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PHOENIX — Lindsey Stirling, the awe-inspiring dancing violinist, brought her Brave Enough Tour to Comerica Theatre last night. Hailing from Gilbert, Arizona, it’s no surprise that the venue posted low ticket warnings on social media, and a horde of fans came out to see her live.
High production light shows and other grand visual effects are a staple of her concerts, and they make for a truly magical experience. Watching her spirit take flight when she does what she was meant to do, and fought to succeed, sends chills through your body. Lindsey Stirling is a strong inspiration and encouragement for her fans, especially in Arizona, to aspire for great things and persevere.
PHOENIX— One day after the release of their ninth studio album Integrity Blues, as well as an intimate in-store performance and signing at Zia Records (Mesa) in homage to their roots, Arizona’s own Jimmy Eat World returned to the stage for 93.3 ALT AZ’s Zombie Prom Music Festival.
Now more than halfway through the U.S. leg of their album release tour, J.E.W. was slated as the night’s headliner, preceded by a long-awaited performance by pop-punk legend Good Charlotte. The full lineup also included The Struts, Lewis Del Mar, Barns Courtney, K. Flay, and The Hunna.
It’s hard to believe both of these iconic bands have been dominating the alternative rock scene since the early nineties, famed for timeless hits like Good Charlotte’s “Anthem” (2002) and Jimmy Eat World’s “The Middle.” (2001). Blood-spattered prom dresses and tattered tuxedos speckled the lawn of Fear Farm this past Saturday while undead fans began spilling through venue gates as early as 2:30p.m.
Good Charlotte
Following a Steven Tyler-esque performance by The Struts frontman Luke Spiller later that night, Good Charlotte collectively stepped into the spotlight for the first time in five years. The group announced an end to their hiatus in November of 2015, and have since released their sixth studio album Youth Authority, a revitalizing tribute to the heavy-handed, punk rock sound Good Charlotte fans have come to know and love.
All at once the intro to “Anthem” roared across the stage, lights throbbing in rhythm as onlookers burst into a sea of fist-pumps, audibly singing along to every word. Good Charlotte’s drummer Dean Butterworth was unable to accompany his bandmates to their comeback performance. They were, however joined by Tony Palermo of post-hardcore band Papa Roach. Joel went on to explain that Tony had learned the setlist on his way to the show, with no rehearsals.
The energy of the crowd seemed to mirror the intensity of the music, surging through classic throwbacks like “The Story of My Old Man,” “Girls & Boys,” and “Riot Girl.” As the audience raged with excitement, Joel’s voice once again took over the speakers.
“We were off for five years! We made a new record and I want to play a song off of it. This is our first night on tour. If I teach you a song, will you sing it with me?”
His question of course, was met with a resounding and exuberant, “Yes!”
Next up on the setlist was “Life Changes” off of Good Charlotte’s latest album. Despite having been released in May of 2016, this track sounds like it could have been off their first album The Young and the Hopeless back in 2002. The band followed up their latest hit with Avenged Sevenfold collaboration, “The River” and lastly, “Lifestyles of the Rich and Famous.” Needless to say, Good Charlotte hasn’t lost their touch — and they still put on one hell of a show. (View Full Setlist)
Jimmy Eat World
After a brief soundcheck, members of Jimmy Eat World took the stage one-by-one. Some might say that Good Charlotte would be a tough band to follow after a year off from music, but Jimmy Eat World is one of those bands that is absolutely electrifying when seen live. Zombie Prom was slated to be J.E.W.’s first major Arizona performance since the Summer Ends Music Festival in 2015.
As a shimmering blanket of blue and violet fog billowed out above the stage, Jim Adkins humbly stepped forward, greeting the crowd as if we were all old friends. “We are Jimmy Eat World! Originally from Mesa, Arizona. Thanks for being a bunch of dead people,” he joked. The first few notes of “Get Right” echoed across the venue, and the audience was once again overjoyed, yelling out song titles in hopes of hearing their favorite tracks played live. Although Jimmy Eat World has a definite down-to-earth quality about them, their stage presence is one to be reckoned with.
Adkins and Linton seemed to become one with their instruments as the group passionately moved through popular songs like “Bleed American” and “I Will Steal You Back.” The authentic quality of Adkins’ vocals was especially evident as the band transitioned into a few newly released tracks including “You Are Free” and “Pass the Baby” — a particularly unique composition off of Integrity Blues due to its soulful metaphors, hard-rock undertones and one mega-explosive breakdown.
Saturday’s show also included “You With Me” and “Sure and Certain” off of Integrity Blues, among a myriad of other hits from previous records over the years. Of course, the night wouldn’t have been complete without a crowd-thumping performance of “The Middle” and “Sweetness,” each of us singing the lyrics back through every verse. It was the ultimate album homecoming party, with a robust 19-track set list to boot. (View Full Setlist)
PHOENIX — There’s nothing quite like seeing a show at an outdoor venue in the middle of Arizona’s monsoon season. Preceded by a torrential downpour and accompanying thunder and lightning, Marilyn Manson played at Ak-Chin Pavilion on Saturday, August 20, opening for headliner Slipknot.
The deluge started shortly after metalcore band Of Mice & Men took the stage to get the show rolling. Fans seated in the lawn area at the back of the venue probably weren’t expecting to need a towel, nor did they care. Front man Austin Carlile incited the crowd to cheers and shouts as the rain fell harder.
However, after Of Mice & Men finished their set, the show took a disappointing turn. An announcement came over the pavilion loudspeakers asking concert-goers to exit the venue and seek shelter. Due to the presence of rain and lightning, the show was being postponed until the storm passed. The announcement, unsurprisingly, was met with boos and fans chanting “Fuck that shit,” later changing their chants to “Rain or shine.”
