Month: April 2013
Local Reviews: Funnel Vision
Here’s a fun little sack o’ goodies for ya: two CD-Rs, a cassette, a sticker and a mini-zine that chronicle the weird exodus of band members Stan and Karrie Boman as they fled cross-country following the massive tornado that wiped out their home in Joplin, Miss. in May of 2011. … read more
Local Reviews: Giraffula
Loop pedals and one-man bands are becoming more and more common these days. Though this fosters creativity by allowing any single person to experiment with a sound that was previously only attainable with a full band, it has brought with it the unavoidable, long and repetitive loops. … read more
Local Reviews: I Am The Ocean
Post-hardcore outfit I Am The Ocean have delivered a standout and unique EP with Overhead. Their sound is complex and innovative––and hard to pin down and describe. It’s more creative and far-reaching than other contemporary acts, and while it doesn’t hit the crazy, time-changing speeds of some prog metal acts, it carries the same artistic banner of natural experimentation and removal of genre boundaries to build a solid song. … read more
Local Reviews: Samuel Smith Band
You swore you would never listen to KBER. Samuel Smith Band, Salt Lake Soundcheck favorites, will make you repent your superiority. Recall, if you possibly can, some shit-forsaken rock quartet from the ’70s, with a white soul singer, bottle-neck guitars and Fender Champs cranked up to blues kazoo. Samuel Smith Band delivers these basic goods, combined with enough wit and funk to retain a sure sense of the here and now. … read more
Chant @ The Depot 03.28 with Legion Within, KMFDM
Folks who waited to show up late made a real mistake. Austin, Texas’ two-piece Chant blew both of the following bands out of the water. … read more
Mika @ In the Venue 03.30
Usually when an artist or band opens with your favorite song of theirs, it’s all downhill from there—but, luckily for me, this was a special situation. You see, before this concert, I’d only heard about a third of Mika’s work. Which was basically the reason I’d decided to review the thing in the first place—I’d liked what I’d heard, and I wanted to hear more. So, when Mika opened with “Grace Kelly,” a fun song that’s really just a “fuck you” to record execs, I knew there was a good chance of things improving from that point. … read more
We Could Be Heroes: The Mythology of Monsters and Heroes...
Some Salt Lakers steer clear of this quaint college town, Provo, just 45 minutes south of SLC. Personally, I’m drawn to its chaste charm, its cheap food and its kind, conservatively dressed population. Furthermore, the MOA is perhaps my favorite museum in the state, partially because it’s free, partially because it boasts a variety of world-class collections of art. Its exhibits are dynamic as they are diverse. Plus, it has the absolute best gift shop of any museum I’ve ever visited. … read more
The Cave Singers @ Urban Lounge with Pollens
The last time I saw The Cave Singers was at Kilby Court, where they played a show that was both intimate and badass. It’s good to see that they’re moving into larger venues. … read more
Creature Feature: Cartel Chameleon Fenice, Public Trans
Within younger generations, drag culture is at a crossroads; our age is a chameleonic one, and post-Internet, we’re in a remarkable moment of subcultural revival. Cartel and the Bad Kids are bringing their mutant message to Salt Lake’s divided communities, straight and queer. … read more
Art | Art and Fashion | LGBTQ+
Merchandise @ Kilby Court 04.03 with Parenthetical Girls, Wet Hair
From a wash of reverb, Merchandise’s lead guitarist Dave Vassalotti strummed the opening chords of an honest pop song called “Time.” Carson Cox’s melancholic croon shone through the band’s wall of sound, peaking at (my favorite Merchandise line), “I’m really just an animal/made with human parts.” … read more