SLCene Suggests: 5 Tips for Your Week

This week ranges from the profane to the spiritual, in all the best ways. Check out some of the great entertainment options of the week ahead right here:

JANE’S ADDICTION, SALTAIR, Tuesday, 7:30 p.m., $40 day of show

Being a fan of Jane’s Addiction is a bit of a conundrum in 2012. Nothing’s Shocking is still one of my all-time favorite records, and the opportunity to hear Perry Farrell et al perform “Mountain Song” or “Had a Dad” is always welcome. one of my fondest high school memories is seeing the band on the Nothing’s Shocking tour at the old Utah State Fair Park arena. At the same time, the music that the band has sporadically released since has never lived up to that release (and yes, I’m including the hit follow-up Ritual de lo Habitual, a so-so album with a few great songs, especially compared to its grounding, Shocking predecessor). And the occasion tours inevitably feel like cash-grabs, even when Jane’s Addiction has new tunes to perform, which is the case this time around as the band is ostensibly on the road in support of its latest release, 2011’s The Great Escape Artist.

Jane’s Addiction headline Tuesday at the Saltair.

BONNIE RAITT/MAVIS STAPLES, RED BUTTE GARDEN, Tuesday-Wednesday, 7 p.m., $63

Not a lot needs to be said about why this double-bill is worth checking out; there’s a reason Red Butte Garden booked two nights for this double-shot of Rock and Roll Hall of Famers. In Raitt, you have a slide-guitar killer who consistently releases collections of rock-solid blues and pop-rock, including this year’s Slipstream. And in Staples, you have one of the signature voices of American soul and gospel music, a familiar face since her days with the Staples Singers who has released a string of killer albums the past few years, particularly You Are Not Alone in 2010. Don’t get to these shows late, and don’t plan on leaving early. Tickets are still available as of August 26, but both will most likely sell out.

Bonnie Raitt headlines Tuesday and Wednesday at Red Butte Garden.

JASON ISBELL & THE 400 UNIT, NEWPARK AMPHITHEATER (PARK CITY), Thursday, 6 p.m., Free

The fact that Jason Isbell and his band the 400 Unit is playing a free show at EXACTLY the same time as the University of Utah is playing its first home football game of the season is one of those things that would seem to indicate it doesn’t pay to be both a music geek AND a sports nerd. Isbell released one of my favorite albums of 2011 with Here We Rest, just the latest in a long line of releases that prove Isbell is one of the best American songwriters working today. The fact that he’s only 33 years old makes future-me happy to know I’ll have Isbell to enjoy for years to come–definitely long enough that I won’t feel it necessary to thrown in the obligatory “and he was a Drive-By Trucker, dammit!” reference. As the season-closer of Newpark Amphitheater’s free concert series, Isbell is the best show of the week.

Jason Isbell headlines Thursday night’s free show at Kimball Junction’s Newpark Amphitheater.

THE LOWER LIGHTS, BRIGHAM YOUNG HISTORIC PARK, Friday, 7:30 p.m., Free

Listening and watching The Lower Lights perform is easily one of my favorite local music experiences. And chances to do just that are kind of rare–the gospel-singin’ collective doesn’t get the chance to gather its players and singers together very often, so each show seems like a special treat. This summer, the group released its second Hymn Revival set, and you can expect a heavy dose of it at this free show in downtown SLC.

THE ROSE EXPOSED, ROSE WAGNER PERFORMING ARTS CENTER, Saturday, 9 a.m.-10 p.m., Free

This is one of the best ideas I’ve heard of in local arts in quite a while, and a fine way to introduce one of the most treasured venues in Salt Lake City to people who perhaps have never visited the Rose Wagner Performing Arts Center. A bunch of the group that call the Rose home are joining to offer day full of free performances and classes, with the day capped off by an hour-long variety show of the best of the best for just $10. Those shows are at 7 p.m. and 9 p.m., but before that you can spend the day learning about and seeing performances by the likes of the Plan-B Theatre Company, Pygmalion Theatre Company, Repertory Dance Theatre, Ririe-Woodbury Dance Company and SB Dance, as well as films from SpyHop Productions. Hit the link above to check out the full schedule–new programs start on the hour, every hour from 9 a.m. to 3 p.m.