Cat Power October 26, 2019, The Union

By: Local SLC musical artists: Valerie Rose Sterrett and Annie McAllister

Photo Credit: Julien Bourgeois

Cradling two microphones in her right hand as if she were holding a pair of birds, Chan Marshall, known as Cat Power, pours her powerfully enchanting voice into them, the audience staring into her shadow as if she were casting a spell. The atmosphere was very intimate as the audience swayed and nodded their heads in agreement with her music. You could see her fans feeling it, some smiling with their eyes looking up to her in awe, while others danced freely with eyes closed and arms gliding. The Union is a spacious venue, but it held what felt like a purposefully modest audience in chairs that reached a little more than halfway back into the space. Toward the middle of the concert, she waved for us to leave our chairs and come closer.

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Frank Turner October 23, 2019, The Depot

By: Alex Wardell

Photo Credit: Alex Wardell

Last week was interesting to say the least, given the opportunity of approaching these last couple performances without knowing too much about the artists was a bit nerve wracking at first, yet a refreshing challenge when exploring any music for the first time. For this reason, I chose to not familiarize myself with Frank Turner, doing what I could to maintain an objective mindset, moving forward. Unfortunately, I was late due to the eight city blocks that is the entirety of Salt Lake being crippled by one basketball game.

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Chelsea Wolfe October 21, 2019, Metro Music Hall

By: Alex Wardell

Photo Credit: Alex Wardell

I was transported Monday evening and I am still not quite sure if I have yet returned. I am slightly terrified as I write this…full disclosure, I did not know that much about Chelsea Wolfe when I was asked to cover this performance. So I put the headphones on, tuned in and let Ms. Wolfe take me away, not dissimilar to what happened Monday night when I arrived at a completely, packed to the back, Metro Music Hall. After binging her music all afternoon, I was ready for an evening of Gothic rock.

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Half • Alive w/ Sure Sure October 16, 2019, The Complex

By: Evelyn Salazar

Photo By: Evelyn Salazar @takenbyevelyn

With only four shows left on their North America tour, Half•Alive was in Salt Lake City, Utah for the first time. The Salt Lake City show had been sold out for a while and H•A fans were eager to see the boys in town. A nice surprise was that Half•Alive had accepted alternative rock, radio station, X96’s invitation to do a Lounge X acoustic performance. Earlier in the day, a small group of fans lined up outside Club 50 West, including myself. I have come to love these intimate, lounge X performances because they’re so much more personal and up close. Another plus is fans usually get to meet and take photos with the band afterward, which we did. The acoustic performance was lovely. They started out with “TrusT”, played “Runaway” and “Still Feel”, which is their most famous single. Josh, Brett & J. Tyler took some time to answer questions from the fans, which is always super cool. I even got to ask a question, asking the lead singer Josh, where he and the boys get their music video inspiration from. If you haven’t seen any of Half Alive’s music videos, you should check them out because they are beautiful, cinematic pieces. Josh replied to me saying that on their YouTube page, they actually have a whole playlist of music videos they find beautiful and that they like to get inspired by what catches their eyes in those videos. I think that’s super awesome.

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Ingrid Michaelson October 14, 2019, The Union

By: Kevin Rolfe

Photo Credit: Kevin Rolfe @utahconcertreview

I’ve been a fan of Ingrid Michelson for about ten years now.  Of course, I knew her big songs, “You and I” and “The Way I Am”.  But it wasn’t until July 21, 2010, that I truly got it. Ingrid opened for the British band, Keane at the Greek Theater in Los Angeles, California.  It says a lot about an artist when they can win over 6,000 people who are at a venue to see someone else. But she did it. She had the entire audience eating out of the palm of her hand by the end of that set. I think she forced Keane to up their game because the audience must have had high expectations after her set. I’ve had the privilege of seeing Ingrid Michealson a few times here in Utah, both at The Complex and In the Venue and she delivered every time.  I always look forward to her coming to Utah. But this time I was especially excited because one, she hadn’t been here in about four years, and two I loved her latest album Stranger Songs, and couldn’t wait for her to perform those songs live.

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Starcrawler October 11, 2019, Urban Lounge

By: Katie Barber

Photo Credit: Katie Barber

After local acts 90s Television, Major Tom & The Moonboys, and Static Replica covered a range of punk rock discography (The Strokes, Ramones, and Misfits, respectively), Starcrawler took the stage at Urban Lounge to wild applause. “Punk,” “rock,” and “Halloween” are just a few words that can be associated with the Los Angeles-based group, whose frontperson Arrow de Wilde has been known to perform in straight jackets and leave stages covered in fake blood.

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Chiiild October 9, 2019, Metro Music Hall

By: Evelyn Salazar

Photo Credit: Evelyn Salazar @takenbyevelyn

I had no idea what to expect when I was headed to Metro Music Hall to cover the band Chiiild. For one, I had never been to the venue and for two, I had never heard Chiiild’s music before, so it was bound to be a night of surprises! Once I got in I was astounded by how cool and hip the venue was. It was a bar, so 21 and over only, and it had some really cool vibes going on! In the back was a merch booth set up for the bands, along one side was a huge bar area with bottles and bottles along the wall and along the other side was a good amount of nice, private booths that were elevated off the ground. Towards the front of the room was a large stage. I was very taken aback by the venue. I thought it was really cool. 

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Bastille October 5, 2019, The Complex

By: Kevin Rolfe

Photo By: Kevin Rolfe @utahconcertreview

Have you ever seen Bastille live before? I’ve seen them one other time when they played at the UCCU Center on the campus of Utah Valley University. After that Utah County concert, I knew Bastille was a band I would always enjoy seeing live when they came to Utah. The combination of hearing their melodic indie pop style live and the energy of the band make the Bastille live show one to never miss.

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Sleater- Kinney October 12, 2019, The Depot

By: Tiffany Mull

Photo Credit: Tiffany Mull

Sleater-Kinney hasn’t lost their fire. The show opened with the dramatic, almost industrial “The Center Won’t Hold” with fast-flashing, panicky lights. The band insisted that the show be open to all ages which meant special restrictions on alcohol (they’re cognizant of the influence their music had on a generation of adolescents and mean for that to continue).

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Vampire Weekend October 6, 2019, The Complex

Photo Credit: Logan Sorenson @lmsorenson

When I found out that Vampire Weekend was playing The Complex, I envisioned them playing in the biggest of the two rooms, The Rockwell. But it wasn’t until I arrived at the venue that I realized this show wouldn’t be taking place in either of them. I walked up to where security usually checks bags and scans their metal detectors and found that there was actually a tent in front of that gate for Will Call and that the security checkpoint was now where you enter the show. The big lot that will usually house the tour buses was now the venue where Vampire Weekend would be performing. I have to admit I was a little confused. A stage had been constructed for this show and instead of a typical concert at The Complex, we were treated to one of the last albeit unexpected outdoor concerts of the year.

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