Concerts 

Go With The Flow

There is a lot of new music hitting my ears weekly these days. Perhaps it is the exponential growth of bands I follow or just the coincidental concentration of bands releasing new music. With that comes the album release shows. It is a get together of musicians and a few of their favorite musical friends to celebrate their latest lyrical creations. This time around a few guys I’ve been watching since I was a teenager were celebrating their latest music, NEATO, with a few of their favorite friends. The show…

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Concerts 

The Triple Release

Album release shows are an excellent way to bring out everyone into one place to pick up and celebrate new music. They tend to usually be for a single release, and occasionally for a dual release. However, in this case we had three bands releasing three new albums of their own. This would be a first for my concert going, as Playboy Manbaby, T.O.S.O., and Not Confined had a brand new album this night. On top of those, we had Exxxtra Crispy playing to start the entire thing off. Exxxtra…

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Concerts 

Lucha, Beer And Punk Rock

Cinco de Mayo is the celebration of the Mexican army defeating the French in the Battle of Puebla. It is a holiday that has taken on a celebration of Mexican culture and drinking here in the U.S. Over the years, the holiday has been more of day that my activities are more dictated by if there is a good show. This year presented a festival that has been hitting Tucson and a few stops around the country for a couple years now. It is the Sabroso Taco Festival with acts…

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Concerts 

Masters of Melodic Punk

There are lineups you just look at and can tell will be amazing. A couple bands on the bill stand out and above a lot of their respective genre. In the case of this night at the Crescent Ballroom, it was just that. The tour paired the talented musicians of both Red City Radio and Lawrence Arms, alongside the fantastic discovery for me in Sincere Engineer opening it up. Sincere Engineer is the one person, acoustic act of Deanna. From the beginning she was entertained not just by performing these…

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Concerts 

In With The Out Crowd

Enthusiasm is the intense and eager enjoyment, interest, or approval. Many describe it as infectious. I would go with it as the theme of the amazing lineup of a tour. This night’s tour package had Less than Jake and Face to Face co-headlining with Direct Hit and Jukebox Romantics along for the ride. All four of these bands brought a large amount of enthusiasm to their night’s performances. Opening up was the only band I was unfamiliar with going in, the Jukebox Romantics. The three piece from New York was…

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Concerts 

A New Lens of a Variety of Punk

For the near year I have had my camera, I have been shooting with just a 30mm lens. Since my financial situation has remedied itself, I finally invested in a second lens, a 50mm. The Dollyrots show was the perfect way to try it out. All photos from this night were using the new 50mm lens. It certainly is an ongoing learning experience. Although, I think the results of capturing all these excellent bands turned out well. It was a superb night of music from different angles of the punk…

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Concerts 

The Skaters and the Punks

There are conventions popping up for plenty of hobbies and fascinations. The most popularized model is the comic and pop culture convention. Furthermore, it is inspiring fans of other hobbies to organize conventions and gatherings for their favorite hobbies. One of the newer ones to pop up is the Phoenix Skatercon. A convention built around the skater culture, from skills to punk rock. The music brought excellent acts from Since We Were Kids to D.I. However, this whole convention is one that exceeded my expectations. In its third year, this…

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Concerts 

80/20 Vision

You never know how long an endeavor is going to last. If it is something you are passionate about, you hope the rest of your life. It is why you celebrate each moment as the things that matter to you hit significant benchmarks. For 80/20 Records’ founder, Michael Zimmerlich, this year marks ten years of just that. It is ten years of him helping musicians get their music out there. I met him through one of my favorite locals that his label plays host to, Captain Squeegee. Then I kept…

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Concerts 

Moving Music

When I entered Friday, I already knew there was a tussle for where I should go watch music. However, when I got the email back that I could take pictures of Skinny Lister and Will Varley, I knew my starting point. These are two bands I fell in love watching when introduced to me through two separate Frank Turner tours. A week prior finding out our local Cockswain had been added as openers and I knew that show was going to deliver. Of course, Valley Bar shows start pretty early…

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Concerts 

The Open Mic Night Surprise

I’ve attended open mics time to time over the years. They bring out great and growing musicians. There were a few I became a regular for a while, including the one that gave me my first nickname of “Homemade Shaker Joe.” This was a night that my friend Jaime, of 1967, returned to Phoenix to visit and perform. I was going to relax after his little set, but a surprise showed itself later into the night. First, let us talk Jaime and 1967. He was once a resident of Phoenix…

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