The Medic Droid (Club NVO, Logan); All Systems Fail, Skint, Fuck the Informer (Burt’s Tiki Lounge); Heathen Ass Worship, Run Like the Wolves (Urban Lounge); Fabuloso (Bar Deluxe)
Friday 12.7
FLOGGING MOLLY
Producing a cop drama set in Boston, New York or Baltimore? Better call the Pogues—and Flogging Molly. Both bands produce the sort of hard-drinking, fist-pumping tunes that elevate an OK onscreen bar fight to a Fuckin’ A style of brawl. It’s not just nasty—it’s real. Hardcore followers describe Flogging Molly shows as spiritual awakenings, and some of its members think their albums deserve to be stocked in record-store soul sections. Arguably, they just easily belong under traditional Irish and punk with a disclaimer: mind your manners. Flogging Molly might inspire fights, but only for the right reasons. Try not to mess with anyone’s blood relative, and you’ll be just fine. In the Venue, 579 W. 200 South, 6 p.m. All-ages. Tickets: 24Tix.com
IRON & WINE, ARTHUR & YU
It seems more than a little of Calexico’s influence rubbed off on Iron & Wine’s Sam Beam after the two artists collaborated on 2005’s stunning In the Reigns. Previously a master of quiet, understated arrangements, Beam produced his latest release The Shepherd’s Dog with a new direction in mind. He fleshed out hushed vocals with a boatload of instruments (at least, a boatload compared to his usual acoustic guitar) and delicately placed them atop one another for one tremendous sonic hoagie—a solid treat with tasty sides of sitar and African blues. Arthur & Yu (see Music) prefer to train their sights on ‘60s-era folk-rock. Their new album In Camera glistens with hazy, day-dreamy melodies, male-female harmonies and an ever-present tambourine. It’s magical, but just hallucinatory enough to avoid cloying sentimentality. Oh, word to the wise—be on the lookout for a possible venue change. Seems odd to host an intimate show in such a cavernous, ice-encrusted landmark. Great Saltair, 12408 W. Salt Air Dr., 7 p.m. All-ages. Tickets: SmithsTix.com
• Also Friday: Vampire Weekend (Kilby Court—see Music); I Have Eyes Set to Kill (Addicted Cafe); The Wolfs (Broken Record); The Blakes, Monorchist (Burt’s Tiki Lounge); 25 Ta Life (Bar Deluxe); Diecast, Mower (Club Vegas); Matt Lewis Band (Huka Bar & Grill); Legendary Porch Pounders (Pat’s BBQ); DJ Irene (The Hotel); Starmy (Brewskis, Ogden); As Blood Runs Black (Club NVO, Logan)
Saturday 12.8
REVIDEOLIZED CD RELEASE
If popular wisdom is right—if we really are our own worst critics—then Revideolized has nothing to worry about. The local artist known as The Rose Phantom is openly proud of his third full-length release Look-In with which he broke all the self-imposed rules behind previous recordings. His confidence is borderline arrogant, but perhaps Look-In’s epic dark-wave instrumentals owe their strength to Phantom’s ballsy promotional techniques. And you can’t deny he’s giving it his all. At 23, Phantom has three DIY albums under his belt and a slew of ambitious videos that well match his moody achievements. Check out the Look-In listening party tonight to see if he lives up to his hype. Area 51, 451 S. 400 West, 9 p.m. Info: 534-0819
DEVIL DOLL
Colleen Duffy is not simply a rockabilly performer. The artist known as Devil Doll can certainly throw down to the speedy slap of a stand-up bass, but she just as often conjures sultry ’40s-era nightclub divas and even a little no-fuss Nashville soul. Strong, smart, classy and complicated, Duffy frequently shifts gears on her latest release The Return of Eve, first raising hell, then cooing softly (“Earth Angel”-style), before returning on the next track to rail against less-respectable women—“Stay away from my man!” She also has some choice words about God, St. Patrick and gypsy bitches. You never know what to expect from Devil Doll, except that tonight will be anything but boring. Bar Deluxe, 666 S. State, 10 p.m. Info: 521-5255
• Also Saturday: Motion City Soundtrack (In the Venue); Kottonmouth Kings (Great Saltair); The Stove, Miss Omega, SamEyeAm (Orange); Mark Wursten (Addicted Cafe); Dimebag Darrell Memorial Show (Club Vegas); Band of Annuals (Urban Lounge); A Wilhelm Scream (Burt’s Tiki Lounge); Jake Dreier (Brewskis, Ogden); Jay Nash (Celsius Lounge, Park City)
Sunday 12.9
GRAVEROCKIN: GOTHBILLY JAMBOREE
For those who watched John Waters’ Cry Baby with a pang of envy, fear not. There’s a real-life scene out there that approximates the spirit of good ol’ Turkey Point—a movement that encourages wild ones to pull up their skirts and shake a leg to the throbbing beat of a stand-up bass. Rockabilly, in all its various psycho, goth and hill prefixes, is the ideal antidote to whichever square-peg existence has you down. Tonight, local rabble-rousers Spooky DeVille and The Hellbound Saints team up with new-wave-goth cabaret artists Domiana for a true barnstormer. DJs Evil K and Benom will also be on hand along with alternative-burlesque troupe Ghoul Go Girls. Scrapes welcome! Area 51, 451 S. 400 West, 7 p.m. Info: RisingMoonProductions.net
Monday 12.10
KATIA MORAES & SAMBAGURU
For some reason, whenever I think of Brazil, I think of Jack Kerouac’s line about his favorite kind of people—the mad ones who burn like fabulous Roman candles, living each day like it’s their last. The 2002 film City of God helped hammer home this notion of extremes with its based-on-true-violence in Rio de Janeiro’s crowded slums. Nothing like a gun-toting toddler to help convey rock bottom. On the flip side, artists like Katia Moraes & Sambaguru display a voracious and infectious appetite for universal pleasures, namely lively dance and music with a heavy percussive edge. The six-piece, Los Angeles-based Brazilian band weaves together elements of jazz, bossa nova, afro-beat and Latin rhythms that draw on each members’ diverse backgrounds. Moraes has performed with Sergio Mendes and Rita Lee, among others, while bassist Hussain Jiffry got his start as a youth in Sri Lanka. Sheraton City Center, 150 W. 500 South, 7:30 p.m. All-ages. Tickets: 278-0411
Tuesday 12.11
Evil Beaver, Dacho (Burt’s Tiki Lounge), BB Blues (Zanzibar)
Wednesday 12.12
Amon Aftermath, Decapitated (Avalon); Colour Revolt (Kilby Court); Will Hoge, Chris Merritt (Burt’s Tiki Lounge); SLAJO (Urban Lounge), Jesse Dayton (Bar Deluxe)
Coming Up
Otep (Avalon, Dec. 13); Killswitch Engage (Great Saltair, Dec. 13); Agent Orange (Burt’s Tiki Lounge, Dec. 14); The Supersuckers (Club Vegas, Dec. 14); Eyedea & Abilities (In the Venue, Dec. 14); Montell Jordan (Teazers, Dec. 15); Broke City (Avalon, Dec. 15); Not Quite Silent Night 3 (In the Venue, Dec. 15); X96 Xmas Show: Shiny Toy Guns (Great Saltair, Dec, 18); Colbie Callait (In the Venue, Dec. 19); Oh Wild Birds (Urban Lounge, Dec. 19); Jerry Joseph (Bar Deluxe, Dec. 21); Super Diamond (The Depot, Dec. 29)
