UME, KILBY COURT, Thursday, March 27, 7 p.m., $8
The first time I heard Ume, the reaction was pretty immediate, and pretty typical of how I react when I get exposed to another raw, straightforward, guitar-bass-drums trio: “Hell ya!” The Texas trio leans toward the bluesy and metallic at times, and hooky, harmony-laden tunes reminiscent of ’80s so-called “college rock” at others. I could see fans of everyone from Throwing Muses to Heartless Bastards to Cream and Hendrix totally digging the new album, Monuments, if they never heard Ume’s excellent 2011 debut, Phantoms. Lauren Larson has a fine rock and roll voice, and a mean way with guitar riffage, while her husband Eric and drummer Rachel Fuhrer hold down the rhythm section. I Hear Sirens and Grass open the show.
CODY CHESNUTT WITH STEEL PULSE, THE CANYONS, Saturday, March 22, 3 p.m., free
The pond-skimming contest at The Canyons is a worthwhile reason to head up to Park City on its own, but the fact the resort is closing the Spring Gruv festivities this year with a free concert headlined by British reggae heroes Steel Pulse makes it all the more appealing. For me, though, the real reason to head to The Canyons resort village Saturday afternoon is show opener Cody ChesnuTT, one of the funkiest, most soulful songwriters working today. The man’s 2002 album, The Headphone Masterpiece, was a brilliant collection that inspired a hit song thanks to a collaboration with The Roots on Chesnutt’s song “The Seed.” It took Chesnutt more than a decade to release another full-length album, 2013’s Landing on a Hundred, and it’s a worthy follow-up, full of soaring harmonies and emotional lyrics that promise great things in the future. Let’s just hope he doesn’t take another decade to put out another record. As an opener for reggae legends like Steel Pulse, expect Chesnutt to make himself a lot of new fans at The Canyons this weekend.
KELLY KIVLAND TALK/SPIRAL JETTY SCREENING, UMFA, Thursday, 5 p.m., Free
We Utahns love to consider the Spiral Jetty land-art installation as our own, but of course the Utah landmark is the work of artist Robert Smithson, and its maintenance is the responsibility of the Dia Art Foundation in New York, in partnership with the Utah Museum of Fine Arts and the Great Salt Lake Institute at Westminster College. On Thursday, the Dia’s assistant curator, Kelly Kivland, comes to the UMFA to chat about Smithson’s work, as well as the installation of Smithson’s Leaning Mirror sculpture, on display at the UMFA on a loan from the Dia. The work is exemplary of Smithson’s focus on the relationship between art and place in the late ’60s–a focus that led to the Spiral Jetty in 1970. Following Kivland’s chat, the UMFA will host a free screening of Smithson’s Spiral Jetty film in the museum’s auditorium. (photo by Andi Olsen)
CARRIE RODRIGUEZ, THE STATE ROOM, Wednesday, March 13, 8 p.m., $12
Carrie Rodriguez has spent the last decade or so establishing herself as one of the freshest voices in the roots-music scene. Her songwriting has grown leaps and bounds since she first visited Utah for a Zephyr Club gig with Chip Taylor, a fellow Texan and songwriter who she paired with for four albums before releasing her solo debut, Seven Angels on a Bicycle, in 2006. Her combination of mellifluous melodies and serious fiddle chops–she once studied classical violin at Oberlin Conservatory before taking her playing toward the old-timey–helped make her a standout performer during her live shows, and she just released a set of tunes recorded with her long-time live partner Luke Jacobs, Live at the Cactus, that ably captures Rodriguez’s live gifts, and great chemistry with Jacobs. Co-headlining the tour is singer/songwriter Ben Taylor.
CORY MON, VELOUR, Friday, March 14, 8 p.m., $10
Cory Mon’s 2011 release, Turncoats, was one of my favorite local albums that year, so I was excited to hear what he would come up with next. For North, being celebrated with a little release party action at Provo’s Velour Friday night, Mon traveled to Denver to record with a couple of “name” producers–only to realize that the ideas he worked out with buddies Wes Kirkpatrick and Dustin Christensen were more to his liking. The results are more stripped-down, perhaps, than his previous effort with band the Starlight Gospel, but the sound is still distinctly Mon, relying on his voice and guitar to get across winning songs like “Baby Maybe” and “Bring You Home.” The songs that ended up on North are the ones Mon considers the more “singer/songwriterish,” and some of the more raucous tracks he recorded in Denver will appear on an EP later this year. North will be available across the country on April 15, so consider this show a sneak peak. At Friday’s gig, he’ll be joined by Kirkpatrick, and Jessica Bassett will open.
DAVE ATTELL, WISEGUYS WEST VALLEY CITY, Friday, March 14 and Saturday, March 15, 7:30 p.m. & 10 p.m., $25
Dave Attell is probably best known for his stint hosting Comedy Central’s Insomniac with Dave Attell, a sort of dirtier, more drunken precursor to party-friendly travelogue shows like Anthony Bourdain’s CNN and Travel Channel shows. Attell would drop into a city and explore the bar scene with friendly, intoxicated locals, creating comedy on the fly through his quick wit and innate ability to consume more booze than most of the locals he was hanging out with–including Rocky Anderson when he stopped in SLC to tape an episode. Before Insomniac, Attell was already a well-established standup and writing veteran of a brief stint with Saturday Night Live. After, his celebrity soared for a while, and he’s continued working on the road and hosting occasional TV shows like his latest, Dave’s Old Porn on Showtime.
Daniel Nailen 