Live Music Picks: Jan. 24-30
Snow Fest feat. Diplo, New Breed Brass Band, Bayside, Ritt Momney, Krooked Kings, and more
By Rachelle Fernandez, Howard Hardee, Nic Renshaw and Lee Zimmerman
THURSDAY 1/24-MONDAY 1/28
Snow Fest feat. Diplo, G-Eazy, Machine Gun Kelly, Marshmello, Above & Beyond, Young Bombs, Dounia, DJ Ross One, Fred Matters
Cleveland rapper Machine Gun Kelly poked a sleeping tiger late last year when he dropped the exhaustive diss track "Rap Devil," calling out Eminem for his "weird beard," being "sober and bored" and other offenses related to being a middle-aged rapper. MGK also made some legitimately good points, ripping the aging Slim Shady for his overdone Cookie Monster voice on 2010 single "Not Afraid" and pointing out the glaring contradiction in somehow remaining bitter at the world despite being the top-selling musician of the century. MGK's final verse hit the hardest, beginning with a cleverly scathing spin on Em's iconic character from the film 8 Mile. He raps: "We know you get nervous, Rabbit/ I see momma's spaghetti all over your sweater/ I wish you would lose yourself on the records/ That you made a decade ago, they were better." Ouch. Despite Em's real-life history as a battle rapper, "Rap Devil" seemed to deliver a truly devastating blow, but the man born Marshall Mathers responded with the razor-sharp "Killshot," dissecting MGK's disses and reconstructing them for his own evil purposes—and breaking the internet in the process. Who came out victorious is neither here nor there, because the real winners were hip-hop heads with an appetite for beef. Machine Gun Kelly plays Park City's Snow Fest on Jan. 28 alongside the likes of mega EDM producer Diplo (Thursday, Jan. 24) and G-Eazy (Friday, Jan. 25). Coincidentally, G-Eazy is another rapper who has sparred, at times viciously, with MGK. Will they make up onstage with a surprise collaboration? Anything can happen at Sundance. (Howard Hardee) Park City Live, 427 Main, Park City, 8 p.m., $35-$89, 21+, parkcitylive.net
FRIDAY 1/25
New Breed Brass Band, Ol' Fashion Depot
Many cities are defined by the music emitted from their environs. Nashville is synonymous with country, Austin with Americana. Memphis and Chicago bred the blues, while London, Los Angeles and New York are clearly the epicenter of everything cool and contemporary. Arguably, though, no city possesses a style as dynamic and distinctive as New Orleans. Since the start of the last century, it's retained a signature sound as vibrant as it is varied. Funk, jazz, blues, rock and soul have been fused in the boisterous bars of Frenchmen Street and the celebratory sounds of Mardi Gras, spawning any number of artists and bands honoring that heritage with a signature approach of their own. New Breed Brass Band ably embraces that tradition thanks to its fusion of rhythm and revelry. Its individual members began making music early on, and when the group made its debut in 2013, it immediately proved it could live up to its handle. Like other artists New Orleans is famous for—The Neville Brothers, Allen Toussaint, Dr. John, Fats Domino and the Dirty Dozen Brass Band, among them—they follow in the footsteps of those who have taken the Crescent City sound to the world. In that sense, New Breed Brass Band upholds and expands the standards by which NOLA's music is measured. (Lee Zimmerman) The State Room, 638 S. State, 9 p.m., $17, 21+, thestateroom.com
SATURDAY 1/26
Bayside, Kayleigh Goldsworthy
Whether punk, screamo or good old-fashioned rock 'n' roll, all guitar-fronted genres are derived from the real OG of emotional tunes: blues. In the 20th century, a six-string guitar, a fifth of whiskey and a broken heart was all the inspiration needed to write ballads. Today's emotional tunes might sound different, but they have the same effect. Four-piece pop-punk band Bayside isn't the first to return to their acoustic roots. In the mid '90s, Nirvana and Alice In Chains plied their distortionless trade on legendary TV series MTV Unplugged, while Metallica called their own performance a "symphony." This Queens foursome kept it simple in 2018, dubbing their ninth studio album Acoustic Volume 2. A sequel of sorts to their 2006 album Acoustic Volume 1, Acoustic Volume 2 was the band's way of "reimagining songs from our catalogue," vocalist/rhythm guitarist Anthony Raneri explained during a live performance at Paste Studio last September. There's something about the authenticity that brings musicians back to a clean, honest sound. Bayside's "It Don't Exist" has become the emo anthem for aging millennials who grew up with the now 18-year-old band. Even though folk rocker Kayleigh Goldsworthy has taken a different journey, picking up the axe on her newest EP All These Miles, the polarization of the two acts complement each other on their current U.S. tour. Together, Bayside and Kayleigh Goldsworthy showcase the trials and tribulations of falling in love and the ensuing heartbreak. Hopefully these "unjaded" New Yorkers will revive our faith in humanity at this killer show. (Rachelle Fernandez) The Urban Lounge, 241 S. 500 East, 8 p.m., $20 presale; $24 day of show, 21+, theurbanloungeslc.com
