Rudyard Kipling, the mouthpiece of British imperialism, supposedly said: “Payday came and with it beer.”
Did he mean, as most working stiffs think, that with payday you finally can buy beer? Or that a British soldier’s pay in India also included a ration of brewski?
I pondered such things Thursday night as I drank a trio of Squatters India Pale Ales–Squatters IPA, Hop Rising and the new Monsoon Monster– and experimented in pairing them with Indian food at Bombay House. (Believe it or not, I also had a rare paycheck in my wallet.)
As every beer lover knows, legend has it that IPA was brewed with more hops and higher alcohol to withstand the long voyage to India on sailing ships.
But other 18th Century sources offer a more mundane story: The brewer that made the hoppy ale that would become IPA offered a better credit line to the British East India Company. Fortunately, the ur-IPA also managed to stay drinkable after months at sea. (Of course, what beer would not taste good to the grunts who were defending a tropical India.)
The gathering to celebrate International IPA Day was a flashback to colonialism, with a British-born brewer (Peter Cole) serving the IPA and handsome Sikhs creating a banquet of Indian food, including chicken makhani, daal maharani, veggie coconut kurma and chertinad lamb (an absolute knock out with the Monsoon Monster).
Keep in mind that the Queen Vic’s empire was not won on 3.2 beer. The IPA, Monsoon Monster, and Hop Rising clocked in at 6.5 percent, 7.3 percent and 9 percent respectively.
This week the Utah Legislature learned something important about those so-called message bills they love to pass.
These pointless anti-greenies, anti-Washington gestures may tickle the good ol’ boys back in Kanab and Vernal, but they can bite you in the pants in Salt Lake City—in very real terms. Like cash flow.
The Outdoor Retailers Association, whose two-per-year confabs bring almost 50,000 visitors and $40 million into Utah, would, for obvious reasons, like to preserve some wild space on which to use the sports and outdoor equipment they sell. After meeting Association president Frank Hugelmeyer said in a statement:
“Of greatest concern is the governor’s lawsuit challenging the federal government over jurisdiction of the federal public lands and some road claims within national parks, monuments and wilderness areas. We have not and will not sit silently on threats to the nation’s recreation infrastructure.”
The group called on Herbert to “pursue public land policies that support the outdoor industry” and gave Gov. Gary Herbert a month to come up with an answer or they will consider it another reason to move the show to another western city. So far, the best he could do was insult the retailers’ intelligence:
“I think there are some issues out there that are legitimate and some that are rumor and myth.”
One of the “myths” apparently is the bill Herbert signed in March demanding the federal government turn over public lands to Utah by 2014. State attorneys have said it’s likely unconstitutional.
Just a “rumor,” I guess, is Utah’s relentless legal actions to eliminate any further wilerness designation and rescind the protections of places like Grand Staircase-Escalante National Monument.
Businessman Peter Metcalf of Salt Lake-based Black Diamond must have been delusional when he resigned from Herbert’s snow sports advisory group this summer. Metcalf complained Utah’s political leaders are “killing the goose that lays the golden egg” with land policies that could destroy the state’s future as a tourism and recreational wonderland.
The Mormon Foundation for Apologetic Information and Research, otherwise known as Let’s All Take Crazy Pills, is meeting in Sandy this week.
The organization’s role is to reconcile Mormon teachings with realities like homosexuality, race, women’s equality and gravity.
For instance, a gay Mormon man explained to the FAIR g
athering Thursday that just because one is attracted to people of the same sex, you don’t have to act on it. Instead, you can follow the church’s teachings and marry a member of the opposite sex or remain celibate. (The concept of being happy or sane apparently wasn’t factored in.)
“Just because somebody is gay does not mean they need a same-sex relationship. We may not choose our attractions, but we do choose our behaviors,” Joshua Johanson told a crowd at the South Towne Expo Center. “My attraction is [toward men], but my desire is to be faithful to my wife. I am here to act and not to be acted upon.”
Fish can choose to fly; birds can choose to swim. It’s that simple.
I see a head explosion in someone’s future.
In another session that wrestled with the sadness among Mormon women caused by their secondary role in the LDS church, where all men are priests, but no women are allowed in that role. (One study found “Women’s issues” as the major reason women leave the LDS church).
Neylan McBaine, founder of the online Mormon Women Project offered a list of suggestions for increasing women’s stature in the church, including allowing girls to participate in the Pinewood Derby.
