FRIDAY 9.2
Lynch Mob
Little known fact: George Lynch, aka Mr. Scary, got his nickname for his guitar chops and not the frosted tips he sported with pop-metal band Dokken in their '80s heyday. In 1990, when he and singer Don Dokken couldn't stand to play together anymore, Lynch formed Lynch Mob, a band that eschewed pop harmonies and bombast for a grittier, bluesier sound that still managed to be catchy. When singer Oni Logan left after the first album (Wicked Sensation, Elektra), the band went with Robert Mason (now of Warrant) and added a bit of polish on a decent sophomore album that couldn't quite muscle up past the grungers who'd stepped in to replace the floundering hard rock/metal genre. Lynch Mob has since put out three more albums with 20 other members, including four other singers. One of those was a rap-rock album (WTF?) and an album of Dokken and early Lynch Mob covers. Thankfully, Logan returned, and the band now plays mostly tracks from Wicked Sensation along with Dokken classics and even an O'Jays cover. (Randy Harward) Liquid Joe's, 1249 E. 3300 South, 7 p.m., $20 in advance, $25 day of show, 21+, LiquidJoes.net
FRIDAY 9.2
Dixie Chicks, Vintage Trouble, Smooth Hound Smith
Once ubiquitous, the Dixie Chicks seemed to be on the wane for several years. Their last studio album, Taking the Long Way (Columbia/Open Wide) came out in 2006, the same year as the documentary Shut Up and Sing, which addressed the backlash against the trio for expressing lefty-blue views that didn't jibe with their righty-red audiences. The sour grapes peanut gallery's predictions that the band was over appeared to be coming true, despite protests from singer Natalie Maines' father (county legend Lloyd Maines), and Maines' mates Emily Robinson and Martie Maguire recording two albums without her as Court Yard Hounds. They were simply on hiatus, though, and popped up here and there for things like a tour with the Eagles, and contributions to Steve Martin and the Steep Canyon Rangers' Grammy-nominated album Rare Bird Alert. That they're currently out globetrotting on the DCX World Tour MMXVI bodes well for fans hoping to hear new music someday. (Randy Harward) Usana Amphitheatre, 5150 S. 6055 West, 7 p.m., $29-$125, Usana-Amp.com
SATURDAY 9.3
Juliette Lewis
Actor bands: Most suck, some are surprisingly good. When Juliette Lewis picked up a mic, many people seemed to want her to suck at rock 'n' roll. Maybe because, unlike many thespians with aspirations to musical fame, Lewis used the term "punk" during a time when MySpace emo kids thought it applied to them, too. So an actor, with no recording credits, calls herself the p-word? Adorable. Except this is Juliette Lewis. She's always oozed rebellion in her roles (see Natural Born Killers), and she turned out to be an animal onstage, looking like the spawn of Patti Smith and Iggy Pop. Now if someone would tell her that Scientology ain't punk at all. (Randy Harward) The Urban Lounge, 241 S. 500 East, 8 p.m., $16 in advance, $18 day of show, 21+, TheUrbanLoungeSLC.com
TUESDAY 9.6
Black Joe Lewis, Blank Range
Although Austin soul group Black Joe Lewis & the Honeybears have produced scores of songs since I first heard them, no song will ever supplant my forever fave, the first BJL&TH song I ever heard: "Bitch, I Love You," from the Black Joe Lewis & the Honeybears EP (Lost Highway, 2009). The intro comes on hard with stabby, full-band triplets, then suddenly stops, and you hear Lewis's vintage soul-shouter voice, so reminiscent of the great Otis Redding. Except unlike Otis in "Try a Little Tenderness," Lewis doesn't implore someone to "squeeze her/ don't tease her/ never leave her." Instead, the first words out of his mouth, delivered in a coarse exclamatory moan, are "Biiitch—I looove you." Nowadays, some might find that line demeaning toward women. That's not how I heard it the first, I dunno, couple-hundred times. With 13 years of marriage under my belt at the time, I felt like I already knew what Lewis was saying: Sometimes your partner is a huge pain in the ass—but damn, you looove 'em. So today, on the 20th anniversary of the day I met my wife, I revisited the song, and actually paid attention to the lyrics. Turns out that the ache in Lewis' voice is from a cuckolding, and he's talkin' about showing his two-timing woman the back of his hand. There's no excuse for hitting a woman. Except maybe when she catches a chicken leg at a Southern Culture on the Skids show, takes a bite, and passes it to someone else. Sigh. I can't believe we made it 20 years. Bitch, I love you. (RH) The State Room, 638 S. State, 8 p.m., $22, TheStateRoomSLC.com
WEDNESDAY 9.7
Monolord, Beastmaker, Sweat Lodge, Invdrs
Monolord, why would you want to call your band Monolord? As with many stoner/doom bands, this Swedish troika references their larger-than-life (monolithic, baby!) sound, which could easily come from a powerful deity, copping a horse stance atop the fabled Rock Mountain, while raising a Les Paul to his gods. The band's new 10-inch EP Lord of Suffering/Die in Haze (Riding Easy) is surprisingly short at 13 minutes, but it's packed with epic, fuzzy riffs and vocals that sound like they're coming from the bowels of the aforementioned mount. They're joined by Fresno, Calif., threesome Beastmaker, Austin hard-rockers Sweat Lodge and local face-melting doom-sludge-crust band, Invdrs. (RH) Metro Bar, 615 W. 100 South, 8 p.m., $8 in advance, $10 day of show, 21+, JRCSLC.com
Major Tom & the Moonboys (David Bowie tribute)
A David Bowie tribute in Sugar House's Fairmont Park? During a farmers market? It sounds a bit silly, in spite of the hipster neighborhood and event—but what would you rather listen to while picking out produce? Elevator music? That ridiculous, ubiquitous "Safe and Sound" song? I'd much rather hear Tom Larsen and his band doing a set of Bowie's deep cuts, like "Janine," "Black Country Rock" and "Speed of Life." Why deep cuts, when most tributes focus on hits? "I really designed the band for the deeper Bowie fan, like me," says "Major" Tom Larsen via email. "They know and love the rarely played songs." Larsen sees MT&TM more as a cover band than a tribute. "I'm interested in playing Bowie's best music, which wasn't necessarily only the hits." Larsen does perform standards like "Fame," "Heroes" and even an unusual extended version of "Let's Dance" from Live at the BBC (2000). More importantly, he makes an impressive Thin White Duke, nailing the look and the sound. (RH) Sugar House Farmers Market, Fairmont Park, 1040 E. Sugarmont Drive, 5-8 p.m., free, all ages, MajorTomAndTheMoonboys.com
The Minders, Artificial Flower Company, '90s Television
Portland band The Minders plays mildly psychedelic pop tunes like those of the original British Invasion during the '60s. Co-founded as a recording project by Martyn Leaper and Robert Schneider, they were one of the original Elephant 6 collective bands, formed around Schneider's Elephant 6 label. (Schneider, who fronts The Apples in Stereo, still produces the band.) Their newest, Into the River (Space Cassette), comes after an eight-year absence. British-born singer-guitarist Martyn Leaper seems the stereotypical pasty-faced lad—a bit like a cross between Philip Seymour Hoffman in The Big Lebowski and Bubbles from Trailer Park Boys, but a tad more erudite, as befitting the band's name, and their psych-light songs. Likeminded locals Artificial Flower Company and '90s Television join in the fun. (Brian Staker) Kilby Court, 741 S. 330 West, 7 p.m., $10 in advance, $12 day of show, all ages, KilbyCourt.com
