Phoenix Thread • Page 2

Yeah it definitely is (especially since the renovation), but I'm talking more about the little hole in the wall type venues that were once integral in the AZ local scene

 

I miss Modified Arts.

As far as smaller venues go: Valley Bar is nice but it seems like a death trap. Isn't there only one way in and out? Damn fire hazard.

Crescent Ballroom is nice but I rarely have a reason to go there.

I see the name Rebel Lounge a lot and I've yet to go there.

Pressroom and Nile/Underground are cool. Rialto in Tucson is great, too.

 

I'm pretty sure there's only one way in/out of Valley Bar haha, so yeah I totally know what you mean. Good vibes there though as long as it's not too packed, solid drink selection and pretty good sound. Only gripe is that it gets kinda... sticky down there haha. It's always oddly humid.

Love Crescent, personally think they've got the best sound system in the valley. Great food there too!

Rebel Lounge is where the Mason Jar used to be, if you remember that place. They cleaned it up really well though, it's actually an enjoyable venue now, and they actually just bought the same sound system as Crescent so aside from the room itself being a little smaller and not having as much space to travel, the sound is solid.

But yeah man, I miss Modified too. Love that it was literally just a house, haha. No mics, no real stage. So much fun. All the other places like Neckbeard's, The One Place, The Phix, The Real Bar, and of course The Clubhouse all stick out in my memory as well.

 

I remember Polar Bear Club was supposed to play Phix but something happened the night of so the promoter moved it to Modified, which already had something going on. The bands went on super late. I was dropped off at Phix so I asked one of the dudes in PBC if I could get a ride and he obliged. One of my most memorable shows for sure. Lots of memories in that house.

I've been to Crescent twice and it sounded great both times. Went to Phix twice before it closed. The couches they had reeked of cat piss haha. Forgot about The One Place. Spitalfield's last tour was there.

I forgot all about the Clubhouse. Probably went there more than any other place. Definitely miss that one.

I've never heard of Mason Jar so that was probably before my time. There was also Brickhouse, The Sets, Rhythm Room (still there, I'm sure, just doesn't host as many shows anymore), and Chyro Arts (went once for You, Me, and Everyone We Know. Not at all surprised it didn't last haha).

Can't think of any others right now. That might be it, actually.

 

Oh wow, totally forgot about The Sets and The Brickhouse! No chance Mason Jar was before your time if you remember those places, it probably just missed your radar somehow. Wasn't great, you didn't miss out haha. The last time I went to The Sets was for a Goodbye Tomorrow/Greeley Estates Christmas show and some guy got stabbed. Never felt like going back after that, lol. Only visited Chyro Arts once, tiny little place but it was pretty popular for a while there.

Totally just remembered Venue of Scottsdale also haha. That place has gotta still be around, probably just doesn't put on a lot of shows like it used to. The Hot Church way out in Ahwatukee always had great shows too.

That's an awesome PBC story though haha, sounds like you were lucky you got there before the band took off!

And yeah I think The Clubhouse was pretty much the universal darling of the AZ scene. Spent a ridiculous amount of time there in high school, saw countless shows and always had a blast. Still blows my mind that the first time I saw Paramore was at that venue.

 

I didn't pay attention to live music too much back then so you're probably right. I remember Brickhouse wasn't around too much longer after I went there. This was some time in 2007, Probably before summer. I started getting out more in 2008 so I'm mostly on board from then on.

My first show was The Fall of Troy at The Sets. I wonder if that stabbing had something to do with them closing.

Speaking of which, I forgot about 51 West in Tempe. That's a solid place. Only a minute away from where Sets was, too.

That's crazy about Paramore. I bet that was an awesome time. I remember hearing about Fun playing there and then a couple years later they were massive too. Best part of Clubhouse was you never had to worry about parking. Too bad I didn't drive back then - I never got to enjoy that part.

Worst parking I think is the first Club Red building. I parked at a gas station across the way last time because there was nothing.

