CWMAs 2.13 Party Video

CWMA Finale @ The Depot with Ben Kweller and 3,000 bones

The Final Countdown | The 1st Annual City Weekly Awards packs the Depot

Neon Trees, The Furs and Ben Kweller filled the Depot up and set a fantastic precedent for the new format of the most respected showcase of local musical talent in Salt Lake City, Utah.
The Furs finessed the crowd with a nice dose of psychedelics.


Bryan, Stephanie and Matty did an impeccable job of reaffirming why they are one of the best in the city with a stellar performance. Check out their upcoming full-length very soon. It's in the works and will sonically stretch and expand your expectations.


Neon Trees saddled up to the bar next with a jaunty spring in their step.
This band, recently signed to Mercury records, also did a great job on their set. It was no wonder that they garnered a huge response enabling them to play the showcase and then this final event. I was very impressed at their performance and had a great time talking to the band before their set. Keep your eyes out for the video of that in a few days.


Ben Kweller was up next. He was very Ben Kweller-y and capped-off the night, and the CWMAs, to an amped crowd of devotees. Everyone present had a really exceptional time and benefited from the spectacular results of a year-long process for the entire organization of City Weekly. The staff there spend untold hours of effort and sweat, tears and straining of their wrist tendons to put on one of the best alt-newspaper music festivals in the country. Let's give credit where it is due and meet some of the folks behind the fatiguing––yet very rewarding––process of making Salt Lake City, Utah an awesome city for music...

City Weekly Music Awards Staff, Contributors and Friends

Andrea Richmond and Dominique LaJeunesse of CW



Brinton and Paul


of The Devil Whale and The Madison Arm

Bill Frost of CW and Spork, Gavin of Gavin's Underground and Brian Staker of CW

Bryan sees if Jamie Gadette's hair is real

and it is!

The Naked Eyes




Anna of Slowtrain and Jamie of CW



Alex and The Furs



Ryan and Parker of Zuriick.com kick it




For more pics head over to the underground: KUTV's Gavin's Underground photo gallery. He's a swell guy and does a very comprehensive job with the scene in general.

See, City Weekly staff can party as hard as we write and present entertainment for you. Keep your eyes peeled, online and in print for the results of the final tally and the announcement of what local band pocketed the $3,000 in prize money, and well-deserved bragging rights, that this huge shindig was meant to allot. Hint: it was Neon Trees. Congrats go out to all the bands who gave of their time to play for the hundreds of people who attended the showcases and thanks to those who realize the real intent of the CWMA format: a great way to spread the word and get people excited about local happenings.

A final thanks to ALL the bands (including Form of Rocket and Band of Annuals, we missed you guys!) in the city, fans, venues––especially The Depot––and sponsors for making the 1st Annual City Weekly Music Awards an unequivocal success. See you next year and thanks for participating.

PS Go Local!

(Jon Paxton)

CWMAs Saturday 2.7: Club Vegas

Final night of the showcases, and while most people made their way up to Park City, I took a detour down the street and headed over to Club Vegas for the hard rock closer.

So the minute I got there I heard a bunch of screaming, from the back it looked like some karaoke band showed up with toy instruments. Thought maybe I walked in on a Black Flag tribute band that didn’t know all the lyrics. But then I got closer and look at that, it was God’s Revolver downing shots and not really caring what anyone thought of their show. Kicking and screaming their way through most of Little Black Horse…, they kept reminding the crowd that they’d been thrown out of here once before, and that you should vote for Blackhole instead. The big highlight near end was getting the crowd singing along to “Drown Your Fucking Sorrows.” As always a great set on their part, but they don’t give a damn what I think… so fuck em’. Vote for Blackhole.

Speaking of which, the band immediately made their presence known kicking the crowd with the double bass and commanding vocals that could only come from Chopper. Wasting little time on small talk the group pounded their way through the set as if they were on a mission to enlighten and deafen you at the same time. Commanding the stage in only a way that would make Iggy Pop applaud, they cranked out songs off their first album, giving a performance that demanded your attention from start to finish. This was another band in all these shows that I hadn’t seen perform live before, and nothing else I can type up here could equal the awesome set I saw. Blackhole isn’t a group, it’s a goddamn experience. Go watch them at Burt’s this week and see what I mean.

Closing up shop was the ever high pitched thrash that is Cave Of Roses. Putting on a show that you could only get if you went across the pond to Ruisrock, this metal group cleaned house with a musical barrage of both complex and old-school death metal. Songs like “Scent of Flesh” and “Creature” blasted through the sound system, as Rhett’s vocals poured through the sea of loyal fans who stayed all the way to the end just to see them. Finishing off with a good eight minute number that left the audience roaring, the seven year veterans showed they could hold their own on any billing. With such a long standing and a loyal following, it’s strange that the band only has a couple of demos floating around. It would be nice to see what their vision of a full-length would be.

