We are proud to announce the launching of the AZ Vibe Business Directory!

Click here to go to the new AZ Vibe Business Directory!

We wanted to give small to large businesses the opportunity to get their companies noticed through our site as well as giving our readers the opportunities to connect with local businesses in the area! We thought a business directory would be perfect for that purpose!

As we have been growing over the years, we have found that there are tremendous companies, events and organizations in the Greater Phoenix Area that we just may not get to cover right away. We want to give those businesses the opportunity to get listed here and have our readers connect with you!

Here’s how the site will work. The minimum submission cost is only $20. You will be listed for one calendar year, you will have the opportunity to describe your business in detail, and list three key links/URL’s to the important sections of your website. For small businesses and businesses just getting started, a submission in our directory will also help in building good inbound links to your site which helps in your search engine rankings.

The $20 fee will guarantee a listing in the directory. However, the more you pay, the higher and more visible your listings will be in the directory.

The $20 fee will be offered for a limited time only so act now before prices go up!!!

If you are a registered charitable organization, please contact us via this link and we can make arrangements to get your organization and/or event listed at no charge!

Submissions we do not accept at this time are political or pornographic related.

If you have any questions, comments or concerns please contact via the e-mail in this page or just leave a comment on this article!

Click here to go to the new AZ Vibe Business Directory!

We have just rolled out our new integrated Photo slide shows and what better way to show it off than some photos from this past weekend’s Uproar Festival at Tempe Beach Park. Bands featured in the slideshow are Airbourne, HELLYEAH, Halestorm, Stone Sour, and Avenged Sevenfold.

We’ll have our writeup of the event out in a bit. For now….enjoy.

This past weekend, a who’s who of the Phoenix culinary world descended on the JW Marriott Desert Ridge Resort for ‘Phoenix Cooks’.  I attended ‘Phoenix Cooks’ with a wine expert friend of mine who had attended previous editions of the festival.  She had told me that this was the biggest she had ever seen this event and I proceeded to theorize with her that perhaps this is a representation of how the Phoenix culinary/foodie has evolved in such a short time.

Then it dawned on me.

That’s exactly what’s going on.

Sure, ‘Phoenix Cooks’ was a great fundraiser raising money for a tremendous cause (Phoenix Children’s Hospital).  However, I look upon the afternoon I spent at JW Marriott Desert Ridge Resort tasting, smelling and just drinking in the charged atmosphere of a thriving foodie and culinary culture.  A culture that has just begun to spring some deep roots in the greater Phoenix Area.

The creativity and passion of the various chefs was on full display everywhere you looked.  From the samples, to the cooking lessons, right down to the food presentations, Phoenix Cooks was a living, breathing example of the thriving culinary scene in the greater Phoenix area.

Some thoughts on the great food I had:

Fairmont Scottsdale – Without a doubt the best presentation of all of ‘Phoenix Cooks’.  When you looked at their display from afar you saw a 7 foot cake that was fresh out of the Food Network’s ‘Ace of Cakes’.  However, when you approached the cake you noticed that around the perimeter of each ‘cake’ level were tiny ice cream looking cones no more than two inches high.  Taking the place of the ice cream was wedding cake.

Skye – The paprika shrimp with White Cheddar Polenta was an extremely well made dish.  After the taste of the perfectly cooked shrimp was gone, digging into the White Cheddar Polenta was a secondary treat that was a perfect balance for the paprika shrimp.

JW Marriott Desert Resort and Spa #1 – Lobster Bisque/Corn Fritter – I’m a sucker for anything Lobster.  However, with Arizona being a landlocked state, good seafood dishes are really

JW Marriott Desert Resort and Spa #2 – Imagine a table full of chocolate(above)….homemade chocolate….all kind of varieties of chocolate.

Four Seasons Resort – A triple chocolate type of pudding with raspberry compote (in the plastic tube) that you can pour on the sample yourself.  Just an amazing presentation.

Bluewater Grill – I’m a sucker for Oyster shooters.

Arizona Beef Council/Arizona Pork Council – It was good timing that both Councils were here as I just received a huge shipment of meat from Midwestern Meats in Mesa.  Both Councils had a LARGE assortment of recipes on how to cook both beef and pork.

Now when it comes to negatives to Phoenix Cooks, there really weren’t any.  There were things that need to be worked on for next year.  For example….

• Make sure the Marriott staff isn’t stopping every….single….car…entering the resort.  They did this as I arrived and caused a very lengthy and unnecessary backup.
• There just wasn’t enough parking for everyone.  It also didn’t help that a construction company took up a bunch of the spots outside the venue.
• Some people might complain about the traffic jams in the aisles and in front of some vendors.  However, I would counter that some of the food providers didn’t account or plan properly for the crowd demand and were struggling to keep up.  The ‘Phoenix Cooks’ people should include for next year some sort of guide for vendors to use to help them plan ahead for making food for such a large crowd.

Editors Note: Photos from the H&M Grand Opening Celebration can be found on our Facebook Page http://www.facebook.com/azvibe

SCOTTSDALE-Thursday at noon marked the opening of the latest store in the international H&M chain.  H&M’s latest store was opened in the Scottsdale Fashion Square in the new East Wing with lots of fanfare and a huge gathering.

This gathering brought out many people like Christiana Quast, who was the first person in line to get into the new H&M, lined up at 8:30 PM Wednesday night outside the Scottsdale Fashion square she came simply for the “good deals, good clothes, and for the experience”.

The first 200 people in line were armed with gift cards that were worth anywhere between $10 and $300 to spend as they choose in the store.

The Grand Opening Celebration may be over but there are still good deals to be had at a store that is a popular destination for a wide variety of people with wide varieties of taste.

H&M in the Scottsdale Fashion Square is located at 7014 E Camelback Rd in Scottsdale.

This review stemmed from the debacle that was the Arizona Barbecue Festival, the most unorganized mess that I’ve ever seen in my life.

The moment I left that festival, I wanted Barbecue.  I had been looking forward to spending an afternoon there eating barbecue. After being let down by the Arizona Barbecue Festival, I was not going home until I had barbecue in my stomach.

I remembered a few months back that Dickey’s Barbecue Pit was up in North Scottsdale just east of Scottsdale Road and Shea. I haven’t heard anything about it but I’ve been meaning to stop in for some time now. So I headed up there without any pre-conceived notion about what to expect.

Well, that’s not entirely true.

I spend a lot of time on the Food Network watching tons of Barbecue related shows. I’ve seen places that serve up huge portions of various Barbecue products like they do at Lucille’s in the Tempe Marketplace. In the back of my mind, I was expecting Lucille’s quality and quantity from Dickey’s.

When I arrived at Dickey’s the first thing that caught my eye was their menu. The list of food on their menu was short and to the point (a good indicator of a quality restaurant): Barbecue sandwiches and barbecue meat platters. The Choices of meat was many and varied.  I had many barbecue items to choose from such as pulled pork, beef brisket, turkey breast, and ham.

I ended up getting the $10 – 2 Meat Plate which came with 2 Home-style sides (which was another great list to choose from), pickles, onion, and a roll.  I chose the Barbecue Beans and the Green Beans with Bacon as my two sides along with the chopped beef brisket and their ‘Fall off the bone’ pork ribs for my two meats.

When my plate arrived, it looked like this:

I was a little underwhelmed by the portions of meat provided (two small pork ribs?) mainly because of the exposure to barbecue on the Food Network and partially because I was REALLY hungry. Don’t get me wrong, this isn’t a negative against Dickey’s. What Dickey’s ’2 Meat plate’ lacked in portion size they MORE than made up for in the overall quality and taste of the entire meal.

The ‘Fall off the Bone’ port ribs did just that….fall off the bone as they were tender and delicious. The sliced beef brisket came without any sauce and was spectacular with and without the regular and spicy barbecue sauces.

Speaking of barbecue sauces, there were multiple Dickey’s barbecue sauces available at their condiment counter. I picked up some of their original and spicy sauces for my meal. For the first time in a long while of eating at barbecue establishments, a spicy barbecue sauce was actually spicy. Normally when I go to other barbecue places in the area and try their spicy barbecue sauces, it’s anything but spicy.

Regarding the side dishes, the barbecue beans were made perfectly and tasted even better after I mixed some spicy barbecue sauce into it. The green beans with bacon were a perfect accompaniment with my meal. The beans were cooked to the perfect point to where the crispness of the bean was still there but wasn’t overcooked and/or mushy. The only thing I didn’t like about the green beans side was that it was served in the water it was boiled in. Not a fan of that.

If there was a negative about Dickey’s (I wouldn’t even call it a negative) it was the size of the portions. Compared to places like Lucille’s, the portions were pretty puny. However, I noted that families were slowly coming in for dinner and then it dawned on me. In this part of town (North Scottsdale), big portions don’t cut the mustard. The portions have to be made according to who your clientele is. That and if I want to pig out on barbecue, I can head to Lucille’s in the Tempe Marketplace.

Dickey’s is a great family restaurant that serves up very high quality barbecue for a great price. If you’re a barbecue fan or want something new to try, you have to check out Dickey’s. You will not be disappointed by the quality and care they put into their food. They even have Drive-through and catering!

