30 Jan 12th–Jan 18th, 2023 phoenixnewtimes.com phoenix new Times | music | cafe | film | culTuRe | NighT+Day | feaTuRe | NeWs | OPiNiON | feeDBacK | cONTeNTs | of The Miracles, resulting in such gems as “Shop Around,” “Who’s Loving You,” and “The Tears of a Clown.” Working behind the scenes at Motown Records, he penned songs for The Temptation (“My Girl,” “Get Ready”) and such artists as Mary Wells (“My Guy”), the Four Tops (“Stillwater”), and Marvin Gaye (“Ain’t That Peculiar”). Robinson is still going strong at age 82 and will bring his glorious pipes to the Ikeda Theater at Mesa Arts Center later this month. 8 p.m., $60-$175 via mesaartscenter. com. BENJAMIN LEATHERMAN Unwritten Law Sunday, January 22 Crescent Ballroom, 308 North Second Avenue San Diego punk band Unwritten Law left their high-water mark on commercial music charts in the early 2000s with their LP singles “Seein’ Red” and “Save Me,” and while the band hasn’t appeared in the main- stream limelight since then, a devout fan base has kept them alive and well. They’ve endured numerous lineup changes over the years — including losing members Ace Von Johnson, Tony Palermo, John Bell, and Rob Brewer — but have kept on going with their current lineup of Scott Russo, Wade Youman, Jonny Grill, Scotty Mac, and Chris Lewis. Last year, Unwritten Law put out The Hum on Cleopatra Records, their first album in more than a decade. With Zebrahead, Tyler Posey, and Tony Lovato; 7 p.m., $25/$30 via seetickets.us. CALEB HALEY Dry Cleaning Monday, January 23 Crescent Ballroom, 308 North Second Avenue Dry Cleaning’s Florence Shaw is a sneaky vocalist. She doesn’t sing in the conven- tional sense: Shaw talks over the music, issuing spoken word narratives over the tense and dynamic soundscapes crafted by bandmates Tom Dowse, Lewis Maynard, and Nick Buxton. What makes her sneaky is how she lulls you in with her flat vocal affect only to wallop you with a devastating line or sudden shift into melodicism. Consider the heartbreaking “Gary Ashby” off last year’s Stumpwork. A song about a lost pet turtle, Shaw’s talk-singing conveys genuine loss and sadness in a way that normal singing wouldn’t. She sounds numb and restrained, trying to put on a brave face while mourning a beloved four- legged family member. On paper, Dry Cleaning can seem like a cold, intellectual exercise. “Spoken word over nervy post- punk” definitely sounds like an acquired taste, doesn’t it? But Dry Cleaning knows how to turn that formula into something thrilling. Only two albums into their career, they’ve found ways to play with their style and confound expectations. They can even be anthemic: when Shaw cooly intones “Do everything and feel nothing” on New Long Leg’s “Scratchcard Lanyard,” it feels like both a rallying cry and a summation of the inertia of life during lockdown. With Nourished by Time; 8 p.m., $22/$25 via seetickets.us. ASHLEY NAFTULE Lalah Hathaway Saturday, January 28 Chandler Center for the Arts, 250 North Arizona Avenue For Lalah Hathaway, soul is a family affair. The daughter of soul legend Donny Hathaway, the vocalist has carved out a distinguished career in her own right. The key to her success is her multiphonic singing style, which allows her to take advantage of overtones in her music and “split” her voice into several distinct notes singing at the same time. It lends a pris- matic quality to her recordings: a single soulful voice arching out into a rainbow of melody and deeply rooted feeling. Born in 1968, Hathaway took her time studying music and developing her voice before recording her first album in 1990. In addition to writing her own songs she displayed a knack for covers, reinterpreting songs by Sly Stone and Luther Vandross. While soul is her first love, she’s branched out into gospel and jazz as well. Her love of jazz can be seen clearly in her live perfor- mances, where she’ll often expand on her studio recordings with new, longer arrangements. 7:30 p.m., $48-$78 via tick- etmaster.com. ASHLEY NAFTULE The punk rockers of Unwritten Law. Cleopatra Records Strong from p 28
