06/30/08
Spent a toasty Saturday afternoon attending the Vans Warped Tour at the Utah State Fairpark checking out the "punk-rock summer camp" (how many times have you heard that phrase to describe Warped?), and while there were some fine finds among the 59 bands playing on a half-dozen stages, there was something missing from the experience. I've been to a lot of Warped shows through the years, probably seven or eight total, and it's always a fine time, and one of the best concert deals of the summer, providing a TON of tunes for about $30—less in the old days. And the Salt Lake City stops have always been particularly noteworthy, perhaps because this is where the first-ever Warped show went down, about 15 years ago. This year, though, there was a discernible lack of...
|
06/27/08
Anyone who knows me knows that musical theater is not high on my list of entertainment options when I'm looking for something to do. I've become more tolerant over the past year, thanks to several local theater companies giving me the chance to see various productions, but I still have an issue with the whole suspense of disbelief/having-a-plot-sung-at me aspect of musicals. So, naturally, I was skeptical about The Drowsy Chaperone, a Tony-winning homage/skewering of the conventions of musical theater currently playing at the Capitol Theatre through Sunday. Turns out, I shouldn't have been. 
The show is charming to the nth degree, a light and fluffy farce that successfully breaks down the...
|
06/27/08
Congrats to Ryan Robinson, winner of a pair of tix to the Utah Arts Festival, courtesy of Salt Lake magazine! Ryan, send me an email for details on how to pick up your tix: dan@saltlakemagazine.com. The rest of y'all, thanks for playing.
|
06/27/08
A bevy of opportunities out there for your weekend, people. So many, in fact, that I'm sure I'll neglect to mention some of them here, but I'll update later today as I think of them. And check back shortly for a review of The Drowsy Chaperone, a musical farce playing at the Capitol Theatre all weekend, and a short review of the Punch Brothers show in Park City last night. First things first, though—what to do tonight and beyond? You country fans—I know you're out there, I can hear you breathing—will want to make the trip to Usana Amphitheatre tonight for Tim McGraw's headlining gig. I always thought McGraw was a little too much on the pop side of country for my taste—something about his hunky good looks and being married...
|
06/26/08
Hey!!!  I'm crashing Dan's blog to bring you this special announcement: Everyone who comments here before 10:00 am tomorrow (Friday, June 27) morning, is eligible to win a pair of tickets to the Utah Arts Festival this weekend. So flex those fingers and log in! But be nice.
|
06/26/08
Okay, gang, I'm back in town after a whirlwind tour through a couple of days at the Utah Shakespearean Festival, my first jaunt to the Tony-winning, summer-long event in Cedar City. I'll fill you in on that later, but in the meantime, a couple of options for you, entertainment-wise, to plan your evening. At the Capitol Theatre, check out the musical farce The Drowsy Chaperone, "the most celebrated musical of the 2006 Broadway season," which tells the story of a musical theater addict and his magical trip back in time, through the soundtrack of an old-time musical. I'll be checking out the matinee this afternoon, so check back tomorrow morning for a review. The show runs...
|
06/23/08
A lot of the folks I talked to at the Ani DiFranco concert at Library Square Saturday were thrilled with the venue, and it was pretty sweet. The gentling sloping hill gave everyone (at least of a certain height) a good view of DiFranco and her band, and the dramatic juxtaposition of the mountains and Salt Lake skyline was killer.
So was the show, for the most part. I have no beef with the set—which including a lot of new songs, as well as classics like "32 Flavors," "Untouchable Face" and my personal fave, "Shameless"—but I don't think I've ever seen DiFranco play just 80 minutes or so, including the encore. It certainly felt that just as the show was hitting its stride, it was over. So that was kind of a bummer. But I can't wait to check...
|
06/20/08
I had the opportunity to take a quick run through this summer's featured exhibit at the Utah Museum of Fine Art, the brilliant collection courtesy of the Cleveland Museum of Art called Monet to Picasso. It's an incredible collection of paintings spanning 100 years of work by some of the biggest painters in various genres, from the impressionism of Monet to the surrealism of Dali, with works from familiar names (even to an art novice like me) such as Van Gogh, Picasso, Renoir, Magritte, Cezanne and more. The show opens Monday and runs through Sept. 21, and I heartily encourage you to attend. More than once. It's that cool a show. As UMFA Director David Dee put it Friday morning, speaking with assorted media types: "This...
