Music
▼ National Reviews
Jason Bonham’s Led Zeppelin Experience @ The Depot 05.21
I wasn’t sure what to think. If it’s an “experience,” doesn’t that usually mean that it’s a cover band? Well, this experience is led by Jason Bonham, the son of the late John Bonham, the actual drummer from Led Zeppelin. So is he cashing in on his dad’s cred? … read more
Pet Shop Boys: Together, Battleship Potemkin & Concrete reviews
As troubling as I find the dying out of US physical CD singles, this is actually not the first release that the Pet Shop Boys have experimented with in the digital format—the singles from their last album were only available digitally in the US. I won’t lament too much on this, as the web has brought availability and accessibility to us all—especially since I procured the singles as a standard British CD single set last November, as I’m sure many US fans did. … read more
No Joy @ Kilby Court 05.11
On one of the few warm days of early spring, I found myself sitting on a flat, forgotten tire behind the legendary Salt Lake all-ages venue, Kilby Court. I was enjoying a tall boy in anticipation of a show I had long been waiting to see. No Joy is a Canadian band on the Mexican Summer record label. … read more
Dredg @ Avalon 05.10
A touring bill featuring this lineup likely would’ve been an impressive show, had the bumbling Avalon not fucked up yet another sweet setup with poorly trained and incompetent staff. The night ended with no encore and a sluggish herding to the parking lot, as well as a reminder that Salt Lake City’s inability to properly showcase medium-size acts is a true blight on its musical reputation. … read more
Junip and The Acrylics @ The State Room on 04.29
Moving from the empty winter streets to a full house at The State Room Friday evening, I joined Salt Lake’s dedicated José González fans to see his band, Junip. … read more
Starfucker @ Urban Lounge 04.19
I am so glad this band returned to their original name. The Portland dance pop squad initially altered their moniker because of the media attention they were receiving from the funloving but thorny “Starfucker” to the somewhat bland “Pyramid.” Apparently you just don’t feature a band called Starfucker in a TV commercial. With the release of their second LP (after a slew of EPs), Reptilians, the original name is back, although they will also tour as the more marquis friendly “STRFKR.” I think the original fits them. … read more
National CD Reviews – May 2011
New and recent releases from Austra, Citizen Fish, Deafheaven, Gang Gang Dance, I Was Totally Destroying It, The Kills, Nader Sadek, Pet Shop Boys, The Raveonettes, Shannon & The Clams, Sims, tUnE-YarDs, Wormrot, Young Widows, and many more are reviewed this month.
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Mountain Man @ The Deathstar on 04.06
Maybe I’ve become lazy in my show upkeep, or maybe this was just poorly promoted, but that’s not the point. What matters is that when a real deal hardcore band graced us, here in “Brovo,” with their raucous presence, I immediately put all my other pursuits (like patching together a broken relationship and finishing my linguistics essay) on hold. … read more
Young Prisms, Plastic Furs and Cephalotron @ Urban Lounge on...
Things were a bit sparse at Urban on Monday night, which is to be expected being that it was the beginning of the week. However, I thought the music would bring people out. I personally love to catch every ambient rock show I can, something about the tones and echoes really pulls me in. … read more
The Suicycles @ Bar Deluxe on 04.02
The Suicycles are the dance rock outlet for Camden Chamberlain and his commune of deviants. A set from the band has the feeling of a cult experience. You are very likely to see a large group of very wild and attractive people at their shows engaged in various acts of debauchary. … read more