 

Thank you for all the great suggestions! Sorry for late response. This was helpful. Looking forward to coming and checking out the area for a few years :)

 

By God, I think I'm getting used to the heat. Maybe because it's only 107 today.

 

Saw so many great shows at Modified Arts before they shut down. That was one of the most interesting atmosphere's anywhere that I've been to. Chain Reaction levels, if not better at times.

 

My most vivid memory from Modified was probably one of my most embarrassing concert moments haha. It was probably 2007 and Weatherbox was playing Trippin' The Life Fantastic. Basically an entirely still crowd, but everyone was singing every word. I totally forgot that the first round of "I have cobwebs for maps" ends after "have" and then the song gets really quiet... so I basically just yelled at the top of my lungs "COOOBWEEEEBS FO-" and immediately realized my mistake. Many people looked and laughed, not in a mean way or anything but I was still totally like "fuck"

Seen Weatherbox many, many times since then and never made that mistake again lol

 

@trevorshmevor I know what part you're talking about and that's hilarious haha. Always cracks me up when people who are super into it/yelling make a mistake, myself included.

 

There's a chance of rain next week. I'm not holding my breath. However, when it was cloudy a few weeks ago, I drove up to Dobbins Lookout super early in the morning and it was beautiful out. If anything, overcast will lower the temperature a little.

 

You called it man -- beautiful here today! About to head about for a bike ride, so excited to be able to do that in July for once haha

 

It's actually bearable a little while before sunset. Still hot as shit, but it's doable. I can't wait to get a bike and ride around, especially when it's cool out.

I'll take a little extra humidity if it means dramatic skies.

 

There's one hell of a storm over us right now.

 

Dude, it's going fucking nuts at my house right now, it's borderline scary hahah

 

I'm waiting for it to calm down enough to drive around and see the damage haha. Our power's been flickering ever so slightly, too. The only time that I remember it being this bad or worse was when I-10 flooded 2 years ago.

Monsoon season has come back with a vengeance.

 

Ahh yeah that storm was insane. Actually caused a leak in my house, blew off some of my roof tiles and the rain got into the underlayment. That was a nightmare haha. My living room was a disaster zone for like two months.

But yeah, seeing the damage afterward is nuts. Meeting up with some buddies for sushi in a little bit, but I'm gonna leave the house early so I can check out the aftermath as well. A few years ago there was a microburst about a mile away from my house and it ripped a good 40% of the nearby trees right out of the ground.

 

The bar I work at in South Phoenix got a leak this time around and shut off our TV service, but unfortunately for me, no power outage haha

 

Incoming.



These last two weeks have been great weather-wise. Well, as great as it can be in the middle of summer.

 

Used to love the summer storms until I moved into a house that I actually gave a real shit about haha. Now I see that and just think "this is gonna take such a toll on the backyard". Getting old is weird, man.

On the flip side, I attended Warped last week and the weather was better than I've ever experienced at a Warped in AZ. Also, the a/c went out in my car a month or so ago and I haven't fixed it because I plan on buying a new one soon anyway. So the dip in temperature has helped out with that haha. I'm now only sort of sticking to the seats.

 

And so it begins!

 

Lol one of my dogs always lets me know when a storm is nearby because she suddenly gets up and starts pacing around. She always knows a good half hour before I even start to notice signs from outside. Dogs are weird man

 

I know there aren't many of us in the thread, but what shows are you guys excited for that are rolling through town in the next few months? I feel like every week something has come up recently.

In the next two months I've got written down:

Periphery
Somos
Yellowcard
Oh Wonder
Sigur Ros
Chance The Rapper
Ace Enders/Aaron Gillespie
Balance And Composure/Foxing
From Indian Lakes
Sum 41
Pinegrove/Petal/Kevin Devine
Bad Suns

Considering driving up to Flagstaff for El Ten Eleven too

 

I think the only for sure thing left for me this year is Atmosphere in October. Thought about chance and deftones but I'm sure I'll end up skipping both.