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WRD: Salt Flat Fallouts vs. Black Diamond Divas 06.29
The headliner of the night was a showdown between Wasatch’s Salt Flat Fallouts and the Black Diamond Divas, in their last home game before the championship bout, so to say the least, I felt it was going to be a bloody (hopefully only figuratively) free-for-all to find out who truly was going to be the top dog this season. … read more
Crucialfest Day Two @ Killby Court 06.27
On the second day of Crucialfest 3, the music gods looked upon Kilby Court and decided, “This is where the rock shall be.” A little slice of all-ages paradise, Kilby Court is a great venue tucked away in the back of an alley. The only downside is a serious lack of air conditioning, but fantastic lighting and sound makes up for it. Besides, it’s the summer—if you’re not sweating, then you’re not trying hard enough. One of the most fun things about Kilby Court that doesn’t really translate to a lot of venues is also the easygoing, casual vibe. “Casual” is the best way to describe Kilby all the way around, with the open garage door in back and courtyard full of stickers with a firepit flanked by park benches. Not a half bad way to catch some tunes and make some new friends. … read more
Crucialfest Day One @ The Woodshed 06.26
On a warm and muggy Wednesday night, I had the opportunity to cover the first night of Crucialfest 3 at the Wood Shed. While technically starting at Kilby Court earlier that day, I was stoked to get in and get some of that sweet Crucialfest vibe. If you’ve never heard of Crucialfest, now is a good time to catch up before next year. A huge, local festival, getting bigger and bigger every year, Crucialfest is literally a crucial part of the Utah music scene in a big way. Taking place over several days and several different venues, with mostly local acts peppered with a few touring bands, it’s a great way to dive in and get a grab bag of new tunes.
Electric Daisy Carnival: The Best Kind of Zombie Nation
On June 21 to 25, I headed to Las Vegas for one of the biggest parties/festivals of the year, Insomniac’s 17th Electric Daisy Carnival! Once again, for three days straight, some of the best DJs in the world would all be in one place for another sold-out crowd at the Las Vegas Motor Speedway for the biggest all-night party, literally. From 7 p.m. to sunrise, there would be nonstop music. Las Vegas is already known as the city to party in, but during EDC weekend, something magical happens: It’s party level of 10 doubles and by two and multiplies to infinity. … read more
Video Nasty Movie Review
Video Nasty is a refreshing take on skateboarding. It showed that it does not have to be all about handrails and hucking your carcass down a set of stairs. … read more
The Concrete Waves of the Great Salt Lake
Hill bombing is the foundation of skateboarding. Sometime in the early 1950s, California surfers started unscrewing the trucks from their roller skates and began attaching them to carved planks of wood in an effort to figure out how to surf the streets. Skateboards were skinnier then and had clay wheels, but they still got the job done. Searching for the perfect concrete wave when the ocean lay flat became a daily occurrence among the California natives, until pool skating got big in the ’70s. You see, cruising hills wasn’t like the skate park back then—it was the skate park. Since that time, the concrete wave has only grown. … read more
Gabe Spotts: Pushing through the Ranks
Gabe Spotts has become the next and newest Am to rise up from the Provo area. Like his friends and heroes Matt Fisher and Brodie Penrod, Spotts is hoping to garner enough attention to eventually get him out of the suburbs and into the big city. With the help of his sponsors, which include local companies Fortica Skateboards, Discrete Headwear, Skullcandy and Board of Provo, Spotts has been keeping the Utah scene relevant through traveling and competing on the amateur circuit. … read more
Beer Pubs with History and Swagger
There is no better way to learn more about Utah’s history with beer than to take a guided tour of a few of the most charismatic pubs in Salt Lake City. The Thirst Fursday Historic Pub Crawl is sponsored by the Utah Heritage Foundation, an organization committed to preserving Utah’s historical buildings through outreach like this fun and drinky tour. On the first Thursday of the month, three pubs are crawled to, all offering insight into Salt Lake’s history. … read more
Barley’s Angels: Beer School is Now in Session
Originally started in Oregon, Barley’s Angels is an international society dedicated to women who are passionate about craft beer. The organization allows women from any corner of the globe to begin their own chapter of the brand, and that’s exactly what Alexandra Ortiz de Fargher of Park City did. Having already been well initiated into the craft beer scene (her husband, Trent Fargher, is the owner and founder of Shades of Pale Brewing Company) Ortiz de Fargher wanted to start her own craft beer adventure. She and all the members of Barley’s Angels are dedicated to several philosophies: overturning the idea that beer is only a man’s drink, and convincing women who have written off beer as a bitter, tinny and cheap substitute for wine or spirits that they just haven’t met the right beer yet. … read more
The Hop Bombshells: Drafting Ladies into the Homebrew Army
The story of the Hop Bombshells begins with a talented woman looking for her kind. Jamie Burnham is the manager of Salt Lake homebrewing institution The Beer Nut, and a little over a year ago, she got the spark of an idea from her assistant, Dave Watson, that maybe the lady patrons of her store would enjoy being part of a club where the craft and creativity of beer making could thrive. She put the idea out to her female customers who came to pick up supplies, and received an overwhelmingly positive response. After collecting names and emails, and admittedly “dragging [her] feet for a few months,” she put together the Hop Bombshells, a club exclusively for the fairer sex of homebrewers. … read more
Don’t Be an Ass, Use a Glass!
I have a problem—a glassware problem. If it’s a vessel made to carry a specific beer, I probably own it. Some of it is tradition, how some glasses are almost ceremonial in their approach to beer, but I know there’s more to it than that. So, when people ask me, “Hey, moron! What difference does it make?” or “How can it possibly affect the taste of the beer?” I have some simple answers. … read more
Pie & Beer Pairing
Paying homage to our state’s extravagant Pioneer Day celebrations, we asked some local pioneer foodies to pair an appropriate menu item from their establishment with a favorite local beer available in the bottle, or on-tap inside the restaurant. Make it a merry Pie & Beer Day on July 24 by stuffing your bonnets to the brim with these tasty meals. … read more