Dickey’s website
http://dickeys.com/

[mappress]

This article was meant to be a review of the Arizona Barbecue Festival. However, instead of a Barbecue festival I witnessed one of the most unorganized messes I’ve ever witnessed.

The Arizona Barbecue festival seemed to be a cooking festival for cash prizes but their website was so poorly constructed and unorganized that it was hard to tell what exactly was going on.

When I arrived at the festival site mid afternoon the entrance was unorganized chaos. There wasn’t a media contact to talk to, there wasn’t any guide, program or map to tell me what was going on and where. I didn’t discover that tickets needed to be purchased to buy food until I visited the first Barbecue booth. As I was walking back through the festival site to purchase tickets, which was located in a dirt field, there people were riding bicycles around people with kids and strollers. How do you allow bicycles into a family festival?!?!

I could go on but I think the point was made as to how poorly run this festival was.

Once I discovered that I needed to buy tickets at the entrance (the ticket purchasing area was buried by the unorganized mass of people clogging the entrance/exit to the festival. The only ATM on site was a portable on located out side the festival gates. Transactions per person took about five minutes each.

By this point I had enough. This was just a horrible experience.

I was hot, dirty, and I wanted Barbecue.

Fortunately I found some after I left this mess of a festival. That will be in my next review.

This past weekend was one of the best food events of the spring as ‘Devoured’ took place at the Phoenix Art Museum.  The great thing about having events such as Devoured during this time of year is that the weather more than likely agrees with the event.  This weekend the weather indeed agreed, save for some wind, and added a great vibe to the overall atmosphere of this great event!

Devoured operates as a non-profit organization to promote not only local businesses but to shine a light on the City of Phoenix as a culinary destination.

After entering the ‘Devoured’ grounds, I had a hard time determining where to begin first.  Instead of going to each booth one by one, I decided what any good foodie would do….throw caution to the wind and let their stomach be their guide.

I then dove into a promising world of what exactly the Phoenix Culinary scene has to offer.

From the Bacon Ice Cream by Sweet Republic, to the Meatballs and Butterscotch pudding (two separate dishes) served up by FnB, to the Apple Pie and Irish Cream ice cream served up by Udder Delights, to shrimp tostadas from Ticoz Resto-bar.  There was a cavalcade of wonderful food offerings that would satisfy the pickiest of eaters.

The best samples from Devoured that stood out in my mind were:

Sweet Republic’s Bacon Ice Cream – Bacon is so difficult to properly leverage as a dessert item yet Sweet Republic does it with such ease.   This recipe allows the bacon flavor to be present without overpowering the rest of the key ingredients while still classifying the concoction as a dessert.

Relish Burger Bistro – The newest addition to the Phoenician Resort offered Kobe Beef Sliders that were an example of perfection in the burger, bun, and the cheese. For the first time in my life, I ate a burger that didn’t need any form of condiments as the Kobe Beef sliders stood on its own as an amazing food offering.  For me and my palate, that’s a strong statement as to how amazing this burger tasted.

Ticoz Resto-Bar – They offered a great shrimp tosdada with an amazing tasting guacamole looking sauce.  Every bite was a perfect compliment to the sunny day at Devoured.

Hana Japanese Eatery – They served up chicken balls dipped in a Teriyaki Glaze that was out of this world.

Wine

One of the great aspects about Devoured was the selection of wines available.  However, many of them did not have any indication of what wineries they represented.

All of the restaurants represented at Devoured had cards in their stalls indicating what establishment they represented. However, not a single winery had an identifying card.  There were a handful of wineries that brought their own informational displays, some of which I recognized from other food festivals around the area.

I tried a good sampling of the wines available especially the wines from Arizona Stronghold.  If you don’t recognize the Arizona Stronghold winery, the owners were the subject of a recent documentary called ‘Blood into Wine’.  Also, one of the owners/winemakers is Maynard James Keenan, the lead singer of ‘Tool’.

Even with the notoriety of ‘Arizona Stronghold’, none of the wines at Devoured really stood out to me as a great or important wine.  Furthermore, none of them really complimented the foods available at Devoured.

Chef Demonstrations/Seminars

If there was one aspect of Devoured that really stood out to me, it was the Chef Demonstrations and the Seminars.  The Chef Demonstrations were top notch as many of the area’s top chefs just under an hour demonstrating their crafts.  The demonstrations were outside so they were well attended.  I’m a fan of the Food Network and love to watch just about any food related show so I can soak up recipes, food styles and food theory.

The Seminars, on the other hand, were not so well attended.

I personally didn’t know where the Seminars were until I practically stumbled onto the Tequila demonstration by Agave expert, Tania Oseguera.  Had I known where the seminars were located I probably would have attended most, if not all of them.  The selection of guest speakers that were available at Devoured would have satisfied any food lover.

Finally, one of the drawbacks to Devoured was not related to the food or the beverages, it was the lack of places for people to stand or sit with their newly acquired food/drink samples. Having to juggle camera equipment with food, napkin, and a wine glass wasn’t easy. I ended up dropping my camera near the end of the day because of the lack of available table/arm space. If there were more tables around that would have helped immensely for all who attended.

One of the best and most useful ideas I have seen to help alleviate the lack of arm space was at ‘Uncorked and Unplugged’ this past October.

Check out this below:

This was one of the most original ideas I’ve ever seen and was EXTREMELY useful while checking out all the food and drinks that were offered at ‘Uncorked and Unplugged’.  If the people that put Devoured together can come up with something like this, it would be a great benefit to their cause!

Finally, another thing I would love to see for next year is to expand the selection of restaurants represented here from mostly Central Phoenix establishments to restaurants valley wide.  If this festival is truly going to encompass what all of Phoenix has to offer, I would love to see a festival full of all that Phoenix has to offer.

When it comes to Art Festivals in the greater Phoenix area, I’m extremely hesitant to head to any individual art gallery (or cover it on this site for that matter) as the art scene is completely over-saturated. I’m not against art or artists it’s just that there are WAY too many art galleries around the area to the point that it desensitizes me and my desire to promote art on this site. I see a lot of the same things over and over again in the individual art galleries around the area and after a while it just gets…..boring.

Now the exception to this would be events like First Friday in downtown Phoenix. In the Roosevelt district, for example, you can go to the First Friday events and not see the same thing twice. This is what I LOVE about first Friday. You can never get tired of going month in and month out as everything is different every time you go.

Now when it comes to Art Festivals in the greater phoenix area, I’m on the fence in regards to my opinion of the festivals. I don’t hate them but I am skeptical about going. As I’ve said, I’m not really excited about the local art scene. However, I started this site specifically to shine the light on the cultural aspects of the Phoenix area that area residents should know about.

My opinion changed after I checked out the 40th Annual Scottsdale Arts Festival.

The thing that drew me to investigate this festival was that all the artists at the festival were 1) mostly from outside Arizona and 2) were hand picked to appear at the festival. Based on this alone, my desire to check out this festival was pretty high as there would be a great infusion of new artists to investigate.

Once I got to the festival it was like an artistic breath of fresh air. The amount and types of art at the festival more than kept my interest but it also fed my creative appetite to see how different people view the word around them. The types of art available ranged from photography, paintings, metal work, drawings, glass work, wood work and much more (check out the photos for samples). Just being around the artists and the many works they produced made me want to get out a pen an pad and start drawing myself at the festival.

On top of all this, the Scottsdale Arts Festival had music and some great food to choose from. The selection of music to listen to was as varied as the art available to view at the festival. A perfect match on such a sunny day.

Look, if you get the chance to go the Scottsdale Arts Festival next year, do it. The Scottsdale Arts Festival is one of the truly great area cultural events that makes Scottsdale and Phoenix such an amazing city to live in.

If you haven’t noticed, the best way to know what’s going on with the Club scene on Mill Avenue in Tempe and in Old Town Scottsdale is to check out Facebook for events going on around town on any given day.

When it comes to promoting events around the City of Phoenix, not everyone is on the same page on how to correctly promote events on Facebook. Even though AZ Vibe doesn’t promote club events, I personally get event notifications from every major club and event promoter in the area.  I know what works and what doesn’t.  The following are just some notes for all of you who use Facebook to help you promote your events around the area and get more people to your events.

1) Use a Facebook Fan Page and not a Facebook group or a Facebook user account for your promotions.

Fan Pages are the best option for letting people know about events as Facebook users can only have 5,000 friends.  In addition, Facebook will shut you down if they find out you are using a personal account for your business.  Also, if you add friends too fast to your personal account, they will flag your account and possibly shut it down.

The main reason that you don’t use a Facebook group to promote your events is that Facebook groups are designed for causes and not for promotions or events.  Yes I know you can create events with Facebook groups.  However, the Facebook developers did not have club promotions in mind when they programmed the ability for users to create and admin groups in Facebook.

The other reason you use a Facebook Fan Page for your promotions/events is because you can track metrics for your page.  Metrics are basically reports on how your fans interact with your page.  Facebook groups do not have tracking metrics.

Finally, using your personal Facebook account for your promotions or events just screams that you don’t have any clue what you are doing.  If you want to be considered a professional in the promotion of events use a Facebook Fan Page people!!

2) Groups have limits

As partially explained above, Facebook groups have limits on what they can do for both the user and the admin.  In addition the Facebook user can have only 300 groups maximum where as the limits on how many fan pages a given Facebook user can have is over 3,000.  I personally am at my 300 group limit and have to dump some promoters to bring on new ones.