It’s not surprising that concert-goers were disappointed. The show had already been postponed by more than a month due to Corey Taylor’s unexpected surgery after the Slipknot vocalist broke his neck without realizing it.
Many of the people in the back lawn left the venue or waited in their cars for the storm to pass. Others crowded into the walkways and stairways under the pavilion to take shelter. It wasn’t until just after 8 p.m. that the loudspeaker finally announced that the worst of the storm had passed and the show would go on. Fans filed back onto the lawn and into their seats in droves after waiting nearly one and a half hours for Manson’s set to begin.
With curtains up, “Bitch Better Have My Money” by Rihanna played over the speakers. Then when the curtains dropped, Manson was standing on the stage in a suit and tie, wearing his iconic gothic makeup. He opened the show with “Angel with the Scabbed Wings” from his 1996 album Antichrist Superstar.
“Technically, I may have caused that,” Manson joked about the rain. “You guys fucked with a fucking thunderstorm to be here. Thank you,” he said after playing “Disposable Teens.” “How many times does it rain in Phoenix? I’m just saying,” he continued. “Sometimes when you bring the sun, you get caught in the thunder.”
Manson followed up “Disposable Teens” with “No Reflection.” Then after joking that he was glad he was able to make the rain stop, he sang part of the chorus to David Bowie’s “Moonage Daydream.” Manson, who is an avid fan of Bowie’s music, wrote a touching tribute to the iconic singer songwriter for Rolling Stone after the announcement of Bowie’s death earlier this year.
Manson then sang “mOBSCENE” from his 2003 album The Golden Age of Grotesque, followed by “Cupid Carries a Gun” from his latest album, The Pale Emperor, singing the lyrics “pound me the witch drums” as he pounded his mic on the stage. “I’m sorry to make you all wait,” Manson told concert-goers, referencing the lightening again. “But now we can all say what we wanted to say—we love hate,” he said as he launched into “Irresponsible Hate Anthem.”
“Do that again,” he told drummer Gil Sharone, making him re-play the drum solo at the very end of “Irresponsible Hate Anthem.” “I know. I know. Cocaine is a powerful drug,” he said before playing “The Dope Show,” changing the lyrics to, “drugs, they say, are made in fucking Phoenix.” Afterward, Manson came back on the stage in stilts and arm braces to sing his cover of “Sweet Dreams (Are Made of This).”
The highlight of the performance came when a huge podium was added to the stage during a set change. Manson stepped up to it and began his sermon. “And behold, there was a great red dragon, and its name was Phoenix,” he preached before launching into “Antichrist Superstar.” During the song, he set a Bible on fire before tossing it aside, with huge plumes of hell-lit smoke bursting from the front of the stage every time he screamed “Repent!”
Manson wound down the show with an emotional performance of “Coma White”—one of the most controversial tracks off the Mechanical Animals album—ending the song by letting the mic fall over as he stepped back off the stage. Then he wrapped it up with, perhaps his most well-known song, “The Beautiful People.”
By the time the show ended, the night skies were clear and not a drop of rain was falling. No rain checks required.
PHOENIX — Brand New came to Comerica Theatre alongside Modest Mouse for their co-headlining 2016 tour. The show came very shortly after the July releases of a 10″ EP called 3 Demos, Reworked, and a 7″ single of Mene. The band started touring on June 1 in Vancouver, and will finish on July 31 in Portland.
The young crowd of Phoenicians might have had viral case of “the Mondays” spreading amongst them, or perhaps all of Brand New’s die-hard fans from the early 2000s were stuck “adulting”; because as Brand New took took the dark stage guided by flashlights, the audience’s hush with an occasional lackluster “WOO!” was equivalent to that of a crowd at a local pub who weren’t quite sure what they were in for. But without a hint of concern or scolding, the band went along with in it good humor by sushing the sparse cheers. Frontman Jesse Lacey whispered their introduction and title of the first song.
With their signature sound and high energy accompanied by strobe lights, Brand New woke them up and rocked their socks off. The audience was transfixed during their moody downtempo songs, and they showed their love for the rest of the show!
SCOTTSDALE Ariz. — Equipped with a new lineup after a six-year hiatus, Cali power-pop band Rooney’s first gig of their tour had the crowd sh-sh-shakin’ every moment of their performance! The dimly-lit concert at Pub Rock was opened with local Americana/Pop band Luxxe, followed by Cheeto-tossing G-punk band New Beat Fund from Los Angeles.
The tour follows the release of Rooney’s new album “Washed Away“; and the first single from the album is “My Heart Beats 4 U”.
Washed Away (Album Art)
“Rooney is my baby and I really love it and I miss it. I came to a place where I felt creatively ready to make new Rooney music. On Washed Away, I wrote, produced, engineered, mixed and performed all of the songs which, I hope, will serve as a direct line from me to you. I hope you enjoy it.” – Robert Schwartzman, lead singer. (Source: RooneyMusic.com)
The majority of the crowd appeared to consist of young new fans , which is great for the future of Rooney! Robert gave a heartfelt thank you to those that have been loyal to the band from the very beginning.
Check out our photos (below) of Rooney performing at Pub Rock Live in Scottsdale, Arizona on July 9, 2016:
Photos of We, Beloved performing at Shady Park in Tempe, Arizona on May 28, 2016. We, Beloved was the first opening band for Jane N’ The Jungle at their music video premiere and concert. (Check out our photo albums of second opener Korbe in the Moment, and headliner Jane N’ The Jungle!)
