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…
Read MoreOne of the pleasures of life is pure discovery. Going out to a place you have never been or taking a hiking trail that just caught your eye off the freeway. It brings a pure joy to seeing and experiencing the new things you took the chance to investigate. In the case of the night’s show, it was Retirement Party that was that discovery, coming through with Prince Daddy and the Hyena plus our local Troubled Minds. The guys of Troubled Minds are deservedly popping up more on the shows…
Read MoreI can count on one hand the amount of local bands that I followed in high school that still perform today. Of that handful, there is one that has elevated to an international success and I keep purchasing every release to date. That band is Authority Zero. When I first found them, it was twenty years ago when I got my driver’s license and started finding my taste in music. The first lineup I knew was Jason DeVore, Jeremy Wood, Bill Marcks, and Jim Wilcox. I made every effort to…
Read MoreMerriam-Webster defines party as a social gathering. For many, that is how most would define a concert or show. You could literally say we have double the party with both Pity Party and Dog Party on night’s bill. This is probably an obvious joke that has run its course over the time of their tour with Bad Cop/Bad Cop. No matter, it makes for a nice attention getter to talk about their stop in Phoenix with the added awesomeness of our local Venomous Pinks. Opening up was our local women,…
Read MoreThere are musicians from the first song you know that you just want to keep listening to after. On a tour last year with Lawrence Arms and Red City Radio, there was a solo musician called Sincere Engineer. She came out with not only catchy and well written verses, but an honest stage presence that played well with the Phoenix crowd. She is one of those musicians that you look forward to catching once you’ve heard her. This time around she brought her full band alongside co-headliners Heart Attack Man,…
Read MoreOn the newest Artist Spotlight, I highlight one of the newer members of the Phoenix Punk scene, The Maybe Next Years. It is a band that I actually first watched a pair of the members in other bands. For one, Davey I first watched in the band the Darling Sounds. That was a slower tempo band, a little indie and alternative rock. He apparently had energy and enthusiasm he was holding back until The Maybe Next Years. Then there is Sage, who I first caught in her other band Dwarf.…
Read MorePerspective is a point of view. With a camera, the lens or lenses you use have the possibility to give you a change on your perspective. For this night, I challenged myself to only use the 85mm lens. When shooting pictures in a festival, like the Bash recently, it is a perfect way to get those closer shots on the big stage. In a smaller venue, such as the Rebel Lounge, it forces me to tackle my shots and angles in different ways and positions. Skinny Lister back in town…
Read MoreLast month we had the pleasure of catching 88 Fingers Louie for the first time in years, and first time in general for me, in Phoenix. Joined by Decent Criminal on the tour and the excellent locals Wewerestereo and No Gimmick, this was easily one of my early favorite shows of 2019. While I’ve been busy trying to get the Concerts to Consoles show going, I fell a little behind. Despite that, I wanted to make sure you saw a little bit of this awesome night of music!
Read MoreThere 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…
Read MoreNot everything I go to sits in the punk rock and ska genres. Through my first years with a driver’s license, I listened to our local Edge 106.3, and later 103.9, station playing alternative rock. In part that was because the Ska Punk Show was only on Sundays. This has continued with the local airwaves from KWSS and Alt AZ. With that said, one of my favorite alternative and local bands, Celebration Guns, has a brand new album. For the occasion they put together the awesome line up of Captain…
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