by M. Lewis Barker
Now that the sun has finally decided to come out and grace us with its mighty presence and many college students have gone back to California/Arizona/Idaho to hibernate for the summer, it’s time for us here in Utah County to enjoy the most pleasurable months the area has to offer. There’s hiking, biking, “beaches” (but please don’t swim in Utah Lake for your own sake), and less traffic. There’s even a new Transformers movie for critics and audiences to adore. But this site is about music, and music I shall discuss.
The big event this month is Velour’s semi-annual Battle of the Bands. Next week, June 13-18, twenty bands will compete to gain the glory of “Provo’s Hott New Band” (a term I just made up). Previous winners include Fictionist, Shark Speed, Holy Water Buffalo, and Imagine Dragons. And ProvoMusicGuide.com is going to be there, covering the event. As much as I would love to review all twenty bands, my own band, Wild Apples (official Provo Music Guide pick because I’m narcissistic), is competing and we need to practice. So if anyone else wants to write up a review, please do. Here is the lineup:
MONDAY (June 13):
1. Color Copy
2. Avenue of Embers
3. Garrett Williams
4. Par Avion
TUESDAY (June 14):
1. Proving Ground
2. They Shall Be Lions
3. Bottleship
4. Old Grey Geese
WEDNESDAY (June 15):
1. Eidola
2. Bus People
3. Wolves
4. Searching for Celia
THURSDAY (June 16):
1. Ruts & Weeds
2. Pat B & the T. Birds
3. Please Be Human
4. Westerlies
FRIDAY (June 17):
1. Wild Apples <-See this one
2. I’m Designer
3. Soft Science
4. Travis Van Hoff
SATURDAY (June 18):
**FINALS! To be determined by preliminary winners.**
It starts at 8pm every night and is $6. Every night that we manage to be there, we will also pick our favorites which may or may not coincide with the judges’ decision. I highly encourage you go and not just vote for you friends, but for the band you honestly thought was best. Remember, the courteous thing to do is stay throughout the show instead of seeing your friends then hightailing it out of there, unless other commitments prevent you from doing that. And I will be shamelessly promoting my own band, Wild Apples, too. Mostly I figure that I should subject my own music to all the same criticism that I give to others, and this is the perfect opportunity for you all to write negative things about us in your little blogs (but you won’t, because we’re super fun and cool).
But there’s more coming up too! Tonight is the very first Hella Air Horns, a crazy dance party at Muse Music Cafe unlike any you’ve ever been to. And it’s only $2! Tomorrow night there’s going to be a rather unique show at the Velour featuring the a cappella stylings of Throat, with Mister Tim, Bloodfunk, and Amiamo. Now that it’s summer, the Compound will be having more and more shows. And if you’ve been a faithful reader of the blog, you know that we love shows at the Compound. And it’s the perfect place to go while Velour closes for a few weeks in July for its summer break.
You can also go to Muse Music Cafe’s new website and check out their all-in-one Provo events calender for more shows. It gives the details on shows at Muse, Velour, and all around Provo. They also have a wonderful new blog run by our very own Alex Pow.
And be sure to check out The Music Lounge, a brand new site with the goal of bringing local musicians and industry professionals together and eventually onto the national stage. It’s still in its early stages but rest assured, it’s going to strengthen the scene in ways most of us have yet to imagine.
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