Who imagined this remarkable summer of live music would end with a Jockstrap Salt Lake City show!
British students Georgia Ellery and Taylor Skye released my favorite album of 2022. Jennifer B, I Love You is a exquisite amalgam of funky electropop, glitchy dance beats, giant esoteric hooks and Ellery’s deliquescent vocals floating throughout.
This is — end of May? Even now, I find myself in random moments singing some loopy bridge from last year’s Jennifer B. What a gift to be able to see the Jockstrap Salt Lake City show just before the weather turns truly cold!
Here are 3 things you need to know about Jockstrap and the upcoming performance.
Jessie Ware Free Yourself lyrics are easy enough–you can find them anywhere. But where can you learn more about the lyrics, listen to the song and – BONUS – hear the obscure alternative disco song you’ve never heard before?
Right here, so keep on reading and listening.
Jessie Ware Free Yourself Lyrics
Ware returned to her dance roots during the pandemic with the album What’s Your Pleasure? I remember listening to it at the time and reading Ware’s goal with the album, “Will this make people want to have sex?” It didn’t. Good enough tunes but I wasn’t really hooked.
Cut to 2023 and I’m trying to resist the temptation to buy new release That! Feels Good! The songs are ridiculously catchy, they’re just a bit of a sugar rush. My favorite of the album so far is “Free Yourself,” in which Ware once again shoots her shot with sensual lyrics and beats.
Free yourself Keep on moving up that mountaintop Why don’t you please yourself? If it feels so good, then don’t you, baby
At the same time, maybe the song is about climbing an actual mountain and the cardiovascular benefits of regular exercise.
This is probably not the case, as she continues:
Don’t stand there waiting all of your life For the night to come and find you The clock is ticking, baby, now is the time For someone to come and hold you
Jessie Ware Free Yourself lyrics not nearly as cool as the hook
For the year 2023, this is pretty tame stuff. I mean it’s been almost 35 years since The Divinyls and 40 years after Madonna. These days you have to produce more than ribald lyrics, and Ware delivers!
I love how she marries old school disco, the ELO strings and kind of a baggy Primal Scream beat. And her voice has never sounded better. “Free Yourself” honestly churns better than the much-discussed title track. Order Ware’s album from her website.
The bonus disco song you never knew you needed
I’ve been waiting to write about “Mr. Haze” by Scottish band Texas for almost two years.
You’re probably thinking, “nothing says disco like Glasgow, Scotland.” For a moment, suspend disbelief. “Mr. Haze” was the second and criminally neglected single from the 2021 Texas album Hi.
In this case, the venerable Scotts sampled Donna Summer’s 1977 “Love’s Unkind” and transformed it into something completely their own and completely brilliant.
The Kilby Block Party Saturday lineup promises a blowout before Sunday night’s lineup featuring Pavement. I’ve scouted out every Saturday band from renowned to obscure. You can hear samples of most of every band below.
HEY HEY STOP! Are you looking for the **2024** LINEUP?!! Click here for band reviews!
Kilby Block Party Saturday lineup: Topline takeaways!
Here are some quick expectations for the Kilby Block Party Saturday lineup:
Saturday will have higher highs than Kilby’s Friday night lineup. If The Strokes’ Casablancas throws himself into it — and that’s an open question — the jog from Weyes Blood at 6:25p to RTJ at 7:35p and The Strokes at 8:45p could be a hoot.
Get to the venue early on Saturday! I’m excited to see Salt Lake City’s Kipper Snack for the first time. They play shortly after 12p noon. If you’re not there by noon, DO NOT miss Tamino at 1:20p and Grace Ives at 1:35p.
Couple of Saturday conflicts, starting with dual start times for Alex G and Wallice at 3:25p. Those two will probably split the audience by age. Also, Osees and Run the Jewels both play at 7:35. I’d really like to see both. However, Osees will play a late DJ set at the Urban Lounge Saturday night.
Here is my recommended Saturday plan. Listen for all these bands below. As always, IMMV.
Saturday
12:15 Kipper Snack 12:45 This looks like Break #1 for me 1:20 Tamino 1:55 Grace Ives 2:30 Tanukichan 3:25 Alex G (May cross over to see Wallice) 4:15 Break #2 5:15 Indigo De Souza 6:25 Weyes Blood 7:35 Run the Jewels 8:45 The Strokes
Kilby Block Party Saturday lineup: The headliners
The wild gamut from Alex G to Weyes Blood to Run the Jewels is going to blow some minds. Let’s have a look at (my) headliners in order of appearance. We’ll start with Alex G’s afternoon performance.
Alex G
It’s actually not the easiest thing in the world to find an image of Alex Giannascoli.
I think part of that is the Elliot Smith mythos, a mystery partially burst with recent network TV appearances. Alex G has become an increasingly influential part of the indie folk/lo fi rock scene for the larger part of a decade, particularly since Beach House (2015) and Rocket (2017).
