24 Dec 7th–Dec 13th, 2023 phoenixnewtimes.com phoenix new Times | NEWS | FEATURE | FOOD & DRINK | ARTS & CULTURE | MUSIC | CONCERTS | CANNABIS | THURS 12/7 FRI 12/8 SAT 12/9 MON 12/11 UpcOMINg SHOwS: SUN 12/10 SUZIE AND THE AccELERATORZ wITH TIN cAN ScREAMERS SHOwTIME @ 7:00pM LUcky DEvILS BAND SHOwTIME @ 8:00pM 12/12 MAx kApLAN & THE MAgIcS 12/13 gARy HOEy 12/14 MISS OLIvA & THE ITHE INTERLOpERS SUMMER OF LOvE SHOwTIME @ 4pM JIMI pRIMETIME SMITH / BOB cORRITORE BLUES BAND wITH BRIAN FAHEy, yAHNI RILEy, JOHNNy RA SHOwTIME @ 8:00pM THE wOODwORkS, BELLwEATHERS, HIT THE EARTH, cAMELLO ROAD, ZAck O’MEARA SHOwTIME @ 7pM Hot Tickets Five can’t-miss December concerts in metro Phoenix. BY PHOENIX NEW TIMES WRITERS T he 2023 concert calendar has been absolutely packed; some of the biggest names in music have passed through Phoenix in the previous 12 months. To finish the year strong, here are five shows happening before the end of the year that you ought to go see. Billy Joel and Stevie Nicks Friday, Dec. 8 Chase Field, 401 E. Jefferson St. Divorcees and recovering coke addicts, your time is now! Two songwriting legends are combining their powers of intro- spection, melody, and narcissism for an arena show full of era-defining hits. On paper, the two couldn’t be further apart: Stevie Nicks the witchy woman, a meta- physical siren with a hard edge underneath all those whirling shawls; Billy Joel the Long Island boy with a chip on his shoulder the size of Manhattan, whose songs live and breathe in the quotidian muck. What brings them together is a shared history of rock star hubris and good times, a knack for writing incredible songs, and simply staying alive and active while so many of their contemporaries flamed out. Nicks and Joel fans attending their tour stop at Chase Field can expect some collaborations and surprises. Joel has been singing the Tom Petty parts in Nicks’ “Stop Draggin’ My Heart Around” and Nicks has guest starred in Joel’s set to sing “And So It Goes.” They’ve also been adjusting their setlists from city to city, so you can look forward to hearing some rarely performed tracks from the pair. 7 p.m., $225-$750 via ticketmaster.com. Ashley Naftule TikTok in The Mix Sunday, Dec. 10 Sloan Park, 2330 W. Rio Salado Parkway, Mesa After conquering the social media world and pop culture in general, TikTok is staging its first-ever “global music event” later this month in (checks notes) the occasionally sleepy Valley suburb of Mesa. Thousands of influencers, TikTok users and music fans will descend upon Sloan Park for the event, which will feature performances in the round from hitmaking rapers Peso Pluma and Cardi B, pop singer Niall Horan, Brazilian-born vocalist Anitta and R&B singer-songwriter Charlie Puth. Emerging artists Sam Barber, LaRosa, Kaliii and Lu Kala are also scheduled to perform during the event, which will be streamed worldwide via TikTok Live (natch). 4 p.m., $25-$60 via tixr.com. Benjamin Leatherman Squirrel Nut Zippers Friday, Dec. 22 Scottsdale Center for the Performing Arts, 7380 E. Second St., Scottsdale The Squirrel Nut Zippers may have risen to fame during the same late-’90s swing revival that made Cherry Poppin’ Daddies and Big Bad Voodoo Daddy a thing, but the North Carolina-born band have always stood apart from their zoot suit-wearing brethren. The Zippers offer more than just a sonorous brass section, mixing dollops of gypsy jazz, klezmer and Delta blues into their eclectic sonic cocktail. (Their spirit animals are admittedly more Django Reinhardt and Tom Waits than Louis Prima.) Similar eclectic choices can be found in the band’s holiday offerings, as their 1998 album “Christmas Caravan” included such songs as “A Johnny Ace Christmas” (an ode to the ‘50s R&B singer who played Russian roulette during the season and lost) and the lonesome country ditty “Gift of the Magi.” Both songs are featured on the Squirrel Nut Zippers’ current tour, which sees the band performing “Christmas Caravan” in its entirety along with tunes from their 2018 seven-inch “Mardi Gras for Christmas” and various hits. 8 p.m., $38-$48 via scottsdale- performingarts.org. Benjamin Leatherman Roger Clyne and the Peacemakers Friday, Dec. 29 and Saturday, Dec. 30 Crescent Ballroom, 308 N. Second Ave. If Roger Clyne and the Peacemakers being tapped to write a song for the Diamondbacks in 2007 wasn’t already a sign that the band are an Arizona insti- tution, their induction into the Arizona Music and Entertainment Hall of Fame in 2019 sealed the deal. Rubbing shoulders with Alice Cooper, Glen Campbell, Stevie Nicks and Meat Puppets, Clyne and his band look right at home. “Right at home” sums up the vibe of the Peacemakers’ music. Their blend of Southern rock, Americana, classic rock and power pop is like chicken soup for your ears: hearty, nourishing and fortifying. There’s not much in the way of surprises in a Roger Clyne set in 2023, but that isn’t the point, is it? You don’t go to the Grand Canyon expecting it to be radically different. You go to experience an immutable Arizona landscape, eternal and unchanging and reliable. You can get all that at a Roger Clyne show. With Prefect (on Dec. 29) and The Jons (on Dec. 30); 7:30 p.m., $42-$79 via ticketweb.com. Ashley Naftule Decadence Arizona 2023: The Sky Realm Saturday, Dec. 30 and Sunday, Dec. 31 Phoenix Raceway, 7602 Jimmie Johnson Drive, Avondale All manner of New Year’s Eve parties will go off during the final weekend of December, including this annual two-night electronic dance music event at Phoenix Raceway in Avondale on Friday and Saturday. More than three dozen DJs, producers, and EDM artists are scheduled to perform across multiple stages at this year’s Decadence Arizona, which is equal parts music festival and NYE blowout. Some of the biggest names on the lineup include Steve Aoki, Adventure Club, Chris Lake, Flux Pavilion, Cosmic Gate, Black Tiger Sex Machine, Claptone, Bonnie X Clyde, Illenium, Loud Luxury, Subtronics and Black V Neck. There will also be “Weird and Wonderful” performers, an art walk, various activations and other distrac- tions. 6 p.m., $129-$1,099 via tixr.com. Benjamin Leatherman Cardi B (left) is scheduled to headline TikTok in The Mix on Dec. 10 in Mesa, while the legendary Billy Joel is coming to Chase Field on Dec. 8. (Photos by Atlantic RecordsJim Louvau) ▼ Music
