SLCene Suggests: The Waterboys at The State Room

THE WATERBOYS, THE STATE ROOM, Sunday, Oct. 13, 8 p.m., $42

The Waterboys have been around, off and on, since 1983, and while I haven’t lived in Utah straight through since that time, the band’s appearance Sunday at The State Room might be (at least to my knowledge) their first Utah stop. Perhaps someone out there knows of a long-ago Zephyr Club appearance–let me know if you do, I’d love to hear about it. And that’s because the crew led by Mike Scott is one I’ve wanted to see live forever and a day, and this is my first opportunity to do just that. This fall jaunt is the longest North American trek in the band’s history, coming in support of Scott’s 2013 opus An Appointment with Mr. Yeats, a “collaboration” of sorts with Irish poet W.B. Yeats, whose prose provides inspiration and lyrics for the collection. The result doesn’t sound all that different from past Waterboys and Scott solo albums–dramatic Irish folk and rock with an almost magical way with words. Scott’s current band is comprised of Americans, rather than the usual stew of Irish, Scottish and British players, in addition to himself and fiddler Steve Wickham. With a new album and a killer back-catalog to draw on–hello Fisherman’s Blues!–Sunday night is going to be a memorable one. Freddie Stevenson opens the show.