Here is my hope for my fellow revelers/readers: This year at Pride, be your fiercely real self. I’m shouting out to everyone—gay, straight, whatever—Gay Pride is not only a celebration for us to be us, but for you to be you in your most real self. … read more
Gallery Stroll: Mission Accomplished – UAA Main Street Goes Out In Style
The announcement: “The Utah Arts Alliance announces ‘Mission Accomplished’ …” That mission: to bring life and creativity back to Main Street. Now making way for the Utah Performing Arts Center (UPAC), the UAA Main Street Gallery can and should feel a sense of accomplishment and pride in what they have helped inspire. … read more
Contributor Limelight: Megan Kennedy
Since joining SLUG in March 2011, Megan Kennedy has become our resident metal maven and queen of all things geeky. … read more
Beer Reviews
I don’t have to tell you all that it’s been a brutally hot summer. As we enter the most intense part of the summer’s heat, you may think it’s time to push aside the more flavorful beers in your arsenal in lieu of lighter, more “refreshing” beers. You could do this, but why sacrifice taste when you can have your beer and drink it, too? … read more
Written in Random: Parquet Courts
To me, “songwriting” usually evokes an image of deadbeat longhairs dinkin’ around on their instruments and crushing PBR cans one after the other, as any vestiges of the “creative process” dissipate into trite stereotypes of punk or indie musicians. Parquet Courts, however, generate images of notebooks and struggle. Guitarist and vocalist Austin Brown says, “[Andrew Savage (guitar/vocals) and I] both just write a lot … Through the practice of writing, sometimes, on those good days, I can sit down and a song will come out or a lyric will come out that I can feel inspired by later.” … read more
Urban Flea Market: Salt Lake’s Sunday Gem
If you’re guilty of spending glaze-eyed hours perusing Etsy and Pinterest, the time has come to attend the real-life, local version of online shopping—and you won’t even have to hashtag vintage. The Urban Flea Market—held one Sunday a month, May through October from 9 a.m. until 3 p.m.—has everything from antique goods to bohemian clothing,
R&R Barbecue: Award-Winning Eats
Barbecue has always played by its own rules, which don’t usually coincide with those of most restaurants. It takes no shame in its finger-licking messiness, its closely guarded recipe secrets or its proclivity for gigantic portions. Be that as it may, I was present at KUER’s Savory Salt Lake event last June when R&R Barbecue took home both the Celebrity Judge and the People’s Choice awards—it was a moment that made me stop and take notice. … read more
SLUG Holiday Comix – May 2013
Jess Smart Smiley shows us the fun of biking in Utah. … read more
Dear Dickheads – May 2013
Dear Adam,
Goddammit, I just wanna rip your idealistic little heart out, chew on it, spit it on the ground, light it on fire, then flip it off as I laugh and watch pieces of you burn into oblivion … but I can’t. … read more
Jed’s: The Friendly Neighborhood Barber Shop
People have been going to the barber to keep up with their hygiene as well as to fraternize with their neighbors. The act of getting one’s hair cut is so personal and intimate that it is not uncommon for a barber to become a person’s confidant. The barber shop as a place for neighbors and camaraderie is an ideal that Jed Beal holds close to his heart. He opened Jed’s Barbershop not only for himself, but to also give back to his community. … read more
Full of Hell: Beautiful Mutilators
Rudiments of Mutilation, the sophomore album by Full of Hell, to be released on June 11, is not an easy listen. It begins with harsh, piercing noise, slowly followed by wails from vocalist Dylan Walker and shambling, rumbling drums. An explosion of crusty blastbeats and hardcore riffs break the tension before the band delves deep into a downtrodden doom sound, with Walker’s voice channeling chaos all the while. This is intentionally ugly music—music that is designed to make you feel the worst of humanity. “We want to make really harsh, negative music that induces pain,” Walker said in a recent phone interview with SLUG. “It’s kind of beautiful in a way.” … read more
Somebody Else’s Baby: Understanding the Mechanics of Andy Farnsworth
Andy wanted to do a show here in SLC that granted comics the same opportunity to perform a set-list style of comedy. Since the idea is actually somebody else’s baby, he named the show just that: Somebody Else’s Baby. Farnsworth says, “Each time, we feature a picture of a new baby on the screen. Sometimes I steal the pictures from the photography studio on South Temple, the giant babies with the hoods.” … read more