3) Only one Facebook event for one club promotion/event

I don’t know how many times I get 2, 3, 4 invites from multiple parties for the same event.  When people do this it screams that not only are you unorganized but it makes me want to say ‘No’ to attending your events.

You only need one invite for one event from one Facebook fan page.

4) Notifications

The Notifications on Facebook is a touchy subject.   How much do you notify someone?  For this specific area of promoting your event, you’re going to have to do some trial and error to figure out what works best for you.  Why?  If there’s one thing I’ve learned in Phoenix since I moved here many moons ago is that there are two types of people when it comes to planning on what to do with their free time:

1) The type of person who plans in advance

2) The type of person who plans at the very last moment

This is what you have to use as a guide for notifications to find what works best for you and your promotions as every event is different.

5) If you’re not on Faceboook, why aren’t you?!?!?!

This one is for all the restaurants, clubs, and other promoters across the greater Phoenix Area who don’t leverage Facebook for your events.  I don’t know how much I can emphasize  MySpace may be used for the Phoenix Music scene (…and that’s about it) but Facebook is for Club, Cultural and other events that go on around the area.

If you’re not on Facebook promoting events, then get with the program!  If you don’t have the time to spend promoting on Facebook, hire someone!

Photos from today’s festivities have been posted to our Facebook Fan page:

http://www.facebook.com/azvibe

Videos from today’s festivities have been posted to our YouTube page:

http://www.youtube.com/azvibephx

Today at the Scottsdale Fashion Square marked the grand opening of the first ever Microsoft Store in the world.  The state of Arizona experienced first hand what it’s like to have Microsoft throw a party…and what a party it was!  Customers were treated to free food, products, shirts, and gifts up to the moment when the store opened to the public.

Starting yesterday afternoon, customers were lining up for the first glimpse at what is pretty much the first ever public front for Microsoft (outside developer conferences and things like that) for the average consumer.

Right before the opening, a brief grand opening ceremony started with the General Manager of the new store and Microsoft Chief Operating Officer Kevin Turner.  Mr Turner (video of these ceremonies can be found on our YouTube channel – Link is above) proceeded to lay the ground work for what Microsoft plans to offer the community including value in their products, choice and service.

www.youtube.com/watch?v=60Oxw_Qzfyk

Before the ribbon cutting, Microsoft proceeded to officially donate over 1 million (US) dollars in products and cash to many local charitable organizations as noted in the following videos:

www.youtube.com/watch?v=M7amzO9ah14

www.youtube.com/watch?v=1s3Bc4T4VJQ

www.youtube.com/watch?v=OMHCuMM4qJ0

Once the presentations were over with, it was time to show the world what the store looked like!

www.youtube.com/watch?v=vBuw8EOTAvo

As the long line of fans made their way into the brand new store, some went immediately to the back of the store to get a complimentary gift bag (as was advertised on Facebook/Twitter/etc).  Other customers browsed around the new store and began to explore all the technologies Microsoft had to offer.  For me this was the most fascinating part of the Grand Opening…watching people explore and test new and existing Microsoft technologies.

The main part of the store that people really loved to explored was the Microsoft Surface tables (there’s four of them in the store).

Here’s a sample of what the Microsoft Surface technology is all about:

www.youtube.com/watch?v=N7CBig7aq-E

As stated previously, what fascinated me today was watching all the people who have never used this (and Windows 7) technology by exploring what the given technology can do for them.  It was like watching a kid open a present on Christmas day.  It was definitely a study in the human condition.

I tested the new Windows  7 (love it!) and then checked out some of the different configurations that customers could use with Windows 7.  From the Xbox, to media center PC’s, there was something for everyone to check out at the store.  Furthermore,  I was told that the Microsoft Store carries Hardware that cannot be purchased anywhere but the Microsoft Store.

Other than the Microsoft Surface demos, I was fascinated by the Xbox section of the store and the many different demos that customers can check out and play Xbox games within the main screen that is on the interior perimeter of the store.  Check this out:

http://www.facebook.com/photo.php?pid=2852750&id=33123943379

As I left the store, mainly because of a camera with a dead battery along with no more memory card room and a nearly dead Blackberry, I still had many questions not only about how the Microsoft store came to be but also how and in what manner customers can leverage the resources at the Microsoft store.

A spokesperson at Microsoft was kind enough to answer the following questions for me:

Q. Why did Microsoft choose Scottsdale to be the location of their first ever retail store? There are many cities in the US that could have been a perfect candidate for the first Microsoft retail store (like New York City, Seattle, San Francisco, etc). What made Scottsdale stand out as the perfect candidate for the first ever Microsoft Retail Store?

A. Scottsdale Fashion Square is world-class shopping center. When the company looked at real estate options, the team evaluated mall traffic patterns in high-performing suburban shopping centers. The local community has been wonderful to work with and Microsoft couldn’t be more excited to begin its retail efforts and learn from area residents.

Q. Was the date to open the Microsoft retail store in Scottsdale chosen to only correspond with the worldwide launch of Windows 7?

A. It’s an exciting day for the company and our customers, and it made sense to align the opening of the first-ever retail store with the release of the newest operating system.

Q. Of the staff chosen for the Store, are they all originally from Arizona or were they brought in from Redmond or other Microsoft campuses around the globe?

A. Microsoft hired retail talent from across the industry, regardless of location, to build the best in-store team possible.

Q. Given that retail stores sometimes need to change with the times, how will Microsoft adapt to changing times/tastes/technologies?

A. The customers are in charge. Their feedback will help shape the strategy, products and services Microsoft offers in the stores and online.

Q. I took a look at the ‘Microsoft Store Services’ booklet that was being handed out at the store Launch this morning. If a customer has a question that is normally handled by the worldwide product support divisions at Microsoft (ex. phone in support), is the staff at the Microsoft Retail Store trained to handle questions about Exchange or other Microsoft business products?

A. Customers can ask store employees anything. These experts will give their best effort on any type of technology, regardless of brand, release date or purchase location.

Q. Is the Microsoft Store only designed for home consumers or are they going to take on Business products (SQL, Exchange Server, Developer Tools, etc)?

A. The store is designed to bring to life the connected experiences people can have with hundreds of products such as laptops running Windows 7, computing accessories, Xbox consoles and accessories, Windows Phones, Zunes, and first- and third-party software titles. In-store technical support and learning services are available for all customers, but the focus is on meeting the needs of general consumers.

Q. Let’s say I wanted to attend one of the free classes in the theater at the back of the store, how can I find out about these classes? From the looks of the Store website, (http://store.microsoft.com/home.aspx and http://store.microsoft.com/Locations) I’m not seeing the list of classes.

A. The best way is to check with the store for the latest class schedule. Customer feedback and requests will guide the focus and selection of sessions.

Q. Does the store have wireless if customers want to bring their Laptops in for classes at the Theater? I know the Mall has Wi-fi but the connection is sometimes spotty at best.

A. Yes

I would strongly suggest all residents of Phoenix, even if you are an Apple fan, to come out and check out what the Microsoft store has to offer. You can spend quite a bit of time on the Microsoft Surface tables alone.

Editors Note:  Photos from the event have been posted to the AZ Vibe Facebook page (click link).

Sunday evening marked the 2009 ‘Uncorked and Unplugged’ fundraiser for the Boys and Girls Club of Greater Scottsdale.  You couldn’t ask for a better night as the unseasonable 100 degree-ish weather from earlier in the day set the stage for perfect weather by the time the sun went down.

For those of you who have never been to this event, all of the interior public areas of the Desert Ridge Mall were shutdown for this event (except for the Movie theater and the Barnes and Noble book store).

As we entered the event I paused to look up and the gateway and sky (photo above) just set the tone for a wonderful evening.  When we entered we received an extremely well designed sample tray that would hold our wine glass and prevent spillage/breakage of said wine glass.  Attendees were also given a gift bag with many great items such as a corkscrew/wine cork set in a wooden box.  A very nice touch for all who attended the event.

I started on east end of the event at Bill Johnson’s Big Apple and checked out every table until I got to the Blue Martini table at the far end of the venue.  I sampled as much food as possible and a few of the wines.  Can’t really comment on the wines because I needed to stay sober (which I did) for the drive home.

Some of the highlights of the sampling…

Bill Johnson’s Big Apple – Great shredded pork and cole slaw

San Felipe’s – Pork Street Tacos were very tasty but a bit dry for other ingredients (like salsa) Also, there was a Don Julio station inside the San Felipe’s area that were distributing your choice of Tequila shots or a Margarita shot.

Arizona Grand Resort – Gazpacho topped with Avocado Gelato.  This was my favorite…taste.  The Gazpacho was served in a plastic shot glass with a drop of the Avocado Gelato on top.   Here’s a picture before tasting so you can see what I mean. The first taste was amazing as the combination of the Gelato and Gazpacho was one of the most original and delicious culinary experiences I’ve had in a long time.

Ling and Louie’s – Wango Mango Chicken – Very tasty!

Orange Sky – Bacon wrapped prawn in scallop bacon coated in jalapeno sauce.  This sample was my favorite as it was the perfect combination of sweet and spicy along with amazing way bacon wrapped prawns (or anything for that matter) taste.  Having the bacon coated in Jalapeno sauce  Here’s a picture of what it looked like before it was eaten.

