Jessie J October 8, 2018 The Depot Salt Lake City

By: Kevin Rolfe

Photo By: Kevin Rolfe

Is there anything better in live music than being blown away by a performance?  I would venture to say, No. We all attend concerts because we’re going to see a band or musical artist that we like.  But even when we’re expecting a good show, and to love the songs, there are those amazing times where things just go way beyond our expectations.  That was my experience on Monday night with Jessie J. I’ve always loved her voice, and the few times I’ve seen her interviewed I’ve enjoyed her personality, but I never thought her concert would be this entertaining.  On every level, I was entertained! I laughed, I was moved, I was excited, and overall I was impressed with the show.

Continue reading “Jessie J October 8, 2018 The Depot Salt Lake City”

Kiana Ledé October 8, 2018 Salt Lake City The Depot

By: Kevin Rolfe

Photo By: Kevin Rolfe

Kiana Ledé was one of the support acts for Jessie J at The Depot on Monday night.  In fact, she was first on the bill. When I heard this I was a little nervous for her because one, it’s never easy opening a show, and two, I was concerned that no one would be there yet.  I then learned that her set would only be 15 minutes.  I thought to myself ‘How can anyone make impact a show or make an impression in only 15 minutes?’  Well, as it turned out, I had nothing to worry about.

There was a small hiccup in getting me my press and photo passes.  Because of this I was delayed and wasn’t in the performance area of The Depot when Kiana started her show.  So I had no idea how many people were there. But I could hear them. If you’ve been to The Depot then you know that actual concert hall is up two flights of stairs.  I was on the ground level, and I could hear the crowd. Fortunately, there was a monitor, so I could see Ms. Ledé on stage. She appeared from out of the dark in blue jeans, and what appeared to be a sheer robe.  Her hair was long curly, and those locks were flowing!

Continue reading “Kiana Ledé October 8, 2018 Salt Lake City The Depot”

Gregory Alan Isakov October 4, 2018 Salt Lake City Eccles Theater

By: Kevin Rolfe
Contributions By: Justin Hicken

Photo By: Kevin Rolfe

I was introduced to Gregory Alan Isakov by my friend Justin.  He used to talk to me about Gregory in a matter of way as if to assume that I knew who he was.  He mentioned him in this way so often I started to think ‘This Isakov guy must be pretty good if Justin is just figuring that I know who this is.’.   So I checked him out and I felt foolish for having not been familiar with him sooner.

I was really excited to be seeing Gregory for the first time at the beautiful Eccles Theater in downtown Salt Lake City.  I absolutely love the Eccles Theater. Having just celebrated its second anniversary in operation, the Eccles Theater has brought some great acts, both theatrical and in concert to our capital city.  The sound is incredible in there. It’s perfect. There is something about a seated venue built for theatrical and orchestral performance that helps make the sounds of the strings come to life while the band is playing. There isn’t a bad seat in the venue, and I’ve been everywhere from the tippy top row to the front of the house, to the box seats on the side.  I have yet to see a poor performance there.

Continue reading “Gregory Alan Isakov October 4, 2018 Salt Lake City Eccles Theater”

Sebastian Bach September 28, 2018 The Commonwealth Room Salt Lake City

When Sebastian Bach stepped out on to The Commonwealth Room stage, all of a sudden everyone in attendance time-warped back to the late 1980’s.  I was standing at the front of the house waiting for the show to start, and I was talking to a man who had loved Sebastian Bach and his former band Skid Row since their inception.  This was going to be his first time seeing him perform and he couldn’t have been more excited. If I was to guess, the man was in his late 50’s. Once the show started, I looked back at him and he looked as if he was in his twenties again.  Of course, it was the way his eyes were looking at the stage, but it was crazy how youthful he all of a sudden looked.

Continue reading “Sebastian Bach September 28, 2018 The Commonwealth Room Salt Lake City”

Journey / Def Leppard September 25, 2018 Vivint Arena

 

Back in January when it was announced that Journey and Def Leppard would be playing together at Vivint Smart Home arena in September, I knew the wait would be long, that the anticipation would be high, but the show, when it finally got here, would meet all expectations. And did it ever. With two mega power hit machines like this, it was almost impossible not to know a song, or enjoy all three hours of music. It was an incredible night of music. I have seen both bands before, but never together. Seeing these two bands on the same lineup is an experience unto itself.

Continue reading “Journey / Def Leppard September 25, 2018 Vivint Arena”

Luke Bryan September 21, 2018 USANA Amphitheater

If you’ve ever seen Luke Bryan in concert you know a few things: 1. Women (and some men) will never tire of Luke shaking his booty, 2.  There is no better place to people watch in the state of Utah (and I’ll explain why) and 3. It doesn’t matter if you know one Luke Bryan song or all of them, you know that Luke likes to sing about.  Loving people, and drinking.

