LIVE 

U92 SUMMER JAM

The hottest (and, puzzlingly, only) hip-hop station in The SLC has earned a well-deserved rep for throwing some of the hottest radio shows around, and the lineup for this year’s U92 Summer Jam doesn’t disappoint: Twista, Chingy, Ying Yang Twins, Tech N9ne, Pit Bull, Murphy Lee, Sly Boogie and Akon. Best set? Tough call, but Kansas City “lyrical sniper” Tech N9ne’s rapid-fire skills must be heard to be believed. THURSDAY, July 29 @ The Utah State Fairpark, 155 N. 1000 West, noon. Tickets: 800-888-8499.

LE FORCE

Two guitarists, one drummer, no singer, all metal—Salt Lake City’s Le Force rock like none other. The bass-less trio’s new album, being released tonight, should be hot stuff. City Weekly wouldn’t know, as drummer Judd “totally spaced” and forgot to drop off a copy. Speculation says it’s an aggro blizzard of classic Euro-metal riffage and freaky experimentalism for the banging of brainy heads. Let’s all go and find out, shall we? FRIDAY, July 30 @ The Urban Lounge, 241 S. 500 East, 10 p.m. Info: 746-0558.

SNOWBIRD JAZZ & BLUES FESTIVAL

Jazz, Friday: Medeski, Martin & Wood, Rhonda Richmond and the Bruce Katz Band. Blues, Saturday: Little Milton, Chris Duarte, Wild Child Butler, Nick Moss & the Flip-Tops and Uptown Hustlers. The 17th annual Snowbird Jazz & Blues Festival also features Cajun cuisine on the Plaza Deck, as well as the vendor-riffic Rhythm Street Market, but the best entertainment might be watching purist jazzbos trying to dissect Medeski, Martin & Wood’s renegade stylings. FRIDAY, July 30-SATURDAY, July 31 @ Snowbird Resort, Little Cottonwood Canyon. Friday: 7 p.m. Saturday: 4 p.m. Tickets: 933-2200.

KIRK SMITH

“It’s not a perfect-sounding record, but so what? I’m no fan of perfect,” Austin singer-songwriter Kirk Smith says of his new disc, Suddenly Bright Out (KirkSmith.net). “And I’m glad it doesn’t sound like what’s on the radio—most of what I hear on the radio sucks anyway.” The nationally recognized playwright is moonlighting in music, and damned well if lo-fi blues-folkers like “Aloud” and the politically-charged “Not on My Side” are any indication. SATURDAY, July 31 @ Sugarbeats, 2106 S. 1100 East, 7:30 p.m. All-ages. Info: 466-7007.

BERLIN

Anyone notice that the band who once sang “Ride me tonight” and “I’m a slave, I’m a little girl” are playing a Springville show co-sponsored by Provo’s Daily Herald? Sure, Terri Nunn (lone and still-every-bit-as-hot original member) and Berlin had other hits (the biggest, unfortunately, “Take My Breath Away”), but 1982’s “Sex (I’m a ...)” is right up there with “The Metro” for true Berliners, fer heck’s sake. SATURDAY, July 31 @ Spring Acres Arts Park, 700 S. 1300 East, Springville, 8 p.m. Tickets: 801-491-7801.

SOULFLY

When you’re talkin’ Brazilian metal, you’re talkin’ Sepultura, one of the most influential aggro bands of all time. Former frontman Max Cavalera’s Soulfly is closing in on a decade of carrying the Sepultura torch, and this year’s crushing Prophecy (Roadrunner) is the fourth release to illustrate why his ex-bandmates were somewhat misguided in going on without him (but they’re now available for weddings and mall openings). SUNDAY, Aug. 1 @ The Ritz, 2265 S. State, 5 p.m. All-ages. Tickets: 800-888-8499 (with Ill Nino).

