One facet of music blogs that I’ve always admired is the community aspect in regards to highlighting the best of what a city has to offer. It’s something that I always wanted to support and be a part of, but never truly experienced due to living in a much smaller town. Though, I was somewhat nearby the Atlanta area, I was still only on the fringes of that community.

Now, living here in Salt Lake City, albeit only a few months, I had an idea in early December to gather as many lists as possible from the many people involved with the music scene here — ranging from bands, venues, stores, radio, etc.

At first, it didn’t look like it would come to fruition due the fact that I knew absolutely no one here in SLC. No contacts, connections, zero, zilch. In fact, all of the heavy-lifting and thanks is due to the help of Anna Brozek, who is co-owner of the lovely record store Slowtrain. She took the time out to email some folks, and surprisingly enough, got a few replies back that didn’t involve “Who the fuck is this Yellow Stereo guy?” or anything of the sort.

The amount of lists is rather short, but for what it’s worth, it’s still a great starting point for something we can add to next year, or the year after. Thanks to everyone who submitted their lists and hopefully everyone who reads this realizes that Salt Lake City has great taste in music!

Who: Vanessa Wardy
What do you do: Slowtrain manager

1. Girls, Album [mp3]
2. Devendra Banhart, What Will We Be
3. The xx, XX [mp3]
4. St. Vincent, Actor [mp3]
5. Grizzly Bear, Veckatimest [mp3]
6. Bill Callahan, Sometimes I Wish We Were An Eagle
7. Various Artists, Dark Was The Night [mp3]
8. Pink Mountaintops, Outside Love
9. The Dutchess and The Duke, Sunrise/Sunset
10. Elvis Perkins in Dearland, Elvis Perkins in Dearland

Who: Chris Brozek
What do you do: Co-owner of Slowtrain

1. Davis Williams, Western Interior Seaway
2. Laura Gibson, Beasts of Seasons
3. Elvis Perkins in Dearland, Elvis Perkins in Dearland
4. Cotton Jones, Paranoid Cocoon
5. Cass McCombs, Catacombs
6. Grizzly Bear, Veckatimest [mp3]
7. Girls, Album [mp3]
8. Pink Mountaintops, Outside Love
9. The Decemberists, The Hazards of Love
10. Norfolk & Western, Dinero Servero

Who: Anna Brozek
What do you do: Co-Owner of Slowtrain

1. Cass McCombs, Catacombs
2. David Williams, Western Interior Seaway
3. Cotton Jones, Paranoid Cocoon
4. Laura Gibson, Beasts of Seasons
5. Here We Go Magic, Here We Go Magic
6. The Decemberists, The Hazards of Love
7. Joshua James, Build Me This
8. Wye Oak, The Knot
9. Shelley Short, A Cave A Canoo
10. Alexis Gideon, Video Musics

Who: Grant Ruby
What do you do: Music Director/Marketing Director/Afternoon Jock at 101.9 The End [blog]

1. Florence + the Machine, Lungs [mp3]
2. Them Crooked Vultures, Them Crooked Vultures
3. Death Cab For Cutie, The Open Door EP
4. Silversun Pickups, Swoon
5. Passion Pit, Manners
6. NOFX, Coaster
7. White Rabbits, It’s Frightening
8. Cage the Elephant, Cage the Elephant
9. The Dead Weather, Horehound
10. Muse, The Resistance

Who: Joshua James
What do you do: Singer/songwriter, also runs North Platte Records

1. Phosphorescent, To Willie
2. Dan Auerbach, Keep It Hid
3. Bonnie Prince Billy, Beware
4. Grizzly Bear, Veckatimest [mp3]
5. Miniature Tigers, Tell It To The Volcano
6. Various Artists, Dark Was The Night [mp3]
7. Vetiver, Tight Knit
8. Mountain Goats, The Life of the World To Come
9. Cass McCombs, Catacombs
10. Desert Noises, Desert Noises

Who: Jamie Gadette
What do you do: Music editor for Salt Lake City Weekly and weekday morning host at KRCL 90.9 FM

