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)

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)

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)