GREEN 17 >> St. Patrick’s Day with Flogging Molly

Posted on March 13, 2013 by marc

St. Patrick's Day >> is this Sunday and that means several things. Everyone will be wearing green, drinking green beer and will be super hungover on Monday. But there's something else that us Arizonans always look forward to on this day and that's a huge festival in Tempe headlined by Flogging Molly whose annual show has become a staple in celebrating green day in the desert.

Flogging Molly >> GREEN 17

The punk rock Celts will be wrapping up their 2013 GREEN 17 tour right here in Tempe to commemorate the day everyone is Irish. I'm not quite sure why we're so lucky to have the face of Irish rock celebrating here in the valley year after year other than a unique heat-treated energy that only we collectively share. That and perhaps Lucky Man Concerts is not just a clever name.

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Along with Flogging Molly the festival at Tempe Beach Park will also feature Pepper, Anti-Flag and a few other shredders. Tickets can be purchased online via Lucky Man and I highly recommend this move because ticket lines at the door in previous years have been super insane plus your foresight is rewarded with a $5 discount.

marc

marc

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Coachella >> Countdown + Virgin Ears Bucket List

Posted on March 12, 2013 by marc

Coachella 2013 >> will be kicking off in 1 month! On April 12th, Indio will welcome thousands and thousands of music lovers for the first weekend of the annual 3-day music and arts festival.

You've probably seen a million Tweets about the insane lineup and I'm sure you're sick of your news feed getting raped by it. So I'll spare you the synopsis on the shit ton of acts this fest boasts and leave you with just one band that has been on my radar for a long time, the legendary Red Hot Chili Peppers.

Red Hot Chili Peppers >> Coachella 2013

Red Hot Chili Peppers are definitely on my bucket list and next month my Blood Sugar Sex Magik ear cherry will finally be popped. I go to about 100 shows per year so it's absurd that in 2013 I have yet to see this first-ballot HOF band do it live.

I've been a huge fan of Anthony Kiedis and Flea for over 20 years and later I developed a profound respect for John Frusciante when I was old enough to appreciate his talent. That surfaced in 1999 with the release of Californication, my favorite RHCP album and perhaps his best work. Just throwing this out there but maybe this year's Coachella surprise will be a Chili Pepper and Frusciante reunion as the headlining act on that last day. If not, how about his return to the group in hologram form?

They have the last time slot on the last night so I'm looking forward to some big things from them to cap off the weekend and hopefully it's not in the form of their infamous cock-socks. I know Flea can still slappa da bass like a mofo jobin and Kiedis will always have an insane amount of energy. Even at 50 he still looks like he's in Point Break form so I'm sure we'll see him utilizing every inch of the stage.

I'm guessing they'll have at least 90 minutes of the bill, which isn't enough to cover all their greatness but it will do. Coachella this year is a strong lineup but RHCP make it epic. Can't wait.

marc

marc

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R3hab >> Skydrop into Scottsdale [AXIS RADIUS]

Posted on March 10, 2013 by marc

R3hab >> skydropped back into the desert last night for a Republic set in Scottsdale. Like every Saturday evening at AXIS RADIUS, Steve Levine Entertainment [SLE] and Disco Donnie Presents brought in another big name in the artistry of EDM and this time old town was graced by a Dutch master in DJ R3hab.

R3hab rolled into the disco just before midnight rocking black shades and a hoodie. He started plugging in and getting set up while Scottsdale's own MCB was still on the decks and mixing in the 'Love Comes Again' from Tiesto/BT. Within a few minutes of that classic track, R3hab was ready to rock. He opened his set with his very own 'Skydrop' and immediately got the jam-packed floor vertical and tomahawking their glowies.

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'Skydrop' is such a nasty track. That juicy wobble combo set the tone perfectly for how the rest of that set would go. There were lots of build-ups, then breaks for the loud crowd hollers to sound and of course the ever insane beat plummets all night long.

At several points throughout the night, there was a dude that would magically appear from behind the decks and throw 10-15 light sticks into the hands of the crowd. He was spreading them out with conviction too and somehow getting them upstairs with some tosses. The Suns Gorilla would be impressed.

R3hab remixed everything from Skrillex to Zedd to his Dutch crony Afrojack. My favorite sequence was about an hour into the set when he mixed 'Awooga' into Benassi-Nero then Swedish House Mafia plus Knife Party like whoa [listen below]. It was a super strong and crunchdafied set that was as colorful as he threw it down at Soundwave last year. I'm glad SLE and DDP got him back here and hopefully it's not too long before he's back again.

marc

marc

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Photos >> SICK SHOW: Matt and Kim [Marquee Theatre]

Posted on March 10, 2013 by marc

Matt and Kim >> performed at Marquee Theatre last night for their Tempe make-up show last October. Drummer Kim Schifino was healthy enough to play this time around but this performance by the duo was sick as fuck.

Matt and Kim >> Marquee Theatre

Kim actually had an ankle injury apparently sustained from walking while texting according to Matt. She was rocking a huge RoboCop boot on stage but that didn't stop her from stomping the shit of out that kick drum all night long, dancing on top of her set and even walking across the sea made up of Marquee's sellout crowd.

This was my 5th time seeing Matt and Kim and I just love the energy this couple brings to the stage every time. They pride themselves in always creating a party during their performances and that's obvious in their constant efforts to get the crowd involved. Like the last time they were in Tempe for Fall Frenzy, they threw out hundreds of balloons for the crowd to blow up and continually keep sailing through the air.

