It’s the perfect time for a break. School and work are weighing you down. It’s been too long since a federal holiday. There’s no better week than this to take some time off, and Downtown Phoenix is chock-full of events for even the most discerning entertainment connoisseur.
Art Detour leads the charge, providing the impetus for at least three of this week’s events, with over 60 arts venues across the city swinging open their doors to the public to share in the joy of art all weekend long. Steve Weiss and No Festival Required continue their “Building Community Cinema” series with a documentary on the “father of modern skyscrapers,” the great Louis Sullivan. Aaron Johnson and Lawn Gnome Publishing serve up a day full of underground zines, comics and books in the third annual Underground Publishers Convention. Barrio Cafe and the Calle 16 district heat things up with a day-long lowrider show. The Trunk Space brings in two superb new musical acts as they tour to and from the fabled South by Southwest Music festival. And local heroes Andrew Jackson Jihad return to town on their first full-band tour with folkies Laura Stevenson & the Cans and fellow local boys ROAR.
Is that enough entertainment for you? Savor your break, and soak it all in! The next two weeks are all yours!
Louis Sullivan: The Struggle for American Architecture
- Thursday, March 15
- 6:30 p.m. Doors, 7:00 p.m. Show
- AIA AZ Chapter—Walker Building, 2nd Floor: 30 N. Third Ave., Suite 200
- Getting there: Walk—Third Avenue and Washington Street
- Price: FREE
Recommended if You Like: revolutionary architecture, innovation, big cities
Louis Sullivan transformed the way we think about architecture. A bold statement, yes, but a true one nonetheless. Born in the 19th century and raised during the United States’ Industrial Revolution, Sullivan arrived and established himself with the major crest of innovation in American construction. Credited with coining the phrase “form follows function,” and more importantly designing the first modern skyscrapers, Sullivan laid the groundwork for all modern cities. A visionary with no desire for compromise, Sullivan forced himself out of favor with his staunchly singular ideals and radical new designs. Though his work alone could capture the minds of many, it was his influence on a certain other architect which left the most indelible impact. The one and only Frank Lloyd Wright, who served as Sullivan’s protege, saw the power of Sullivan’s work, and sought to expand it into entirely new realms. This film showcases not only the beauty and power of the great architect’s work, but the expansive challenge it set forth for all architecture in the future. The latest in No Festival Required’s Building Community Cinema series, this film seeks to showcase the transcendent value of great design.
A Portrait: 100 Phoenix Artists (Half Way Show)
- Friday-Sunday, March 16-18
- Friday: 6 to 10 p.m.; Saturday: 10 a.m. to 6 p.m.; Sunday: 12 to 6 p.m.
- Arizona Center: 400 E. Van Buren St.
- Getting there: Walk—Third and Van Buren streets
- Price: FREE
Recommended if You Like: documentary photography, an overview of Phoenix artists, art production
Anthony Zeh is a veteran. A highly involved member of the Phoenix art scene for over 20 years, Zeh began as the de-facto mouthpiece for all of the area’s artists and galleries. A long-time photographer and designer in his own right, Zeh has more recently come to focus on personal work. But for his latest project, the artist has faced himself outward once again, this time to document the work of 100 of Phoenix’s most prominent artists. For Art Detour, Zeh has compiled 50 of his high-contrast, black-and-white diptychs, displaying the creative process of numerous local artists. Venturing into their personal studios, Zeh’s photos evoke a sharp yet delicate perspective on the work being done by Phoenix’s most prominent creative minds. Inclusive of photographers, painters, sculptors, jewelers and others, the two-part images offer a glimpse into both the physical work being put in by each artist, and the environment with which they surround themselves as they create. On display as a three-day pop-up inside Downtown’s Arizona Center, Zeh’s is presenting a landmark in both his body of work, and the documentary process of the Downtown arts community. Catch this while you can.
Underground Publishers Convention
- Saturday, March 17
- 11 a.m. to 8 p.m. and after-hours
- Lawn Gnome Publishing & Bookstore: 905 N. Fifth St.
- Getting there: Walk—Fifth and Garfield streets
- Price: FREE w/ books and zines galore available for purchase! ($5 for night performances)
Recommended if You Like: DIY culture, ZINES!, open creativity
For its fourth edition, the Underground Publishers Convention is finally coming home. After hosting the annual small press, zine and comics fair at various locations around Downtown over the years, organizer Aaron Johnson is finally presenting at his own storefront: the just-opened Lawn Gnome Publishing & Bookstore. The event as a whole serves as a clearinghouse for the underground publishing community, where subversive, controversial and outsider works reign supreme. Presented simultaneously with the annual Art Detour, the UPC will be open all day with tables filled with the best local and regional authors. Each will be able to directly peddle his wares to the public, allowing visitors to truly connect with the artistic works they choose to buy. During the convention, local artists and performers will host skill-share sessions, instructing willing visitors in the practices of screen printing, bicycle maintenance, crafts and other valuable skills. Then, beginning at 3 p.m. and continuing throughout the evening, Lawn Gnome’s backyard “stage” will be abuzz with activity, including an open-mic session, performances by local bands Odds + Sods and Drunk & Horny, an “underground” poetry slam with a $100 grand prize, and a special performance by local burlesque troupe Provocatease.
Radiation City w/ Diners, Joel Cathcart, Tobie Milford
- Thursday, March 22
- 7:30 p.m. Doors
- The Trunk Space: 1506 NW Grand Ave.
