:43:17 pm
(Posted Under: Tempe Music Scene)

Well, my old Long Wong's On Mill t-shirt has been out of rotation and in storage for - I don't know, close on 10 years, if not longer. Once a hole started in the shoulder, it was pretty quickly was removed from rotation. Sad, because it's undeniably such a cool t-shirt, and quite frankly, looked great on me. No, it really did. Back in the day, it and my Fizzy Fuzzy Big & Buzzy t-shirts just killed. Perfect fit, perfect color, just perfect t-shirts. The days those left rotation (both for the same reason) were sad days in rock 'n roll. Or fashion. Maybe both.

Pretty much ever since the Wong shirt was retired, I've had the intention of having it framed. For whatever reason, probably mostly my own craptaculence, it's taken this long to make it happen. But while frame shopping yesterday, one for the good old Long Wong's t-shirt was a must.

Let me say, I now understand why t-shirt framing is so expensive. Of all the things doing it yourself is, "fun" is not one of them. But if you're for something to make you want to stab yourself in the eye for a couple of hours, then I highly recommend it! It's absolutely frustrating as hell!

With that said, having this t-shirt framed looks is sweet. It could do with another try to get it looking a bit better, but this will do for the moment. There is only so much frustration I can (and should) inflict on myself in one day!

Stephen Ashbrook @ Martini Ranch

(0)Saturday, October 9, 2010 - 10:52:43 pm
(Posted Under: Tempe Music Scene, Music, Live Shows)

So, it would appear that we're never going to get to an Ashbrook show at Martini Ranch on time. Sadly we probably missed Geronimo tonight. Really glad he kept Rock 'N Roll for the closer and we didn't miss that.

Stephen is like Los Guys - in that a second guitarist is not required, but is really sweet when there is one. And most certainly when it's Josh Kennedy. Seriously, it takes it to a whole 'nother level. And y'know, you've gotta love Ashbrook's "Arizona" band in general.

Great show, as always Ashbrook is worth the price of admission. Surprisingly it wasn't the usual turn out though. There were some unexpected tunes in the set, namely Right On Time. Pretty cool to hear that.

For a third time in a row Katie and her t-shirt (tonight it was the Zia's Record Store Day 2010 one) got singled by Ashbrook from stage. Later in the night he mentioned that he wrote Scotch & A Handgun for Brad Singer. Would have loved to have heard the story behind that.

Strange Young Things @ Culinary Dropout

(0)Friday, October 8, 2010 - 11:30:09 pm
(Posted Under: Tempe Music Scene, Music, Live Shows)

Tonight it was Strange Young Things at the Culinary Dropout in Scottsdale. On the way down we stopped at Tempe Marketplace, with the idea of catching a little of Los Guys before going to Scottsdale. We showed up while they were on a break, so didn't really see much. We did catch Hotel Defeated, and another song that I didn't recognize. Whatever it was, Jim was playing some mean south western guitar on it.

Anyways, onto Scottsdale. If you know anything about Strange Young Things, or The Culinary Dropout (or preferably both), you know it's an odd pairing. And one that makes for a not to be missed show. If for nothing else, just to see what was going to happen.

The boys appeared to have only just started when we got there, which was actually pretty late given the stop at Tempe Marketplace. We braved the venue and asked to be seated up by the band. It surprisingly worked well, particularly given our expectation from the last time we went to Culinary.

As expected, there was a strange tension in the air. Everything was turned down (except Rich's drums) to the point that you could barely hear the guitars. There was definitely a sense of everything being toned down, which actually made for a really cool funky version of Get Your Fire For Free. Can't complain with that. But still, everything was pretty far from a typical Yucca show. And there was no question that it was the band's idea.

On the first break we suggested to Adam that the guitars needed to come up. Which I think prompted everything to come up. Initially during the second set there was some general hesitance of "getting dirty". But a few songs, everyone had come around to the idea. Everything got a lot louder. Corey started to venture off stage. And to standing on the fancy couches. And wandering into the kitchen to sing to the staff. Basically, it became a proper Strange Young Things show! I'm not saying that the normals weren't freaked out. A bunch of people left. But of the decent proportion of people that stayed, there was a general sense of a much better reception once the volume levels were raised and the rock really started to flow.

It actually turned out to be a really cool night. You just can't stop those guys from rocking. Corey insisted that the did Tripped On My Own Words, most likely for our benefit, which was really cool. The real setlist high point was the return of School, which made an appearance as the last song. Sweet!!

For drinks we decided to try the "Paper Bag Special". Literally served...in a paper bag. I've got to say, that's pretty cool! And wasn't that much different that drinking a Pabst Blue. If you're going to be a Tempe resident in Scottsdale, do it all the way baby.

Fun times without a doubt. And have I mentioned how this is my favorite band?

So, We'll Never Agree

New Times, Cizmar, Blossoms and All That

(0)Monday, October 4, 2010 - 08:53:24 pm
(Posted Under: Tempe Music Scene, Phoenix New Times)

So, the Phoenix New Times have done a piece on No Chocolate Cake via Up On The Sun. I'm not sure what surprises me the most about the fact that they'd bother, but it's probably mostly because the Gin Blossoms are so far removed from any sort of hipster label for the New Times to show any interest.

And lookie, it's by Martin Cizmar. Okay, so it's here - the time when that dude and I finally agree on something.

Or not.

The Up On The Sun article is really just a typical clef notes of something that the AZ Republic published last week (thanks guys - I read it when it was published, but whatev). But Martin announces that he's going to review the album via Twitter. This is going to be fun.

Well, the more or less positive review is not what I expected. More or less, because the idea that you can review an album via Twitter is an interesting one, and it's really hard to glean much from under 120 characters of text per song. But as far as I can tell, Martin didn't mind it. Or at very least, he didn't hate it. I must say, I'm quite surprised.

Though, the fact that 1 tweet later he bitches out a follower who suggests he should give that much attention to other relevant local bands by stating "People 2 cool 2 respect the Valley's few musical success stories are part of the problem in my opinion." might hold the key as to why this non hipster band didn't get the usual scathing article/review you expect from the New Times, for an album that really deserves it. Not that it saved Jimmy Eat World recently on Nothing Not New.

I guess we can deduce two things here. One is that I guess I'm now "part of the problem". No, I'm not 100% sure what "the problem" is - yaay for Twitter as a medium for information and debate - but I'll proudly wear the badge all the same.

The other is that Martin and I will probably never see eye to eye on anything. Ever. If we don't on this album, then the writing is on the wall.

Australian Night?

Violet Wild & The AFL Grand Final @ Teakwoods

(0)Friday, October 1, 2010 - 11:32:32 pm
(Posted Under: Tempe Music Scene, Live Shows, Music)

Well, it was a fun night of rock n' roll with Violet Wild tonight at Teakwoods. Given how infrequently we've seen those boys of late, it was very appreciated getting to see them twice this week.

Bobby and Josh opened with a short acoustic set. Awww, it was just like old times! ha. Then the full band rock show. As per at Yucca on Wednesday, the Black Moods lineup, and although being billed as Violet Wild, set wise it was very Black Moods other than Big Time and Luna. Which, y'know, was totally fine. And was a good opportunity to get some of the new Moods songs on tape.

As I side on Wednesday, Bobby is great on the new Moods songs. Actually, I think we need to award Bobby "player of the week" for tonight's performance. Firstly, he was in an awesome mood, and his banter all night was hilarious. Maybe it was the Jager talking. Secondly, the guy's vocals were slaying me all night. Y'know, sometimes you can't help but think that that Bobby Scott may just be the best singer in the world. Whoah!

Some great covers tonight. One of the more surprising, obscure and enjoyable was Spacehog's In The Meantime. Again, nice to have tape rolling for that.

During a set break having a smoke, I noticed that Teaks had the AFL Grand Final on. Of course, the second one, given the draw last week. What the hell is with Australia at the moment? First almost a hung Parliament and they barely escape doing the election again, and then a draw for the AFL Grand Final? Which incidentally, it really surprises me that they'd have a second one, rather than just going into overtime. But anyways, back to Teakwoods - it was definitely a novel thing to see that at Teakwoods. I could normally give a shit less about sports (Australian, or otherwise), but it was kinda cool to get to keep tabs on it. I guess I noticed that it was on with about half an hour to go in the final quarter. Collingwood were slaughtering St. Kilda, and of course Eddie McGuire is on the brink of tears. Good to know nothing has changed. Settle down Ed, you've got it in the bag.

So, if the Grand Final being on wasn't enough, the boys broke into AC/DC's Highway To Hell at the end of their set. What is this, Australian night at Teakwoods?!? Showing the Australian Grand Final, Violet Wild covering AC/DC and...well...y'know, I was there! ha!

Black Moods @ Yucca

(0)Wednesday, September 29, 2010 - 11:32:30 pm
(Posted Under: Tempe Music Scene, Music, Live Shows)

Ballistics

(2)Tuesday, September 21, 2010 - 12:30:14 pm
(Posted Under: Tempe Music Scene, Music, Phoenix New Times)

So I came across this article today. It was pretty far from what I was actually looking for, and I actually ended up on "Letters To The Editor" and was interesting in seeing why exactly Bob was getting so much heat, and searched for the original article.

Going Ballistic.

What an entertaining read. I'm sure I've probably read it before at some point over the past 10 years, I have some vague memory of it now. But not enough to stop it being immensely entertaining to read again. Anyone who paints Stephen Ashbrook as someone who would flash a 9mm pistol, clearly has the concepts of humor and sarcasm down pat.

The whole article is so well written, and most importantly, so entertaining, that I couldn't help but think how much of a shame it is that the likes of Bob Merh are no longer involved with the Phoenix New Times.

Similarly, the underlying point of the entire article - that it's silly to expect people to use kid gloves when it comes to anything local (or "local" ) - really speaks to me right now. Bad music is bad music, no matter who you are.

Finally, fancy that - ten years ago, it fine to work at the New Times, and to be a critic. Oh, how and where did we go so wrong?

What Is Wrong With The Phoenix New Times

(0)Tuesday, September 7, 2010 - 09:01:05 am
(Posted Under: Tempe Music Scene, Music, Phoenix New Times, Rants)

Gentlemen Afterdark @ The Sail Inn

(0)Sunday, September 5, 2010 - 11:59:43 pm
(Posted Under: Tempe Music Scene, Music, Live Shows)

Months ago, we didn't know that we were going to do both Gentlemen Afterdark shows. Hell, last week we still didn't. But after last night, there was no question. When the end of last night came, the fact they'd booked a show in Tempe tonight was such a nice thing to look forward to. Y'know, having a killer time, wanting to see more, and well...knowing that we could tonight!

We'd blown most of our cash in Tucson, and had to find an ATM to get more, which made us a little late. And of course, the Sail Inn didn't have the cover listed anywhere, so we didn't know how much it was going to be. In this instance, we knew that whatever it was, we wanted to see this show. So getting cash made us a bit late. Ironically, G was outside when we walked up, and he got us in for free as his guests. Thanks G!

Thankfully, not only were we late, but so was the show. When we walked in Andrew and PC were still setting up. Sweet. Given that we were late to Andrew's set on Friday night, we were really glad that we didn't miss it tonight. As much as I enjoy The Dirty Rascals, man Future Band Of America are really a whole nother thing all together. It's been a while since we've seen them play, and actually had some fears that they were no more. Very glad that that's not the case.

As per last night, when Gentlemen Afterdark took the stage, Brian wasn't up there until the absolute last minute. The setlist was exactly the same as last night, with the addition of Pills, which I guess they had on the list last night but didn't get to play.

There were a lot of cool things about seeing them again tonight. I guess firstly was just getting to see them again. Secondly, the very few songs that we didn't know last night were familiar tonight, thanks to picking up the CD last night completing our collection. And it was just cool to get to see them on a big stage last night, and the bar tonight.

Brian dragged PC on stage as they closed out with Pills which was a riot. With the action on stage, and the degree of crowd participation off stage, there was no doubt something special was going down.

Overall I think my favorite show was last night, but there were certain parts of tonight that were better than last night. One of those was being able to get closer and hence my short ass being able to see more. I guess the one disappointment with tonight was that after it, there was no promise of another show tomorrow.

This weekend it's been hard not to really wish you were around in the 80's for it all. But with that said, holy shit, it was really great getting to see these guys play. Looking forward to the next show, in 100 years.

Gentlemen Afterdark @ Hotel Congress

(0)Saturday, September 4, 2010 - 09:47:45 pm
(Posted Under: Tempe Music Scene, Music, Live Shows)

We wandered down to the Hotel Congress around 9.

Definitely a cool atmosphere going on down there, which I guess isn't that hard with how cool that place is. It wasn't long after walking in did we notice we weren't the only ones that had come down from Tempe, spotting both PC and Andy. Which kinda made the stalking joke from last night even funnier. Chatted to them about what a great show last night was, and how much we were looking forward to tonight's show.

It appeared that Gentlemen were actually going on at 10:30, instead of 11:30, which made going down there earlier seem like a good thing. I stopped in the foyer to pick up a new baseball cap, and then headed into Club Congress in hopes of catching Creosote. As they were setting up and started playing, I was a little confused, as it wasn't what I was expecting. As it turns out, things were way off schedule, and we actually saw. Low Max. Had no idea about them, but pretty cool to watch.

Afterwards we milled around outside by the outdoor stage. A lot of waiting was involved. Testament to how behind schedule everything was running, the Gentlemen setup didn't start til around 11:30pm. And they didn't go on stage until after midnight. It certainly was not their fault, but seemed to give some authenticity to the Gentlemen Afterdark show - I'm sure this happened a lot in their hey day. There was a merch table set up, and they were selling a 16 song mixed CD, which was brilliant given my Facebook status the other day.

Fuck. The 2 hour drive to Tucson and all that waiting around was so worth it. It was clear that it was about 2.5 seconds after Brian Smith took the stage. Of course, in true rock star fashion, he was the last one on stage, up there at very last minute. There was little question months ago that we were going to come to the show, but if there ever had been, it would have been shattered the moment Brian took the stage. The opportunity to see Brian perform, let alone with Gentlemen Afterdark was really something.

The band was fully decked out with guitar, synth and violin, with Stuart having flown in from the UK for the show. Brian looked great, arguably looking more reminiscent of Robert Smith than ever. Not sure whether he'd take that as a compliment, but I mean it as one. Speaking of which, the fact that the pre show mix, in addition to their songs also included In Between Days was pretty sweet. Ahhh, the 80's, I miss you so.

Things kicked off with Darkrooms, and there was no shortage of Brian posturing, and...well, just still being an all round rock star. The other thing that was immediately obvious, is how happy everyone looked to be there playing.

Throughout the show, there was a good deal of abuse directed to the sound guy (probably with love, I think it was Bruce from the Rubies) coming from Robin. There was definitely something about this that was great. I'm sure this sort of thing happened a lot in 1984 and added some sense of authenticity to the show if you ask me.

The excitement with getting to see Brian perform, and the seeing band in general was pretty high as it was. But it turned to pure elation three songs in, when Brian gave a shout out to Hopkins, and the band launched into a rendition of his Sometimes. Wow. I was already completely psyched to be there and get to see them play, but this was something else all together! Despite Brian's intro to the song being quite long, it was all lot to take in when they started playing.

Following that they broke into a mixture of more familiar Gentlemen Afterdark songs and a handful of Pills tracks. All of them fantastic. They brought up Billy Sedmyer up for Hollywood Doll, with the crowd loved. The show closed out with Holiday, which sounded awesome. It did seem like they had another song in them, but Dave Slutes was a man on a mission to keep the night rolling.

