On Tuesday, April 26th, Psychedelic Rock band The Flaming Lips brought their colorful show to The Union Event Center in Salt Lake City. I was familiar with a couple of their songs. In preparation for the night I checked out a few videos from their past concerts. With the research I did, I knew that this concert would be one of a kind.
I arrived at 7:00 just as the doors were about to open. Outside stood a line of excited fans ready to be entertained. I was however surprised to see that the crowd for the night was much smaller than I expected. The band often plays to a sold-out audience, including their previous sold-out shows at the Ogden Twilight Concert Series. My guess is that many local fans may have actually traveled to Denver to catch their show the night before. Denver is known for having a bigger psychedelic scene. Or possibly fans are expecting them to return to Ogden Twilight, which is unfortunately not the case this year.
April 12, 2022—Red Butte Garden released its Outdoor Concert Series lineup today, confirming plans to host a full summer season featuring more than 30 world-renown bands, artists, and performers. Executive director Derrek Hanson and his team are looking forward to welcoming guests back to this popular venue in the Salt Lake City foothills. “We are more than ready to get back to filling the amphitheatre with guests and music—and based on the inquiries we’re getting, we think our guests are ready, too,” said Hanson. He added that this season should have a little something for everyone with a lineup that includes alternative-indie, pop, rock, and folk music.
Fresh off their performance on Jimmy Kimmel days prior, Wilderado did not disappoint with their visit to Salt Lake City. The Soundwell was a new venue for me, and I enjoyed my first visit more than I expected. Being a smaller venue, I figured it would be rundown or have issues that distract from the show. However, the Soundwell is very well kept and was a perfect place to spend a night out. The sound quality was on par with the larger venues I have visited and the staff was very helpful and kind.
Elle King w/ Lola Kirke• March 19, 2022 •The Depot
Reviewed and Photographed by Kevin Rolfe
I’m embarrassed to say that prior to this concert I knew very little about Elle King. I knew the song “Ex’s and Oh’s”. It’s pretty hard to not know that song. It’s a really catchy, really good song. I knew she was Rob Schnieder’s daughter. And I knew she had a great voice. I think anyone who knows Elle King knows these three facts. The last time King was here in Salt Lake City she opened for Heart and Joan Jett. I wasn’t able to go to the show, but by numerous accounts, she about stole the thing. There always seemed to be a buzz when Elle King was coming to town. So I knew I needed to see her in concert. She is so much more than an SNL alums’ daughter, so much more than a voice, and so much more than one song.
It wasn’t hard to tell what kind of show you were walking into on the evening of St. Patrick’s Day. The patched jean jackets, piercings, and tattoos were uncountable outside as circle jerks summoned the old punks and the new generation of the straight edge population of Salt Lake to The Complex. The crowd, ready to start the pit and buzzing with excitement filtered in. With a mad dash to the merch booth blocking the door. This dedication to the scene and vibe of old-school punk was held through the night.
Patrick Droney w/ Morgxn •March 17, 2022 •The State Room
Reviewed and Photographed by Vanessa Holt
Heading to the show on Thursday night I didn’t have much of an idea what to expect. I had never attended a show at The State Room and I was excited to finally mark it off the list. I’ve also never heard of either Patrick Droney or Morgxn. But listening to their top-streamed songs on the way to the venue, I knew I was in for an amazing night of live music.
On Tuesday, March 15, 2022, fans packed into The Complex for a rocking night of music delivered by Daughtry along with openers Lyell and Tremonti. The excitement was apparent before ever even entering the venue!
This past Sunday, British-based band Glass Animals came to Salt Lake City. It was the 5th stop of their Dreamland tour. The sold-out show was held at the Union Event Center at 8:00 pm. They performed for about an hour and a half. On a night where international pop star Justin Bieber played a show at Vivint Arena, it was Glass Animals that stole the night away. To open the show, Sad Night Dynamite got the crowd ready for Glass Animals with a high-energy performance. By the time Glass Animals came on to the stage, there was already an electric atmosphere spreading throughout the venue. Screams filled the air as lead singer Dave Bayley took to the stage.
When Australian-born, Berlin-based band, Parcels, flew over, “a little town among mountains,” on a flight from Berlin to Los Angeles a few months ago, they only knew that it was Salt Lake City after looking at a map on their seatback screens. Then, they excitedly realized that they would be playing there! The night came, and Parcels and Mildlife’s show made for a sold-out, groovy night at The Depot on March 10, 2022.
Underoath w/ Spiritbox, Bad Omens, & Stray From the Path • March 4, 2022 • The Complex
Reviewed and Photographed by Vanessa Holt
It’s been what feels like a long wait, since the release of Underoath’s latest album, Voyeurist. The full-length run of their North American tour was announced in August of 2021 and officially kicked off in February of this year. The tour lineup started as Underoath, Every Time I Die, and Spiritbox. Then due to drastic changes earlier this year that Every Time I Die endured, the lineup took a quick change. And Bad Omens and Stray From The Path were added. There was no doubt that there was heartbreak not being able to see Every Time I Die who’s been a band for so long on tour with Underoath. But there also wasn’t going to be any type of disappointment for the two new bands. I’m always excited to attend any shows but there was something about this one specifically with this lineup that had me anticipating it for days.
Stray From the Path
Stray From the Path kicked off the night. They are one of the best bands to open up for anyone. Their music falls under the hardcore genre meaning the entire set is nothing but moshpits and circle pits. I’ve only seen the band play in smaller venues like In The Venue and The Loading Dock where fans had the chance to stage dive. Being on the Rockwell side of The Complex prevented them from doing so. But that didn’t stop fans from giving it their all.
