AZ Vibe – The Ultimate Phoenix Entertainment Resource

1) The Phoenix Coyotes vs. St. Louis Blues – April 7 – 7 PM – Jobing.com Arena – This is the second to last home game of the season for the Coyotes. Since they have returned to full strength they are finishing the season on a REAL strong note. Don’t miss your chance to see some great hockey before the weather skyrockets into the triple digits!

http://www.ticketmaster.com/venueartist/246515/806002?brand=phxcoyotes&camefrom=CFC_COYOTES

2) Bruce Springsteen and the E Street Band – April 3 – 7:30 PM – Jobing.com Arena – The Second night of his world tour comes to Glendale at the Jobing.com arena for a show that is destined to sell out. If you have never seen the Boss in action, you need to clear your schedule and head to his show. There’s a reason why he’s the hardest working man in show business.

http://www.ticketmaster.com/event/1E00423BDCE26B36?artistid=860453&majorcatid=10001&minorcatid=1

3) Tempe Music Festival – April 3rd and 4th – Tempe Beach Park – As mentioned previously, one of the biggest musical events of the year is coming to the Tempe Beach Park. Kid Rock and 3 Doors Down are some of the killer acts that will be playing at the festival.

http://www.tempemusicfestival.com/

4) Star Trek Exhibition at the Arizona Science Center – How cool is it when you get to not only sit in Captain Kirk’s chair but check out the bridge from the Enterprise D? Open Daily. Please refer to the link below for hours and ticket information.

http://www.azscience.org/star_trek.php

5) The 26th Annual Gibson Jazz & Blues Festival – Historic Downtown Glendale – April 4th and 5th – Free – One of the coolest and most eclectic Jazz and Blues lineup will be coming to downtown Glendale to throw down some amazing tracks.

For more information along with the times and lineups of artists please refer to the festival website:

http://www.glendaleaz.com/events/GlendaleJazzBluesFestival.cfm

6) First Friday! – Downtown Phoenix – How can you miss this?!?!?

7) Shake! – Every Saturday Night – Rogue Bar – Scottsdale – $5 (approx) If you are a frequent reader of this site you know that one of the best places to go on a Saturday night is Shake!. Great Music and fun for a great price!

http://www.azvibe.com/phoenix-entertainment/2008/10/27/review-shake-the-rogue-saturday-october-25th/

8) FUSE – Bar Smith – Friday Nights – $5 – Bar Smith – Downtown Phoenix – 10PM – 2 AM

9) The Phoenix Film Festival – Scottsdale – April 2 to April 9 – The Phoenix Film Festival is back again for another run and from the looks of every movie synopsis it’s going to be a great one. There are a wide variety of films to choose from and it also looks like there’s a local movie maker category which is always fun to watch.

http://www.phoenixfilmfestival.org/

10) Movies in the Park with ‘From Russia With Love’ – Fridays Through April – Biltmore Fashion Park – Speaking of Movies how about heading to the Biltmore Fashion Park and watching the classic 007 Movie ‘From Russia With Love’? The fun starts at 7:30 at the Center Lawn of the Biltmore Fashion Park. Oh yeah. It’s Free.

http://www.shopbiltmore.com/events.asp?id=9160

11) Dark Star Orchestra – April 4th 2009 – Marquee Theater – $23 – 6:30PM – The absolute best Grateful Dead Tribute Band comes the Valley of the Sun to jam to some of the classic Grateful Dead songs. If you have never seen the Dark Star Orchestra, and you are a fan of the Dead, you need to be here to see this amazing production.

Tickets:
https://www.etix.com/ticket/servlet/onlineSale%3bjsessionid=C5B6E63F59B0C129DC63B1DB0A5F0BDC?action=selectPerformance&cobrand=luckymanonline&performance_id=884533

12) Star Trek Movie Marathon – Chandler Cinemas – April 3rd, 4th, and 5th- $10 – See Link for Movie times – The Chandler Cinemas is having a Star Trek Movie Marathon this weekend for all to come see. The Movies featured will be Star Trek 2, 3, and 4. Admission is $10 for one movi

Last but certainly not Least….