Rock Bottom’s Prime rib was especially tasty!

Rubio’s Shrimp and Chicken Tacos – I’m biased towards Rubio’s ever since I had their real lobster burrito for the very first time.  Rubio’s may be a chain restaurant but the main thing they excel in is taste.

If there were any complaints about the evening there would be only one.  The lack of seating for people who got tired while walking around.  There seemed to be lots of people who were sitting in places that wasn’t designed to be sitting places.  An example would be the amount of people who were sitting in the Children’s playground because all the other main seating areas were all being used.

All in all, this was a wonderful night to remember with culinary treats that challenged every part of my palate.  If ever anyone sees this event being advertised next year, do not hesitate as this is one of these events that makes the greater Phoenix area a great place to grow roots and to just have fun.

Pictures from the evening’s festivities have been posted to the AZ Vibe Facebook fan page.  The link to the page is:

http://www.facebook.com/azvibe

I for one, was looking forward to this day.  When I first moved to the Phoenix area a few years ago the last department store in the old east wing was being closed down for good.   I also watched the various stages of demolition of the East Wing over the next few years.  I didn’t really understand the need to demolish the entire east wing of the Scottsdale Fashion Square as I thought it was a very functional mall.

That was until I stepped into the grand opening celebration of the new east wing of the Scottsdale Fashion Square.

WOW!

Now I fully understood that not every store would be open at this grand opening.  The stores that were open were of a pretty amazing variety. Everyone in attendance was treated with a lovely light breakfast with beverages, a band that was playing very Frank Sinatra-ish music, and an overall festive atmosphere.

As I strolled around the new wing I checked out not only the stores but the interior architecture and the exterior improvements. For example, the expansion leverages the natural light from the sun in all their skylights.

The more I poked around the grand opening, the more I understood why the east wing was demolished and rebuilt.  Basically, they’re trying to keep things fresh and to avoid becoming just another mall like many of the others in the Greater Phoenix area.

I explored every one of the new stores that were open during the grand opening celebration and here are some of my thoughts:

Christian Audiger – This is basically the person who took all of famed Tattoo artist Ed Hardy’s designs and put them into one of the most popular fashion lines of the modern era.  I used to do marketing for a vendor of some of the Ed Hardy/Christian Audiger line and this store was what exactly I envisioned this clothing line’s retail store would be.  This even included the sometimes hard to find Hardy/Audiger perfume line.  The only thing I didn’t expect was the store to be so small.  For a retail product line that is pretty popular in this area, I expected more from the overall size of the store.

Banana Republic – The opening of the Banana Republic store in the new east wing also marked the grand opening of the clothing retailer’s new retail concept.   It’s an amazing architectural and fashion feast for the eyes.  Detailed Photos are up on the AZ Vibe Facebook fan page (link below).  This store is a perfect marriage for the Scottsdale Fashion Square and Banana Republic.

True Religion – The brand that is synonymous with high end denim and apparel, opened their first store in Arizona with the opening of the east wing. This store is packed to the rafters with a wide variety of clothing to choose from.  The best way to describe True Religion to those who aren’t familiar with the brand is from their company website.  True Religion is “quality, American-made, authentic, timeless, great fitting, 1970’s inspired jeans, with a trendsetting appeal for today’s consumer.”

Barney’s New York – The department store that is synonymous with the cutting edge of fashion, opened their first store in Arizona.  For those of you who are expecting something new and exciting to add to your wardrobe, Barney’s is the destination for all.  I was truly impressed with the wide array of designers that were represented at Barney’s.

Now the centerpiece of the Grand Opening was the ‘Where Fashion Becomes Art’ exhibit where many local and national artists were each given a  mannequin from there they were allowed to take their mannequins and express what fashion means to them.

I thoroughly enjoyed the wide array of mannequins on display for the east wing grand opening.  Mere words couldn’t describe what the artists produced for this art display.  Take a look at the photos and video on the AZ Vibe Facebook fan page (link below) to see a sample of the many mannequins that were on display for the grand opening.

Given all the time and effort put into the re-design of the east wing of the Scottsdale Fashion Square the people at Westcor put considerable time and effort into not only the re-design but into the choices of what stores will be opening in the new east wing.

From what I saw today, the Scottsdale Fashion Square are indeed making sure that the Scottsdale Fashion Square stands on its own from their competitors.

I hope everyone gets out to check the new east wing out for yourself to get a sample of the style and class offerings that makes the Scottsdale Fashion Square a truly unique destination for all.

Photos and Video from the Grand Opening Celebration can be found on the AZ Vibe Facebook Fan Page:

http://www.facebook.com/azvibe

One of my greatest concert regrets was not going to see the first Lollapalooza tour with Jane’s Addiction and Nine Inch Nails in the lineup.  Now, this is not only the first time that the two bands have toured together since that first Lollapalooza but it’s also the first time that the original Jane’s Addiction lineup have toured since that inaugural Lollapalooza tour.

I could probably spend my time writing up a grandiose review of the NINJA tour of Nine Inch Nails and Jane’s Addiction comparing the times I saw them in other venues and other stuff like that…but I can’t…I won’t.

The truth is this is the first time I’ve seen both bands….ever.  After seeing both shows for the first time, all I can say is this….

They both kicked ass.

Sure, I can go into detail about every song of both sets describing the ferocity of both performances  in a typical music reviewer fashion.  However, instead of boring you to death with words, I’m going to do this….

I’m going to provide you all 100% legal links to the audio, video and photos from the show so you can listen/watch/see for yourself how much this show kicked ass.

Now most of you don’t know that on this tour, Nine Inch Nails and Jane’s Addiction allowed the taping (audio and video) of their shows.  As a result, you the reader and fan can listen and view all of the different aspects that make Nine Inch Nails and Jane’s Addiciton still such a powerful force in the music world.

There are simply some GREAT recordings of the Phoenix show floating around out there right now.

In the following thread in the Nine Inch Nails forum there are some great audio recordings you can download for yourself:

http://forum.nin.com/bb/read.php?21,684617,page=1

All you need is to know how to work a Torrent program (like Bit Torrent) and you can download the music in FLAC or MP3 format.

Photos from the show:

http://beta.media.nin.com/gallery/index?g_type=token&g_val=2003&g_sort=newest&g_tag=&g_media=photo&page=1

Videos from the show:

http://beta.media.nin.com/gallery/index?g_type=token&g_val=2004&g_sort=newest&g_tag=&g_media=video&page=1

Nine Inch Nails set list according to the Nine Inch Nails forum:

home
1,000,000
heresy
march of the pigs (with remix outro)
something i can never have
reptile
last
Survivalism
mr. self destruct
banged and blown through
The Fragile
The Downward Spiral
wish
suck
dead souls
Down in it
head like a hole
hurt

Jane’s Addiction Set list according to xiola.org:

Three Days
Whores
Pigs in Zen
Ain’t No Right
Then She Did…
Mountain Song
1%
Been Caught Stealing
Ted, just admit it…
Ocean Size

Encore:
Summertime Rolls
Stop!
Jane Says

Jane’s Addiction Video (still looking for the Audio of the Phoenix show)

Three Days (recorded in Tampa, FL a few nights earlier) – The song that opened their set Phoenix

www.youtube.com/watch?v=odO6O-V4vvo

Pigs in Zen

www.youtube.com/watch?v=OENKc-ARR6k

Then She Did

www.youtube.com/watch?v=xQQ-8ouhq9U

Ocean Size (Warning NSFW Language)

www.youtube.com/watch?v=w9MIaQs90eM

Enjoy….

Editor’s note:  Pictures from the Red Light District Costume Ball are posted to our Facebook Fan Page

When I first arrived at the Wrigley Mansion for Raven Events “Red Light District Costume Ball”, I wasn’t sure what to expect.  The only thing that I knew going into this event was that the fundraiser was for local battered women’s shelter charities and that the beautiful women there would be dressed spectacularly.

When the Valet took my car off, I boarded a bus for the short drive to the top of Wrigley Mansion.

Once the 100 foot summit to the mansion entrance was conquered, I entered through the front door and my first mission was to check out the Mansion itself…the parts that were open to the public.  This was the first time I had visited the Wrigley Mansion.  However, the review of the mansion will come on another day.

(For more information about the Wrigley Mansion, please refer to this link)

Once my exploring of the mansion was completed, I began to explore the party.  I entered right into Geordie’s Restaurant which was offering a special $10 menu for all party goers in their dining room and drinks in the bar area.  Just past the bar was the dance floor where the band Nineball were cranking out some great cover jams.

Now I know what you’re probably thinking.  “What kind of party was this?”

Given the theme, you’d probably think it was a pretty crazy party.  In some parts of the mansion, it was….really crazy.  However, since this was a fundraiser, people were there to have fun, let loose, and go crazy all in the name of charity.  It was the perfect venue for people to come, have fun and forget about life for a few hours.

The chances that are that if you are reading this, you probably didn’t go.  I won’t be going into detail about the crazy parts of the party except that you all missed out!

