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Apes of the State Down in the Underground

Three years ago, things had ground to a halt as we worked to slow the spread of a newly discovered virus and waited for science to bring solutions while we tried to mitigate the worse of it. It meant we had a lot more time for finding music, whether it was new to you or just in general newly formed. Between the many livestreams that musicians had turned to and just looking at the “You may also like” sections of music services, it felt like I stumbled onto a treasure…

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Bowling for Soup and Less than Jake Tag Team The Marquee

Epic duos persist throughout pop culture. Rick and Morty, Joker and Harley Quinn, Pinky and the Brain, Jay and Silent Bob, and so many others over the decades. That brings me to the peanut butter and jelly of epic duo tours, Bowling For Soup and Less than Jake. The pop punk and ska punk staples are together for a west side run of the U.S. bringing the awesome pair of Cliff Diver and Doll Skin with them to the Marquee Theatre this past Friday. Up first was a band known…

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The Menzingers At A Sold Out Crescent

There is never a set time or age to self-reflect. You can do it at any time when you are collecting your thoughts. To think back on things that have come and adventures that have been. This was especially present in the past two years with the idle time of concerts and activities. Another place that it occurred was when The Menzingers released After the Party, reflecting on their twenties from their thirties. It was an album that hit perfectly for me being in that similar spot and age range…

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Beach Bunny Back In Town

2020 and part of 2021 gave a lot of time to discover new music you didn’t listen to. Whether it was through the popular livestreams or just randomly going down a “You May Also Like” path, there was more time to dig deeper in. I did just that with one of the prominent ones I found being Beach Bunny. There were, and still are, points I just have them on loop. So when things started coming back and they announced their tour will coming through Phoenix, I was immediately tried…

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Doll Skin’s Hometown Show

There are shows you circle on your calendar as must go. After the last year and a half, that has only further magnified those you miss seeing live and those you just have newly discovered. Doll Skin was of those I had circled from the moment it was announced. They are such an excellent band to watch live. For bonuses on the night, that would be getting to catch Winterhaven, An Awful Mess, and Rio Wiley additionally. Opening up was a bouncy and fun band called Winterhaven. This is the…

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Hot Mulligan Brings a Fire Tour to the Van Buren

Going into a show blind can lead to just a bigger high when you discover another awesome band. It is the reason you should always go to a show from the beginning, as those openers have become a few of my favorite bands. However, in the case of Hot Mulligan, they were a band I actually had never listened to prior to this show going in. Additionally, Super American on this tour too. I was there for Sincere Engineer and Prince Daddy and the Hyena. Combined though, all four just…

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An Acne Superstar Release

I’ve always thought if I had a couple million dollars, part of my goal would be to get a few local bands recorded and promoted out to the larger audience they deserve. One of the best examples of that would be Acne Superstar. This idea has roots in after the band took a little break from performing, when their lead singer, Nav, went to Florida for a summer. They played their first show after a couple months, once again standing out from the crowd that night. It had me questioning…

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Concerts 

Going In Blind

Most of shows I go to accompanied by the breadth of music I catch tend to never lend to a full surprise. I always know a minimum of one band on a bill. Rarely is it where I haven’t the slightest clue on a show. However, in the case of Touché Amore and tour bill of Jerome’s Dream and Dangers, I went in completely unfamiliar. It was exciting watching bands I had no idea what to expect from beginning to end with a passionate crowd bolstering the energy in the…

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Concerts 

Personalities That Rock

There are always bands to discover. There is always a continuous flow of new music and bands ending. There are regional limitations, where you are lucky to get the smaller to midsize bands making the drive all the way to Phoenix. One of my favorites that I discovered at the last Viva PHX was Rozwell Kid. Lucky for us, this year they went back on the road across the country again. Their tour mates for it were the excellent Prince Daddy and the Hyena plus our local Sundressed tasked with…

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Concerts 

Blind Discoveries

One of the merits since the Trunk Space started the Indie 500 was catching new bands. You can show up for a known band, but stick around until your eyes won’t stay open. In that time you see a large mixture of genre. You see bands you never knew the name of that stick in your memory as you leave. Good Ol’ Joel is one of those bands I first saw at the 2016 Indie 500. One thing that stuck with me was their guitarist made a skateboard into his…

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