Live: Music Picks June 27-July 3 

FRIDAY JUNE 28

Pink Lightnin' CD Release
Although local trio Pink Lightnin' released its first album in 1997, Salt Lake City has seen hardly hide nor hair of the band—made up of “Bad” Brad Wheeler (harmonica/vocals), Jawsh Belka (drums) and Eli Morrison (guitar/vocals)—in the past few years. So, Salt Lakers should be mega stoked for the band’s latest album, The Unbeatable Sound of Plastic (Octopus Records). The 10 tracks feature a down & dirty mix of blues and trippy rock that will probably remind you of The Jon Spencer Blues Explosion and The Cramps. Check out the sexy “Skinny Minny” and the murder-y “Your Blood,” as well as an awesome cover of Bauhaus’ classic “Bela Lugosi’s Dead” (shortened to “Bela”) that’s more rockin’ than the chilly original, but still maintains the song’s pitch-black creepiness. Welcome back, Pink Lightnin'. The first 100 people in the door will snag a free copy of the new album, and Tupelo Moan and Breakers will get the night started.
The Urban Lounge, 241 S. 500 East, 9 p.m., $5

Vans Warped Tour
This all-day rockfest always brings an eclectic bunch of bands to town, so whatever your taste, you’ll definitely find something to dance/headbang/mosh to in the summer heat. If you’re into scream-y post-hardcore, you’re in luck; the members of headliners Chiodos have all made up and welcomed original vocalist Craig Owens back into the band. Hawthorne Heights (yeah, still around!) will mostly likely play material from their latest album, Zero, out earlier this week. If pop-punk is more your style, check out Motion City Soundtrack and The Ataris. There will also be performances by The Aquabats, Reel Big Fish, Black Veil Brides, Bring Me the Horizon … you get the picture. And for the love of all that is holy, put lots of water in your word hole, and wear extra sunscreen. (Renee Estrada)
Utah State Fairpark, 155 N. 1000 West, 11 a.m., $23.50-$30 in advance, $40 day of show

JP Haynie
Utah’s unique identity is characterized in part by ingrained piety, strong family bonds and, especially, the presence of the quietly watchful desert. To step into that land of sun-bleached bones, ever-shifting sand, dancing mirages and vast desolation is to experience a liminal space—a threshold between the physical plane and the realm of spirits. Local singer-songwriter JP (Jordan) Haynie has captured that magical sense of place on his latest album, The Sand, released in 2012. Recorded on cassette tape, the 10 minimalist songs explore themes of religion, blood ties, loss, the life-giving role of water (two of the titles have the word “river” in them), desert nights and more, with ghostly vocals and a sound that’s influenced by western psychedelia (think Spindrift’s The Legend of God’s Gun, or even some of Italian composer Ennio Morricone’s work) and the Mexican countryside where Haynie previously lived. The instrumental songs on the album, like the movie-soundtrack-worthy “Holy Cross,” give it a feel that’s as wide-open as the desert landscape itself. Ben Q Best, Billy and OK Ikumi are also on the bill. Kilby Court, 741 S. Kilby Court (330 West), 7 p.m., $6

The Moths CD Release
The press copy of local rockers The Moths’ self-titled debut (Octopus Records) came in a black envelope sealed with black and green sealing wax—bonus points for seriously old-school style. Made up of Mike Sasich (guitar), Josh Dickson (drums), Greg Midgley (keys) and Eli Morrison (vocals/bass), The Moths play “loud, gritty, visceral rock & roll,” Morrison says. The band members’ diverse influences make their six-track album tricky to wrestle into any neat genre box, though, as the vocals morph from droning and metal-enforced to rowdy and swagger-filled, and zigzag between major and minor keys with ease. Album highlight “Heather & Nettles” is a poisonous, barbed example of the band’s jagged “secular Arabian punk”/lepidoptera-rock (science!) sound. At this CD-release show (and The Moths’ first-ever performance), the band will share the stage with Triple Moon Tribe—a local “tribal-fusion” dance troupe that combines Egyptian-style belly dance and modern electronic music. The first 100 people through the door will score a copy of the new album, out June 29 and available at Raunch Records.
The Garage, 1199 Beck St., 8 p.m., $5

Demon Lung
Las Vegas-based doom-metal band Demon Lung’s much-anticipated debut album, The Hundredth Name (June 4, Candlelight Records), is garnering a whole lot of buzz, and for good reason. The eight-song LP will hit your eardrums harder than a sledgehammer, with relentless drums, sludgy guitars, slow-burning buildups and the vice grip of Shanda Fredrick’s eldritch vocals. With a sound akin to getting crushed under a mountain, Demon Lung conjures up old-school Black Sabbath, as well as fellow metal acts Candlemass, Solitude Aeturnus and Doomshine. Songs like “Heathen Child”—on which Fredrick channels her inner dark priestess of the occult and whispers eerily in Latin—“Eyes of Zamiel” and “Binding of the Witch” will soothe your maimed, blackened heart. Odium Totus and Moon of Delirium start the show.
Bar Deluxe, 666 S. State, 9 p.m., $8 in advance, $10 day of show

The Melodic
This four-member afro-folk/pop band grew up in Brixton, England, a melting pot of music styles from around the world. That’s why on The Melodic’s debut album, On My Way (June 24, ANTI-), it’s not uncommon for instruments like the charango (South American ukulele), melodica (popular in Jamaican reggae and dub) and West African kora to bubble to the surface of breathy boy/girl harmonies and acoustic guitar. Check out The Melodic’s music video for their song “Plunge,” which features a compilation of people acting goofy in bathtubs. At first, you might feel a little weird not averting your eyes from so many mostly naked humans, but the video reveals—OK, bad pun—a heartfelt charm in people just being people, as they conduct the music with their feet and clap together handfuls of bubbles. It’ll make you smile. This show at Kilby Court is part of the band’s first-ever tour of North America—let’s give them a warm welcome. The Blank Tapes and Charles Ellsworth start the show.
Kilby Court, 741 S. Kilby Court (330 West), 7 p.m., $7

Eisley
If the three sister vocalists (Sherri DuPree-Bemis, Stacy DuPree-King, Chauntelle DuPree-D’Agostino) of Texas-based indie-rock band Eisley ever need a break from creating successful folk-tinged albums—including their latest, Currents (May 28, Equal Vision Records)—they could moonlight as sirens who hypnotize sailors and lure them to a dark, deep demise. Their dreamy, atmospheric music is entrancing and achingly beautiful, and as inescapable as an undertow. The shivery album, with its many aquatic-themed songs—like the titular “Currents,” “Blue Fish,” “Drink the Water” and the moodier “Millstone”—shows that this five-member family band (four siblings and one cousin) is continuing to mature and has perfected the skill of channeling the pain and heartache of life into incredible music. Say Anything, HRVRD, I the Mighty will also play.
In the Venue, 219 S. 600 West, 6 p.m., $17.99 in advance, $21 day of show

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