Help with privacy hedge!

Hi Dave's Gardeners!

I live near Phoenix, Arizona and have a 50x50ft backyard with a big ol' 6' tall concrete block fence around it. Currently the backyard is completely devoid of any plantlife.

I was thinking about planting bamboo along the fenceline to soften both the walls and the views over them into suburbia -- hopefully creating a fast growing privacy hedge. I could be tempted back towards other screening plants, if one of them simply is better for the location and soil than bamboo. My main goal is a fast-growing privacy screen that can survive in Phoenix. My second main goal is bamboo -- I just think it's beautiful.

My fence is only 6' tall, and (I think) that ideally when fully grown the bamboo would be between 6' and 15' in height. It would ideally be able to stand blistering summer heat, occasional strong gusts of wind, and survive into the 30degree range during winter nights.

So far the top two bamboos I've found for the job are Pseudosasa japonica and Phyllostachys nigra, although the former seems too thin to stand up straight, and the latter seems as though it might grow too tall (although my soil is hardly ideal so maybe it won't grow at all?). Running bamboo definately seems like the better idea since I want the bamboo to grow only about 1 1/2 - 2 feet thick, but in a long line around the edges of the yard. My plan is to install a rhizome barrier on all four sides of the bamboo at about four inches away from the wall, that is about eighteen inches wide -- basically creating a planter box inset in the soil so I don't end up with bamboo growing under the wall into my neighbors yard (no clue how deep the wall is, but don't want to discover that it's not deep enough too late!) and then bring either drip irrigation over or install soaker hose when I plant the bamboo.

So here are my many questions:
Has anybody done anything like this and has a photo or two to show me how it turns out?
What type of bamboo grows well in Phoenix, AZ that isn't too tall?
How messy is this idea? Will I have tons of leaves falling into my neighbors yards?
Would I be better off planting some sort of hedge or lombary poplar type of plant instead of bamboo?
Would I be better off planting vines to soften the walls, and trees in the yard to soften the view?
Any opinions on drip vs soaker hose for bamboo in Arizona?
Any local bamboo enthusiasts have success growing any particular type of bamboo over any others?
How far apart would I space the bamboo when planting to create a great screen?
How long does it take a one gallon bamboo plant to reach maturity?
The least expensive option seems to be buying the rhizomes. What's the liklihood of a rhizome not getting damaged during shipping, and ending up growing into a full plant?

Here's a bamboo nursery in Tucson--you can probably get some ideas from their plant list of ones that do well and you could probably call them and get some advice if you want more info http://www.bambooranch.net/index.php