The clock started to count down and skaters from both the Sisters of No Mercy and Leave it to Cleavers rolled up to the starting lines preparing for the first jam of the night. Friendly words, some dance moves and butt slaps were exchanged. A relaxed tone was set for the first period of the bout. … read more
Coheed & Cambria @ The Great Saltair
I watched as the techs did their instrument and sound checking and prepared the stage for the main event. And then, there it was: fog, spewing up from the stage floor. The techs scurried off the stage, the lights went black and the gigantic movie screen (set behind the stage)became illuminated. Sound began to flood my ears. The music became subtly more intense, until, at last, C&C took the stage to a frenzied crowd of devoted followers. … 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
Fear Factory @ Club Sound
Fear Factory is one of those bands I’d do anything to see live, no matter how many times I’ve seen them before. I started listening to Fear Factory as a teenager, and despite some lackluster albums, line-up changes and even a period of being officially broken up, I’ve always been a fan for reasons that I cannot fully comprehend. … read more
Hannibal Buress plays SLC
I’m a comic in a city that really doesn’t give that much of a shit about comedy. I’m just as much to blame. I don’t go to many shows. Here in Salt Lake City we have four or five great comedy shows a year come through. That’s really not too many. We should take advantage of the few that we have. Doug Stanhope, David Cross, Tig Notaro, just to name a few we have had this year. The more people that go to these shows, the more great comics we will get in this town. The more you go to these shows, the less you’ll see some shitty open mic comic that promises the club owner he’ll bring his relatives, and his singles ward to the show.
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Serpents of the Midnight Sun: An interview with Nightbringer’s Naas Alcament
On Tuesday June 8th the demonic occult forces that are Green Mountain Falls, Colorado’s Nightbringer will unleash their darkened black metal distortions upon Salt Lake City. Nightbringer focuses on atmospheres as much as they do direct, fast and dirge ridden guitar passages. I got the chance to ask Nightbringer’s frontman Naas Alcament a few questions to explore the depths of their music. … read more
The Hilltop Aces vs. Railway Banditas
With only three jams of the bout played, the Railway Banditas were up by 20 points. It was looking pretty bad for the Hilltop Aces for the majority of the first half. The Aces really only had one jammer scoring the majority of their points–Over 25 of the points could be attributed to her, while the other jammers had less than ten points each to their names. … read more
It Just So Happens I Have Many Concerns: An Interview with Damien Jurado
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
SCDG: Bomber Babes vs. Leave it to Cleavers
Watching teams having fun while playing roller derby is joy to behold and it was obvious to the crowd at the Salt Palace on Saturday night that the Bomber Babes and Leave it to Cleavers enjoy playing each other. This was the second bout of the 2010 season for both home teams. … read more
Wastach Roller Derby’s Midnight Terror vs. The FoCo Micro Bruisers
The girls from Wasatch Roller Derby’s Midnight Terror stepped onto the track early, obviously prepared for their bout against the Micro Bruisers of Fort Collins, Colorado. The Micro Bruisers had just woken up from their defeat against the Salt City Shakers the night before and seemed to be making some last minute adjustments before the bout began.
SCDG: Salt City Shakers vs. FoCO Micro Bruisers
The Micro Bruisers from Fort Collins, Colorado visited Salt Lake City to skate against two of the leagues in the valley, the first of which were the Salt City Shakers on Saturday night followed by Wasatch Roller Derby on Sunday morning. These ladies had to have slept well on the bus ride home because the two Salt Lake leagues challenged their roller derby skills. The Micro Bruisers fought for their points and played well, but they were no match for the local gals.
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Andy Bell – Non-Stop review
While comparisons to his active role as one half of Erasure are inevitable (they’d have to be) Andy Bell—one of the world’s most underrated vocalists—has captured the magic on his second solo album, the sublime Non-Stop. The secret here, besides Bell’s ability to always create a hummable chorus, is his willingness to experiment with his vocals. … read more