BAD BOYS OF METAL

Well, “Boys” might not apply: Steven Adler (Guns N’ Roses), Jani Lane (Warrant), Kevin DuBrow (Quiet Riot) and reformed Hollywood vampires Bang Tango ain’t as young as they used to be, but the mere fact that they’re alive and touring 2004 is amazing—especially Adler, kicked out of the famously decadent GNR in their ’80s heyday for partying too hard, a piece of rock history all its own. MONDAY, Aug. 2 @ Expose, 204 W. 2100 South, 6 p.m. Tickets: 800-888-8499 (with Rune and Opal Hill).

JEN CHAPIN

She may be the daughter of ’70s singer-songwriter Harry Chapin (“Cats in the Cradle”), but New York City’s Jen Chapin is very much her own artist. Her third and latest album, Linger (Hybrid), is a soulful, seductive and smart collection of smoky ruminations on politics, sex and love over jazzy-pop beds (casually dubbed “urban folk,” for lack of a label) that makes frequent comparison point Norah Jones sound like the featherweight she is. MONDAY, Aug. 2 @ Mo Diggity’s, 3424 S. State, 9 p.m. Info: 832-9000.

RECKLESS KELLY

Thursday’s Twilight Concerts get the hype, but the Gallivan Center’s Wednesday-night Come Alive freebie shows have had a dead-solid lineup this summer, winding it all up in style tonight with Austin alt-country wonders Reckless Kelly. As Joe Ely once said, “Reckless Kelly is my kind of band; hell-raising, hard-playing, kick-ass songwriting, feet firmly in the present but with an amazing knowledge of where it’s all come from.” WEDNESDAY, Aug. 4 @ The Gallivan Center, 239 S. Main, 7 p.m. All-ages. Free (with Motherless Cowboys).

INVINCIBLE CZARS

Speaking of Austin, the Invincible Czars answer the question, “Wouldn’t Led Zep’s ‘Immigrant Song’ sound better with horns and accordion?” From the Mr. Bungle/Sleepytime Gorilla Museum/Frank Zappa school of outside-the-box rock thought, the I-Czars temper the goofy covers and crazed live shows with mad instrumental skills and intricate compositions like “The Iron Fist of Stalin” and “Bar Mitzvah in Ghost Town.” If you’ve been missing our dearly departed Thirsty Alley, be here. WEDNESDAY, Aug. 4 @ Burt’s Tiki Lounge, 726 S. State, 9:30 p.m. Info: 521-0572.

STOCKHOLM SYNDROME

Barefoot Guitarist Alert: Honorary Salt Laker Jerry Joseph is on sabbatical from his Jackmormons with Stockholm Syndrome, a new project with Widespread Panic bassist Dave Schools and a handful of jam-centric supastars that promises “genre-transcending music with insightful lyrics, unusual sonic elements, strong hooks and first-rate musicianship.” If that sounds like the natural bridge between Widespread and the Jackmos, so does Holy Happy Hour (Terminus), the band’s just-that-good debut. WEDNESDAY, Aug. 4 @ Suede, 1612 Ute Blvd. (Kimball Junction), Park City, 9 p.m. Info: 435-658-2665.

COMING UP

The Bad Plus (Gallivan Center, Aug. 5). Ani DiFranco (Red Butte Garden, Aug. 5). Incubus, Sparta (E Center, Aug. 5). Cross Canadian Ragweed (Egos, Aug. 10). Marah (Halo, Aug. 11). Drowning Pool (DV8, Aug. 13). Seven Mary Three (Crazy Goat, Aug. 16). Sebadoh (In the Venue, Aug. 16). Real Life (Lo-Fi Cafe, Aug. 17). The Cure (Usana Amphitheater, Aug. 18). Dark Star Orchestra (Suede, Aug. 18). Rosanne Cash (Gallivan Center, Aug. 19). BR5-49 (Port O’ Call, Aug. 26). Kinky (Liquid Joe’s, Aug. 30).