Man, what can I say? It was a glorious 45 minutes or so. Brian looked great, and was every bit the rock star I'd imagined. The songs all sounded great, and hold up fine after almost 30 years. It was one of those shows that the moment it's over, you want it to happen all over again. The upside is that although it wasn't going to happen right then, it is going to tomorrow night. There's absolutely no doubt we're going to the Sail Inn show now.

Strange Young Things Tour Kickoff Benefit

(0)Friday, September 3, 2010 - 11:34:04 pm
(Posted Under: Tempe Music Scene, Music, Live Shows)

Fun and long night tonight. The Strange Young Things boys are taking off on tour, and tonight's show was in benefit for that.

Great crowd all night. And was definitely one of the best shows of theirs we've seen on so many levels. Yeah, I know, I say that so often. But it was. Yucca remained packed all night. Everyone was sporting "Fuck Strange Young Things" stickers. I'm surprised Corey asked us whether we'd wear them. While affixing them to ourselves,, PC came over and said hi and suggested that we were stalking him. With the frequency in which we see him, it's a fair call. ha!

And speaking of PC, he intro'd the band tonight - at which point I thought how good he is at it. As well as the mayor of Tempe, I think he's also the MC of Tempe without a doubt!

Player of the week tonight when it comes to fashion would have to go to Adam. We talked to him about the pending tour for a while outside early in the night while he was selling raffle tickets. Dressed in the usual Adam style. At the time I said to Katie that one night he should upstage Glodie. Little did I know it was going happen tonight. About half an hour before their set, Adam walked into Yucca in tight leopard skin pants. Awesome!

A highly energetic show. My name somehow got worked into one of the songs, which is becoming a regular occurrence at Yucca. Thanks for the love Cor. By the end of the night, the stage looked like it normally does on a really good night - full of musicians that aren't actual in the band. My favorite moment was probably when Corey insisted a hesitant Zubs come up and take over on guitar.

The band was a little late to hit the stage, and hence played well past last call. So much for the plans to get out earlier and to bed to leave early tomorrow for Tucson. The best part of the night came when there was a huge call out for an encore - well past 2am. The guys very happily got up to close up with Lonely Hearts Are Wild.

Shit, what a fun night. If you live in the midwest or east coast, check the tour dates to see if they're playing anywhere near you in the next month. It's cool, you can thank me for the recommendation (which will change your life) later.

Chalmers Green @ Iguana Macks

Josh Kennedy, Breaking Tables All Over The Place

(0)Sunday, August 29, 2010 - 12:21:29 pm
(Posted Under: Tempe Music Scene, Music, Live Shows)

Last night with Chalmers Green last night too much fun. We were fashionably late, as usual, and unfortunately missed a good deal of the first set. Which was acceptable, since the band was playing all night. Iguana Macks was packed, anybody who is anybody was there. Case in point that Chalmers needs to be back together. It's just too much fun seeing Josh in 100% rock n' roll mode.

Although we knew tonight's show was going to be mostly covers, it actually surpassed our expectations. Chalmers is just such a party and a rock 'n roll show, whether it's originals or covers.

Highlight of the night would have to have been when the venue moved a table in front of the stage, encouraging Josh to get up there. And y'know, Josh breaking the table, and not missing a note as he came crashing down. Most guitarist break strings - Josh Kennedy breaks tables. And keeps playing.

Most ironic moment? When Josh had the douche that was hitting on everyone's wives/fiances ejected once it his fiance was getting harrassed - in the middle of Give Me Three Steps. "Come on, show that guy the door". Perfect timing. As a side note, we later got to see this security put this asshole to the ground when he tried to get back in.

Despite the all covers show, the guys did pull out Virginia, which was a crowd favorite obviously.

If I haven't said it before - Chalmers Green need to be back together permanently.

Best Of Phoenix 2010 Nominations

(0)Thursday, August 26, 2010 - 05:28:50 pm
(Posted Under: Tempe Music Scene, This Desert Life)

Best of Phoenix 2010 is out. A few funny and sad aspects about it...

Kimber Lanning is in a category with Sherrif Joe Arpaio. Wow! For Best Superhero. Gee, I'm really going to have to think long and hard about that one!

The Phoenix New Times have nominated Tempe Music Festival as the Best Music Festival - as the best of Phoenix 2010. Tempe Music Festival 2010 was...err...canceled guys! As much as TMF is my favorite in general, who is going to vote for something that didn't happen? My vote needs to go elsewhere.

And the most sad part of it. Very slim pickings for Best Local Band. Very slim. To the extent of there being no band that I've actually seen, let alone care about. It's the last category you'd figure that would be true of. Though, it's the Phoenix New Times, go figure...

Last, but not least - no Teakwoods nominations. Sure, I have a bias and ridiculous love of Teakwoods I guess, but not even Best Wings? Ouch.

Baja Wednesdays Are Back!

(0)Wednesday, August 25, 2010 - 05:50:59 pm
(Posted Under: Tempe Music Scene, Music, Live Shows)

Well, they never actually went anywhere. But the combination of it being hard to get down to Phoenix by 6 and Josh & Bobby happy hour having stopped 2 months ago, means it's been long enough for me to really miss Baja Wednesdays.

But this week, happy hour music has started up with music again, now provided by Jason Longo. That's enough excuse for me to get re-acquainted with $2 Mexican imports at Teakwoods.

$2 Coronas, oh how I've missed you.

The Things You Learn

(0)Wednesday, August 25, 2010 - 01:25:52 am
(Posted Under: Tempe Music Scene)

So it's now clear to me where Seven Car Pileup got their name.

Who said that Scrubs isn't educational programming?

Sara Says

The Tempe Arizona Favorite

(0)Sunday, August 22, 2010 - 11:11:01 pm
(Posted Under: Tempe Music Scene, Music)

Los Guys @ Yucca Tap Room

(0)Saturday, August 21, 2010 - 11:39:37 pm
(Posted Under: Tempe Music Scene, Music, Live Shows)

Strange Young Things @ Martini Ranch

Like Michigan, I'm Not Too Sure About You Scottsdale!

(0)Friday, August 20, 2010 - 11:45:46 pm
(Posted Under: Tempe Music Scene, Music, Live Shows)

In what is become an increasingly popular trend, we were out of the door at Teakwoods hastily to get to a Strange Young Things show. Show time (for their set) was 12:15 - so despite chatting with Andrew and getting out of Teakwoods later than we'd expected, we were still on schedule, hitting downtown Scottsdale at 11:50pm. But, along with the usual line of traffic for parking once you get to Stetson, we could see a familar comotion set to music occuring on the stage at Martini Ranch. Fuck you Scottsdale! Much like Michigan, I'm not that sure about you. Actually, that's not really true. I'm actually pretty sure that I don't like you.

Anyways, after many circles of the streets around Martini Ranch while the band played on, we managed to bag a sweet park out the front of the venue. Knowing that a good portion of the show had probably transpired, we did consider just standing outside and watching the rest of the show out there. But y;know, who the fuck are we kidding? That plan last for all of 30 seconds before we were at the door forking over our $5 to be part of the remaining fun. Thankfully the guys did an extended set, and despite missing a fair bit, we still got our money's worth. And hey, we got to see Dan play with the band, which is the first time in quite a while.

Shelby James & The Crying Shames @ Teakwoods

(0)Friday, August 20, 2010 - 11:23:16 pm
(Posted Under: Tempe Music Scene, Music, Live Shows)

Tonight we managed to see a complete Shelby James & The Crying Shames show! Thanks to several ongoing comedy of errors, it's been several months since we've seen Shelby play. Ironically, there was no shortage of good live music going on tonight (Ghetto Cowgirl acoustic, Violet Wild - speaking of bands we haven't seen in a while!), but it didn't change the fact that we needed to stay the course.

The Shames tonight was without Jane, and with a drummer. It wasn't long before they started playing that it was further obvious in how long we've gone between seeing Shelby, so it was definitely great to rectify that.

It was a bit of a short night at Teaks (which goes to the fact that we need and should see Shelby again as soon as we can), but there were certainly some benefits to that. After tracking down Andrew to give him the recording of his acoustic set at Teakwoods that I promised him, it was time to hit the road...

Music Every Night - Night 2

(0)Tuesday, August 10, 2010 - 11:18:28 pm
(Posted Under: Tempe Music Scene, Music, Live Shows)

We were more successful tonight, seeing Mark & Emmett at The Grind. Was definitely a fun time.

Lot's of laughs, and Gasoline Glycerin was great.

Let's See Music Every Night This Week - Fail

(0)Monday, August 9, 2010 - 11:48:52 pm
(Posted Under: Tempe Music Scene, Music)

Over the weekend, we agreed that we should go out every night this week and see a band. There was some suggestion of doing that last week, which severely crashed and burned!

Tonight it was to be Shelby James at Rula Bula. By the time 9:30 rolled around, the idea of getting off the couch was far from appealing. But I stepped up to the plate, and stopped us from being lame. The funny part of the whole thing is that we got to Rula Bula, and there was no Shelby James to be seen.

I did at least threw out the milk that needed throwing out. Effectively we drove out to Mill to achieving throwing out bad milk.

Strange Young Things @ Teakwoods

A.K.A "Let's Get Stinko"

(0)Saturday, August 7, 2010 - 01:17:42 pm
(Posted Under: Tempe Music Scene, Music, Live Shows)

Fun night last night with Strange Young Things at Teakwoods. It's actually seems like it's been a while since we've been to Teaks. Really just because we weren't here last weekend, but even so, it felt like being home again.

Given Kstie's news about Best Buy, we were set to get stinko. Not really, but certainly relative to how much we normal drink on our current budget. Which is counter productive to our scrimping after Vegas, but it's just something that needed to happen. So, I took full advantage of the Friday night specials - Four Peaks 8th Street Ale. And while I was pretty far from actually getting stinko, I did have a slight buzz going on by the end of the night. Oh how I love drink specials. Not that 8th Street Ale is my favorite beer, but I do enjoy it now and then (generally when eating at Four Peaks, and if it means that I get more bang for my back - or beer for my buck as the case may be, bring it on.)

With how shitty the last couple of days have been, the whole excitment of Strange Young Things playing at Teakwoods had kinda been lost of me. Just in that it's a sweet gig - arguably one of the best for us, but I'm not sure I was pumped as much as usual before getting there / the band playing. Of course, that all changed once they did.

Corey up first with an acoustic set. Midway through he was joined (reluctantly at first ) by Adam and Pat for Bitch Has Got Problems. The guys also joined in later on on She Talks To Angels, including Rich.

Of course, once the full band took the stage, that's when the real fun began! The really sweet thing about Strange Young Things at Teakwoods is it's always a hell of a set, and not one of these 45 minute deals. Not to diss 45 minute sets, but with Strange Young Things, the longer the set, the better. And so you can't get better than them playing all night.

It was definitely cool that we got Take Me Out Of The City, which I've never seen the full band do. And it was cool that they pulled out Tripped, which I'm sure was again largely for us.

A really fun night, and really just what the doctor ordered. I just wish we could do this every Friday night!

And yes, we do keep our smiles in our left breast pocket. But you could hardly tell last night, in spite of everything. Thank god for Strange Young Things!

Strange Young Things @ Compound Grill

(0)Thursday, July 29, 2010 - 11:25:23 am
(Posted Under: Tempe Music Scene, Music, Live Shows)

Early shows are nice for getting to go to bed at a reasonable time, but the downside of them is that they're often hard to get to on top - especially when they're virtually in another state! Okay, so that's a bit of an overstatement, but going to the Compound Grill in North Phoenix is one hell of a trek. But we really wanted to see Strange Young Things down there tonight, with visions of Corey climbing over all the tables, throwing salt shakers etc.

Amazingly despite the comedy of errors on the 60, we got there only about 25 minutes late. We really expected to be the only people from T-Town there, so it was cool to see Norman there when we rocked up. If anyone likes these guys as much as us, it's him I guess! So we had a Tempe table going on amongst the normals, which we were expecting to be freaked out.

Fun show with Rich sitting in on drums. It was a bunch of covers when we showed up, which soon turned into originals. I'm not saying that it was because of that, but it we were happy about it either way. Two notible covers pulled out were Cocaine Blues and Maggie May (which went off much smoother than St. Patricks Day, and sounded really cool).

The one thing that sucks about showing up late is missing Bang The Dash - so it worked out nicely that they closed with that rather than opened with it. Man, talk about the epitome of a rock 'n roll anthem.

...And No-One Saw That Coming

Brian Blush Joins The Peacemakers On Stage

(0)Wednesday, July 28, 2010 - 10:21:54 am
(Posted Under: Tempe Music Scene, Music)

Toy Story 3

(0)Sunday, July 25, 2010 - 10:42:30 pm
(Posted Under: Movies, Tempe Music Scene, Music, Live Shows)

Happy Birthday To Me

Violet Wild & The Black Moods @ Yucca Tap

(0)Tuesday, July 20, 2010 - 11:37:15 pm
(Posted Under: Tempe Music Scene, )

With my birthday tomorrow, and not much going on musically, it worked out pretty sweet that Violet Wild on short notice were playing the Yucca Tap tonight - which turned out to coincide with Ryan's birthday.

Violet Wild did a fun first set. Not surprisingly, given Ryan's birthday, were the Black Moods. I pretty much was confident of this happening the moment I heard it was Ryan's birthday. And it didn't surprise me when Kevin was there. However, I didn't necessarily expect that it was going to be the Black Moods with Kevin singing. There's a birthday treat that the whole world can enjoy! Some old school Black Moods - of course, with Rich on drums instead of Chico. As the night turned to am, the Moods were still up there, so I rang in my 33nd year watch The Black Moods with Kevin Prier singing - pretty sweet!

So many people that we saw on Saturday - PC, Andrew, Corey... Had a chat to Andrew who wished me a happy birthday. Found out HIS age tonight, which I had been wondering about - and it made me feel old. He and PC got up after The Moods for two songs, with Josh sitting in on drums.

The night was closed out with another fun set from Violet Wild. Corey got up for Anything That's Rock N' Roll, which was actually the second time tonight it got played. Actually, the amount of Tom Petty in general was impressive.

Fun times at the Yucca Tap. We really shouldn't have stayed out so late on a school night, especially since we have to get up at 6 tomorrow for breakfast, but it was worth it.

Inide Of You - Video

(0)Tuesday, July 20, 2010 - 02:29:29 pm
(Posted Under: Tempe Music Scene, Music)

Vinyl Station on Indie Music Phoenix

(0)Sunday, July 18, 2010 - 10:23:43 pm
(Posted Under: Tempe Music Scene, Music)

8 Things I Didn't Have To Do At Teakwoods Tonight

(0)Saturday, July 17, 2010 - 11:34:09 pm
(Posted Under: Tempe Music Scene, Music, Live Shows)

Robin Wilson USA Phoenix AZ Teakwoods Bar and Grille 2010-02-20

Illegal Selling Of Live Recording

(0)Tuesday, July 13, 2010 - 04:43:45 pm
(Posted Under: Tempe Music Scene, Music)

910 Live Closing?

(0)Sunday, July 11, 2010 - 02:12:36 pm
(Posted Under: Tempe Music Scene)

Los Guys @ Teakwoods / Strange Young Things @ Yucca

(0)Saturday, July 10, 2010 - 11:21:35 pm
(Posted Under: Tempe Music Scene, Music, Live Shows)

We decided to head out to Teaks tonight for Future Band and Los Guys. It was a hard decision, since we needed to be back in Tempe for Strange Young Things at 12:30. Though, once we got there, we were really glad that we did make the trip out there, even though we missed Future Band, and had to wait a while for Los Guys to start. A couple of cool rarities were thrown into the set, like Hotel Defeated. And when Mark was looking for requests, I was able to get Tequila and Marijuana in there. Damn it that's an awesome song!

