From a wash of reverb, Merchandise’s lead guitarist Dave Vassalotti strummed the opening chords of an honest pop song called “Time.” Carson Cox’s melancholic croon shone through the band’s wall of sound, peaking at (my favorite Merchandise line), “I’m really just an animal/made with human parts.” … read more
Low @ Velour 03.30
As I found a place in the venue to nest myself before Low started, a projector broadcasted an image of a timer counting down from 10 minutes on the backdrop behind the stage. This concept doubled as a convenience for power smokers and merch collectors. As it reached the final 10 seconds, the crowd began counting down out loud until the timer reached zero. Almost instantly, the lights dimmed and Parker started to play a steady locomotive rhythm, which shoehorned into the first song of the set, “Plastic Cup.” … read more
Heggy Gonzalez: Beauty Chameleon
Upon first appearance the Aveda Institute in Provo is just another hair school. Located in a strip mall the interior is lined with black salon chairs, mirrors and mannequin heads sporting various wigs for practice. … read more
Sample Tracks @ Sugar Space 04.05
Sugar Space is tucked away on 616 Wilmington Ave. in Sugarhouse, which provides for a sense of stealing away to a small mountain town, and lends her performances an intimate tone. Leah Nelson Del Porto and Cortney McGuire of fivefour kicked off the showcase with their piece, “my space is sometimes yours.” An older piece in their repertoire, “my space is sometimes yours” is honed and polished. The program previewed that the piece was devoid of musical accompaniment, which turned out to be an excellent choice, as the under-the-breath mutterings between Nelson and McGuire proved to be not only entertaining, but underpinned the conceptual content of the piece, which was negotiating space with another person and the shifting boundaries. … read more
Ivan & Alyosha with Fort Atlantic, L’anarchiste @ Kilby Court 04.04
Interestingly enough, Ivan & Alyosha got their name from a Dostoevsky novel, which initially made me think they were all about bleak introspection on the darkness of the human soul. On the contrary, they’re very skilled at cranking out catchy melodies with sincere vocals—not stuff I usually associate with Dostoevsky. … read more
Jeff Mangum @ The Depot 04.04
Neutral Milk Hotel’s story has long ago been folded into the tapestry of indie rock legend—a songwriter with a burning vocabulary makes one beautifully haunting collection of song and memory that’s instantly called perfection, then recluses himself and dissociates from its fame, perhaps crushed with the silly fear of never writing anything one-hundredth as good. … read more
SpaceGhostPurrp @ Kilby Court 04.05 with Raider Klan, DopeThought
I’m a Purrp fan not for his hip hop roots, but for his connection to a somewhat dissimilar genre—goth. The boundaries between any genres can be overcome in our post-Internet lives—witch house, a basic blend of goth, R&B and hip hop, is paving the way for such genre experimentation. Witchy is an apt description of Purrp’s music. … read more
Uinta Madness vs. Capital City Crushers 04.06
The Depot was packed, fans of both teams filled the seats, ready to cheer on their respective teams. Our local boys of Uinta Madness, had a little score to settle with the Boise natives. … read more
Insight with Døne, Cool Your Jets @ The Shred Shed 04.12
Insight hadn’t played a single show since they broke up in September of 1990, and there were probably only a handful of people in the crowd that ever got the opportunity to see them live. They made sure to show everyone what they’d missed with a tight and incredibly fun set at The Shred Shed. … read more
One Way System with Mass Terror, All Systems Fail, Desolate, Discoid A @ The Salt Haus 04.08
For most of Salt Lake City, Monday night was a cold, wet and somewhat snowy night—one last night (hopefully) for hot cocoa, sweaters and watching that Magic School Bus box set you mom got you in December. Those of us foolishly brave enough to venture out to the Salt Haus got a quite the treat. Hosted by the Pyrate Punx SLC, the bands Discoid A, Desolate, All Systems Fail, Mass Terror and One Way System played quite the show. … read more
Purity Ring @ Urban Lounge 04.09 with Blue Hawaii
Minutes before the experience of Purity Ring began, Corin Roddick lifted the black veils (literal, figurative) from over his unusual instruments—Roddick triggers his percussion and drum kits through lighted orbs; Megan carries a lantern and bangs a glowing bass drum, as if to guide her audience through the performance. … read more
Going Ape Shit: Bonobo Takes Charge of 2013
With such an impressive repertoire under his belt, it isn’t surprising that the release of Bonobo’s most recent album, The North Borders, has already become a success. SLUG spoke with Bonobo about his new album, tour and recent projects. … read more