Lightning Dust, Infinite Light
Hopewell, Good Good Desperation
Alexis Gideon, Video Musics
Mayer Hawthorne, A Strange Arrangement
Leslie and the Badgers, Roomful of Smoke
Dan Auerbach, Keep It Hid
Devendra Banhart, What Will We Be
The xx, XX [mp3]
Sonic Youth, The Eternal
Pink Mountaintops, Outside Love

Here’s something for the local folks (it sounds so nice to actually say that now) as White Hinterland (chanteuse Casey Dienel from Portland, OR) will be making her way into town Saturday night; apparently, with a brand new batch of songs!

Things kick off at 8 pm over at Slowtrain; a free, all-ages show — meaning no excuses for not showing up!  Hoping to possibly meet some of our readers, so definitely try to make it out tomorrow night.  Should be a good time.

MP3: White Hinterland :: “Chant de Grillon”
MP3: White Hinterland :: “Dreaming of the Plum Trees”

Bonus:
Here’s another track from her new tour-exclusive EP, Fresh From the Garden. A cover of Justin Timberlake’s “My Love” [via GvB]

MP3: White Hinterland :: “My Love”

After a bit of a hiatus due to a family emergency, I can now comfortably say that I am 100% back and ready to kick things into high gear here over at The Yellow Stereo.  Another announcement that has been in the making for a couple of months now, is that I am now living here in Salt Lake City, Utah.  After spending my entire life in the south, a time for change was needed and this opportunity opens tons of new possibilities in regards to this blog.  Hopefully, it means more of a focus on what seems to be a thriving music scene here, but still keeping things as they’ve always been for our regular readers.

To kick things off, one of my favorite bands right now, The Pains of Being Pure at Heart, came into town last night along with Cymbals Eat Guitars and The Depreciation Guild, both of whom have been mentioned here on the blog at some point.  It was a night of firsts, as it was my first show in SLC at the lovely Kilby Court and the first time being in Utah for all three bands.  The venue reminded me a lot of the Drunken Unicorn in Atlanta, being very small (it’s basically a large garage) with a very long history of bringing great bands to the area. The crowd was not as large as one would hope, though, there were quite a bit of options that night with Yeah Yeah Yeahs and Wavves both playing at other venues.

Cymbals Eat Guitars kicked things off first, and while I’m not as familiar with them as the other writers here on TYS, but the band was very intense and incredibly loud.  Definitely provided a good example of why one should bring earplugs to a concert, because as soon as their set ended, a ringing in my left ear continued for the entire duration of the night.  To be honest, they seemed like the odd band out that night as their music is almost the exact opposite from the other two bands on the bill.  Despite all of this, I still enjoyed their set.

The Depreciation Guild took the stage next, and while lead vocalist Kurt Feldman (also Pains’ drummer) mentioned that this was there first real tour, the trio performed like seasoned veterans.  In fact, I will go ahead and say they were the surprise of the night for me with their shoegaze/electronica sound.  Performing in near complete darkness (the venue is pretty dark regardless as evident from my photos) except for a rear-projection backdrop that showcased a mix of different colors and shapes that seemed to vibe perfectly with the music being played.  While the band’s use of 8-bit sounds are very much at the forefront on the studio recordings, in a live setting a majority of it seemed to be drowned out by the distorted guitars, which made them a completely different sounding band for me.

In Her Gentle Jaws [download]:
MP3: The Depreciation Guild :: “Darklooming”
MP3: The Depreciation Guild :: “Butterfly Kisses”

I couldn’t help but be excited to see The Pains of Being Pure at Heart perform again, as I had only seen a few short sets while I was in Austin for SXSW.  It was great to talk to Kip again and hear about their plan to see Titus Andronicus immediately after in nearby Provo, which I would’ve loved to have gone to as well, though I didn’t have a vehicle to drive.  Once the band took the stage, it’s just clearly evident that the band just loves to play music.  They may not be the most enthusiastic band to ever take the stage, but it doesn’t even matter as the songs speak for themselves.  Playing many songs off their excellent debut, they also played quite a few new tracks off their forthcoming EP Higher Than The Stars, including the song “103″ as Kip jokingly compared it to “103 you probably can’t do in Utah.”  Their set was a bit quick, with almost no break in between a number of songs, as I suspect that they were trying make it in time to see the aformentioned Titus Andronicus, but who knows.  Still, it was great to see them once again, as they seem to continue to  improve by leaps and bounds throughout out this extended tour.