- Getting there: Bike—15th and Grand avenues
- Price: $6 at the door
Recommended if You Like: classical-indie, soft folk, ethereal sounds
The Trunk Space has long been known to be at the forefront of indie and local music, and their concert calendar in the lead-up to SXSW Music is no exception. For this latest set, the venue is bringing Downtown Radiation City, a rising star in the Portland music scene, and marquee act for the hot Portland DIY label Tender Loving Empire. Through appearances at CMJ in New York, and the legendary PDX Pop Now! fest in Portland, the group has earned praise from major music resources as diverse as Brooklyn Vegan, Prefix, MTV, Paste and ELLE. Following their acclaimed debut full-length, Radiation City is touring behind their latest EP, a work said to be entirely inspired by an old piano that dwelt for years in the band’s drummer’s basement. The release itself will be packaged in unique ways as well, only available on cassette tape, two versions of 10” vinyl and a special USB drive attached to one of the fabled piano’s actual keys. But don’t forget about the openers. One to watch is Irishman Joel Cathcart, a multi-instrumentalist best-known for his work with the heim, a rare European hand drum with which he wowed audiences last-month in an impromptu jam session with violinist Tobie Milford (also performing at the show) during Michelle Blades’ CD release show at the Trunk Space.
- Friday-Sunday, March 16-18
- Friday: 6 to 9 p.m.; Saturday: 10 a.m. to 6 p.m.; Sunday: 12 to 6 p.m.
- Modified Arts: 407 E. Roosevelt St.
- Getting there: Walk—Fourth and Roosevelt streets
- Price: FREE
Recommended if You Like: social media, collaborative curating, experimental exhibition
After nearly 13 years on the scene, Modified Arts continues to innovate. For its latest exhibition, the gallery fielded an entire show curated via social media. Through a series of Internet pleas, Modified gathered artist suggestions from artists, curators and art enthusiasts, basing their selections exclusively on the artists recommended. The result is Phoenix+, a group show featuring contemporary art from 28 artists from across Arizona and the Southwest. And as it turns out, the social media audience has good taste, with pieces being shown from photographers Sean Deckert and Dan Vermillion, printmaker Angela Young and painting/stitching by Kaori Takamura, among many others.
- Sunday, March 18
- 12 to 3 p.m.
- Barrio Cafe: 2814 N. 16th St.
- Getting there: Bike—16th Street, just south of Thomas Road
- Price: FREE
Recommended if You Like: Latin culture, modified rides, unconventional expression
Proclaimed an “Art Detour DETOUR” by organizers, the folks behind Calle 16 are bringing a little Latin flavor to this weekend’s festivities. Sunday afternoon, the corner of 16th and Edgemont will play host to some of the hottest rides in the city, celebrating lowrider culture. As is the norm with events on Calle 16, the purpose of the event is multi-faceted, as the show partners the legendary Barrio Cafe, Viejitos Car Club and the new Por Vida Gallery to present “arts and culture together for a better Phoenix,” according to the event’s flier. Attendees are invited to bring unopened art supplies to benefit the local Metropolitan Arts Institute, further integrating the community into the daylong showcase.
Dustin Wong w/ Woodsman, dRainbow, Good Amount
- Sunday, March 18
- 7:30 p.m. Doors
- The Trunk Space: 1506 NW Grand Ave.
- Getting there: Bike—15th and Grand avenues
- Price: $6 at the door
Recommended if You Like: drifting guitars, layered sounds, intimate performance
Following years in widely-whispered art-rock acts Ecstatic Sunshine and Ponytail, Dustin Wong branched out on his own. Three solo albums later, Wong continues to perplex and engage audiences the world over with his instrumental, solo-guitar works, in many ways reminiscent of ‘90s experimentalists The Olivia Tremor Control. Funneling his abstract-sounding guitar parts through a barrage of pedals and loops, Wong creates a real wall of sound, leaving listeners to choose for themselves which sounds to follow. Joining the guitarist on this tour is Woodsman, a psych-drone band returning from a trip to SXSW Music. The group’s dual drummers create dense, hypnotic soundscapes recalling the strangest head-trip you can remember.
Andrew Jackson Jihad w/ Laura Stevenson & the Cans, ROAR
- Saturday, March 24
- 7:30 p.m. Doors, 8:30 p.m. Show
- Crescent Ballroom: 308 N. Second Ave.
- Getting there: Walk—Second Avenue and Van Buren Street
- Price: $10 in advance at psykosteve.com; $12 at the door
Recommended if You Like: folk-punk, local-boys-made-good, a new spin on the indie songstress
Everyone’s favorite local band is back. Andrew Jackson Jihad has been thrilling fans in Arizona since 2004 with their hyper-fast, folk-punk style and howled vocals, performing hundreds of shows at houses, bars and of course Downtown favorite, The Trunk Space. That work ethic and earnest approach to songwriting and touring has led to band to appearances at major punk events including The Fest in Florida, and Plan-It-X Fest in Indiana, and releases on seminal punk labels Asian Man, No Idea, and Plan-It-X records. However, for their latest tour, the band is approaching things with a new edge: performing their entire sets plugged-in, and with drums for the first time ever. First previewed at their December headlining show at the Crescent, AJJ is finally translating the sonic experimentation of their albums into live concerts. Joining the band on this nationwide tour are long-time friends Laura Stevenson & the Cans (featuring members of Latterman and Bomb the Music Industry!) and Roar (featuring Owen Evans of local heroes Asleep In the Sea).
Events compiled by Connor Descheemaker.