The rest of the mansion was all decked out with different themes, vendors of many types and even pole dancing lessons for the ladies.  There was so much to do and see that if someone got bored, you would have to check to see if they had a pulse.  I personally spent quite a bit of time checking out the silent auction as they had so many cool things that were being auctioned off.  From autographed framed photos of rock and sports stars to packaged deals from various companies.

The best part of the Red Light District Ball were the costumes.  Man oh man were some of them great!  Many people got into the full spirit of the event and dressed in attire that was similar to the lady in lingerie in the ad on the Red Light District Ball website and that added to the overall coolness and….let’s say….atmosphere of the party.   Everyone there visibly were having a great time!

I had so much fun that I’m definitely going to be going next year.  Raven put on a hell of an event and can’t wait for her next big function!  If you are ever, in the future, are on the fence about going to one of Raven’s parties, do it.  You won’t be disappointed.

Pictures from the show have been posted to the AZ Vibe Facebook fan page.  Check em out!  There’s some great ones!!!

As I was driving along I-10 to the Cricket Wireless Pavilion I couldn’t help to notice the temperature out.

98 degrees.

Now this was my first concert at the Cricket but not my first Dave Matthews Band show.  I’ve been to see the Dave Matthews Band play across the US and Canada.  The last Dave Matthews Band shows I went to before tonight’s show in Phoenix were at the Gorge Amphitheater in Washington State.   When the Dave Matthews Band plays the Gorge at the end of the summer, the temperatures are very similar to Phoenix at this time of year.

The two reasons why this is relevant is 1) the average temperature when the Dave Matthews Band plays the Gorge at show time was around 98.  2) When the temperature hovers near the century mark, the Dave Matthews Band always put on a great show pulling out many surprises and songs out from their back catalog as well.

Their Phoenix show was no different.

The show started with Dave Matthews coming out by himself singing ‘Rye Whiskey’. A song I’ve never heard before in concert and was performed very well.  I also found out this was the first time that Dave came out and sung a song solo to begin a show in sixteen years.

Yet another reason why this show was special.

Once the opening song of the set was completed, the rest of the Dave Matthews Band took their places upon the stage. One of the best surprises from the show was seeing long time Dave Matthews Band contributor Tim Reynolds lace up his guitar with the band. This was also another indicator that this would be a great show.

The band then tore into ‘Tripping Billies’ which not only got the crowd rockin’ but set the tone for the rest of the evening.  Since the Dave Matthews Band has a new album coming out (Big Whiskey and the GrooGrux King) on June 2, they played four songs in total off the new album (Funny the Way it is, Spaceman, Seven, and Why I Am) which were well received by the crowd.

After ‘Tripping Billies’, the Dave Matthews Band took shallow and deep reaches into their back catalog by not only playing fan favorites such as ‘Crash Into Me’, ‘Warehouse’, and ‘Rapunzel’.  The band also dusted off some classics that they don’t play very often on tour such as ‘Dancing Nancies’, ‘The Dreaming Tree’, and #41…songs you would expect to hear when they play their yearly three night stand at the Gorge.

From the opening note of ‘Rye Whiskey’ to the last note of ‘All Along the Watchtower’ the fans were treated to one of the best performances I’ve seen the band put on in YEARS.

Even in this economy, the Dave Matthews Band still can pack the Amphitheaters as they are still, without a doubt, one of the best live acts in rock music today. If you missed them this time around, well you’re just gonna have to wait for another year for them to come back.

The Set List from tonight’s show according to the Dave Matthews Band website:

Rye Whiskey
Tripping Billies
Spaceman
Pantala Naga Pampa
Rapunzel
Crash Into Me
Seven
Dreaming Tree
Funny The Way It Is
So Damn Lucky
Everyday
#41
Why I Am
Dancing Nancies
Warehouse
Crush
Grey Street

__________________

Don’t Drink the Water
All Along The Watchtower

We went to check out the ‘Movies in the Park’ showing of ‘From Russia With Love’, the James Bond classic last Friday night as we saw this as one of the perfect examples of why we started this site.

When I arrived at the Biltmore Fashion Plaza the center grounds were already packed with lots of people just hanging out and awaiting the start time of the movie.  Some had picnics all laid out and most people had lawn chairs just kicking back and relaxing.

The movie promptly started at 7:30 and thus began a classic roller coaster ride that the old Sean Connery James Bond films tend to be.

All in all the ‘Movies in the Park’ was a great experience and I would highly recommend it for anyone who would like to go see a great movie in a great location.

There’s one more movie this week in the series and it’s the Alfred Hitchcock classic ‘Vertigo’.  Don’t miss the chance to see a great movie in a great atmosphere.

www.youtube.com/watch?v=c7db44KOv78

Well, we had attempted to get press credentials to this event right after the big announcement was made that Tempe, Arizona was going to host the big X-Men Origins: Wolverine World Premiere. However, as we and other many other local media outlets later found out we were shut out of the event and only a couple of select local media were allowed to cover the event.

That didn’t stop us. LOL

We had called in advance of the event and called again to confirm our media credential request but received no response from the local PR company (who shall remain nameless) who handled the event. Well since they didn’t say ‘No’, we were going anyways.

When I arrived at the media check in for the event I saw many other members of the local media such as Channel 5, Channel 3, even the ASU student news paper were all shut out of covering the event.  Nice way to make this local event a memorable one for the local media ‘unnamed PR company’.

I got a quick look at the media invited to the event (hee hee) and noted that the theme of the people who were invited.  I noted that the TV/Print/Online outlets that covered the event were all from out of town and had insane amounts of viewers/readers. I mean even ’60 Minutes’ got credentials to the event. What the hell does ’60 Minutes’ need press credentials to a movie premiere for?!?!?!?

Furthermore, I was pretty ticked off at the countless people who got press passes that didn’t even use said passes to cover the event. I lost count at the amount of people that just used the credentials just to see the movie or impress some girl they’re trying to get into bed (trust me, there were a lot of them).

Great job at screening people there ‘unnamed PR company’!!!!

So by this point, we were denied credentials to the event with the following quote from “L”.  Keep in mind the statement about the countless people who had press credentials and didn’t cover the event:

L: “We were not able to approve credentials for you guys.”

Me: “Why’s that?”

L:  “We just had too many people on the list”

Me:  “So local media doesn’t…”

L:  “No local media…there’s a lot of local media out there”  (There wasn’t) “They just basically told us who was ok and who was not going to be able to do it…”

By this point my Bullshit detector was off the charts.

The translation of the above quotes from “L” is as follows:

“You’re not Entertainment Weekly or the LA Times so you’re not getting credentials.”

However, I wasn’t going to leave, and didn’t. There were some great places to hang out and I found a great spot along the red carpet but not at the main part of the function where the press and the cast were. Regardless, I was staying with all the other local media that were denied credentials and I was getting the story.

As Hugh Jackman made his grand entrance in a Leather Jacket and Harley, the rest of the cast were exiting their limos and making their way to the main stage.  After the main event, the Cast made their rounds talking to the media, signing autographs and what not.  This went on for a couple of hours.  Then…one by one, the Celebrities made their way up the red carpet.

Editor’s Note – The Pictures we have from the Premiere are posted to our Facebook Page.  Check em out!

Then the main members of the Cast made their way up the red carpet…one by one.  The video we have below is what happened next…..

Ryan Reynolds:

www.youtube.com/watch?v=KDmtKqlh2k0

Taylor Kitsch and Liev Schreiber

www.youtube.com/watch?v=8ZvErfty9vk

Hugh Jackman

www.youtube.com/watch?v=1i7UMvLKkDQ

You know as great as this event was for the local community and all the parties involved in hosting the event, the organizers of the event made damn sure that the local press were not to be involved at all in this event.  But like us media types, we always have to get the story now, don’t we?  Personally, I didn’t care if I saw the movie that day.  I just wanted a story to report on.  Then again, this is a pretty good one now, isn’t it?

Two words of advice for the PR company that sponsored the event:

1) Any good PR agency can recognize the chance to give their clients the opportunity to get free media coverage. This PR company that was involved with organizing this event does not fall under this category.

2) If this PR company ever needs a favor from any of us in the future and they call, don’t be surprised if we are not quick to pick up the phone…..if at all.

Here’s more of our coverage of the X-Men Origins: Wolverine World Premiere in Video and Photos!

Ryan Reynolds – Walking the Red Carpet

www.youtube.com/watch?v=KDmtKqlh2k0

Taylor Kitsch and Liev Schreiber – Walking the Red Carpet

www.youtube.com/watch?v=8ZvErfty9vk

Hugh Jackman – Walking the Red Carpet

www.youtube.com/watch?v=1i7UMvLKkDQ

[slideshow id=4]

I headed off to the Great Arizona Picnic this past weekend for the first time.  I wasn’t sure what to expect but I have been to huge Food Festivals before like the ‘Bite of Seattle’ and the ‘San Diego Bay Wine and Food Festival’ so I know what makes a great food festival and what doesn’t.

I entered the grounds of the Great Arizona Picnic and just walked the entire grounds without an agenda just to get a feel for what there was available to sample.  It took me about 45 minutes to fully walk the entire grounds and had a list of places I wanted to go.

First stop – Dickey’s BBQ Pit – They really didn’t have much to offer except cold pulled pork covered in BBQ sauce with Cole Slaw.  Not very good as one would expect BBQ pulled pork to have the BBQ sauce be part of the cooking process and not doused with BBQ sauce just before serving.

