Music
▼ Concerts & Festivals
Stars @ Urban Lounge 09.21 with High Highs
Montreal-based band Stars are legends of melancholic, sincere indie pop music. Their music captures all the curious feelings of being alive in the current state of the world—with an anti-apathetic approach towards romance and politics and by a relentless appreciation of their craft. Last Saturday night, for the first time in this long and successful career, they played Salt Lake’s Urban Lounge. … read more
Baths @ Urban Lounge with Jerome LOL 09.19
Baths was energetic and imbued all of the dramatic air of a frontman, which I honestly wasn’t expecting from an electronic artist who likes to make music in the bathtub. … read more
Genral Jackett @ Urban Lounge with Giraffula, Max Paine and...
The stage was already set up with various props and canvasses by the time I arrived at the Urban Lounge for the Genral Jackett show on Monday night in SLC. Everything was already prepped for the small but elaborate “Hot Rod Acid Blooze” show that Genral Jackett has been performing versions of for 40-some years. … read more
Porcelain Raft @ Kilby 09.17 with Silver Antlers, The Circulars
By the time the third song rolled around, lead singer Mauro Remiddi let the small, but active audience know that somehow his next song, “Shapeless and Gone,” had something to do with the Rocky Mountains—even though the song wasn’t written with them in mind—and that he was blown away with the landscape of Utah and Colorado. … read more
Neko Case @ Red Butte 09.16 with Pickwick
“Summer is Over,” Case had sung as the night grew its coldest, warning us that the warmest of days are behind us. In many ways, the final concert of the Red Butte Concert Series did indeed harken the end of summer. The air is steadily cooling and the outdoor venues are steadily closing. The Twilight series has ended and USANA Amphitheater will close its doors for the season on Friday. I can’t think of a better way to welcome the sweet autumn air than with Neko Case. … read more
Jimmy Cliff @ The Depot 09.15 with Cool Jordan, Ethan...
As I am ever the hopeless-romantic, the iconic image of Jimmy Cliff as the outlaw Ivanhoe “Ivan” Martin with the ready, go stance with guns drawn plays into my love for the rebel. My true appreciation for Cliff began with seeing him star as an aspiring reggae artist who turns outlaw (Martin) in the legendary film Harder They Come. … read more
Animal Collective @ The Depot 09.08
As bitter of a bitch as I was about the original cancellation, I am happy that lead singer Dan Portner (aka Avey Tare) was in good health this time around, as his vocal chords traveled in monstrous directions that would’ve been nearly impossible to perform had he sung with even the slightest bit of a scratch to his throat. … read more
Uproar Festival 2013: Rockstars and Wannabes 09.02 @ USANA Ampitheater
Typically anchored by fairly recognizable and boring headlining acts like Disturbed or Shinedown, this year those acts consisted of the strange combination of Circa Survive, Coheed & Cambria, Jane’s Addiction and the legendary Alice In Chains – strange mix, but finally compelling enough for me to begrudgingly make it to an Uproar date. Make no mistake, though, I’ve got a lot of generic bullshit to tear apart before we get to the good stuff. … read more
Baroness @ Urban Lounge 08.30
Some bands become defined by tragedy. It would be easy to lump Baroness into that category, but after surviving a disastrous bus crash while touring Europe last year, the band has returned to touring, and with a vengeance. … read more
Clear @ Bar Deluxe 08.30 with Dismantled, INVDRS, Don’t Trust...
Clear reunited August 30 and 31 to celebrate fallen band mate Mick Morris, who recently died at the age of 35. Salt Lake City’s hardcore family came out en masse to show their support for this very beloved band and the late bassist. … read more