REV. HORTON HEAT/JELLO BIAFRA/OLD MAN MARKLEY, THE DEPOT, Friday, Jan. 3, 9 p.m., $25
This is what one would call an unexpectedly hot lineup for a gig happening a mere three days into the new year. And if one had to choose between New Year’s Eve on a Tuesday or this show on a Friday night, one would definitely hold out for the weekend. At least, I would. In the Reverend Horton Heat, you have a guaranteed good time, a blast of straight-up aggressive rock and roll/rockabilly. The Rev and his band are releasing a new album later in the month, REV, and will surely knock out some classics along with the new goods. Joining the show, excellent punk-grass outfit Old Man Markley, and the legendary Jello Biafra, former lead singer of Dead Kennedys and a man liable to just steal the show from the others on the bill. At the very least, Biafra always brings some provocative between-song banter.
The WordPress.com stats helper monkeys prepared a 2013 annual report for this blog.
Here’s an excerpt:
The concert hall at the Sydney Opera House holds 2,700 people. This blog was viewed about 27,000 times in 2013. If it were a concert at Sydney Opera House, it would take about 10 sold-out performances for that many people to see it.
CHRISTOPHER TITUS, WISEGUYS WEST VALLEY CITY, Monday, Dec. 30 and Tuesday, Dec. 31, 7 p.m. and 9:30 p.m., $20
If you only know Christopher Titus from his short-lived sitcom based on his standup material, do yourself a favor and check out one of his Comedy Central specials or Youtube a bit of his act. The man generates big laughs by mining some seriously dark topics, ranging from his dysfunctional upbringing and somewhat abusive dad (brought to hilarious life on that sitcom by Stacy Keach) to bigger topics like America’s proclivity for warfare, racism and child-custody battles. It takes a true talent to turn such taboo subjects into genuinely funny, cutting material–not just use them for shock value–and Titus has that skill in spades. With four shows lined up leading into the midnight hour on New Year’s Eve, there are plenty of options and not many good excuses for missing Titus do his thing.
BRONCO AND HONEY PINE, THE GARAGE, Saturday, Dec. 28, 9 p.m., $5
Looking for some damn fine music as a way to shift gears from the madness of the holidays and back into a sense of normalcy? This show has what you need. This double-dose of local roots-rock is a perfect match for the rustic environs of The Garage. Bronco is one of my faves, and they don’t play a ton of shows so this is a year-end treat. And Honey Pine, made up of former members of the Trigger Locks, Atomic Deluxe and other old faves, will be a new experience for me–but given the pedigree, I’m going to go ahead and assume they will kill it. Mix the music with some whiskey (naturally) and some tasty Southern-tinged grub, and it’s a fine way to spend a Saturday night. (Photo courtesy Bronco’s website)
You wanted the best, you got the best—the best albums of the year, judged solely on how much time they spent playing at my house, in my car, or in my headphones. The list is totally unscientific, utterly personal , and heavy on artists I’ve loved for years who put out great new music in 2013.
Enjoy!
Queens of the Stone Age, …Like Clockwork
Josh Homme and his hard-rocking minions released what I would argue is the best Queens of the Stone Age album, a sweeping opus equally satisfying to metalheads, punks and prog-rockers. No easy trick.
Neko Case, The Worse Things Get, The Harder I Fight. The Harder I Fight, The More I Love You
This time around, the most magnificent voice in so-called “alt-country” lent itself to a strong set of songs full of sonic experimentation new to Case’s music, and coming courtesy of members of Calexico, My Morning Jacket and Mudhoney, among others. It totally worked.
Parquet Courts, Light Up Gold
I read the hype. I bought the album. I buy the hype. Parquet Courts delivered brash, insistent indie-rock out of Brooklyn that was super-fresh while evoking the likes of Pavement and Fugazi.
Jason Isbell, Southeastern
The strongest of Isbell’s four solo albums from top to bottom, this highly personal, relatively low-key set from Isbell earned him well-deserved hype from media large and small while proving albums made by the newly sober don’t have to be boring.
Meat Puppets, Rat Farm
More than 30 years since the Meat Puppets introduced cow-punk psych-rock via a residence on old-school West Coast punk label SST, Curt Kirkwood and Co. are having a remarkable rebirth after going missing for much of the late ‘90s and ‘00s.
Yo La Tengo, Fade
Ira, Georgia and James added a stunning collection to a remarkably deep catalog this year, the songs bounding between epic noise-guitar jams and delicate ballads.
Franz Ferdinand, Right Thoughts, Right Words, Right Action
It doesn’t sound much different from their three previous albums, but after a four-year hiatus, an invigorating jolt of dance-worthy guitar-rock is always welcome, especially on can’t-miss cuts like “Evil Eye” and “Right Action.”
Frightened Rabbit, Pedestrian Verse
Sonically expansive and lyrically cutting, the latest from these crusty Scottish lads deserves a large audience.
Arctic Monkeys, AM
It took seeing these guys rock a large Austin City Limits music fest crowd to get me on board, and this latest collection from Alex Turner is heavy on straight-forward rock that is undeniable.
El-P and Killer Mike, Run the Jewels
Two hip-hop powerhouses join up, drop crazy-fun rhymes over simple, strong beats, and come up with a seriously sick summer album that stayed in rotation at my house long after fall hit.
One aspect of Justin Townes Earle’s stage presence I hadn’t considered much before Friday’s show at The State Room is the man’s talent for quickly and comically dismissing loudmouths and hecklers in the audience.
Over the course of his excellent show, Earle told one loud guy to simmer down, adding that as the man with the microphone, he’d always be louder. Another rambunctious fellow’s bellowing was met with a sneering, “I remember my first beer.” And in introducing one song, he insisted the entire audience NOT try to clap along to his jagged rhythm.
Don’t take all that to mean Earle is a cranky cat–those asides are just part of a night-long narrative in which Earle mixes his stunning songs rooted in American country, folk and blues with between-song banter that veers from darkly funny to deeply touching on a dime. Put it all together, and it makes for some of the most mesmerizing live shows I’ve ever seen one man deliver accompanied only by his guitar.
Friday’s show introduced some new songs to Earle’s rabid local audience-an audience that apparently includes a new wife from right here in SLC, according to one of his mid-show soliloquies. “Memphis in the Rain” from his 2012 album Nothing’s Gonna Change The Way You Feel About Me Now, started the proceedings, and at mid-song Earle amusingly chided himself for picking a first song that required some “real singing.”
“They Killed John Henry,” dedicated to his grandpa, and “Ain’t Glad I’m Leaving” and “Mama’s Eyes” followed up, making for a pretty stunning start to the night. From there, the audience was treated to a slew of favorites like “Am I That Lonely Tonight?,””Maria,” “Baby’s Got a Bad Idea” and “Ain’t Waitin'” as well as some brand new songs–the one that struck me most quickly, “Single Mothers,” had a chorus of “Single mother, absent father, broken home.”
Earle’s voice was strong, his guitar picking as mesmerizing as ever, and his songs hit several stratospheric heights along the journey of Friday night’s show. If you didn’t see it, consider joining in Saturday night at The State Room. Morgan Snow opens at 9 p.m.
At Friday’s show, Jay William Henderson opened with a soaring set of his songs, accompanied only by guitarist/pedal-steel man Dylan Schorer. It was an ideal choice for an opener, Henderson’s incredible voice taking full advantage of The State Room’s excellent acoustics. “The Sun Will Burn Our Eyes,” the title track of Henderson’s solo debut after several years in Band of Annuals, was a particular highlight, as was “Lonely Man.”
Daniel Nailen 