MILO GREENE, KILBY COURT, Saturday, Nov. 10, 8 p.m., $12
A clever bit of gamesmanship helped get Milo Greene a bit of buzz early on. A couple of guys named Robbie Arnett and Andrew Heringer were playing shows and not getting much of a crowd, so they created a “manager” named Milo Greene who would call venues to land them shows. The duo soon found that having another person–even though it was just one of them in disguise–working on their behalf got them better, bigger gigs. Now the two are in a band together, and they gave that band the name of that lucky, nonexistent manager. Milo Greene opened for the Civil Wars back in May, and their breezy boy-girl harmonies and folk-rock songs evoke California’s Laurel Canyon sound. The band’s self-titled debut arrived this summer, and earned them appearances on David Letterman’s show and some non-stop touring, including this show Saturday in Salt Lake City.
THE FAINT, IN THE VENUE, Friday, Nov. 9, 7:30 p.m., $20
One of the pioneering bands of Omaha’s Saddle Creek Records, The Faint is perhaps the label’s most unlikely success story considering their dance-rock sound dominated by industrial and goth grooves on the band’s breakthrough, Danse Macabre. The album’s dedication to the sound of Berlin dance clubs and lyrical themes full of sexual exploration aren’t exactly the kinds of things you expect from the so-called heartland. But, The Faint struck a chord and ended up being chased by major labels who saw a good thing and wanted to capture the band’s energy for the mainstream. Instead, The Faint remained indie, eventually forming its own label. The band took a pause a few years ago, but they are back on the road and performing Danse Macabre in its entirety, as well as cuts from other albums and (gasp!) some promised new music.
MINUS THE BEAR, THE DEPOT, Tuesday, Nov. 6, 7:30 p.m., $19 advance/$22 day of show
Just more than 10 years after forming in Seattle, Minus The Bear just seems to be getting better with each album they release. The band’s new one, Infinity Overhead, just arrived in September, and the band’s songs are at their most sophisticated, full of complex time signatures and experimental sounds pulled from the instruments of singer/guitarist Jake Snider, guitarist Dave Knudson, bassist Cory Murchy, synthesizer player Alex Rose and drummer Erin Tate. At times, the band veers into areas of prog and math-rock that aren’t really my thing, but the tunes remain rooted in some rock-solid songcraft all the while. Joining them are two bands worthy of headlining themselves. Cursive out of Omaha is a long-time Utah favorite and regular visitors to town, and Girl in a Coma are a rocking trio on Joan Jett’s Blackheart Records label–a stamp of high quality in my book.
THE SMOKING POPES, THE URBAN LOUNGE, Monday, Nov. 5, 9 p.m., $12
Hard to believe Chicago’s Smoking Popes took 10 years off in the middle of their career, because the band led by the three Caterer Brothers delivers the kind of timeless pop-rock that endures through the years. Need proof? You’ll get it on this tour as the band plays its entire 1995 major-label debut, Born to Quit, in its entirety every night, along with a selection of tunes from its older indie records and the couple of releases they’ve had since reforming in 2008. Listen to the songs from Born to Quit today, and the lyrical themes and energetic instrumentation still resound. Not a bad way to start a week; you’ll be glad The Smoking Popes quit quitting and got back on stage. Luther opens the show.
KUER’s Doug Fabrizio is one of the best interviewers in Utah—particularly when it comes to thought-provoking, open-ended questions that elicit fresh insights into the human condition.
But even he can only do so much for narcolepsy inducing Gov. Gary Herbert.
In a recent Meet the Candidate interview, Herbert was spouting the usual political cliches—”I pinch myself everyday” at the wonder of being elected governor of “the greatest state in America” and “In this country, any child can grow up to be governor,” (apparently, even one who chooses a Realtor license over a college degree.)
In a desperate move, Fabrizio asked Herbert if any event in his life was a “transformational moment.” (A much better version of the ol’ “If you were a tree, which tree would you be?”) Well played, Doug.
Herbert, obviously, never saw that one coming and proceeded to hem and haw about moments of faith and rearing teenagers and what not. Listeners around the state were hitting radio preset buttons, en masse, before paralysis of the extremities set in.
If you happened to be listening on HD radio, you could actually hear the screaming inside of Fabrizio’s head: “For the love of god, this guy is killing me!”
Somewhere in Herbert’s hairball of an answer, the guv worked in his military service during Vietnam.
Fabrizio seized on it, like Jack Russell terrier on a rat.
“What did you learn from your Vietnam experience?” he asked as the remaining 36 KUER listeners leaned forward.
Again, Herbert— always prepared to upchuck the usual “sacred Founding Fathers” and trust-in-the-common-sense-of-everyday-Utahns political pablum—was taken aback. He verbally shuffled his feet, explaining that he served in the Utah National Guard during Vietnam, but never actually left the country. But, he said, he wore his uniform in airports and saw the divisiveness the war caused in the nation.
OK, maybe the guv said something absolutely profound or at least scintillating after that, but, sorry Doug, I hit the button to seek meaning of life on Radio From Hell.
Trouble sleeping: Tune into the podcast here.
FATHER JOHN MISTY, THE URBAN LOUNGE, Saturday, Nov. 3, 9 p.m., $13
Father John Misty is the brainchild of one Joshua Tillman, a 31-year-old singer and multi-instrumentalist who has played and toured with the likes of Fleet Foxes, Damien Jurado and David Bazan before breaking through on his own via his 2012 debut album, Fear Fun. The folk-rock opus landed Tillman some primo TV spots on Letterman, and he covered the Flaming Lips’ “Do You Realize” for the Onion’s AV Club to memorable effect. With a fine band at Tillman’s disposal, the Father John Misty show has the potential to be one of the best of the year–his album certainly will be getting that kind of hype come December and the deluge of critics’ Top 10 lists.
Daniel Nailen 