MONDAY 1/28
Ritt Momney, Krooked Kings, Blue Rain Boots
Salt Lake City band Ritt Momney has been gaining a lot of traction recently thanks to heavy gigging and frontman Jack Rutter's confessional songwriting. (The fact that a certain similarly named politician is now a U.S. senator probably doesn't hurt either.) While Rutter's songs might seem at first blush to be rather standard indie-rock fare, there's a bit more going on under the hood: His compositions are underpinned by a striking, minimalist sensibility, and as a lyricist, he has a pretty sharp eye for details. Ritt Momney is poised to rise to even greater heights in 2019, with their debut album Her and All of My Friends on track for release within the next few months and several tour dates in California scheduled for February. Before they head west, you can catch them twice at Kilby Court: once on Jan. 24 and again on Jan. 28. On Thursday, California garage-pop outfit Fashion Jackson headline, building momentum off a string of EPs and singles released over the last two years, including their recent collaboration "Cinnamon Burn" with singer JARA; local indie group The Sardines opens. Krooked Kings and Blue Rain Boots offer support on Monday. (Nic Renshaw) Kilby Court, 741 S. Kilby Court, 7 p.m. both nights, $8 Friday; $7 Monday, all ages, kilbycourt.com
TUESDAY 1/29
Neyla Pekarek, Hailey Knox, Tamar-kali
Whenever an artist opts to venture away from an established, critically acclaimed combo for a solo venture, there's risk involved. In Neyla Pekarek's case, the move was especially daunting. As cellist in nü-folk outfit The Lumineers, she had the challenge of maintaining a certain high bar but lacked any ready recognition to bank on. Happily, her debut album Rattlesnake finds her establishing an expressive individual identity while emerging with a set of songs so dynamic and distinctive that comparisons are practically moot. A concept album about Kate Slaughterback—otherwise known as "Rattlesnake Kate," a little-known heroine of America's Wild West—it's an ode to one independent woman from another. Pekarek refers to it as a "folk opera," and she asserts herself through a string of dynamic melodies, all flush with clarity, charisma and confidence. Riveting throughout, it ought to prove as compelling in concert as it does on record. "I got really inspired by the way [Kate] lived completely outside the realm of what was expected of women and outside of the box of femininity," Neyla recently told The Washington Post. "I think it kind of inspired me to find my own voice and become a little tougher myself." That should serve as inspiration for us all. (LZ) Broadcast Music Inc's Snowball @ Sundance, The Shop, 1167 Woodside Ave., Park City, 8 p.m., open to festival credential holders, 21+, bmi.com
WEDNESDAY 1/30
Kelly Clarkson, Kelsea Ballerini, Brynn Cartelli
Kelly Clarkson is having a moment. Or maybe she's always been having a moment. Fun fact: Hanging in the City Weekly offices is a poster-sized version of an issue we published in 2002 that features, in the top-right corner, a picture of American Idol's season one babies Clarkson and Justin Guarini. ("Taking a wild stab at the results," the caption reads.) Kelly, 20 years old at the time, conquered the Idol competition and has been on a relentless climb to the top of the charts ever since. (Guarini, we assume, has vanished into obscurity in the annals of time.) Seven mainstream studio albums, three Grammy awards and multiple Top 100 singles later (the ubiquitous "Stronger" among them) and Clarkson is breaking out from her corporate overlords—or at least her contract with RCA Records. For her latest album, 2017's Meaning of Life, she signed with Atlantic Records to produce an album that moves away from her usual radio-friendly, high-powered pop and toward the worlds of soul and R&B. Now—and finally, for many of her fans, after three non-touring years—Clarkson is heading back out on the road. "Meaning of Life is the album I always wanted to make and I am so excited to finally be able to tour it!" she said in a news release. See Clarkson put her incredible pipes to work with support from country up-and-comer Kelsea Ballerini and Clarkson-coached The Voice winner Brynn Cartelli. And, of course, plenty of back-up dancers. (Naomi Clegg) Vivint Smart Home Arena, 301 W. South Temple, 7 p.m., $36-$399, all ages, vivintarena.com
Lee Zimmerman
An accomplished writer, blogger and reviewer, Zimmerman contributes to several local and national publications, including No Depression, Paste, Relix and Goldmine. The music obsessive says he owns too many albums to count and numerous instruments he’s yet to learn.
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