Year: 2011
Afro-punk Death to Hip Hop Showcase: Ninjasonik, Cerebral Ballzy and...
At the tail end of August, the free Afro-Punk music festival was canceled due to Hurricane Irene’s untimely arrival in New York City. Luckily, no pending natural disasters derailed their highly successful and entertaining CMJ showcase. … read more
CMJ Day Two: From Indie Pop to Hip Hop
Day two of CMJ started as mellow as possible. It was fitting for my hangover from the night before and the overcast rainy weather that had infiltrated the city. … read more
Napalm Flesh: Katatonia Interview
I nearly jumped on the ceiling when I heard that Sweden’s Katatonia were finally making their way to Salt Lake City—even though they’re supporting Opeth. Read on for my words with the founding guitarist of Katatonia, Mr. Blakkheim himself, exploring not only Katatonia, but also the work he’s put in with the likes of Bloodbath, Diabolical Masquerade and Bewitched. We also have exclusive reviews of new albums from Black Tusk, Mr. Death and Wizard. … read more
Tasty Craves and a Cool Buzz: Spedelli’s Restaurant
Spedelli’s is a must stop on the route home. Although some things haven’t changed from its predecessor, many things have, including the interior, which now sports the art of Dave Doman and Alex McAdoo. … read more
Sub Pop/Hardly Art Showcase @ The Mercury Lounge 10.20
When I arrived at The Mercury Lounge at 7 p.m., I was greeted with the words “SOLD OUT.” I figured it meant that this showcase was probably going to be a killer one. I liked two of the seven bands on the bill, had been told that a third would be right up my alley, and figured that since the showcase was Sub Pop and Hardly Art branded, the bands that I was unfamiliar with would probably still be entertaining. … read more
CMJ: The Final Nights
The final nights of CMJ had a strange way of mashing into each other. It’s always easy to party until the sun comes up in NYC, but when you throw in a music festival that comes with occasional free drinks and bars that stay open until 4 a.m. it becomes exponentially easier. … read more
Carphax Files @ Metro Bar
Around 100 local members of the Salt Lake industrial scene poured into the glitzy Club Metro on Wednesday night for a free, one-hour long performance by COP International artist Carphax Files, and they were not disappointed. Carphax Files is an explosion of unholy rage at the political machine, but underpinned by a sensitivity to the plight of the people. A new Carphax Files t-shirt declares that they are the 99%. … read more
The War On Drugs: An Interview with Adam Granduciel
After talking with The War on Drugs’ Adam Granduciel for about half an hour over the phone, I was left thinking, “Wow, what a nice guy.” The questions of mine that I’m sure he’s asked in every interview didn’t annoy him, he didn’t grouse about people handing him their demos, and he even invited me to play guitar with his band for one song when they come to Salt Lake (I’m taking him up on it). … read more
Radio Moscow, The Flying Eyes, Max Pain and the Groovies...
The doors opened to a meager crowd at ten, and the general feeling was a little bit quiet and sparse. Nobody was really setting up, so most patrons just started the night with a few drinks while the venue played us some tracks from the new Radio Moscow record. … read more
Nova Chamber Series: Brahms, Wagner, Franck @ Libby Gardner Hall...
Last Sunday the Nova Chamber Music series presented its first concert of the season. Chamber music is written for small groups, like rock and roll essentially, but instead of amplifiers we are blessed to have the intimate and vibrantly clear Libby Gardner Concert Hall to bring the performance of these strings and horns very close indeed. … read more