FRIDAY NOV. 29
Plaidapalooza
This Black Friday, after you’re done hiding out at home to avoid all the maniacs who just have to get that $100 flat-screen TV, head out to the second-annual “lumberjack cocktail party” Plaidapalooza. Featuring local bands Vincent Draper & the Dirty Thirty, Hectic Hobo, Shadow Puppet and Matthew & the Hope, this rootsy musical rumpus is a welcome-home party for singer-songwriter Charles Ellsworth, who has been on the road for the past few months and will also perform tonight. All the band members will be dressed to the nines in their finest flannel, and audience members are encouraged to do the same. So, dig out that flannel shirt (or dress, or pants, or kilt), drink some whiskey and rock out like a true lumberjack. (Kolbie Stonehocker) Bar Deluxe, 666 S. State, 8 p.m., $6 in advance, $8 day of show, BarDeluxeSLC.com
Finntroll
If there were a bar located deep underground, where tired trolls could go to hang out and enjoy a barrel of grog after a long day of eating elves, villagers and cattle, Finntroll would be the house band. This Helsinki seven-piece’s unique sound is a blend of black metal and a genre of Finnish folk music called humppa (kind of like polka), with growling vocals, riff-y guitars and, weirdly, lots of banjo, horns and organ. It’s heavy but fun; a little ridiculous but catchy—oh, and all the lyrics are in Swedish. In an interview with MetalUnderground.com, vocalist Mathias LillmÃ¥ns (aka Vreth), says Finntroll’s latest full-length album, Blodsvept (English = “Shrouded in Blood”)—released in March—is about “the attraction between humans and nature.” Check out “Ett Folk Förbannat”; I don’t have the foggiest idea what LillmÃ¥ns is saying, but the beat is killer. Blackguard and Metsatoll will start things off. (Kolbie Stonehocker) In the Venue, 219 S. 600 West, 7 p.m., $20 in advance, $22 day of show, InTheVenueSLC.com
Cliffs
Listening to the latest album from local indie-psych five-piece Cliffs, Pets in the City, is like taking a detour on the way home on a whim, and experiencing a new part of the town you’ve lived in for years. The 10-track record’s nostalgic ’60s-’70s vibe provides a familiar starting point, but then interesting twists and turns of dreamy vocals, synths and surf-y guitar keep things fresh and colorful. The mellow mood on “Live Again” would make a soothing soundtrack to a lazy afternoon, while “Four Seasons” has a restless energy to it, with a jangly, percussion-driven chorus. Raccoon Dog and Cody Robinson are also on the bill. (Kolbie Stonehocker) Kilby Court, 741 S. Kilby Court (330 West), 8 p.m., $6, KilbyCourt.com
Samothrace
Seattle doom-blues band Samothrace, named after a Greek island known as the Sanctuary of the Great Gods (heavy, right?), have two speeds: slow, and wading-through-burning-tar-in-hell slow. They also have little regard for the constraints of a traditional “rock” song or smoke breaks; their latest album, 2012’s Reverence to Stone (20 Buck Spin), consists solely of the 14-minute “When We Emerged” and the 20-minute “A Horse of Our Own,” the latter being a hypnotic, twisting epic of spiraling guitar leads, tortured howls and deceptively pretty interludes into the next sonic bludgeoning. Maybe bring two sets of earplugs. Equally dramatic local mood-metallers SubRosa and Moon of Delirium open. (Bill Frost) Burt’s Tiki Lounge, 726 S. State, 9 p.m., $7
SATURDAY NOV. 30
Brogan Kelby
Local pop-rock singer Brogan Kelby wasted no time in beginning his musical career. He started writing music when he was 11, and had his first album out by the time he was 17. Kelby has played with bands such as Switchfoot, and filled in for the lead singer of Panic! at the Disco at the X96 Big Ass Show in 2011. Now 19, he has released a new EP called Breathe in Color, which features songs he wrote, recorded and produced entirely on his own, as well as his smooth, crooning voice. Between Avenues and Red Yeti will also perform. (Laurie Reiner) Kilby Court, 741 S. Kilby Court (330 West), 7 p.m., $6, KilbyCourt.com
TUESDAY DEC. 3
Kopecky Family Band
This Nashville folk-rock/chamber-pop band isn’t a family in the traditional sense of siblings, or parents and their children—no blood ties here. Instead, as their online bio says, the six musicians’ bond has been forged by touring and writing music together since 2007. Kopecky Family Band’s new album, Kids Raising Kids, released in May, is a jaw-dropper, with lots of intricate little percussion tricks, lovely boy/girl harmonies between founding members Kelsey Kopecky and Gabriel Simon, and lush instrumentation that never feels overblown. Check out the wild “My Way,” with a nifty horn line and Simon yelling/singing “Why can’t you see my way?”, the impossibly catchy “Heartbeat” and the slightly twangy “Wandering Eyes.” Lissie will also perform. (Kolbie Stonehocker) The Urban Lounge, 241 S. 500 East, 8 p.m., $18 in advance, $20 day of show, TheUrbanLoungeSLC.com
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