CORIN TUCKER BAND, THE URBAN LOUNGE, Sunday, oct. 7, 9 p.m., $10 advance/$12 day of show
For some reason, Corin Tucker’s former band Sleater-Kinney never came to Salt Lake City on their tours, which meant in order to see my favorite band when they still existed, I had to drive to Denver, or Portland, or Los Angeles. Which I did. Often. So you can imagine how excited I am to have Tucker’s new band, the aptly titled Corin Tucker Band, come to Salt Lake City. They are touring behind the new Kill My Blues, a fine set of Tucker scorchers that is aided by the fact the band has toured together for a couple of years since she released 1,000 Years in 2010. The songs are aggressive while still being catchy as hell, and Tucker’s wail is in fine form. I can’t wait to hear it fill the Urban Lounge.
AIMEE MANN, THE STATE ROOM, Saturday, Oct. 6, 9 p.m. & Sunday, Oct. 7, 8 p.m., $35
A million or so years ago, when Aimee Mann was the rat-tail haircut-sporting lead singer of relatively forgettable pop band ‘Til Tuesday, there was no way to predict that she would go on to become a critically adored songwriter with an incisive lyrical style that few current songwriters can match. Her latest release, Charmer, is a return to her poppy roots of sorts–she namechecks the Cars, Blondie and Split Enz as inspirations for the warm synth and guitar-heavy production on the album. The title track is one of my favorites songs of the past few months–check out the video below. And if you manage to get tickets, be sure to arrive on time to check out openers Field Report, a band with serious buzz who was in town recently to open for Counting Crows. The band’s self-titled debut arrived in September, inspiring Time magazine to name them one of “11 great bands you don’t know (but should).”
GARBAGE, IN THE VENUE, Friday, Oct. 5, 7 p.m., $32.50 advance/$35 at the door
The return of Garbage to the rock scene earlier this year was a pleasant surprise. The band hadn’t released anything new in years, but when Not Your Kind of People arrived, it presented a band that seems like it still has plenty of life. Naturally, singer Shirley Manson remains the focal point, and she’s in fine form on the new songs, delivering them with plenty of attitude and charm. Behind her, the musicians (Duke Erikson, Butch Vig and Steve Marker) are as creatively experimental as ever, crafting solid hooks throughout. With plenty of old hits like “Stupid Girl” and “Only Happy When It Rains” to fill out the set, Garbage’s show at a small place like In The Venue could prove to be one of the best of the year.
Considering all the bells and whistles involved, a Rob Zombie concert is a remarkably straightforward affair.
Between-song banter is kept to a minimum, save for the occasional acknowledgement of past visits to the Saltair and West Valley City’s Usana Amphitheatre. Guitar and drum solos are shorter than many arena-sized bands deliver. And the songs come at the audience fast and furious, groove-filled hit after groove-filled hit.
Of course, those songs DO come accompanied by a ton of visual stimulation from pyrotechnics, video screens, towering robots and Zombie and his costumed cohorts themselves. Zombie comes from the Alice Cooper/KISS school of putting a lot of money into his stage show, and it works. A Rob Zombie show is a multi-media feast rooted in his comic-book and horror-flick obsessions, and it makes for a highly entertaining night, every time.
Monday night was no different as Zombie came through town on top of the “Twins of Evil” bill, headlining after an hour-long set by Marilyn Manson. On the surface, pairing the two theatrical rockers makes some sense, but listening to fans talk between sets, there didn’t seem to be a lot of crossover concert-goers; people seemed to be there either for Manson or Zombie, and were happy to share their opinion on which was the weaker side of the bill.
Put me solidly in the Zombie camp. He and his band started explosively with “Jesus Frankenstein,” “Super Beast” and “Demon Speeding,” setting a breakneck pace that never let up. His band is led by the remarkable guitarist John 5, and he lent new twists to the familiar Zombie riffs on songs that go back two decades.
“Living Dead Girl” is a throbbing beast of a tune, and Zombie followed it up with a White Zombie classic, “More Human Than Human,” during which Zombie jumped down into the pit in front of the stage. From there, it was nonstop aggression, but aggression full of serious hooks. Zombie basically makes stripper music for the zombie apocalypse, and as a result his tunes have more dance-worthy grooves than virtually any so-called “shock rocker” on the planet. “Mars Needs Women” drove that point home, as did “Sick Bubblegum” and “Pussy Liquor.”
Toward show’s end, Zombie started talking about the venue curfew, asking the audience if they were “worth the fines and penalties.” Naturally, the crowd’s roar convinced Zombie to keep going, into “Thunder Kiss ’65,” a John 5 solo that touched on Eddie Van Halen’s “Eruption” and The Munsters theme, as well as a cover of Alice Cooper’s “School’s Out.”
Marilyn Manson’s set had its moments, but didn’t have the same visual or musical appeal as Zombie. Strutting the stage through familiar old hits like “The Dope Show” and set-closing “Beautiful People,” as well as a lot of covers given a Manson twist (Eurythmics’ “Sweet Dreams (Are Made of This),” Depeche Mode’s “Personal Jesus”), Manson still certainly has a lot of appeal for his fans; there were plenty of Manson t-shirts dotting the crowd.
MIKE WATT & THE MISSINGMEN, THE URBAN LOUNGE, Wednesday, Oct. 3, 9 p.m., $12
Mike Watt is one of the best bass players on the planet, and throwing such an accolade his way still sells the man short in terms of what he’s meant to punk and indie-rock fans through the years. He’s an endlessly entertaining thinker, constantly exploring new ideas (both musical and philosophical) on the songs he’s written for his old bands the Minutemen and fIREHOSE, and on four solo albums he’s made since 1995. The most recent, Hyphenated Man, is Watt’s third rock-opera, and in case that label scares you, you should know that the songs on Hyphenated Man average about two minutes in length–this ain’t no prog-rock opera! He’ll be playing the opera in its entirety, along with select other tunes from his long career, and his once-ever-show cover of Blue Oyster Cult’s “The Red and the Black,” in honor of his best friend D. Boon, the Minutemen guitar player who died in 1985. If you’ve never seen Watt play live on one of his numerous trips to Salt Lake City, it’s time. Do it. Lite opens the show.
ROB ZOMBIE/MARILYN MANSON, USANA AMPHITHEATRE, Monday, Oct. 1, $39-$59
The so-called “Twins of Evil” tour is a bit of a quandary for this rock and roll fan. On the one hand you have Rob Zombie, an endlessly entertaining fellow with a deep catalog of tasty tunes (“Dragula,” “Living Dead Girl,” “More Human Than Human,” among others) that pair up perfectly with his over-the-top stage theatrics. You watch a Zombie show, you get impressive pyro, clever film clips and giant robots roaming the stage, as well as ace guitar man John 5 blowing your mind at every turn. On the other hand, you have Marilyn Manson, who I’ve never paid much mind to, who hasn’t produced any memorable music in at least a decade (if ever), and who hardly counts as an equal to Zombie, at least in my mind. I’m hoping to be pleasantly surprised by Manson’s half of the show–at worst, you’ll find me in the beer line waiting for the always good, every time Zombie live show. Korn’s Jonathan Davis was originally going to open the show, spinning tunes DJ-style, but he’s been replaced by a dude from Slipknot spinning tunes. Suffice to say, you’ll find me in the parking lot throwing down some beers during that portion of the show. Join me!
Daniel Nailen 