The Pennsylvania native once again charmed critics with 2022’s God Save the Animals. I didn’t immediately buy it after listening last year, but I think I am basically alone on planet Earth on that take. Here is “Miracles,” which includes the touching lyrics:
“‘I have fears that I have not addressed,’ she says Some things from my past make me feel powerless, well Baby, I pray for the children and the sinners and the animals too And I, I pray for you
Weyes Blood
Natalie Mering had been releasing music for nearly ten years before sinking the music industry on her iceberg with 2019’s Titanic Rising. She returned all the stronger in 2022 with And In the Darkness, Hearts Aglow. It’s a delicate throwback to pastoral soft 70’s – but punctuated with Weyes Bloods’ powerful emotion and earnestness. In her promotional material, she actually describes her heart as a glow stick.
A friend of mine in NYC, not easily impressed, was blown away by Weyes Bloods’ performance at Brooklyn Steel this spring. He noted particularly the lighting and set, with some in the audience “moved to tears” at the show’s end. I’m ready to have my cynical cold heart warmed in Mering’s ambience. And, joking aside, this is woman who knows how to write pure melody.
This is the opening track from her current album, “It’s Not Just Me, It’s Everybody.”
Run the Jewels
I previously speculated we could get RTJ5 just in time for the Kilby Block Party Saturday lineup takes the stage. Bad news: That’s a No. Good news: Killer Mike is putting out his first solo release in a long time, Michael, on June 16. That’s pretty awesome!
Michael Render will be touring major metros with the Midnight Revival Choir starting in July. I have to believe we’ll be treated to Run the Jewel classics and previews of Michael when RTJ plays Saturday night.
Have you heard “Don’t Let the Devil?!” El-P guests along with thankugoodsir and it’s super good.
The Strokes
I feel it’s important to manage expectations with The Strokes.
I’ll go back and experiment with 2020’s The New Abnormal. Most of us, though, will be hoping for competent performances of Is This It and Room On Fire.
Kilby Block Party Saturday lineup: Supporting Acts
Part of the joy of this year’s KBP is not just the big name acts but the introduction we get to dozens of strong independent performers, many of whom I am hearing for the first time. If you’re similarly looking for an introduction, then read on.
Tamino
I am absolutely wrecked hearing Tamino tonight for the first time.
When someone is out there creating music like this and it doesn’t cross my radar, I simply feel inadequate. He hasn’t exactly labored in obscurity – Tamino played several shows at SXSW in 2019. Although in my defense, the Belgian-Egyptian music scene is not super strong.
Tamino’s hypnotic vocals are unearthly. Cairo’s Nile FM (this is an actual radio station, at the evenly numbered MHz 104.2 FM) identifies him as the grandson of Egypt’s “legendary Muharram Fouad.” Last year he released the album Sahar but I want you to hear the song I just sampled, 2017’s “Habibi.”
You cannot NOT hear Jeff Buckley singing. I am dead.
I will absolutely be at the Utah Fairgrounds at 1:20pm to hear Tamino early in the Kilby Block Party Saturday lineup.
Osees
John Dwyer’s long time project Osees, aka Thee Oh Sees, have lived a dozen or more musical lives. From freakout to psych rock, I actually like his current thread which is closer to pure punk.
A Foul Form came out last August although I didn’t catch it then. This is pretty good! It’s on the tolerant side of the hardcore spectrum, which is about the sweet spot for a 50-something white guy like me.
Songs like the freaky surf of “Perm Act” and punk blasts of “Funeral Solution” and “Scum Show” could be a wild part of the Kilby Block Party Saturday lineup.
Indigo De Souza
North Carolina’s Indigo De Souza is all rough edges and blunt, confessional lyrics. De Souza has a great sense of dreary melody, a bit like Dana Margolin of Porridge Radio. De Souza just released All of This Will End two weeks ago and I enjoyed the several tracks I’ve downloaded.
The artist profile on Bandcamp quotes De Souza saying, “I was finally able to trust myself fully.” I don’t really know what that means but it sounds good!
On “You Can Be Mean” she disses on a Luva like Taylor Swift would, but with 100x more venom.
Caroline Polachek
I actually kind of liked parts of the song and video for Caroline Polachek’s “Welcome to my Island,” at least the images of her running through a construction site. (Hey that’s what Weyes Blood serving her coffee!) But its hard for me to take the former Chairlift singer too seriously, and I’m definitely not the target demographic.
Here’s “Welcome to My Island,” which I realize while listening and not watching, loses some interest without the construction video and throwing up blood or coffee.
Dreamer Isioma
Dreamer Isioma continues the suave Freak&B of 2021 debut Goodnight Dreamer on April’s Princess Forever.