Second Stop – Honey Moon Sweets for a dessert advertised as ‘Rich Chocolate Fudge Brownie topped with Strawberry Whipped Cream, Chocolate Sauce and Fresh Candies Orange Peel’.  How can you NOT get something with a name like that.  Let me tell you that the dessert was as good as the description.  Definitely going to mark down ‘Honey Moon Sweets’ for a future visit.

Third Stop – Bombay Spice – They had a great sample of Chicken curry on rice that was excellent.  When I was there they had just been notified that they won a Great Arizona Picnic award for ‘Best Food’.  The winning dish was ‘Chick Pea Ceviche’.  Definitely going to head to Bombay Spice in the future.

Final Stop – I think it was Stingray Sushi as they were right next to two other Sushi places.  Anyways, I sampled something called Las Vegas Sushi.  Las Vegas Sushi is Cream Cheese, Salmon, avacado and one other vegetable wrapped in a roll.  It’s then Battered in Tempura and deep fried.  Not bad but I probably wouldn’t get it again.

As I exited the Great Arizona Picnic, I picked up some samples of Honest Tea.  It is a new product that is about as pro everything as possible.  Gluten Free, made with really good ingredients, no GMO’s, made with organic ingredients and so on.  I samples the Pomegranate White Tea and the Peach White Tea.  The Pomegranate White Tea was so bland I thought I was drininking water not Tea.  The Peach White Tea was better and tasted like tea but lacked the peach flavors that reminds you that you are indeed drinking a Peach Flavored drink.

One of the major failings of the Great Arizona Picnic is the location.  The current location of the Great Arizona Picnic is perfect but the Grounds are way too small and way too cramped.  It’s time to find a new location for this festival as the Great Arizona Picnic has completely outgrown the current location.  There’s a very high demand for what the Picnic has to offer, mainly the Beer Garden.  It was so packed in the Beer Garden there was AT LEAST an hour wait to get in.  IMO, this is unacceptable.

The other drawback to the Great Arizona Picnic is the lack of Variety of Food to choose from.  There seemed to be too many Pizza places, various flavors of Mexican.  The biggest head scratcher was seeing three Japanese food booths all next to each other.  Don’t get me wrong, I like Asian foods but when there’s a food festival one would expcect to see at least one other type of Asian cusine present (like Thai, Vietnamese, Korean, etc).

I’ve been thinking about a lead paragraph for this review but all I can come up with is ‘Man what a great event this was!’  The Assist4Africa Charity Basketball Game consisted of current and former Phoenix Area pro sports athletes and local media.  The list of Celebrities included former NBA players Tom Chambers, Dan Majerle, Eddie Johnson, current Phoenix Coyotes Daniel Winnick, and Keith Yandel, as well as players like former Arizona Diamondbacks star Quentin McCracken.

From the opening tip off, the fans were in for a treat the entire game long. There was some players that were taking the game a wee bit seriously but there were some hilarious moments during the game as well.  Most of them came from former Suns player Cedric Ceballos.  For example, whenever former Suns player Mark West went to the foul line, Ceballos layed down on the court and said that (paraphrasing) “West is shooting, we’re going to be here for a while”.

Here’s another gem from Ceballos after Larry Fitzgerald fouls him.  His comments come after he jogs off screen to the right:

www.youtube.com/watch?v=CbqMTVja_iI

Even though this was a basketball game, it didn’t follow any sort of format or time schedule which was not only refreshing for a change but it added to the fun atmosphere of the event.  The players on the team were there to entertain and left the fans more than satisfied.  Various stoppages in play brought out different activities from a live auction of a Kurt Warner Autographed jersey along with lunch with Mr. Warner, to a dance contest with Kids, to a representative from Partners in Malawi (the organization where all the proceeds were going) talking about the wonderful work they have been doing.

On the opposite end of the floor, there was a silent auction with a large number of REALLY killer sports memorabilia available.  For example, Orlando Magic super star Dwight Howard had an autographed jersey available and there was a hockey stick signed by the entire Phoenix Coyotes team.

All in all, this was a spectacular event from start to finish.  I just wish there were more people there as they missed an extremely entertaining evening.  We would love to help out next year in the promotions department as this is a great event benefiting an extremely worthy cause.

I was re-reading the original press release for Assist4Africa just now and one line stuck out for me:

This is the third time for the event and it promises to be the best ever.

I couldn’t agree more.

Partners in Malawi is a non-profit organization designed to promote the awareness and education of AIDS/HIV in Malawi.  All of the proceeds from the event went to all the efforts this organization does in Malawi.

For more information about Partners In Malawi, please refer to their website:

http://www.partnersinmalawi.org/

Editor’s Note:  We are experiencing challenges with the photos we have taken at the event.  Until we are able to post the images here, we have uploaded the all of our pictures from the Assist4Africa Charity Basketball Game to our Facebook Fan Page:

Part 1:

http://www.facebook.com/album.php?aid=77418&id=33123943379&l=354ecd7161

Part 2:

http://www.facebook.com/album.php?aid=77420&id=33123943379&l=f4bd8ae385

Part 3:

http://www.facebook.com/album.php?aid=77413&id=33123943379&l=4afbc89e53

This past weekend brought one of the most refreshing and original music festivals I have ever witnessed.  I’ve been pretty big on festivals in the numerous years I’ve been going to concerts the Tempe Music Festival was one of the most original, eclectic, and…well…fun festivals I have ever been to.

From the looks on paper before the festival began, The Tempe Music Festival’s lineup on Friday night looked to be the strongest.  Granted, that was only because I was the most familiar with the Friday night lineup more than the Saturday lineup.  In addition, from what I explained in my original article about the festival, the extra amenities/things to do was an amazing variety of ways to occupy your time throughout the days of the festival.  For example, there were so many food giveaways that you almost didn’t need to buy your own food.    I personally won a Pizza from  NYPD Pizza from doing one of their promotional giveaway games.  The Big Bang stage was a welcome breather from the music going on the mainstage AND it was located perfectly between the two mill avenue bridges that the sounds from both stages didn’t blend at all.

In addition to Kid Rock, one of the highlights of the weekend was from Tom Morello (who plays Guitar for ‘Rage Against the Machine’) and his solo band ‘Nightwatchmen’.  His cover of Bruce Springsteen’s ‘The Ghost of Tom Joad’ was one of the most amazing songs I have seen performed live.  To give you an idea what this experience was like, listen/watch this video of Bruce Springsteen and the E Street Band with Tom Morello sitting in performing ‘The Ghost of Tom Joad’:

www.youtube.com/watch?v=Sp-oDAxx8So

The festival also held many surprises for me as well as I was introduced to some bands I originally would not have given the time of day for.  Cowboy Mouth, All American Rejects, and 3 Doors Down all put on pretty damned good sets to the point where I’m now contemplating which album from which band to purchase first.

[slideshow id=3]

Editors Note:  Reviews of Day 1 and Day 2 of the Tempe Music Festival will be posted tomorrow.

The highlight of Day one of the Tempe Music Festival was without a doubt Kid Rock. I have been a big fan of his since his first album and at first dismissed him as a one hit wonder. However, as I followed his music career I noticed he kept taking chances with each and every album. Even though each album was indeed different than his previous release, the one thing that every release shared was that  he put a lot of soul into each and every album.

Over the years Kid Rock has amassed a pretty damned good collection of songs to choose from for concerts without sounding one-dimensional or not ‘himself’. With all of this, I still haven’t had the opportunity to see Kid Rock perform live, as I see live shows as a true measure of and artist and his staying power, until now.

The Show started right at 10:30 with one of Kid Rock’s biggest hits ‘Bawitdaba’. With the Opening scream of ‘My name is….’ Kid Rock grabbed the attention of all who attended and didn’t let go until he left the stage after singing the final notes of  his current hit ‘All Summer Long’.

The setlist (below) was a wide variety of songs from his entire career that were presented with such showmanship, and soul that it makes me yearn for other artists to learn how to put on a live show like Kid Rock knows how. For whatever reason, bands in this day and age don’t know what it takes to put on a great live show. All they need to do from this moment forward is to put in a tape of last night’s show and they can see what they are doing wrong.

Some of the highlights of the show were ‘Cocky’, the presentation of ‘Cowboy’, and the interlude in ‘Amen’ where he read this note from an Arizona fan about how Kid Rock and his music has touched and changed her life.  It wasn’t just the note that he read that made the impression on me it was the way it was presented and the message he had after the reading of said message.  (The message was way too long and I wish someone would post what the message said)  Kid Rock sent a basic message to all to love one another (paraphrasing here) without judgment or bias.  To me, seeing one of Kid Rock’s core beliefs on display for all to witness is one of the main reasons he has such staying power.

Kid Rock’s show was simply amazing and left all who attended wanting more. I got the sincere impression that even though Kid Rock’s current songs he can pull from for shows is indeed impressive, he’s still has yet to release his masterpiece. That and also got the impression that he is going to explore new musical styles and influences for future releases. For someone who I wrote off at the beginning of his career as a ‘one hit wonder’ he sure has made a huge statement in the music industry that he is anything but that. If he keeps moving in the right direction with his career he will indeed join the ranks of all of his Rock/Country/Rap/Hip-Hop heroes that he so loves to put on display in his shows.

