AZ Vibe – The Ultimate Phoenix Entertainment Resource

Found a new Salsa Dancing event in Tempe that I’m going to go check out in the coming weeks.

Every Friday at the Olive Branch in Tempe is Salsa Night.  From what I can gather, there are lessons before hand followed by Salsa Dancing for the rest of the night.

Cover – $8

Everything starts at 9:00 PM and goes until 2:00 AM

Olive Branch
3221 South Mill Ave
Tempe, AZ 85282

480-966-9829

Popularity: 7% [?]

This is going to be an ongoing project of mine where I’m going to be looking for places to eat between midnight and 6:00 AM that aren’t places like Denny’s.

I don’t know about you but after going to the bars or just going out on the town, there’s nothing like eating a big ol’ plate of scrambled eggs, bacon, and hash browns at 3:30 in the morning.  Especially if you are hangin’ with your friends re-hashing the evening’s events before everyone heads home to crash or, in the case of some cities, finding another club that’s open between 2:00 AM and 7:00 AM (I’m pretty sure places like that don’t exist in Phoenix).

Anyhoo, the first place to check out is in the perfect location as it’s no where near any major clubs in Scottsdale or Phoenix which means that people won’t pack the place for hours waiting for a table.  The place is the 5 and Diner in Phoenix near Camelback just a block west of highway 51.

The 5 and Diner is open 24 hours a day seven Days a week and offers a full menu at all hours of the day.

I went there Early Sunday Morning around 2ish with a hardcore jones for their Hot Fudge Sunday.  (In retrospect I probably should not have had it as I didn’t get to sleep until 5:30-6:00 AM. Oh well.) The place is pretty small inside like a classic diner should be but they have extra seating outside and ample parking.

I discovered this particular 5 and Diner when I first came to Phoenix as I like to drive around new towns and explore.  I found so many cool places in Seattle, San Diego, and now Phoenix in this manner and it’s the best way to get familiar with a city as well.

The 5 and Diner is a great place to go and just get a quick bite to eat.  It’s not the highest quality of food but it’s good eatins’.

5 and Diner Address:

5220 N. 16th Street
Phoenix, AZ 85016

URL to a map of the Restaraunt:

http://www.mapquest.com/maps/map.adp?searchtype=address&country=US&addtohistory=&searchtab=home&address=5220+N.+16th+Street+&city=Phoenix&state=AZ&zipcode=85016

Popularity: 5% [?]

I’m probably going to be reviewing one event this week but that is questionable as I’ll be on a date at the time.  Anyways, I’m in the process of finalizing the final categories of the site, adding more events.  However, I will be preparing the marketing of this site for the press and other media types which will keep me busy.  I’ll keep posting events as normal but I probably won’t be heading out to any events this week.

Popularity: 2% [?]

Long story short this was a one album collaboration of Chris Cornell (as in Audioslave) and Matt Cameron both of Soundgarden at the time (Matt now plays drums for Pearl Jam) and members of Pearl Jam.  Chris Cornell wrote the songs as a tribute to his former roommate and lead singer of Mother Love Bone.  The result is one of the most potent albums ever put to tape/vinyl.

The first two videos are of Temple of the Dog playing live at one of their first shows at the now defunct Off-Ramp Cafe in Downtown Seattle (Featured in the Movie ‘Singles’):

Reach down:

Your Savior:

All night thing (Studio):

Pushin Forward Back:

Wooden Jesus:

Popularity: 1% [?]

Right now I’m listening to a CD/EP I bought from one of the bands at last night’s showcase, Black Carl.  Great fucking CD by the way.

Ok this was my first local music show in the Phoenix area and man was it an interesting one.  Showcases generally are the absolute best way to check out local music as organizations like the Phoenix New Times filters out all the crap bands and puts up the cream of the crop for the different music genre showcases.  It seems that the New Times is hosting seven different shows over seven different weekends in seven different places.  Last night was a bunch of eclectic artists that shared zero characteristics with one another.  If I haven’t stated it already, I’m always open to listening to new bands.  I should also note that in addition to mainstream music such I’m also into weird shit like this:

(By the way, that’s Mike Patton from Faith No More on vocals)

…and this (The Boredoms)…

So this showcase was perfect for my sometimes weird tastes but it wasn’t for everyone’s tastes, mainly the redneck butt rockers that made up the sound crew.

