Saddlebag Trail and Indian Plaza, Scottsdale It never fails. Every weekend night, a crush of clubgoers invade Scottsdale’s bar- heavy entertainment district by the thousands to drink, dance, and debauch. Typi- cally, the destination for this roving horde of 21-to-35 party monsters is the intersection of Saddlebag Trail and Indian Plaza. This T-shaped crossroads is a nightlife epicenter of the Valley: There are a dozen hotspots within stumbling dis- tance of each other, each with its own vibe, DJ selection, and amenities. Along In- dian Plaza, there’s a posh nightclub (Pretty Please) next to a beer garden (Bottled Blonde) next to a tequila-and-tacos joint (Casa Amigos) topped with a boutique bowling alley (Skylanes) across from a pool party haven (Maya). Over on Saddlebag Trail, hip-hop hub INTL, country bar Dierks Bentley’s Whiskey Row, and open-air dance club Hi-Fi compete for attention spans. The scene is chaotic, bordering on shitshow territory, and Scottsdale Police usually block off both streets to traffic, so forget about rolling up in your ride. Stick with those speedy golf carts instead to get you to and from the madness. Valley Rockstar Memorial 1992 East Richards Drive, Tempe facebook.com/valleyrockstarmemorial Doug Hopkins may have shuffled off his mortal coil some 28 years ago, but he’s still a part of the city where he made his name as a musician. A vibrant, 8-foot-wide paint- ing of the late Gin Blossoms songwriter and guitarist adorns the cinderblock wall outside Tommy Gwinn’s home in Tempe and is part of the Valley Rockstar Memo- rial, a mural series he launched in 2020 to honor prominent local musicians who have died. Alongside Hopkins are portraits of guitarist-vocalist Lawrence Zubia, Linkin Park frontman Chester Bennington, keyboardist Vince Welnick of The Tubes, and Mike Condello, the bandleader for The Wallace and Ladmo Show. There are seven paintings in all, each created by Mesa artist Gina Ribaudo. As Gwinn told us earlier this year, the project is a way to keep the mem- ories of these local legends alive. “Someone told me once that everybody dies twice: The first time is when they pass away and the second is when everybody forgets who they were,” he says. “And I’m trying to help keep the second one from happening as much as possible.” Amen, brother. EEEEE Ditch Sessions What did you most miss during the pan- demic? Indoor dining? A trip to the mall? Grocery shopping without fearing for your life? For us, it was live music. So we were grateful to Paul and Julie Kent, Tempe 204 neighborhood activists who very quietly lined up acoustic acts and sent out the low- key word about a series of socially dis- tanced, outdoor performances. It felt so decadent to grab a mask and a beer and wander down the street to the George Ditch to listen to music. We loved being able to tip the musicians (most of whom re- ally suffered with no venues open) and most of all, to just feel normal for a bit, transported by music performed in several spots around the ’hood to keep the crowds tiny and the tunes flowing. We hope the world never shuts down again, but if it does, a return of Ditch Sessions would be an acceptable silver lining. EEEEE Robbie Pfeffer tiktok.com/@playboymanbaby A great person once said, “When the going gets tough, the tough get weird.” That’s cer- tainly been the recent M.O. of Robbie Pfef- fer, the frontman of longtime Phoenix indie rock band Playboy Manbaby. Over the last year-plus, Pfeffer has blown up big-time on TikTok, whether on the band’s account or working with the Maricopa County Demo- cratic Party. Pfeffer’s presence on the “chil- dren’s dancing app” sounds unlikely until you see his videos. His combination of bi- zarre antics and visuals, paired with rele- vant musings on Arizona’s political landscape, somehow works, and his dead- pan humor and general vibe make these clips informative, entertaining, and even a little edgy. Pfeffer’s rise as an unlikely social media star is great for Phoenix, bolstering our reputation as an artistic haven. But mostly, it’s a victory for Pfeffer, who was able to expand his career options in a way as to build on the weird and wonderful art that he’s made over the years. It’s like hav- ing your cake and eating it too (but in, like, one of those super-viral mukbang videos). The Way Back Sessions thewaybacksessions.com Earlier this year, when music venues hadn’t reopened and we were jonesing for some live, local music, only one thing took the edge off. The