It was amusing to me when Andrew said his goodbyes at midnight, headed for Yucca. Pre-empting exactly what we were going to do 10 minutes later. Much like the last time we did this (Teakwoods, and then Strange Young Things @ Yucca) we timed it perfectly! The show rocked, and I think as a result tonight, my assessment has gone from "my favorite young local band" to "my favorite band, period". Let's be honest, it's true. Fuck corporate rock bands. Something else confirmed tonight was how much I love the new tunes, to the point that I'd actually rather hear the new ones over the old ones.

For the third time in the row, I was left feeling like it was the best gig to date. As always, loved watching Dan the mad man behind the kit, and tonight Pat's guitar tone was dialed in perfectly! It was just a great set. And it was cool when the guy from Banana Gun jumped up for Suitcase. Virtually so that Corey could run out for a smoke. But it was pretty rock n' roll. The only downside of the whole night was that the sound guy turned off the mic when Andrew jumped up on stage for American Girl. Not sure what the deal with that sound guy is, but for us, that's at least he's third strike.

Towards the end, we had a repeat of the last Yucca show - Corey jumping off stage, zeroing in on Katie to hold the mic and everyone sitting on Yucca's floor. Which can only mean one thing - The Bitch Has Got Problems. We'd been singing that damn song all day , and of course, after this, we were singing it again hours later.

All in all, ridiculous fun with the coolest fucking rock n' roll band there is.

I Am Josh Kennedy

(0)Wednesday, July 7, 2010 - 12:39:53 am
(Posted Under: Tempe Music Scene, Music)

Well, I'm not, but Josh is. This is a cool ass video.

The video explains what the hell the point of the "steering wheel" device on Chadwick's camera is for. If you watch closely at around 1:13 you can actually see Katie and I discussing just that.

Overkill?

(0)Tuesday, July 6, 2010 - 11:08:34 am
(Posted Under: Tempe Music Scene, Music)

Fourth Of July - Part 1

Josh & Bobby @ Iguana Macks

(0)Sunday, July 4, 2010 - 05:16:54 pm
(Posted Under: Tempe Music Scene, Music)

The celebrations for this 4th of July, my second one in the States, more or less started with seeing Josh & Bobby at Iguana Macks. Largely influenced by my DR-07 purchase yesterday and wanting to give it a try out. Not that it isn't conceivable that we wouldn't gone to see the guys play anyway.

Getting to Iguana Macks was equally dubious in the middle of the day as it is at night. Our saving grace being that I had the address on my iPod. We were kinda late as it was, god knows how much later we would have been if I hadn't thought to check my iPod calendar for the address!

What followed was an awesome two hours. The weather today was awesome. Cooler than it's been lately, around 93, with a nice breeze. It was a perfect day to be outside on the patio watching the guys do their acoustic thing, with a cold Corona in hand! We were greeted when we walked in by Bobby asking us if we had any illegal fireworks - mid song. We actually showed up two songs before the first set break, and when they came over to shoot the shit, I cleared recording with them, which they had no problem with.

Really fun afternoon, can't think of better way to have spent it actually.

Get Strange Young Things On The KISS Tour

(0)Wednesday, June 23, 2010 - 12:37:28 am
(Posted Under: Tempe Music Scene, Music)

Via Strange Young Thing's myspace page. I'd love to see these guys open for Kiss!

It's cool to see that the tour looks like it's going to happen. Though I notice that the out of space gig has been pushed back somewhat.

Ghetto Cowgirl, Black Moods & Tramps

(0)Saturday, June 19, 2010 - 11:47:00 pm
(Posted Under: Tempe Music Scene, Music, Live Shows)

Fun rock n' roll night tonight, once that has you running all over town.

We started out at Yucca to see Ghetto Cowgirl acoustic. I wasn't expecting it, but it was 3 out of the 4 guys, including Serifini. Kinda a cool change from just Marc & Thomas.

After their performance, it was off to 910 Live for the Black Moods show. Annoyingly, the band had been moved from the 11:00pm to 11:45pm slot, which meant we'd probably miss Tramps and Yucca. And that we had to wait for the band to go on.

A really fun show. I was admittedly surprised by the lack of old tunes in the set. With the exception of Tall, It's A Drug and Sweet Virgina at the end. Much like the last time we saw them, the first song seemed like it was going to be Shut Up And Dance. Which would be a complaint with the new stuff, a number of the songs do seem very similarly to other songs.

About 3/4 of the way through, Josh called Bobby Scott up to the stage. Which was both awesome, and potentially not the smartest move. Because, while I was thoroughly enjoying myself, the moment Bobby got on stage, the lack of stage presence leading up to that point was painfully clear, if it hadn't been up until that point.

The slightly drunk birthday boy got up, strutted and postured, and pretty much gave a good example of why I was destined to be a Bobby Scott fan. And why he was born to be in a hair metal cover band. The guy rocks. They did three covers with Bobby, including I Need To Know and Billy Jean, which was a lot of fun, and really had the audience fired up. It was however sad that half the room exited when Bobby exited the stage. I've got to be honest, I don't understand the mentality behind paying a cover and sitting outside while the band is playing. Maybe it's just me.

The Moods finished up with Sweet Virgina, and for us it was time to hit the road, back to Yucca. Thankfully we still got to catch a decent slice of Tramps & Thieves when we got back there - and some of our favorite tunes. Emmett was visibly happy to see us when he did spot us. And there was certainly a party atmosphere going on at Yucca, with so many people dancing and what not. Although we would have like it if the Black Moods had played at 11 and we hadn't missed any of Tramps, but all in all it was a pretty successful night of rock n' roll!

Strange Young Things @ Martini Ranch

(0)Saturday, June 19, 2010 - 11:45:41 pm
(Posted Under: Tempe Music Scene, Music, Live Shows)

Fun with the Strange Young Things boys tonight. We would have liked to catch the Love Me Nots, but unfortunately Katie's work schedule did not permit. We did see about a song once we got to Martini Ranch, which was furthered the point that we probably would have enjoyed the whole thing.

Strange Young Things' set was great. It was a shame that not many stuck around for it. A lot of destruction happened on stage, Corey trashing his mic stand, then Pats, ending the show using Adams. Player of the week I think has to go to Pat, who was rocking up a storm the whole time.

With that said, Dan blows me away behind the drum kit. I know I've said it many times before, but it's awesome to watch him play. The amount of energy that dude has is amazing. And all this combined goes to what I always say - best band ever.

Oh, and I'd be remiss if I didn't say - I hate Scottsdale.

Ghetto Cowgirl, Dead Hot Workshop and Strange Young Things

(0)Friday, June 11, 2010 - 11:28:24 pm
(Posted Under: Tempe Music Scene, Music, Live Shows)

Awesome night of music tonight.

We rocked up at Teakwoods a little after 8 to eat which was awesome in itself, as always. And the house music tonight really wasn't half bad, I very much approved.

First up tonight was Ghetto Cowgirl. And that is, the return of Ghetto Cowgirl. Their first full band gig together in years. And was probably a last minute billing. The last time I've seen them play was a little bit over 5 years ago. Back then I didn't overly know them, and was completely blown away by their performance, so there was much fan fair about the show tonight. A nice crowd out at Teakwoods tonight, I'm sure in now small part because of the Ghetto Cowgirl factor. And the performance was obvious rock-tastic. And Norm-tastic for that matter! Everything that you'd expect from a Ghetto show - loud crunchy guitars, Thomas being accused of being a volume hog and Norm questioning at what point "the wheels were going to fall off". Much to my surprise, they pulled out Born To Bleed which wasn't something I was expecting on the set list. I'd taken the camera to record the show, unfortunately it was being a pain in the ass again, which marred my recording plans.

The rock continued with Dead Hot. As expected, they did Push Luck Shove with Norm on vocals. Actually, it was a flurry of activity on stage one Brent put out the call for Norman. Thomas switched from bass to guitar, with Serifini taking over on bass - while Kylie and Curtis remained in their usual Dead Hot roles. So it was really a Dead Hot Cowgirl type of affair, rather than just Norm guest vocaling on it. Even Bobby Scott got up, which was probably the most amount of people I have ever seen on the Teakwoods stage at one time. Fun times. There was another guest performance on Choad, which went off perfectly. Towards the end of the night I went out for smoke, having to cut it short when Bobby got up to sing Ray, which was really cool.

Thankfully for us, Dead Hot finished just after 12. Bobby came up and said bye, and commented on how we know everyone's songs out here (I guess our singing was probably a bit enthusiastic during the night), and after a quick chat to Thomas we high tailed it to the car to get back to Tempe, headed for Yucca - pretty much reeling over how fun the night had already been.

Our timing was impeccable, as we had a smoke and walked in right before Strange Young Things started their set. Well, not before Glodie made a big song and dance (almost literally ) about a bathroom break before starting. There was a really nice crowd at Yucca, which normally things out when our boys close out the night, however that wasn't the case tonight which was awesome. And the band had them eating from the palm of their hands, it was great. That combined with the performance probably makes it the best Strange Young Things show to date. And one of the many times Corey was off stage roaming the crowd, he worked in a "Mark Ord shout out", which is always appreciated. ha. The guys also mentioned us later on, and went into Tripped, which once again sounded fucking awesome, even if they were a little critical of the performance afterwards. We still loved it. Killer show, and it wasn't long before a whole bunch of people were even dancing!

The highlight of the night (and proof the Strange Young Things shows just can't get old, no matter how often you see them) is that for the last song, Corey jumped off stage, sat on the floor and proceeded to instruct everyone to sit in a circle around him. Pretty much John Lennon style. The thing that made it amazing is that most of the bar did so, and Adam and Pat sat on the edge of the stage. Corey then proceeded to tell Katie to come closer, gave her the mic and had her hold it for him while he started to play The Bitch Has Got Problems, legs crossed, on Yucca's floor. It was absolutely something, even when the mic died (or the sound guy cut him off) towards the end of the song - by which point most people had gotten down the very fun to sing chorus ("all I know is the bitch has got problems") so it didn't matter all that much.

Certainly by the end of that, there was hardly anyone in the bar that wasn't captivated by what had just unfolded before their eyes. The guys had a merch table set up (probably because it was a big show), and it looked like they were doing great business. The also had a new shirt (basically, one without Corey flipping the bird ), which made Katie happy since she has wanted a tee, but doesn't embrace the offense t-shirts the way I seem too. So she was glad to pick that up, and at mates rates no less. We had a chat to Pat, who invited us back to his place for the after party, which sounded like fun...

....Which lead to the whole debacle of trying to buy a six pack of beer at 3am. Which is apparently something that is easy to do. In a college town. On a Friday night! You really wouldn't imagine it to be that hard! Is Tempe like a dry county after 2am?!? We had the brilliant idea of hitting up Jerry's Drive Thru Liquors, and not even that was open! We gave up and just headed over to Pats - it was really nice to chill our and hang with those guys until about 4:30, when we decided to head home. An in doing so I learned that 4:30 is about the time the sun rises in the summer here in Phoenix. Good to know.

I didn't think that anything this week was going to be as fun as Josh's birthday on Tuesday. But tonight quickly proved me wrong. Rock n' roll!

Robin Wilson @ Teakwoods

(0)Thursday, June 3, 2010 - 11:38:20 pm
(Posted Under: Tempe Music Scene, Music, Live Shows)

Robin's benefit show for the Love, Hope, Strength Foundation tonight was a lot of fun.

Surprisingly tonight there wasn't as many people at Teakwoods as the last time Robin played. It was quite impressive how long he played for, about 2 and a half hours, with three sets. We were tired and looking forward to getting home (not that we weren't looking forward to the show), but being out later than we expected was completely fine by us.

Robin was in fine form tonight, he was quite talkative and just...really upbeat. One of his best anecdotes was telling a story of when Bill once suggested that he should write a song as poignant as "The Times Are A Changin'", to which Robin responded "go fuck yourself". Gold. The first and last sets were the Wilson classic sets. For the middle set he was joined by Scotty, for a mini Gin Blossoms set (Until I Fall Away, Allison Road, 'Til I Hear It From You, Hey Jealousy, Follow You Down), which was very cool.

Throughout the night Robin had refused certain requests. But after having finished, left the stage and had started to pack up , out of nowhere he was back on stage - a group of guys had offered to donate $200 if he did Nothing At All. There was much scrambling around the stage when he seemed keen, but did not remember how the song started. Katie had just come back from the bathroom, and I gave her the rundown of what had transpired and sent her up there to help Robin out. And once she did, the situation was resolved and Robin launched into the song. It's funny, after all these years, it tonight was the first time I've thought about the opening line of the song, and how cool it is, and how cool it is in relation to the song - "I'll get drunk and you can drive...". Kinda amazing that I've never given much thought to that line before. Obviously that as a closer was a crowd pleaser.

Fucking Domo

With Friends Like These... CD Release

(2)Saturday, May 29, 2010 - 11:49:01 pm
(Posted Under: Tempe Music Scene, Music, Live Shows)

Tonight rocked.

Earlier in the day, Domo tweeted their first set for tonight's show. Every song on the list being prefixed with 'fucking'. And so as we were scrambling to get ready to get going, I announced that everything tonight should be prefixed with 'fucking'. And followed through during the night.

It'd been a long day, so the TV downtime made it hard to get to Yucca on time, especially given the unprecedented (kinda) 9pm start time. But it's Yucca, nothing ever starts on time, right? We got there by 9:30pm and Truckers were already playing, but we did get to see a good portion of their set. Given that we were late, it was a shame that they were playing first. Very enjoyable to catch most of them though.

After Truckers were done, we hit the merch booth that Domo had set up. Highly organized shit, "domo" in big letters, t-shirts and CD's, and as it turned out, a selection of Domo buttons. Talk about a great merch table - despite watching money, it was clear that we needed a t-shirt as well as the CD. Maybe two, a bit of a splurge, but I'd regret it in no time if we didn't. But when we realized that everything was $5 each, there was no question about it. Huge points for Domo for the bargain prices!

The second point of excitement was Sweet Creepy. I could write a novel documenting the efforts we've gone to to get our hands on a copy of this CD (including harassing Jason the last at the last two shows we've been to - unsuccessfully, but it did result in us getting an advance copy of With Friends Like These... three months before tonight). So a cheer went up between us at the fact that they had copies for sale. So, not only were things $5 dollars, but there was a $15 offer on "buy 3 CD's and a t-shirt for $15 dollars". Worked out perfect for us, because in addition to the Domo CD's, they had the Fifteen Minutes Fast CD, which we wanted. We were told it was their first CD, and while I am very well versed on their discography, I definitely wanted the CD if it was some earlier one I somehow didn't know about. When we got to the car, we discovered it to be the Fifteen Minute Fast CD, which I ironically constantly pick up at Zia's (not sure why I didn't recognize the cover), but always put back, not knowing how many songs are on it, and whether Zia's price is fair. Which I'm thankful for, since we effectively got it free tonight.

So, with that out of the way, it was a case of picking out t-shirts. For me, the choice was obvious - one of the few new ones is back, simply with "fucking domo" across the front. Refer above to prefixing everything tonight with "fucking". Despite a bit of question the fact that I might not be able to wear it as often as I might like, the decision was pretty easy. Arguably there was no question at all.

