Pendulum, Murder by Death, The Builders & The Butchers, CWMA Finals, Smith Westers, Stockholm Syndrome, Hellogoodbye
Live: Music Picks Feb. 17-23
By Dan Nailen
Pendulum
Brit band Pendulum burst on the scene in their homeland with their album Immersion, a bombastic blend of Nine Inch Nails-ish industrial pop and big drums ‘n’ bass grooves that immediately struck a chord with fans looking for a little aggression in their dance music. A festival favorite in Europe, they recently played U.S. arenas opening for Linkin Park, and are now launching their own headlining tour, with Innerpartysystem opening the show. In the Venue, 219 S. 600 West, 7:30 p.m., $19
Friday Feb. 18
Murder by Death, The Builders & The Butchers
Murder by Death are still touring behind their excellent 2010 release, Good Morning, Magpie, although they’ve had a bit of a hiatus while winter crushed most of the country. As singer/guitarist Adam Turla puts it, the band’s been “holed up all winter, and I can’t wait to share in the drunken rock & roll revelry.” That’s a Murder by Death show in a nutshell, all right. The presence of tourmates The Builders & The Butchers makes this a must-see gig, though—the Portland crew is about to release its third album, Dead Reckoning, a collection of rootsy anthems, recorded mostly live, that nod to the country-folk of the ’30s. Damion Suomi & the Minor Prophets are also on the bill. Bar Deluxe, 668 S. State, 9 p.m., $13 advance/$15 day of show
Saturday Feb. 19
CWMA Final Showcase: Lindsay Heath Orchestra, Cory Mon & The Starlight Gospel, King Niko
After eight showcases featuring 25 bands, weeks of online voting and plenty of ballots turned in at those showcases, we finally have the three final bands for this year’s City Weekly Music Awards. The Lindsay Heath Orchestra, Cory Mon & The Starlight Gospel and King Niko will each perform a set of the tunes that garnered them the ears of the voting public, and DJ Flash n Flare, the winner of this year’s CWMA DJ Spinoff, will dazzle the post-show crowd with his fast hands and furious mixes. Picking the winner of this year’s CWMA band showcases will be completely in the hands of the voting public who turn up at this show, so bring a friend and tell the neighbors; you have a chance to help a local band to the top of this year’s heap. The Complex Vertigo Room, 536 W. 100 South, 9 p.m., $10
Smith Westerns
These Chicago glam-meets-garage-rock boys are just a few years out of high school, but Smith Westerns are already veterans of European tours with MGMT and critical faves of the notoriously cranky rock snobs at Pitchfork.com, and this spring they’ll open some shows for fellow Chicago rock royalty Wilco. The band’s sophomore disc, Dye It Blonde, arrived in January, and they’re headlining their own tour until those Wilco dates this spring. Unknown Mortal Orchestra and YYBS open. Kilby Court, 741 S. Kilby Court (330 West), 7 p.m., $8
Monday Feb. 21
Stockholm Syndrome
Why should the jam-band community be immune from the idea of the “supergroup”? While most bands tagged with that label fall short of their potential, Stockholm Syndrome manages to equal more than its parts, and the parts are pretty impressive. The band started with the duo of Utah fave Jerry Joseph and Widespread Panic bassist Dave Schools. Add guitar madman Eric McFadden, keyboardist Danny Louis and drummer Wally Ingram and you have a crew capable of going in any direction—from psychedelic workouts to straightforward rawk. A mere seven years after their debut, Stockholm Syndrome’s sophomore album, Apollo, arrived in mid-February, and Utah gets one of their few tour dates. Harry O’s, 427 Main Street, Park City, 8:30 p.m., $20
Tuesday Feb. 22
Hellogoodbye
In the five years since California crew Hellogoodbye released their insta-hit debut, Zombies! Aliens! Vampires! Dinosaurs!, the band has changed labels, changed lineups, released some EPs here and there and toured to the Philippines and back. Those experiences fuel the pop-rock filling their long-awaited sophomore disc, Would It Kill You?, and you can expect a big dose of new material on this tour. Gold Motel, Now Now Every Children, and You Me and Everyone We Know are also on the bill. The Complex, 536 W. 100 South, 6:30 p.m., $15
Coming Up
Abe Vigoda, Wild Nothing (Kilby Court, Feb. 25), Hot Buttered Rum (The State Room, Feb. 25), Linkin Park, The Prodigy (EnergySolutions Arena, Feb. 25), Escape the Fate (In The Venue, Feb. 26), Leftover Salmon, Elephant Revival (The Depot, Feb. 26), Rooney, Eisley (Kilby Court, Feb. 26), Vanity Theft, Hunter Valentine (Burt’s Tiki Lounge, Feb. 26), Guttermouth (Burt’s Tiki Lounge, Feb. 26), DeVotchKa (In The Venue, March 1), Heartless Bastards, Truth & Salvage Co. (The State Room, March 1), Joshua Radin, Cary Brothers (Club Sound, March 2)
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