Show Reviews
Joshua James @ Velour 11.29
Velour has been bustling this year after being named Utah’s best music venue in 2012 by Salt Lake Magazine. It has been hosting up-and-coming acts from around Utah and continued its tradition of being a launch pad for bands to move on to the bigger and better (think Neon Trees, Imagine Dragons, Fictionists). Of all its successes this year, Joshua James’ triumphant CD release show(s) should be counted as one of the brightest. … read more
Black Tusk with Red Fang, Lord Dying @ Urban 11.20
A steady stream of longhairs, hipster girls and middle-aged metalheads filed into the Urban Lounge on a chilly night to be baptized by a maelstrom of bone-shaking riffs from three of the loudest bands currently occupying planet earth: Lord Dying, Black Tusk and Red Fang. All three bands brought an ample supply of merch, including the usual assortment of T-shirts and records, but most eye-catching were the screen-printed posters commemorating this particularly rifftacular tour. … read more
NOVA Chamber Series: Brahms and the British Imagination @ Libby...
The night’s concert featured music written by young composers at the beginnings of their careers, which was misunderstood by their contemporary critics, but which have become, over time, respected additions to the cannon. Titled “Brahms and the British Imagination” on the glossy new Nova web page, it was an essay in favor of Brahms, and against Twentieth Century musical narrative. … read more
The Babies @ Kilby 11.25 with Super 78!, Sariah’s Kiss
I had been looking forward to seeing my friends Sariah’s Kiss play their first show, and I was really excited to hear that they and Super 78! were going to be opening for the Brooklyn indie pop band, The Babies. … read more
The Phantom’s Revenge @ Park City Live 11.23 with GOGO...
It was Black Friday and there was a lot going on, but what I was most excited for was my chance to see The Phantom’s Revenge again. It had been a while since he graced Salt Lake City. This time, he was joined by a talented ensemble of DJs put together by DAMN SON!, a new record label on the EDM scene. … read more
The Devil Makes Three @ The Depot with Jonny Corndawg
The Devil Makes Three’s music is the best kind of bluegrass: raunchy, grizzled, often finger-blisteringly fast, and very, very tight––songs about alcohol, long nights, crackwhores and sinning, all played with an old-timey, string-band rhythm that keeps the feet moving. … read more
Kuss Quartet @ Libby Gardner Hall 11.19
The piece by Janáček, Kreutzer Sonata, was pretty dramatic, with a story line based on Leo Tolstoy’s novella of the same title, which is about an envious lover who murders his adulterous wife. The novella is based on the sonata written by Beethoven, and the height of the story occurs when the husband sees a musical performance of his wife on piano alongside the violinist she’s been shacking up with. … read more
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Andrew Jackson Jihad with Future of the Left, Jeff Rosenstock...
The torrents of snow last Friday, Nov. 9, didn’t make an exception for Kilby Court that evening, but that just gave the merch tables for Andrew Jackson Jihad and Jeff Rosenstock more pre-show traffic (Future of the Left was running late on account of the weather). … read more
Bleeding Rainbow with Akron/Family, A Place To Bury Strangers @...
Philly-based, shoegaze four-piece Bleeding Rainbow blew into Urban Lounge with as much energy and force as the first big snow storm of the year––which was just hours away from whiting out the city. … read more
The Faint @ In The Venue 11.09 with Trust, Robert...
Still in line and mere feet from the door, I heard the distinct hazy synth opening of “Shoom” and my goth pop melancholy went into overdrive. … read more