Luke Bryan draws from a number of areas to bring an outstanding performance for his fans.  He may not be the strongest singer in country music, but people love his songs and performance so much that it just doesn’t matter.  He may not be the next Glen Campbell when it comes to playing guitar. But who is? But he plays well enough to do an entire acoustic set in his shows, and no one is complaining.  He may not be the world’s greatest dancer or booty shaker.. oh wait, he might be.  His fans love the booty shake! I may not be the one to make that call. He really might be the best booty shaker. To his fans, he clearly is.  Anyway, my point is, his combination of talents and his fan-friendly songs are why he once again played to a packed USANA Amphitheater.  

As I mentioned, the people watching is amazing at a Luke Bryan concert.  It has already been well reported that Luke’s booty and hip shaking are a major reason why his fans are there to see him.  Because of this, the fan reaction to this is something to behold. The way these fans react to Luke’s moves is

Continue reading “Luke Bryan September 21, 2018 USANA Amphitheater”

Jim Avett September 19, 2018 Velour Provo Utah

 

By: Kevin Rolfe

Photo By: Kevin Rolfe

For those who’ve seen a concert at Velour Live Music Gallery, you know that your experience there will generally consist of young, college-aged up and coming bands.  On the rare occasion you’ll see a band that has their origin in Provo and at Velour return from the road to do a homecoming show. And on the rarest of occasions, you’ll see someone in their 70’s stopping through town to play this venue.  Well, last night was that very rare occasion. Jim Avett, the 71 year old father of his famous sons, The Avett Brothers, played what looked like a sold out seated show on Wednesday night.

Continue reading “Jim Avett September 19, 2018 Velour Provo Utah”

Jade Bird September 12, 2018 Kilby Court Salt Lake City, Utah

By: Kevin Rolfe

I was invited ten months ago to cover Jade Bird’s opening set for Son Little at The State Room.  The last thing I wrote in that article was “I fully expect her to be headlining show in Salt Lake City in the future.”.  Well, folks, the future is now. Jade played her first headlining show in Salt Lake City in only her second ever stop in our city.

Playing Kilby Court is like a right of passage for musicians.  It’s small, it’s a little worse for the wear, and yet, how happy are we when bands come play a large venue and they say something to the effect of “I remember playing down the street at Kilby Court!”?  And the joy of having seen them there first! Well, Jade is an artist on the rise and one day she’ll be saying those words.

Continue reading “Jade Bird September 12, 2018 Kilby Court Salt Lake City, Utah”

Collective Soul September 12, 2018 Days of ’47 Arena Salt Lake City

By: Justin Hicken

Collective Soul has developed a strong relationship with their fans in Utah.  Last night’s performance at the Days of ‘47 Arena on the Utah State Fairgrounds was the third straight summer they have toured through the state.  Bands usually don’t come back that often if they aren’t well received here, and Collective Soul is very well received in Utah.

Before we discuss the show, there is one nit that needs to be picked. Continue reading “Collective Soul September 12, 2018 Days of ’47 Arena Salt Lake City”

Midge Ure & Paul Young September 5, 2018 The Commonwealth Room Salt Lake City

I have been wanting to see a show at The Commonwealth Room ever since it opened in May of this year.  When I saw that Midge Ure was going to be playing there I was excited to know that I’d be seeing one of my favorite artists play this new venue.  Of course, I thought I would have attended at least a couple shows at The Commonwealth Room by the time Midge arrived, but for one reason or another, Midge’s “Soundtrack of Your Life” tour with Paul Young would be my first venture in the venue brought to us by the folks from The State Room.  

I was totally impressed with The Commonwealth Room.  It’s laid out similarly to The State Room in downtown Salt Lake City, but I’d say it’s more long, where The State Room is wide.  The sound in there is great, and there isn’t a bad view of the stage in the house. When the show was over we were kind of rushed to leave by security.  That was a little disappointing because my understanding is Midge usually comes out to the merch table after the show. I felt like that was what most the people still hanging out were waiting for.  But they were friendly in their escorting us out of the venue. So that’s nice. It would have been nice to have met Midge after the show though. 

When I spoke with Midge a week ago, he mentioned that the flip of a coin would determine whether he or Paul would go on first.  The coin landed on Midge and he opened the night. There was no opening act so he went on right after 8 o’clock. I must admit, Midge was who I was there to see, so I was hoping he would get to close the show.  Nevertheless, there he was on stage first. The benefit of that coin flip was I wouldn’t have to wait to see him. Once he was out there, I was worried about who was on first or last, I was just excited to be seeing him again.

Midge Ure

Midge opened with one of my favorite Ultravox songs “Passing Strangers”.  It was immediately obvious that this wasn’t only a favorite of mine, but a favorite of the entire audience.  The truth is, this was a very pro Midge Ure crowd. It almost didn’t matter what he said or played, the audience was behind him.  He even jokingly chastised a fan who was on their phone in the front row. He asked “Are you checking your Facebook? Is it that boring?”.  He said it all with a smile on his face, and the audience laughed and cheered. He mentioned, “They don’t realize that it illuminates their face like the sun.”.  I think it really did annoy him, but he pulled it off in a humorous way so that it didn’t create an awkward moment and ruin the positive energy of the show. But here’s a tip folks, maybe if you’re in the front row of a concert, don’t check your social media accounts.  Artists don’t seem to mind having their pictures taken, or even being videoed. But it has to be difficult not to take it personally when someone is looking at their email, or Instagram when they’re working their hardest to entertain you on stage. So please keep that in mind.  

