Arizona concert promotion group Stateside Presents continues to amaze me with the quality of acts they bring to the Valley. I mentioned before how stoked I was to see bands such as Best Coast, Land Of Talk, Surfer Blood and Ra Ra Riot, and the newest batch of upcoming shows is outta control.
The who's who of indie and alternative music, including Deerhunter, Joanna Newsom, Jimmy Eat World, Oh No Oh My, Delorean, Frightened Rabbit, School Of Seven Bells, Holy Fuck, Portugal. The Man, Built To Spill, Matt & Kim, Deer Tick, Minus The Bear, Azure Ray and Sufjan Stevens are gracing us with their presence courtesy of Stateside.
The shows I'm most amped for:
Phantogram / Josiah Wolf / Jared Alan
Friday, Oct. 8 | 10 p.m. showtime | Club Sanctum | $10 adv. / $13 day of
After the amazing Silversun Pickups show and Tuesday's announcement of Best Coast's tour stop about 10 minutes from my house, it's only fitting to preview what's ahead in the realm of live entertainment. And there's much to discuss. Phoenix actually has a legit music scene, something my previous place of residence was desperately lacking.
Don't get me wrong. The Jonas Brothers, Britney Spears and Nickelbacks of the world came to Fresno, which is great if you're into manufactured music without substance. And those types of acts also play the Phoenix area, but there is an indie scene to balance out the garbage. Fresno had non-mainstream tours visit, but they were few and far between.
For quality up-and-coming artists, music lovers had to make 44-mile trip down Highway 99 to Visalia, where Aaron Gomes and his Sound N Vision team have cultivated an indie live show hotbed.
Fresno's little sister obviously has better taste in tunes, bringing the likes of Modest Mouse, Rogue Wave, Helio Sequence, The Thermals, Akron/Family, Great Northern, Menomena, Sonic Youth's Thurston Moore, Dirty Projectors, Pinback, Jay Reatard, Maria Taylor, Land Of Talk, Times New Viking, The Tallest Man on Earth, Conor Oberst, M. Ward, Whispertown 2000, Vivian Girls, Local Natives, Los Campesinos!, Vampire Weekend, Surfer Blood, Titus Andronicus, Ra Ra Riot and Best Coast's Bethany Cosentino's old band Pocahaunted to town.
So what's a girl looking for those same types of shows in Phoenix to do? Let's just say Stateside Presents fills the void in my indie music heart.
Check out their Web site for the entire offering of live shows, including stops by The National, !!!, Sea Wolf, The Tallest Man On Earth, Menomena, Ratatat, Sharon Jones & The Dap-Kings, Spoon, School Of Seven Bells, Matt & Kim, Azure Ray, Built To Spill and of Montreal.
It's like Christmas each day ... Waiting to unwrap the next sonic gift from Stateside. And this is the concert goodness waiting under my tree:
Titus Andronicus / Magic Kids / Candy Claws
Friday, Sept. 3 | 9:30 p.m. showtime | The Trunk Space | $12 adv.
The Walkmen / Japandroids / Dan Mangan
Friday, Sept. 17 | 8 p.m. showtime | Clubhouse Music Venue | $14 adv. / $15 day of
Surfer Blood / The Drums / The Young Friends
Monday, Sept. 27 | 8 p.m. showtime | Clubhouse Music Venue | $14 adv. / $15 day of
Land Of Talk / Suuns
Tuesday, Oct. 12 | 8 p.m. showtime | Rhythm Room | $10 adv. / $12 day of
And my most-anticipated show in the second-half of the year ... Even though I was a little disappointed by "Crazy For You," I'm still looking forward to seeing what Bethany Cosentino and Bobb Bruno can do live.
Best Coast / Sonny & The Sunsets
Tuesday, Nov. 9 | 8 p.m. showtime | Rhythm Room | $13 adv. / $15 day of
