Show Reviews
White Rabbits with Gull @ Urban Lounge 03.20
One thing I’ve learned about going to shows at the Urban Lounge is not to show up too early. The doors usually open around 9 p.m., but the music doesn’t start till somewhere around 10 p.m. If you’re not careful, you can easily down several drinks before the music even starts, just because you feel the need to do something besides standing around and glaring at the band’s equipment on stage. So I was pretty surprised when I opened the club’s door about ten minutes before 10 p.m. to find the place sparsely littered with only 30 or 40 people. … read more
Cappadonna @ Bar Deluxe 03.10
Saturday, March 10 got weird in almost all the right ways. QuitXpectingFavors threw the party and no one was tardy. Bar Deluxe was the hip hop hot spot for SLC. It was one of the first nice nights of the summer party season, and it was right after the big full moon—things were sure to get wild. … read more
A Plea for Purging @ Foursquare Church 03.14
Alright cyber warriors, I’ll try to contain this behemoth of a show review—not because I’m lazy, but because I know you’ve got a solid-booked day of scoring Craigslist dates and pirating music, and this show featured no fewer than thirty six bands (OK, so like…seven) on the bill. It was a lot to take in—My brain may have been running on some frazzled fumes, and I’m not discounting the occasional hunger hallucination. … read more
Xibalba @ Foursquare Church 3.9.12 with Take Offense, Soul Search,...
Have you ever moshed at a church? Like, for-real moshed? Like, Sick of it All in Beavis and Butt-head’s living room moshed? Like the cover of Break Down the Walls moshed? Not talking no “I pogoed to Relient K at Christian Youth Camp then bounced to the woods to smoke weed and repress painful sexual experiences with trusted religious officials” kinda moshed. No I’m not talking about that. … read more
Night Beats @ Bar Deluxe 03.06
On Tuesday evening, I pedaled my ass through a massive snowstorm towards Bar Deluxe to check out the Night Beats. By the time I got to the bar (a mere four blocks east of my house), I was cold and wet and I’d watched my boyfriend almost eat shit on his bike. Before I made it home that night, I was colder and had slid out on my bike and managed to smash both my knees and my chin against some ice. Thank god I didn’t break the record that I’d purchased—if that had happened, my tears probably would have lasted much longer. Fear that you’ve just lost your teeth to an icy sidewalk is scary, but destroying an awesome record, now, that would be devastating. … read more
Bassnectar @ Saltair 03.02
You would have never guessed that Utah had been hit with a winter storm based on the outfits the majority of the crowd at Great Saltair rocked last Friday night for Bassnectar—the necessary articles of clothing seemed to be bikinis, LED gloves and furry boots. … read more
Chamber Music Society of Salt Lake: Faure Piano Quartet @...
The Faure Piano Quartet are superstars in Germany and England, having won awards for recordings of both classical and pop music. Despite having covered bands like N.E.R.D. and Feist, Elliott Smith, System of A Down, Pet Shop Boys and Steely Dan, among others, when they play classical music, you would think they had never played anything else. … read more
Zola Jesus, Talk Normal, Night Sweats @ Urban 02.27
I back the bejeezus out of everything Sacred Bones touches. One of the premier indie labels of recent memory for sure (Amen Dunes, Religious Knives … I’m getting elitist douchebag chills) and Russian-American songstress Zola Jesus ain’t no exception. … read more
Form of Rocket with Gaza @ Kilby Court 02.17
I’ll be honest, Form of Rocket and Gaza are in my top ten favorite local bands of all time. Their lyrical word choice, math-rock rhythm and active stage presence hooked me early on in life. I think my exposure to Gaza and Form of Rocket deeply shaped my expectations for “good music.” … read more
Twin Sister and Ava Luna @ Kilby 02.11
I’m one of those people who can have one song by an artist in my music library and still call myself a fan—Twin Sister being a solid example of that. Once upon a time, I came across their track, “Lady Daydream,” and was obsessed with it for approximately one day. It was with that in mind and an altogether hazy idea of what they might actually sound like live that I stumbled into this show. … read more