▼ Music Opening Notes 10 metro Phoenix concerts we’re looking forward to in 2022. BY PHOENIX NEW TIMES WRITERS I t’s a new year, and if your resolution is to go out and see more live shows, we’ve got good news: The metro Phoenix 2022 concert calendar is stacked with big names. Whether you’re into multiplatinum pop, local acts that made it big, or hard-driving rock, there’s a show for you. Tool Friday, January 21 Footprint Center Arizona music legend Maynard James Keenan kept himself busy during the pan- demic with a Puscifer album and a pair of livestreamed performance films. But it’s his band Tool he’ll be kicking off 2022 with. The rockers take the stage at Foot- print Center, 201 East Jefferson Street, later this month. Tool hasn’t released an al- bum since 2019’s Fear Inoculum, but you’ll no doubt hear highlights from the band’s 30-year catalog. The show is sold out, but tickets are available for big bucks on the secondary market. JENNIFER GOLDBERG Injury Reserve Friday, March 4 The Van Buren Local fans of Injury Reserve are getting a treat later this year as the homegrown hip- hop act will return to the Valley in March after their December 2021 show was post- poned. The Tempe-born ensemble of rap- per Ritchie With a T and producer Parker Corey’s current tour will include a show at The Van Buren, 401 West Van Buren Street. Fittingly, the tour and local performance will be in support of their new album, By the Time I Get to Phoenix. It’s the first mu- sic Injury Reserve has released since founding member Stepa J. Groggs died in June 2020. The album was reportedly re- corded before the rapper’s passing and fea- tures his contributions. Tickets for their Phoenix gig, which starts at 8 p.m., are $22 to $25. Slauson Malone 1 and Zsela will open. BENJAMIN LEATHERMAN The Format April 1 to 3 The Van Buren Fingers crossed that two years after The Format were scheduled to play a set of re- union shows, it’ll really happen this time. The dates have been pushed several times coming to Arizona Federal Theatre, 400 West Washington Street, this spring. The 18-year-old newly minted superstar re- leased her album Sour in May 2021; the al- bum broke the global Spotify record for the biggest opening week for an album by a fe- male artist and Billboard and Rolling Stone proclaimed it the best album of the year. You’re sure to hear hits like “Drivers Li- cense” and “Good 4 U” if you were lucky enough to snag a seat before the tickets sold out. If not, you can buy tickets on the secondary market for exorbitant prices. JENNIFER GOLDBERG Kelia Anne MacCluskey since the pandemic began, but we’re opti- mistic that Nate Ruess and Sam Means will indeed take the stage at The Van Buren, 401 West Van Buren Street. The duo, who began The Format in Phoenix in 2000, an- nounced they were going on hiatus in 2008. Since then, Means founded the com- pany Hello Merch with his wife, and Ruess found greater fame as the lead singer of fun. Tickets for all three shows are sold out, so you should check the secondary market if you want to witness the long- awaited reunion. JENNIFER GOLDBERG Rage Against the Machine Monday, April 4, and Wednesday, April 6 Gila River Arena in Glendale It might feel like it’s been a decade or lon- ger since all that hand-wringing and hulla- baloo about overpriced tickets for Rage Against the Machine’s reunion tour when, in reality, it’s only been a shade under two years. Zack de la Rocha, Tom Morello, and the rest are still set to visit the Valley in April (knock on wood) when the twice-re- scheduled tour comes to Gila River Arena, 9400 West Maryland Avenue. While the band’s message is more timely than ever these days (particularly as the U.S. slides inexorably towards autocracy and minority rule), we’re guessing most of the aging Gen-Xers in attendance who could afford the $125-plus ticket price will probably only be there to shout “Fuck you I won’t do what you tell me!” along with de la Rocha. Hip-hop duo Run the Jewels share the bill. BENJAMIN