In additionally, Truckers were giving away their latest disc with purchases of the new Domo record. Ironically we picked this up a month ago at Teakwoods, so it was funny we could have picked it up free tonight. Anyways, once all was said done, we picked up 4 CD's and t-shirts for $20. Pretty sweet!

Second band on the bill were from out of town, from Georgia. Kinda weird, but a fine opener neither the less, and that doesn't always happen with bands you don't know. About halfway through the set, it appeared that the singer graduated from the Corey Gloden school of rock. While not quite as unpredictable or entertaining as Corey, but certainly there was some correlation there.

Domo's set was kick ass, mostly made up of tunes off the new record, with one or two we didn't know, and one or two older ones. When we first got a copy of the CD, I questioned whether knowing the songs before the release party was going to be a good or bad thing/ On the one hand, knowing them all was going to facilitating rocking out with ease/ On the other hand, it was going to take the surprise out of everything. Of course, it's hardly like we could get a copy from Jason and NOT listen to it, so that won out. It was pretty immediately clear that knowing all the songs really well was definitely the best way to go, it definitely made the show a lot more enjoyable. Certainly a notable point was how good they sounded. While they have a nicely produced album by a relatively big local producer (Jamie Woolford, who was in attendance tonight), their live performance sounded as good as the album. It's amazing the wall of sound that some three pieces can put out. Domo is definitely one of them!

We pretty much chilled out during the Haymarket Squares. Katie was convinced that we've seen them before, but I'm not sure that we actually have. In anycase, tonight confirmed what I thought - not really my thing.

Domo was up yet again to close out the night. Given their had already done one set, and left most of their gear set up, it didn't take long for them to take the stage again. And the rock continued. There were a lot in this set that we didn't know. I'd figured that some of the songs may have been from Sweet Creepy, but in hindsight, that doesn't seem like it was the case. Who knows what the songs were - they could have been new songs, given that Friends... has been finished for quite a while. In anycase, seeing two sets was awesome, I wish more bands did that. And we were happy that the second set contained Lawrence, Kansas. I'm still very surprised that that didn't make it onto the album (and isn't on any of the older ones). Hopefully it'll appear on the next one, because it's a fucking great song. It was a shame however that the sound wasn't great for this set - you could barely here Jason's vocals, which was pretty frustrating. I don't know who is running the sound at Yucca, or what he's deal is, but this is the second time recently that I've been less than impressed with the sound. I say kill the sound booth (which is annoyingly placed, put the board back up on the stage and have the bands (or Garvin ) do the sound. But, I digress...

So all in all it was a really fun night. I wouldn't have changed much, although we (and everyone else) could have probably done without the coke fiend that was trying to start at mosh pit. At Yucca? Fucking really? The last time I saw him, he did the same thing at a Strange Young Things show, resulting in a fight, which pissed off everyone, including the band. Though thankfully he disappeared at some point during the night, without any real incident this time!

With Friends Like These...We Need New Friends

(0)Friday, May 28, 2010 - 03:58:42 pm
(Posted Under: Tempe Music Scene, Music)

The CD release is tomorrow, I'm looking forward to it, if you haven't gathered that from earlier blog entries.

It has been getting some good press this week, which I'm happy to see. The first mention was late last week in The Arizona Republic. We were kinda excited to see that, given that Katie's working there now. Local rockers Domo release new album. Around the same time, a new website went up: domorock.com. Simple, but a nice clean design, I like it a lot. This is our first look at the names of the tracks we've been listening to for months.

This week there have been mentions in the Phoenix New Times (Domo (CD release show), Truckers on Speed, Dagg Nabbit Stubbs, & The Haymarket Squares, Flier of the Week: Domo at Yucca Tap Room and Rockaroke, Suns Viewing Party, Domo, Deathface, and Other Memorial Day Weekend Thrills) and today a mention on So Much Silence: Saturday night: Domo CD release show.

Given how quiet things have been in regards to Dono for quite a while (we've only managed to catch them three times since we've moved here) I like the fanfare the album release is getting, at least in the local press.

The So Much Silence article was an interesting read, since I had no idea that Jason had left Source Victoria (ironically, I didn't even know he was in the band until about 6 months ago). I hope that means more time to devote to Domo. Music to my ears, if you ask me.

I was listening to the album on the way home from my job interview yesterday - god it's great album! Here's my middle finger, thanks for everything!

Oh, and this goes without saying, but I'm so glad that they titled "Oh Shit!" "Oh Shit!" Arguably the best song title of all time! As their domain name states - Domo rock!

Strange Young Things @ Teakwoods

(0)Saturday, May 22, 2010 - 11:53:14 pm
(Posted Under: Tempe Music Scene, Music, Live Shows)

Such a good night.

We head over to Teakwoods from the ball park, got set up at a booth and had a great dinner there. At some point while eating I looked up at a TV on the far back wall and thought something about what was on was erriely familiar. Turned out to be an AFL game. Who would have thunk it? Anyways, both the nachos and chicken fingers were to die for. We'd love to have Teakwoods cook live with us.

Corey was first up, acoustic, breaking out some covers and a bunch of new songs. The really cool part of his opening set was that throughout Adam and Patrick both got up and jammed on a couple of them.

Initially once the full band took the stage, it a bit of a different experience, and I wasn't entirely sure how it was going to go. Teakwoods is a lot more laid back than other places (which really works for me), but it was kinda weird to be seeing Strange Young Things and sitting down. But a couple songs in they got their groove, and we moved down to a free couch, which helped facilitate the rock. While we were still technically sitting down, once we moved we really felt like things were as they should be.

Midway through the band launched into You've Tripped On My Words For The Last Time, which they'd promised they'd learn for us after a conversation I had with Adam about how I wished they'd do it. Apparently they first did it the other week at the Baers Den (which we didn't make it out too), and Corey announced it as "for Mark & Katie". It sounded fucking fantastic, and it was pretty obvious to both of us that that needs to be a regular set list item. There was much enjoyment both on stage, and on our couch.

A little while later, mid song, Rich dropped his drum sticks, jumped off stage, and went bolting out the back door. Anything can happen at a Strange Young Things show, you can't really be surprised by anything - BUT - it's usually (okay, well always) Corey with the unexpected antics. So to see Rich go bolting from the stage was very out of the ordinary! Once it was obvious that he was a man on a mission, I figured either someone was stealing gear, or doing something to his car. As it turned out, some crazy guy had started going nuts laying into the screen door to the patio! The band played on, not missing a beat, without Rich (ironically - get it? Not missing a beat - drummer being gone... ) while half of the Teakwoods stuff ran out to see what was going on. By the time I came back in from seeing what was happening, Adam had dropped the bass and jumped on the drum kit. When he eventually came back in, Rich went to pick up the bass, but the guys were right at the end of the song.

In addition to Tripped, we also got No Limits, No Law, which I've never heard them do before. Actually, the entire set list was certainly different from the usual, like not leading off with Bang The Dash - which this is probably the only show that I've seen where that hasn't been the case!

The accent point, and definitive touch that ensured that it was a Strange Young Things show was put on the night when they closed with Bring It On Home To Me, and Corey went wandering through Teakwoods with the microphone - managing to unplug it and have to run up to the stage and steal Pat's mic. And then wandering back to the stage at the end of the song, with the microphone stand draped over his back. Ahh, the night was finally complete.

Had a cool chat with the boys afterwards (where there was more Tripped congratulatory high fives ), and surprisingly learned that Bang The Dash is about not having a car stereo. Here I was thinking it was about fucking in the front seat of a car.

We headed off at about 1, it'd been a long day. It was definitely a "Belly Up" sort of situation though - it'd been such a fun night, y'know it was time to go, but you didn't really want it to be over. Good times! I really can't wait until the boys are booked to play Teaks again!

With Friends Like These...

(0)Monday, May 3, 2010 - 03:41:51 pm
(Posted Under: Tempe Music Scene, Music)

I think this adequately sums up how I feel about Domo's forthcoming album...

Top 5 albums for period 12:00:00AM Fri January 01 2010 - 11:59:59PM Wed June 30 2010
Pos	Lp	Album / artist	Count
1.	NEW	With Friends Like These... / Domo	341
2.	5	Look What They've Done To My Champagne Music / Strange Young Things	146
3.	NEW	New Miserable Experience / Gin Blossoms	140
4.	NEW	Humbucker / The Piersons	115
5.	NEW	Heavy Meadow / Dead Hot Workshop	111

CD Release party is May 29th at the Yucca Tap. Be there if you love awesome power pop!

I'm looking forward to picking up a real copy and finding out the actual song names. "Track 01", "Track 02" ain't doing it for me.

What? Good Live Music On Mill Avenue?!?

A.K.A Shelbs + Zubs @ Rula Bula

(0)Sunday, May 2, 2010 - 08:33:24 pm
(Posted Under: Tempe Music Scene, Music, Live Shows)

What's this? Cool music on Mill Avenue? Spent this afternoon watching Shelby and Mark Zubia playing on that patio of Rula Bula. All weekend I've made the mistake of thinking it's shorts weather, when it actually isn't. It was windy as hell.

But all the same, it was a cool way to spend a Sunday afternoon. I thought they were just playing from 2 - 4. However, it was a fairly long set, playing from 2 - 6. And as such, the live music of this weekend just keeps on truckin...

Rock For The Cure: Save The Boobs 4.0

(0)Saturday, May 1, 2010 - 11:07:40 pm
(Posted Under: Tempe Music Scene, Music, Live Shows)

Fun night of music tonight for Lance's Save The Boobs benefit show. Full band electric sets inside, acoustic sets outside. Things were definitely on a tight schedule, which made for literally running in and outset after sets.

In my mind, Strange Young Things stole the night. Rich was with them on drums, and everyone looked very at home on the 910 stage. Somethings were as usual. Like standing at the front of the stage equating to taking your life into your own hands. It was a disappointment that Glodie didn't make a spectacle of the stripper pole. But we all know that's only because his mic lead wouldn't have stretched that far.

Velvet Elvis and Violet Wild put on some nice, short acoustic sets, despite the technical issues encountered. I'm not sure what the problem was with the outside PA, but it wasn't good. With that said, I think that dealing with it blowing out added something to Norman's performance.

We were a bit disappointed not to see Emmett, but all the same Andy and Scott did a nice set. Surprisingly with no technical issues (I think they were the only acoustic band not to be plagued with the PA from hell issues). And did fine on our Next Time request, although after making the request, it was apparent that Scott would have preferred us to have picked any other song. I lay blame on being put on the spot to come up with a Scott Howard song. All jokes aside, I don't really think of Tramps songs in terms of "Emmett songs" and "Scotty songs", so it made it tricky!

All in all it was a fun night. Pretty chilly for this time of year, so I'm glad I decided against shorts. And by the end, combined with all the standing last night, it was pretty nice to get home and off my aching feet!

All Roads Lead Back To Tucson

Sidewinders 25th Anniversary

(0)Friday, April 30, 2010 - 11:30:33 pm
(Posted Under: Music, Tempe Music Scene, Live Shows, Travel)

After a productive day of setting up bank accounts and grocery shopping, we hit the road at about 4, headed south to Tucson. Nice drive down, at least once we got out of the Phoenix traffic.

Not long once we were out Tempe, a buzz of police cars whizzed by. Followed by K9 units and unmarked law enforcement SUV's, Which started to seem like a big deal, as the conveys periodically continued until we reached about Coolidge (and then there were a few more that were headed north, assumably from Tucson, once we'd gotten past there. We figured something had happened at the prison, but as it turned out, it was the deputy shooting out in the desert, which happened while we were on the road.

Aside from that excitement, we made good time to Tucson, getting there at about 6. Which was a little bit later than we'd initially planned, but still worked out okay. We headed through the city and just south to San Xavier Del Bac. Because of the time, we didn't go in as there was a mass in session.

The restoration work being done on it the last time I was down there is finished (you'd expect as much, it was 5 years ago), so it was pretty cool to see it without all the scaffolding on the left side. Obviously I got some great photos of it and the plaza across from it. As the sun was beginning to set we headed up the hill on the right, and watched the sun set behind the mission, which was pretty amazing. As luck would have it, my camera batteries died, so there was a scramble to get some more batteries from the car before the sun set.

After the sun went down, I had the brilliant idea of hitting up a Zia's location to kill some time before the show. And to eat at Fuddruckers. We didn't have much probably finding the Zia's on Speedyway. We want to say that we've been to every Zia's location, at least excluding Las Vegas. So we got there with no problem. It turned into such a great use of time, as we found a used copy of Charmers Green's Remedy For Everything. We've been looking for that everywhere, so it was an exciting find. Probably a success in Tucson where there is somewhat less interest in Phoenix bands. On the same token, we could hardly find any Sidewinders (or other Rich Hopkins projects) CD's, which isn't true in Phoenix. But we did find one, and the Samantha 7 record cheap.

So after our Zia's escapade, it was a mission to find Fuddurckers, in particular the one we ate out when I was out here before. So we drove aimlessly down Speedway in hopes of finding it. It wasn't looking good and I was starting to give up hope, and then miraculously we found it! So we had a nice dinner there (though my chicken was a little overcooked) before hitting the road back to where the show was.

As there was a trolley that Went down 6th Ave (who knew?), that part of Tucson seemed very reminiscent of Melbourne, at least at night. Driving down there, it was kinda like being in Prahran. Might not have been the case during the day, but certainly true at night.

Tucson seems to have a better, or at least a more organized music scene that Phoenix / Tempe. Which may big a call on just one night, but it seemed to be true. Plush was a very cool venue, and was a buzz, at least initially. When we showed up, Silverbell were already playing. We didn't bother trying to venture into the band room, opting for the seating up the back as there were so many people.

Next up was Van Christian, of most note was Joey Pena on drums. Who knew that Joey could play the drums?!? When we saw him earlier, we figured he was just there to catch the show. Jason Steed was pulling double duties on bass for both Silverbell and Van Christian. Good to know that Tucson bands are just as incestuousness as up here in Tempe.

Sand Rubies put on a great show. Close in set list to what they did up here in Tempe (from the video I've seen). Though a bit shorter, given they just did the one set, compared to two last week. The only disappointment is that they didn't do Sara's Not Sober, which I would have really enjoyed (it being among the group of songs I'm more familiar with. Maybe Sara needs to be in attendance for that to happen. But a really enjoyable set, just like in Tempe, going chronologically in reverse through their career. Which is set list engineering brilliance, keep your more known material until the again, with a good excuse as to why. With that said, the crowd had thinned out by the end of the night, save the group of obviously hardcore fans around the front of the stage. I'm not sure that I really understand why the crowd thinned out, but there you go. One particularly enjoyable aspect of the show was the duel drumming - both Bruce Halper and Winston Watson playing simultaneously the whole night. The only other time I've seen anything like that was when Louie Butler helped P.H out at Circus Mexicus when he busted up his shoulder. But it didn't seem like this occurrence was borne out of any injury. It's always a lot of fun to watch Winston play, and it looked like he was having a ball up there, which was really enjoyable to watch! A really energetic show, with Slutes and Hopkins flopping around a lot, and was musically great. I'd be lying if I said I didn't wish every band had kept the desert rock sound the way these guys have. But such is life I guess!

Great show, and well worth the trip down south, I'm glad we caught it. I also thought the sound set up was particularly good at Plush. We took off right after the show, and it was a pretty nice night for a drive back to Phoenix. It felt like we made great time, getting back by about 3AM.

