They Might Be Giants, Moab Folk Festival, Dirty Projectors, The Supersuckers, Generationals & Neon Indian
Live: Music Picks Nov. 5-11
By Jamie Gadette
THEY MIGHT BE GIANTS
It makes perfect sense for They Might Be Giants to play two gigs in Salt Lake City—a 21-plus show at The Depot followed by an all-ages performance at Murray Theater. The Grammy Award-winning artists have long created smart, quirky pop songs well-suited for a family road trip. Their recent release and second children’s album, Kids Go (which comes with a sing-along book and DVD), takes things one step further by appealing to fans who still experience their fun sounds from the backseat of their parents’ car. TMBG’s most current “adult” output, Here Comes Science, is an entertaining and educational romp schooling listeners on the elements, for example, which have never sounded so cool. It’s all delivered with a geeky wit that makes “the two Johns” worth catching twice in one week. The Depot, 400 W. South Temple, Friday, 8:30 p.m.; Murray Theater, 4959 S. State, Saturday, 3:30 p.m. All-ages. Tickets: SmithsTix.com
MOAB FOLK FESTIVAL
For readers who aren’t prepared to embrace winter quite yet, this weekend’s Moab Folk Festival offers a good excuse to pack the Forester and head south. And, if you, like me, own a car that probably won’t make it past Torrey, organizers set up a ride board for people looking to carpool. Do what it takes to get down there—the lineup is impressive. Headliners include The Peter Rowan Bluegrass Band, Charley Simmons, Elyza Gilkyson with Nina Gerber, Bill Nershi, Darol Anger, Tao Rodriguez-Seger, Scott Law, Jimmy LaFave, The Lab Dogs and many others. The weekend-long event will also feature workshops and interviews with guest performers. Details and directions: MoabFolkFestival.com
DIRTY PROJECTORS
Each Dirty Projectors song is like a Russian nested doll—remove one figure and another is revealed. To say the Brooklyn band’s music is intricate and layered is an understatement. And yet, their 2009 release Bitte Orca isn’t overwhelmingly dense or inaccessible. Unlike a U.S. Maple album—awesome, but not for everyone— or Frank Zappa (whose work frontman David Longstreth openly loathes), the LP offers even less-adventurous listeners the benefit of lush, intriguing male/female vocals that often sound like they’re being sung in reverse. Bitte Orca rounds out a long list of achievements showcasing Longstreth’s insatiable pursuit of new and wondrous inventions. Check out the group’s re-imagining of Black Flag’s Rise Above for a little insight into his unique aesthetic. In the Venue, 579 W. 200 South, 7 p.m. All-ages. Tickets: 24Tix.com
Monday 11.9
THE SUPERSUCKERS
While not exactly on par with the highly anticipated reissue of Nirvana’s Bleach, the little-known Black Supersuckers Sub Pop Demos is another cut off the indie label’s roster worth picking up—especially for devotees of the artists who dropped the “Black” from their name when they started to break out. Since then, the Seattle rockers have enjoyed a prolific career, releasing material on their own label, Mid-fi Recordings, since 1995 and living up to their self-proclaimed title as Greatest Rock & Roll Band on Earth (if only for their fiery live shows). Club Vegas, 445 S. 400 West, 8 p.m. Tickets: SmithsTix.com
GENERATIONALS
The somewhat redundantly titled song, “When They Fight They Fight” could easily have been lifted from a compilation of rare ‘60s-pop gems, its sun-kissed hooks releasing a rush of endorphins not unlike a first kiss at the school dance. That the track was just recently released this summer by a new band, Generationals, in no way diminishes its nostalgic sound. Like The Drums and Girls, the New Orleans artists tap into retro territory to generate crisp, catchy grooves that could almost pass for songs excavated some 40 years after their time-machine burial—but not quite. Con Law (Park the Van Records) features modern electronic bells and whistles atop the Phil Spector-esque vocals and malt-shop doo-wop vibe. Club Vegas, 445 S. 400 West, 8 p.m. Tickets: SmithsTix.com
NEON INDIAN
M83’s Saturdays = Youth effectively captured the audio aesthetic that informed John Hughes’ greatest works, with dreamy, angst-fueled tracks that could color this decade’s Pretty in Pink. Consider Neon Indian’s Psychic Chasms as Youth’s lo-fi cousin. The album by Texas native Alan Palomo (Vega) sounds like it was recorded over a VHS copy of Flight of the Navigator. It’s a candy-coated trip, man. Even folks who can’t support the current resurgence of ‘80s-era leggings and Ray-Bans might appreciate Palomo’s videogame-worthy jams, which live might bring back that lovin’ feeling from middle-school stomps. Kilby Court, 741 S. 330 West, 7 p.m. All-ages. Tickets: 24Tix.com
COMING UP
Joe Krown Trio (The State Room, Nov. 12); Imogen Heap (In the Venue, Nov. 12); Saosin, P.O.S. (Kilby Court, Nov. 13); Ozomatli (The State Room, Nov. 13); Chali 2na, Gift of Gab (Harry O’s, Nov. 13); Mason Jennings (In the Venue, Nov. 14); Fanfarlo (The State Room, Nov. 14); The Black Crowes (Depot, Nov. 15); Bob Mintzer, The Super Crescent Band (Salt Lake Sheraton, Nov. 16); Electric Six (Urban Lounge, Nov. 17); Puscifer (Capitol Theatre, Nov. 17); Wolfmother, Heartless Bastards (Depot, Nov. 17)
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