Issues: Exclusive
Taste of the Wasatch: Food, Fun and Fundraising
Everybody loves to eat. Unfortunately not everyone gets to. A whopping 22.2% of households in Salt Lake City face food hardship, meaning they don’t know where their next meal is coming from. Taste of the Wasatch is changing that sad fact. This popular fundraiser brings together some of Utah’s best restaurants, breweries and people. Every last cent of the proceeds support hard working organizations that insure everyone has access to food. … read more
FantasyCon 2014 Kickoff: Wooden Wisdom (Ft. Elijah Wood)
Starting out with the soundtracks to Labyrinth and The Dark Crystal, it’s extremely clear that both Zach Cowie and Wood are quite familiar with and embracing of Wood’s nerd credibility. Have I mentioned that they also closed their set with a disco version of the Return of the Jedi Ewok dance? Spoiler Alert: That totally happened. … read more
Warped Tour 2014 @ Utah State Fairgrounds 08.02
I’ll get to get to the point right away for my review of the 2014 Warped Tour so you get the idea of what you will be reading. If it wasn’t for my 15-year-old daughter and her extreme desire to see the tour and a fair amount of the bands playing, I wouldn’t have even bothered going. Suffice it to say, during battles of the day muddling through the heat, crowds and noise, I found some great times at the show and most of those great times were equally shared between myself and the kiddo. … read more
FantasyCon 2014: FilmQuest @ The Gateway Megaplex 06.30 – 07.02
As an attendee of several locally organized film festivals, FilmQuest’s focus on films from the horror, fantasy and science fiction genres made it unique. It’s fun to sit in a darkened theatre with no idea what type of film might illuminate the darkened screen and take you along for a ride. Not all of the films were stellar, and many were downright bizarre, but here are a few that stuck out to me. … read more
Outdoor Retailer Summer Market: A Blessing or a Curse
As I was walking to the Salt Palace on the city’s main streets, I even thought to myself, “This is kinda fun. It kinda reminds me of how I feel in NYC.” I stress ‘kinda’ because earlier that morning I was kinda irritated with the constant stop-and-go traffic on my way to work. … read more
FantastyCon 2014: A Tale of Two Hobbits
Lord of the Rings is easily the most recognizable fantasy franchise. Most of us have read one or two of the books and we all saw the movies—even if it was just that one time on cable when they were running a marathon and you had nothing better to do. The world that we were shown in the movies was massive and full of some great characters. FantasyCon has managed to round up quite a few of those beloved characters. Samwise Gamgee and Pippin: Sean Astin and Billy Boyd. … read more
Deer Tick @ Urban Lounge 08.13 with T. Hardy Morris...
Snapping out of our dream state rather severely, we were given an instant dose of adrenaline-fueled, ragged kegger rock that we had been expecting. Croaking of loves lost, alcoholism and a complete lack of sympathy for the human condition, McCauley’s stage presence was as big as the ideas he sang about. … read more
FantastyCon 2014: Jed Brophy, Jonathan Rhys Davies & Panels Galore
With all the panels and guests, it’s hard to decide which panels to go to. One of the first panels of Fantasy Con on Friday was with one of the memorable characters from Lord of the Rings – Gimli, the gruff, lovable Dwarf played by John Rhys-Davies. He’s a good six feet without the movie magic but he’s still got the gruff voice and he’s definitely lovable. … read more
FantastyCon 2014: Summer Glau, Cosplay, Sylvester McCoy & Fighting!
Friday, the second day of Fantasy Con, had the lucky opportunity to occur on a national holiday: Independence Day. The idea of a Con happening on a holiday where people should have nothing better to do had me worried. The floor would be packed. The parade, any parade in the valley, would make getting to the Con difficult, but deciding to stroll into the Salt Palace around mid-afternoon proved surprisingly easy. Salt Lake streets were empty, as everyone was busy (presumably) barbecuing and setting fires … read more
“The Love Gets Higher …” Erasure’s “The Violet Flame” Reviewed
I take it as a positive portent that the day I received the new Erasure album promo to review, I was on an obsessive cycle of listening to its first single, the anthemic “Elevation.” … read more