Early single “Love & Rage” shows how Isioma deftly combines funk, Afrobeats and a rhythmic indie palette. Princess Forever is also a deep concept album – rarely a necessity – that envisions Isioma transcending an apocalyptic something-or-the-other in an alternate universe.
Best to focus on the Chicago native’s beats, as here on “Touch Your Soul.”
Wallice
Behold the sardonic, self-deprecating indie pop of Wallice!
Just a single EP under her belt, last year’s cutting 90’s American Superstar, Wallice grimly mocks her career trajectory on “Rich Wallice.” The LA artist absolutely shreds on “John Wayne” (actually I don’t know if that’s her on guitar!?) and on the imagined end of her career arc on the EP’s narrative closer “Funeral.”
After a couple of pandemic hits, Wallice Hana Watanabe spent part of the year opening for The 1975 and I can totally hear it. For Rolling Stone AU, Wallice describes hours of added music and dance rehearsals to prepare for her big break.
I dig the way she shifts from 2nd to 5th gear about 1 minute into the EP’s opening cut, “Little League.”
Grace Ives
Synth pop marvel Grace Ives is the author of last year’s Janky Star. Endlessly entertaining, Ives specializes in 2 minute pop gems that show off her breathy vibrato. Sometimes working in a dream pop space, other times breaking into a Cars twee power pop, Ives delivery always matches the material perfectly.
She soars on “Butterfly” from her 2019 debut 2nd.
Tanuchikan
You can hear the Cranberries influence on Tanukichan’s 2023 sophomore release GIZMO. I don’t know that the reference is good or bad, it’s just there. Particularly on songs like “Been Here Before” and “Take Care,” Hannah van Loon sounds like the late Dolores O’Riordan, minus the yodeling.
I appreciate Tanukichan’s crunchier dream pop to the poppier dream pop. Album opener “Escape” is more of a Lush soundscape.
Kipper Snack (Kilby Block Party Saturday lineup local feature)
Loving everything I’ve heard from Salt Lake City’s Kipper Snack, whose Insta says the band is half finished with “a real rock and roll album.” Last year Kipper released Pretty as a Flower, whose seven tracks look like an EP or mini album. Tracks fall somewhere between indie folk and high desert alt country.
Check out this impressive number, “Stick It With Me.”
Other standouts include “No Surprise” and “Mama.” Kipper is getting some well-deserved attention this year. Besides their opening slot for the Kilby Block Party Saturday lineup, they’ve played Soundwell, The Depot and Kilby Court. Kipper is a band to watch.
I’m also going to include a video. Readers of this site know I focus on audio. But I was so struck by the tenderness of this video shot during the pandemic. I hope whatever rock and roll Kipper releases soon includes this purity of spirit.
Also include the pedal steel, I want this young man to show off more pedal steel.
Kipper Snack at Studebaker Studios in Provo
Anais Chantal (Kilby Block Party Saturday lineup local feature)
Anais Chantal released Where Do I Go?? just a couple of months ago. Salt Lake’s Chantal drops between soul and torchlit piano ballads. This is difficult territory to stand out! Chantal has the voice to pull it off, although not all of the melodies here cut through for me.
The opener “CLASSIC” captures Chantal’s presence and range perfectly.
Hippo Campus
Bright indie pop not wildly removed from The Killers, the Minneapolis veterans have been around since 2013. Hippo Campus last month released the Wasteland EP, from which the fan favorite seems to be “Yippie Ki Yay.”
Kilby Block Party Saturday lineup: Other bands playing
I could have and maybe should have broken out The Moss and Josh Doss separately. Links provided for all.
The 100 Gecs hype machine pulled into Utah April 12. While I can recommend their 2023 release 10,000 Gecs without reservation, the 100 Gecs Salt Lake City Show was a total bore.
Here’s what you didn’t miss.
100 Gecs Salt Lake City show starts strong
It was a promising beginning for the 100 Gecs Salt Lake City Show. Like on the album open, Dylan Brady and Laura Les roll onto stage with the THX sound logo deep enough to make most of the teen boys in the audience sterile. It’s a kickin’ statement, though, and they launched immediately into album opener “Dumbest Girl in the World.” Dylan in his trademark yellow wizard cloak and hat and Laura in a her less-wizardly T-shirt and jeans.
Loud can’t hide dull Gecs performance
The Gecs rolled through several other anthemic crowd-favorites like “Hollywood Baby,” “Doritos & Fritos,” “One Million Dollars” and “I Got My Tooth Removed.” The band also dipped into debut 1,000 Gecs with “Stupid Horse,” “Hand Crushed by a Mallet” and “ringtone.” Here’s the studio version of “ringtone.”
Honestly hearing both albums side-by-side, the the nu metal dorkiness of 100 Gecs sophomore album is a real improvement from the endless autotune of their debut.
100 Gecs Salt Lake City show bores fast
Dylan and Les DJ nearly their entire show.
