It’s a three-day weekend, and that means it’s time to get moving. While many will be fleeing the oppressive desert heat, peak around a few corners and find something to do in downtown Phoenix. This weekend take in a twisted children’s show, a cacophonous duo approved by the musical kings of weird, blues legends past and present and world-premiere modern music and returning folk darlings–all within biking distance of the heart of the city.
Hollis’s Traveling Tree House and Dance Party
- Saturday, Sept. 1
- 10:30 p.m. Show
- Space 55: 636 E. Pierce St.
- Getting there: Walk—Seventh and Roosevelt streets
- Price: $10 at the door
Recommended if You Like: MAD TV, Wonder Showzen, children’s shows
Each Saturday, acclaimed downtown Phoenix alternative theater Space 55 opens its doors to a different crowd. The Saturday Late Night Series aims to keep the fun in Phoenix going after most performances end, trying out new, edgy shows, sketch comedy and open-mic night. On each first Saturday, the space features Hollis’s Traveling Tree House and Dance Party, a riff on the sweetest of childhood memories: classic TV shows. The monthly journeys find main character Hollis maneuvering through the complicated world of elementary school, traveling alongside such child-unfriendly guests as porn stars, drug addicts, psychics and trolls. Utilizing naïve acting and bright colors, the variety show flips everyone’s idea of innocence on its head.
- Friday, Aug. 31
- 7:30 p.m. Doors, 8:00 p.m. Show
- The Trunk Space: 1506 NW. Grand Ave.
- Getting there: Bike—15th and Grand avenues
- Price: $10 in advance at Stinkweeds and statesidepresents.com; $12 at the door
Recommended if You Like: The Flaming Lips, psych freak-outs, Suicide
Noise-rock generally isn’t the most accessible of genres and Lightning Bolt doesn’t make it easy on the listener. Formed in 1994, the bass-and-drums duo gained a following through their abrasive sound and in-your-face live performances, attracting the attention of legendary Rhode Island noise label Load Records. Their concerts won fans all over the world, as they removed themselves from the stage, getting on level with the audience. In 2011, the group found “hipster” acclaim for their collaborative EP with psych/experimental legends The Flaming Lips. Riding this unexpected wave of recognition, it’s probably a wise idea to catch Lightning Bolt now at the intimate Trunk Space, a perfect fit for the more noisy and experimental acts from around the world.
Tedeschi Trucks Band & B.B. King
- Saturday, Sept. 1
- Comerica Theater: 400 W. Washington St.
- Getting there: Walk—Fourth Avenue and Washington Street
- Price: $42-$143 in advance at livenation.com and Comerica Theater box office
Recommended if You Like: old-school blues, guitar solos, new twists on the classics
The king of the blues and its latest ambassador collided this summer for an epic tour celebration of one of America’s finest art forms. In 1949, a young Riley King recorded his first songs, taking on the pseudonym “Blues Boy,” and eventually “BB.” Every year since, King has hit the road and the studio, regularly performing over 100 times per year, even now at age 86. In the 1990s, newcomers Susan Tedeschi and Derek Trucks each debuted their own modern interpretations of the blues, releasing respective solo albums. By 1999, Trucks had become a full-time member of the legendary Allman Brothers Band and worked with the likes of Bob Dylan, Stephen Stills and Eric Clapton. Tedeschi during the same time had her first gold record and opened for John Cougar Mellencamp and Taj Mahal. The talented duo of Trucks and Tedeschi married in 2001, before combining forces to form the Tedeschi Trucks Band, whose first album debuted at #12 on the Billboard 200 and won a Grammy for Best Blues Album. King is passing the torch to the new kings of blues, the Tedeschi Trucks Band, hosting a tour that has the potential to produce the greatest blues jams of all time.
Nathan Hubbard presents Parameters I & Parameters II
- Wednesday, Sept. 5
- The Trunk Space: 1506 NW. Grand Ave.
- Getting there: Bike—15th and Grand avenues
- Price: $5 at the door
Recommended if You Like: the avant-garde, Allan Holdsworth, John Cage
Nathan Hubbard is single-handedly making sure that Phoenix stays on the modern musical map. Since 1994, Hubbard has combined percussion, guitar, and every other musical oddity available to him to create a wholly unique niche in the contemporary music scene. Solo and with his various ensembles, Hubbard has performed, taught and lectured across the United States, Mexico and Europe, most notably curating the New Sounds Downtown series from 2006 to 2009 in San Diego. For his latest pair of works, the composer is bringing it back home to the Trunk Space, debuting two pieces written for a 17-piece ensemble. The first piece will feature more drone and minimalist-based composition, while the second will utilize a more cacophonous arrangement. Through these new compositions, Hubbard aims to change the way we look at guitar, bass, drums and keyboards.
- Wednesday, Sept. 5
- Crescent Ballroom: 308 N. Second Ave.
- Getting there: Walk—Second Avenue and Van Buren Street.
- Price: $15 in advance at Stinkweeds and statesidepresents.com
Recommended if You Like: The Good Life, lo-fi duos, a quieter Decemberists
Two Gallants arrived on the scene in 2004, providing heartfelt blues and folks tunes, winning them the attention of the Saddle Creek record label, famously known for helping birth the Omaha folk scene of Cursive and Bright Eyes. Over their following two records, Two Gallants continued to pick up steam in the indie world, quickly becoming the new darlings of the lo-fi folk scene. But in 2008, the duo suddenly stopped playing out, taking three years off to pursue respective solo projects. Once the two reconvened, they hit the ground running, quickly writing their long-awaited follow-up album and performing a large world tour as 2011 came to a close. Produced by John Congleton (who has also worked with Modest Mouse, Explosions in the Sky and St. Vincent), “The Bloom and the Blight” moves the group towards a harder-edged, fuller sound, mixing garage and more rock-based influences for a newly-energized Two Gallants.
Events compiled by Connor Descheemaker