Another Busy Saturday

(0)Saturday, April 24, 2010 - 11:10:26 pm
(Posted Under: Tempe Music Scene, Music, Live Shows)

Another busy Saturday today, that involved driving all over the Valley. Started off with a trip to Chandler to drop off the video camera with Marc who wanted to record tonight's Sand Rubies show. From 4here it was back to T Town, over to Tempe Beach Park for the Salsa Challenge. I was amazed with the complete cluster fuck it was. We went down after winning tickets from Facebok. On getting down there, the recommended parking was $5 (we opted for parking for free on 1st Street, which incidentally was much closer of a walk to Tempe Beach Park) and tickets at the door were $10, I know it was for charity, but I was really surprised at the sea of people, given the cost of it all - for salsa! I'm all about salsa, don't get me wrong, but I was quite surprised by the turn out!

And us such, it wasn't the most comfortable experience in the world, but all the same we samples some salsas and had a good look around.

Afterwards we headed home to kill some time. Now that we both have our acoustics here, we broke them out for jam, which was a lot of fun. After going through some stuff Katie knew (Without Warning and Mr. S.O.B), we turned to Angels Tonight - which is something we've never played together before, and I've got to wonder why. It waz really kick ass for me to jam that with someone else, Katie taking all the chords, letting me go to town on the leads and the arpeggios that make that song a masterpiece! Too much fun, that's definitely going to be a new go to song for us to play together.

Getting down with that just gave us enough time to choke down some dinner, and hit the road towards North Scottsdale. Author Laurie Notaro was doing a reading at Barnes and Noble at Desert Ridge. While I'm not particularly well versed in her books (save some specific chapters of Idiot Girls that I've read online), but am certainly more than familiar with her journalistic works, many to do with the local scene. As a matter of fact, some of the first stuff I read about Doug Hopkins when I got on the internet were written by her. Long ass drive up there, but definitalty worth it. Funnily enough, Strange Young Things were playing a gig at Dave N' Busters (but the $10 + 2 items of food entry wasn't in our budget(, and Katie spotted Adam walking around while we were looking for a park.

Laurie's reading was quite entertaining, as it was hilarious. Certainly listening to here made me even more bummed that Katie doesn't have her books here, because I'd certainly like to read them, and now even moredo than for just the Mill Avenue content.

From there we headed back down south to Teakwoods. The timing worked out pretty well, and while we got there early, it wasn't as early as we'd expected. Drinks at Teaks went down a treat I might add. While we only got there half and hour before show time, there was no opener, so Dead Hot didn't go on until 10. But the time passed quite easily. Great show, and I had been really looking forward to tonight, and tt dawned on me tonight that it's probably influenced by having not seen Dead Hot in two months, since we missed last weeks show. Despite the amount of stuff there was going on tonight, there was a decent turn out at Teakwoods. Highlight of the show was Kylie leaving the stage and rocking out a solo for Annma on the sofa, and then getting back on the and playing Brent's guitar - with Brent. Ahhh, the brothers Babb!

Dead Hot finished up at about 11:15, which worked out well for us, giving us plenty of time to get over to Yucca for Tramps. Again, given the big Sand Rubies gig at the Sail Inn it was quite surprising how many people were at Yucca! It wasn't long until Corey came over, at it was good to get to hear how their gig went tonight.

Tramps did a fun set (when is there ever not a fun set with Tramps @ Yucca though?), and there was much drunkard dancing. Not really the good kind, and it wasn't that surprising to anyone when it ended with at least one broken or sprained ankle...which most of the bar had seen coming most of the night. Both Norm and Corey got up and sang at one point. I actually loved that once they started playing one of their new songs (I don't know the name, but the ridiculously poppy one) I predicted to Katie that Norm would be inside rocking out. About 30 seconds later that prophecy had been fullfilled. There are some things about this scene that I can absolutely predict. Corey busted out his moves, illistrating how spot on Sara was with her depiction of him on last week's Teaks flier.

When all was said and done, Tramps finished at about 1:15, which was kinda strange to have had so much going on tonight, but still have the night end relatively early. Despite Katie really wanting to do something else, there wasn't much more fun to be had, so we headed home. But not before nabbing on of the huge cool Tramps fliers from the night.

Some Say The Sex Is The Spoils Of War

Strange Young Things Videos From Saturday

(0)Wednesday, April 21, 2010 - 11:37:43 am
(Posted Under: Tempe Music Scene, Music, Live Shows)

Sunday Night Healers @ Yucca Tap Room

(0)Sunday, April 18, 2010 - 11:52:58 pm
(Posted Under: Tempe Music Scene, Music, Live Shows)

Get Your Mink Coat And Your Pink Dress

Slide It Over And We're Running Out Of Here...

(0)Saturday, April 17, 2010 - 06:02:13 pm
(Posted Under: Tempe Music Scene, Music, Live Shows)

That's really how today has felt, and ironically Pink Dress actually came on the iPod in the car in the midst of it all. Though, I will state that it was way too hot for a mink coat...

The day started out by heading down to the Zia Records in light of record day. We found the Exile On Cameron Harper Street compilation which was a cool find.

From Zia we headed over to the Yucca for the big Arc Of Tempe benefit show. We were both hoping that Strange Young Things would be playing outside, and were not disappointed when we were looking for a car park and saw Adam up on the big outdoor stage. I can't say how different things look being at Yucca during the day.

It would appear that Pat couldn't make the show, to which end Josh was sitting in with them, which was pretty cool! If anyone was going to set in for Pat, I'd want it to be Josh. I don't think it'd work long term, the lineup as it is is perfect, but man, it was still a treat to get to see Josh play with them as a one off. Nice rock n' roll set, and it really kick ass to be outset in the heat watching them on a huge stage!

Once their set was over we hung around to see if the Arc Of Tempe raffle was going to be drawn. Once Captain Squeegee hit the stage we ran back to the apartment to check gas prices. Got back in term for the end of the set. No raffle drawing. So we found Bronchi, gave hie our tickets and headed off to get gas and then hit up the Chandler Zia's. With the hopes of getting a Record Day t-shirt. Not surprisingly (at about 8pm) they were sold out too. Valiant effort though. From there we swung past where Josh & Bobby were playing, decided we didn't want to go in, and headed home to eat.

After doing so it was off to Teakwoods to see Glodie. When we pulled up we heard "Left Breast Pocket" coming out of the doorway, and were pissed figuring that Corey had gone on first, and we'd basically missed his whole set. We walked in anyway, with out "Fuck Strange Young Things" stickers from earlier in the day still affixed. Teakwoods was fairly dead (with Corey basically playing to Sara and Andrew), and there was a look of relief when we walked in. And we were glad to discover that although Andrew was going to go up to do a set, Corey had another set after him, so we hadn't missed out on too much! Andrew was quite good (although I was on the patio for a good portion of his set talking to Glodie) and it was really cool hearing him do Greyhound Soul's Midnight Radio.

Corey customized our set for us, playing a lot of stuff that we "have never heard before" (and some that we had, I'm glad he did Dirty Mothers), we always enjoy getting a personal show. It's funny, since over dinner Katie had suggested that because of the Dead Hot gig, it might be the four of us (Sara, Corey and us) starring at each other. That assumption certainly summed things up, particularly when Andrew left. ha! But it was pretty cool for us.

The fact that it was so quite also meant that the Teaks board got done early, so it was pretty cool getting to see Sara's art happen.

Good times, and a fairly non stop day! With a quarter bag and a gin and tonic baby...

Sarah Bunch Benefit

(0)Thursday, April 15, 2010 - 02:05:41 pm
(Posted Under: Tempe Music Scene, Music, Live Shows)

The Sara Bunch benefit show at Yucca was a lot of fun last night.

It's funny how you actually forget just how awesome Strange Young Things are sometimes until they take the stage! It was our main reason for going, but even so when they started playing it was like "oh yeah, this is why I see this band any time that I can!" All were particularly floppy all over stage, of course with Corey Gloden who was obviously the ring master, hurling himself all over the place. Between us and Norm I'm not sure who was more delighted by the performance going on (and with Corey, of course off) the stage. Towards the end of the set PC donated a whole bunch of cash to get up and do School with them, which was pretty cool! As is always true with SYL at YTR, it was some what life threatening. Please people, stop standing up Corey's mic stand!

Thankfully we didn't miss Los Guys (as a three piece) who closed out the night. It was a particularly memorable performance, with Zub's instructing everyone on Easy, attempting to induce an open bar before Whiskey Song and doing a killer version of Lovin' Cup (not that that normally isn't killer though). Much dancing issued, including some unmemorable involving us and Emmett! Fun times.

Had a cool chat with yesterday's birthday boy, and I can say that I really love being in the company of people that love this shit as much as we do!

But yeah, talk about a kick ass night at Yucca. And I got some particularly good photos of Strange Young Things - even with Glodie in my face getting me to sing Bring It On Home To Me with him!

Lost Horizons

(0)Wednesday, April 14, 2010 - 11:16:38 am
(Posted Under: Tempe Music Scene, Music)

I predict traffic to Lost Horizons is going spike today.

But maybe that it isn't rocket science of a prediction.

The World Famous Truckers On Speed

(0)Saturday, April 10, 2010 - 11:53:22 pm
(Posted Under: Tempe Music Scene, Music, Live Shows)

We got to Teakwoods by 10 tonight, with the intention of eating there, so it was a later dinner. Damn you Marc Norman. There weren't many booths near the stage given the time. We eyed off one that hadn't been bussed, and then retired to the patio for a smoke. Sara must have noticed us eyeing it off and came out and asked if I wanted that booth which was much appreciated! Have I said how much I love Teakwoods?

Looking over the menu I noticed the "G. Brian Scott" burger, which I thought was really cool. Even though it was our first time eating there, I have looked at the menu at Teaks before and I don't know how that hasn't caught my eye before. About 2 minutes after noticing it and pointing it out to Katie, I looked up and there's G. Brian himself walking past our table. At some point Rational Anthem came on the house music. More evidence to why Teakwoods is my favorite place to hang out.

I decided to go for the fish & chips special, and while it was nice, what I was really taken by was the jalapeño coleslaw side! I've never come across something like that before, and it was awesome. Eye watering, but awesome. My new favorite side dish? Maybe! Which is funny to say given how good Teakwoods curly fries are.

Surprisingly by the time Truckers took the stage the crowd had cleared out somewhat, and we moved to a table for a better view of the band. The set list was absolutely great, and I'm fairly confident that they played all of our favorites. The most impressive thing was that they played for 2 hours straight! There was no set breaks. There was no calls for alcohol. There was no screwing around. They started playing at 11 and kept on trucking (yes, pun intended) until 1am! That really blew me away.

The Dead Hot Workshop parts of the night just kept coming. I'd ironically worn my Dead Hot tee - Dave Speed was also sporting the sleeveless version. About half way through the set they broke into A which was a real treat! After the show when I picked up the new disc the fact we were sporting the same shirt wasn't lost on him, and said that he hoped I wasn't disappointed with the version - and I wasn't. The other notable cover (or should I saw "cover") was Lightning Speed - I was really happy that they played that. Getting to see both a Dead Hot Workshop and Piersons' song in their set was pretty sweet.

Chad had the lap steel in front of him all night for Lightning Speed and 42-40, and kicked ass on the latter. I don't feel like I've listened to that a lot, but was certainly quite familiar with it and really enjoyed it. Original bassist Theron Wall was there and sat in for Omaha and Ice Cream, and added backing vocals on a couple of songs including Cindy Crawford, which was one of our favorite songs of the night. Not that that's too surprising though! Dave's punk rock four count on that one was pretty cool too.

Fun In The Sun

(0)Saturday, April 10, 2010 - 08:15:35 pm
(Posted Under: Tempe Music Scene, Music, Live Shows)

Fun day today. We went down and checked out the Guitar Show, which was pretty much a bust, but I'm glad that we did it anyway. I did get to see a car from The Saltmine, which I guess was kinda cool.

I wasn't ready to go home, so we dropped by Kwantis park and had a walk around which was actually really nice. From there we did some shopping and got home just in time to head out to see Marc & Thomas. Despite our boycott of Wongs at the Firehouse. Which was a huge moral dilemma, though throughout the day we decided we really wanted to see Marc & Thomas. If you don't buy anything, then surely you're not selling out too much? That's what I keep telling myself, though I would like to still be able to say that I haven't set foot in the place. It's not like I needed any confirmation, but it did confirm what I knew to be true. The place is lame.

Aside from looking like every other Wongs that came before it, the place is a complete cluster fuck once you get more than 5 people in there. It makes me wish even more that there was a "Long Wongs At The Firehouse is not Long Wongs On Mill" Facebook group. I'd be their first fan. With that said, it was a fun set by Marc & Thomas and my video of it came out pretty good. And my new favorite comment was coined on stage "I don't mean to sound like a dick, but absolutely no fucking way!" There was a guy there assumability talking to someone in Australia on sykpe, which Marc enjoyed. I wonder if he knows they had Australian listeners long before this!

In any case, we'd rationalized our penance for stepping foot in that establishment (which I fully place blame on Marc Norman's shoulders ) to be dinner at Teakwods, and it didn't take us long after the boys had finished playing to get the hell out of dodge and over to Teakwoods. On which point, let's never speak of this again.

Teaks & The Vig

(0)Wednesday, April 7, 2010 - 11:35:45 pm
(Posted Under: Tempe Music Scene, Music, Live Shows)

A bit of a change of pace tonight at Teakwoods - since Josh is still out of town, it was Bobby with the Judge, which was kinda cool to see something different. I certainly noticed tonight that Bobby can certainly hold his own on the guitar. You never notice when Josh is around, however the tightness tonight was all coming from Bobby. It was kinda cool getting to see Bobby do Sick In Bed in it's entirety.

Afterwards we headed over to the Vig to see Scotty and Steve. The extremely cool part of this was getting to hear the new Blossoms song "Going To California" for the first time. That alone made it worth the trip out there! And once again, heard Follow You Down twice within a 3 hour period.

Dos Zubia's En Una Noche

(0)Saturday, April 3, 2010 - 11:58:12 pm
(Posted Under: Tempe Music Scene, Music, Live Shows)

Tonight we saw two Zubia's in the one night, just not on the stage. Stellanova and Violet Wild played at 910 Live, where we started out the night.

Violet Wild sounded a lot better tonight, it was clear that Ryan was a lot more familiar with the songs tonight. The set seemed a bit short to what I'm used to, but that may have had to do with the paltry crowd that was there.

After having a smoke, we took off for Teakwoods in the hopes of catching some of Los Guys. Our plan worked out quite nicely as they played for about another hour after we showed up. Although we missed Tramps' set, Emmett was up on stage (makes sense, as Josh was at 910) which made us glad that we went over. Fun set, and like the other week, it was cool to just go over to Teakwoods and chill out. Plus, it being the 6th anniversary of Wong's closing, it seemed like an appropriate thing to do.

Aside from the opportunity of seeing Emmett play with Los Guys, I was really glad we went down there when they broke into an old south of the border Zubia song which I absolutely loved. Funnily enough while they were playing it I thought how Roger could only dream of writing a song that good, and I wasn't the only one who thought so. The next time I see those guys I need to get the 4-11 on that song, because it was great!

So not only did we see two Zubia's tonight, but we actually saw the sum total of the Pistoleros on stage - just different stages across town.

Velvet Elvis and Violet Wild @ Teakwoods

(0)Saturday, April 3, 2010 - 11:07:38 pm
(Posted Under: Tempe Music Scene, Music, Live Shows)

Fun at Teakwoods tonight, with Velvet Elvis and Violet Wild. Otherwise known as the Josh Kennedy double header. Well, technically for Ryan too, who was doing double duty covering for Chris who is out on tour at the moment.