13) OPENING DAY!!! – Arizona Diamondbacks – April 6 – 12:40 PM – Chase Field – That’s right folks! Another season of Arizona Diamondbacks baseball is just about underway! The opening game will be an afternoon game and is a great excuse to use your ‘9 inning flu’ excuse to get out of work.

Tickets can be purchased through the Arizona Diamondbacks website:

http://arizona.diamondbacks.mlb.com/ticketing/index.jsp?c_id=ari

Popularity: 23% [?]

1) First Friday! – Downtown Phoenix – How can you miss this?!?!?

http://www.artlinkphoenix.com/

2) FUSE – Bar Smith – Friday Night – $5 – Bar Smith – Downtown Phoenix – 10PM – 2 AM

3) Spring Training Baseball

4) The 8th Annual Melrose on 7th Avenue Street Fair – Saturday March 7th – 11AM to 5 PM – 7th Avenue between Indian School and Campbell -  A cultural festival that is not to be missed!!

http://www.pocketnotes.typepad.com/m7streetfair/

5) Chandler Police Department Open House – Saturday March 7th – 10 AM – 2 PM – Fun for everyone!

Chandler Police Department
250 E Chicago St
Chandler, AZ 85225

6 ) Charlie Hunter – March 7th – 6 PM – Rhythm Room -  One of the greatest Jazz musicians of our time comes to the Valley of the Sun for what is to definitely be a great show

Tickets can be purchased through the Ticketmaster widget in the right hand column.

7) Kenny Loggins – Sunday March 8th – 8:00 PM – Celebrity Theater – The Man who brought you great hits such as ‘Footloose’ comes to the Celebrity Theater for an intimate show that fans are sure to love!

For more information and to purchase Tickets, please refer to the following site:

http://www.celebritytheatre.com/upcoming.php?viewevent=716

8) Rascal Flats with Jessica Simpson – Thursday March 12th at 8:00 PM – Cricket Wireless Pavillion

http://www.livenation.com/edp/eventId/402882/

P.S.  No, I didn’t forget the Jimmy Eat World show.  It’s sold out.  That’s why it’s not listed.

Popularity: 12% [?]

I got an e-mail today from the fine people at the Repertory Cinema at Chandler Cinemas announcing the first ever Zombie Scavenger Hunt at the October 3rd First Friday in Downtown Phoenix. I had to scratch my head a bit to figure out what exactly this is but the more I read the more I kept thinking “Man, this is a REALLY cool event”.

Here’s the info about the event.  Please keep in mind that Dressing as a Zombie is not mandatory.  You will need teams of at least two and no more than four.

2008 INTERNATIONAL HORROR & SCI FI FILM FESTIVAL PRESENTS the first ever ZOMBIE MASQUERADE SCAVENGER HUNT!

Gather your team for the first ever Zombie Masquerade Scavenger Hunt at First Friday 10-03-08.  Zombie groups of up to 4 will compete in a list of zany tasks at various First Friday locations between 8pm and 10pm this Friday in a chance to win VIP passes and other prizes to the Horror & Sci Fi Film Festival.

The Specifics:

RULES
•       If you are in a Zombie Costume you will receive extra points!
•       Anything not expressly prohibited or illegal is ok.
•         A list of the items to be found and their point values can be picked up at any time between 7:30pm and 10:00pm. Registration begins at 7.30pm, Scavenger Hunt starts at 8:00pm.  Look for our booth on Garfield (the Block Party) between 4th and 6th Street.
•         A team must have at least two people and a name (maximum 4 people)
•         Publicly available transportation (e.g. train, bus, taxi) is fully legal.
•         Items can be turned in any time before 10 PM. You may make as many check-in trips as you like. Items turned in after 10 PM receive 0 points.
•         Photos of objects are not as good as the object (for object specific challenges)
•         Partial credit is liberally allowed. Be creative.
•         The judges’ decisions are very arbitrary and final. Judges will give NO help. Judges will only rule on an item’s worthiness when presented with an item; no hypotheticals.
•         Your team cannot split up into separate vehicles. You can proceed on foot in different directions, but you can use only one vehicle per team. There will be random checkpoints throughout the night, and if your team is not all together at each checkpoint, you will be disqualified
•         You cannot complete everything on the list. Pick and choose a path that maximizes your points. Some items/photos are off the beaten path. Evaluate the possible points gained vs. the time it would take to complete before embarking on a long trip
•         The point total listed is the maximum. The judges have discretion to lower the point total if the photo/item checked-in is a stretch or not exactly what we are looking for
•         Judges also have discretion to provide bonus points for exceptional photos or items

