Concerts 

The Up and Comers

Sometimes shows are going to be quieter and smaller. They tend to be the ones sitting on a Sunday, although a few big bands buck that trend. You find the gems at these shows. One such occasion is a week ago at the Yucca Tap Room, where we found our punk regulars, Birth of Monsters, joined by the up and coming young punks of Not Confined and the latest acoustic duo of Shamehole. Up first were the familiar faces of Shamehole. This two piece band is made up of Evan,…

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Concerts 

A Streak of Ska

Most of the year the amount of ska shows is not too concentrated. It usually lends to me making sure to support every ska show in hopes it will bring more. However, we had a strange week in July. There was a stretch of four ska shows in a five day span around Phoenix. That third show was the fun as hell bringing The Holophonics into town joined by Bowcat, Rundown Roommates, and Los Lerpes. Kicking things off first was a three piece Los Lerpes. Down a man, we saw…

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Concerts 

The Uplifting and The Dark

Tours revolving around the anniversary of an album are one of the current trends. It is likely because a lot of the bands these days that we follow and love are sticking together longer. One of those bands just happens to be Streetlight Manifesto, who is celebrating the 15th anniversary of the album “Everything Goes Numb.” Along for the ride on this tour were, Kitty Kat Fan Club and Mephiskapheles. Up first is one of the newest bands on Asian Man Records, Kitty Kat Fan Club. The streak of great…

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Concerts 

Saying Goodbye To Warped Summers

The last song of a Warped Tour was played on Sunday, in West Palm Beach and with Pennywise performing it. Huge props to Kevin Lyman, who put on the tour for 24 years. He managed to not only maintain a successful tour for over two decades, but evolve it to survive the entire period. It started as a punk dominated festival in its first decade. Then to the vein of a lot of vocal punks, found the blossoming Emo and Hardcore scenes as they were coming up in the 2000’s…

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Concerts 

The Things That Come Together

The stars are aligning more on tours these days. This isn’t the first time writing about it the last year, where a lineup is a mix of bands I’m excited to go see. It wouldn’t matter if separate or together, but it certainly amps up the excitement as one. That amped up excitement was just finding out that Street Dogs, Left Alone, and the Last Gang had announced they would be coming to town together. However, there was one day of show surprise. Thug Riot would make the trek up…

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Concerts 

The Ska Must Go On

Ska has a long lineage of excellent music predating and inspiring sounds that would influence the genres of Reggae and Rocksteady. Most describe it as coming in three waves, the original out of Jamaica in the late 1950’s, the 2 Tone sound out of the U.K. in the 1970’s, and the third wave ska out of the punk scene in the late 1980’s. One of the most iconic bands to put the third wave ska on the map is the Mighty Mighty Bosstones. They were one of the first to…

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Concerts 

Infesting Tucson With Music

I haven’t deeply explored what the Tucson music scene has to offer. Most of my discoveries of bands from Tucson occur when they play up here in Phoenix. That does not cover the huge breadth they have to offer. Thanks to the invitation to inFest Tucson this year, I got to continue expanding my discovery of the breadth of their scene. This was a mix of their offerings, most I had never seen, mixed with a couple touring acts out of Southern California and Texas. Add in that we had…

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Concerts 

The Allure Of the Small Venue

There is a special feeling to watching bands in a smaller venue. That special feeling grows larger when it ends up a band that has been performing punk rock for the last three decades. In this case, it was my second time capturing that feeling of watching TSOL at the Yucca Tap Room. This night they were accompanied by two spotlights of the Phoenix punk bands, Heavy Breather and the Venomous Pinks. Opening up is a band I haven’t had a chance to tell you about on this site, Heavy…

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Concerts 

Bringing The Party

As the last national Warped Tour goes on, it continues a last run at introducing music fans to bands they may never have crossed paths with. In this same vein, at Warped Tour 2011, I was introduced to an entirely new genre to me from a band that just killed it in 110 degrees. That genre was Bluegrass and that band was Larry and His Flask. I’ve supported their album fundraising since and made it a goal to catch them anytime they are in Phoenix. Of course, that meant their…

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Concerts 

The Warmth of a Basement Show

Basement shows are a staple of music in various cities around the country. However, here in Phoenix, we have about two venues that count as basements. The first is a more recent one, the Valley Bar, and the second one is the Nile Underground, with a bit of age and history to it. One downside of a basement in a historic building is the ventilation and air conditioning doesn’t usually make it all the way down. For the music fans in Phoenix and a couple bands, this ends up a…

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