Flight of the Conchords SLC-Bound!

[Music] That's right: Kiwi comic-folkies Flight of the Conchords are coming to Salt Lake City! Abravanel Hall, to be exact, on Sunday May 17. If manager Murray doesn't screw up the tour, that is ...

If you're HBO-free, here's a taste of some Sugar Lumps:



(Bill Frost)

David Byrne: Live Review

[Music] "When an angel fucks a whore," Park City goes wild. At least, when David Byrne is delivering the news in his distinct, persuasive voice. The former Talking Heads frontman greeted his Utah audience Saturday night with a head-to-toe white uniform to complement his shock of white hair.

Accompanied by three backup singers, two percussionists, a bassist, keyboardist and three interpretive dancers, Byrne soared through a seamless set of material culled from his work with Brian Eno, both 27 years ago with My Life In The Bush Of Ghosts and the 2008 (now) digital-only release Eveything That Happens Will Happen Today (physical copies will be shipped to stores later this year).

Byrne stepped onstage following a lengthy introduction by the evening’s organizer who preached to the choir, encouraging the sold-out crowd dominated by liberal baby boomers to vote for the maverick—in Utah, that is. Which is to say, Obama.

The concert, held in the Eccles Center—which doubles as Park City High School’s auditorium—at first received a rather modest response from audience members who are apparently accustomed to behaving themselves. After two or three songs most of them realized who they’d come to see—a man who has never played by the rules and continues to march however he pleases to the most unexpected beats of his own drum.

And so bodies began popping in and out of seats, at first resulting in the occasional hushed “sit down!” until the whole room stood to salute Byrne and Co with wild, varying interpretations of dancing.

Onstage dancers, who could have proved distracting, fell in lockstep with Byrne’s quirky aesthetic and infused added spunk to the already festive evening, particularly during the brilliant, slightly unnerving “I Feel My Stuff.”

Byrne wrapped up the night with material from Talking Heads’ heyday, including “Once In A Lifetime,” “Take Me To The River” and “Heaven.” He closed out the night—three encores later!! Way to step up and surprise a touring band with your unexpected enthusiasm Park City!—with the predictable, but always pleasurable, “Burning Down The House.”

“Some things sure can sweep me off my feet.”

Indeed.

Here's a clip of "I Feel My Stuff" live at Austin City Limits. Pretty much a carbon copy of last night


(Jamie Gadette)

New World Odor

[Music] Strobe lights can make anything seem more exciting than it might actually be. Like the Ministry concert at In the Venue last Friday night--early evening, really, since showtime was 8 p.m. and cursed sunlight was bleeding in.

No amount of sun could detract from the strobes, though--those suckers were cranked for two solid hours while Al Jourgensen & Co. goose-stepped through the catalogue of Ministry hits. Al rarely strayed from his ornate cow-skull mic stand, which propped him up center-stage. While the boss was underplaying it, guitarist Tommy Victor (Prong) pranced and posed like a odd cross between Kiss' Paul Stanley and a WWE rassler, prompting the crowd to get those hands up every 10 seconds. He even got around to playing his guitar a couple of times, the multitasker.

Still, Ministry was absolutely on fire when they ripped into songs like "So What," "Thieves" and "Rio Grande Blood," the title track of what's arguably the band's last great album (The Last Sucker is well-named, and the new Cover Up is pure filler). All that hate for Dubya does a band good.

Reaching back to '91 and Bush 1, Fear Factory singer Burton Bell (fresh from hitting on ladies in the audience and pulling the "Don't You Know Who I Am?" card, by first-hand reports) took the lead on "New World Order" while Al strummed a coffin guitar to the side. It was another sonically brutal moment, of which there were enough to outweigh the phone-it-in feel of the newer numbers--Ministry has nothing to prove, but they did anyway.

But encoring with "Roadhouse Blues" and "Just Got Paid" from Cover Up? Dick move, Al. Not quite Dick Cheney, though ... (Bill Frost)

Get Dirty Sweet Twice

[Music] A hot music pick slipped by us this week because, well, nobody told us they were coming back: San Diego's Dirty Sweet, the 12th coming of the Black Crowes, Black Oak Arkansas and Black Sabbath (dig the stringy Ozzy hair and bellbottoms) played Salt Lake City months ago and earned rave local reviews from the few who witnessed it--again, alerting the press ain't a bad idea for promoting a show, for future reference.

This weekend, Dirty Sweet's playing twice at the Bar Deluxe at 666 S. State: Saturday, Dec. 1 as an opening act for the Slippery Kittens Burlesque (nice gig if you can get it), and Sunday, Dec. 2 headlining over SLC alt-country rockers the High Beams (Sunday in Salt Lake--rough gig).

