This Friday was a great one for me because I was able to see the great Brent Cobb in action. I was completely blown away by his performance! Personally, country music generally isn’t quite up my alley, but nonetheless, I enjoyed every moment. I’ve never experienced a country concert before, I wasn’t really sure what to expect going into it. I’ve heard only good things, that it only takes one show to get hooked on them. That rumor definitely held up! The overall atmosphere seemed so welcoming, almost as if you were just catching a show with all of your friends. Looking out at the audience, all I saw was a sea of flannel and it was great. I especially lucked out with having the opportunity to see the one and only Brent Cobb for my first ever country concert.
I remember the first time I saw Madeon’s “Pop Culture, Live Mash-up” on YouTube; reminiscing with fondness at the wonder this musician awoke inside me. Nine years later, Hugo has produced his own album, a number of EP’s, as well as, collaborations with many monolithic artists within the EDM industry; and now drops his latest, during a quite extensive North American tour. ‘Good Faith Live,’ I anticipate to be transcendent as Madeon’s performance at The Complex, last Tuesday. Hugo Pierre Leclercq has a timeless style and ever adapting production techniques. He is one of the few EDM artists which I still find myself impressed with as I get older and my preferences in music change. This is very important to me because of the nuance sometimes involved with new artists and varying styles within EDM genres concerning what’s relevant; the difference between what is currently popular and which artists are truly talented musicians and producers. Very rarely do I find an artist, who possesses the encompassing skill set, capable of attracting a new audience, while also keeping their fan base interested and excited. Madeon seems to do this in an almost effortless manner. The anticipation which had been digging beneath my skin for over a month now, yet as I gazed on the stage instantly dissolved amidst the dancing lights and rhythmic hum.
It’s no surprise that Logic is one of the biggest rappers in the game at the moment. Everywhere you go, you can hear someone listening to him. So it was no surprise when I got to the Maverik Center that the line from the door was wrapping down the stairs and around the arena. Fans of all ages stood in line with friends, bumping Logic on their speakers. You can tell everyone was getting hyped. Once doors opened, the merchandise stand flooded, so did the concession stands. Everyone that had GA tickets rushed the floor to get a good spot and as close to the stage as possible. The nice thing about arena concerts if you’re not GA is that you can still walk around, get comfortable, grab some food to eat, get your merch and just head to your seats when the show starts. But even if you are GA, it’s such a large floor, you’re bound to get a good start.
Circle pits, a small riot, a guitar shreddin’ banana and the start of one of the most hardcore tours were kicking ass in Salt Lake City on Halloween. The ‘Eternal Nightmare’ tour featuring four of my favorite groups performed at the Complex; October 31st, 2019 was one of the most incredible concerts of my life and definitely the most memorable Halloween of recent years. The Complex was thriving with fans from all scenes of the hardcore world: Thrash, Grindcore, Hardcore-Punk, Sludge, Stoner Metal, Metalcore and the ever hated Deathcore. For the sake of us having a good time, I do not categorize performers within the hardcore scene for any other reason other than to distinguish the vastly different and prolific talents of these bands from one another. Isn’t this why there are mosh pits in the first place? All of us have such passions and emotions tied to this music and our most beloved talents in the community, that reason and arguing will never get us anywhere, perhaps a few bruised ribs and split lips will; probably not, but that will never keep us from trying. Now, let’s chat about the thunderous scene I found myself in upon simply entering the venue.
Indoor concerts are ramping up as the temperature drops and the Complex recently hosted the American indie-pop trio SHAED (pronounced “shade”). The night was filled with electro-pop bangers blended with smooth, creamy R&B licks that had the crowd swaying in delight. Absofacto opened the show. Jonathan Visger, known as Absofacto, is incredibly dynamic. A blend of different sounds, his high energy set defied genres and boundaries. Absofacto is known for producing music that doesn’t fit a specific mold. The energy built throughout the set and he danced across the stage as the audience cheered. He even played a new song that he anticipates releasing soon. If you’re a fan, keep an eye out, I think you’ll be pleasantly surprised by what’s to come. He ended his set with his breakout single “Dissolve”, which has over 54 million streams on Spotify.
When I say that I have never had a concert experience like this before, I am not joking. This band has a sound like no other, and I couldn’t have enjoyed myself more. The band consists of lead vocalist Benjamin Wuamett, horn player Aaron Mattinson, drummer Tom Trotter, singer Honora Hildreth, and Pianist Jeremy Asay. Ezra Bell was founded by Benjamin Wuamett and is based in Portland, Oregon.
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.
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.
