EDITORIAL EDITOR David Hudnall CULTURE EDITOR Jennifer Goldberg STAFF WRITERS Josh Kelety, Benjamin Leatherman, Katya Schwenk FOOD CRITIC Chris Malloy CONTRIBUTORS Bahar Anooshahr, Chris Coplan, Serene Dominic, Beau Hodai, Mark C. Horn, Stephen Lemons, Ashley Naftule, Robrt L. Pela, Rudri Patel, Tom Reardon, Lynn Trimble, Lauren Wise, Amy Young ART CREATIVE DIRECTOR OF PRINT Tom Carlson PRODUCTION PRODUCTION MANAGER John Hunt ASSISTANT PRODUCTION MANAGER Eric-John Torres MULTIMEDIA ADVERTISING 602-271-0040 OUTSIDE SALES ASSOCIATE PUBLISHER Jennifer Meister ADVERTISING DIRECTOR Ellis Alvarez OPERATIONS MANAGER Jennifer Huber ACCOUNT COORDINATOR Mediya Pineda SENIOR ACCOUNT EXECUTIVES Hotchy Kiene, Tom Rodriguez, Grace Somers ACCOUNT EXECUTIVES Matthew Gibbons, Alexandra Lynch INSIDE SALES ASSOCIATE PUBLISHER Jennifer Meister ADVERTISING DIRECTOR Ellis Alvarez SENIOR ACCOUNT EXECUTIVES Cameron Boyes, Ronnie Cote ACCOUNT EXECUTIVES Rafael Gil HOUSE ACCOUNT MANAGERS Kalyn Albers, Anissa Grout WEBONOMIC AFFAIRS DIGITAL SALES ENGINEER Ryan Thies SOCIAL MEDIA SPECIALIST Francesca Hinojosa, Breann Pieretti, Kyana Robles DIRECTOR OF INTERWEBS Andrew Meister MARKETING MARKETING MANAGER Sean Ornelas PROMOTIONAL COORDINATOR Kristin Buldan CIRCULATION CIRCULATION DIRECTOR Brian Scharer BUSINESS WEST COAST BUSINESS MANAGER Brian Scharer SENIOR FINANCIAL ACCOUNTANT Seth Ewald ACCOUNTS PAYABLE COORDINATOR Kristina Smith ACCOUNTS RECEIVABLE MANAGER Dante Battista ACCOUNTS RECEIVABLE COORDINATOR Shari Rutkowski PUBLISHER Kurtis Barton Voice Media Group EXECUTIVE EDITOR Christine Brennan EXECUTIVE ASSOCIATE EDITOR Andy Van De Voorde CORPORATE CONTROLLER Beth Cook LEGAL COUNSEL Steve Suskin CHIEF FINANCIAL OFFICER Jeff Mars CHIEF EXECUTIVE OFFICER Scott Tobias INFORMATION TECHNOLOGY EXECUTIVE VICE PRESIDENT OF DIGITAL OPERATIONS Gerard Goroski PRODUCT DIRECTOR James Hamilton IT DIRECTOR Dave Marcon OPERATIONS MANAGER Brian Heimert INFRASTRUCTURE ARCHITECT David Fearn DIRECTOR OF BUSINESS SYSTEMS Lee-ann Dunton NEW MEDIA EXECUTIVE VICE PRESIDENT OF DIGITAL SALES Stuart Folb WEB SUPPORT MANAGER Michael Uchtman VICE PRESIDENT OF CORPORATE MARKETING Jenna Corday VMG NATIONAL National Advertising 888-278-9866 WWW.VMGADVERTISING.COM BUSINESS MANAGER Seth Ewald SENIOR VICE PRESIDENT OF SALES OPERATIONS Joe Larkin 9 Under the Sun 11 News 19 Feature 26 Culture 29 Café Chow Bella ............................. 32 35 Music Soundcheck ........................... 36 Concerts ................................. 39 41 Cannabis Ask a Stoner .......................... 43 On the Cover: John Legend photo by Joe Pugliese. Concert Ticket collage by Rhys A./ Creative Commons via Flickr. New Times (ISSN#0279-3962) is published weekly by Voice Media Group 1201 East Jefferson Street, Phoenix, AZ 85034. Periodicals postage paid at Phoenix, AZ. Domestic subscriptions: $30 for six months. Postmaster: Send address changes to New Times, P.O. Box 2510, Phoenix, AZ 85002. New Times is available free of charge in Maricopa County, limited NEW TIMES MAILING ADDRESS: 1201 East Jefferson Street, Phoenix, AZ 85034 FOR GENERAL INFORMATION CALL: 602-271-0040 FOR LOCAL ADVERTISING INFORMATION CALLS: 602-258-1073 FOR CLASSIFIED ADVERTISING CALL: 602-254-3177 6 FOR NATIONAL ADVERTISING INFORMATION CALL: 602-238-4800 to one copy per reader. Additional copies of the current issue of New Times may be purchased for $1, payable in advance at the New Times office. Outside Maricopa County, the single-copy cost of New Times is $1. New Times may be distributed only by New Times’ authorized independent contractors or New Times’ authorized distributors. No person may, without prior written permission of New Times, take more than one copy of each New Times weekly issue. For back-issue information, call 602-271-0040. The entire contents of New Times are Copyright 2021 by Phoenix New Times LLC. No portion may be reproduced in whole or in part by any means including electronic retrieval systems without the express written permission of the publisher, New Times, 1201 East Jefferson Street, Phoenix, AZ 85034. Our paper is printed on 100% post-consumer recycled product. Joe Pugliese Feature ▼ Fall Concerts Preview Live music is finally, truly, officially back. Here’s your guide to this season’s busy concert calendar. BY NEW TIMES STAFF | PAGE 19 Café ▼ Mexican Gems Two under-the-radar spots that break the mold. BY CHRIS MALLOY | PAGE 29 ▼ Contents VOL. 52 | NO. 38 | SEPTEMBER 23–30, 2021 SEPT 23RD – SEPT 29TH, 2021 PHOENIX NEW TIMES | MUSIC | CAFE | FILM | CULTURE | NIGHT+DAY | FEATURE | NEWS | OPINION | FEEDBACK | CONTENTS | phoenixnewtimes.com