To most people around the world, June 21 is just another day on the calendar. But to myself and over 15 million other people around the globe, June 21 is a day we all hold very close to our hearts. It is a day that lets us stop and forget about whatever it is that we are doing in our day: playing video games, studying for a big test, yard work or anything else we aren’t too excited about, and do the one thing we will love doing for the rest of our lives––skateboard. … read more
Utah Arts Festival 2013: The Illustrated Woman
This year, I had the pleasure of chatting with local ladies about their secret origin stories, the Utah art scene and staying inspired when the well of creativity seems to dry up. … read more
From Ohio and Back Again: Hawthorne Heights Return To Warped Tour
Weathering more than their fair share of hurdles, including label disputes and the unfortunate loss of friend, guitarist and screamer Casey Calvert, nothing has managed to keep Hawthorne Heights from playing the music they love. We caught up with vocalist and guitarist JT Woodruff in-between shows on their way to the tour start in Seattle to talk about their new album and what it’s like being part of Warped Tour. … read more
Millie and the Moths: The Devil’s in the Details
“We love moths,” says Montag. “I used to play with them as a kid and viewed them as approachable butterflies … We love the strange and unusual.” … read more
Daughters of Mudson @ the Rose Wagner Studio Theatre
Last Friday, loveDANCEmore curated the second annual Daughters of Mudson, which was housed by the Studio Theatre of the Rose Wagner. As I entered the space, there was energy about the event’s production that I sensed early on—it was practiced, and it has matured into a something that’s becoming integral to the Salt Lake City art scene … read more
Muscle Hawk: One Man’s Thrash is Another Man’s Treasure
The Arts Festival is one of our favorite shows to play. We get to reach every age group and make them all dance together. It’s beautiful to look out at the crowd and see 7 year olds trying out breakdance moves right next to a group of 60+ year olds bustin’ out some old-school jigs. … read more
The Weekenders: A Raw Diet of Rock n’ Roll
I think Salt Lake has a handful of original rock acts and everyone is doing something a little different. I feel there is synergy to the scene and many of the acts complement each other. … read more
Parkour, Action Movies and … David Bowie? Thirty Minutes with the CBR Stunt Team
CBR, whose name comes from the founding members’ names, has a variety of online videos that feature everything from martial arts fights to parkour (also known as free running). They’re martial artists, free runners and friends, but when it comes down to it, they’re stuntmen. … read more
Camera Obscura @ Urban Lounge 06.26 with Marissa Nadler
Camera Obscura began with “Do It Again” and “Break It To You Gently,” two new pop tunes that prove that they’ve still got a vitality to their songbook, a feeling that evolved with confidence as they delivered half of their newest album. … read more
Miss May I, Killswitch Engage, Darkest Hour, The Word Alive, Affiance
I love shows at Saltair. Even the drive, which would normally be an inconvenience, can be a wonderful relaxation if you take the right route. So it was Friday evening as my friends and I piled into a few cars and chased the sun out to the Great Salt Lake, ready to have our earholes sweetly penetrated by Killswitch Engage and their tour brethren Miss May I, Darkest Hour, The Word Alive and Affiance. My last show out here was the Coheed and Cambria tour, and memories of that show and its massive swarm of humanity were still fresh. The night was warm, the lake wasn’t stinking too much, and in between sets, you could enjoy a beer on the back porch and watch the sun set. Only a heartless fool wouldn’t have enjoyed himself here. … read more
Battle of the Bands @ Velour 06.15
I arrived at Velour about 30 minutes before show time on Saturday night. A week earlier, the venue’s Number Two, the lovely Kaneischa Johnson, had asked me to help out with judging the competition. Kaneischa briefed us, the esteemed judges, on the judging criteria and what she expected from us. I looked at the paper with the criteria that she had given us all, appended to a clipboard: Musicianship, Songwriting, Crowd Response, Stage Presence and Vocal Performance, all out of 10. … read more
The Mighty Sequoia
Friday night’s show at Velour would be The Mighty Sequoyah’s last … well, at least for a few years. The five piece band, made up of Darger, Hannah Currie (Viola/Vocals), Alex Woods (Guitar/Keys), Bret Meisenbach (Drums) and Mike Dixon (Bass/Pedal Steel Guitar) opened up with “Medicine Man” from their Sunken Houses album, a track that quickly shows what TMS is all about: thoughtful indie folk rock, beautiful song building and breathtaking harmonies. In fact, those harmonies between Currie and Darger are beyond breathtaking—they have a rare chemistry onstage that only comes from two talented people believing in their music so much that the sounds coming from them almost become a tangible object. … read more
