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)

THIRD TIME'S A CHARM (?)

I'm a little late to the party, but hey, at least it's still a party, right? If you didn't catch it, you missed out on one hell of a show last Saturday. I know there's a lot of shows left, but this is going to be one difficult night to top.

LOOM opened the show with a barrage of lights and intensity, and it's apparent that this band loves nothing more than playing music. It's refreshing to see that kind of thing in a day when so many bands are merely looking for a way to get paid. I'd never seen LOOM play live before, but the buzz around them has been building steadily over the past year, and I'm glad I finally got a chance to see what they were all about. They have such a unique sound and every instrument is utilized to its full potential, that nothing ever comes across as a gimmick. This is definitely a band to keep an eye on.

SUBROSA was up next and this was another band I'd never seen live. Unlike the night's opener however, I'd never even heard them. I'd heard of them, and they're another band with a bit of buzz around the city, but I'm always skeptical when it comes to both hype and buzz. Those two things lead to expectations, and sometimes those expectations are unattainable no matter how good a band might be. Luckily for me (and SUBROSA for that matter), they are good and lived up to all my expectations. The dueling violins is a great asset to have, and anyone that's ever said ladies no nothing about heavy music obviously hasn't been treated to a set by this band.

One band left, and they saved the best for last.

Years and years ago, I saw Form of Rocket's first show when both Peter and Curtis played guitar and a guy named Ryan sang. I bought a demo (that I still have by the way), listened to it and knew these guys were on to something. I saw them a handful of times at local spots like Kilby Court and Area 51 (where they opened for Botch), but as the years went on and they started playing more and more bar shows, I stopped going. I loved the band, but hated driving home smelling like I'd just rolled around in a giant ashtray. With the new smoking ban, this would be my first chance to see one of the best Salt Lake Bands of all time in more than half a decade. FORM OF ROCKET took the stage and I remembered all the reasons I loved them in the first place. Tyler and Ben are one of the most dynamic rhythm sections around which leaves the guitarists more than enough room to create the bands signature sound. They played with more heart and energy than I ever remembered, and left everyone in that bar cheering for more.

FORM OF ROCKET definitely earned the headlining spot, but every band deserves every vote they get. Like I said, this night will be hard to top.
(Trevor Hale)

A Second Take On Burt's

Jon Paxton beat me to it, but hell, I'm still gonna write up a review anyway. Entering night number two of the CWMAs, I made my way over to Burt's Tiki Lounge for what was going to be the louder of that night's two showcases. Joking with the patrons and watching the City Weekly staff hang every poster and banner they had at their disposal, everyone knew this was going to be a show worth seeing. And those who did miss out, you are sorely deprived!

Starting off with their blinding and awe inspiring light show were Loom, bringing in a mix of old and new material to the table. Coming off an incident involving Mike and Kim's instruments being stolen, they quickly got replacements in short order so they could play the show in time. Not skipping a beat the group performed hard hitters like "Prizes" and "Webs" with a passion, as if this was the last time you'd ever seem them again, and leaving little doubt as to why they made the list. The hardcore screams and intricate songs broke the bottle on the evening and left the crowd screaming for more. And we were only one band in!

Next up the dark melodic that is Subrosa took the stage. In what will be one of their last shows before violinist Sarah takes a time out for maternity leave, the band put on one of their best shows to date. Playing favorites off the Strega album like the ass-kicking "Sugar Creek" to the hauntingly beautiful title track. While also bringing out new songs like "Dark Country" to enlighten and give a glimpse of what lies down the road. I honestly can't wait to hear what else they're working on.

Finishing off the night were the always jumpy Form Of Rocket, belting out what seemed like a greatest hits collection to all their albums. As always "My Name Is A Killing Word" brought about an audience sing-along. At one point they even brought up the departed (and frequently spitting) Curtis Jensen for a number, much to the crowd's pleasing and a treat to anyone who never saw the original incarnation of the group. Playing with such ferocity that the stage could be felt vibrating, all the way to the point where Tyler broke his bass pedal mid song again!

Overall, damn fine show. This was an awesome set that would put all other venues to shame for a night. Start to finish, one of the best shows I've seen so far in 2009.
(Gavin Sheehan)

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)