Show Reviews
Cage the Elephant, Brogan Kelby @ The Complex 07.08
Kentucky rock band Cage the Elephant stopped in Salt Lake City on their tour for the release of their fourth studio album, Tell Me I’m Pretty, with the Salt Lake City suburbia–reared rocker Brogan Kelby and his supporting musicians. … read more
Space Venture Coalition @ FilmQuest Festival 06.20
On June 20, I joined FilmQuest and the Space Venture Coalition (SVC) for the greatest space rock opera in Earth’s history. SVC takes you on an outer-space adventure on the Starship Fermi to investigate a strange signal coming from The Beautiful Planet. They battled a giant space monster, saved the ship, and they meet the Space Queen! … read more
The Cure @ Maverick Center 06.03
The ’80s-defining rock band The Cure come to Salt Lake City during their international tour. This English group formed in the 1970s and soon invaded and dominated the soundtrack of a decade. Fans from all over the Salt Lake Valley poured into the Maverick Center in West Valley City, many audibly exclaiming that they had never been able to see them live and have waited for years for the opportunity. … read more
M83, Bob Moses @ The Saltair 05.30
I stumbled upon M83 at just the right time, a few years ago, to instantly fall in love with their music: the eternal summers of Saturdays = Youth, the soaring space of Before the Dawn Heals Us, the breakthrough cinematics of Hurry Up, We’re Dreaming. … read more
The Kills, L.A. Witch @ The Depot 05.28
The Kills finally took the stage with band in tow. Wasting no time, Hince strummed away as Mosshart took the mic, feet unstoppable. With high energy and a visible love for the music and fans, both members were not shy about moving to the beat and making the audience feel involved in the moment. … read more
Leon Bridges, Solo Woods @ The Depot 05.26
Leon Bridges, the twenty-something musician and all-around throwback soul music hit artist, returned to Salt Lake City on May 26 with supporting artists Solo Woods and Themba Sipho Mkhatshwa. Lines of fans were packed into the entrance to The Depot for this sold-out, all-ages performance. … read more
Explosions in the Sky, Disappears @ The Depot 05.09
Explosions in the Sky came out to a screaming, eager crowd, and their own special light setup included a string of moving bar lights on the front of the stage, creating, at times, an ethereal wall of light and smoke. I’ve listened to this band for a long damn time, but I have never seen them live, and I was not disappointed. … read more
Behemoth, Myrkur @ The Complex 05.04
Darkness! Evil! Mayhem! Fire! Goddamn, I love a good, live, black metal show, and the Behemoth/Myrkur tour did not disappoint. With no opening acts and the sonic and lighting goodness that is The Complex, these European ambassadors of chaos gave fans a night to remember. … read more
Fear Factory @ In The Venue with Soilwork, Omnikage, Crisis...
Tuesday night, old-school industrial metalers Fear Factory descended on In The Venue to give a wild crowd a once-in-a-lifetime performance: the entirety of their Demanufacture album, celebrating its 20th anniversary. The band was joined by the astounding Swedes in Soilwork, and a few young gun acts, including OmniKage from Italy, and Spades and Blades from California. Opening for the tour was local thrash/metalcore outfit Crisis in Consciousness. … read more
Slam-Tastic!: Dirty Rotten Imbeciles @ Club X 04.27 with X-Method,...
The last time I saw DRI, I was a pissed-off 18-year-old fresh out of high school who had only been faithfully listening to these guys for five months, after my former vice principal introduced me to the album Thrash Zone. I had been hooked ever since. Now, for a band that’s been around consecutively for about 35 years, they put on a 2016 show that probably would’ve been as rowdy as it would have been in 1986. … read more