WHAT TO BRING
Zombie Costume
Water
A cell phone
A map of the Downtown Phoenix Area, or better yet an Artlink First Friday Map
A digital camera and it’s accompanying USB cable (to connect to the Judge’s laptop)
The Registration Information completed

PRIZES
1st Place team will receive 4 VIP PASSES to the International Horror & Sci Fi Film Festival ($400 Value)

2nd Place team will receive 4 FLEX PASSES to the International Horror & Sci Fi Film Festival ($100 Value)

Bonus, all participants will receive an exclusive coupon for 2 for 1 passes (can be used on VIP & FLEX) to be redeemed at the Festival

(Right Click the image and select ‘View Image’ to see the full image)

Here’s the location of the event based on the information provided in the image above:

http://maps.google.com/maps/ms?ie=UTF8&hl=en&msa=0&ll=33.458191,-112.067671&spn=0.004028,0.007821&z=17&msid=110117270783108833567.000458178bfa6a399500b

Popularity: 8% [?]

This is another recommendation from ‘Uber Hottie from the Gym I go to’ and this recommendation came up when we were trading ideas of places to go on dates.  I decided to try this recommendation with a date I had tonight as I wanted to take advantage of the Break in the Monsoons.

There are three miniature golf courses at Crackerjax.  Two of them are designed for fun and the third is a straight putting course with no obstacles.  If you’re expecting the classic ‘Happy Gilmore’ Miniature Golf obstacles you are going to be disappointed.  The courses are more trick shots than anything but they are also designed to be accessible to kids as well.  In other words, it’s perfect for a date.

Unfortunately, I got my ass handed to me in two rounds by a LARGE (like over 10 strokes in both rounds) margin by my lovely date. Both rounds I placed sizable bets on and I’m going to have to pay up in the coming weeks.  Don’t worry, they’re fun bets.

Crackerjax is the perfect place not only to take a date on dates 1-3 but it’s also a great place to take your current significant other or your spouse.

Prices for Miniature Golf is $6 per person for the first round and each additional round is $3 per person.

More information:

http://www.crackerjax.com/mini.shtml

Address:

CrackerJax
16001 N. Scottsdale Rd.
Scottsdale, AZ 85254

Popularity: 2% [?]

Title: Salsa Lessons and Dancing @ Pepin in Scottsdale – $10 Per person
Location: Pepin Restaurant in Scottsdale
Description:

Every Thursday night is lesson night at Pepin’s!

This is not a hosted event. There is always about 40 people there every Tuesday night!

It’s a lot of fun!

Salsa Night w/Caribbean Style Salsa Lessons

Three free (w/$10 cover charge) dancing lessons!

Beg & Intermediate Puertorican Salsa with Bridgette Maria & Miguel Aviles, 8-8:45pm

Beg & Intermediate Cuban Style Salsa with Bridgette Maria & Miguel Aviles, 8:45-9:30pm

Beg & Intermediate Bachata with Bridgette Maria @ Miguel Aviles, 9:30-10:15pm

-Tile dance floor
-nice environment
-plenty of parking
-safe location.
-Good music
-Good lessons
-Good food!

COVER: $10 (8-1am, lessons included), $7 (after 10:15pm, no lessons), 18+,

TIME: 8pm-1am

LOCATION:

Pepin
7363 Scottsdale Mall
Scottsdale, AZ 85251
(480) 990-9026

Popularity: 8% [?]

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% [?]

Regeneration Tour featuring Human League, Belinda Carlisle, ABC, Missing Persons, and A Flock of Seagulls

Friday, August 1, 2008
Doors: 6:30 pm | Show: 7:30 pm

Tickets $35.00-$65.00

Dodge Theatre
400 West Washington
Phoenix, AZ 85003

Phone 602-379-2800

For more information and tickets:

http://www.livenation.com/event/getEvent/eventId/325414

Popularity: 2% [?]