One other thing, I hope someone in Kid Rock’s camp recorded this show as this is a great snapshot of where he’s at in his career.  Fans would absolutely love this as a live show.  Besides, he has yet to release and ‘official’ live show, right?  Now is a good time!

Setlist (via a MySpace User):

Bawitdaba
Devil Without a Cause (Walk This Way riff tease)
You Never Met a Motherfucker Quite Like Me>
American Bad Ass
Lowlife (Living The Highlife)
Cocky
Rock N’ Roll Pain Train
Cowboy (piano intro)> Cowboy>
Good Ol’ Boys (Waylon Jennings cover) [Theme from the Dukes of Hazzard]>Cowboy
Only God Knows Why
One More Time (David Allen Coe cover)>
Half Your Age (with Kid Rock’s drummer vocals)
Amen (including fan letter/license interlude)
Picture (with one of their Backup Singers)
Techno intro> La Grange riff tease> Smoke on the Water riff tease>
Cat Scratch Fever> Kid Rock drum workout>
So Hott
All Summer Long

Well, another Super Bowl has come and gone and like Superbowl Extra Large (XL Steelers/Seahawks) the refs handed the game on a silver platter to the Steelers.

Anyways, the other big reason why people watch the Superbowl is for the commercials.  We’re going to start the tradition of what we think are the best of the bunch.  Now there’s no ‘Terry Tate – Office Linebacker’ caliber commercials in this lot but there are some good ones from this year.

The funniest has to be the one second Miller High Life commercial:

www.youtube.com/watch?v=ZYiGpVGTU2U

Here’s the best of the rest in no particular order….

Coke Zero – Mean Troy (A Tribute to the classic ‘Mean Joe Green Coke commercial from 1979)

www.youtube.com/watch?v=i5k7FBj3WLQ

Doritos – Crystal Ball

www.youtube.com/watch?v=UukD_cIw08E

TelaFlora

www.youtube.com/watch?v=a7IvUEssa4A

Conan O’Brien’s Bud Light Swedish Commercial

www.youtube.com/watch?v=HazUvFXY2X4

Hulu

www.youtube.com/watch?v=1m71m-LBqFQ

The rest of the commercials? Well, they were pretty lame. Overall, the commercials were pretty tame compared to past years.  Not very inventive and not very funny (especially the Budweiser Clydesdale commercials for the ump-teenth year in a row….talk about beating a dead horse).

Here’s the comprehensive list of all the Superbowl Commercials:

http://www.youtube.com/user/adblitz

Think you can come up with a better list? Let us know!

Now as you all may well know, when it comes to events like the FBR Open we leave all the box score type stories to all the sports outlets as it would be pretty pointless to cover that specific angle of the event as there are so many people already covering that part of the FBR Open.

I poked around much of the open to find the stories that you wouldn’t see on TV or in the sports print media.  The more I looked, the more I kept coming back to the same thing.

In the middle of Day 2, on my way to the now infamous 16th hole, I stopped at the players practice areas (the driving range, putting green, and sand trap) and was mesmerized by the time and effort that the players who were about to start their days at the FBR Open put into their craft (as it were).  But the thing that really blew me away was around the time that rounds would get called for darkness, there was ALWAYS someone out there practicing.   Not just a few swings but time intensive work on the different aspects of their games.

I spent a good 20 to 30 minutes watching a golfer, at the end of a given day practicing a shot out of the sand and trying to hit a specific area on the practice green. Now this is among all the partiers going to and from the 16th hole completely and utterly in different stages of drunkeness and all the associated noise that goes along with it.  Not a thing phased him.  He put a ball in the sand, lined up his shot, mentally targeting the zone he wanted the ball to land in, and took his shot.  He must have done this at least 30 to 50 times and then switched his position in the sand and took even more shots from a completely different angle.

This may be something that isn’t new to you golf enthusiasts but for people like myself who don’t exactly know the amount and kinds of hard work that goes into simply becoming a player on the PGA Tour, this was an eye opening experience.  I could have sat there for hours just trying to simply recognize what the small adjustments made for each shot were.

I’ve always had a love and respect for golf that has never been to the fanatical levels like some fans are.  However, by simply just watching the PGA Tour players practice their craft, my respect and appreciation for Pro Golfers didn’t simply reach a new level but another dimension.  My time hanging out at the players practice areas gave me a tremendous inside look at what goes on when the cameras are either turned off or not focused on the players.

ASU/U of A – The Battle of Arizona – Round 1 – FIGHT!

I found this game posted as an event on Facebook (by ASU forward Patrick Lind) a few days ago and I had to mark this on my calendar.  Not because I wanted to see if there was really hockey in the desert.  No, I wanted to attend this game based on the wall postings and the amount of people that were bypassing other parties and events like the FBR Open to come to this game.  From what people were posting, this had the makings of an intense rivalry game.  I mean they are playing the University of Arizona.

Now, I’ve been to a hockey game of just about every single level of professional and amateur hockey in my lifetime EXCEPT for NCAA hockey (this includes international competitions).  Sure I’ve seen the Frozen Four on TV but never in person.  I wasn’t able to locate a copy of the NCAA rule book to familiarize myself with the nuances of NCAA hockey.  However, I knew most of the differences between the rules of the NHL versus the NCAA (like all players wear helmets with face cages).

When I arrived in the arena the stands were already packed and the standing room only ‘seating’ was just about full at the top of the arena.  Furthermore, as the Facebook invite stated, there were fans there who made the drive from the University of Arizona for the game and MAN were they LOUD.  However, the Sun Devil fans matched and beat those fans at every opportunity.

From the opening face-off U of A had the momentum and played their game.  For as dominant as they were, especially on the Power Play Unit, they could never translate that to goals on the score board.  The Sun Devils matched them toe to toe defensively, in hitting, and in goals. As the goals for both teams increased, so did the intensity in the game and was matched by the fans at every huge hit, near miss on goals and every score.

This was a pretty even battle across the board until things broke open in the third period and the defense of the University of Arizona Icecats (Icecats? Ok…) kept coughing up puck after puck which led to even and odd man rush breakaways.  Eventually, the Sun Devil’s got into a groove and made the….Icecats…pay for their mistakes by scoring three straight goals in a very short span of time.

The crowd, many of which were attending their first Sun Devil’s hockey game ever may have not known all the rules of the game but they did understand two things:

1) This was a rivalry game against the U of A

2) They knew what a goal was and knew exactly what to do when a goal was scored by ASU.  Cheer and SCREAM!

By the end of the game, tempers flared to the point where small scraps were started by both teams which was unusual but not a surprise to this reporter based on the hitting and trash talking during the game.  However, like all good sportsman both teams lined up and shook hands with one another followed by the entire ASU hockey team saluting all the ASU fans that came out and cheered them on.  Beleive me, the team fed off of the near capacity crowd on hand tonight.

I’ll say this, all the new fans that came to the game have got to be hooked on ASU Hockey.  Because,  after a game like this if they aren’t hooked, they more than likely don’t have a pulse and an undertaker should be called.

Everyone in the area needs to come out and see an ASU Hockey game before the season is over with!

For more information on ASU Hockey please refer to their website:

http://www.asu.edu/clubs/div2hockey/index.html

The Battle of Arizona – Round 1 – Winner – Arizona State University – 5- Icecats – 3

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That’s right, I spent my time today (and yesterday) at the 16th hole the loudest and most unique hole in all of golf.  Thanks to some friends yesterday, I had the ability to view the 16th hole from all angles starting with the Tee off shots in the VIP section to the general admission bleachers at the opposite end of the hole today.

For those of you who have never been to the FBR Open, the 16th hole is legendary for two reasons:

1) The hole is partially enclosed by bleachers FILLED with people most of them drunk and partially by VIP booths where corporations pay an arm and a leg to sit and watch the action at the hole.

2) This is one of the few known areas in the Golf universe that the ‘quiet’ when golfers are about to take their stroke is merely a suggestion.

The seating is literally right ON the hole and it gives fans to really feel like they are a part of the action and cheer on every golfer no matter how good or how bad their score is for the day.  Sitting in the general admission section is like being a part of a mix of a baseball game, a hockey game, and a kegger.

I’ve been to a TON of sporting events in my time (in the US and out of the country) and I have to admit that next to the World Cup (Soccer), sitting at the 16th hole among all the hardcore and temporary golf fans was one of the most fun and exciting experiences I’ve ever had the fortune to witness in my life.

I am beginning to see why the FBR is penciled in on everyone’s calendar months in advance and why this is one of the most unique experiences in all of golf.

If you make it out to the FBR Open, a stop at the 16th hole is a MUST!

Editors note: Regarding the ability to take pictures at the FBR Open and the Bird’s Nest, the matter was clarified by one of the on-site PGA media heads.  AZ Vibe was not granted the permission to take photos at the FBR Open.  We will not be publishing any of our FBR Open photos we have taken so far from the event and will not be taking or publishing photos for the duration of the event.  The PGA Media heads have been gracicous in that they will be sending us photos of some of the greatests parts of the FBR Open.  We sincerely appreciate the assistance the PGA and the FBR Open in the publishing of our articles.  We apologize for any confusion this may have caused.

Today is the first of many reports from the FBR Open.  We will be making periodic reports throughout the course of the entire Tournament.

