Santigold with Charli XCX /// In The Venue /// May 28th /// SLC

Santi White aka Santigold (formerly known as Santogold – confused yet? It’s amazing what a little i can do for one name), released her self title debut back in 2008. I remember picking it up the day it was released – I was looking forward to bumping “Creator” constantly. I was amazed how diverse the album was, with the help of Diplo, Spankrock, Radioclit, Switch & Chuck Treece of Bad Brains, together the album ranged from dub to R&B, from Punk to new wave & they managed to include a pinch of the banshees across twelve tracks. In 2009 she announced she was changing her name from Santogold to Santigold because of a lawsuit brought on by Santo Victor Rigatuso, the film maker of Santo Gold’s Blood Circus. On her second album, Master of My Make-Believe, she re-enlists some of the same producers & added a few more including, David Sitek of TV On The Radio & Nick Zinner of the Yeah Yeah Yeahs. My favorite track from the new album, “The Keepers”, anyone else hear a hint of Kate Bush?

Monday evening Santigold will bring her genre bending act to SLC for the first time. I gave up tickets to the sold out Shins show at Red Butte, to see her. I’m hoping I made the right choice. I’m also looking forward to checking out Charli XCX. The few singles I’ve heard from her are solid.

Active Child /// Urban Lounge /// SLC

It’s been awhile. My 9-5 (reality, 7am-8pm) has been keeping my free time occupied, I want to change this. I enjoy some time to myself, with my husband, my cats & with my friends every now & then. I have some ideas brewing in my brain that will keep me active & posting.

So, It’s been a few weeks since I went a concert. Tonight, the talented young man, Pat Grossi (aka Active Child) will be in town at the Urban Lounge. My first experience seeing Active Child live was in 2010, he was on tour supporting School Of Seven Bells. His performance floored me. Onstage, Grossi is a lanky fella playing an electric harp. Yep. Harp. Every lyric he sings is done with precision & emotion. His music moved me right on over to the merch table where I picked up his debut EP Curtis Lane. Last year her released his debut full length You Are All I See. I highly recommend it. 

Cinco de Mayo

I’m headed into the office today and wanted to wish you all happy Cinco de Mayo.

Real Estate /// April 26th /// Urban Lounge /// SLC

Indie darlings, Real Estate, return to SLC tomorrow night bringing in their sun-soaked tunes to pair nicely with the weather. If you know what’s good for you, you’ll be there… I may or may not be there… but what was your excuse for missing them on their first pass through town?

A Beautiful Thing

In September 2010 my grandparents passed away, one week from another. In reality, It was a beautiful thing. They couldn’t live without one another. Love.

After their passing, my mother & I packed up their belongings & put them in storage. My grandmother had a deep love for traveling, while my grandfather was an avid photographer. I remember sitting in my grandparents basement as a family & watching a slide show of their latest travels. I couldn’t believe the places they had been. The continent they visited the most was Asia. My grandmother became a collector while traveling, mostly jewelry.

Only recently my mother started going through the storage unit. This past weekend she went through the jewelry & accessories. Bellow is the backside of a necklace my grandmother picked up on one her trips to Asia. I found it simply beautiful.

Sleigh Bells /// April 12th /// The Depot /// SLC

Sleigh Bells… sigh… I was supposed to see them for the first time at Coachella 2010, the year the festival was dubbed Clusterf**kchella. I had been to this festival many times before but, this was the first year they decided to sell 3 day wristbands & eliminate single day tix. Long story short, it was extremely unorganized, lines to get in were endless, when we did get in on the first day, it was 7PM & we had missed sooooo many bands including Sleigh Bells. (Side note – on the final day of the fest, security locked up the parking lot we were parked in until 3:30am. Ridiculous. I’ve heard they made some serious changes after 2010 but, I haven’t been back since.)

So, after the festival Sleigh Bells were making a stop in SLC opening up for Yeasayer, I made it a point to be there, too bad the rest of SLC decided to stay home. The show was fantastic. A few months later SLC finally caught on & packed into the Urban Lounge turning it into a madhouse. A few fights broke out, maybe even within my crew as we were squeezing our way to the front. Thanks to my pal Patrick, we made it… Pasha!

Their debut album, Treats, was one of my top five albums of 2010 & I was asked to do a brief write up about it for SLUG Magazine. You can check it here.

Sleigh Bells @ Club Sound (April 2010) Photo taken by Courtney Blair

Sleigh Bells @ Urban Lounge (Oct 2010) Photo taken by Courtney Blair

Sleigh Bells @ Urban Lounge (Oct 2010) Photo taken by Courtney Blair

JFK –> SLC

I’m back! I enjoyed my time in the big apple. Saw some sights, ate some delicious food, strolled through Central Park, did some (too much) shopping, now I need to figure out how to squeeze 6 concerts & a holiday into the next 8 days. Sigh.