Many of their songs address controversial topics which can cause a quick conversation amongst people. But it has never been in the way of Stray From the Path forcing their opinions onto someone. They reminded others that shows are supposed to be a safe place where everyone is welcome. They played a few of their older songs such as “Badge & A Bullet” and “The House Always Wins” along with a few of their newer ones such as “Fortune Teller” off their last album, Internal Atomics, and their newest single, “Guillotine”. The single was released just two days before they joined the Voyeurist tour. Having it on the setlist that soon after the release was great to hear. Stray From The Path had only been on the tour for a few days but vocalist Drew Dijorio thought it was one of the top 3 shows so far.
Bad Omens
I’m a pretty big fan of Bad Omens. This was going to be my first time seeing them live, and they didn’t disappoint in the slightest. The band’s setlist consisted of a majority of their newer songs off of their latest album, The Death of Peace of Mind. Which has become one of my few albums of the year. The first four songs were their singles off the album; “THE DEATH OF PEACE OF MIND”, “ARTIFICIAL SUICIDE”, “Like A Villian”, and “What Do You Want From Me”?The singles were a clear insight of how new this era of Bad Omens is, while they still kept to the heavier elements. Meaning we still got to hear his deep and low unclean vocals, which gave me chills hearing live. They incorporated newer sounds that fit so well for the band.
Before starting each track, the lights would dim and a recorded track would play before the band started on the next song. During “ARTIFICAL SUICIDE” vocalist, Noah Sebastian stepped out in a ski mask. It made his presence even more intimidating with a black trenchcoat. The entire execution of it all made it one of the best performances I’ve ever seen. For the fans who’ve known Bad Omens for some time, they played a few older songs like, “Never Know” and “Limits” which the majority of the crowd was singing along to. They saved the best for last, “Dethrone”. Sebastian had one question before starting, “Are you ready to go crazy? I want to see you all lose it in the circle pit.”. I believe it’s one of their heaviest songs to date. The circle pit was one of the biggest I’ve seen that lasted the whole song.
Spiritbox
There are no words to express how much I was looking forward to seeing Spiritbox perform. This tour was one of the first US tours they’ve been on. Everyone I’ve known has told me that Spiritbox puts on an unbelievable performance and vocalist Courtney LaPlante’s vocals are some of the best to hear live. The entire crowd had shown up with the same amount of excitement to see the band. It felt like everyone in the crowd was singing along to their songs. The majority were off of their latest album, Eternal Blue. When people first hear Spiritbox on any streaming service, some think that all the unclean vocals are covered by someone else in the band. Everyone ends up blown away once they learn it’s all done by LaPlante herself.
She had one of the strongest and most intimidating stage presence I’ve ever seen. While most vocalists wander the stage constantly bouncing around back and forth, a lot of her time was spent at the mic stand when headbanging during intros or breakdowns, every second was still captivating. They ended the set with “Eternal Blue”, which is one of my favorite tracks. It has fewer vocals and more instrumental. Before starting the song LaPlante had stated, “Feel whatever you need to during this song, let the emotions take over and I’ll feel it too.”. The energy in the entire room had calmed. It was a peaceful moment to enjoy being in that room surrounded by other fans and listening to this amazing song.
Everyone was singing but it wasn’t the type of song to be screaming lyrics at the top of your lungs. Our voices seemed to blend so well with LaPlante’s. For those who came to the show and had never heard of Spiritbox before, they left as fans. There was no doubt that when the time comes that Spiritbox does a US headlining tour there is going to be a major turnout.
Underoath
I haven’t seen Underoath since 2018 on their last headlining tour. It’s been long overdue and many fans were unsure if we would ever get to see them again. I was impressed with this tour specifically because it had as much fan interaction as possible. Despite being high up on the stage, vocalist, Spencer Chamberlain hopped down onto the speakers to get as close as possible. Parts of their setlist were picked by fans. Including one of their encore songs, “Thorn” that won on a Twitter vote. “We are so happy to be back in Salt Lake City. Thank you for showing up and selling out the show,” Chamberlain stated. “We’re happy to be here with our friends, Stray From The Path who we’ve known for 10 years. And our new friends in Spiritbox and Bad Omens.”
Underoath has been in the scene for quite some time. Every time I’ve managed to see them whether it was a headlining tour, opening for a band, or playing a short set on a festival lineup, the energy the band of six brings to the stage is crazy. Even from the back, drummer Aaron Gilipsie gives it his all. Chamberlain on the early half of their set, “our guitarist, James Smith got food poisoning last night and he’s not feeling too good, give him a round of applause!” The crowd cheered him on. “We had one of our techs Andy learn the songs last minute in case he couldn’t do it. I know you’re not feeling good James but you’re killing it.” Chamberlain exclaimed.
His encouraging words to his bandmate were true. For someone who spent a lot of their day not feeling the greatest he still put on a good show. When they stepped out for their encore and asked whether or not we wanted one or two songs, someone from the crowd asked for three. Chamberlain joked, “James has food poisoning! This guy is trying to kill him by asking for three songs.” While the tour was announced after their album came out, most bands would play the album front to back. But it was the perfect mix of their newer songs and older songs to satisfy all fans across the board. Leaving that night a ton of fans were raving about how this is one of the best shows of the year.