Looking around at the surprisingly large crowd at Usana Amphitheatre Wednesday night, there’s no question that the Iron Maiden show was a bit of a nostalgia trip for most of the folks on hand, myself included.
But it certainly wasn’t that for the band, who came out and delivered a rock-solid two hours of classic metal–along with all the bells and whistles one could hope for out of an Iron Maiden show.
You got serious pyrotechnics. You got the galloping bass lines of Steve Harris. You got the stellar triple-guitar attack of Adrian Smith, Dave Murray and Janick Gers. You got singer Bruce Dickenson–he of the paint-peeling wail–waving a Union Jack and running all over the stage. And you got Eddie, the band mascot, as both a stage decoration and a 3-D beast.
As a kid who landed in Ogden, Utah, around the same time as I hit high school age, heavy metal was something I got into well after my sister had turned me on to indie-rock and punk–you know, “cool” music. And my Ogden teen years were spent listening to a lot more bad hair-metal than the likes of true metal believers like Maiden. Thankfully, somewhere along the line I got into the British old-school scene exemplified by Iron Maiden, and I’ve been waiting probably 20 years for them to return to Utah for a show.
That finally happened Wednesday, and it was well worth the wait. And judging by the size of the crowd, I wasn’t the only one excited to catch up with Iron Maiden.
The band is doing a tour that ostensibly is a history lesson about the group, and the current jaunt focuses on Maiden’s 1988 album Seventh Son of a Seventh Son for much of the setlist. Five of that album’s eight songs made their way into the show, including the opening “Moonchild,” “Can I Play With Madness?”, “The Clairvoyant,” “The Evil That Men Do” and the title track. I remember that album getting a so-so reception when it was released, but the songs were great live.
The rest of the show was filled out with classic Maiden tunes like “The Prisoner,” “Two Minutes to Midnight,” “The Number of the Beast” and “Run to the Hills.” “Wasted Years” was excellent–it’s probably my favorite Iron Maiden song, and the band did it justice Wednesday night.
Among the other highlights–delivered with plenty of visual stimulation courtesy of the video screens on both sides of the stage, an excellent light show and plenty of explosives–were “Afraid to Shoot Strangers,” “Phantom of the Opera,” “Fear of the Dark” and “Iron Maiden.” Any band who names a song after themselves better be pretty badass, and Iron Maiden certainly fits that bill.
An encore including “Aces High” capped off a fine show that proved, as if there were any doubt, that Iron Maiden is a great live band still in 2012–a mere 37 years after they formed in 1975. Here’s hoping they become regular visitors to Salt Lake City once again, as they were back in the ’80s.
This week includes great music from two of the best live bands in the world, a cool art opening and a way to help a great cause–by eating some of the best grub available in Utah. Check it out:
- IRON MAIDEN, Usana Amphitheatre, West Valley City, Wednesday, 7:30 p.m., $30-$100
Considering how much Salt Lake City has supported metal music through the years, it’s surprising that Iron Maiden hasn’t visited more often. The British metal pioneers still fill stadiums around the world, and they regularly stopped in SLC back in the ’80s. The rarity of the occasion makes this Maiden show Wednesday feel more like a “must-go” than most summer concerts. The guys in the band are old enough that you gotta figure they’ll stop touring in the next few years, making this potentially the last time Utahns will get to hear the powerhouse vocals of Bruce Dickinson, the rumbling, creative bass work of Steve Harris, and the undeniable tunes like “Run to the Hills,” “Two Minutes to Midnight” and “The Trooper.” Prog-metal dudes Coheed & Cambria open the show.
Iron Maiden headlines Wednesday, Aug. 1, at Usana Amphitheatre in West Valley City.
- MY MORNING JACKET, Pioneer Park, Thursday, 7 p.m., $5
Of all the Twillight Concert Series shows this summer, this is the one I’ve been looking forward to the most. My Morning Jacket is one of the best rock and roll bands going right now, and live on stage is where the Kentucky-bred crew truly thrives. I became a fan after seeing them at the Zephyr Club years ago, when singer Jim James (he of the otherworldly croon) performed the entire show with a stuffed parrot attached to the shoulder of his coat–never mentioning the odd prop once. In the years since, My Morning Jacket has come through Club Sound and The Depot, but they’ve blown up to a new level, headlining festivals like Bonneroo and creating increasingly experimental new music on albums like Circuital and Evil Urges. This is a Twilight show you’ll want to be on time for, too, thanks to opener Joshua James–a Utah local whose music has taken him on national tours to play for a much-more-than-Utah fanbase.