Lately I've had a wanting to see Velvet Elvis, and they certainly dominated the evening. I actually thought tonight, though I've always liked them, I haven't always actually listened to them that much, well compared to Katie at very least. But I have to question why. Between the pop gold brilliance and the rock factor, there really isn't much for me not to go nuts over. But anyways... It was a great set, and included some covers I haven't seen been (Paint It Black, Green Eyed Lady and Morn's lounge version of You Shook Me). Covers of theirs I'm familiar with buy were yet to see for myself.

The front and center seats on the couch were quite nice - even Sara mentioned that we had to best seats in the house. I saw a couple more familiar faces at Teakwoods, including G. Brian who briefly shared our couch with us, which makes me think that the Teakwood's word is getting around. Despite Marc's smart-assy "9:31" show time, again there was a weight for the drummer in transit. Before taking the stage Norman explained to Katie and she and I are the two sides of the anchor of his performance.

Ghetto Cowgirl and Tramps & Thieves

(0)Saturday, March 27, 2010 - 11:57:30 pm
(Posted Under: Tempe Music Scene, Music, Live Shows)

The fun weekend of music certainly continued tonight. Unlike last night our timing in leaving was a lot better, although we technically just rolled into Teakwoods before Marc & Thomas started.

The half of Ghetto Cowgirl acoustic was an absolute blast! Fun fact, tonight was four years and 11 months to the day since the last time I saw Marc & Thomas play (excluding Yucca Open Mic the other week). Between Norman's stage banter and Laufenberg's pedal board, I'm happy to report that not much has changed in all that time.

Awesome setlist. The one set list surprise to me was No Sound, which I can't say how much I loved. All of the acoustic favorites were there - Ten Tons, To The Point, Same Sad Story, Don't Care - well, the entire set list were the acoustic favorites in my mind. The only two that seemed unfamiliar (acoustically) to me were Thing Like That and Bar Room. The former being and interesting swing version. And the latter having a solo from Thomas that really blew me away.

It was definitely an hour of laughs, which I guess goes without saying when you have Thomas and Marc on stage together. And I must say that Teakwood's PA is certainly perfect for the acoustic gigs.

Definitely having had seen The Black Moods last night, and watching acoustic Ghetto Cowgirl tonight, we both had a huge sense of how awesome it is to be back in the desert!

Tramps did a great and fun set. Emmett mentioned last night's Peacemaker's gig which I had completely forgotten about. Apparently it went well. During Tramps' set we had a cool music chat with Thomas about Loretta and local music in general. And the fact that I always have my iPod on me came in handy tonight.

Fun times at Teakwoods Tavern & Grill. Yet again!

Here's To Black Moods!

Strange Young Things & The Black Moods @ Martini Ranch

(0)Saturday, March 27, 2010 - 02:32:08 pm
(Posted Under: Tempe Music Scene, Music, Live Shows)

So last night was a hell of a lot of fun.

We were actually going to swing by Teaks before the show and catch 45 minutes of Dead Hot Workshop. Thanks to Wordsmith on Tivo, we didn't get off the couch until 9:15, and after getting gas, it was clear by the time that we should abort and just go to Martini Ranch. Parking was a bitch, but amazingly we got one right outside of Martini Ranch.

It was a good thing that we aborted the Dead Hot idea. As we were waiting to get in we could hear Corey singing. If we'd known we certainly would have gotten our asses out to Martini Ranch earlier. No idea what time he started playing, but we were at least in time to hear Dirty Mothers (apparently by request for Chico) which was pretty awesome.

As much as I love seeing Strange Young Things at places like Yucca, seeing them on the Martini Ranch stage with the light show they had was really something!

It's been a long as time since I've seen The Black Moods. The last time was May 13 2006, which was one of their final shows. It may have been their second last show actually. So it was pretty exciting to see them back together. And they played a very nice mix of new and old. I'd heard that the set list was all new stuff, however it was an equal mix of new songs and the old ones. Josh also announced that they're working on a new record. Not news to me, but the public announcement definitely confirms that.

The new songs (some of which I'm familiar with) sounded great. And I don't think I could have been any happier with the old favorites that made the set list (It's A Drug, Sick In Bed, 7 Day Binge, Frontline, Tall, The Black Moods, Star Of Your Movie and Virginia). Particularly seeing Frontline was pretty awesome!

I got some good photos, the following two totally being the pick of the bunch:





I'm pretty impressed by how well the photos of Chico came out. And that one of Josh would definitely have to be the best Josh Kennedy action shot I've taken to date!

I was having too much fun to worry about video, but I did get 7 Day Binge recorded.

There is another gig later in April at Martini Ranch scheduled. I can't wait. And really hope they have Strange Young Things open again! Here's to black moods...

The Black Moods

(0)Thursday, March 25, 2010 - 12:06:00 pm
(Posted Under: Tempe Music Scene, Music)

One night to go - the big show at Martini Ranch. Strange Young Things and The Black Moods. It's going to be a hell of a show and a party I'm sure! Really looking forward to it!

We saw Josh and Bobby last night (where Josh confirmed that we'll be there tomorrow night). They busted out a new cover - No Excuses by Alice In Chains. Such a good choice for those two, I hope they keep doing it.

We also chatted about the Ashbrook, and Josh told us how he almost lost the CD he had to rehearse off, and did loose the set list / track list for the CD. Hilarious story, since we know exactly where that is! Funny stuff!

Guest DJ Week On The Blaze

(0)Tuesday, March 23, 2010 - 02:29:19 pm
(Posted Under: Tempe Music Scene, Music)

So I really gave it to The Blaze regarding the website and lack on information on Guest DJ Week. Credit where credit is due, the schedule was updated a few days later. So why was I so harsh? It wasn't to be negative, it was purely through frustration, because Guest DJ Week is so good.

I've been listening each day, which I guess is easier being on the Arizona timezone. From the outset, there were only two guests listed that I were familiar with (other than Phoenix New Times writers), both of which I funnily enough know (to whatever extent) these days. But with that said, I've gotten something out of each hour thus far.

The week technically kicked off with Leah Miller with Sarah Ventre on Point Of Ventre on Sunday. Despite it being two hours pretty much of the Gin Blossoms with much talk of Doug Hopkins and some of the older scene scattered in there, it was pretty much a disheartening two hours. That whole 90's scene is how I got into everything, and you'd expect that it'd be a dream two hours coming over the airwaves (or technically streaming over the internet it's still just easier even though now I live within The Blaze's AM range) for me. But it really just made me mad. The focus wasn't on nothing more than how great Mill Avenue was, and virtually disregarding everything after Mill Avenue fell. The amount that it wrote off the old school musicians that are still out there night after night, the incredible new bands that are coming up through the scene, the venues and owners that are still giving these bands a home and everyone else in this town that gives a shit and supports local original music, despite the fact that it's no longer 1988 with the Del Montes playing at Long Wongs every Tuesday.

Leah's entitled to her opinion, but to get on a local radio show and simply lament your hey day and write off the later scene is in my mind pretty bad form. This is the second time I've heard her do this (both on the same local music radio show). I'd kept my thoughts to myself the first time around, but I don't see any point in doing so at this point. For a long time I looked at Leah as a local music supporter and afficiando. Clearly that was misplaced.

The upside is that it gives me even more respect for those supporters that didn't lay down and give up on it because some things about the scene changed. There are plenty of sed supporters out there. No one anyone is happy about Mill Ave, but there are plenty of people who didn't get over it after Mill Ave, and they're the reason why we're seeing music at least 3 times a week, and on many nights have delimas on who we're actually going to pick to see.

If you're not part of the solution, you're just part of the problem.

We did get a mention during the show. And I hold no ill will to Sarah for calling me "Chris". Luckily Katie doesn't know anyone called Chris, so I don't have any reason to get suspicious. ha!

First up yesterday was Chris Bianco, who played a nice mix of local and non local tunes. Of particular note were his last 3 picks - Lead Thoughts (Dead Hot Workshop), This Life (Jason Longo), Midnight Radio (Greyhound Soul). Great picks. I've heard Dead Hot a lot on The Blaze often listening to Point Of Ventre, but when you're not expecting it it's pretty exciting to hear a Dead Hot Workshop tune on the radio, even if it is on The Blaze. Points to Chris also for mentioning Teak's and the Dead Hot show on Friday.

I got a lot out of Chris Hansen Orf's hour, largely because he played a lot of artists that I hear a lot about here (especially out here talking to people) but don't really know well at all. Uncle Tuepelo, Calexico etc. Plus within the first 10 minutes, Chris went on to state that the scene these days are better than when the whole scene existed between 5th and University and every band sounded like the Gin Blossoms. What a refreshing point of view Chris! Not that a lot of the bands that "sounded like the Gin Blossoms" (or moreso came up in that scene - "sounds like the Gin Blossoms" is more a stereotype than everything) aren't a lot of my quintessential Tempe favorites, and I don't think either period is technically "better", but it was a delight to hear after Sunday! In all it was a good hour of artists that I know that my favorites are influenced by. Which makes for great radio - having someone hand pick this stuff for you, without having to go and do all the work. I don't know how much will become my favorites necessarily, but was quite useful and gave me a bit of an education that I was looking for.

Today the guys from AZPunk was another really cool hour. Not because I'm in the punk scene, but because there was a lot of talk about AZPunk.com which was quite interesting, both from a music and a tech perspective. And we've been throwing around ideas for a local music website / portal for quite a while now. Plus, it's just nice to hear from people who have similar ideas and passions that have gone ahead, done it and been successful. Again, great radio in my mind.

More to come in the following days I'm sure...

Get Yourself Back To School

Cool video from St. Pattie's Day

(0)Sunday, March 21, 2010 - 05:19:58 pm
(Posted Under: Tempe Music Scene, Music)

That's Rock N' Roll

Stephen Ashbrook @ Martini Ranch

(0)Saturday, March 20, 2010 - 11:17:54 pm
(Posted Under: Tempe Music Scene, Music, Live Shows)

Pretty cool night of music tonight. It was a weigh up between Muddy Violets or Stephen Ashbrook. The latter which we wanted to do, however due to finances and that we've seen Ashbrook a few times, we decided on the former. However, a phone call earlier this afternoon, and getting added to the guest list saw our plans change.

We had thought that Stephen was bringing his band down, as there was an announcement that the show was going to have a "new guitarist". However, the phone call informed us otherwise - Josh was playing guitar.

It was a really cool show. Stephen clearly remembered me from the last show - or maybe it was the first show we saw in AZ, and from stage questioned my decision not to wear my Dead Hot tee.

The band consisted of Thomas and Curtis (as usual), and was my first time seeing Ashbrook with a guitarist. Josh did a stand up job, as if that needs to be said. On talking to him he had minimal rehearsal time (a few hours before the show), and watching Thomas instruct him on certain songs from the other side of stage was nothing short of entertaining.

We hung out for a bit, but before long I had spent too much time in Scottsdale and hence we headed off, deciding along the way to hit up Teakwoods. We walked in right before Muddy Violets were starting, so it was impeccable timing. And pretty cool to see Stephen, and still make it in time to see Muddy Violets. Teakwoods was such a good way to relax and shake off the effects of Scottsdale. Muddy Violets were full band acoustic. Which is pretty much an oxymoron. It makes me think of Norman and Rock Pig - "the most aggressive acoustic heavy metal". At one point I did question how much it would be different with electric guitars.

Good set, and we were glad we opted for heading to Teakwoods instead of going straight home. Tonight I definitely noticed Brandon's ridiculously fast strumming speed. Once the band had finished, Brandon closed out the night with their bass player, with a bunch of quite impressive songs.

So it was a pretty cool night, especially since we ended up catching both Ashbrook and Muddy Violets.

From The Show Conflicts File

(0)Friday, March 19, 2010 - 12:53:17 pm
(Posted Under: Tempe Music Scene, Music)

Direct from the 'regrettable show conflicts' file - Dead Hot Workshop were originally scheduled to be playing at Teakwoods tonight. A week or so ago they were re-scheduled for next week. Which admittedly does free us up to see Shelby James & The Crying Shames tonight.

The terrible news however is that next Friday is the big Black Moods show at Martini Ranch, with Strange Young Things opening, which takes precedence over everything. Which is really saying something, but it's extremely rare that anything trumps Dead Hot Workshop! The more concerning news is that we're lead to believe that Thomas and Marc are going to open things up - we can only assume, at least until we get confirmation, that that has also been rescheduled also. Now that really hurts. Though, if Strange Young Things don't go on til 10:30, we might be able to work something out!

St. Patties Day

Mark & Emmett, Los Guys, Strange Young Things & Hairforce

(0)Wednesday, March 17, 2010 - 11:38:25 pm
(Posted Under: Tempe Music Scene, Music, Live Shows)

Okay, so St. Pattie's Day was done in style by us this year. All centered around local music, of course!

RT O'Sullivans - Superstition Springs - Mark Zubia & Emmett DeGuerva / Los Guys

I think it's the first time I've done anything for St. Pattie's Day, and it was a lot of fun! The day started out at RT O'Sullivans in Mesa, with Mark Zubia and Emmett DeGuerva. Getting their early in the day meant that we got a table reasonable close to the stage which was nice. Actually, Emmett spotted us when we came in, and signaled us to a table up the front.

Following Mark & Emmett were Los Guys. Y'know, that Mark Zubia, he's is a hard worker. We'd questioned whether Brad and Jamie were going to get to see more of Josh Kennedy, however it was Tony Martinez on pedal steel rather than Josh on lead guitar. Which did make me think how Tempe is probably the only place in the world where the amount of pedal steel we see is okay. Definitely every time I've seen Tony play - and there has been no shortage of such times - it's never overbearing or something I get sick of. Which, generally speaking, pedal steel for me needs to be used in great moderation.

The most notable part of the set was when the guys did Planets, the old Chimeras tune. That was definitely cool, and not something that I would have expected. Other than Gasoline I've never seen any old Chimeras stuff played by Mark.

There was no shortage of green attire throughout the day. I was lucky enough to have my signature Hard Rock Green Day shirt to wear. Sans that, I don't think I have anything else green to wear. It was certainly a green day, green shirts, green hats, green beer...

It was a beautiful day for it too - very sunny day. Which prompted much moving around the table to chase the ever disappearing shade from the tables umbrella. All the same, it's hard to beat an outdoor gig on a sunny day. Plus, it made for some great photos and videos.

By the time Los Guys had finished their first set, it was time for us to head over to the Superstition Springs location for Strange Young Things. Our plan had been to come back afterwards and hopefully catch the end of Tramps & Thieves. We checked with the woman on the way out, to be told that we couldn't get back in if we came back - well, not without paying the $10 cover that started at 3pm. Pretty stupid, and Katie told her so. And they did seem pretty hardcore about that. PC was walking out as we were, and commented on us being troopers, having had been there for most of the day (much like himself). Which made for the us finally introducing ourselves to PC! Given how often we see him, it was something that needed to happen, and did today. So as we walked out, the bouncer stopped him to tell him that he couldn't get back in if he left. "I'm with the band. I get paid whether I'm there to play the second set or not." ha! I can only assume they let him back in.

RT O'Sullivans - Superstition Springs - Strange Young Things

The drive out to the Superstition Spring location was longer than I'd expected. We'd initially planned to see Shelby there at midday, however that changed, and with the distance, it was probably for the best when it comes to gas. We got there pretty much on 5pm, and attempted to confirm that Strange Young Things were on next before paying the cover. No-one knew. So we just took a leap of faith, and paid the $10. And hence were not disappointed as we heard Bang The Dash being played somewhere off in the distance - which prompted us to pick up the pace and find the stage.

