Music Picks Aug. 9-15 2007 

Thursday 8.9
DAVE GRISMAN QUINTET & SAM BUSH
While the rest of the country waits for Sam Bush’s new live concert DVD to hit streets and brighten its plasma screens (Aug. 14), Utah residents can catch the King of Telluride in a more public setting, for free! Tonight, Bush joins fellow newgrass enthusiast Dave Grisman and his revolving quintet. Newcomers take note: Grisman loves to jam, so much so that he once complained to friend Jerry Garcia about the shortened mandolin solo on the Grateful Dead’s mellow flow “Ripple.” If you’re hip to extended, experimental instrumentals, get down here quick! Gallivan Center, 239 S. Main, 7 p.m. All-ages. Free

Also Thursday: Black Light Burns (Avalon Theater); Strung Out (In the Venue); Invisible Rays (Burt’s Tiki Lounge); Shake Appeal (Broken Record)

Friday 8.10
Lord Mandrake (Nobrow Coffee & Tea); Cobra Skulls, Boomsticks (Burt’s Tiki Lounge); The Furs, Purrbats (Broken Record); Dead Horses (Monk’s); Run the Red (Club Vegas); SLUG Localized (Urban Lounge)

Saturday 8.11
SPINDRIFT
Spindrift are living the American dream, were it written by acid-popping UFO enthusiasts with a hard-on for John Wayne—or perhaps his rivals. Truly out-of-sight, the seven-piece band celebrates the outlaw spirit with spooky, tripped-out variations on Ennio Morricone’s spaghetti Western tradition. Live, they swirl and tremble like a lucid dream, banging a gong and shaking their tambourines for rattlesnake effect, jamming until the audience feels engulfed by a sandstorm (of course, it helps if it’s an outdoor concert and the wind is already fierce). Spindrift founder Kirpatrick Thomas (who holds together portions of the band’s East and West Coast factions) recently recorded a soundtrack to Mike Bruce’s bizarre concept film Legend of God’s Gun, which is like the original Ocean’s 11 with psychedelic rockers replacing tony rat packers. Visually schizophrenic, Gun follows a preacher turned gunslinger who travels to Playa Diablo to avenge his true love’s death. Trippy shoot-’em-ups ensue. Go west! Kilby Court, 741 S. 330 West, 7:30 p.m. All-ages. Tickets: 24Tix.com (with The Furs)

ICEBURN, STELLA BRASS
Whether you’re kicking yourself for missing several (temporary) local band reunions at SLUG magazine’s 18th anniversary party last February or maybe just need another dose of largely improvisational math-punk rock, don’t miss another rare opportunity to catch Salt Lake City’s Iceburn in all their complex glory. That’s right, they’re back. For one night only. Probably. Gentry Densley, Cache Tolman and Joseph “Chubba” Smith will be joined by Matt Mateus’ old groove Stella Brass. What a sweet trip down memory lane. Too bad they couldn’t play the Speedway. In the Venue, 219 S. 600 West, 7 p.m. All-ages. Tickets: 24Tix.com

DALE WATSON
Joaquin Phoenix did a fine enough job playing Johnny Cash in Walk the Line, but Dale Watson is clearly a better fit for the role. One listen to the Austin guitarist’s bottomless voice brings forth vivid memories of Folsom Prison (hey, Cash really didn’t do time, either), especially on “Justice for All” when he declares, “I gunned that bastard down with a smile on my face.” Of course, call Watson a country singer and he’s bound to put you in a compromising position. A self-proclaimed “Ameripolitan” artist, he distances himself from slick, overproduced music that “took the soul out of what means a whole lot to me.” Watson is the real deal. Accept no substitutes. Piper Down, 1492 S. State, 9 p.m. Info: 468-1492

MYSTERY HANGUP
While tempting, it’s important not to judge a band by its press release—or hometown. On first glance, Mystery Hangup appears to be another catchy Orange County pop-punk group with a fiery female singer who totally could take you in a fight. And while lead vocalist Cat easily could throw down, her style is more sophisticated than bratty. Cat’s deep, sultry pipes set the tone for Hangup’s debut album Three Moons and the Crashing Sun, a groovy, slightly gothic work in English and Spanish. Their obvious versatility has helped land gigs with sweet, wholesome Rooney and Christian Death (!), which further confuses those pesky first impressions. Here’s to escaping the pigeonhole. Burt’s Tiki Lounge, 726 S. State, 10 p.m. Info: 521-0572

Also Saturday: The Smithereens (The Canyons, Park City); Stacey Board (Bada Bean); Bowling for Soup (In the Venue); Michelle Malone (Urban Lounge); No Quarter (The Depot); Steel Pulse (Suede, Park City); Nick Cannon (Harry O’s, Park City)

Sunday 8.12
Keb Mo, Robert Cray (Red Butte Garden); Bears! (Monk’s)

Tuesday 8.14
Chaz Prymek, Will Sartain, J. Duff (Slowtrain); Cataldo, Stephen Chai (Kilby Court); Scary Kids Scaring Kids (Avalon Theater); Mark Mallman, The Redwalls (Burt’s Tiki Lounge—see Music)

Wednesday 8.15