With mechanical butterflies flying in circles ethereally on the stage, London-based Honey Harper (aka William Fussell) warmed up the crowd in Salt Lake City for the first time ever. Fussell was accompanied by Mick Mayer on harmony, flute, and keys, Alana Pagnutti on harmony and keys, and bassist Gus Appleberg. The group played a short set that included both released and unreleased tracks, a cover of Jackson Browne’s “These Days,” and a song Fussell told the crowd was loosely inspired by the Genesis album Selling England By the Pound. With a sound excellently true to his records, Fussell’s vocals serenaded on tracks such as “Vaguely Satisfied” and “Secret” as an eager crowd observed the “glam country” presented onstage. At the end of the main set, Honey Harper became a party of one, and the band began to pack up equipment behind Fussell as he launched into a triumphant karaoke-style version of Dusty Springfield’s “You Don’t Have to Say You Love Me,” first taking off his hat and then stripping down to an undershirt, the crowd hooting and howling the whole way.
Photo Credit: Katie Barber
After this dramatic conclusion, the venue settled down and the crowd’s eagerness was palpable while waiting for Temples to take the stage. The lights suddenly dimmed and something like a mashup of an Indiana Jones theme+a 30’s Mighty Wurlitzer+gothic UFO music filled the space. Drummer Rens Ottink then sat down at his kit and led the rest of the group into “The Howl” from the album Hot Motion, released late last month on ATO records.
Write a prescription for “seventies rock band” and it may include bell bottoms, fringe, platform boots, bangs, and at least shoulder length hair. When Temples appeared on stage, they looked the part—no doubt about it. Their performance, however, was anything but prescriptive. After the resounding cheers that met the end of “The Howl” died down, lead singer and guitarist James Bagshaw told the crowd they were going to play the “OG one.” Satisfied shouts seemed to agree with the song’s status when the band played the first notes of “Certainty,” from their sophomore record Volcano. Rhythm guitarist Adam Smith multitasked on keys and with one’s eyes closed, the Commonwealth Room sounded like it was host to Foster the People, Cage the Elephant, and The Clash all at once.
Photo Credit: Katie Barber
Bassist Tom Walmsley laid out the rhythm for “You’re Either On Something” and embossed the chorus of “Colours to Life,” which had a 70’s psychedelic rock vibe and a synth that bridged the gap in the time-space continuum between The 5th Dimension and Spendtime Palace. With “Hot Motion” and “The Golden Throne,” Bagshawset the tone with his guitar by playing it in a way that made the crowd feel like they could take part in the performance too, leaning out into the audience with each solo. Before the next song, he told attendees that the group would require complete silence. When you could have heard a pin drop, they began “Atomise.” Live, the song truly was business in the front and party in the back, with a controlled slow burn that lasted a few moments before the group took a more intimidating turn.
Photo Credit: Katie Barber
Bagshaw’s subtle dedication to putting on a quality show was highlighted with his between-song banter, occasionally alluding to the band’s song titles in his obligatory anecdotes. He did this to lead the group into “Context,” which spotlighted the whole group’s instrumental talent and lyrical quality: Fool carry the wise / Are you divine? / Fool carry the wise / Are you afraid of being defined? / When you put it in context it makes sense. A single “f*ck yeah!” from the audience amongst the applause after the song ended encouraged Bagshaw to mention the lack of such a response from English crowds—by the time the group had finished “The Beam” and “Oh the Saviour,” most of the audience had made it known they weren’t English. Between the “The Beam’s” distinct nod to 70s counterculture supplied by Walmsley’s echoing vocals and “Oh the Saviour’s” resonating rhythms, inescapably catchy chorus, and wicked electric twang, “f*ck yeah” really did seem like the only appropriate reaction.
Following “Keep in the Dark” from their first record Sun Structures (which was punctuated with some headbanging provided by Ottink), the whole crowd reacted with hands in the air and approving shouts to Bagshaw’s playing to begin “Shelter Song.” Take a little Cage the Elephant from before, mix in a bit of the Everly Brothers, add a dash of The Monkees, and you might have something that comes close to “Shelter Song.” Even though the audience clearly would have been satisfied with a set that ended there, Temples then played “Holy Horses,” off of Hot Motion, before exiting the stage.
Photo Credit: Katie Barber
The room filled with a chant of “PLAY MORE SONGS,” with claps accompanying the words. Suddenly there was a rhythmic sound that mixed in with the chant as if the claps were being looped from the audience and over the speakers. When the band reappeared and the clapping changed rhythm, it became clear that this sound was actually the recorded introduction to their encore, beginning with “A Question Isn’t Answered.” The group took full advantage of the room’s energy, with Smith taking up a tambourine and Bagshaw turning the mic stand towards the audience, inviting them to sing along. Temples then pivoted to “Mesmerize,” with Walmsley structuring the bassline to accompany Bagshaw’s vocals and keep a steady beat for the entire duration of the song. He led the way for what turned into a ten-minute rendition of the recorded three-minute track. Bagshaw and Smith roamed around the stage minutes 4 through 6 before launching into a rock and roll breakdown that relied only on the synchronicity of the instruments and the shouts of the crowd to finish out the night.
Temples can be summed up in three words: do not miss.