I guess that’s fine if the compositions are impractical to tour or the artist really wants to be in the moment. But if you’re going to DJ your show you better Beastie Boys the freaking stage. The 100 Gecs show was oddly static. They NEEDED instruments — anything — to occupy them. Dylan, in particular, was very nearly idle.
Unfortunately after a half hour when someone finally handed Laura Les a guitar, the crawling and self-absorbed solo brought the show to a crashing halt.
Laura intro’d most of the songs and a couple of these were cute: “This is a song about a frog. And a floor. The song is called ‘Frog on the Floor.'” Amusing enough.
However she was also responsible for most of the inane stage banter which consisted of at least three, “SLC, how are we doin’?!!?!!” It was real Spinal Tap energy, but not ironically.
Dreadful 100 Gecs Salt Lake City show: 4 words
Was I intensely self-aware of my age watching this all play out, behind at least three wizard-capped 14-year-olds? Yes, yes I was. But I usually am that self-conscious and I can compartmentalize with the best of them to enjoy a show.
I expected loud, dumb fun but not boredom. This night, the Gecs were dreck. I walked out after about 50 minutes.
HEADS UP NEW INFO!! Organizers have released set times for the Kilby Block Party Friday lineup. Listen to the bands’ songs — and plan your Friday wisely. Here are start times:
A few blink impressions of the Kilby Block Party Friday lineup:
My only real conflict Friday is Jean Dawson and NoSo. That’s a tough choice. It may come down to what I’m ready for at 2pm…do I need a warm up? Sample both artists below.
Ritt Momney is the only obvious tax writeoff. What did those guys do wrong to get lined up against Japanese Breakfast?! I’ve also included songs for Japanese Breakfast below.
We’re promised 90 minutes of The Yeah Yeah Yeahs. That implies current hits and plenty of back catalogue. I guess you’ve got to give the kids what they want. Again, listen to the YYY below.
HEY HEY STOP! Are you looking for the **2024** LINEUP?!! Click here for band reviews!
Here’s my plan and personal recommendation for Friday.
Friday
1:35 Julie 2:15 Jean Dawson?But NoSo is SoGood 3:00 Honestly I may take a break here 4:05 Deerhoof 5:00 Cuco 6:10 Japanese Breakfast 7:30 Frankie Cosmos 8:30 YYY
That’s my plan. But I want to give you a lot to think about here. And listen to.
The Kilby Block Party Friday lineup blasts out of the gates with the Yeah Yeah Yeahs, Japanese Breakfast and Cuco. Have a listen to the headliners + some of the supporting acts that are opening an amazing weekend of music.
Kilby Block Party Friday lineup: The headliners
One of the two biggest names to play all weekend in the Kilby Block Party lineup are the Yeah Yeah Yeahs. But they’re just a starting place in the Kilby Block Party Friday lineup. Read on to sample the YYY’s music but also some of the lesser-known bands playing on opening night!
The Yeah Yeah Yeahs
2022’s comeback kids exploded into relevance again with their single “Spitting Off the Side of the World” featuring Perfume Genius on album Cool It Down. The album appeared in many 2022 top 10 lists. Salt Lake City won’t be disappointed when they hear songs like “Fleez.”
The Yeah Yeah Yeahs – with Karen O on vocals, Nick Zinner on guitar and keyboard, and Brian Chase on drums – are known for their early art school aesthetic and post-punk energy.
Their debut album, Fever to Tell (2003), features the breakout single, “Maps,” which remains one of their biggest hits. The band’s successive albums, including Show Your Bones (2006), It’s Blitz! (2009), and Mosquito (2013), showcase the YYY’s emerging electronica and garage rock sound.
I’m excited to see the Yeah Yeah Yeahs play for the first time.
Japanese Breakfast
Michelle Zauner and Japanese Breakfast are one of those acts that I enjoy on every level…lyrical, visual and brainy…all while delivering the hooks. I also succeeded in getting my daughter, 17 at the time, to listen to 2021’s Jubilee. I got her to pay attention to “Tactics” in the car one day, and she added it to her Spotify playlist. Father of the Year!
It’s wonderful how “Tactics” unfolds like a Paul Simon song — then the chorus blossoms into something aching and completely her own:
So I had to Move a great distance from you Cross a sea, keep you from me Move a great distance from you Cross a sea, keep you from me
Michelle Zauner’s bestselling book Crying in H Mart comes out in paperback today. The memoir recalls her isolated upbringing in Oregon as a Korean-American, drifting from her heritage as she grows older, reconnecting to her mother’s values upon her death.
One of my dearest friends in high school was Korean-American. I think of her sometimes listening to songs like “Paprika” and “Kokomo, IN” and wonder what has become of her.