The boys were in fine rock 'n roll form once we found the stage. Katie's "I'm With Coco" was not lost on the boys, getting multiple mentions from the stage. Seeing these guys play outdoors and on a big stage was really worth every cent of the cover, as was the fact that they played for an hour an a half, which is probably one of the longest sets we've seen.

Brad and Jamie were suitably impressed, which we enjoyed, given that they're more or less our favorite local band. The 5pm start time, plus it not being 21+ (I don't think) didn't stop the band from freaking out the normals, nor did it censor Corey, so it was great that Brad and Jamie got to see them in their usual element and not watered down. There were some problems with some of their covers, which does nothing but illustrate that they are the pure essence of a rock 'n roll band. Fuck virtuosity, just get up there, rock out and have fun! With that said, not a beat was missed with the originals.

The huge stage didn't stop Corey from leaving it multiple times, in pure Corey fashion. I was particularly impressed when Corey, with guitar on, grabbed the mic stand, walked to the edge of the stage, paused and then continued to jump off the stage. Y'know, just to do his 'singing in front of the stage' thing he does. Major impressive, and minorly concerning moments before (I had an urge to run up and grab the mic stand for him, envisioning a disaster of broken bones!). But he landed perfectly, and proceeded to do the rest of their final song (Lonely Hearts Are Wild) from in front of the stage.

At the end of the set their were some call outs for more. So it was surprising to me when they all exited through the back of the stage. It's hard to get these guys off the stage even when no-one is calling for more! But it wasn't long before they were all back on the stage and pulled out one of their new / in the works songs "School". An absolutely great hour and a half of rock 'n roll!

Throughout the performance I was glad to at least notice one waitress sporting a "Fuck Strange Young Things" sticker. We hung out for a while so that Brad and Jamie could meet Corey and purchase a t-shirt. We're like the fact that Corey's mug is going to be worn around in Ames, Iowa when they get back.

Scottsdale - Scottsdale Block Party - Hairforce

Afterwards we took off for Scottsdale. In the car I noticed that I was kinda tired. I don't know if it was the beer and sitting in the sun all day, or being drained from an hour an a half of Strange Young Things. Probably both. It was a race to get their before 8pm to take advantage of the $5 cover (rather than $20), and we made it just in the nick of time. After a bit of a walk around, with no idea of when Hairforce was playing, we went to Dos Gringos for some food. For a Scottsdale place it was pretty cool, despite being extremely noisy. After eating, we killed time waiting for Hairforce. Unfortunately there wasn't that much to do, we saw a bit of Kinch (not a favorite, but they're huge in the valley for whatever reason).

Hairforce finally played at around 10:30pm, opening with Nothin' But A Good Time. Nice! Not only does Bobby Scott...err...Scotch look the part, I was pretty impressed by what a good Bret Michaels vocal rendition he does! I was already sold on this band (for a cover/tribute band) long before I'd seen them, but opening with not only a Poison song, but the one that made me a Poison fan was too cool! Surprisingly, on drums was Rich, making the lineup that of Violet Wild other than Josh. I'm not sure what is up with Rich - whether he's a new addition, or was just sitting in with them last night. We stayed for a bunch of songs (Nothin' But A Good Time, You Give Love A Bad Name, TNT, I Believe In A Thing Called Love, Rock Me Like A Hurricane, Sweet Child O'Mine) before heading off because everyone was fairly tired after such a full day of music.

The Blaze - The Best Station For Local Music?

An Open Letter To The Blaze

(0)Monday, March 15, 2010 - 06:34:03 pm
(Posted Under: Tempe Music Scene, Music, Rants)

Mark & Emmett / A Mountain

(0)Thursday, March 11, 2010 - 05:34:23 pm
(Posted Under: Tempe Music Scene, Music, Live Shows)

It's been a good day. At midday we drove out to Mesa to see a lunch time outdoor Mark & Emmett gig. It was a really nice day today, and perfect for it. Unfortunately we got there a little late due to traffic, but caught most of it. I hadn't expected there to be so many people out there. Pretty nice way to spend such a nice day. We sat up the back, I had the foresight to bring the camera and tripod and got some pretty nice video of it.

Had a cool chat with Emmett afterwards. It's surprising that he isn't completely sick of seeing us, given how many times we've seen him play in the last week and a half. However, he had a shit big grin on his face from stage when we rocked up and waved. Probably happy to see people under 60.

Afterwards we stocked up on Vegemite taking advantage of $10 off at World Market, and then decided to climb A Mountain. I've wanted to do it for a long time, and we finally made it happen today. A fair step incline to begin with, though it got better after the initially part. Which funnily enough, is paved (well, black topped) and from the bottom it looks like the easiest part of the climb. Not so much. Some pretty nice views from up there.

We proceeded all the way up to the top, where the TV / radio (for the Blaze if I recall correctly) is, which gave more good views. Though, unfortunately the tower obsquired the view to the west, and we weren't came to climb over last few rocks, mostly because Katie was in flip flops and had done good just to make it this far. On the way up we obviously passed the 'A', and from up close it was quite easy to see where the away team had vandalized it (painted it purple) recently as we saw on the news. From the top it was also cool to look down into Sun Devil Stadium.

Marc & Thomas @ The Tap

(0)Tuesday, March 9, 2010 - 01:17:29 am
(Posted Under: Tempe Music Scene, Music, Live Shows)

It's been 4 years 10 months, and god knows how many days since the last time I've seen this. Marc Norman. Thomas Laufenberg. An acoustic guitar. A microphone. The Yucca Tap Room.

Thanks to the marvels of Facebook we heard that Marc & Thomas were going to play at open mic night at midnight - about 3 hours before it was set to happen. And hence is our brilliance behind living 3 minutes away from the Yucca. We rolled up at about 11:45. By the time the pair were ready to take the stage, it was obvious that we weren't the only ones who'd come out to witness this, even on short notice.

It was definitely all killer, no filler, the guys breaking out To The Point. Same Sad Story and Ten Tons - great picks for their set. Marc was the exact same form as I remember in 2005 - announcing that it was a gig, and keeping everyone informed once they reached the half way point (after To The Point), and their "encore" (after Sad Story). Glorious!

Good times. It needs to happen more - well, not necessarily the 3 song set at open mic, but you know what I mean. According to Thomas, it will, and in the very near future.

International Pop Overthrough - Night 3

(0)Sunday, March 7, 2010 - 10:10:03 pm
(Posted Under: Tempe Music Scene, Music, Live Shows)

Last day of International Pop Overthrow in Phoenix today. We'd have liked to have seen Sugar High last night, but we couldn't really afford or justify the $10 cover each for each night.

We headed out to Scottsdale to meet Aaron before hand, for the Violet Wild gig. Only to arrive at American Junkie, killing time before discovering that the gig (well, Violet Wild opening anyway) was canceled. Which makes me thankful we saw them on Friday Night at 910. By which time it was about 4, so we decided to head straight from there to Hollywood Alley.

Grabbing a both, combined with the Alley's free wi-fi made for a good Sunday afternoon. The first band that we knew were Tramps & Thieves at 6. Leading up to that it was hit and miss with the bands. Admittedly, today didn't seem particularly well attended. Maybe it was the Sunday factor. But maybe it's because there should be more local draw cards vs. minor bands. It's a slippery slope I guess, having a festival to showcase new / less known bands is a good thing, but on the other hand, I'm not sure if how effective it is when there aren't many people to see it. Having a few more well loved local bands would probably make a difference.

Tramps did a nice little set. As Emmett said, early and sober tonight was a lot different to Yucca on Friday night. Up next was supposed to be Let Go, though a few days ago their slot changed to "TBA". Unfortunately, indeed they were no longer on the bill and weren't replaced by anyone. Hence next up were Domo - one of the bands we were definitely there to see. And weren't disappointed. It's only the second time we've been able to see them, and much like the last night, the experience leaves you wishing they played out a lot more. The set seemed to be all new songs (much like the last time we saw them at Yucca), a huge wall of sound that is really impressive coming from a three piece. I got pretty much the whole set on video, which was cool as we want to learn the new songs, especially Lawrence, Kansas.

The irony with that is that afterwards I asked Jason if he had a copy of Sweet Creepy to buy - thinking he was the one who runs their twitter page. Failed on that account, but (surely because it's the second time we've asked) he came by our booth later and handed us a CD-R and said "hope you enjoy this". Initially I just though it was a copy of the song "With Friends Like These...". Which worked out well, since on several occasions Katie has asked whether I had it on my iPod - which I don't. Sorted. Though, as it turns out, the CD handed to us appears to be the forthcoming album! Sweet! We've always been behind the game with Domo. Well, not behind the game per se, but certainly when it comes to owning their albums. Sweet Creepy came out 5 years ago, and we still haven't got a copy (though, not through lack of trying and systematically checking every Zia Records location in the valley), and it wasn't until we got to Phoenix that we picked up a full copy of Baby Mercury. So to have a copy of the new album (or what we believe to be the album) ahead of it's release next month is pretty damn sweet. And I can say that it's 14 tracks of power pop goodness that we've come to expect from Domo! It's nice that we'll have the opportunity to learn all the songs before the CD release party. Looking forward to buying a real copy at the release party, but love the fact we have this to tide us over.

Up next were The Lustkillers, a national touring band that looked remarkably like the Beat Angels had reformed. Not as catchy as them, but still the balls to the wall rock was enjoyed by myself. Sadly the sound levels were to the level of slight distortion which did kind of mar things some what. The band had brought their own lighting, which was cool and I wish they'd leave at the usually dark Hollywood Alley stage. There was a moment I thought we were watching Strange Young Things when the guitarist jumped off the stage and played a solo while rolling around on one of the Alley's tables. A move that I'm sure would have spoken to Corey Gloden.

The last band was a 60's psychedelic throwback band. We stayed for a couple of songs, but decided that it was time to make a move from the booth that we'd been sitting at pretty much for the last 5 hours.

Gig Of The Month?

(0)Friday, March 5, 2010 - 03:54:58 pm
(Posted Under: Tempe Music Scene, Live Shows)

Baja Wednesday

(0)Wednesday, March 3, 2010 - 11:25:41 pm
(Posted Under: Tempe Music Scene, Music, Live Shows)

Fun night at Teakwoods tonight. I appreciate that it's a lot lighter when we get down there. Tonight the setting sun gave a cool desert ambiance across the stage for a good portion of the first set, which I really enjoyed. And it also made for some good photos. Set list wise the boys pulled out Time After Time which was a really cool addition to their set.

After the boys finished we didn't wait around much, heading quickly over to The Vig to see Scotty and Steve. I must say that I do appreciate that The Vig is a short jaunt down Indian School - and that Scotty & Steve play right after Josh & Bobby. It does make things economical fuel wise. If you're down in Phoenix anyway, why not make it a full night of music. Fun times.

Funny story - when we jumped in the car, we heard Water & Chemicals come on the radio - which seemed incredibly ironic, to the point where we considered running in to tell the guys. Trying to work out what the station was, and loosing the signal, things became obvious. The car parked in front of obvious have an FM transmitter and probably typically use 88.9FM for it. Entirely conceivable, because it's one of the few frequencies in the valley that doesn't have a station on it. It further made sense, as the people in the car in front of us were there to see Josh & Bobby. So despite my "hey, that's not my iPod, it's not plugged in" was true. it was actually someone else's, not the song getting a spin on the radio.

Shelby James & Los Ghetto Sugar Things

Shelby @ Valley Fever

(1)Sunday, February 28, 2010 - 11:59:03 am
(Posted Under: Tempe Music Scene, Music, Live Shows)

So it's been a big music weekend, and quite a while since we've been to the Yucca. Tonight was Shelby's gig there. We'd expected it to be the new band, up until a few hours before. Instead Shelby was solo with DJ Dana spinning tracks between sets, which seemed like a good way to wind down from the weekend. Valley Fever, Sunday night, nothing too out of the ordinary can happen, can it?

It was a good turn out, and it was quite enjoyable seeing Shelby, and the set included a bunch of great new songs that not even we've heard yet. Great set and seemed like what I would have expected, a nice way to wrap up the rock n' roll weekend. We stuck around after Shelby's set (which we, and I think he also thought was his last set). I ducked outside for a smoke as Dana fired up the LP's again, and an influx of people, obviously from the Sunday Night Healers gig, including a good portion of the Healers. And hence followed one of those magical Yucca nights. What I'm dubbing this time as Shelby James & Los Ghetto Sugar Thieves. After a few more songs solo, up on the stage with Shelbs were Norman, Marc Zubia, PC, Mike, Merideth Moore, Corey Gloden, Terry Garvin and Pete Gonzales in several different configurations, resulting in an amazing jam. As is the case whenever that happens, it just left you in awe of what was going on on the stage in front of you.

So much for the gig to "wind down" from the weekend - the night turned out to be just as exciting as the other nights this week.

I Have Been Rocked

Stellanova and Tramps & Thieves @ Teakwoods

(0)Saturday, February 27, 2010 - 11:27:55 pm
(Posted Under: Tempe Music Scene, Music, Live Shows)

As the subject implies, tonight was awesome. The biggest part of the night (at least for me) was getting to see Lawrence Zubia perform. Despite having listened to the Chimeras/Pistoleros since late 1996, I've never seen Lawrence perform, nor have I actually ever seen him in person before tonight. Which I blame on 2005 and a Pistoleros show happening while I was here but didn't know about until days later.

We were a little late, and were glad to hear them still finishing up the soundcheck when we walked into Teakwoods. For some context, Stellanova is basically the band for the last year that has been known as N.A.P.P (North American Power Phenomenon), and that we'd seen at Rock For Tots last year, billed as Rusty Buckles. A Tempe super group of sorts, with Jim Swafford (The Feedbags), Thomas Laufenberg and Scott Andrews (The Pistoleros) and Phil Rhodes (Gin Blossoms). Recently they added Lawrence Zubia and changed their name to Stellanova. The addition of Zubia pretty makes them The Persuaders (of a few years ago), plus Jim Swafford - that's if my memory that Jim wasn't in the Persuaders is correct.

Despite N.A.P.P having been fairly hard rocking, I was expected somewhat of a Pistoleros-esque jangle with the addition of Lawrence to the band (which seems funny to say, given he's the vocalist, not guitarist). But nope, things were as pretty much as balls to the wall as with N.A.P.P, which I like! By the third song, it was pretty obvious that we have something on our hands here!

So my impression of Lawrence? Every bit the rock star that I imagined. Funnily enough he's a much smaller frames guy than you picture having listened to those throaty vocals over the past - what is it - 14 years or so I guess, but has all the stage presence and rock star moves (leaning forwards over the stage straddlin' the mic stand, spinning away from the mic during solos) that you'd kinda picture. And that voice. Not that long ago, we'd been discussing how sad it was that I'd never seen Lawrence perform, and at the time, while agreeing totally, I also commented that it's okay, because Mark Zubia is so awesome, and having him fronting Los Guys makes up for things. Which it does, but seeing Lawrence on stage definitely confirms that having both Zubia's active is by far the preferred option. Which also highlighted the point that given that both Zubias are so great, together must really be something. And as such, I really hope that those two at some point put the Pistoleros back together, even if it's just a one time thing that I get to witness. One can only hope.

Laufenberg wailed on the guitar, which had me pretty captivated. We'd actually had a chat about bass vs. guitar last night at Dead Hot, and while I really enjoy seeing him play bass with Dead Hot Workshop and Stephen Ashbrook when he comes through town, I must saw, more Laufenberg on guitar, thank you very much! He's just so great to watch play. The songs themselves were very rocky *insert rock fingers here*, and completely hook laden. That, combined with Lawrence's amazing vocals left you (or at least us) with one strong feeling - get this shit down on CD! Really, the songs were awesome, and it's obvious that they'll be favorites after only a few listens.