Fitting ending to the CWMAs for me. Get your final votes in before they shut down. Even if you didn’t vote, please tell me you got out and saw at least one show. Just one? And to pimp my own stuff out for a moment, check out interviews with both Blackhole and Cave Of Roses this Tuesday on my blog, along with pictures from this show. Many thanks to the CW staff who put up with me, my jokes, and took many a photo with me for no reason. (Gavin Sheehan)

CMWA; Velour Action

Provo has been my buried treasure of hidden music that I have yet to uncover because of the drive down there on a consistent basis to watch shows. After hearing Ruru's album, I wanted to see this band live, so I was excited to finally be able to watch them at Velour for the City Weekly Music Awards.

As expected, I fell into the oldest person in the crowd category of over-caffeinated youngsters. The show was starting later than expected so I waited patiently in the corner. An older gentleman asked if I was a groupie of the band coming up. I defended myself by reporting to him that I was reviewing the show and he wanted to know who I was reviewing the show for. When I informed him that it was for City Weekly, you know, the publication that was putting this on, he proceeded to tell me that City Weekly was on his short list and that I needed to let them know that they needed to start acting like decent human beings. I politely nodded and smiled.

As he walked away he once again informed me that I really did look like a groupie and not a person covering the music. I sat there with a frozen smile and Ruru took the stage, the teenage singer clad in angel wings. They started the set out quite mellowly, and the crowd gathered around to listen. The boy has a wonderfully haunting voice. The emotion that he was putting into his songs probably should soothed the crowd for a moment, but naturally some people continued to talk through the performance. Isaac, the singer did stop and ask that if people were going to talk through his set that they take it outside or to the back. My little Jeff Tweedy protege was on my side this night. What he was doing and how he was putting himself into it did demand a certain amount of quiet respect, I give him that, though I did have the fear of whispering struck into me at this moment and remained statuesque through the rest of his set. Great set, I would love to hear them do some more rocking numbers though.

Since it was Gallery Stroll, I had to wander out to the clean Provo streets and admire the shops. My interest was especially set in a consignment shop called Coal Umbrella, so I made my way up there in between sets. Due to the stroll, it was a little uncomfortably packed, as though I were walking into a house party uninvited. They had loads of cute clothing, though I would like to come back on a regular night in order to take my sweet time not pushing people out of the way in order to browse.

Embarrassingly in my shopping frenzied haze I managed to miss Kid Theodore at Velour, but did get back in time in order to watch Neon Trees set the stage up. The singer was colorfully dressed in a green top with a bedazzled scarf, and the kids danced to thumping music while waiting for them. Once they started the crowd began to dance uncontrollably to their upbeat music. The singer was a natural at demanding attention, it was a little bit reminiscent of !!! and Does It Offend You, Yeah. The audience was not lacking in sweaty front row men that knew the lyrics to every song, one of them even kickbox dancing. The female drummer in the band was phenomenal; it's rare that I see a girl drummer rocking with such prowess. I commented to my friend that these guys sounded just as good, if not better than any touring band that I have heard coming through our downtown area, and they should make their way to us, I think they could just as easily pack a club for a night out in Salt Lake.
(Dominique LaJeunesse)

CWMA: High Beams, Andale

Friday night on the CWMA's had three, count them, three different concerts going on in one night. For me, I stopped in for the dual showing at Bar Deluxe.

Up first, the always punk-tastic Andale! Opening up to the vigorous "Black Is Bad," Memorie's voice filled the room with both harmony and grit, giving you the true punk rock girl experience in every song. Making their way through the self-titled album, the group got the audience worked up to "Walk Away," "Messed Up," and of course crowd favorite "Fucking Tourettes" with a shout out to CW's Bill Frost, fittingly enough. Finishing off their set with new number "Milton Bradley," she belted out the lyrics "You sunk my battleship!" to a trenching guitar riff. This was the first time I got to see Andale! live and was not disappointed one bit.

Andale's Mike Sasish and Josh Dixon didn't have to go far as they took up guitar and drums for the ever elusive closing group The High Beams. Wasting little time the band took off running through a collection of well-known numbers and unknown gems. The always rocking "Dirty Clothes" got the room moving, jumping right into "Talk In Cheap" to keep that momentum going. While the majority of the playlist remained a mystery, even to us who have seen them live before, they showed everyone they could go from somber tone to heart-pounding rock in an instant, and left little doubt why they made the Top 30 this year. Leaving me to really question... where's the album, guys?
(Gavin Sheehan)
A fantastic showing for both, and at the end I walked away with both an iAndale! album AND a beer cozy! That's right, iAndale! makes a beer cozy, all nice and red and foamy. Only one night left for the CWMA's... why are you sitting at home like the hermit you are? Get up and get out tonight before the showcases are done!

