Thursday 8.30
KALAI
Everyone’s a comedian and Kalai is no exception. Offstage, the Hawaiian-born, Alaska-bred singer/songwriter’s playful candor is best described as Mitch Hedberg meets your corny uncle Ed. Strapped with his trusty acoustic guitar, he transforms into an old-soul folk artist with a haunting growl and swift fingers tapping out painful, angelic tones that hint at more than a few hard times in the Yukon wilderness. Kalai’s DIY promotional efforts have landed him great gigs with Tim Reynolds, for one, and bizarre segments on the celebrity gossip TV show Extra in which his wise mind and quick wit lead the vapid host to inquire mostly about the congenital growth on his “mojo” hand: “Now, all this hand needs is a leg up!” Obviously, this promising artist deserves more. Scera Outdoor Amphitheatre, 699 S. State, Orem, 8 p.m. All-ages. Tickets: Scera.org
• Also Thursday: Joss Stone (Deer Valley Resort); Science Fiction Theater (Kilby Court); Skeletonwitch (Broken Record); Voodoo Organist (Burt’s Tiki Lounge)
Friday 8.31
SLEEPYTIME GORILLA MUSEUM
Ever wonder what happened to those kids from high school who wore capes and spoke their own language, occasionally breaking into arias or quoting Edgar Allen Poe in the locker room? They didn’t show for graduation—hopped a train instead and wound up living in a commune with self-proclaimed freaks and faeries. Eventually, they ditched the evil ringmaster and started Sleepytime Gorilla Museum, a music collective whose live shows are breathtaking and a wee bit terrifying to the faint of heart. Their latest release In Glorious Times is a hodgepodge of nouveau art-metal perfect for the next Rob Zombie horror film. The Urban Lounge, 241 S. 500 East, 10 p.m. Tickets: 24Tix.com
• Also Friday: Get Set Go (Kilby Court); Michael Hurley, Pink Nasty (Burt’s Tiki Lounge—see Music, p. 52); Vile Blue Shades (Monks); Natural Roots (Harry O’s, Park City); Counterfeit Digits, Egan’s Theory (Velour, Provo); Voodoo Organist (Brewskis, Ogden)
Saturday 9.1
MINDSTATE CD RELEASE
Who needs press when you’ve got paper and Xerox? Well, for those who ignore lampposts and bulletin boards, it can’t hurt to send a shout out to City Weekly. No, we’re not bitter. We just have to wait like the rest of ya’ll to snag a copy of Mindstate’s new album Call the Cops, the product of sweat, tears and “sloppy-drunk freestyle sessions.” Judging by the one track posted on MySpace, the local hip-hop duo are “Back to Work,” with emcee Dusk One spitting gravely, vehement directives and suggestions while DJ Honna lays it on thick and lo-fi. Come on down tonight to hear what else Mindstate has up their fat laces. The Urban Lounge, 241 S. 500 East, 10 p.m. Tickets: 24Tix.com
• Also Saturday: Fixed Gears Festival: Ben Kweller, P.O.S. (In the Venue—see Music, p. 51); PCTV 20th Anniversary w/ Salty Rootz, Medicine Circus (The Canyons); Insatiable, School of Rock (Pioneer Park); Kill Hannah (Avalon Theater); Jeremiah Maxey (Pat’s BBQ); Joshua James (Kilby Court); Neon Trees, Vol Suetra (Velour, Provo)
Sunday 9.2
LOS TIGRES DEL NORTE
For some, the sounds of traditional Mexican pop-ballads are somewhere near polka on the familiarity index. It helps, of course, to understand the words accompanying pulsating accordion and snare drums bouncing along at wanderlust pace. Grammy-award winners Los Tigres del Norte help further the dream of incorporating Latin rhythms in America’s collective consciousness with Spanish-language songs about immigrant rights, outlaws and, of course, love. They even penned a track mocking Mexico Presidente Vicente Fox. All that without an ounce of slick packaging or a saccharine pop diva at the helm. No wonder Norte gains comparisons to Dylan who is often just as difficult to understand on first listen but always worth a translation. The E Center, 3200 S. Decker Lake Drive, 6:30 p.m. All-ages. Tickets: SmithsTix.com
• Also Sunday: Doin’ It at the Park (Liberty Park); That 1 Guy (Urban Lounge)
Wednesday 9.5
Tenacious D might have produced a tribute to the greatest song in the world, but Dirty Projectors take the concept of venerating another artist’s work one step farther with Rise Above, a revisionary work that slices and dices Black Flag’s Damaged with Dave Longstreth’s one-pill-makes-you-larger aesthetic. A criminal genius composer, Longstreth arranged the forthcoming album in a fashion not unlike his group’s typical orchestral mindfucks. With Zappa and Wagner aplomb, he arranges woodwinds, soprano and alto vocals, drums, synth, sax and whatever else happens to pop up as pertinent to the choir singing punk anthems from memory! Hope they didn’t have to many TV parties. If you thought “Paul is dead” was creepy, get a load of this. Kilby Court, 741 S. 330 West, 7 p.m. All-ages. Tickets: 24Tix.com (with Yacht)
Coming Up
Snoop Dogg (The Depot, Sept. 6); Big John Bates & The Voodoo Dollz (Burt’s Tiki Lounge, Sept. 7); Dub Shack (Suede, Sept. 7); DJ Vice (The Hotel/Elevate, Sept. 7); Weird Al Yankovic (Utah State Fair, Sept. 7); VHS or Beta (Urban Lounge, Sept. 8); Dokken (Suede, Sept. 8); David Allen Coe (Suede, Sept. 10); Modest Mouse, Rilo Kiley (McKay Events Center, Sept. 10); Uncle Kracker, Grand Funk Railroad (Utah State Fair, Sept. 11); Black Rebel Motorcycle Club (In the Venue, Sept. 13); SheDaisy (Utah State Fair, Sept. 13); Shooter Jennings (The Depot, Sept. 14); Helmet (Avalon Theater, Sept. 19); Gore Gore Girls (Burt’s Tiki Lounge, Sept. 22); The Donnas (Avalon Theater, Sept. 24); The White Stripes (E Center, Sept. 29)