Now before I begin I want give you some background as to the mental capacity of the sound crew at that event:

Sure Beavis and Butthead could hook up the speakers and make them work, any trained monkey can do that.  The thing is that they didn’t know the difference between their assholes and their elbows when it came to properly mixing the sound.  Now add into the mix that since none of these band resembled Slayer or any other metal band the sound guys hated it and it seemed to me they were simply sabotaging the sound of the entire event.  So keep that in mind…

Anyways, the showcase was, for the most part, OK as eclectic music can mean anything in this day and age.  I wasn’t a fan of the headliners as they didn’t offer any sort of variety in their set and seemed to play the same kind of thing over and over again.  People left in droves after the third song of the same kind of thing playing over and over again.  They were like a violin version of Morphine but without the chohones.

<Now I’m listening to the music off of Yourchestra’s MySpace Page>

The Two bands that were really fun to watch was Black Carl and Yourchestra even though Beavis and Butthead behind the soundboards really, really fucked up their sound. Both offer fresh new looks at music and present their sound with ease.  One other thing I noted is that both bands are having fun just being up there and playing which reflects on the overall crowd mood as well.

The rest of the bands on the bill didn’t convince me of their sound or message at ll as they could not fully deliver vocally or musically (mostly vocally) their image.  It’s not really worth it to go into the band as they all needed polishing of some part of their shows.  All the bands had some great aspects to their music but they all (with the exception of Black Carl and Yourchestra) need to go back and work on their live performances.

<back to listening to Black Carl’s CD>

So the verdict…

The Showcase overall…meh

Black Carl and Yourchesrta…Thunderbitchin’ -- Anytime you see either of these two names around town…go see them!

Black Carl’s MySpace Page:

http://www.myspace.com/iamblackcarl

Yourchestra’s MySpace Page:

http://profile.myspace.com/index.cfm?fuseaction=user.viewprofile&amp;friendID=80000039

Popularity: 2% [?]

If you haven’t heard, the new Batman Movie, The Dark Knight, broke the single day box office record by pulling in $66 Million Dollars.  So of course I’m going to go see it tonight….

http://ap.google.com/article/ALeqM5iUrp4FEo_7YQxrTpBze-Hk4ob7PAD9218NA00

Popularity: 1% [?]

Well, this is the first of many local shows that will be posted here.  This seems to be a local showcase of local eclectic bands out in Mesa for only $5.  From what I’ve been reading, this looks to be a pretty good and varied lineup of bands.  Probably will go out to see this tomorrow night.  Not 100% sure yet.

Price: $5

Papillons Too (formerly Cell Block Venue)
525 S. Gilbert Rd.
Mesa, AZ

Popularity: unranked [?]

This looks like a great class for those of you who get out and about on your bike and don’t ride it that often.  This is also probably good to go to before any more bike related events get posted in the near future (hint hint)

According to the REI webpage, the class consists of:

Maintaining your road or mountain bike can be a daunting task when you don’t know where to begin. The most that people will have done is change a flat tire or put some oil on their chain. The purpose of this clinic is to demystify the challenge of keeping your bicycle in good working order. It is also recommended that interested participants attend this free clinic before progressing to the paid comprehensive bike maintenance clinic.

When: 7/17

Time: 6:30 PM

Location:
REI Tempe
1405 W Southern Ave (at Priest)
Tempe, AZ 85282
(480) 967-5494

http://www.rei.com/stores/store_event_detail.jsp?pid=2F659914D40525BC915DFA9BBBA81D79&template_id=30&template_family=webDetail&ignore_cache=1

Popularity: 2% [?]

One of the funniest comedians of our time is coming to Phoenix for two shows at the Orpheum Theater in Dowtown Phoenix.  Most of you will know him from the FX show ‘The Riches’ but he’s more known for his unusual brand of comedy.  If you have the chance to go see Eddie Izzard do it.  This is a must see event.

Eddie Izzard

Tue, Jul 22, 2008 8:00 PM
Wed, Jul 23, 2008 8:00 PM

ORPHEUM THEATRE
203 W ADAMS ST
WED JUL 23 2008 8:00 PM

Tickets for the July 22nd show

http://www.ticketmaster.com/event/1E004063BDF4ADAB?artistid=851852&majorcatid=10002&minorcatid=51

Tickets for the July 23rd show:

http://www.ticketmaster.com/event/1E004063BE20ADCA?artistid=851852&majorcatid=10002&minorcatid=51

Here’s a clip from one of his classic routines:

Popularity: 5% [?]

Ringo Starr & His All-Starr Band featuring Colin Hay, Billy Squier, Hamish Stuart, Edgar Winter, and Gary Wright

Thursday, July 31, 2008
Doors: 6:30 pm | Show: 7:30 pm

Tickets – $35.00 – $125.00

Dodge Theatre
400 West Washington
Phoenix, AZ 85003

Phone 602-379-2800

For more information and tickets:

http://www.livenation.com/event/getEvent/eventId/325948

Popularity: 1% [?]

