Authors: Ricky Vigil
Local Reviews: Budnick
I was immediately drawn to this local pop-punk EP for three reasons: 1. The band is named after the red-mulleted prankster from the classic kids’ TV series, Salute Your Shorts, 2. Closing track “Who Wrote Holden McNeil?” is a reference to both Screeching Weasel and Chasing Amy, 3. The cover art by notable punk artist Cristy Road is pretty rad. … read more
Local Reviews: Dustbloom/Huldra
Ah, the split album—it’s a perfect way to showcase new bands and display the diversity of a musical community. This split features three songs apiece and a collaborative track from two of Salt Lake’s most exciting bands in the world of aggressive music. … read more
Local Review: Problem Daughter
Problem Daughter has been cranking out solid punk rock tunes since 2008, and this self-titled release proves that punks can still progress. The opening trio of songs (particularly “Church Bitch”) channels the melodic style of punk rock championed by bands from the Bay Area and/or Gainseville and eaten up by frequenters of punknews.org. … read more
Kristy Kruger
Regardless of political affiliation or personal ideology, I think most people can agree on one thing: War sucks. War ultimately leads to the deaths of good, honest people, and the loss of those people often has a profound effect on those who love them. … read more
Gaslight Anthem Show Review
Salt Lake City, I’m mighty disappointed in you. At the Gaslight Anthem’s first ever show in our fine city, they were greeted by a grand total of 10 people, four of whom were members of opening band Signal to Noise. … read more
Less Than Jake Show Review
Going to ska-punk shows does two things to me: 1. They make me feel old and 2. They make me feel relatively attractive. Ska-punk is an inherently dorky genre of music, and sad though it may be, the dorky tend to be less attractive than the non-dorky. Now I’m not saying that I’m a prime cut of 100% American Male myself, but goddamn those ugly kids sure made me feel good about myself (operative word being “kids”). … read more
Strung Out Show Review
I should really know better than to show up at In the Venue at the advertised start time. Doors were supposed to open for this show at 7, so I decide to show up around 7:30 only to be greeted by a giant fucking line of people still waiting to get in. … read more
Tiger Army Show Review: 10.26.07
Have you ever really liked a band, but when they started to get more popular and more successful, they just seemed to get worse and worse? Well, I can think of about five times that this has happened to me over the last few years, but Tiger Army is the most recent band to lose a bit of their magic for me. … read more
Westbound Train Show Review
It’s been about ten years since the ill-fated ska explosion of the late 1990s, and it seems that the world is finally willing to give the genre a chance again. Hellcat Records’ ska and reggae roster might be down to only two bands, but when those bands are as good as The Aggrolites and Westbound Train, you really don’t need anyone else. … read more