I headed out to the Bird’s Nest tonight to check out what exactly it’s all about.  From what I’ve been reading on all the Facebook event invites floating around, I knew already that this was going to be a popular destination and there would be TONS of people there.  Tonight featured O.A.R as the main headliner.  The only thing that I’ve heard of them was samples of their songs on iTunes.  That’s about all.  Even from the clips I listened to I got the impression that I was in store for ‘Death Cab for Cutie – Part II’.

You all may know that ‘Death Cab for Cutie’ is a Seattle band who writes somewhat catchy pop songs but their major failure with ‘Death Cab for Cutie’ (as is with 99% of bands in this age of crap music) is that they don’t know how to do a live show at all.  I saw them at two stages of their careers.  At the beginning of their careers in Seattle and a coupe of years ago in San Diego.  Both times were horrid and both times they didn’t know the first thing about putting on a live show.

I try not to go into shows with pre-conceived notions about bands but let’s face it.  Putting on a live show for fans is a lost art.  Only local band Black Carl understands how to put on a KILLER live show.  Little did I know I would be adding another band to my small list of bands I would sell my mother to get tickets to go see.

As I entered the Bird’s Nest, I was quickly enveloped by a killer party atmosphere.  Food, drinks, even a hooka/cigar tent were among the many features of the public portion of the Bird’s Nest.  As I approached the main stage/party tent O.A.R was in full gear and kicking out the jams.  The more they played the more they not only visibly were having fun playing but they worked the crowd musically and vocally like experienced musicians should.

Then they added the one ingredient into a live show that has the potential for O.A.R. to gain new fans….they played cover songs that everyone knew and loved…and they played them well.  The one song in particular was a cover of the Beatles ‘With a little help from my friends’, but done in the 60′s Joe Cocker/Woodstock fashion.  That is how bands get bigger and gain a stronger following.

If you ever see O.A.R. come to town again, have the chance to watch their live footage on YouTube, or pick up one of their albums, DO IT!!  You will not be disappointed.  This is a band you need to go see!

I plan on hitting the Bird’s Nest a few more times as I want to see the crowds as the weekend is now here.

My only complaint about the evening (if you want to call it that) was not the festivities or the events that went on that night, it was the clear lack of communication between the security staff to allow the press to do their jobs.  I was able to take a few close up photos of the band but was not allowed to finish my job, even after I showed my press credentials.  It was clear to me that the Security staff was not experienced in handling concert events, nor were they experienced in assisting the press to do their jobs.  To make things better for next year hiring a music press consultant during the planning stages of next years events would help make coverage of future Bird’s Nest events a smoother expereince for all involved.

Other than that.  You all need to get off your butts and shake your booty at the Bird’s Nest before it’s gone.  As with any fun event, the more the people you bring, the more fun you will have!  This event will sell out this weekend so get your tickets NOW!!!

Today is the first of many reports from the FBR Open.  We will be making periodic reports throughout the course of the entire Tournament.

Well, I just got back from an impressive opening session from the current leader of the FBR Open, David Berganio, Jr. at -5 for the day (ED Note: His score has since been beaten by Australian James Nitties and American Lucas Glover atop the leaderboard).   I followed Mr. Berganio for a good eight holes or so watching each shot, each putt and I have to say this man is in a ZONE right now.  Nothing is phasing this man as he attacked and pretty much owned the course this morning/afternoon with a calm yet fierce attitude with each shot he took around the FBR Open.

The best way to describe his amazing play and concentration this morning would be taking Kevin Costner’s role as…wait for it…it’s not Tin Cup…Billy Chapel in the 1999 movie ‘For the Love of the Game’ (Click Link for more info).  In this movie Billy Chapel plays a pitcher who is (without giving up too much of the plot) pitching in Yankee Stadium near the end of his career.  Before he pitches each inning he utters the phrase ‘Clear the Mechanism’ which blocks out every sound and object around him except for the next task at hand.

The moment David Berganio, Jr. stepped on to the first hole this morning, his ‘mechanism’ was cleared and he proceeded to completely and utterly destroy the course like a conquering warrior beginning his claim on making the FBR Open his own.

If he keeps this pace up, he just might come out on top.

Stay Tuned!  Our Review of the Bird’s Nest comes tonight!

This was my first year at Barrett-Jackson and I can honestly say I didn’t know what to expect.  I had seem some of the past auctions on late night cable over the years. So I had a feel for what the general purpose of the auction was but I didn’t have a clue how big this event was nor did I know how much money changed hands over the course of the entire event.

I entered the massive Barret-Jackson grounds setup at (Westworld in Scottsdale, AZ) and walked through a bunch of Vendors and what I assumed sponsors of the event walking past some of the most expensive or amazing cars I’ve ever seen in my life.  I’ve never been a big car or auto racing fan up to this point in my life but the more I walked into the event the more my curiosity was slowly aroused as I was engrossed by all that the Barrett-Jackson auction had to offer.

Then it happened.

Slowly the smell of burning tires slowly wafted its way to my nose and drew me to its source like a couple of imaginary hands dragging my olfactory senses and curiosity outside.

When I discovered the source of the burning tires, I witnessed one of the few racing events that I absolutely love to watch in person.  Drift Racing.

(If you want to learn about Drift Racing there will be a link at the bottom of the article for the Drift Racing Wikipedia page.)

Ford Motors had a demonstration of Drift Racing where the public could enter their names for a chance to win a ride around the demonstration track.  They had two professional Drift racers take the lucky winners around the demonstration course a few times while the public watched.

I could have stayed and watched the drift racing for HOURS but I had more ground to cover.  I wanted to know why residents of the greater Phoenix Area were drawn to this event.

As I explored the grounds out side the auction house I was blown away by some of the amazing machinery available for sale.  From the early days of the internal combustion engine to a prototype Chevy Camaro to be auctioned off for charity to celebrity owned cars.  After looking over the amazing variety of cars that were to be auctioned off, I would think it would be difficult to find one person there who couldn’t find a car that they didn’t like.

Then it dawned on me.  The Barrett-Jackson auction isn’t just an auction.  The Barrett-Jackson auction is a sporting event.

Now I know what you’re probably thinking.  How can the Barrett-Jackson auction be considered a  sport?  There’s no scores, and there’s no teams.

True.

However, like all spectator sports, watching a given sport on TV isn’t the same as experiencing the event live, upfront and in person.  You have to experience the event in person to fully understand and appreciate the sport on a more personal and emotional level.

Barrett-Jackson auction contains all of the necessary ingredients or characteristics that all other spectator sports have:

1) There are large numbers of fans willing to pay top dollar to attend the event

2) People love the rush of the action of the events.

3) People can sign up for fantasy sports leagues

4) There are people who are very knowledgeable about all aspects of the event.

5) Celebrity Appearances at the event – the Celebrities I saw at the event either live or via video were Goldberg, Yvonne Craig, Richard Petty, Rusty Wallace, Rick Hendrick, and Harrison Ford.

I could go on but you get the idea as both sporting events and the Barrett-Jackson auction share the same characteristics…

Anyways, I now see why people from the greater Phoenix area flocks to the Barrett-Jackson auction as it’s a place to get your sporting ‘fix’ as well as a place to see some great things and to be seen.

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For more information about Drift Racing, please refer to the Wikipedia page on the topic:

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Drifting_(motorsport)

I was recently asked by Randi at Atlas Martial Arts in North Scottsdale to come and check out an evening event tentatively called ‘Kung Fu Happy Hour’.

Now I know what you are all thinking, “How can you have Kung Fu and booze at the same time?!?!”

Well, Kung Fu Happy Hour is not a traditional happy hour in the booze sense.  ‘Kung Fu Happy Hour’ is something that must be experienced as this event is designed to enlighten, enrich, and empower yourself through Kung Fu.  The more Kung Fu is practiced, the more your body becomes better able to take on the tasks of a given day.  In short, you and your body become….well…happy.

Went I went to these classes…er…Happy Hour, I went in with the notion that if I’m going to immerse myself I’m giving it my all and won’t quit.  I consider myself in pretty good shape but after an hour at Atlas, my body had areas I don’t think had been worked out since the Regan administration, or so it seemed.

I started the first evening and got a tour of Atlas from Randi and it was a very impressive, clean, empowering,  and very spiritual place conductive to learning.

Kung Fu students of all classes/levels train together in the same class and share the same which I really like as you can share experiences with one another.

The actual classes were different and are more of a ‘come when your schedule allows it’ format.

We started out the hour stretching and getting our bodies ready for what the class would offer ahead.

One of the problems with working online as I do is that the only thing that gets used or gets exercise all day is my brain.  The great thing about Kung Fu is that it works out every other part of your body so you get the full body workout in a day.  Two one hour sessions of Kung Fu gave my body more exercise than a week at the gym.

The other great thing why Kung Fu is better than working out at a gym is that you don’t get into any semblance of a workout routine that you get bored of or your body gets used to.  Every session that I went to worked out a different part of my body and worked it out good.

If you are looking for something that will help you not only get into shape but can give your body and mind a great workout in only an hour, ‘Kung Fu Happy Hour’ at Atlas Martial Arts is where you need to be!

For more information and directions, please refer to the Atlas Martial Arts website:

http://www.atlasmartialarts.com/