Concerts Photo Gallery 

Devon Kay and the Solutions Delightful Desert Stop

Eclectic is defined as “composed of elements drawn from various sources.” It tends to be descriptions of the weather in Denver and my music tastes. Similarly, it can be used to describe the bill that assembled at Yucca Tap Room with Devon Kay and the Solutions. Just to touch on how eclectic it was, the night of music included the ska offerings of Bowcat, the punk funk of Okinawa Plane Crash, and the indie rock sounds of Celleste. The four of them combined with what I call the Indie Punk…

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Concerts Photo Gallery 

PEARS Return to Phoenix

The very first time I saw PEARS was in a Las Vegas backyard in 2015. That was near the beginning with their first album under their belts and Fat Wreck had just signed them. Since then, they have only gone up in trajectory in success, music writing and performances. That includes their self-titled 2020 release being their best to date. However, they never had a chance to tour on it until now. The great one two punch of the tour included Neighborhood Brats who unfortunately dropped due to continuing issues…

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Concerts Photo Gallery 

A Skankin Good Time!

This was a show wrap up that started before I knew I had caught Covid 19. I had finished processing the photos the following Sunday night from the show and as I started to sit down to write the following day, the symptoms of Covid 19 started setting in. Given the early symptoms included sinus pressure, it created conflict with my ability to focus on writing about this wonderful night of Ska at the Yucca Tap Room.  However, as I see the tail end of the symptoms I wanted to…

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Concerts Photo Gallery 

Photo Gallery: Le Tour DeVore 5

I’m back to going through photos from my backlog. This time going to January to the Le Tour DeVore. Jason DeVore, of Authority Zero, brought through a star studded cast of Howi Spangler, of Ballyhoo, Chris DeMakes, of Less than Jake, Gabo, of Fayuca, and Russ and Chris, of Meager Kings to the Yucca Tap Room. The tour entirely acoustic, giving people the opportunity to see these guys play their band’s songs and their own. That included an early peak at Chris’s first solo project live. Getting the chance to…

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Concerts 

That Small Venue Feel

Venues define the personality of a show. How much a venue defines that personality varies from place to place. For some of the midsize to larger, it can create a distant experience. In those spaces, it is up to a band’s performance to engage the crowd more. However, the smaller spaces bring the sense of energy closer to both the fans and the bands. From the moment it was announced that Guttermouth was playing the Yucca Tap Room, I was excited. That is a room that the performance style of…

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Concerts 

Reunited and It Feels So Good

If you’re lucky, sometimes things come together in a perfect way. Perhaps it is just that right sound with a band out of the gate. Maybe it is getting to see your favorite band reunite in original form. In the case of this night’s show, it was three former U.S. Bombs members coming together once again with a new band, the United X Bombs. Before and after them on this night joined the Venomous Pinks and the Vulturas, out of California, to mark the occasion. The new look Venomous Pinks…

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Concerts 

Mobility and Energy

Mobility and movement will grab the attention of those seeing it from the corner of their eyes. It is a way to release and use energy. For musicians, a lot of it is energy they feed off from performing music and the audience members. It would be the theme of a most of these musicians on this night from Pointbreak to Death by Stereo. The lineup was packed, with Life and Limb, Elvis Cortez, the Venomous Pinks, and Toxic Energy four more bands playing this Friday night at the Yucca…

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Concerts Photo Gallery 

Photo Gallery: The Revenge

There are a few gems in the Phoenix punk scene that don’t play too often. One of them being The Revenge. Fronted by Dennis Welch, a personality in his own right, and joined by matching personalities behind him makes for one explosively fun set of punk rock. Wit is thrown, beer is thrown, and all out blast is had. Snuck into this gallery is two shots that turned out of the excellent We Were Stereo too.

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Concerts 

For the Love of the Dogs

Pets are a member of the family. They are taken in and loved like any one of our children, and sometimes are the only children we have. However, there are situations where this is not the case. People who think they have time for taking care of one until the realization they don’t and, in some cases, worse mistreatment lands many of our favorite canine’s in animal shelters. That is where AZ K9 charity comes in, to educate and support adoption of shelter dogs that need a home. In its…

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Artist Spotlight Concerts 

Artist Spotlight: Masked Intruder

Masked Intruder is a band that first appeared on my radar as part of the Fat Wreck tour in 2013. On stage each member adorns a color coordinated ski mask and instrument. All the while, they sing songs about love and crime in a Ramones inspired pop punk. Personality radiates from the stage as they are constantly telling jokes and stories about their criminal escapades. This personality extends to Officer Bradford. He starts off serious looking like their parole officer, but then works to beat on the occasional intruder and…

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