Slamdance Film Review: Three Night Stand

Trying to get away for a weekend and focus on their relationship, Carl takes his wife Sue to a mountain lodge for some skiing and wine tasting. Unfortunately for Carl, upon arrival, he discovers that his ex-girlfriend Robyn—who he used to bring quite often to the same lodge back in the day—is now the owner of the lodge. Wackiness ensues as Carl tries to keep as much of his previous relationship hidden from his wife as possible.
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NOVA Chamber Music Series: Fry Street Quartet Plays Haydn, Ellison & Dvorak 01.12

The influence of folk songs, or rather folk styles of song, has a long tradition of being reinvented as formal music for the concert hall. The NOVA concert of January 12 at Libby Gardner Hall perfectly illustrated this with a set of pieces covering three different centuries and three different styles with works by Haydn and Dvorak, and a new work by contemporary composer Michael Ellison. … read more

Kid Congo Powers: The Rock n’ Roll Beat

Kid Congo and the Pink Monkey Birds.

Still an avid collector, Powers cites record collecting as essential to forming a band. He says, “I think you need some weight behind what you are doing—in a rock n’ roll band, that is.” He points out that by knowing the linage, one can see where other groups get their inspiration and how their language is created, like how The Stooges’ “Shake Appeal” is inspired by Little Richard. … read more

Jupiter Suit: Playing for Change

Jupiter Suit band performing live (black and white)

Zach Marquez, 18 years old, is just the right mix of confident and cautious, ambitious and humble. He doesn’t want to be famous for the reasons you think. You see, last November, while I was watching these beautiful women from around the world compete in a fucking swimsuit competition, Marquez was thinking of any way he could possibly help the devastated people of the Philippines. Marquez is not most of America.  … read more

Mastering Martinis: Shaken, Not Stirred

I saw the Mastering Martinis class listed on the website for the University of Utah’s Lifelong Learning Classes and knew I had to be there. You’re not supposed to drink the fist martini—they expected you to sample it and put it back in the shaker with varying degrees of vermouth. Baffling. If you put a drink in front of me, I’m going to drink it. With that hiccup behind me, the rest of the class went smoothly.  … read more