Look at the day-by-day breakout of the Kilby Block Party right here
Bedroom pop guy, he’s the real deal, I hope you take time to hear him during the Kilby Block Party Friday lineup. I can remember the exact place and time I was falling in love with Cuco last year. I was re-seeding grass in my backyard, about to get on a plane for a college reunion, listening to the pure pop bliss of “Sweet Dissociation.”
Cuco’s multi-lingual album Fantasy Gateway didn’t get nearly the attention it deserved in 2022. So first, buy it from Cuco’s website. Then be there Friday for one of the late afternoon Kilby Block Party set times. Be there to hear Cuco’s magic brought to life!
Deerhoof
This week, the DeerhoofMiracle-Level album drops. The San Francisco post-punk legends are nearly 30 years and 19 albums into their career. The entirety of Miracle-Level is recorded in Satomi Matsuzaki’s native Japanese language.
The band previewed Miracle-Level last fall with “My Lovely Cat” and then in January with the spiky melody experimental pop number “Sit Down Let Me Tell You a Story.”
I don’t imbed many videos — this is a website for reading and listening. But the video from a performance of “Sit Down Let Me Tell You a Story” at Tokyo’s Ebisu Garden Hall is pretty awesome.
While I’ve listened to them over the years, I’m not going to pretend to be a Deerhoof expert. But they’ve earned their status as headliners, however they’re classified in the Kilby Block Party lineup.
Just because you haven’t heard of every band in the Kilby Block Party Friday lineup doesn’t mean you should skip straight to the familiar names. In fact, the buried lead for the Kilby Court concert…it’s that you have multiple, stellar bands playing in “supporting act” slots. It’s pretty remarkable, so read on-and listen.
Let’s have a look at a few standouts.
Kilby Block Party set times: Frankie Cosmos (7:30p)
I listened to quite a bit of Inner World by Frankie Cosmos last year.
The blithe indie pop is perfect for a Saturday afternoon. Many of the songs fronted by Greta Kline are light, economical, almost twee. They’re also not afraid to turn up their amps on the 90-second blast of “Magnetic Personality.”
More typical is Kline’s introspective pop like “Empty Head” and “After Shock.”
After releasing songs for four years, NoSo released their debut full-length with last year’s Stay Proud of Me. I have an Evernote (I’m such a dork) from August of last year marking “Parasites” as one of my favorite songs of the year.
Stay Proud of Me is replete with shimmering guitars, a little bit of Roxy Music cool and Abby Hwong’s low vibrato which can’t help but evoke Stevie Nicks. The album has so many good tracks–everything is good! For this post, I’ll stick with album-opener “Parasites.”
I’ve gone down a Jean Dawson wormhole today and all I can say is, “How did I miss him last year?”
Dawson’s third album Chaos Now defies category and description, a quality in music I adore. The Mexican-American’s fierce lyrics over the trip hop, power guitar and distorted riffs may overwhelm the block party Kilby Court is planning Friday night!
I’ve listened to about half of Chaos Now, including repeating “Positive One Negative One” about six times. Make sure your neighbors are gone and blow out the windows!
I am downloading Chaos Now before May. But kids these days, they don’t always make it easy. Dawson’s website is pretty cryptic and he has no presence on Bandcamp. You can download Chaos Now from some of the larger purveyors like iTunes and Amazon Prime.
Mark these words: Dawson will upend what you expect from most of the Kilby Block Party Friday lineup.
Kilby Block Party set times: The band Julie (1:35p)
LA’s experimental youngsters Julie may be another tasty surprise in the Kilby Block Party Friday lineup. The band interchanges noise and a punishing shoegaze with complex time changes. Think Sonic Youth at 20-years-old. Julie are Alex Brady on bass and vocals, Keyan Zand on guitar and vocals and Dillon Lee on drums.
Check out “lochness” from 2021’s Pushing Daisies. Julie rocks!
Until writing this paragraph, I had never heard the impeccable harmonies of Holly Laessig and Jess Wolfe, aka Lucius who are part of the Kilby Block Party Friday lineup.
I’m now officially interested to hear them play their fourth album, Second Nature, part Donna Summer, part ABBA. Lucius also isn’t afraid to produce a dancy Americana number that wouldn’t sound out of place on stage with Tay Tay.
Besides matching outfits and hair, the calling card for Laessig and Wolfe are their harmonies. Here they show off on “Dance Around It” with support from producer Brandi Carlile and guest Sheryl Crowe.
Momma have slightly loopy asymmetrical energy a bit like The Breeders. They released a full length, Household Name, last summer…and then the hopped-up “Bang Bang” on March 1. You can’t deny that hook!
Will Westerman from Athens, Greece, made a splash with his 2020 debut Your Hero is Not Dead. His sophomore release An Inbuilt Fault comes out in May, so we will see Westerman just as he returns with another album of minimalist folk. The taste here is “Petralona.”
Kilby Block Party set times: SLC’s The Plastic Cherries (12:20p)
I ran across a new friend on the Twitter earlier this year who helped me with the local music scene. I pledged to do a better job covering the 801 this year.