They performed a perfect blend of all their fun singles new and old as well as a healthy dose of drum-keyboard covers from Sugarhill Gang to my favorite 'Better Off Alone' by Alice Deejay.

They'll be playing some festivals like both weekends of Ultra in Miami in addition to some ad hoc US cities before wrapping up tour this summer. Then I assume it's back to the studio to work on more fun for my earhole. They said they'd be back  to the desert before we know it so whenever that is, I'll be there and you definitely should too.

marc

marc

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Matt and Kim >> Lightning Tour: Saturday in Tempe

Posted on March 6, 2013 by marc

Matt and Kim >> return to the valley this weekend at Marquee Theatre to wrap up the left coast leg of their Lightning Tour. Saturday's show with Papa will be their make-up show that was initially scheduled this past October when the new album first dropped.

Matt and Kim >> Lightning Tour

The fun-loving duo always brings an absurd amount of energy and shenanigans to their performances. Matt tickles the synth like a madman while Kim bangs a mean set of drums and every show there is always some sort of surprise to make the show memorable. This will be my 5th time seeing Matt and Kim do it live and I'm super excited for what antics will ensue this time around.

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The show will definitely be the highlight of the weekend. It starts at 8pm this Saturday and tickets are still available online so be sure to get up in this. LET'S GO! LET'S GO! LET'S GO! LET'S GO!

marc

marc

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New Releases >> March: The Strokes | WAVVES | Depeche Mode | Justin Timberlake..

Posted on March 3, 2013 by marc

March >> is in the air and many new releases come marching in this month including a few of this millenium's game changers as well as some veterans who made similar impacts nearly half a century ago.

The Strokes

Hall of Fame artists David Bowie and Eric Clapton continue to do their thing with new LP's The Next Day and Old Sock, respectively, which will make nearly 50 solo releases between between them and over 130 years in age. They are fucking old but their remarkable and undying talent persists.

The aforementioned plus Depeche Mode, Justin Timberlake and WAVVES offer us a March full of fresh cuts to be excited for but I am most excited about Comedown Machine which is the 5th studio release from The Strokes. After 2 years to this month following their last album Angles we'll see what focus and the continuity does for one of my favorite bands ever. I really liked Julian Casablancas' solo project Phrazes For The Young but for me, 8 solid tracks wasn't worth the hiatus and 5 years in between their 3rd and 4th albums.

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Comedown Machine already sounds to be starting off well with the accelerated release of their first single 'All The Time' thanks to a code-savvy web ninja who leaked the details of the upcoming album a few weeks ago. Its rock-poppy tempo and a contained Casablancas is characteristic of the singles they've released in the past but I'm expecting to hear a lot more driving vocals over heavy riffs and continuing on what was dabbled with on their 2011 release.

That said, mark 26th on your calendar for new shit from The Strokes along with the Tuesdays corresponding to the other March notables. Oh and keep your fingers crossed for a prompt scheduling of a Comedown Machine tour.

David Bowie The Next Day >> 3.12

Eric Clapton Old Sock >> 3.12

Justin Timberlake The 20/20 Experience >> 3.19

Walk Off The Earth R.E.V.O. >> 3.19

Depeche Mode Delta Machine >> 3.26

The Strokes Comedown Machine >> 3.26

WAVVES Afraid Of Heights >> 3.26

marc

marc

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Video Vault >> Fabolous + Bone Thugs-N-Harmony [2007]

Posted on March 1, 2013 by marc

1st Of Tha Month >> is today and it's also Flashback Friday what what. Hey, my niggaz we havin' a wonderful day and this calls for a treat from the vault from back in tha 0-7 when Bone Thugs took over Phoenix with tha F-A B-O L-O U-S.

Fabolous >> Celebrity Theatre

Okay enough of that silly vernacular. For whatever reason I pretty much have only been to Celebrity Theatre for standup comedy and hip-hop shows. I like the concept of a slowly rotating stage in the middle of a moderate sized venue but I don't like to sit for musical performances and the last few times I've been there it smelled and sounded like shit. Nonetheless, this show was the shit. For me that was the first time seeing both Fabolous and them thugs.

From what I remember while being hotboxed by 2,500 blunts, Fab laid down nearly every track from Street Dreams [there are a lot, still one of my favorite go-to hip-hop albums] to all jams on Ghetto Fabolous, Real Talk and From Nothin' To Somethin' which just dropped that summer. The only thing I didn't like about his performance was his annoying hype-guy but then again when does that guy actually enhance the show? Hype-guys are the worst. Annoying!

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Anyway, the headlining Bone Thugs-N-Harmony only had Krayzie, Layzie and Wish representing Cleveland that night. I don't remember why Bizzy Bone wasn't there but all of his verses were simply omitted which I guess made each song 25% shorter and thus allowed them to fit in 25% more songs into the evening? You can call me Math Bone. Now that I think of it, every other time I've seen Bone Thugs in concert there's always one missing. It was Krayzie Bone who was absent last time I saw them at Marquee Theatre in Tempe.

But they are great live. They opened with 'Flow Motion' and of course closed it out with '1st Of Tha Month'. Them thugs sound just like they do on the albums and they truly are N-Harmony when they flow together. No hype-guys either. I don't think I even noticed them take sips of water and with all those tongue-twisting vocals that's just insane. It's crazy to think that they've been doing this for 20 years. You know what else is crazy? Creepin On Ah Come Up and E. 1999 Eternal were 2 of my first 'Parental Advisory Explicit Lyrics' discs I ever owned. Enjoy the throwbacks.

marc

marc

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