It was a freezing cold Saturday night. As we walked down 2nd south to the Red Door my step-brother and I discussed our lovable local government. I’m halfway through the phrase “Glenn Beck-loving sons of…” when our conversation is abruptly halted. There’s a wait to get inside. A line at a local CD release show? Once we got inside, the guy at the door said “find a spot, wherever you can.” The place was packed.
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The past two months have been bursting with award shows, but the two biggest polar opposite events, the Razzie Awards (March 6th) & the Academy Awards (March 7th) have yet to commence. Here are the nominees (and winners) as foretold to me in my dream by Pee-wee’s Playhouse’s Jambi the Genie. Mekka Lekka Hi Mekka Hiney Ho bitches! … read more
As I’m chilling at the top of the banked slalom course that the Brighton Park Crew built for ThirtyTwo Day, waiting my turn to drop, I realize I’m standing amongst some of Salt Lake’s finest amateur shredders. I immediately start thinking, “I’m totally fucked…” … read more
Wallace is the story of two men whose lives run aground in Salt Lake: Wallace Thurman, a young, gay, African-American writer and Wallace Stegner, the Pulitzer-prize winning writer who survived the brutal plains of Saskatchewan. In life their paths never crossed, in the minimalist set in the Plan-B theater they only once acknowledge each other, but their lives, at some point, share a city, a passion for writing, and a name: Wallace. … read more
I arrived at the dark dank spot on State Street known as Burt’s Tiki Lounge early to make sure I got a good spot that offered a choice line of sight of the so called stage. The normal crowd of gutter punks were perched at the bar nursing their hang over from the weekend. Having an ultra, mega, schoolyard crush on the Creepshow lead singer Sara “Sin” Blackwood, I couldn’t wait to see her hit that stage.
As soon as Walt Disney cryogenically froze himself beneath Cinderella’s Castle inside Disneyland’s Magic Kingdom theme park in 1966, the world of animation lacked a leader capable of shattering the limits of children’s fantasies. On the other side of the globe, in Tokyo, Japan, a young animator by the name of Hayao Miyazaki was already creating a social stir with his never-ending creativeness with conceptual drawings and story ideas.
Do you remember being in high school? Do you remember that impressionable stage in life when great shows weren’t just great shows; they were “OMG! That was the best show of my life!” Or when great albums were life-changing works of impossible art? This was certainly the case for me when I was 16 and saw The Appleseed Cast for the first time at the Bluebird in Denver, CO. … read more
Last Saturday was the 2nd Annual Jazz Jam up at Brighton, and if it was going to be anything like last year, I was excited to go. Even though it wasn’t sunny and warm like last year, the setup was still the good’s and despite the blizzard, somewhere around 60 or 70 people came out to jam and get a Jazz jersey. The jam kicked off around 11:30 just as the snow and wind came down like the hammer of Thor. … read more
For the Bohemian Brewery to release another pilsner-style lager, on top of those familiar silver and green cans in grocery stores statewide, you know it has to be something special. Everything about this beer is handcrafted in the oldest traditional ways known. … read more
I remember the first time I ever heard Suzanne Vega: It was late in the Spring of 1985 and my childhood friend Emily would play Vega’s eponymous debut in her VW Beetle’s tape deck as we drove around the Salt Lake valley. I quickly became enamored with this album and especially Vega’s perceptive lyrics and her pretty, clear voice. At that time there was no one else quite like her. … read more
When The Pet Shop Boys first toured in 1989, it was a decidedly unique event. The end result was a complete eschewal of the traditional rock concert format, instead incorporating a theatrical approach with stunning visuals, multiple costume changes and the songs themselves being presented as themed concepts complete with filmed backdrops. They have continually expanded on this formula, creating a show that is both visually incredible and undeniably memorable. … read more
Get Lucky, the latest rave produced by V2 events, was a perfect example of the rave scene in Utah: great music, way too many people. The rave scene here has blown up in the past four years, and almost every V2 event at Saltair in the last two years has been bigger than the last. This year was no exception: the event was oversold by at least a thousand people, making for a frustrating night. … read more
