COIN w/ Valley November 6 The Rockwell at The Complex
Reviewed by Evelyn Salazar
Coin and Valley were an absolute dream the other night in Salt Lake City, Utah! Very fitting as well since this is the Rainbow Dreamland Tour. Where do I even start?!
The Complex was home to another sold-out show. The room filled up quick with excited fans ready for Jeremy Zucker! I’ve always loved how relatable Jeremy’s lyrics are. I think that with that combined with his beautiful voice, we were all in for a treat that night.
A great kick-off to the month, Wolf Alice stopped in Salt Lake on the tour of their newest album, Blue Weekend. Before being offered the chance to photograph them a coworker had brought up the band to me in a discussion. I had never heard of Wolf Alice before but during this discussion, there was nothing but good things spoken about the band. After hearing all that I was excited to hear them live. A couple of hours before doors opened, I was streaming their top few songs to get an idea of the type of sound and vibe that was going to be heard from the night. I was immediately intrigued by the alternative rock sound of it all. I was curious how they were going to be live.
Have you ever seen a concert lineup announced and thought, “I would have never thought of these guys together. But it actually makes sense.” This is how I felt when I saw that Flogging Molly and Violent Femmes would be co-headlining a tour together. Now throw in Me First & the Gimme Gimmies and Thick and it was a lineup and a concert never to be forgotten!
As the years go on and we celebrate another year since an album was first released. I think it’s safe to say that everyone hopes a band will complete a ten-year anniversary celebration for their album. August Burns Red has been a band that has always delivered on that wish. In 2019 August Burns Red did an anniversary tour for their album that came out in 2009, Constellations. There were high hopes for another tour which brought us to, Leveler that came out in 2011. One of the things that I look forward to when the band announces tours is their lineup. ABR always seems to curate the best lineup possible that fits perfectly for the tour.
Alec Benjamin w/ Anson Seabra at The Complex September 21, 2021
Reviewed by Evelyn Salazar
This past Tuesday, the line outside of The Complex wrapped around the entire building and even further down the street as SLC fans patiently awaited for doors to open and for the night to start. In town was Alec Benjamin with his special guest, Anson Seabra as the opening act! Two extremely talented musicians who have stolen the hearts of many people, including my own. I was very excited about this show. Originally, the show had sold out weeks before, but at the last minute Alec and his team opened up some tickets! Those got swept up pretty quickly as well. As the doors opened, everyone packed into the Rockwell room at The Complex, securing their spot for the show.
This is a tour that fans have waited well over a year for.,New Found Glory’s headlining, “Pop Punk’s Still Not Dead” tour, and within that year it’s been one crazy ride! From rescheduling the entire tour due to COVID to Simple Plan dropping from the lineup and finding the replacement of Less Than Jake, it’s safe to say things have not gone quite as planned. However, the struggles don’t stop there. It was one eventful night in Salt Lake City.
The “Stay Next To Me” Tour is off to a hot start. Coming off their biggest show ever at Red Rocks Amphitheater in Colorado, Quinn XCII and Chelsea Cutler rejoin forces to go hit the road and get back on the touring life. I have been an avid listener of both Quinn and Chelsea for the past couple of years and this show feels like a full-circle moment for me. This was my first show back at The Complex and I was supposed to shoot for Chelsea’s “How To Be Human” tour before the live music industry was shut down due to the pandemic. I was looking forward to photographing this night since I was also at their show at Red Rocks. I have to point out that it was a magical experience.
I’ve been a fan of PVRIS for years now. I first saw them on a Vans Warped Tour in 2013. From then on I’ve seen PVRIS eight times and I haven’t grown tired in the slightest. Every single time I’ve seen them it’s always been something new. Whether it’s Lynn’s hairstyles, a new era of the band’s sound, being different from before, it’s always new and always amazes me. I knew that night wasn’t going to be any different.
I was counting down the days for the Rise Against show. Growing up, Rise Against was one of the few bands that I listened to daily. Going to as many concerts as I have been to all my life I was ashamed to say that I’ve never seen Rise Against perform live! So I was stoked to finally cross it off my bucket list.