As the members of Pepper walk on stage, there is a roar coming from the crowd before the band can even touch their instruments. With little introduction, they go right into the newer song “Freeze.” Older songs like “Boot” and “Stone Love” make me feel more at home. … read more
Remember Nick and Norah’s Infinite Playlist? How about nearly anything that Michael Cera or Audrey Plaza have been in the past five years? Well, what the Hollywood indie scene is to those films, Brooklyn’s folky singer/songwriter scene is to Song One. With Oscar winner Anne Hathaway at the helm, one would expect this to be a level above those quirky indie pop romance flicks, but it doesn’t even reach there. … read more
I’ve seen some really beautiful, underrated films in the NEXT category at Sundance: where most of the experimental films that only the most open and artsy minded audiences gravitate towards (which means less crowded theaters!). War Story was not one of them. … read more
From the goofy, ’80s-themed opening credits, this film doesn’t pretend it’s going to be anything other than what it is, and that I can respect. It’s a nod to the campy (in both the cinematic and genre definitions of the word) teen movies of the ’80s and ’90s, the underdog championship dramedies of the early aughts, with a dry, Napoleon Dynamite–styled deadpan sheen—and at times, it succeeded in coaxing a sincere smile of nostalgia or a light chuckle from a good joke, but it’s not quite enough. … read more
The stand out of the night was Gerade (pronounced guh-RAH-duh). They are a rock band from Spanish Fork and this was their Salt Lake City debut. These three boys rocked the house and brought the night to an energetic and powerful finish. The vocalist had an amazing range, the bass was loud and sexy, and the drums nailed it all together. … read more
They’re committed artists. Every room is clothed in images—landscapes of northern Utah, paintings for painting’s sake, personal photographs and points between. A leaved dining room table has been converted into a table tennis court, and that’s how our interview begins. Gretchen makes coffee for us and opens a beer for herself, while Paul beats me several times at ping-pong. Then we sit down to talk. … read more
For those who attended last year, don’t expect a rerun of the same pieces. According to Klerk, “They never do the same performance twice.” Barks chooses the poems spontaneously the day of, and Darling improvises in response. This reflects the essence of Rumi’s philosophy, which revels in the impulses that happen on the spur of the moment. By playing on their personal friendship, the duo makes manifest the love shared in every relationship, whether it be personal, professional, romantic, friendly or spiritual. … read more
Rezeta (Rezeta Veliu) is an Albanian (well, Kosovoan) model looking for more opportunities and advancements in her career in México, but, more so, adventure. Once she’s there, she befriends thasher/hesher/metalhead/punker Alex (Roger Mendoza) as a bit of guide for the city she’s in, who also helps her learn español. Rezeta—very much a free spirit—engages in a couple sexual exploits, and eventually tries to drunkenly kiss Alex, much to his surprise and subsequent abashment. … read more
After Arcadia is a ’50s-science-fiction-themed short shot in black and white wherein the protagonist’s internal monologue opens with his guilt for having accidentally decimated humanity with a seemingly nuclear invention that he created. He dilapidates in the boredom of solitude in the bunkers in which the film is shot, which spurs him to create a time machine to reverse his misdeed. … read more
Director Simon Mercer provides a look at the lifetime of work by amateur filmmaker Phil Chambliss. Toiling from a (very) small town in Arkansas, Chambliss has been using his friends and fellow citizens—and the striking Arkansas backdrop—to fashion films of his own, unique creation for over 30 years.
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Using a combination of live action, animation and puppetry in this short film, Lindsey Martin offers the tale of a young girl who creates an imaginary earth-worm friend to help her make sense of a strange “love letter” from her father to her mother, but as the worm points out her concerns and fears around her parents’ seemingly doomed relationship, the girl must face the worm head on or risk being consumed by her own worry.
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The smoky haze was just starting to thicken as Mystic Roots walked onstage to open the show with a reggae-style cover of Lorde’s “Royals.” … read more
