Like the Firebird from the Ash, Phoenix!

Sounds like a good title for Sufjan's 41st album in the 50 States series, 'Oh, My Aching Joints Feel at Home in Arizona'. But that's neither here nor there. Back to the point at hand...

Phoenix, it arises again out of nowhere when you aren't expecting it. Spring Training is back on the minds of the baseball faithful, and for Oakland fans like myself and my friend at the beach, that means pondering a trip to Arizona.

A's fans don't seem to have much to be excited about this Spring, unless you consider watching Mike Piazza DH exciting. Without Barry Zito and Frank Thomas, we can only hope that one or more of the young guys step up and, say, hit .500 or pitch a no-hitter.

I made the trip to Phoenix for the first time two years ago, and, as was my custom at the time, flew solo. O.K., I couldn't find anyone to drag along with me. But it turned out great. Though I didn't have a hotel reservation before hitting town, I met a friendly bartender in the midst of my wanderings who set me up with a discounted room at The Radisson by passing me off as his cousin. The room even had a hot tub, though I couldn't never manage to get any company in it.

Ate at some interesting Phoenix establishments: the dust, oak, white tablecloths, deep red accents and tuxedos of Durant's, where I tried on a neighboring diner's World Series ring; the kicked-back get-down-to-eating vibe at Lo-Lo's Chicken and Waffles, where I crammed myself full of dough, syrup and white meat; and the Havana Cafe, where I tried the Emparedado Cubano with a few East Bay musicians whose acquaintance I made at the ballpark. Also caught a couple of good hip-hop shows (Sage Francis, A-Team) at The Brickhouse -- a pretty decent club over by Alice Cooper's appropriately dubbed sports bar Cooperstown.

This year, my friend at the beach has already made plans to go and even has accommodations at a friend's house -- might even have room for me! Though all the good live music seems to be happening earlier on in March, there's still baseball, and, who knows, maybe something will come up at the Rhythm Room.

Paging Dr. Zach Braff's Character

As I'm not the best at keeping up with what my friends and acquaintances are doing with their lives (Rick, are you even alive at all?), I just discovered that my erstwhile poker buddy and local bassist-for-hire Dan Carr is now gigging with a 25-year-old local singer-songwriter named Ryan Auffenberg.

Saw that this Auffenberg will play at Noise Pop with Richard Swift and the Watson Twins. And since I have been keeping myself busy studying up on who to go see at Noise Pop this year, I thought I'd check out his music.

I'll keep it simple by saying that if Scrubs needs to find a tune to play when one of their lovably eccentric young doctors is learning a life lesson the hard way, they might look to Mr. Auffenberg's oeuvre. Especially the title track from his latest EP, Under All the Bright Lights.

Don't worry Dr. Zach Braff's Character, you'll get through this OK.

Mike Relm -- Fourth Blue Man?

Maybe he's been watching a few too many reruns of Arrested Development, or maybe he's trying to get in good with the powers-that-be in Vegas so as to land a plum DJ gig at one of the big clubs there. Or maybe it just can't be explained neatly. Whatever the motivation (or delusional manifestation), SF DJ Mike Relm has made the curious decision to join the Blue Man Group on their current tour of arenas across the country.

You may remember Relm's name from his appearance at Noise Pop last year. The 1999 International Turntablist Federation U.S. Champion and Daly City native wowed the crowd at The Independent with a kinetic set comprised of spinning, scratching and mashing up popular party tracks from Michael Jackson to Nirvana to the Beastie Boys while laying down a video accompaniment using an apparatus that allows him to scratch DVDs much like you'd scratch a record. Trust me, it's really a hell of a live show. Since then, Relm has been crisscrossing the country opening for several prominent hip-hop acts, all the while sporting his trademark black glasses, and black suit and tie.

I first noticed the odd pairing with the Blue Man Group yesterday on my weekly search through Pollstar's concert database. You see, BMG and Relm are scheduled to play Oakland Arena on February 10th. A quick Web search returned this music mag, which has more information.

Relm's myspace page reveals that his stint with the face-painters isn't the only strange foray he's undertaken lately. Two days performing at the X-Games in Aspen this weekend will be followed by the arena tour and then another wintersports-related gig opening for Jurassic Five at The Ski & Snowboard Festival in Whistler in April, and finally a trip to Coachella.

He's also been doing the music for a Web-based animated series called Turntable Timmy and providing a couple of remixes for the upcoming Aqua Teen Hunger Force movie. If that wasn't enough, he has been working on an album of original material, the score for the Disney short film Too Many Robots and his recently released live DVD cheekily titled Suit Yourself.

Tobias Funke, eat your heart out.

Festivals, For the Rest of Us

Bossman has returned from a three-week hiatus that saw him:

1) ringing in the New Year at the newly instated San Francisco after-hours hotspot Prehab (too exclusive to be pictured here)
2) dining with the hoi polloi in Vegas, and
3) co-hatching a plot to hit up the South-By-Southwest Music Festival in a 25-foot rented RV

Yes, that's right. It's that time of year again, when the music industry and various hangers-on (read: me) congregate down in Austin to proclaim our collective relevance, or in some cases, irrelevance. Though the festival is less than two months away, there has been no sign of a preliminary lineup on the official website. Rumor has it they're trying to discourage free daytime shows or something. Luckily, in the Information Age, people don't put up with that kind of bunk. Presumably in this spirit, Austinist.com has printed a compilation of rumors, leaks and educated guesses on some of the acts that will play this year's festival. Make sure to read on through the comments section for a few additions.

But not everyone can get to Austin, so for West Coasters who are jonesing for a multi-day music fix, there are alternatives. Coachella has announced its lineup, which includes many of the usual suspects (Red Hot Chili Peppers, Interpol, The Arcade Fire), along with a smattering of newer names (Peter, Bjorn and John; Grizzly Bear; Pop Levi) and a dusting of established acts that you might not expect to see at an outdoor festival (Rufus Wainwright, Roky Erickson, Ghostface Killah).

Finally, for those that can barely pony up for a MUNI pass (again, me), there's always San Francisco's beloved Noise Pop, which has all but finished assembling its lineup. There's no big name like The Flaming Lips this year (Cake ain't no Flaming Lips, people), but there are some solid small-to-midsize acts like Clinic, Ghostland Observatory, Annuals, Matt & Kim (that's right, Paul, you'll finally have your chance to see them), Trainwreck Riders, Ted Leo, The Dandy Warhols, Sea Wolf, Malajube, Midlake, The Oohlas and, of course, the reunited Sebadoh. The almost-full lineup is here, with a few supporting acts still to be determined.

Looks like my March and April are getting booked up quick.