MP3: The Pains of Being Pure at Heart :: “Everything With You”
MP3: The Pains of Being Pure at Heart :: “Young Adult Friction”
video: “Everything With You”
video: “Young Adult Friction”

I also have a short video I recorded of Pains performing “Higher Than The Stars” which kind of ends abruptly as my memory card ran out of space.  You can watch it below.

Just a heads up to anyone around the Auburn area (that counts you Atlanta and Athens readers), as Atlanta five-piece Deerhunter are set to perform here in town tomorrow night at 9pm at Ford Ct.  This is actually sort of a big deal as bands like this never come around to this neck of the woods; this fact I can certainly attest to.

It’ll be $10 at the door (I think) and as far as directions are concerned, I couldn’t really tell you as the venue’s (it’s actually a basement) myspace page is devoid of any useful information like that.  Just hit me up in an email or twitter, and I’ll try to get you some solid directions myself if you’re interested in attending.  Or if anyone from the Auburn area who reads this would like to help with this, please reply in the comments.

I’m sure after the recent success of their recent album Microcastle, that you’ll probably won’t be able to see them in such a small venue like this for quite some time.  For a little taste of what’s in store, here’s a video of the band performing live at this year’s Noise Pop Festival.  Do say hello if you’re gonna be there!

MP3: Deerhunter :: “Agoraphobia”
MP3: Deerhunter :: “Nothing Ever Happened”

You know those band names that you hear thrown around occasionally but never get around to listening to? That’s kind of how I feel about Robbers on High Street. Heard the name…never paid much attention. However, my favorite way to find out about new bands is to see them live (so expect to hear much more from me about The Dodos…because they are fantastic live), and the best incentive to see a live band is a recommendation from someone whose taste I trust. Fellow DCist/Information Leafblower mastermind Kyle Gustafson is a fan…and is bringing these guys to DC’s Rock and Roll Hotel. First time I met Kyle he was wearing a Spoon t-shirt and the song construction and less is more aesthetic of Robbers isn’t unlike Austin’s fab foursome. The vocals sound more Arctic Monkeys than they do Britt Daniel and at first I was surprised to hear that these guys weren’t from the UK (they’re from New York.) So, if you’re in DC and are planning on coming to the show…I’ll be there around 8pm. Come say hi.

MP3: Robbers on High Street :: “Married Young”

I’ll be hopping down to Austin in less than a week for my first SXSW experience and I couldn’t be more excited. I’ve done three years of CMJ but this will be, ya know, warm. I’ll be spending part of the weekend trying to figure out what parties I can get into (I don’t have a badge or a wristband) and who I want to see and while I have a feeling that at some point I’ll just say “fuck it, I’m just gonna go with the flow” I know where I’ll be on Thursday afternoon.

One of the many sweet parties is one I helped organize called DC Does TX. It’s at Cream Vintage, a short cab ride away from the 6th Street insanity at 2532 Guadalupe Street and it’s being presented by the Digital Freedom Campaign and Brightest Young Things. It starts at noon and will be going on until roughly 8pm but my advice is to come early and stay late and if you want to be included in the giveaway raffle – to email nancy@digitalfreedom.org. Below I’ve got a sample of some of the bands that will be playing there, and a link to Samantha Murphy’s podcast since my CD drive is dying on this computer (hence why I’ve had to go to Pasta Primavera for some of these tracks instead of uploading my own copies. Thanks, guys.)

