This week’s best Phoenix concerts: Injury Reserve, Decadence Arizona, Sublime with Rome
Are you ready to see a show this week? Even if the vacation hangover will slow down the concert scene a bit, there are “don’t miss” gigs from Sublime With Rome, Jim Brickman and local hip-hop band Injury Reserve from now until New Year’s Eve, not to mention the first night of the electronic Dance Music Festival Decadence Arizona.
Read on for more details on each of these gigs, or check out the Phoenix New Times online concert listings for more music events. It’s worth noting that COVID-19 cases are on the rise again due to the ultra-contagious Omicron variant. If you are considering going to a concert, keep in mind that several local venues require proof of vaccination or a recent negative test result in order to attend shows. Please see the ticketing sites for each concert for more information.
Mannheim Steamroller Christmas in the Gammage Auditorium
Like the Trans-Siberian Orchestra, Mannheim Steamrollers are best known for concert spectacles that rock classical music and standards for the Christmas season. Originally concocted as a pseudonym for record producer / composer Chip Davis, the band is now a 24-piece group, complemented by a full live orchestra. They’re ending this year’s Christmas tour and will roll into ASU’s Gammage Auditorium at 1200 South Forest Avenue in Tempe on Tuesday, December 28th. You will hear a number of Christmas hits from the Christmas album, first released by Davis in 1984, which is accented by multimedia effects. Think of it as a way to keep the Christmas celebrations a little longer. The performance is at 7:30 p.m. and tickets are $ 40.50 to $ 125.50. Eric W. Saeger
Richie With AT (left) and Parker Corey (right) of the Injury Reserve.
Orienteering
Injury reserve in the Van Buren
Local Injury Reserve fans get spoiled for the holidays as the local hip-hop act returns to the Valley this week. The Tempe-born ensemble of rapper Ritchie With a T and producer Parker Corey will include a show on Wednesday December 29th at The Van Buren, 401 West Van Buren Street. Fittingly, the tour and local gig will be in support of their new album By the Time I Get to Phoenix. It is the first music Injury Reserve has released since founding member Stepa J. Groggs passed away in June 2020. The album was reportedly recorded before the rapper’s death and includes his contributions. Tickets to their Phoenix gig, which starts at 8 p.m., cost $ 22-25. Slauson Malone 1 and Zsela open. Benjamin Leatherman
Singer-songwriter and pianist Jim Brickman.
Jeff Klaum
Jim Brickman in the Musical Instrument Museum
If you haven’t gotten enough of vacation fun and happiness in the past few weeks, adult contemporary singer-songwriter and pianist Jim Brickman will bring his Grammy-nominated talent and Christmas showcase (aka “The Gift of Christmas”) to a musical Instrument Museum, 4725 East Mayo Boulevard, for a multi-night stay this week. Expect to hear lots of seasonal standards and several tunes of your own (including “The Gift,” “Sending You A Little Christmas,” “Angel Eyes,” and “If You Believe”). The performances will take place on Wednesday, December 29th at 6:00 p.m. and on Thursday, December 30th at 6:00 p.m. and 8:00 p.m. Tickets cost between $ 49.50 and $ 69.50. Benjamin Leatherman
Decadence Arizona contestant in 2019.
Benjamin Leatherman
Decadence Arizona 2021 (Night One) at the Rawhide Event Center
One of the biggest New Year’s Eve events in the Valley, especially with electronic dance music, is not necessarily found in a club or nightclub. Instead, it takes place at the Rawhide Event Center, 5700 West North Loop Road in Chandler, during the annual Decadence Arizona Festival, which features a tremendous selection of superstar DJs, producers, and EDM artists performing for thousands of people over two evenings. After a pandemic hiatus last year, the event returns this week for its 2021 edition. The first night on Thursday, December 30th, starts at 6 p.m. and includes sets from Alesso, Seven Lions, Alison Wonderland, DJ Snake, Chris Lake, Kaskade, Madeon, Nora En Pure, Purple Disco Machin, and others. General admission is $ 109 to $ 199, and VIP tickets are $ 249 to $ 999. Benjamin Leatherman
Caros Verdugo (left), Eric Wilson (center) and (right) Rome Ramirez from Sublime With Rome.
Dan Prakopcyk
Sublime with Rome at the Marquee Theater
When does a band start calling itself differently when faced with the loss of key personnel? Sublime With Rome has been addressing this question since drummer Bud Gaugh left the already reconfigured group a few months after the release of their “debut” album Yours Truly in 2011. Currently, the only holdover from the original Sublime is Eric Wilson. the SoCal-based band whose laid-back mix of reggae, ska, West Coast rap and punk had a profound influence on alternative rock of the 90s. This all happened because even the untimely death of singer Bradley Nowell in 1996 failed to meet the continuing demand for sublime music, which ultimately inspired Gaugh and Wilson to restart the band in 2009 with singer / guitarist / sublime superfan Rome Ramirez . Now, after years of successful Post-Yours Truly tours, Sublime With Rome is still writing one of the more unusual chapters in recent rock history. You begin a two-day stay at Tempe’s Marquee Theater, 730 North Mill Avenue on Thursday, December 30th. Tickets cost $ 50.50 to $ 117.50. Chris Gray
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