Ticket Insider

Upcoming concerts and shows for the month of October in Phoenix

September 30th, 2008 Posted by: Dust Devil

Hello everybody,

September was a great month for live music, and October is shaping up to be another one. There are actually some good concerts this year at the Arizona State Fair and a show down in Tucson that has the potential to be a mind-blowing experience. Let’s get to it!

10/3 = Journey and Cheap Trick at Cricket Pavilion. Yeah, I know, but Cheap Trick is a great power pop band and has been for three decades now. Any band that can produce rock anthems such as Surrender and Dream Police, plus turn around and create power ballads such as Tonight It’s You and The Flame, is a-ok in my book. Too bad they are opening for the Steve Perry-less Journey …

10/5 = A Place to Bury Strangers at Plush in Tucson. This band is absolutely brutal. Hopefully you read the post about them here on The Insider when I saw them at the Monolith Festival on September 13. They are so loud, so intense, but do so with plenty of hooks in their music. The more I listen to their self-titled disc released last year, the more I am a fan of this band. That club will never be the same after the sonic assault A Place to Bury Strangers will unleash on the audience.

10/8 = Henry Rollins at the Marquee Theatre. Rollins is as intense a performer as you will ever see. I have seen him as singer of the mighty Black Flag and the Rollins Band, and have witnessed him twice performing spoken word. Go to this show! The guy will give you your money’s worth and can talk for hours. He does not waste your time with small talk, his spoken word show is one of intelligence and entertainment and will put you in a state of actually wanting to engage in some serious introspection.

10/12 = Pat Benatar at JW Marriott Desert Ridge. Odd place for a concert, but may be a cool event to attend. Pat Benatar has entertained her audience since the seventies and has a string of great hits in her career. This lady can flat out rock on songs like Hit Me With Your Best Shot, but that classically trained voice really shines on tracks like Promises in the Dark and Love is a Battlefield.

10/13 = The Stills and We Are Scientists at the Clubhouse. I got turned on to the Stills a couple of years ago. Their debut record, Logic Will Break Your Heart, released in 2003, is full of post-punk melodies. Nothing too overwhelming, but this is a fine disc. I will be interested to hear them live. We Are Scientists fall in to the post-punk genre with a healthy dose of 80’s inspired dance rhythms. Another band not overly ground-breaking, but should be entertaining.

10/14 = Bob Newhart at Casino AZ. If you grew up in the seventies, do not even try to deny watching The Bob Newhart Show, one of televison’s all-time best sitcoms. Bob Newhart can bring a smile to the face of a corpse with his wonderful brand of humor, and can do so without having to drop f-bombs every other line, a rarity today in the field of comedy.

10/15 = Jukebox the Ghost at the Rhythm Room. The Rhythm Room is a great venue for live music, very intimate and a good sound system. I had the opportunity to see Jukebox the Ghost at the Monolith Festival and was really impressed with their happy brand of indie-pop music. Imagine the addition of Schroeder on piano from Peanuts fame playing alongside a guitar and drums and you have an idea what to expect this band. This is a must-see show!

10/18 = Tokyo Police Club and Weezer at the Arizona State Fair. Another great band that recently played at Monolith, Tokyo Police Club play high octane pop music with a definite punk edge. These guys put on a great show, I have seen them three times now and they have never failed to deliver a stellar peformance. Weezer is not a particular fave of mine, but when I saw them open for the Foo Fighters a couple of years ago I was really impressed with their performance. These guys have a rabid fan base! The entire show was one giant sing-a-long and converted a non-fan into a person that now respects what Weezer has to offer.

10/21 = Sheryl Crow at the Arizona State Fair. I may not be a huge fan of the music, but I have a deep respect for what Sheryl Crow offers as an artist. Melding a number of different styles into one cohesive unit, Sheryl Crow has created music that is not only critically acclaimed but audience pleasing as well. I am really looking forward to see her live for the first time.

A lot of shows folks! Pick and choose; I know the economy is not the greatest right now, but some quality live music will help ease the load a bit. Enjoy!

Cheers!
The Dust Devil

Premium Journey/Cheap Trick tickets http://www.tickco.com/concerts/Journey_tickets.htm
Premium Sheryl Crow tickets http://www.tickco.com/Concerts/Sheryl_crow_tickets.htm

Filed under: Concert Tour Announcements