My Morning Jacket headlines the Twilight Concert Series show Thursday, Aug. 2, at Pioneer Park.
- ALEX ISRAEL: AS IT LAYS OPENING NIGHT PARTY, UMOCA, Friday, 7 p.m., free
Los Angeles-based artist Alex Israel uses his city for inspiration, canvas and talking point in his works that combine live performance, video, installation-art and found objects. The As It Lays show takes on a talk show format, with Israel as host to a collection of Hollywood movers and shakes, including Oliver Stone, Vidal Sassoon, Rosanna Arquette and Marilyn Manson. Israel will be on hand for an artist’s talk at 7 p.m., followed by UMOCA’s First Friday party with a DJ, food and a cash bar.
Artist Alex Israel interviews a cross-section of Hollywood characters in his video installation As It Lays.
- PLAN-B THEATRE COMPANY PRESENTS 8, Rose Wagner Performing Arts Center, Saturday at 8 p.m. and Sunday at 2 p.m., $25
Part of Plan-B Theatre Company’s Script-In-Hand Series, this year’s edition is particularly appealing thanks to both the playwright and the special guest coming for a post-play discussion. Dustin Lance Black, an Oscar winner for penning Milk, wrote 8 about Proposition 8, the California law designed to deny gay citizens the right to marry. Black’s story is taken right from the stories of the people who worked, and sued, to overturn the law. Each performance will be followed by a discussion on the next steps for the marriage equality movement and Black will be joined by Massachusetts Rep. Barney Frank, who just married his partner, becoming the first elected federal official married to a same-sex partner. Twenty-five percent of the proceeds will be donated to the American Foundation for Equal Rights, and the rest will support Plan-B’s 2012/2013 season.
- TASTE OF THE WASATCH, Solitude Mountain Resort, Sunday, noon-4 p.m., $90 advance/$100 at the door
This is definitely the best foodie event I’ve ever been to, and the fact that it’s a benefit to fight hunger in Utah makes it one of the best causes to support, too. Formerly known as Taste of the Nation, the newly branded Taste of the Wasatch takes over a field at Solitude Mountain Resort and fills it with more than 50 local restaurants, live music, brews and wine for what is always a memorable afternoon. A few things I’ve learned the couple of times I’ve been lucky enough to go: 1. Remember the sunscreen. 2. Arrive starving. 3. Pace yourself–you have four hours to sample the grub, and you’ll want to sample A LOT of it. 4. Bid at the auctions (live and/or silent)–I’ve walked away with some cool artwork in addition to a full belly. Proceeds from this year’s event go to Utahns Against Hunger, Utah Food Bank and the Ogden Weber Community Action Partnership.
Every time you turn around Utah or one of its hamlets—usually Provo or Salt Lake City—is being listed in some bullshit report as a “top city” for retirement, single life, starting over, business friendliness, mental illness/mental health, ice cream consumption, entrepreneurs, politeness, sobriety–just about anything except soul.
The latest story is Provo topping a list of cities (as the Tribune puts it at the “tip top “) that are awesome for “successful aging”— whatever that means.
It’s fine if groups and magazines seeking free publicity make this stuff up using questionable indexes and never setting foot in the burgs they select. But does the Tribune have to run this crap endlessly with zero skepticism? (Such happy items, of course, are the meat and potatoes of the KSL/Deseret News “values” coverage. Come to think of it, isn’t Utah at the tip top for online porn subscriptions? Whoohoo, we’re No.1!)
To his credit, even Provo Mayor John Curtis seemed a bit dubious of the aging honor—being that it comes after another study found Provo the “youngest” of cities. But Curtis is no fool, so he accepted the accolade and told the credulous Trib:
“We have a saying down here that visitors consider Provo to be their home.”
OK, I can believe that visitors—even octogenarians—say they consider Provo their grandma’s home. But of course, maybe that’s what the report means by “successsful” aging.
By the way, Salt Lake City is No. 6 on the this aging list, probably not something you’ll see on the Visit Salt Lake site anytime soon.
Daniel Nailen 