LEATHERMAN Billie Eilish Saturday, April 2, and Sunday, April 3 Gila River Arena in Glendale If it seems like you’ve heard the name “Bil- lie Eilish” a great deal lately, that’s because Billie Eilish is scheduled to perform in the Valley in April. you have. From winning tons of Grammy Awards to singing the theme song for the latest James Bond film, No Time to Die, the singer-songwriter has been extraordinarily busy the last few years, even with the pan- demic. Now, the 20-year-old pop star is gearing up for Happier Than Ever, The World Tour, her latest trot around the globe as a musician. It’s in support of her latest album and will include a two-night stop at Glendale’s Gila River Arena, 9400 West Maryland Avenue, at the beginning of April. Both shows are at 7:30 p.m. and tick- ets are $65 to $145. CAROLINA DEL BUSTO Coldplay Tuesday, May 3 State Farm Stadium in Glendale Metro Phoenix often gets overlooked by concert tours, so we were delighted to learn that Glendale is one of just 11 U.S. stops for Coldplay’s Music of the Spheres World Tour. The British superstars are coming to 1 Cardinals Drive, Glendale, to promote their October 2021 album, Music of the Spheres. H.E.R. will be the opening act. When the band announced the shows back in October, they also revealed a plan to reduce the tour’s carbon dioxide emis- sions by 50 percent compared to their last world tour. So you can listen to Chris Mar- tin and feel good about your environmental footprint. Tickets are officially sold out, but we’ve seen them as low as $52 on the secondary market. JENNIFER GOLDBERG Olivia Rodrigo Tuesday, May 17 Arizona Federal Theatre The voice that backed a million TikToks is Jack White Saturday, May 28 Arizona Federal Theatre It’s been four years since White Stripes alum Jack White headlined a tour, but last month, he announced The Supply Chain Issues tour, which will stop at Arizona Fed- eral Theatre, 400 West Washington Street, in downtown Phoenix this spring. White’s been busy in the studio during the pan- demic; the tour will celebrate the release of not one, but two new albums. Fear of the Dawn drops on April 8, and Entering Heaven Alive will follow on July 22. Tick- ets start at $65 and go up to $315 for the Blue VIP package, which includes special parking and tons of merch. JENNIFER GOLDBERG The Killers Sunday, August 28 Gila River Arena in Glendale These days, a rock band that packs an arena has become a rarity. Sell-out stadium shows are almost exclusively relegated to the rock royalty of yesteryear, because watching four or five people play instru- ments on stage is nearly passé to the younger generation. But alongside the U2s, Guns N’ Roses, and Blondies of the world are the Killers, the last men standing from the early ’00s “the” bands phenomenon. They have seven albums of material to mine, but don’t worry — they’ll still take it back to 2004 and play your middle-school dance favorite, “Mr. Brightside.” Johnny Marr opens the 7:30 p.m. concert at 9400 West Maryland Avenue, Glendale. Tickets are $19.50 to $225. CELIA ALMEIDA Elton John Saturday, November 12 Chase Field Local fans of Elton John who missed out on the rock/pop legend’s sold-out show in 2019 at Gila River Arena in Glendale are getting one final chance to see the Rocket Man perform in the Valley before he calls it quits. The rock/pop legend will bring his piano, backing band, and biggest hits back to town this fall for an outdoor concert at Chase Field, 401 East Jefferson Street, in downtown Phoenix. It will serve as one of the final stops of John’s “Farewell Yellow Brick Road” world tour and the second time it’s rolled through metro Phoenix. As is the norm for any farewell tour, it features John playing a lineup of his biggest hits and plenty of nostalgia. Tickets for the 8 p.m. concert are $47 to $242. BENJAMIN LEATHERMAN 31 phoenixnewtimes.com | CONTENTS | FEEDBACK | OPINION | NEWS | FEATURE | NIGHT+DAY | CULTURE | FILM | CAFE | MUSIC | PHOENIX NEW TIMES JAN 6TH– JAN 12TH, 2022
