MUSIC PICKS: OCT 22 - 28 

• Tim Burton

Deathcore and Slasher Kweenz Bring Halloween to Urban
With Halloween nigh, it might be a little more fun than usual to don a mask and head out on the town. And if you don't agree, maybe two upcoming events at the Urban Lounge can change your mind about indulging in the spirit of the season. First up for this weekend's set of Urban Lounge backyard shows is the Friday, Oct. 23 horror movie-themed night of drag that is Slasher Kweenz, hosted by local queen Izzy Lovely. Guests delivering their own unique terrifying performances include Tony Berrow, Icky Rogers, Marrlo Suzzanne, M'Lady Wood, EllissDee, Agony Ray, Flora the Kween, Sally Cone Slopes, Ana Lee Kage and Devon Dixxx. If it's the silly and absurd you love most about Halloween, this is the show for you, and it starts at 7 p.m. In quite a different vein, and maybe a truly more terrifying one, is the following night's slot, which will be filled by local deathcore five-piece Amorous. The band has been releasing music since 2018 and playing their aggressive take on the genre around at scene staples like Crucialfest, too. Following their 2019 full-length MDXI, the group will hopefully be playing some new tracks, too, if one considers their recent single "Thread(s)" as any indication. They'll find support in OVNI and Freedom Before Dying when they play on Saturday, Oct. 24 at 6 p.m. Each show this weekend is 21+ with tickets $15, and requires masks and social distancing. Book tickets in household groups of twos or fours, or email jordan@jrcslc.com to accommodate larger groups.

Free Screening of Rising Tides: The Crossroads Project
In the short amount of time that humans have existed as we do on this little blue orb, we've delivered many changes onto the world. Among all the good developments, there have also been many bad—things like climate change, for example, which in recent years has become a big question mark for the future of humanity. Enter Rising Tides: The Crossroads Project, which seeks to explore the point where the good and the bad meet, and how they define our world and our future. A collaboration of art and science, the feature-length cinematic piece has all the striking and dramatic qualities of a Blue Planet episode, but with Utah talent to fill it out musically. Presented by the NOVA Chamber Music Series, The Fry Street Quartet—the in-faculty group from the Caine College of the Arts at Utah State University—will perform compositions by Laura Kaminsky to soundtrack the visually striking film with, shifting through four different movements titled "H20," "Bios," "Forage" and "Societas." The film also features another USU persona in Physicist Dr. Robert Davies, who will help guide the whole narrative through. The best part about this online screening—which will be linked at novaslc.org/crossroads—is that viewing the striking image and hearing the stirring musical performances of the Quartet is free of charge. The event starts at 7 p.m. on Oct. 25, and will be followed by a discussion panel featuring the artists and the scientists involved in the making of the film. More info and a trailer can be found at thecrossroadsproject.org.

• Cyrus Panganiban

David Archuleta Drive-In Concert
The drive-in concert formula was a staple this summer, and now it's parked in the autumn lineup of events, too. Fans of the Utah wunderkind and American Idol darling David Archuleta will be excited to know that the star took up the model recently for a drive-in show in Idaho Falls, and is making a second go at it on Friday, Oct. 23 at the Utah State Fairpark. This drive-in concert will be markedly different from other high-profile drive-in concerts that City Weekly has covered this year, mainly in that it's actually a live performance and not a pre-recorded one, and will find Archuleta on the stage rather than the silver screen. The young soloist has been there and back again in his musical career, launched into pop stardom post-American Idol but then chasing down faith again with a musical hiatus so he could take time to go on an LDS mission. This is all familiar Archuleta lore to any Utahn, though, and what may be less well-known is that since those early days of his career, he's pressed forward with pop album after pop album, forming a model for many wannabe stars in the Utah scene. His latest, the May 2020 release Therapy Sessions, feels like the most honest songwriting Archuleta has let loose into the world, kept buoyant by bright and surprising production. The chance to see him at the Fairpark is there for those willing to nab tickets before the limited capacity event sells out—because car spaces are quite limited. Masks and social distancing are required when attendees are outside of their spaces, but attendees can also look forward to concessions, as well as allotted space for tailgating and sitting outside of one's car. General admission tickets are $175 per car (up to six people), while VIP tickets are $300 for a few extra featured perks. Visit discipleevents.com/driveinfaq for more info and disciplelive.ticketspice.com for tickets.

• ICC

Interdimensional Clown Collective Asks the Tough Questions
And that question is: What would it sound like if a clown was killing you? In a world where clowns have seen a revival in the cinematic realm (It, Joker) and in the general public's psyche during such times as the 2016 rash of creepy clown sightings, The Interdimensional Clown Collective is opening up this question as part of a call for submissions for "ramblings, poetry, noise art, skits, songs, anti-songs and more." In their post on their event page, they ask the simple question, "How would it be if a clown was killing you, your band, or your troupe?" which is something many of us have probably had nightmares about, especially those who have a clown phobia. However, these local performance artists are no strangers to indulging border-pushing antics and collaborative engagement. Meli and Zephyr Goose are the pair who make up the clown troupe, and their past performances include strange striptease sets, musical performances using radios and wrapping rainbow string around a room with the help of entangled audience members. Since the end of live shows, they've worked on collaborative albums instead, including the Oct. 11 released and truly freaky Eucharist: An Exploration of the Secret Rites of the Post-Ancient Bug City of Bugalon, which builds on the lore the pair have crafted around their clowning. A Clown Is Killing You will be released on Halloween, with a submission deadline of Oct. 25. A few other collaborative album opportunities will help the clowns close out the year, including for Old Mother Hubbard, which invites ruminations of witchcraft, wastelands and various kinds of nonsense (deadline Nov. 22) and The Great Honking, which refocuses on a major goose-related part of Interdimensional Clown mythology (deadline Dec. 25). Listen to Eucharist and other work at thegreathonking.bandcamp.com and make submissions at thegreathonking@gmail.com.

• @adammichaelterry

At the Ends of the World with Lloyd Miller
It's often a very special thing when lovers of the niche, the obscure and the un-mainstream come together—and especially so when it's across time and from varied experiences. Local label FOUNTAINavm's Adam Michael Terry is one of those people, and has a talent for seeking out others like him. That was how he connected with Lloyd Miller, whose 1960s-released Oriental Jazz is now a collector's item among jazz- and world-music-lovers. With the intention of asking Miller to play some SLC shows (which he later would, at Peasantries & Pleasantries in August 2019), Terry accidentally became friends with the artist, who divulged not just his experiences in music from all over the globe and the past, but his faith and theories about apocalypse. Their conversations would lead to making and releasing new music together, with the help of fellow performer Ian Camp. The introductory track on the album features a snippet of Miller's casual doomsday prophesying recorded by Terry during a tune up, which Terry writes in the liner notes proved to be eerily true months later as he mixed the record during the beginning days of the pandemic. The record swirls with wild jazz movements, kept moving swiftly by the many sonorous world instruments Miller is an expert in both playing and studying as an academic. While most of the album thrums with a certain grimness, brighter songs like "Bassmeant Blues at The Apocalypse" not only reference his pleasant-sounding "funky fallout, dystopian speakeasy" of a basement where they recorded much of the album, but radiates light with bass grooves, splashing cymbals and vibrant visits from koto and dilruba. Recorded modestly, featuring one live track from the Peasantries set, this album is a soothing listen, achieving the "comfort, peace, empathy and understanding" that Terry notes Miller has championed throughout his career. Visit At the Ends of the World to listen or buy the limited pressing of the record, and to read more from Terry's detailed liner notes.