CWMA Showcases This Weekend!

For many, the weekend officially starts in about seven minutes. We've got your live music needs taken care of with several City Weekly Music Awards showcases lined up from SLC to Provo and Park City. Tonight features Tolchock Trio, Red Bennies and The Future of The Ghost at Urban Lounge; High Beams and Andale! at Bar Deluxe; RuRu, Kid Theodore (pictured above at their recent CMJ gig) and Neon Trees at Velour.
Tomorrow, Blackhole, God's Revolver and Cave of Roses will sonically destroy Club Vegas; Paul Jacobsen & The Madison Arm and The Devil Whale take up residence in the Star Bar. You can't miss. Detailed schedules available right here.
(Jamie Gadette)

CWMA: Cavedoll, Michael Gross

Second week of the CWMA's kicked off over at The Urban Lounge on Feb. 5.

Only a two band show that evening, for some reason Afro Omega couldn't make it work. You know what that means? More music from the ones who could!

Walking on over I saw some flashing yellow lights and instantly knew what was going on. X96 sent its Special Needs Van to the venuem but sent no talent, no merch, and no one friendly to drive it while the speakers blurted out something vaguely emo. In fact the thing pretty much sat stationary outside on the sidewalk, and at one point someone took and hid the keys to it for fun. The driver was understandably upset.

Things went much more smoothly inside the club. First up: indie rock favorites Michael Gross & The Statuettes. My oh my, do the ladies love them! With new bassist in tow, the band cranked out favorites off Tales From A Country Home . With the always catchy “My Life Is Changing” getting the crowd worked up, Michael hit the mic right under the spotlight, soaking up the energy and letting loose emotion into every lyric, as if he were born to play. The band also showed off their skills with numbers like “I've Got A Feeling” and “No Good”, finishing off their set with the appropriately titled “The End” for a great closing. A really great band to kick the evening off with. If you're any kind of music fan, you'll go grab the album and just drive to any point you can, filling you car with their music along the way. I suggest Heber for starters, but that's me.

If Michael Gross is the band you take to the countryside, Cavedoll is the one you crank on the way back into the city. The electro-rockers took the stage to many cheers and applause, even getting a hula hoop gal in the crowd to do her thing. The group wasted no time getting into classics from their extensive collection including the popular “Mexico” that got spectators singing, and the ever seductive “45 Minute Dance Party.” But they also belted out new numbers to enjoy such as the heavy “Dirty Little Secrets” and the head banging “Vader.” With Allison's keyboard and Vanessa's vocals leading the charge, they brought the evening to a close on “Tastes Like A Hurricane”, with a warm thank you from the crowd afterward.Overall, a lovely show that warmed up strong and burned out bright. The lineups so far have been solid and looking to finish strong. These shows are halfway done with three more lined up for tonight. Go see one.
(Gavin Sheehan)

CWMA on PCTV and other Acronym Shenanigans

For all three or so readers who subscribe to PCTV, I'll be joining host Ori Hoffer to chat about the City Weekly Music Awards. Top 30 nominee Paul Jacobsen and the Madison Arm will also be performing live on the show. You can check them out again on Saturday at the Star Bar. For a complete schedule of CWMA events this weekend, click here.
And enjoy this video

(Jamie Gadette)

CWMA Videos!

We're so close to entering the 21st century, but you're still going to have to click here to see the cool videos we took at last weekend's City Weekly Music Awards showcases. Share them with your loved ones.
(Jamie Gadette)

PCTV: The Devil Whale

CWMA Top 30 performer The Devil Whale will perform live on Park City Television tonight. If you happen to have access to that channel, tune in. If not, we'll try to get some footage posted some time this week. Huzzah! In the meantime, here is some golden oldie video of the band playing at Velour last summer.

(Jamie Gadette)

CWMA Showcase at Burt's | January 31st

Loom (photo by Jon Paxton)


That facial expression above, the one being rocked by Josh Devenport of Loom, sums up the first hard rock showcase for the City Weekly Music Awards: Rock searing into your flesh with a scream--no whimpers here.

Loom attacks

(photo by Jon Paxton)

Loom kicked off the showcase with a blistering set of frantic rock as they are wont to do. They were at the best I've seen them and, as usual, I was amazed at how well they used their skills in precise attacks. They set the bar at a lofty height for all the other bands to contend with. Their performance as an opener could have been lackluster and not very hard to knock down a peg or two, but such was not the case, unfortunately for the next few bands: Subrosa and Form of Rocket.


