It’s the beginning of a new semester, and everyone knows what that means: no homework. So if you have nothing to do but read over your class syllabi this weekend, why not take some time to check out some of the wonderful events that downtown Phoenix has to offer. Maybe you’ll find something new to love about our city.
- Friday, Jan. 6
- 5 p.m. to 7 p.m.
- Clarendon Hotel: 401 W. Clarendon Ave.
- Getting there: Rail, then Walk—Central Ave. and Indian School stop, walk to South and West to Clarendon and 4th Ave.
- Price: FREE
Recommended If You Like: charity, musicals, indigenous culture
Whether you caught them at December’s Phoestivus or not, all are in for a treat with the Mwamba Children’s Choir. This Friday, the vocal group will assemble in Phoenix once again for a ringing, joyous proclamation of hope amidst despair. The group is made up of Ugandan children, largely orphans, who travel the U.S. for much of the year, singing, dancing, and raising money for the orphanage where they live in Africa. Their name means “rock” in Swahili, signifying the difficult lives led by the children, as well as the forceful message of positivity brought forth by the Choir. End the school and work week with something positive, and join the Ugandan youth on the rooftop of the gorgeous Clarendon Hotel, kicking off a weekend of good times.
“Downtown Phoenix” Book Release Party
- Saturday, Jan. 7
- 5 p.m. to 8 p.m.
- Hanny’s: 40 N. First St.
- Getting there: Walk—First Street and Monroe
- Price: Free entrance, $20 book
Recommended If You Like: Phoenix pride, history
If you’ve ever been a tourist, the Images of America book series’ warm, sepia-toned photos, and thoughtful, local histories will be familiar. Now, the much-loved series will release its latest volume on the place we all know and love: Downtown Phoenix. Written by local authors and advocates Jim McPherson, J Seth Anderson, and Suad Mahmuljin, the soft-cover tome features 180 classic images, interviews with countless historians, and all the encouragement needed for doubters to show what Downtown once was, is, and will be. For the release party, show up in your 1940s best to represent Downtown’s heyday, and the date of construction of the event’s historic host location, Hanny’s, built as a luxury clothing store in 1947. Even the authors themselves will be on hand to sign copies of the book and revel in the glory of the city’s previously untold past.
Starlight Girls and Eauno with Rough Tough Dynamite and Hug-of-War
- Saturday, Jan. 7
- 7:30 p.m.
- The Trunk Space: 1506 NW Grand Ave.
- Getting there: Bike—15th Ave. and Grand
- Price: $6
Recommended If You Like: retro music, girl-pop, a better Best Coast
Bright organs, shiny vocal harmonies and upbeat rhythms combine to make the next great evolutionary take on ‘60s pop and soul. Much in the vein of recent indie sensations Best Coast and Vivian Girls, Starlight Girls bring dueling female vocals to the forefront for their skittering, sunny music. But instead of cruising along in a wave of haze like their more-popular peers, the Girls keep their audience engaged, with driving crescendos and an abundance of instruments filling each track, best exemplified by the twin flute and guitar attack of co-vocalist Christina. At each turn, the band’s surf-pop roots dive into bossa nova, psychedelia, jazz, and light modern soul, ensuring the band a far more diverse and cultured sound than one might realize at first listen. Finally, impassioned cries and macabre imagery complete the package, giving the band just enough edge to keep things interesting to even the most jaded. Hosted by the friendly folks at the Trunk Space, this show is sure to be a great preview of a band that won’t be this small for long.
- Thursday-Sunday, Wednesday, Jan. 5-8, 11
- Various times, see atphx.org
- Herberger Theater Center: 222 E. Monroe St.
- Getting there: Walk—2nd Street and Monroe
- Price: $20.50-$39.50
Recommended If You Like: ferocious comedy, absurdism, animal instincts
Actors Theatre, Downtown’s resident professional button-pushers made it through to 2011, and they aren’t backing down one bit. This newest production began in late December, and enters the new year with a bang, offering a biting, dark look at human nature versus animal instincts. Starting with an animal sacrifice before delving into sexual impulse, violence, and submission, the play tears at the lines of decency and humanity. This Kubrick-ian look at evolved man and devolved behavior encourages re-examination, but doesn’t stray from immediate benefits, filling itself to the brim with sinister laughs and painful gasps. What’s supposed to be a small, nice dinner party for two long-friendly couples instantly becomes something far deeper and more surprising.
Jason Hill: Icons of Phoenix—A Retrospective of New Work
- Friday, Jan. 6
- 6 p.m.
- Willo North Gallery: 2811 N. Seventh Ave.
- Getting there: Rail, then Walk—Central Ave. and Thomas stop, then walk to 7th Ave. and Thomas
- Price: FREE
Recommended If You Like: classic Phoenix, Andy Warhol, reimagining old sights
Locally-born and nationally-renowned, Phoenix-based graphic designer and painter Jason Hill knows a thing or two about the city. In honor of Arizona’s impending centennial celebration, Midtown’s Willo North Gallery is bringing the artist to their walls for a solo show reimagining the look of Phoenix’s many brilliant structures. From the Westward Ho to the Phoenix Financial Center, Sunnyslope Mountain to the Bikini Lounge, Hill’s images have graced countless postcards and screenprints, and now he is once again taking all that we know about our fair city, and turning it on its head in the style of Warhol. Filled with bright colors and retro aesthetics, Hill is bringing flash to the Valley, one iconic piece at a time.
- Tuesday, Jan. 10
- 7 p.m. doors, 8 p.m. show
- Crescent Ballroom: 308 N. Second Ave.
- Getting there: Walk—2nd Ave. and Van Buren
- Price: $12 in advance at crescentphx.com
Recommended If You Like: live-band electro-pop, cheery dancing, MGMT
They know, the name is ridiculous. After tossing around several name changes following their debut full-length, the indie-electro group decided to embrace the title, continuing to grow in popularity thanks to their danceable music and eye-catching name. Elaborate, layered keyboards and samples dance over live drums and strange lecture snippets on the group’s stylized debut, self-titled release. Things changed for the better with their 2011 followup, Reptilian, with its fuller instrumentation and more mature synth-pop, hearkening to the easygoing melodies of MGMT and even ‘90s/early 2000s-era Flaming Lips. The swirling flourishes of keys lend a triumphal air, something much-needed to kick off the latest semester.
Events compiled by Connor Descheemaker.
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