Justin Townes Earle" rocked Salt Lake City twice in one day. No small feat for any man. He started off at an instore performance at The Heavy Metal shop, and then followed it up with a performance at the State Room.



JTE!





The crowd spilling out into the frigid air



Justin Townes Earle

Earle’s music is of a genre I usually avoid when it starts swimming into the new country-pop. But his roots approach to folk-country makes it palatable and very enjoyable. His cover of a Carter family classic song also rang true as the crowd on the street listened intently to his one man show on the Heavy Metal Stage/Rear of Shop.



I particullarly enjoyed “Mama’s Eyes,” a cut off his new album. Get with it and pick up his lastest album Night at the Movies (out on Bloodshot) at the Heavy Metal Shop if you’d like to expand your horizons. And tell Kevin Jon Paxton sent ya.


(Jon Paxton)

Telekinesis!

Telekinesis! was the suprise on this bill last Tuesday at Kilby. The debut album, Telekinesis, came out the day of the show so the excitement level was definitely high for the performance. Telekinesis (Michael Benjamin Lerner) was joined onstage by some fellow Seatlle band mates, including Say Hi’s tour bassist, David Broecker.



David Broecker of Telekinesis and Say Hi tour group

Judging by the tracks I heard from Telekinesis!, this artist will have a future if he can ride out the wave of the current Seattle scene. Check out his myspace and see if you agree. I did really dig on the the fact that the writer/performer behind the band is a drummer/singer/frontman. Pretty rare these days but always a nice change to see as it transforms the electricity of a live show.



Telekinesis!

Oohs and Aahs, released March 3rd, is a really great maturation of the Say Hi To Your Mom sound E.E. has been crafting over the last seven years. Trickles of some old school Seattle music bled through in undertones of older work but Say Hi's latest stuff is pretty good as a standalone outside of its scene.



Say Hi

I really enjoyed the opening track off the new album, "Elouise," as performed as the first song of Say Hi's set. It got me amped up and made me want to use snowboarder vernacular like "stoked" and "wicked." It was that good. Something about that song just resonates in my head. It's the reason I wanted to see this show in the first place. And it payed off.
Say Hi



(Jon Paxton)

The 20th Annual City Weekly Best of Utah Awards smashed into Elevate and left its victims full and a little tipsy. The award winners from the Best of Utah food categories were on hand to sling their food at the tummys of the unwary. Food ranging from the vegan fare of Sage's Cafe, to the gut busting Pie Pizzaria were displayed to full advantage on a huge buffet table.


DJ JSJ spins for the crowd

The dance floor actually got quite exciting at points as DJ JSJ lit the tables up with some really tubular tunes. You can catch him spinning every Saturday night at the Trapp Door, by the way.


Vegan treats 'n turntables


Princess Kennedy blows kisses on the Elevate stage

Princess Kennedy took some time out to go-go dance to the JSJ tunes and did a fantabulous job after the Slippery Kittens burlesque troop finished their vintage antics for the excited luminaries of SLC.

The following people were all photographed having too much fun. Check it out...


SLUG + CW Design Power


CW TV (Baade) with Angela Brown and Mike Brown (SLUG)


Gavin of KUTV's Gavin's Underground working/partying hard


Mike, JP, Fletcher

The crowd got what it wanted in so many ways that nobody went home upset. Even though awards were given out, most can appreciate the event for itself, regardless of prizes. And if you, or your business, didn't win this year, there's always the next one! Hopefully it will be as exciting as it was this year. Knowing City Weekly, it will be. Thanks for stopping by everybody and thanks for voting Utah! Now go support all the places/people who garnered top honors this year and start driving the local economy.

(Jon Paxton)