Live: Music Picks Aug. 29-Sept. 4 

THURSDAY AUG. 29

Wayne Shorter 80th Birthday Celebration
At what will probably be the coolest birthday party ever, legendary jazz saxophonist and composer Wayne Shorter will share the stage with fellow greats including the jazz quintet Sound Prints—led by acclaimed saxophonist Joe Lovano and trumpeter Dave Douglas—and the trio of Geri Allen, Terri Lyne Carrington and Esperanza Spalding (known collectively as ACS), all in celebration of turning the big 8-0. Shorter’s illustrious career began when he was a teenager; he was inspired to play music after sneaking into a Lester Young concert. He went on to play in the Miles Davis quintet, win a fistful of Grammys, release more than 20 albums—including his quartet’s most recent, Without a Net—and influence the landscape of modern American jazz with his inventive improvisational style.
Red Butte Garden, 300 Wakara Way, 7 p.m., $35-$50

Twilight Concert Series: Empire of the Sun
I’m not sure what’s going on the above right photo of Australian electronica duo Empire of the Sun—made up of Luke Steele and Nick Littlemore—but I like it. There’s some kind of Aztec soldier deity wearing caked-on makeup floating in space with a dude who didn’t luck out so much in the spangley costume department, surrounded by lasers that look like they were made with the CatPaint app. That surreal visual element is echoed in their music video for “Alive”—filmed in Utah’s own Bryce Canyon, hey-o!—as Steele and Littlemore cast magical force fields on top of cool rock formations. As heard on their latest album, Ice on the Dune—released earlier this summer—Empire of the Sun’s glamorous futuristic sound is built on danceable synthesized beats that are impossibly catchy and space-worthy. Alpine is also on the bill.
Pioneer Park, 300 S. 300 West, 7 p.m., $5

!!!
Fans usually pronounce !!! as Chk Chk Chk, but according to the band, any monosyllabic sound said three times will also work, so you could call this Sacramento dance-punk outfit Tok Tok Tok, Zep Zep Zep, Kik Kik Kik or whatever you can come up with—cool, right? However you say it, !!! creates music that’s an infectious, danceable blend of catchy guitar hooks and disco-y beats. The band’s latest album, Thr!!!er, released in the spring, is one big sonic pleasure party, with highlights like the sexy “Slyd” and the funk-soaked “One Girl/One Boy.” “Meet Me at the Station” will be your next favorite earworm. Mama Beats and Beachmen are also on the bill.
The Urban Lounge, 241 S. 500 East, 9 p.m., $15

FRIDAY AUG. 30

Baroness
With everything that this Savannah, Ga., rock/metal band has had to deal with in the past year, no one would’ve faulted them for calling it quits completely. In August 2012, their tour bus plowed through a viaduct guardrail in Bath, England, and plunged 30 feet; nine people were hurt, including then-drummer Allen Blickle and then-bassist Matt Maggioni, who eventually left the group due to severe back injuries. But the remaining band members—frontman John Baizley and guitarist Peter Adams—soldiered on, recovering from their injuries and recruiting two new musicians to fill out a new Baroness lineup. Now, Baroness is back on the road, in support of the band’s latest album, 2012’s Yellow & Green, a hard-hitting but melodic collection of tunes that has landed on multiple best-of lists. Royal Thunder will start things off.
The Urban Lounge, 241 S. 500 East, 8 p.m., $15

Gayle Skidmore
The term “Renaissance man/woman” gets thrown around a lot, often about people whose accomplishments are slightly above ordinary at best. But multi-instrumentalist, singer, songwriter and artist Gayle Skidmore is the real deal. The San Diego native started creating songs when she was 8 (she’s written more than 1,700 to date), plays more than 20 instruments (including piano, mountain dulcimer and banjo), sings her gorgeous indie-pop tunes with a unique alto voice and drew a coloring book (!) to accompany her second full-length album, Sleeping Bear, out Sept. 17, on her own (of course) record label, Raincoat Records. Her emotional lyrical style is especially evident in “Sickle in the Shade,” with the line, “Your lips are moving/ But all I hear is what you didn’t say.”
Granary Row, 336 W. 700 South, 6 p.m., free

MONDAY SEPT. 2

Uproar Festival: Alice in Chains, Jane’s Addiction, Circa Survive, Coheed & Cambria
If you need one last big jolt of rock before cold weather puts an end to outdoor concerts till next spring, this quadruple-headliner event featuring Alice in Chains, Jane’s Addiction, Circa Survive and Coheed & Cambria on the main stage is just what the doctor ordered. And on the festival stage, you can catch blues-rock band Walking Papers, Canadian rockers Danko Jones, alt-rock band Middle Class Rut and more—did I say rock? Alice in Chains, started in Seattle in 1987, hasn’t lost any music-making momentum, having recently released new album The Devil Put Dinosaurs Here in May. And if you haven’t heard Circa Survive’s latest, 2012’s Violent Waves, yet, put it in now and blast “Imaginary Enemy.”
Usana Amphitheatre, 5200 S. 6200 West, 2 p.m., $20-$74 before Aug. 30; $25-$79 on Aug. 3-day of show

TUESDAY SEPT. 3

The Love Language
With a name like The Love Language, it makes sense that this North Carolina indie-rock band would say on their Facebook that they’re influenced by “dizzy highs and restless lows”—such is the nature of being in love. Things could only go up for frontman Stuart McLamb after a relationship ended painfully and he had to move back in with his parents, so he rented a storage space to record some songs in and ended up starting The Love Language. With the appearances of strings and horns on the jangly pop melodies that make up the band’s latest album, Ruby Red, released in July, The Love Language will appeal to fans of Belle & Sebastian. Palace of Buddies will start things off.
The Urban Lounge, 241 S. 500 East, 8 p.m., $8 in advance, $10 day of show

On an On
Made up of members of the now-defunct indie band Scattered Trees, the trio On an On is a tricky creature to classify, and their debut album, Give In—released in January on Roll Call Records—is similarly tough to nail down. But that’s why it’s so intriguing. With its heavily distorted vocals, synthy beats and wide palette of various sounds that clang, jingle, buzz and clink, it’s an album that warrants many, many listens, with the high possibility of happening upon some undiscovered nuance even after the fifth spin. “Ghosts” is especially incredible—and shows why Give In is already starting to appear on best-of lists for 2013—with an interesting Asian-influenced thread woven throughout that sounds like it could be in a Hayao Miyazaki movie. Polytype is also on the bill.
Velour, 135 N. University Ave., Provo, 8 p.m., $10

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