The Plastic Cherries would undoubtedly be among the bands he would recommend on Salt Lake’s Uphere! Records. They credit their influences as glam, soft 70’s and shoegaze. I don’t necessarily hear the gaze but I totally dig the soft rock and DIY sound.
Look for Salt Lake’s own Plastic Cherries with one of the earliest Kilby Block Party set times, the perhaps not enviable 12:20 open. Here is “Waking Up” from 2021’s full-length Sunshine. Dig it!
Kilby Block Party set times: SLC’s Homephone (12:55p)
Another home grown favorite, Salt Lake’s Homephone were busy in 2022 releasing multiple singles ahead of full-length Melon Collie. Ysabelle Stepp and Joseph Sandholtz 70’s-infused dream pop include touching lyrics on songs like “Pistachio.”
People only kiss When their eyes are closed If they opened up What would happen, I don’t know
Berlin’s Alice Phoebe Lou sings about getting sex, having sex and making booty calls for sex.
Her songs aren’t explicit per se but…I guess…sex positive. She released her fourth album, Child’s Play, with little fanfare at the end of 2021. Since then, Alice has released just one song, “Shelter,” earlier this month.
The tracks on Child’s Play are sweet, if feckless. Here is 2021’s “Care.”
Even more bands from the Kilby Block Party Friday lineup
Okay we’ve profiled and listened to most but not all of the bands with Friday Kilby Block Party set times. God willing, and depending on the interest (share this with your friends!) I’ll offer similar rundowns for Saturday and Sunday, so keep checking back.
Here are the remaining Friday bands you’ll see at the Utah Fairgrounds on Friday, May 12:
Let’s continue this weekend’s exploration of Nordic indie pop with the February album Sata syytä aloittaa by Helsinki’s Teini-Pää. The band Teini-Pää play divine 2 minute guitar pop gems just as catchy as 2022 darlings Alvvays. Now BEFORE YOU STOP READING because the vocals aren’t sung in American, take 2:18 to see if the song “Ydintyttö” persuades you that you need to know more.
That’s one extraordinary blast of power pop right?! Whatever tongue you speak…Finnish, Swedish, Spanish…we all understand the International Language of rock. Before getting into any background, I want to be sure you’re fully on board. If not, begone!
The guitars get a little scuzzier on Teini-Pää‘s “4567.” This isn’t your mother’s Finnish bubblegum pop. Just a 3 minute blast of guitars and harmonies from an alternate indie pop universe called Northern Europe.
Band Teini-Pää hits its stride with 2nd album Sata syytä aloittaa
Like me, you probably didn’t know about this remarkable Helsinki indie pop band that is one EP and two albums into its career. Teini-Pää (“Teenage Head”) has been releasing music for about four years. Here is early single, “Lähtisitkö.” (“Would You Go”)
The quintet seems to tour between Helsinki and Turku, in far SW Finland across the Baltic from Stockholm. They have a website with fun facts about each member, including what appears to be a mutual fondness for vissy (sparkling water?), The Go-Go’s and yoga. I’ve conveniently linked an English translation of the band’s website for you here.
If you haven’t heard Denmark’s Appleseeds! what are you even doing?!
February’s Sata syytä aloittaa (“100 Hundred Reasons to Start”), published by Finland’s Soit Se Silti is a blast from start to finish. Google translates Teini-Pää’s own description of their band from its website as “puff pop.” It may just be a bad translation? The 90 seconds of “Aamulla” sounds like power pop to me!
The band Appleseeds! are a Copenhagen indie-pop duo that released the bright and delightful indie pop æblefrø one month ago. The melodies of Kasper Clemmensen and bandmate Ditte Duus are as catchy as the enchanting packaging and internal illustrations.
Duo share lead vocals on the band Appleseeds! debut
Appleseeds! started releasing songs for æblefrø last spring. Appropriately, the earliest tunes that became album closers “Someone to Talk To” and “Spinning ‘Round” featured each singer on lead vocals.
As you listen to each simple, ever-so-jangly number — most barely two minutes — you can’t help but create a column of “Kasper songs” and “Ditte songs” depending on the singer. Both have the same throaty, desultory delivery. Here is Kasper on “Hungry Mouth,” with Ditte’s backing Ahhh’s!
…and let’s show off one more with Kasper on lead, since he voices the majority of the songs. He’s also credited with all the songwriting. I love this guitar line and the pregnant pauses in “Nightmares.”
Ditte Duus the perfect complement in the band Appleseeds!
When Ditte takes the mic she reflects the same innocence and sensibility as Kasper. Breathy and light, she offers the perfect complement on tracks like “The Reach” and original single “Someone to Talk To”
Appleseeds! started as foodie band Tampopo
For the five years or so before launching the band Appleseeds! Danish* duo Kasper Clemmensen and Ditte Duus helmed Tampopo, a band conceived to write and sing mostly about food products. I’m not entirely clear why.
