Operating on a shoestring budget with nary a permit, the Vanishing Show and its audiences often play a cat-and-mouse game with Tempe cops, who have shut down the event a few times in the past after noise complaints. The crowd then 'vanishes' and heads over to the new spot by cycling or walking to catch the next band. A local band will perform a 20- to 30-minute set then, the next location is announced just before they wrap up. Here's the setup: Slattery will post a starting location online (typically a house) where attendees can gather. The DIY music event put on by DJ and community organizer A Claire Slattery is a mobile party and movable indie rock feast that roams Tempe's Maple-Ash-Farmer-Wilson neighborhood one night every spring since 2015.
One of the exceptions is the annual Vanishing Show, a unique live music experience unlike your typical bar gig, concert, or festival.
Novel ideas are hard to come by in a local music scene where repetition and imitation are the norm.
