Year: 2009
Kylesa @ V2
Even though I’ve had my newfound fondness for metal for about a year, I haven’t been to any metal shows in that time. This show changed all of that. The chance to see Kylesa, one of my favorite newly-discovered metal bands, play at a venue I had never been to a crowd I had no idea how to interact with seemed like a perfectly logical step in my progression into full metal immersion. … read more
The Great American Beer Fest
Imagine the funnest, awesomest, most craziest playground ever. Got it? Now imagine that instead of sand on the ground, there’s concrete. Not very safe, but probably a lot better than sand because all the stuff to play with in this playground has to do with drinking beer. … read more
Mastodon @ Saltair
After years of derision as the preferred means of entertainment of suburban meatheads and scandinavian church burners, metal has been accepted by the masses. It’s unsurprising that one of the fall’s biggest tours is a metal-based affair, co-headlined by a fictional band with serious chops and one of the most successful metal bands in recent memory. Even though most of the audience was in attendance only for Dethklok, they were gonna get an incredible showcase of heavy music, whether they liked it or not. … read more
Aimee Mann @ The State Room
Aimee Mannʼs music is comforting, melodic, beautiful and despite the unfortunate and incorrect critical tag line of it being “depressing,” (I would have chosen “realistic” if I wrote reviews back in those days) very uplifting. I was extremely excited about seeing her live for the first time, in a new venue (the great new The State Room), and especially in such an intimate setting: The State Room boasts a capacity of 300. … read more
Plan-B Theatre-Radio Hour: Alice
Disney’s interpretation of Alice In Wonderful added enough fluff to make the twisted story easy to swallow for generations to come. Matthew Ivan Bennett, who wrote the Radio Hour adaptation, had something else in mind—something much more twisted, more graphic, and much more intense. … read more
Dethklok @ Fillmore Auditorium (Denver)
Initially, this seemed like a strange bill of bands, but in hindsight it offered Dethklok the chance to showcase some talented, lesser-known bands, and allowed those talented, lesser-known bands to lend even more credibility to the metal mythos of Dethklok. … read more
Strike Anywhere @ Club Sound
Bridge Nine Records has done an excellent job of expanding its roster to further reaches of hardcore over the past few years, and even though this tour didn’t necessarily feature the style of music that the label has come to be known for, it was an excellent lineup that reflects the the risks the label has been taking in challenging the traditional hardcore aesthetic. … read more
Ririe-Woodbury Dance: Equilibrium
Salt Lake City’s Ririe-Woodbury Dance Company opened it’s 2009/2010 season with Equilibrium, a collection of pieces which ran at the Jeanne Wagner Theater from September 24th – 26th. If the rest of the season rises to the caliber of the performances I saw at the Saturday night performance, this will be an exciting season. … read more
Mt. Eerie @ Kilby Court
From acoustic to electric distortion, Mt. Eerie has subtle ways of bringing surprises. Tonight he brought the rain, the comfort of the Kilby fire pit and high hopes of hearing some live snippets from his recent release, Wind’s Poem. … read more
Tori Amos – Midwinter Graces review
I can think of no greater feat than a Christmas/Holiday album helping to get you in the mood for the forthcoming holidays in October. If ever a modern artist was suited for recording a holiday/seasonal album, it must be Tori Amos. … read more