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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The Japanese House October 19, 2019, The Complex

By: Erica Fasoli

Photo Credit: Erica Fasoli

On Saturday, an enthusiastic crowd welcomed Amber Bain, better known as The Japanese House, to the Complex in Salt Lake City. Bain’s debut album “Good at Falling” was released in March of 2019, although she released four EPs between 2015-2017. This was her second visit to Salt Lake this year, showcasing the new indie-pop tracks as well as “Something has to Change”, the lead single off her upcoming EP, this time around.

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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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Wilder Woods October 2, 2019, Metro Music Hall

By: Justin Hicken

Photo Credit: Justin Hicken

“You guys are witnessing the toddler-stages of this band.” Bear Rinehart said to a crowd of curious attendees on October 2nd, at the Metro Music Hall in Salt Lake City.
“This is honestly like our 16th show ever,” Rinehart explained. This was done in such a calculated way, that he both built up the excitement for the few privileged fans getting to witness the infant stages of the band, while also allowing for a few hiccups here and there along with some growing pains. 

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Miss Saigon October 15, 2019, Eccles Theater

By: Kevin Rolfe

Miss Saigon US Tour Photo Credit: Matthew Murphy

*This review contains mild spoilers.  The main reveals in the show won’t be divulged but if you want to go into the production without knowing anything, please read this review once you’ve seen Miss Saigon.*  

The New National Tour of Cameron Mackintosh’s revival of Boublil and Schönberg’s (Les Misérables) musical, Miss Saigon made its Utah premiere last night (Oct. 15) at the beautiful Eccles Theater in downtown Salt Lake City.  When the Eccles Theater was being discussed and then constructed one of the reasons for building the theater was to be able to house some of the larger scale musicals that the newly renovated Capitol Theater is unable to fit on its 106 year old stage.   Miss Saigon is definitely a large scale musical, both with a 42 person cast and a set design that takes every bit of the stage. 

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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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Robert Plant October 1, 2019, Eccles Theater

By: Kevin Rolfe

Photo Credit: Kevin Rolfe @utahconcertreview

Robert Plant.  When you just read that name, how many things came to mind? Led Zeppelin, of course.  How about, legend, rock star, songwriter, singer, amazing singer, legendary rock star singer of Led Zeppelin?! In just writing his name, so many thoughts instantly come to fly through my brain.  You can’t see his name without instantly hearing his voice. Just in the short time you’ve been reading this, how many Zeppelin songs have run through your mind? Now imagine getting to see this man in concert and getting to hear that voice in person.  Right? Crazy! Then imagine trying to write down the experience to share with everyone. Not so easy, is it? I gotta be honest with you fine readers, this review was one of the hardest for me to write. Robert Plant is just so massively huge in Rock music lore.  How do my words do this show justice? I’m not sure if they will, but you’ll definitely get a sense of just how epic the evening was. It was one I won’t soon forget. 

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