Hello all,
Life is good here in the great state of Utah! I am learning quickly just how serious people are here about their mountain biking and hiking. Everyone at work is talking about all of their exploits, and it has me pretty excited for the snow to melt in our gargantuan mountain playground. That said, there is sure a lot of snow up there still... I am glad we aren't in a flood danger zone, but rather just on the highway to it (anyone?).
I have partaken in a few site visits for work lately. It has been both eye-opening and encouraging to see our crews in action. My company has some pretty impressive people in its employ.
Amy has been in Kentucky visiting family for the past week, leaving me to batch it (had to throw in the phonetic "t"). I am not a big fan of her being gone in all honesty, but I have had some help getting through the week. I went to two concerts on two consecutive nights in downtown Salt Lake City! Both concerts were at a really cool small venue called "In the Venue". Pretty great open air patio upstairs for 21 & older folks who want to avoid the mosh (count me in).
Arctic Monkeys
The first show I went to this week was for the killer stoner/brit rock band Arctic Monkeys. I have been a pretty big fan of theirs ever since Pandora introduced us on my Queens of the Stone Age station. I had high hopes for this show, but I was doing my best to temper them based on an observation I made some time ago: High volume, high energy bands often struggle live due to a) trouble mixing b) fighting the tendency to just crank it and c) turning the vocalist down to the point where you just hear a murmur over the other instruments. Arctic Monkeys didn't struggle with any of these issues. The band was very tight and the vocals were excellent. Overall, this is as good as hard rock gets live. See these guys if you like them at all, because after seeing them you will like them more!
The Airborne Toxic Event
Ok, I don't like speaking in absolutes when it comes to art. Having said that, this was probably the best live show I have ever seen. Yes, thats right, EVER. I have never been to a show steered by such a fantastic performer as Mikel Jollett. I was frankly in awe the entire time. I have only recently jumped on their bandwagon, enjoying them often on Rhapsody for about the last two months. I saw they were coming to town, and thought, "why not go see them"? Holy carp am I glad I did! It would take one mean bump in the road now to knock me off this bandwagon. In addition to their battery of fantastic originals, their covers of "I Fought the Law" and "Fulsom Prison Blues" electrified an eclectic crowd including 50 somethings and people young enough to think Fulsom Prison Blues is a pretty cool song by Joaquin Phoenix. The standup base and the viola filled the room with sweet moans in comfortable contrast to the stellar guitar and drum performances. Despite the great musicianship all around, the most impressive thing about TATE has to be Mikel. This guy is not only a great vocalist, but can unify a diverse crowd under his unique brand of idealism and spirituality with apparent ease. This artist-as-leader of a crowd is a cool thing to experience... And damn, All at Once is a POWERFUL song!
Oh yeah, and he is a cool guy! Here is a picture of him with me after the show:
I am so thankful to be in a town that gets great shows like these. Well, I better go get ready to pick up Amy! Cheers!
