By Mike Romero
Velour Live Music Gallery has been busy the last few weeks. After completing renovations in preparation for a grueling and extensive schedule of high profile EP release, reunion, and all-star shows, their 10th Anniversary celebrations officially begin tomorrow.
This weekend has been well hyped. Tomorrow’s show with Westward The Tide, Brumby, and The National Parks is sold out, and remains the best selling show in the Utah region on 24tix.com. Saturday’s show, featuring RKDN, Static Waves, and Festive People, has broken in to the Top 10 best seller list on 24tix.com as well. That, combined with two shows at the new Muse Music location will make this a very busy, crowded weekend for downtown Provo.
With all the buzz going on downtown, it’s easy to forget about other shows local artists are playing in the surrounding areas. Kilby Court in Salt Lake is having Provo locals Kindred Dead come out and perform alongside Mojave Nomads and Young North. Kindred Dead released a killer EP last fall and are returning to Utah after a show with Brumby and The National Parks in California. Fans of American Authors and early Imagine Dragons will enjoy Kindred Dead’s epic synth flourishes and the catchy vocal hooks from lead singer Emmett Florence. Mojave Nomads comes from Roy, Utah, and offers atmospheric rock with gritty vocals and fat, fuzzy bass. If The New Electric Sound were to do an Alabama Shakes cover, you’d come pretty close to the sound of Mojave Nomads. It’s great stuff.
When we spoke with Florence on the phone, he was driving through Nevada on his way back to Provo. When asked what they’d be playing at Kilby Court he enthusiastically replied, “We’re mostly playing songs from the EP, but we’ve got a cool alternate live version of ‘Easy On The Eyes’ [the closer from their EP] and some covers.” Kindred Dead will feature Lukas Sanchez on guitar, LOXS drummer Jeff Jones, and bassist Maxwell Butterfield of Riveter’s Son.
Mojave Nomads is excited for this performance as well. “We’ve added a lot of new gear to our arsenal over the holidays and we’re stoked to factor that into our sound,” says Colter Hill, lead guitarist for Mojave Nomads in a personal correspondence with Reach Provo. “We’ve been developing our songwriting technique in a way that works a lot better for us than the ways we used to go about it, both individually and as a band.” They’ll be joined this show by their friend Benton Wood, the frontman of the Logan, Utah psychedelic band Panthermilk. He’ll fill in for regular band member and synth player Mason Hill.
Kilby Court booked the show, requesting Mojave Nomads, Kindred Dead, and Young North. “They’ve been trying to get us on for a local weekend show for a bit,” says Hill. Mojave Nomads shared the stage with Kindred Dead at Gezzo Hall’s 2015 Halloween show.
One of the most important things any Provo band can do is to take their music out of the city and spread their sound as far as they can. While winning new fans is important, it’s also good to see familiar faces. “We’d love to see our Provo homies there if they’re not hitting Velour,” says Hill. If you’re looking for a new favorite band; if you’ve got friends you want to reconnect with in Salt Lake and need an excuse to get together; if you’re already in love with either of these bands; or if you simply couldn’t get tickets to any of the shows this weekend, we can’t recommend this show enough. You won’t be disappointed.
The show is Friday, January 8th at 7PM. It’s an all ages concert, taking place at Kilby Court. Tickets are $8.50 on 24tix.com here.
Provo Music Magazine 