08/29/08
First summary by this blogger.
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08/29/08
Not only are we looking at a three-day weekend, people. We're looking at an incredibly busy weekend, too, featuring some honest-to-goodness music legends. Let's do this: TONIGHT GZA from the legendary Wu-Tang Clan is headlining a show tonight at The Urban Lounge, 241 South 500 East, a show that will feature the dynamic lyricist performing his excellent Liquid Swords album in its entirety, along with cuts from his new album, Pro Tools. Also on the bill: Sinthesis, Sick Sense and Skinwalker. 
Tonight at Kilby Court, 741 South 330 West, another hot Canadian band rolls through town in the wake of the...
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08/28/08
As excited I was when I first heard The Roots were the opening act of this summer's Twilight Concert Series at the Gallivan Center, I was even more excited to see who would be providing the grand finale to Salt Lake City's best downtown summer event outside the farmer's market. Neko Case is a chameleon of a performer, equally adept at delivering potent power-pop vocals in the New Pornographers as she is singing stunning country and torch songs in her solo career. I compare her to Emmylou Harris in the sense that, when Case unleashes her vocals on a venue, they tend to get heads turning and chatter stopping with their clarity and power. The fact that voice is coming out of a drop-dead gorgeous performer—again, like Harris—certainly doesn't hurt.
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08/27/08
DEER VALLEY—I rolled up to the Gipsy Kings concert last night as a casual fan, only familiar with the group in the most superficial ways. I thought of them as mellow, world-music types perfect for providing background music. My bad. 
Turns out, the band of 10 from the Pyranees Mountains connecting France and Spain knows how to throw down a serious dance party. Of course, I was a little late to that party, since I was indulging in some Spanish wine and sangria early in the show, not realizing it was going to be a 90 minutes-and-we're-out-of-here kind of show. The show's brevity was my only beef, though; the 90 minutes were an entrancing blend of romantic slow-burners and high-energy songs...
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08/26/08
You can try to get tickets to the sold-out Bonnie Raitt show tonight at Red Butte Garden; just look for the scalpers hanging around. Also tonight, it's the entrancing world music of the Gipsy Kings, headlining a show at Deer Valley at 7 p.m. (don't believe the local newspapers who all incorrectly put the time at 7:30 p.m.). 
This will mark the only night in my entire life that I hope to hear anEagles song, thanks to the Kings' version of "Hotel California" madefamous in The Big Lebowski in this scene: 
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08/26/08
Bonnie Raitt played the first of two sold-out shows Monday at Red Butte Garden, and the Rock and Roll Hall of Famer had little trouble getting acclimated to her environment, despite her constant chugging from a water bottle that she attributed to a day-time bike ride up City Creek. "What an incredible place to play," Raitt announced before playing a single song. "It's a stunning place. I get it. I get it. Every time I come here, I get it." 
It's safe to say Raitt's fans "get" her, too, whether she's delivering stinging blues cuts or mellower, adult-contemporary pop hits. Monday's set had a full dose of both, all delivered with a huge smile on the headliner, with a...
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08/25/08
JASON ISBELL, Saturday, The Canyons As a Drive-By Truckers, fanatic, I was bummed to see Jason Isbell leave the band last year. For about five minutes. Then I saw a Truckers show in its new incarnation, and knew they'd be fine. And then I heard Isbell's solo debut, Sirens of the Ditch, and knew he needed to lead his own crew, rather than being just one cog in a massive rock machine. 
I missed Isbell's first solo show in Salt Lake, so I made my way up to The Canyons Saturday for his free gig on Saturday. Now I'm even more sure that Isbell made the right move going solo. Not only does he retain the affable nature he displayed as one of the Truckers' three singer/guitarists;...
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08/25/08
Just got an email from United Concerts; this Wednesday's Dave Matthews Band show at Usana Amphitheater has been postponed, no doubt for the funeral of DMB sax player LeRoi Moore, who died last week. Stay tuned for details on a rescheduled date.
