Music
A-Trak @ Complex 05.10
Alain Macklovich a.k.a. A-Trak has been a busy man. One month ago, he left Coachella after playing a wild set with Duck Sauce mate Armand Van Helden and met up with Kid Sister and the Gaslamp Killer to kick off the Magic 8 Ball Tour. Serving partially as a pretext for A-Trak’s most current stage design, the tour spanned south from coast to coast twice, ending up in Salt Lake City last Tuesday. … read more
Mogwai @ Avalon 05.03
Glasgow’s Mogwai were plagued by visa and family issues before they were even able to kick this tour off, so the fact that they were able to pull this show off deserves a round of applause. Now, in case you’ve never seen them—or heard them, for that matter—Mogwai play a blistering mish-mash of rock, shoegaze, metal, indie, and trance-inducing drone. … read more
The Black Angels @ Urban Lounge
I’d been anticipating The Black Angels’ May 6th show since I saw the group play in Austin at SXSW. I typically try to not to build things up this much. In many cases that much anticipation will lead to disappointment. Lucky for me, I was seeing The Black Angels. The Black Angels don’t disappoint. … read more
Funeral Party, The Dillinger Escape Plan and Deftones
In the Venue filled up early last Thursday night as excited fans of Funeral Party, The Dillinger Escape Plan and Deftones shuffled in. … read more
(hed)pe @ The Complex 04.22.11
(hed)pe performed at The Complex on April 22 in support of their new release, Truth Rising.
Photos: Eric Scott Russell (ericscottrussell.com) … read more
Cold Cave @ Urban Lounge on 04.13
Going into the Cold Cave show, I had a vague idea of what to expect. Having heard a preview of Cherish the Light Years, the band’s excellent sophomore album, I anticipated the band being awkward and quasi-emo like the John Hughes movies the album shares a sensibility with. It turns out this was way off, evident from the moment they walked onstage wearing all black. … read more
The Joy Formidable and The Lonely Forest @ Kilby
Something about watching two big beefcake bros sing along to a girl-fronted pop band seemed odd. After releasing their first EP in ‘08 for free via their Myspace, The Joy Formidable have come a long way fast. … read more
Jared Mees & the Grown Children @ Urban Lounge 3/24
By the time Jared Mees and his “Grown Children” reached Salt Lake City, they had been touring for nearly a month. Having just come off a couple of shows in Colorado the day before, and the Urban Lounge being more or less empty, I prepped myself for a slow, emotionless performance. Not so. This Oregon-based quintet seemed to exude energy throughout their entire performance.
… read more
A Hawk and a Hacksaw
You know those bands that you really like, but then you see them live, and your whole world is rocked sideways by, um, every part about them? This happened to me. A Hawk and a Hacksaw have always kind of intrigued me with their Eastern European jams, but until now, I have not fully appreciated what they’ve got going on. … read more
Peelander-Z at the Urban Lounge
Seeing Japanese/New Yorkers Peelander-Z play at the Urban Lounge was like witnessing an extra-terrestrial invasion, complete with laserblast guitar riffs and “take-me-to-your-leader” style mispronounced English. Anamanaguchi opened the show, which was fun enough, but Peelander-Z’s goofball antics really made the night. … read more