Slam Poetry – Every 2nd and 4th Wednesday
8pm-10pm

 
1st Place – Cash Prize

$5 cover

Slam Poetry hosted by Jeremiah Blue

Fair Trade Cafe
1020 North 1st Ave
Phoenix, AZ 85003

Behind Trinity Cathedral North of Roosevelt
In the heart of Downtown Phoenix

voice: 602.354.8150 ~ fax: 602.354.8186

Popularity: 1% [?]

I just downloaded the new single from Slipknot’s new album and it is friggin sick!  The new song is called Psychosocial and Slipknot hasn’t missed a step from their last album.

For those of you going to the Mayhem Festival on Friday this is a great preview of what’s to come.

Studio Version of Psychosocial

Live Version of Psyhosocial from Seattle stop of the Mayhem festival

Man this song owns!

Popularity: 1% [?]

Ok this is the first of my reviews of Gluten Free places to eat around the Valley.  If you have read the ‘How it works’ page on this site you will have noticed that I am not going to do restauraunt reviews as I’m allergic to the majority of the places (95% ++) in the Greater Phoenix Area.  The only exception to this rule will be Gluten-Free places to eat.  The first place I’m going to review that offers Gluten-Free food is the Gelato Spot (or the G-Spot).  The Gelato Spot is probably the closest version of true European Gelato you’re going to find on the West Coast (trust me on this).

So what is Gelato?  According to the Gelato Wikipedia page:

Gelato, or the plural Gelati, is Italian ice cream made from milk and sugar, combined with other flavorings. The gelato ingredients (after an optional pasteurization) are frozen while stirring to break up ice crystals as they form. Like high-end ice cream, gelato generally has less than 35% air, resulting in a denser and more flavorful product.

So basically you’re getting great tasting, quality ice cream with great ingredients.

Ok enough with the lesson.

The Gelato Spot is probably the best place not only to get a great snack but it’s a great place to take a date or just to hang out to do work.  According to the Gelato Spot website they have been voted ‘Best Ice Cream’ and ‘Best Place to be Seen in Arizona’.  They have free wi-fi so those of you with those mobile computer type thingys can get some work done.

The Gelato Spot offers 36 different flavors per day and have 150 total flavors that are rotated in and out at various intervals.  You can get gelato for two for under $10 but sometimes it may go over $10.  Once you see all the flavors they have you’ll see why it’s often commonplace to spend over $10 for two people…there’s just too many killer flavors to choose from.

Now if you are someone who has to eat Gluten Free food make sure you ask the Manager which flavors are gluten free as the Gelato Spot is not 100% gluten free (More like 90-97% Gluten-Free).

For those of you who can eat gluten don’t get turned off by this review.  A sign of a Gluten Free restaurant is that they more often than not will serve as close to 100% natural foods as possible.  So if you want something that is sinful, delicious, and (for the most part) good for you, check out the Gelato Spot.  You won’t be disappointed.

For more information, locations, hours, and things like that check out the Gelato Spot website:

http://www.gelatospot.com/

Popularity: 15% [?]

Ok this is a recommendation from…let’s just call her uber hottie from the Gym I go to.  Anyways, we got talking about how we’re both relatively new in town and how we’re kinda bored of the getting hammered/club scene and we were looking for something new to do.  We exchanged tips based on some things that we did and one of the places she recommended was ‘First Fridays in Phoenix’.  She briefly told me about it and I Googled it when I got back to my pad.  Anyways, this seems to be a bigger and more organized Art Walk than the one in Old Town Scottsdale.  It starts at 6:00 PM and according to the First Fridays website:

We suggest you start at the Phoenix Public Library, located just south of McDowell Road on Central Avenue.

Stop inside to get a first Friday brochure, that includes all the member galleries, their locations in the downtown Phoenix area, and the best shuttle bus route that will get you out and about! That’s right – shuttle buses.

So basically it seems to be a better funded and more interesting Art Walk type of event in the Valley.  I’m definitely checking this out on the first Friday of August.

Popularity: 4% [?]

This is the first post in a new Category called ‘Outdoors Stuff’. There won’t be very many entries in this category right now due to it being the Monsoon season and triple digit temperatures. In the odd day that it’s cool enough to go out I wanted to draw up a simple map of the Scottsdale Greenbelt based on one of the shorter Bike Rides I used to train for a triathlon a few months ago.  You can go on some of the trail or all of it depending on how hot it becomes or how much you want to explore the belt.  Granted, if the Monsoons dump a ton of rain many parts of the Greenbelt will be closed from flooding due to the crappy drainage there is in the Greenbelt.

Here’s a detailed map of the Greenbelt trail From Scottsdale to Mill Ave in Tempe and back.

Popularity: 40% [?]