Tag Archives: First Friday art walk

Ticoz, The Surfside IV spice up April First Friday Art Walk

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Last Friday was one of the most perfect nights to spend out at the downtown Phoenix First Friday art walk. The weather was gorgeous, the art was stellar, and there was a ton of people populating the downtown streets that gave the event an exciting energy.

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To kick off our night, my friend and I went to Ticoz Resto-Bar for dinner. This was my first time at the Central and South American eatery, which features everything from chimichangas and burritos to tortas and burgers.

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You have to get the chips and salsa as an appetizer ($1.95). The chips were thick and crispy, and the salsa had a nice bite to it. They went great with my strong but sweet Passion Fruit Sangria ($6.95), which was the perfect complement to the heat-filled meal.

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I had two cheese enchiladas ($9.95) smothered in the vegetarian red sauce, which came with rice and beans–I got black beans. The portion was large, and the food was great–the flavors were bold, and everything tasted fresh.

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Besides the yummy food, I also appreciated Ticoz for its ambiance. It had a dark and romantic vibe, with burnt orange walls that gave it a warm and cozy atmosphere. Ticoz is owned by Tom Jetland, who also owns Phoenix restaurants FEZ and Switch. I’d have to say Switch is my favorite of the three, but you can’t really go wrong with any of them.

After dinner, my pal and I walked along Roosevelt Row, which has a ton of great art galleries and is a great spot to go for First Friday because there are so many galleries, as well as live bands, food at spots such as Carly’s, and even appearances by groups such as the Arizona Ghostbusters.

We eventually made our way into The Lost Leaf, which was not surprisingly packed to the brim with people. Local surf rock band The Surfside IV was the first band I’ve ever seen perform in the loft space above the crowd, and they did a wonderful job at keeping the patrons grooving. See a video of the band’s performance below.

The group wears suits and sunglasses that make for an eye-catching show in addition to the fun music. Make a little road trip to The Shady Dell in Bisbee for their next show, Saturday, April 30.

Vampires and zombies and art…oh, my!

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Last night’s First Friday art walk was a blast, as usual.

Thankfully for my friend and I, there was a zombie scavenger hunt going on, so we got to check out lots of peeps decked out in fake blood and scars, which is always fun to look at.

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We also got some cool vampire teeth from Scorpius Dance Theatre, which puts on A Vampire Tale at Phoenix Theatre’s Little Theatre October 21 through November 7. Scorpius is amazing, so I’m definitely grabbing my tickets soon.

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The weather was perfect for perusing the vendors, but, as my friend pointed out, it’s pretty sad that so many people flock to the jewelry stands when there is so much cool handmade stuff to check out. Give more local craftspeople a chance!

I went to Perihelion Arts to check out works by Dave Naz, a Los Angeles-based photographer. He does many shoots for provocative publications, and the photographs in his Candids series were of women from some of his shoots.

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Don’t expect anything graphic, though. While there were photos featuring nude women, there were others that were simply of models filling out release forms or relaxing (all with very little make-up on.) The interesting exhibit is up for the rest of the month.

I also saw improv at Space 55 by Light Rail Pirates and Galapagos. One of the Galapagos performers and former Phoenix resident, Mark Jordan, now is host of HGTV show Over Your Head. Check it out!

Hot new London band and battered Mousketeers at First Friday

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Last night at the First Friday art walk in downtown Phoenix, I found my new favorite local band with “London” in the title (I already love Scottsdale homies Flight to London.) Phoenix band London Airspace took the stage at 5th and McKinley Streets, and they were a piece of pop heaven that had junior high-er’s lip synching every word.

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The group had amazing energy, good musicianship (even though the members looked super-young) and managed to get the crowd dancing, clapping and singing along throughout their entire set. Check them out yourself when they play Chyro Arts in Scottsdale August 12.

Then it was off to Perihelion Arts on Roosevelt Row. Ironically, the previous night I had watched “Ferris Bueller’s Day Off,” which features Perihelion Arts artist Richard Edson (he played the valet who jacked the Ferrari.) Edson had some large-scale photographs of toy animals in the gallery, and he was even on-hand to talk about his works.

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Another artist in the gallery, Bob Dob, did a series of Mouseketeer kids with black eyes and broken mouse ears.

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The pictures were actually quite funny, especially when you think about famous Mouseketeer alumni–too bad Britney Spears wasn’t featured in one of the pictures.

The stuff will be up all month, so check it out while you can.

Then it was off to Space 55 to see Light Rail Pirates and Galapagos longform improv troupes perform improv comedy.

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Galapagos performs every Friday night at Space 55 at 10:30 p.m. with a different troupe, and last night the members in both troupes came together for an amazing series of scenes.

Help Light Rail Pirates go to Albuquerque, N.M. for the Duke City Improv Festival by supporting them at their next show, August 22 at Old Chicago in Mesa at 9 p.m.