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08/22/08
There are tons of things to do this weekend, including the Park City Jazz Festival all weekend at Deer Valley, hip-hopper Nas at Harry O's tonight and some sort of Rock and Ribs festival at the Gallivan Center, but I'm going to focus on three shows I consider must-sees happening this weekend. Tonight Anyone who saw Big Sandy and His Fly-Rite Boys when they headlined at the Twilight Concert Series a few years back will vouch for the retro-rockers' skills. I'm a sucker for any band with a pedal-steel, and just look at the fly suits on these guys:
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08/21/08
Here's a guest review from one of my coworkers, Lenni Keyes, who checked out the KT Tunstall show at Red Butte Garden last night: 
"KT Tunstall and her band delivered a definite get-up-and-dance show for their first Utah appearance, and everyone in the sold-out venue was ready to comply. From the die-hard fans in the front row who stood and swayed through every song, to the men obviously there at the request of their dates who got up and danced from time to time, everybody was getting into it and loving the music, the atmosphere and the beautiful night up at Red Butte's gorgeous new amphitheater.
KT worked the crowd fabulously, playing all the right songs and mixing obvious favorites with...
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08/21/08
A couple of days ago I wrote about the transcendant Wilco show, a Red Butte gig that's been hailed by virtually all my friends as one of the best shows they've ever seen. It was definitely the highlight of the Salt Lake summer to date. While the Wilco gig was an example of a long-revered band living up to the hype, the Avett Brothers show last night at The Depot was a prime example of walking into a gig with no idea what I was getting into, and being blown away in the best possible way. And while it seems a little ridiculous to make the comparison after what I witnessed Monday, I have to say: my experience at Avett Brothers was damn Wilco-like. And I can give no more of a rave than this: today I'll be buying all the North Carolina crew's music that I can find.
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08/20/08
Boz Scaggs lived in Texas. I'm from Texas. Boz went to the same Dallas prep school as Steve Miller, Tommy Lee Jones and my offspring. Since no one loves Texas like a Texan who doesn't live there, these slim connections (plus the sweet venue) made me an apparently ideal sub for Nailen at last night's Deer Valley concert. But the truth is, everything I knew about Boz I learned 35 years ago. So the band (complete with horns and a duet of full-voiced women) hadn’t played more than a couple of bars before I realized that I had hopelessly misinformed myself: this was stonewashed blues, smooth enough to play in a bank lobby, innocuous enough to be labeled easy jazz and perfect for dancing to in the grass if you’re wearing spike heels with your swarovski-studded jeans.
I...
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08/20/08
Garrison Keillor is a love-him-or-hate-him type of entertainer. The famed radio host of A Prairie Home Companion and regular columnist in The Salt Lake Tribune and papers across the country is beloved for his folksy charm, dry wit and entertaining blend of music and storytelling. 
For some, Keillor is way too schmaltzy, way too whitebread, to serve as a worthy night out. I can understand that perspective, particularly when I'm in a cranky mood, but last night at a full Red Butte Garden I was charmed by the throwback nature of Keillor's traveling Rhubarb tour. So allow me to defend him to the naysayers. - You have to give props to anyone who can build a career out of a...
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08/19/08
No, this isn't my esteemed colleague Mary Malouf's foot blog. This is me pimping the Garrison Keillor show tonight at Red Butte Garden. Called "The Rhubarb Tour," it's all that you've come to expect from Keillor's Prairie Home Companion radio show, but live and under the starry skies of SLC. There are still tix available through Red Butte Garden. The show starts at 7 p.m.
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08/19/08
I've always been the type to allow hype to raise my expectations, and usually I end up disappointed. Doesn't matter if it's a band, a book or a flick—it happens all the time. Wilco has certainly enjoyed its share of hype since Jeff Tweedy formed the band in the mid-'90s, but adoring music critics and rabid fans are nothing compared to how I've built the band up in my head. Despite eight years as a full-time music writer, I never got to see Wilco live until last night. And I'm happy to report that Tweedy and Co. were everything I could have hoped for, and then some. 
Performing at a sold-out Red Butte Garden amphitheater, Wilco delivered well over...