Subrosa entrances the crowd

(photo by Jon Paxton)

To say this was an epic bill would be an understatement as Subrosa entered stage-left through the dark curtains and did what they do best: be Subrosa. The ladies, and Zach on drums, were on point, even with Sarah Pendelton sporting the healthy "bun in the oven look" and Kim Pack's double duty (in her previous band Loom's set) stressing her fiddle-playing fingers.


Subrosa Setlist

(photo by Jon Paxton)

Lastly, Form of Rocket enlivened Burt's with a flurry of frenetic-fingered guitaritry that they are appropriately known for. They got the crowd going, emboldening one wanna-be crowd surfer(!) to climb up a third of a post at Burt's only to fall down very quickly as he slipped on a CWMA poster taped to it. It was almost a perfectly surreal moment––if only he had gotten a little higher he may have be carried away by the crowd as Form of Rocket was setting them off.
Form of Rocket

(photo by Jon Paxton)
FOR rhythm section

(photo by Jon Paxton)

I can positively say I have no idea who will triumph in this set of bands. They all did a great job at entertaining in their unique sub-genres of Rock. Several people missed out on the show tonight (you know who you are!) and hopefully they won't make the same terrible mistake at the next metal showcase at Club Vegas on February 7th for Blackhole, God's Revolver and Cave of Roses. See you then.



(Jon Paxton)

Friday: Rotten Musicians vs. The Huka Bar

(Bill Frost)

Monk's, Punks!

The City Weekly Music Awards Showcase at Monk's started off with a bang.

By the end the first night of the festivities had turned into a dance party.

Laserfang opened with an ominous synth drone, not surprisingly since they had three on stage, banks of keyboards resembling the command center of some musical starship. (Not "Starship" as in "We Built This City...";) They went into a kind of Radiohead disco groove, with a long build-up before Shane Asbridge kicked in with lyrics, and a bit of a Thom Yorke resemblance. It was a dance number, with heavy bass as well as percussion. This band is clearly all about dancing.

Stephen Chai's melodica and sax added a jazz vibe. A number with disco shuffle beat and shimmering piano sounds went from vocal chorus into a rock break, then downbeat. The sax, on top of funky guitar added a 'no-wave' ambience like the funkier Talking Heads stuff. They ended with a flourish with a full-on new wave disco groove.

Then The Furs. The Furs are like Brian Jonestown Massacre without Anton Newcombe's psychodrama. Bassist Matt Hill and guitarist Bryan Mink are dressed all in black like the Velvet Underground, Hill even adding a scarf and dark glasses. It's tempting to call drummer Stephanie Marlow the Mo Tucker of the equation.

After several ballads they commence a slower, feedback-ridden dirge. They seem to work into their full-bore set gradually. Even the Velvet's trademark bored look seems to play ironically now, layers of irony on top of irony. The Furs only played a half hour, but left the audience happy. Their 'less is more' set list contrasted with their sonic approach of 'more is more.'

The Purr Bats round out the evening, donning orange Native American robes and headdresses, except for singer Kyrbr in schoolboy outfit and headdress. Kyrbr has been a familiar voice in Salt Lake music with all his projects over the years, and the sound brings many flashbacks from the Moroccan. His schoolboy whine with a touch of bravado is perfect for their music.

Kyrbyr is right out on the floor with people dancing; stomping and flailing his arms at times like disco aerobics. Dave Payne brings the keytar, keyboardist Jesse Winters and drummer James Acton are both Ether alumni, Derwood wields the bass and Terrence Warburton is on guitar for a real ensemble. The combination of all this is a rhythm that's positively tribal. They are so energetic they have to pause in between songs simply to catch their breath.

Some of their lyrics go way back to the days of Puri-Do in the early 90's: "I met a boy from BYU/he keeps me in his mouth." They conclude with the 60's garage rock beat of "Floozy" and finally a full-on disco number complete with video game noises. By the end of the evening the whole room is moving. It's been the kind of evening when you go home and your clothes are sweat-soaked.

The games are on!

(Brian Staker)

Welcome!

We love the Salt Blog, but it's time to de-board the mothership and launch our own music-only vessel. Oh sure, some random pop-culture nuggets might make their way on here, but we'll try to keep it on the sonic tip. Be sure to check back often, especially during the City Weekly Music Awards (ex-SLAMMys) about which you can read here and here. Tune in this weekend for highlights from the first CWMA showcases. Friday features Rotten Musicians and Mindstate at the Huka Bar; Laserfang, Furs and Purr Bats at Monk's. On Saturday, Aye Aye, Band of Annuals and David Williams take on the Woodshed; Loom, Subrosa and Form of Rocket rock Burt's Tiki Lounge.

Here's Rotten Musicians at their finest

(Jamie Gadette)