And Phil. I may have said it before, but I'll say it again. If I were a drum kit and saw Phil Rhodes walking towards me, I'd be afraid. Never let it be said that that guy can't pound those skin.

Tramps was fun, which isn't really news to anyone. Lawrence, who stuck around for most of the night got up with them ad did Dead Flowers which was really cool.

Pena & Workshop

(0)Friday, February 26, 2010 - 11:57:09 pm
(Posted Under: Tempe Music Scene, Music, Live Shows)

Another fun night at Teakwoods. That pretty much goes without saying.

Joe was amazing. Watching him play blows my mind. He's so seemless, the guitar is really like an extension of his body. I can't get over the fact that he throws in all this finger picking, but there is nothing in his right hand motion that indicates anything but a strum. The sounds he coaxes out of that tiny guitar really blow my mind. We showed up a few minutes for his set, but caught most of it, including great versions of Midnight Radio, Laying Down Lost and Rain.

Dead Hot was great. The benefits of the new PA at Teakwoods was immediately obviously. Not only did it make everyone sound a lot better (not that there was a problem with the sound at Teakwoods necessarily previously) and also really opens up the view of the stage. No longer is Thomas almost hidden behind a PA speaker.

It was nice to get to the couch tonight. Setlist wise the show was quite similar to other shows we've seen recently. The 3 new songs were stand outs again. One thing that I love about Dead Hot at Teakwoods is that you get two fair decent sets. The night ended with an exit from the stage after Noam Chomsky that honesty was worthy of an Olympic gold medal.

More On The Music Horizon

...Otherwise Known As This Weekend

(0)Thursday, February 25, 2010 - 12:16:56 pm
(Posted Under: Tempe Music Scene, Music)

Well it's a great weekend a head at Teakwoods, as previously mentioned. Tomorrow night is Joe Pena and Dead Hot Workshop. Saturday night is Stellanova and Tramps & Thieves.

The exciting news about that, other than it being Tramps' first show at Teakwoods is the opener, Stellanova. Who you might remember from such billings as "NAPP" and "Rusty Buckles". Which is pretty cool in itself. But added to the new name is a new band member. Replacing Swafford on vocals is the one and only Lawrence Zubia! Sweet. It's come up several times since we moved out here that I need the Lawrence live experience, since I haven't ever seen him live. Actually, I don't think I've ever seen him in person. So the fact that he is now fronting Stellanova is pretty cool. I actually thought that Jim did a really good job of fronting the band the one time we saw them, but if this is what is required to have Zubia back on stage, I'm down with it!

Nothing Not New, Dead Hot Workshop and Teakwoods

(0)Wednesday, February 24, 2010 - 10:16:01 pm
(Posted Under: Tempe Music Scene, Music, Live Shows)

Nothing Not New in this week's music section of the Phoenix New Times instigated a long and heated discussion tonight about how neither of us need to try "avant garde" shit (despite that technically we kinda do on weekly-ish basis anyway). Our long rant about so many facets of the article is actually too in depth to get into here, but the conversation by the end turned to Dead Hot Workshop, as so many music conversations do , which prompted some listening, with in turn prompted a longing to see them. Which was immediately greeted with the welcomed reminder that in two days that will happen.

Speaking of the Workshop, we sat with Curtis for a bit a Teaks tonight. I guess he was involved in the new PA, which I must saw is a rad addition. The roof mounted monitors definitely sounded better to me. And adds to Teakwoods further becoming such a good place for live music. He did pose quite a good question - with the winter Olympics, was I rooting for Australia, or the US? Of course, neither of has spent a single second's attention on the Olympics, but if we had it would be a compelling decision.

Fun night overall, and given that at 5pm we were tossing up whether or not we were going to go, we were both glad we decided to go. I think it's safe to call ourselves Teakwood regulars, especially since our server simply asked as whether we wanted "the usual", and at the end of the night "see you next Wednesday". We both enjoyed that our bill referred to us as "the couch couple".

On the way home we were listening to Shelby James, which prompted us (particularly Katie) to see Shelbs. Unfortunately he wasn't playing by that time.

Getting back to the New Times article - thanks, but no thanks. I think I'll happily remain a critic and a fan, and listen to much for a reason. (More on that later probably.)

Another Of Life Goals Achieved

Finding The Infamous NME Brick

(0)Sunday, February 21, 2010 - 07:47:19 pm
(Posted Under: Tempe Music Scene)

When I was out here in 2005, one of the things I really wanted to find was the Blossoms / Dead Hot brick that appears on in the sleeve of New Miserable Experience. It has always been a frustration and sore point to me that after a lengthy search, we got nowhere and I left Arizona having never seen the brick, despite spotting some other notable ones including the one for the Beat Angels.

On our second attempt today, we left victorious, which was very rewarding, especially after today's 45 minute search. Katie was the lucky one to spot it first. And such, finding it and seeing it person closes a long running chapter in the book of "things I must do before I die".

Robin Wilson & Muddy Violets @ Teakwoods

(0)Saturday, February 20, 2010 - 11:12:02 pm
(Posted Under: Tempe Music Scene, Music, Live Shows)

Tonight has been much anticipated all week, and didn't disappoint. Just looking around Teakwoods, there was no mistaking the draw that Robin Wilson has, with no shortage of familiar faces.

I had somewhat expected Robin's set to be an opening set, however, it was nothing short of a full blown show. Although he was a bit late to hit the stage, it was a quite lengthy set, including quite a few new tunes, and dedicated songs to people that had shown up left right and center.

Muddy Violets were acoustic, which isn't what I had expected, but it was a treat as the full band acoustic sounded great. Not the band you'd typically pick to work acoustic, however it really did and was an experience. I think they played pretty much everything off of Reclamation. I certainly enjoyed seeing Open Wide which I haven't seen on their set lists.

Awesome night, and Teakwoods was certainly the place to be tonight! As it will be all next weekend!

New Long Wongs @ The Firehouse

(0)Thursday, February 18, 2010 - 10:13:09 pm
(Posted Under: Tempe Music Scene)

Teakwoods

(0)Thursday, February 18, 2010 - 10:38:10 am
(Posted Under: Tempe Music Scene, Music)

Well, this is just damn spooky - in a good way!

On Saturday afternoon I'd mentioned how there were only two bands that haven't played at Teakwoods, but should. Strange Young Things and Domo.

So on Saturday night at Teakwoods we talking to Corey and Sara, who brought up the idea of Strange Young Things playing, and by the end of the night had them booked, which we found quite pleasing and can't wait for.

The latest news is that Domo's CD release party in April will be at - you guessed it - Teakwoods! Too cool.

With this sort of run, I should just think up a bunch of other bands that should play there!

Gloden, Zubia & Pena @ Teakwoods

(0)Saturday, February 13, 2010 - 11:59:31 pm
(Posted Under: Tempe Music Scene, Music, Live Shows)

Muddy Violets @ South Mountain Park

(0)Saturday, February 13, 2010 - 07:30:16 pm
(Posted Under: Tempe Music Scene, Music, Live Shows)

Last night I saw that Muddy Violets were playing today at South Mountain Park. Without much details at all, we ventured out today to try and find the gig.

Thankfully, it wasn't that hard to find where they were playing. Equally thankfully, like us, the band was a bit late, and it appeared they were just finishing the sound check as we rocked up.

This was such a cool gig in my mind, great rock 'n roll in the middle of the desert. Nothing gets closer to 'desert rock' than something like this, if you ask me. The sun beating down was pretty warm, and the whole thing just made me think that I wish there were more gigs out here.

After their set we did some cruising around the bottom of South Mountain before heading home.

Tramps & Thieves / Strange Young Things @ Hollywood Alley

(0)Friday, February 12, 2010 - 11:59:02 pm
(Posted Under: Tempe Music Scene, Music, Live Shows)

Sometime paying a cover is worth it, even when you're watching money. Tonight was one of those nights with Tramps & Thieves and Strange Young Things at Hollywood Alley.

The opening band, Quarter Inch Crown were pretty enjoyable. Although the set started out somewhat dissident and reminencent of the Meat Puppets (the comparison maybe somewhat influenced by Back Waters coming on before they played), the second half of their set was more poppy and melodic. Certainly there were a couple songs I wouldn't mind checking out on myspace.

Tramps were up next, and played a quite varied set including stuff fromm Mill Avenue Cowboys, Spittin' Into The Wind, Perinnals and also a new one, which was cool. Glodie was up on stage a few times, lending backup vocals, namely on Why Have You Been Gone So Long. Loved when Emmett announced that he'd be back on stage in 25 minutes and will be rolling around on the floor - funny, 'cause it's true!

And as promised, Strange Young Things were up last. Not being at Yucca, the question of the night (for me anyway) was whether the different venue was going to mean less SYT ridiculous. Pretty soon, the resounding answer was 'no'. It didn't take long before Corey was off the stage, wandering around the tables, sitting down and helping himself to people's fries, pouring beer over himself, barely avoiding unplugging himself and generally all around being - well - Corey Gloden. We were actually sitting at the table front and center, and given that you can never tell at any minute what is going to happen at a SYT show we were right in the line of fire. Though, we didn't have Corey jump up on our table, which frankly seemed inevitable.

Great set by the guys, played all the new stuff, and some of the old ones. It was quite cool when Emmett jumped up for Left Breast Pocket. Dan wasn't present, and David from the Sugar Thieves filled in doing a good job of things (which is saying something, given how much of Dan's intense playing I am). Richard Pollman was there and got up to beat the skins on Get Your Fire For Free which was really cool to witness.

Since we were sitting up front, it was a rare opportunity to get some good shots (and some video) of the band. Generally that's just impossible due to the amount of rocking out that happens, making photo taking unfessable.

Anytime you see SYT, you're left with wishing they played every damn night! The upside is that we're seeing Corey at Teakwoods tomorrow night with Mark Zubia.

From The Cool Shows File

Robin Wilson Opening For Muddy Violets

(0)Friday, February 12, 2010 - 08:41:40 pm
(Posted Under: Tempe Music Scene, Music)

We already had next week's Muddy Violets show in the calendar. It's been quite a while since we've seen the whole band.

Tonight Sara just posted the flier for the show which makes it even cooler.



Robin Wilson is opening. Sweet! This will be my first time seeing Robin Wilson solo and acoustic. Good times.

What do I always say about Teakwoods being so cool?

An Ode To Longer Days

(0)Wednesday, February 10, 2010 - 09:26:40 pm
(Posted Under: Tempe Music Scene, Music, Live Shows)

Worst News Of The Day

Tempe Music Festival 2010 Canceled

(0)Wednesday, February 10, 2010 - 03:50:08 pm
(Posted Under: Tempe Music Scene, Music)

Violet Wild @ Teakwoods

(0)Sunday, February 7, 2010 - 11:30:53 pm
(Posted Under: Tempe Music Scene, Music, Live Shows)

So it looks like I picked the winner of the Super Bowl - go me!

There was no kidding that Violet Wild were going on right after the game. We left right after it finished, and expected to be waiting around for a while, but we showed up and they were already in the middle of One More Second Chance, and a good way through their first set!

As always, the guys rocked. Certainly sitting there, I did think it's hard to lament the whole Long Wong's old days thing. Teakwoods is such a cool place to see music, every show we see there is great, Bobby was sporting one of the new Wongs shirts (meaning that which Sara Cina has added to the Cina Designs line, not implying a Firehouse one). Of course, I'm sure that tomorrow, without the band in front of me, being able to lament the old days will be easy (because, honestly, how can you not), but it doesn't change the fact that - we'll, the past is gone, but something might be found to take it's place.

While rocking out to Along To The Ride I also thought how glad that Violet Wild have held onto the old Mink Rebellion songs. When it comes to the album, I've always thought the older stuff doesn't quite hold up as well as the newer stuff the guys wrote together. (Not to say that I've always enjoyed the cross over, having been really into Mink Rebellion before Violet Wild formed). But with that said, getting to see that band live (which is generally more ruckus on record), it's really awesome that most of the Mink Rebellion songs are getting played even after the demise of the band. Not getting go out and see Along For The Ride (to name just one) would really suck.

Anyways, Serifini was absent from the stage, in his place Paul Fenix, which was really cool to get to see him with the band, especially given the fact that he is an original member.

Tonight also highlighted how well Bobby does Robert Plant. Obviously when it comes to the whole Zep covers thing, you immediately think of Keven and The Black Moods, but Bobby really does nail it when they do the whole Without You / Rock 'N Roll / Without You medley. Which prompts the thought that we both had - why doesn't Bobby just front the new Black Moods? I'd never before thought that would work, but after tonight, I'm not quite sure that it wouldn't.

The other revelation tonight was during Breakdown - which I've been seeing them do both acoustic and full band for weeks now (as well as Shelby a few weeks ago). But it only dawned on me tonight that it's the song that Loco To Stay Sane is always compared to. I completely say it tonight, and it's quite a polarizing similarly, even though it's taken me about 6 years to realized (due to having never heard Breakdown until recently. I'm probably not going to be able to listen to Loco the same way again.

The final thought of the night (god, I did a bit, didn't I?) was the talent that we have in this town. I know that some people reading my blog / Facebook are reading about people, that in their minds are "nobodies" - which is actually totally fine, and a completely valid reaction - I'm not talking about The Black Eyed Peas or Kings Of Leon or anything. However, the fact does remain that we're spoilt in this town, and the rest of the world that are oblivious to their existence are missing out. Both Violet Wild and Strange Young Things are the epitimy of that. Sitting there watching Violet Wild (and it similarly always happens with SYT), what rings through is, to quote Bobby "you're ready for the big time now, uh huh!". Because they are, and you can't help but feel a bit spoilt that you can see these guys regularly at home at Teakwoods, when they really should be playing national stages. Which gets into a bit of a juxtaposition - it's kinda frustrating that such talent is overlooked. But it's also damn nice having such talent for yourself and easily accessible. While I'd love to see these guys being huge, it'd be really hard to loose the coolness of seeing them regularly at Teakwoods!

Jason Longo @ Train Tracks Quater Finals

...And The Yucca Expansion

(0)Friday, February 5, 2010 - 11:48:19 pm
(Posted Under: Tempe Music Scene, Music, Live Shows)

Seeing Jason perform was cool, a nice little set outside the Phoenix Arts Museum. It's pretty cool to see them exposed to the crowd (which made parking fun) that was down there for the event.

We were both glad that there was formal voting set up, and hence could put in our votes for them to play Tempe Music Festival this year.

On the way home we stopped in at Yucca to check out the new expansion, which is finished, and as far as I can tell opened tonight. Looks like a pretty cool hang. However, we'd expected the west wall of Yucca to have come down, which isn't the case. So, in theory, the next time What Laura Says plays, you still won't be able to move! Certainly I would predict, especially if Yucca remains one of the only live venues in Tempe, that will come. But either way, it looks pretty cool in there, and I like the old Yucca style booths in the new place. Old Yucca hasn't changed much, other the two new doors (near the exit, and near the booths) going to and from the expansion.

I'm sure we'll get to give it a proper try out before long. It's kinda weird that we don't have any Yucca shows on the immediate horizon (there's a first time for everything I guess), hence why we decided to pop our heads in tonight, to still at least be ahead of the game.

The bouncer did confirm with us that we had current ideas even though "I know you guys are always here", which made me think two things - the first being that it'd have been cool to whip out my cool new AZ ID (if it had of been required). And the second - it's pretty damn cool already being a recognizable Yucca regular.