Orpheum Theater, Phoenix
April 14th, 2025

The last time I saw Kraftwerk live, I was thoroughly unimpressed. It was July 1991, at Brixton Academy, and my twenty-something self left disgruntled, “What was the point?,” I muttered. “That wasn’t a concert.” Three decades later, Kraftwerk haven’t changed. At least, not in style. The only member remaining from that line-up is Ralf Hütter, which is why a friend refers to them as the ‘band of Theseus‘. Though given a defining trait is the group’s entirely deliberate lack of stage presence, few musical ensembles are better built to cope with personnel changes. But I did warn Chris beforehand what she should expect, based on my earlier experience. Kraftwerk will take the stage at 8 pm, on the dot. They will not interact with the audience in any way. They will play for two hours in front of their video wall. They will leave.

Turns out this was almost entirely spot-on, and the same as in 1991. Except, this time I really enjoyed it.

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Dir: Darcy Weir
With: Philip Mantle, Charlie Hickson, Calvin Parker, Maria Blair
Format: four x 60-minute episodes
Available: on Amazon, TubiTV and ROKU

The Pascagoula Incident is one of the more perplexing ones in UFO history, because it’s not just an account of an abduction, it’s something which happened to two people at the same time. It took place in October 1973, when Charlie Hickson and Calvin Parker were fishing on the Pascagoula River in Mississippi. The men claim to have seen a UFO, whose robot-like occupants (both) paralyzed the pair and took them on board the craft, carrying out an examination of them there before returning them to the river-bank. Most abduction reports involve one person, which makes them easier to write off as hallucinations etc. Cases like this – the Betty and Barney Hill abduction would be another – are more resistant to prosaic explanations, though “hoax” is always a reliable fall-back for skeptics.

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I almost didn’t do one this election. I was simply tired. Tired of the propaganda. Tired of partisanship. Tired of a process which takes close to two years, when it should only need six weeks. Tired of candidates who, for the the third election in a row, have me thinking, “These two are really the best their party could find?” But the historic nature of last night’s result felt like it deserved to be marked: for Trump regained the position of President, becoming the first person to do so since Grover Cleveland in 1892. Americans don’t like losers, especially in politics, and when you lose an election, you’re typically done. But Trump is hardly your typical politician, is he? And this was certainly not your typical election either.

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Footprint Center, Phoenix
October 29th, 2024

The latest in our ongoing series of “Guess We’d Better See Them Before They Die” concerts, brings us what is intended to Jeff Lynne’s farewell series of shows, the appropriately named “Over and Out” tour. As ever, you’re never quite sure whether to believe an artist when they say they’re quitting. But with Lynne turning 77 next month, and never a particular fan of playing live (he basically didn’t for two decades), it’s credible this could be the last chance to see him. If so, Phoenix was his final performance in America. It wasn’t originally intended that way, but the concert was rescheduled from October 21st due to illness, pushing it to the end of the tour dates.

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Arizona Financial Theater
July 3rd 2024

Our latest venture into the world of geriatric pop took us to the Venue Formerly Known as the Dodge Theater in downtown Phoenix for a gathering of 80’s greats, Okay, for some loose definition of “greats”, revolving around, “People you might have heard of.” Possibly. Well, I was fairly stoked anyway, finally getting to see Thomas Dolby, a mere 43 years after Europe and the Pirate Twins became one of my earliest exposures to synth-pop. It still kicks ass now. Unfortunately, in an equally throwback spirit, a couple of members of his crew tested positive for COVID, forcing Mr. Dolby to drop out. Oh, well, sure he’ll be back around in another 43 years. I’ll only be one hundred and one.

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