Ure played a condensed set due to the double headlining nature of this tour.  I thought he did a great job mixing in his solo hits like “Dear God” and “If I Was”, with Visage hits like “Fade to Grey”.  Of course, the majority of his hour on stage was spent performing Ultravox classics like “Hymn”, “All Stood Still”, and the audience favorite “Vienna”. The crowd sang along and applauded each one of these songs.  These singles were never huge hits in America. So I think those in attendance delighted in the opportunity to hear these songs live. It took them back to a time when they really had to mine these gems from record shops and college radio.  Midge sounded fantastic and he was a pleasure to hear.

Midge also mentioned how talented the musicians he had hired to play for him and Paul Young on this tour.  They come from the Berklee School of Music in Massachusetts. And he was absolutely right, they were fantastic.  Not only with Midge, but with Paul as well. The three-piece consisted of bass, drums, and keyboards. The songs they were playing were most certainly older than them, but they played them with the proper styling and purpose that you’d hope to hear from a band playing music from a specific era of music.  I was really impressed with each one of them.

Midge’s set seemed so short.  It ran for eleven songs and for only one hour which felt like twenty minutes.  When he walked off stage, I looked around and many of the people around me stated the same sentiment to their friends.  “That’s it?” The song suspiciously missing from his set was “Dancing With Tears In My Eyes”. I think this left fans disappointed. I’ve noticed on other setlists on this tour the song was performed.  Curious why he didn’t play it. But I think fans being disappointed is sort of a compliment. “Leave them wanting more!” they say. And the crowd most certainly wanted more Midge Ure.

Midge Ure Setlist
Passing Strangers
Dear God
If I Was
Become
New Europeans
Fade to Grey
I Remember (Death in the Afternoon)
Fragile
Vienna
All Stood Still
Hymn

Paul Young

 

Paul walked on to the stage with the same backing band as Midge, but he brought with him his lead guitarist, Jamie Moses.  The song “Some People” began. The crowd clapped along to the beat, and then cheered when Paul made his appearance onto the stage. I thought Paul looked great.  He seemed happy to be in a great mood, joking with the audience and at times I noticed him joking around with the band mid-song.  

I thought there were times where Paul sounded great.  His voice has aged but he generally knows just the right area in a song to place his voice so that it still sounds good.  I always respect the professionalism of an artist that can adjust their voice to a song when they can no longer sing it like they did when they were younger.  Singers like Bono or even Midge come to mind. They find a new way to interpret a song so that it has the same impact, we’re just taken there in a different way.  So it was with Paul. The soulful raspiness of his voice brought the house down many times.

I thoroughly enjoyed guitarist Jamie Moses.  For one, he’s extremely talented. His playing gave Paul’s set a real soulful and bluesy feel.  The way Jamie and Paul engaged with each other was fun.  Jaime really added to the music and blended perfectly with the three other guys in the band.  It was a great move for Paul to bring him on tour.

I would say the only unfortunate thing was that after Midge’s set, a good number of people left.  So I’d say the audience for Paul was only about half of what it was for the beginning of the night.  That didn’t seem to bother Young because he still sang his heart out, and danced as if the place was at capacity.  Another admirable quality of a true professional. And those who stayed were delivered a good time.

Paul Young spanned his career catalog to the enjoyment of the crowd.  Songs like “Love of the Common People” which was featured on the Sixteen Candles soundtrack, and “Get ‘em Up, Joe” were well liked.  He received especially strong ovations when he sang “What Becomes of the Broken Hearted” and of course, his biggest hit,  “Everytime You Go Away”.  On the latter song, the audience sang along, and as I looked around people were signing it to each other with smiles on our faces.

Those that stuck around for the entire night were treated to an encore that included both Paul Young and Midge Ure on the stage together.  They covered the Thin Lizzy song “Boys are Back in Town”. Which was particularly exciting because Midge actually spent time as a member of Thin Lizzy in the late 70’s and early 80’s.  It was the most rocking song of the night so it seemed to give the band and Jamie a chance to really go for it. It was fun. Jamie and Midge would go back and forth with guitar riffs. I think this was a real pleasant surprise to the audience and they loved it.  

This was a really fun night and a ride back to the 80’s.  I think the general sentiment from the attendees was “More Midge”.  It was who they were there to see. I think they were surprised how much they enjoyed Paul Young, but at least for Utah, I think they would have preferred Paul open, and Midge give them a full set.  

I did enjoy Paul Young. He hadn’t played Utah in over twenty years so it was great to have him back.   They seemed to enjoy touring together. And the fact that they played together in the encore was a solid indicator of that. You don’t always see that with bands. Many times an artist or band that has already played will head out on the road or go back to the hotel when they’re done.  So it was cool to see these guys actually perform together.  I do want a full set from Midge, but tonight was not that show.  I still enjoyed it very much. I guess he’ll just have to come see us again soon.