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08/18/08
For alt-country fans, this weekend provided a strange confluence of events, thanks largely to the new Jackson Hole Music Festival that went down Saturday and Sunday. Friday night at the Paladium, we got a stop by Son Volt, the band led by Jay Farrar of Uncle Tupelo fame, and tonight we get his old partner Jeff Tweedy, leading Wilco in a headlining gig at Red Butte Garden. The duo split rather acrimoniously, and while Wilco has gone on to non-stop critical adoration and some fame with its experimental sound, Son Volt largely stuck to its country-rock guns, to notably less fanfare. After seeing Son Volt for the third time Friday, that trend seems about right. I loved the early Son Volt...
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08/15/08
I love a weekend full of options, especially when some of those options are available for no money down. Throw in some great music at night, and you have a weekend that will surely go by in a blur. I'm starting my weekend at The Paladium tonight, where Son Volt and Bobby Bare, Jr., are stopping on their way to the big rock fest in Jackson Hole this weekend. Son Volt is led by Jay Farrar, an alt-country hero to many of us thanks to his time in Uncle Tupelo (his Uncle Tuplelo partner, Jeff Tweedy, will be in town Monday with Wilco at Red Butte Garden). Son Volt's first album, Trace, is still one of my faves, and Farrar's been relatively consistent with his sonic output the past 10 years or so, whether releasing tunes with the band or as a...
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08/14/08
 
Butting in on brother Dan's blog: Finally catching up with some of the art around town, I went to the Utah Museum of Fine Arts to peruse the Monet to Picasso show and dropped in Salt Lake Art Center to catch Present Tense, the post-337 exhibit. I was happy to see how crowded the parking lot at UMFA was, meaning that lotsa people were taking in the show, and the galleries were full of folks with heads cocked in listening position, with their taped tour guides held to their ears. It’s fantastic that this traveling world-class...
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08/14/08
Yes, I actually just said that to myself when I realized all the shows going down throughout the valley this evening. So let's not monkey around; here's what's up: - Tonight at the Gallivan Center, Clap Your Heands Say Yeah are headlining the Twilight Concert Series, but be sure to get there early for a little taste of the Delta Spirit's alt-country. Ya gotta love a double-bill of hipster Brooklyn dance rock and SoCal twang—that diversity is what the Twilight series is all about, right? 
- Tonight at
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08/13/08
Last night I spent a couple hours with the fine folks from The Trust for Public Land's Utah chapter at their Hotel Monaco fundraiser. The TPL was formed in 1972 in Northern California as a means to protect some of the country's last, best places. Naturally, that work is never-ending, and Utah has plenty of beautiful spots in need of protection. Check out what the Utah chapter is up to right here. TONIGHT Head on down to the Avalon Theater for the RX Bandits, where you can get all the pop-punk you can handle thanks to the headliners, as well as openers Portugal The Man, Kay Kay and His Weathered Underground and The Skaficionados. Tickets are...
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08/12/08
In my ongoing effort to class myself up and live up to the standards of Salt Lake magazine in that regard, I'll be hopping over to a lovely little soiree this evening and I think you should join me. "A Park in Paris" is the theme for an indoor picnic being held by the Trust for Public Land today at 5 p.m. at the Hotel Monaco Paris Ballroom, 15 West 200 South. The event is open to the public (call 801-990-9729 to let them know you're coming), and the suggested donation of $20 gains you access to live tunes, food from Bambara, a live auction and drawing for prizes donated by local, environmentally conscious businesses, and all the education opportunities you can stand in cocktail-party scene. All the money raised will go toward the TPL's conservation...
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08/11/08
First things first: a moment of silence for two truly great artists who died over the weekend, comedian Bernie Mac and soul superstar Isaac Hayes. This morning, I got an email with this picture, and a worried message about how these things happen in threes. So watch out, Samuel Jackson, you a-bomb-droppin' muthaf#!%er! 
I spent the weekend gallivanting all over our fair state, and then some. Friday night I braved what I thought was going to be nasty rain storms and a muddy hillside at Deer Valley to check out the Utah Opera and Utah Symphony's co-production of Highlights from Gilbert & Sullivan....