Way Back Sessions is a weekly YouTube series featuring host Adam Carter, camerawoman Kat Carter, and outgoing sound engineer Brian Pristelski, along with a rotating cast of musical guests. Over the course of 90 minutes or so, viewers get a livestreamed performance interspersed with interview questions and banter be- tween Carter and the musicians. Carter’s enthusiasm is infectious; you can hear him screaming in the background for beloved local acts like Banana Gun, Wurmfur, The Real Fakes, Chrome Rhino, Wyves, The Woodworks, and Big Finish. Beyond giving us a crash course in what’s cool in the Phoe- nix music scene, The Way Back Sessions personalizes the concert experience for viewers; we come away from each episode knowing more about the people we see on stage at shows. Carter says he has big plans for the show, including getting regional and national acts into the WBS studio. We can’t wait to go along for the ride. Gin Blossoms v. Denver Nuggets Fan The 2021 NBA playoffs were a highly emo- tional time for a lot of us. As our Phoenix Suns plowed through the competition to- ward what seemed like an inevitable NBA championship, we all dealt with our ner- vous energy in different ways. As one ex- ample, Tempe music legends the Gin Blossoms blew off a little steam by engag- ing in a Twitter war with a smartass Den- ver Nuggets fan. After the Suns trounced the Nuggets in the second round of the playoffs, the Gin Blossoms were the half- time entertainment during Game Two of the Western Conference finals against the Los Angeles Clippers. “Leave it to the Suns to book the third shittiest band ever,” tweeted @VicFang1o. “Who did your Nug- gets book tonight?” the Blossoms fired back. That could have been the end of it, but @VicFang1o just wouldn’t stop poking. “This @nuggets season is now about as rel- evant as the Gin Blossoms tbh,” he re- sponded. The Gin Blossoms clapped back by saying they were playing “one more game of the Western Conference Finals than the Nuggets.” The back-and-forth jabs continued, with @VicFang1o’s trolling comments getting increasingly lame. In the end, he faded back into obscurity and the Gin Blossoms spent the summer on tour, so we know who the real winner is here. EEEEE Lounge 1502 Grand Avenue 602-252-0472 facebook.com/theBikiniLounge Speakeasy spots, rowdy saloons, dingy dives, and new Arizona-forward cocktail lounges currently comprise the Phoenix bar scene — but this historic tiki tavern is still tops. The Bikini Lounge is a well-loved neighborhood bar — okay, dive — in the Grand Avenue Arts District. And though it’s old Phoenix, we’re not too worried it’s going to get run out of the burgeoning downtown scene. It’s too much of a fixture. Open since 1947 and named for Bikini Atoll in the Marshall Islands, it’s one of the last of the first-wave tiki bars that were popular in the midcentury Valley. The cash-only haunt is also known for a lovable but stern longtime bar staff. Bikini was remodeled in the 1960s and is still adorned in Tom Coo- per murals (most iconically, the topless woman above the bar), a bamboo-walled back patio, and even a tiki-themed bike rack. EEEEE Cocktail Bar 1514 North Seventh Avenue 602-675-4244 highballphx.com Great creative cocktails. Minimal theatri- cal bullshit. This has become a rare combi- nation in the age of the themed or otherwise grandly designed cocktail bar. Highball lasers in on drinks with zero dis- tractions. Libby Lingua and Mitch Lyons’ dim, copper-plated bar features cocktails as exciting as any in town, building from complex mixed bases of cognac and apple brandy, uniting unalike ingredients like co- conut matcha and fernet, and infusing rum with Fruity Pebbles. If you think you’ve sipped it all, post up and try a riff like Amongst the Trees (a spice-tinged, fruit- layered paloma). Or order something wholly new, like Pardon Anything (cachaca and graham cracker?). Even the wine offer- ings and shots are next level. EEEEE UnderTow 3626 East Indian School Road undertowphx.com Even now, even in its unlikely digs sharing a building with The Grey Hen and Century Grand, UnderTow immerses you so deeply Highball Bikini BEST OF PHOENIX 2021 | WWW.BESTOFPHOENIX2021.C0M | SEPTEMBER 30, 2021 B E ST B A R ni B E S T INT ERS EC TI O NF OR NIGHTLIF E ghtlif e S B E T TWIT T ER W A R B E S T NEW B A R B E S T Y O U T UB E S ERIE S B B E T SOC O L L T T ENDS A RIB L R U EG B T E OCK E S T TIK T OK S UP ERS T A R ES T B A R RE BOO T B NC E C S ER O T P A NDERIE T S EMIC S