Now I need to go pack since I’m spending some time in Atlanta beforehand and – uh – trying to figure out where I’m staying in Austin. Yeah – my whole place to stay situation has fallen through so Austin readers: if you have ANY ideas for a relatively cheap place that I can lay my towel on short notice, please either leave it in the comments section or send it to my email address (which you can find in the contact section). Enjoy the tunes.

Kings and Aces (live) – These United States

Working Class Hero – Exit Clov

Under My Skin – Jukebox the Ghost

Kill the Rich Boys II – Pash

Need Your Needs – Georgie James

Planes Like Vultures – Le Loup

Man of the People – Middle Distance Runner

Samantha Murphy

The Bottletree has a great lineup of shows this week, including Band of Horses (Wed. – sold out) and The Fiery Furnaces on Thursday (might make it out to this myself). Tickets for each night are available at the The Bottletree website and locally in Birmingham at Laser’s Edge in Homewood, Charlemagne Records in Five Points, and A & A Music in Trussville.

2/5 Kevin Devine + The Jealous Girlfriends + David Lindley (of Starlight Mints)
2/6 Band of Horses + Cass McCombs (sold  out)
2/7 The Fiery Furnaces + Lonesome Spirit Device

“Just Stay” :: Kevin Devine

“Something In The Water” :: The Jealous Girlfriends

“Is There A Ghost” :: Band of Horses

“That’s That” :: Cass McCombs

“My Egyptian Grammar” :: The Fiery Furnaces

2007 is dwindling down and we’re pretty much in the dead season as far as new releases, but that doesn’t mean there can’t be new discoveries. At some point in the middle of my terrible, horrible, no good, very bad week I picked up the self-titled EP from the local boys in Jukebox the Ghost probably because a) it was $5 and b) I’d enjoyed their spirited live performance: complete with a cover from Tim Burton’s The Nightmare Before Christmas. It ended up being a very potent salve.

The two bands that come to mind when describing Jukebox the Ghost are Queen (mostly on account of Ben Thornewill’s vocal range) and Ben Folds Five (mostly on account of Ben Thornewill’s skill on the piano.) The aforementioned are two bands that I like well enough but don’t necessarily listen to all that often so I didn’t really expect to like this trio but so much. Now I can’t get “Victoria” or “Good Day” out of my head and I’m now VERY excited for their CD release party next month. Also, I may be hearing things but during some of the trills, Thornewill even sounds a little bit like The Rapture’s Luke Jenner, minus some of the screechiness.

Jukebox the Ghost – Good Day

Yes, you heard me right – we have some decent shows here in Auburn this week at both the Olde Auburn Ale House with Brooke Waggoner and The Winter Sounds on the 11th and Roosters with Misfortune500 on the 12th. It would be great if people showed up in support, because this town needs great live music. It’s something that Auburn’s been lacking for many years now. I’ll definitely be at both of these shows, so feel free to say hello to the lone asian with the Braves hat. Please come and show your support!

Olde Auburn Ale House | October 11th

Brooke Waggoner | myspace

“Hush If You Must” | Brooke Waggoner

I’ve posted previously about this talented pianist/singer-songwriter and how I was completely smitten after hearing just one song off her recently released EP. Really looking forward to seeing her perform.

The Winter Sounds | myspace | website

“Windy City Nights” | The Winter Sounds

“You Can’t Give Up” | The Winter Sounds

Found out this Athens based indie-pop quintet were on the same bill only a few weeks ago, and I haven’t really gotten a chance to hear more than a couple songs. That being said, those few songs are great and have an airy sensibility to them – which makes for good Fall weather music. Their debut album Porcelain Empire was released back in June or July.

Rooster’s | October 12th

Misfortune500 | myspace | website

“A Ready Defense” | Misfortune500

“Panther Panther” | Misfortune500

An email was waiting for me this morning when I woke up in regards to this show coming up at Rooster’s. Another Athens quartet that is not some run-of-the-mill indie band, but play a sort of late-90’s anthemic alternative-rock. What immediately grabbed my attention when I heard these songs were the vocals of lead singer Chisolm Thompson. Very strong and aggressive with a howling that reminds me of this odd combination of Bono and Jimmy Gnecco.