SALT LAKE CITY FESTIVAL CAFÉ, SICILIA PIZZA KITCHEN, Friday, Jan. 17-Saturday, Jan. 25, Free
Despite a lot of bluster to the contrary, Salt Lake City doesn’t really get much of a dose of the “Sundance scene” during the annual film festival, aside from the screenings at the Broadway, Tower, Rose Wagner and SLC Library. One effort to bring a taste of festival fun, though, is the Salt Lake City Festival Cafe, formerly housed at the Beehive Tea Room (R.I.P.), and this year moving to Sicilia Pizza Kitchen. While it’s not quite the same as the ASCAP Music Cafe that brings a nice array of touring artists to play in Park City each year, the SLC Festival Cafe does offer a killer slate of local bands offering an array of genres, and this year is no exception. It’s nice the fest showcases Utah talent, even if most of the folks who will show up are locals who already regularly see the bands.
Here is the schedule for this year:
PERFORMANCES — all performances start at 8:30 p.m. unless otherwise noted
Friday, January 17 / Devil’s Club
Saturday, January 18 / David Williams
Sunday, January 19 / Triggers & Slips (pictured)
Monday, January 20 / Devil’s Club
Tuesday, January 21 / Ayllupura
Wednesday, January 22 / St. Boheme
Thursday, January 23 6:00 p.m. Hot Club of Zion
8:30 p.m. Andrew Shaw & Color Animal
Friday, January 24 / 6:00 p.m. Clarksdale Ghosts
8:30 p.m. Rotten Musicians
Saturday, January 25 / Juana Ghani
There’s always a great feeling when you stumble across a band that hits you in all the right spots, and judging by the rabid band of Young People bouncing, dancing and (sigh) moshing to the Front Bottoms Tuesday at Club Sound, the New Jersey band is hitting a lot more people the right way than I realized.
Ridiculously catchy songs, an energetic live show and lyrics from vocalist Brian Sella that veer easily from intensely personal to overtly hilarious, while always packing an emotional wallop–it would surprise me if Sella didn’t have some Hold Steady or Replacements in his record collection.
Then again, maybe not. Sella and his cohorts (drummer Matt Uhchich, bassist Tom Warren and guitarist/keyboardist/trumpet player (!) Ciaran O’Donnel struck me as younger than I imagined, given the straight-ahead rock approach that I tend to assign to performers closer to my age. Seeing these young cats lead a punky revue of their songs full of hilarity and heartbreak–and watching the couple hundred young fans go crazy and sing along to every word of more than one–was enough to give me hope for the state of rock in 2014.
The set was heavy on songs from the band’s excellent 2013 release, Talon of the Hawk. “Funny You Should Ask” was an early highlight, with Sella’s lyrics of the struggles of growing up combining with a potent performance from all of the band. The fans’ reaction to “Lone Star” inspired Sella to exclaim, “Seriously, Salt Lake City, you always treat us so well.” It wouldn’t be the last time he effusively thanked the kids raging in front of the stage.
“Au Revoir” and “Peach” from the new album got equally rousing responses, and some folks’ shouts for older songs from the band’s 2011 self-titled debut were rewarded with excellent takes on “Flashlight,” “Father” and “Swimming Pool.”
The band dubbed this their “Hot Chocolate Tour” for some reason, so the quartet was joined by a dancing inflatable snowman on stage. I don’t know if he’s on tour with the band for those nights when no one in the crowd wants to move to the Front Bottoms’ sounds, but if that’s the case, he sure wasn’t needed at the fantastic hour-plus gig covering nearly 20 songs on Tuesday night.
THE FRONT BOTTOMS, CLUB SOUND, Tuesday, Jan. 14, 6:30 p.m., $14
Had I delved into The Front Bottoms earlier than last month, the Jersey band’s 2013 release Talon of the Hawk would have definitely ranked among my Top 10 albums of the year. I’ve fallen hard for the songs of Brian Sella, who packs his tunes with hooks galore and lyrics both heartfelt and hilarious. Songs like “Skeleton” and “Lone Star” are among my new favorites and get daily play in my headphones. I can’t wait to see how the duo recreates their music in the live environment, and the cozy confines of Club Sound should actually be a pretty ideal place from what is reportedly a lively stage show. You Blew It! and Wild open the show.
BBOY FEDERATION PRESENTS: THEY REMINISCE, ROSE WAGNER PERFORMING ARTS CENTER, Thursday, Jan. 9 and Friday, Jan. 10, 7 p.m., $15
Among the many things I never thought I’d see in SLC back when I first started bumping around this town as a teenager in the ’80s, you could probably list a local hip-hop dance crew pretty high. Yet the local BBoy Federation has spent years educating Utahns about the hip-hop dance style born in the streets alongside DJs, rapping and beatboxing. While the typical outlets for the Bboy Federations performances are local festivals, dance competitions and workshops, this week they are taking a special show to the Rose Wagner Performing Arts Center. They Reminisce is a dance lesson on the origins of hip-hop and the evolution of urban dance, and it should be a blast to see it on the stage of on one of the city’s premiere arts venues.
NAIVE MELODIES/NO-NATION ORCHESTRA, THE STATE ROOM, Thursday, Jan. 9, 8 p.m., $12
The whole idea of checking out a tribute band that is tackling one of your all-time favorite acts is rife with potential disaster. At times, they can provide an ecstatic evening worthy of the music that inspired the tribute. At others, they can destroy an old favorite in such a way that you’ll never be able to hear the original song in quite the same way, or without remembering the disastrous “homage.” It’s happened to me. With all that as a long preamble, I approached Naive Melodies with caution. The California trio dedicated to the Talking Heads is playing The State Room Thursday night, and from all Internet evidence, the threesome manages to spark a decent dance party tackling the oeuvre of David Byrne, Tina Weymouth and Co. The real reason to make your way to The State Room, though, is the performance by local opener No-Nation Orchestra, a collective of familiar faces from a slew of Utah’s best bands, delivering a feverish brand of worldly sounds that will get the room primed for the classics to come.
MARIA TAYLOR, THE URBAN LOUNGE, Tuesday, Jan. 7, 9 p.m., $13
Like many fans, I first came across Maria Taylor’s music via her band Azure Ray, and her participation in a number of Saddle Creek bands like Bright Eyes and Now It’s Overhead. Her new album, Something About Knowing, is her fourth solo set of well-crafted folk-rock, and her voice remains an incredible draw to my ears, an undeniable instrument only enhanced by the full-bodied production on the new songs that includes some gospel-y organ riffing and stellar guitar work. She ups the energy considerably on songs like “Tunnel Vision,” but the real drawing card is her mesmerizing way with acoustic-based, otherworldly sounds paired with her emotional lyrics. PJ Bond and Libbie Linton join Taylor for what is sure to be a stellar night of thoughtful songcraft.
Daniel Nailen 