|
06/20/08
I'm going to be out of town early next week, checking in with the Shakespearean Festival in Cedar City, but I won't leave you hanging for things to do. There is the sure-to-be-great Gov't Mule/Ratdog show at The Depot on Tuesday, and the briliant Mark Knopfler, formerly of Dire Straits, headlining a show at Abravanel Hall on Wednesday. But you might want to save your ducats for a special gig in Park City Thursday night. A combined effort of the Park City Performing Arts Foundation, The Sky Lodge and Zoom, it's a concert-meets-dinner event featuring The Punch Brothers, the new band of former Nickel Creek mandolin ace Chris Thile. 
|
06/20/08
Okay, gang, I'm in a serious time crunch, so I'm going to make this fast. So much going on this weekend, it's making my head spin. Let's do it: Tonight is the Salt Lake Gallery Stroll, always a worthy event. But tonight it seems even more special, thanks to some killer shows starting up. At the Phillips Gallery, 444 East 200 South, catch new works by Malen Pierson and Mark Knudsen (a personal friend of the Lounge crew). 
The Salt Lake Art Center, 20 South West Temple, features the opening of Present Tense: A Post 337 Project, in which 25 artists who took part in last year's memorable 337 art project created new...
|
06/18/08
Well, sort of. The Slippery Kittens burlesque troupe, one of Salt Lake's two competing groups, are featured on the current season of America's Got Talent. Here's a clip from their first appearance: |
06/17/08
Everyone used to say that Kelly Clarkson was the most successful American Idol winner. But her third album tanked, so Carrie Underwood might be the rightful heir of that dubious honor. She'll be headlining a show at West Valley City's E Center Nov. 19, with Little Big Town opening. Tickets go on sale Saturday at 11 a.m. through Ticketmaster outlets. They range from $35 to $55, plus service charges. 
|
06/17/08
Last night I made my way down to the Railroad Earth show at the Paladium. Railroad Earth is a country-tinged jam-band out of Jersey, and I'd seen them before at the Telluride Bluegrass Festival. For whatever reason, though, I didn't enjoy the experience quite as much here in the hometown as when I saw them under the blue skies of Southwest Colorado. 
During the band's performance of "The Forecast" from their brand-new Amen Corner album, I did come up with a little list of rules that, if they'd been followed, would have made me a happier camper watching the show. As Otis Day would say, here 'tis: 1....
|
06/16/08
I'm still recovering a bit from my dance experience over the weekend. While I was excited to check out choreographer Stephen Brown's Revenge of Yoga: The Musical, it turns out I shouldn't have been. The satire, pitched as "more South Park than Sunday in the park," had its moments when it was skewering the vapid SoCal culture, but the story wasn't strong enough to hang a two-hour show on. The dancing was impressive, to be sure, and I'll still want to see what Brown does next because Revenge of Yoga was quite the ornate production, and you can never have enough humor injected in Dance World (as far as this novice is concerned, anyway), but this show was kind of rough to sit through. But, hey, I tried. Tonight it will be much easier to make it all...
|
06/13/08
There's a lot happening this weekend, folks, so I'm going to hit it quick and dirty. (And in homage to Michael Scott, "That's what she said"). FRIDAY Tonight it's alt-rock bliss at The Urban Lounge, 241 South 500 East, when The Warlocks and The Black Angels take the stage. It'll be Hipster Central for the brooding, dark psychedelia delivered by both bands. Definitely a worthy stop for the adventurous. 
Tonight at 6:30 p.m. at Pat's BBQ, 155 West Commonwealth Ave., it's the SLC Big Beat Jamboree featuring tunes by Gypsy Dave & the...
|
06/12/08
First things first: If you're looking for something to do tonight, follow me to Ogden to see the brilliant comic Maria Bamford at Wiseguys Comedy Cafe, 269 25th Street. Bamford is one of the "Comedians of Comedy," along with Patton Oswalt, Brian Posehn and others. You might not recognize the name, but her voice is heard everywhere from children's cartoons on Nickelodeon (Back at the Barnyard), PBS (Wordgirl) and she has her own show on Superdeluxe.com. Here's a pic of Bamford, in character as her own mother: 
Bamford's show...
|
06/11/08
That headline sums up tonight's festivities pretty concisely. Let's break it down: THE GOOD Dallas-based Old 97s are personal favorites of mine for a few reasons. One, they took their name from the Johnny Cash song "The Wreck of the Old 97," which automatically scores them big points here in the Lounge. Second, the first time I ever got to see the band, it wasn't exactly a typical show. It was at the Sundance Music Cafe during the film festival about eight years ago, and the normally raucous, electrified quartet was in acoustic mode. Normally I like to stand through any concert I'm seeing, but somehow lounging on giant pillows worked for that show. Little did I know that when I saw Old 97s in their normal bar...
|
06/10/08
I've been waiting patiently for this day to come since at least last July, when I rolled to Telluride to see My Morning Jacket open for Bob Dylan. My Morning Jacket is one of the best live bands on the planet right now, and their performance definitely forced ol' Bob to step up his game. Wonder who will open for Dylan when he plays Deer Valley August 31 (stay tuned for ticket details). 
