Authors: Ryan Hall
Why? @ Club Sound
After standing in line for about 10 minutes with girls wearing nothing more than lingerie and those Sasquatch-like furry boots, I realized I was probably in line for the rave, not the Why? show. The real line for Why?, in fact, stretched around the building and half-way down 200 S. … read more
Plan-B Theatre: Wallace
Wallace is the story of two men whose lives run aground in Salt Lake: Wallace Thurman, a young, gay, African-American writer and Wallace Stegner, the Pulitzer-prize winning writer who survived the brutal plains of Saskatchewan. In life their paths never crossed, in the minimalist set in the Plan-B theater they only once acknowledge each other, but their lives, at some point, share a city, a passion for writing, and a name: Wallace. … read more
The Appleseed Cast @ Kilby Court
Do you remember being in high school? Do you remember that impressionable stage in life when great shows weren’t just great shows; they were “OMG! That was the best show of my life!” Or when great albums were life-changing works of impossible art? This was certainly the case for me when I was 16 and saw The Appleseed Cast for the first time at the Bluebird in Denver, CO. … read more
Plan-B Theatre: Amerigo
Eric Samuelson’s latest play takes on the question of who discovered America and for what purpose. The seemingly easily answered question is hashed out and debated eternally (literally) between Christopher Columbus and Amerigo Vespucci. The debate takes place in purgatory and is moderated by philospher/proto-capitalist Niccolo Machiavelli and arbitrated by Mexican nun/writer Sor Juana Ines de la Cruz. … read more
Braid: We Want to Be On Your Comp
Last month Polyvinyl remastered and reissued the four earliest Braid albums. These early discs, and the literal sea of bands spawned in their wake, are a testament to Braid’s relentless work ethic and D.I.Y drive to simply let people hear their music. I spoke to former Braid frontman Bob Nanna about the time period that these alums were produced. … read more
Mono @ The Urban Lounge
Dressed in all black with nary a discernable expression of emotion on their face, guitarists Takaakira Goto and Yoda took seats on opposite sides of the stage from each other and, without a word, began the tremolo picked upswell from 2009’s Hymn to the Immortal Wind. This reverence and austerity, punctuated with moments of pure cathartic and caustic release, would define not only the hour-and-a-half long performance, but the audience’s awed hush. … read more
It Just So Happens I Have Many Concerns: An Interview...
Damien Jurado writes songs like Robert Altman directs films. Like Altman, Jurado’s characters are victims of circumstance, sometimes environmental, sometimes of their own accord, who are forced to face down moral questions that they are unequipped to deal with. I had the chance to talk to Damien Jurado about his craft as songwriter and his new album Saint Bartlett. … read more
The Devil Whale @ Subterranean
Sunday night was a lot of things. Ostensibly, it was The Devil Whale’s pre-release show. But Sunday night had layers–layers that cut a broad swathe through the musical landscape of Salt Lake City and spoke to the interconnectivity between bands, fans, and a forward thinking record store at the center of this close-knit community. … read more
Boris @ Urban Lounge
Being a patron of live shows in Salt Lake City I have an almost second-home relationship with the Urban Lounge. I have mindlessly studied the exposed rafter ceiling, particle board decor, patronized the comfy benches and even ventured into the privacy-be-damned bathrooms more times than I care to remember. But on Tuesday Boris turned the Urban Lounge into a wholly new and strange environment to which I had no relationship or history with. … read more
Autolux @ Urban Lounge
Watching Autolux play is like watching a controlled detonation: so many painstaking details just to watch something explode into a million pieces. Likewise, Autolux’s set was professional down to the last detail. Small, single-bulb lamps and white satin ribbon lights were tied to just about every mic stand and amplifier onstage. With as much exposition as Autolux put into their live show the performance itself exceeded the lofty expectations set by mood and ambience. … read more