Multiple releases since 2017 included songs like “Pancake Tuesday,” “Swordfish! (What do You Eat?),” “Soft as a Muffin” and the catchy (heh) “Ketchup.”
To be fair, as the years went on, Tampopo appeared to write fewer songs with titles like “Milkshake Zombie” and more tracks that transitioned closer to non-food subjects and the sound Appleseeds! displays on æblefrø.
*Googles “Are people from Denmark called Danish or Dutch?”
Love yourself some Nordic pop?! Check out Finland’s Teini-Pää!
I can’t talk about the band Appleseeds! without promoting the CD illustrations that bring you to a complete stop as you leaf through the pages of æblefrø.
Each song is accompanied by its own painting by renowned Japanese artist Mamoru Yamamoto. You should really learn more about Yamamoto at the artist’s website. The tender artwork is both engrossing and also a perfect visual representation of the band Appleseeds!
As I finished writing this, it occurred to me the band Appleseeds! retained their foodie origins in their new name. Cheers to foodie and jangle pop music alike!
Weezer and Spoon (or more properly, Spoon and Weezer) announced a summer concert today at The Great Saltair. The Spoon and Weezer SLC show is on a Sunday night, August 27. It is part of what’s billed as the Weezer Indie Rock Road Trip. What a great wrap to the summer!
General lawn seats are $65… so you’re close to $90 with taxes and fees just to sit in the grass with the great unwashed. Unfortunately the next step up is a VIP ticket with a premium seat and unknown “merch” (chip clip? refrigerator magnet?). VIP tix cost close to $200 all in.
If you’re not a wild-eyed superfan, I can’t recommend the mostly vague VIP options.
I’m a little lost on better guidance for seating — I have never been to Saltair. The truth is: I didn’t know Saltair was still booking acts on the south shore of the Great Salt Lake. Some coming attractions include the Thrones of Blood US tour (March 25), Kayzo – Unleashed XL (April 7), NGHTMRE (April 21) and Seven Lions: Beyond the Veil (June 9).
Spoon and Weezer SLC concert at end of nationwide tour
From June until the middle of September, Weezer is touring with Spoon, Modest Mouse and Future Islands. I think we are just fortunate that the Western US leg of the tour in August includes this Spoon, Weezer SLC combo. Here is the current itinerary:
03-18 Tampa, FL – Innings Festival Florida
06-03 Lexington, KY – Railbird Music Festival
06-04 Huntsville, AL – The Orion Amphitheater $@
06-06 Irving, TX – The Pavilion at Toyota Music Factory $@
06-08 Austin, TX Germania Insurance Amphitheater $@
06-10 Oklahoma City, OK – Zoo Amphitheatre $@
06-11 Bonner Springs, KS – Azura Amphitheater $@
06-13 Minneapolis, MN – The Armory $@
06-14 Madison, WI – Breese Stevens Field $@
06-16 Cuyahoga Falls, OH – Blossom Music Center $@
06-17-18 Indianapolis, IN – Wonderroad Festival
06-18 Clarkston, MI – Pine Knob Music Theatre $@
06-23 Columbia, MD – Merriweather Post Pavilion &%
06-24 Charlotte, NC – PNC Music Pavilion &%
06-25 Alpharetta, GA – Ameris Bank Amphitheatre &%
06-27 Philadelphia, PA – TD Pavilion at the Mann &%
07-09 Gary, IN – Hard Rock Casino Northern Indiana – Hard Rock Live %
07-11 Pittsburgh, PA – Stage AE &%
07-13 Queens, NY – Forest Hills Stadium &%
07-28-07-30 Naeba, Japan – Fuji Rock Festival
Weezer Indie Rock Tour heads west in August
08-22 Bend, OR – Hayden Homes Amphitheater *^
08-24 Berkeley, CA – Greek Theatre *^
08-27 Magna, UT – The Great Saltair – Outdoor Pavilion *^
08-28 Greenwood Village, CO – Fiddler’s Green Amphitheatre *^
08-30 Phoenix, AZ – Arizona Financial Theatre *^
09-01 Las Vegas, NV – Zappos Theater at Planet Hollywood *^
09-02 Irvine, CA – Fivepoint Amphitheatre *^
09-03 San Diego, CA – Sycuan Stage at Gallagher Square Petco Park *^
09-17 Asbury Park, NJ – Sea.Hear.Now Festival
$ with Modest Mouse @ with Momma * with Spoon ^ with White Reaper & with Future Islands % with Joyce Manor
Get ready for the Weezer Indie Rock Roadtrip
Weezer and Spoon were both very active in 2022. Weezer released four seasonal EP’s in 2022, like the Gilmore Girls reboot. SZNZ: Spring came out in March 2022 and the subsequent three EP’s for each season by December. All of this and more at Weezerpedia, which is an actual site on the interwebs. Spoon toured on the acclaimed Lucifer on the Sofa throughout 2022, including in Salt Lake City in May.