You'll notice in the band's video below that, while they plead "Baby Come Home," they don't seem to actually have one--when they're not at the club, they have to play outside in a field! Do what you can to help these guys with rent and razor money, won't you?

(Bill Frost)

On Notice: In the Venue

[Music Annoyance] No Salt Lake City club is perfect, but In the Venue really took the cake last night. Most of the folks standing in line to see Interpol (and to a lesser extent Liars) were stoked that the show was moved from Orem to downtown SLC. Most of the us wore anxious smiles and talked excitedly about Carlos D's awesome mustache. Yes, excitement filled the crisp fall air. In fact, everyone seemd to forget that one time they went to see Band of Horses only to find one! bartender serving 500 people (and not very well).

As we inched close to the front, we passed a sign stating: No Cameras! No Recording Devices of Any Kind! and we happily obliged. Why ruin a perfectly nice evening by breaking the rules?

Oh, but then the burly dudes frisking us announced: No Camera Phones!

Huh. That's funny. Would have been nice to know that before we waited in line for 45 minutes. Apparently one of the bands (probably but not necessarily Interpol) orchestrated this disaster, but it seems likely that SOMEONE in SLC learned of this prima donna request hours if not days before we lined up for a big waste of time.

When 80 percent of the crowd has a camera phone, it's only polite to let them know well in advance of your bizarro ban. No Common Sense allowed!

Here is an example of the "damage" a camera phone can wreak on a band's career courtesy of someone who wasn't frisked:



(Something tells me this photo won’t make him rich.)

To the club's credit, the concert itself thrilled and chilled. Liars (though not appreciated by the first four rows of 18-year-olds who came to see Interpol and not some icky, weird-o band that plays loud, weird-o music) were fucking awesome. Angus Andrew was a 6-foot-plus vision in white. Interpol was beautiful and hypnotic as usual.

I even left on a high note: Liars' co-singer/percussionist Andrew shaved seven bucks off the price of my new Liars v-neck. I will think of him and not the ridiculous camera phone incident whenever I wear it. So there's that.

City Weekly contributor Dominique and our buddy Chris were not so lucky. Says Chris:

"So, Liars and Interpol both played and when it was over, Lucero could still be heard in the front of the club. We headed back to the bar (which you must pass through in order to reach the front of the club), but we were advised (in these words), 'The bar is closed. People from the Interpol show are not allowed in the bar. The bar is closed. If you want to see Lucero, you have to go back outside, to the side door and pay $15, but the bar is closed.'"

Turns out, the bar was not closed. Just closed to people who paid $27-to-$40 to see a different show on the other side of a thin wall.

Huh. (Jamie Gadette)

Show Review: Built to Spill & The Boggs

[Music] I arrived at The Depot Saturday night [July 21] admittedly knowing and expecting very little of the opening Brooklyn-based band, The Boggs. As the five of them came on stage, they offered little hint of what type of sounds they might emit. Definitely a diverse group, their styles ranged from pinstriped slacks with suspenders to jeans and a flannel shirt. Once they started playing with the driving bass line, scattered keyboards and two drummers, I was forced to pay attention.

Their music was almost as diverse as they were, ranging from noisy post-punk rock to sweet mellow pop. Most of the cuts played in their short set were from their third and latest release, Forts, standouts being “Arm in Arm” and “Remember the Orphans” (my personal favorite of the evening). The audience seemed to be captivated by the performance. It was not solely due to the music: I have to make mention of frontman Jason Friedman’s awkward and frenetic dancing. Even though it was at times funny and distracting, I think overall it added to the appeal of the show. In short, I quite liked it—so much so that I may just have to invest in some of their music.

At first it seemed the stars were set against Built to Spill playing Salt Lake City. There were auto problems causing them to arrive late, and once finally onstage, there were technical difficulties. Doug Martsch was visibly irritated and I began to fear the worst. Then Doug worked some magic with a screwdriver and all was right in The Depot.

They opened with “Liar” from their album You in Reverse, which was enthusiastically received by the crowd. At one point Doug proclaimed that the show would be “more instrumental than usual” and that it was. It meant hearing less of his unique but loved voice and more seeing him with his eyes closed and brow knit, seemingly somewhere else, as he brilliantly manipulated the guitar.

The audience didn’t seem to mind and many hypnotic favorites were played including “Time Trap,” “Strange,” “Car,” “Wherever You Go” and “You Were Right.” The encore had some members of the Boggs helping out on an extended version of “Randy Describes Eternity” ending the nearly two-hour set with lingering feedback and reverb. As Built to Spill shows go, it turned out to be another excellent one. (Emily Jeskie)

Emily Jeskie hosts Mix Tape on KRCL 90.9 FM, Wednesday nights, 8:30-10:30 p.m.