The Pains of Being Pure at Heart @ Kilby Court (Salt Lake City, UT)
Posted by PJ in Concert Reviews, Concerts, Local, The Yellow StereoAfter 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.
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