This is not a pop-up. This is not a drill. This a record store. This is not just any record store. This is Eastside Records raised from the dead (again!) and for realsies.
And I got to pop in Thanksgiving weekend (shop small Saturday people!).
I'll be honest. As far as record stores go, I'm not sure this is truly "Woohoo as good as it gets!".
But, for me -- a girl who was willing to take a bus from Ahwatukee to Mill Ave (in sweltering AZ summer heat no less) to get to Eastside's original location to browse CDs, upcoming show flyers, buy posters, surreptitiously sneak glances at cute boys (with an eye on their taste in bands) and buy tickets to punk shows --I am over the moon that Eastside is back and offering a place to peruse vinyl in Tempe.
Be prepared: this isn't your curated, neatly displayed, Urban Outfitters bullshit record shopping. This is records shopping from a guy who is obsessed with records. They. Are. Everywhere. Stacks and stacks spilled out of crates and almost blocked the entrance. But there is a system, sort of.
There are bins with genre markers. Big enough artists get their own marker to make them easier to find. There are used, there are new. There are third-party sellers tables (though not clearly marked as such - but the price tags are a different color). Come prepared to spend time *digging*. That is the best part of record shopping anyway: the hunt.
I found the prices to be fair. I spent $8 on some, $18 on others. There are stacks and stacks of $1 records (though I didn't check the quality of them) and of course more collectible/special edition items for $35+
If you have a record player go check it out. Give yourself plenty of time and don't drag someone who isn't willing to help you look or at least has a passing interest in vinyl. They'll be bored and you'll fee bad ;)