Here’s the reveal video for the Weezer Indie Rock Roadtrip. See you at The Great Saltair!
Attention music lovers, the best possible news: The band Semiwestern is releasing a debut LP this year, with singles to come this spring!
Who is this band Semiwestern you speak of?
In November 2022, like a delicate shot across the bow, California’s redoubtable Spirit Goth Records released “Velvet Sea.” I naturally believed this was new music. It was, in fact, a remix of a song recorded by Semiwestern’s members ten years earlier as The Vliets.
Before we go any further, listen to the updated “Velvet Sea” to understand how I swooned over this atmospheric, Luna-inflected recording. It was my #1 or #2 favorite song of the entire year. Since, then, I have listened to “Velvet Sea” approximately one billion times.
I’ll be honest, there’s not a ton of information on the world wide interwebs about either The Vliets or Semiwestern. But here’s what I can tell you.
Semiwestern, formerly The Vliets, reappear a decade later
A brief history of the world. The band Semiwestern emerged from Austin’s The Vliets (pronounced VLEETS), who were active about ten years ago. The Vliets, lead by singer Ty Bohrnstedt, released The Vliets EP in 2011 and God’s Drug EP in 2012. God’s Drug included the original “Velvet Sea.”
These early EP’s by The Vliets are more traditionally alternative. Here is “Pale Solar Stream” from 2012’s God’s Drug EP. You can hear just an echo of what Ty would mix in 2022.
I was so smitten by the band Semiwestern’s remix of “Velvet Sea” that I inquired with both Spirit Goth and Semiwestern about a new album. Was I a wee bit stalker-y? Possibly, but not completely psycho.
Ty says “a full length album (is) coming. It’s finished but we have to shoot a few music videos and tie up a few loose ends before we set release dates. My best guess is we’ll start putting the singles out around April or so.”
That means we could be six weeks out from new Semiwestern material and I couldn’t be more excited. Will it be consistent with The Vliets indie-centric back catalogue? Or more of the California dream pop like “Velvet Sea?” We will find out!
One more platform for the single, here is the video for the updated “Velvet Sea.”
I hope you get to see the Kilby Court Cuco show opening the Kilby Block Party Friday lineup. He’s so good, I could have included him in my 2022 Top 20 albums. Here’s what you need to know about the bedroom pop singer Cuco + a couple of songs from 2022’s entrancing Fantasy Gateway.
Kilby Court Cuco concert a nice start to Kilby Block Party Friday lineup
The singer Cuco — he uses the handle cucopuffs on the Insta — got his pet name from his mother while growing up in Hawthorne, California. Omar Banos has written lyrics both in English and Spanish since his early releases, Wannabewithu (2016) and Songs4u (2017) as a budding songwriter and Spotify phenom. His bedroom pop full length debut was 2019’s Para Mi.
By 2022, Banos was incorporating more elaborate orchestration on Fantasy Gateway as he felt his way into new territory. You can hear why the Kilby Court Cuco appearance came together. I’m not posturing — this was a favorite album of mine last year.
The intimate “Time Machine” has such a pure singer-songwriter inside that you can’t help but fall in love with the kid.
Sing along Kilby Court Cuco show in Spanish. Singer Cuco is bilingual pop star
One of the reasons I was taken aback by Fantasy Gateway was the sophisticated lyricism you’ll hear at the Kilby Court Cuco show. Sure there are the ridic catchy samples and chorus on last April’s “Caution” … then he steps into a mix of English and Spanish on the smooth R&B-via-soft 70’s “Aura.”
Here is the Spanish verse:
Ves que me causan celos cuando te habla alguien más Nunca te quiero lejos, la distancia me hace mal Eres siempre el tema del que quiero platicar Hechamos fiesta solos, nos ponemos a bailar
…in which the singer Cuco is singing:
You see that they make me jealous when someone else talks to you I never want you away, the distance hurts me You are always the topic I want to talk about We party alone, we start to dance
I expect most of the Kilby Court Cuco show at the Kilby Block Party Friday lineup will be in English. But Utah has plenty of Spanish speakers and returned missionaries to go cukoo for cocoa puffs. I’m looking forward to hearing fully Spanish numbers from the singer Cuco, like the gorgeous “Fin Del Mundo” (“End of the World”).
Be at the Kilby Court Cuco concert. You’ll go cukoo for cocoa puffs
Final note, whether you’re a 19-year-old kid reading this on the Insta or a jaded 50-something like me listening to bedroom pop singer Cuco for the first time…get to the Kilby Block Party on Friday. I recommend Fantasy Gateway without reservation and can’t wait to see him kickstart the Kilby Block Party Friday lineup!