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08/08/08
Maybe it's because I'm getting old(er), but my patience for the madness at the Twilight Concert Series grows shorter by the year. As a result, and for other, non-old dude reasons, I hadn't been back to the Gallivan Center on a Thursday since The Roots show until last night. I'm far from a rabid Nada Surf fan—I attended more as a curious semi-fan of their albums—but their performance Thursday was far better than I was expecting. Playing a ton of songs from recent albums like the new Lucky, The Weight is a Gift and Let Go, the New York trio showed that the power-pop riffs, dead-on vocal harmonies and hooks o' plenty that dot their albums are no studio trickery. I was even able to appreciate them despite the bass player's white-boy dreadlocks — both a...
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08/07/08
Rarely does a band get a second chance, either in the big-picture music biz or in my personal listening habits. But tonight's Twilight Concert Series headliner, Nada Surf, is one exception. 
The first time I heard 'em, it was due to that oh-so-annoying 1996 MTV hit, "Popular," when they came off as an even-lighter-weight Weezer at the height of nerd-rock's short time in the sun. The best thing I could say about them at that point was that Ric Ocasek of The Cars — one of my personal faves — was producing their records. Flash-forward a few years, several actually, to 2005, when the band's indie release The Weight is a Gift, proved Nada Surf to be a fine power-pop band with some...
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08/06/08
OK, I was a little foggy earlier, and I totally spaced mentioning a couple of worthy shows for this evening. blue haiku is playing a free show at 7:30 p.m. at the Anderson-Foothill Library, 1135 South 2100 East, and at Burt's Tiki Lounge, you can catch singer/songwriter Adam Marsland, touring in support of his new collection, Daylight Kissing Night: The Best of Adam Marsland. 
COMING SOON This Saturday at Smith's Tix outlets, you can buy tickets for the unfailingly chatty Jason Mraz (Oct. 28 at the E Center), Queensryche singer Geoff Tate going solo (Sept....
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08/06/08
Conor Oberst, Conor Oberst (Merge Records) Grade: B+ 
Those looking for a massive sonic makeover with the new album by Bright Eyes' leader Conor Oberst aren't going to find it on his self-titled new album. For the most part, these 12 new folk-rock songs fit nicely alongside recent works like Cassadaga. But it is still noteworthy that Oberst 1. decided to release these songs under his own name, rather than his band's; 2. decided to produce the work himself, rather than with the guidance of longtime musical partner Mike Mogis; and 3. released this set on Merge, rather than his own label, or Saddle Creek, the Omaha-based label he helped build as a...
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08/05/08
First things first: Any man who can pull off wearing a disco-ball suit during his performance is A-OK in my book, and the charming crooner Chris Isaak always manages that trick during his shows. It wasn't the only outfit of the night, of course; Isaak went from a shocking pink western suit to a black t-shirt and slacks to the noteworthy disco ball get-up during the course of a winning, if-too-brief, 90-minute show at The Depot. 
Isaak comes on like a combination of Elvis Presley and Roy Orbison — a winning sonic mix in my book — but his sense of humor and affable stage presence is thoroughly modern. I'd file him in the same category as a Lyle Lovett or Harry Connick, Jr.—talented...
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08/04/08
I have a good news/bad news situation to present in terms of tonight's entertainment options. On the one hand, there is an unusually high number of concerts happening around the valley for a Monday night. On the other hand, none of the shows struck me as being so good that I actually wrote it down in my calender to remind myself to go. Still, I know there are thousands of my fellow Utahns who will be checking out these gigs, so I might change my mind, just to hang with y'all. Is that OK? Here's what's up: - Tonight at The Depot, 400 West South Temple, it's the retro-fitted rock of Chris Isaak, the man who never passed on a shiny Western suit in his life. I've never spent much time with Isaak's music — it's pleasant enough...
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08/01/08
Wow, there is a LOT of stuff going down this weekend, and I'll undoubtedly forget to mention something or another, but I'll do my best to make sure you know about the very best options. To wit: - Up at Snowbird tonight and tomorrow, it's the annual Rock and Blues Festival, featuring the likes of Berry LaVette, Keb' Mo', Ruthie Foster, The Subdudes and my personal fave of the weekend's festivities, the incomparable Buckwheat Zydeco! Look at this man and tell me you don't want to go boogie down Saturday at 7 p.m. 
- Tonight at Deer Valley, it's Vivace night at the
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