The new MMJ album, Evil Urges, is getting rave reviews. Sadly, I haven't heard it yet. But I will, soon, and you'll get a full review here, as well as reviews of the new Alanis Morissette and perhaps some others. Also released today: Solomon Burke, Like a Fire — A true soul legend...
|
06/09/08
The Salt Lake Acting Company's crew behind Saturday's Voyeur find themselves in a tricky spot as the political satire celebrates its 30th birthday this summer. For newcomers to the event, as I was a couple of summers ago, the over-the-top musical numbers and stinging jabs at Utah's "dominant culture" —whether that be Mormon culture, Republican culture, white culture, or a combination of the three—offer a refreshing, eye-opening pronouncement for the progressive-minded that We Are Not Alone; there are actually plenty of people who find Utah's socio-political foibles frustrating, weird and, often, hilarious. I took along a first-time Voyeur viewer to Sunday's show, and his reaction was much like mine...
|
06/05/08
Ola gang! Since I'm going to have a workout with a personal trainer for the first time in my life tonight, I have a good feeling I might not survive the experience to give y'all the lowdown on the coming days' entertainment. So I'm doin' it early, because there is A LOT of groovy fun to be had, starting tonight. - Tonight in the Paris Ballroom of the Hotel Monaco, 15 West 200 South, it's the Utah AIDS Foundation's annual fundraiser, "Let's Do Pink Again." There will be raffles, pink drinks, pink boas for all and pink-themed drinks and appetizers. There's a suggested donation of $15 at the door, with all funds benefitting Utah AIDS Foundation. - Friday, there are plenty of options. I'll be hitting the
|
06/04/08
We have kind of a strange mixed-bag of info for ya today, but let's start with something actually worthy of your time and money tonight. Return to Forever is a '70s-era supergroup led by keyboardist Chick Corea and also including guitarist Al Di Meola, drummer Lenny White and bassist Stanley Clarke. The group is touring for the first time in decades, and stops at Kingsbury Hall tonight at 7:30 p.m. for a show the concert promoter swears will be one of the most memorable of the year. Expect lots of flashing lights, monster jams and two sets of unbelievable musicianship. Get your tickets through the Kingsbury Hall Web site. Here's a taste of what the show will look like:
|
06/03/08
A bunch of you know him, and a bunch of you love him; the first time standup comic Brian Regan came to town, he sold out two shows at Kingsbury Hall in a heartbeat. On Friday, Aug. 15, he'll headline at the waterfall amphitheater at Lehi's Thanksgiving Point. Tickets go on sale this Saturday at 10 a.m. at Smith's Tix outlets. 
|
06/03/08
A couple of stellar shows on tap for tonight. At The Depot, 400 West South Temple, it's the sultry soul and sly funk of Erykah Badu. She's touring with the Roots, but the hip-hop crew is taking tonight off (they will be playing the opening Twilight Concert Series show on July 10), so it's Erykah solo. Still worthy, just not quite the same as when she played Salt Lake with the Roots back during the Olympics. Tickets are a might pricey at $36, but SLC rarely gets such a gifted performer. 
Over at Kilby Court, 741 South 330 West, Omaha indie-rockers Neva Dinova headling a...
|
06/02/08
I had the opportunity Sunday to check out The Nomadic Project, one of the more unique art shows you're likely to come across, down at the Utah Artist Hands gallery, 61 West 100 South, and Caffe Molise next door. The show is the sum-total of a multi-year project by painter Kristin Abraham and her husband Alfonso Llamas. For 13 months, the couple traveled the country in their 2003 Honda Element, with Abraham creating a new painting for each of the 50 states they visited, and Llamas writing music for each stop as well. It's guerilla-style art, very much my cup of tea, in which the couple would show up in a town and find a gallery willing to show the painting inspired by the last state they'd stopped in. This Salt Lake show marks the first time all 50 paintings are...
|
