For the many times I have seen Mastodon play, this was the first time I was completely sober. Listening to them through this clearer mindset just reaffirmed why I like them so. However, with this new album and new set of songs they seem to be reaching for a different sound than their earlier recordings.. All the regular dramatics are still present. … 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
Modest Mouse/Rilo Kiley Show Review
When I left work to drive to this show, I had mixed feelings. I was stoked to be going to the show courtesy of my SLUG Mag credentials, but the fact that it was an arena show “de-stoked” me a great deal, yet I did my best to stay positive. Don’t get me wrong, I’m not one of those “Modest Mouse sold out!” kinds of people; in fact, almost the opposite. I’m stoked they have a few radio songs here and there-good for them! … read more
Black Rebel Motorcycle Club Show Review
While some bands are content to play the exact same set night after night, I’ve always been partial to bands that switch things around every night. So when someone in the crowd shouts out a request and BRMC guitarist/vocalist Peter Hayes responds with “We played that one last time we were here. … read more
Subhumans Show Review
As I walked into Club Sound, a sigh of relief washed over me as I realized that I hadn’t been arrested yet. It’s not that I find myself getting arrested on a regular basis, nor do I have a warrant on my head, but the last time I was assigned to review a show, I found myself in handcuffs 20 minutes before the doors opened. … read more
Two Gallants Show Review
I first became aware of Two Gallants because I was blessed enough to have their last album, What The Toll Tells, put in my box for a review right before it was released. … read more
Viva La Bands Preview
You know him from Jackass and his other MTV show Viva La Bam, now Bam Margera is attempting to make his mark in the music world. His show always harbored his love for music, mainly metal, be it his unflinching love for H.I.M. or the episodes of his show that included Slayer playing a party at his house… … read more
Ritual Fire: The Red King Offers Transformation
The Truth behind Mormon Psychedelia: an interview with David Zandonatti
This summer marked the fortieth anniversary of the Monterey International Pop Festival—the multi-day music event that launched the harder side of the psychedelic rock movement, and ushered in the Summer of Love. As people found a voice that embraced added social, sexual and political freedom, they also began to see value in music that could
Atmosphere, Lucky I Am, Grayskul, Mac Lethal
This was a show were the music is so damned good that the idiots in the crowd didn’t matter. The 16-year-old couple standing in front of me, that were basically having sex, disappeared. The girls behind me that were desperately trying to push there way up front even though there wasn’t room for a flea near the stage didn’t bother me. … read more
Busdriver with Daedelus and Antimc
I’ll skip my rants about In the Venue’s penchant for always booking a large crowd show and a small crowd show (trying to hear the small show over the din of said large show is impossible) and just say thanks for leaving me and every other journalist off the Liars/Interpol list. … read more
Hip-Hop Live Tour Review
When I first heard about the Hip Hop Live tour, I thought to myself, Ghostface Killah, Rakim, Brother Ali in Utah with a ten-piece live band? This is going to be better than a private helicopter for grocery shopping. I rolled into Harry O’s to see Barbie dolls on the prowl, who’s who in the Utah ski and snowboard scene, popped collars trying new dance moves and the valley gangsters perusing the scene. … read more
