Gift of Gab July 289:30 p.m. $20Club Suede (1612 High Ute Blvd., Park City)
Gift of Gab is a California-based emcee and half of acclaimed underground rap group Blackalicious.
Gab boasts an impressive portfolio with no fewer than five Blackalicious releases since 1995 and one of the most dynamic live performances in underground hip-hop — a skill still present when Gab performs his solo material.
This emcee’s moniker is no misnomer. His equally capable writing and rapping abilities seem so otherworldly at times that their very existence may lead some to wonder whether Gab’s been bouncing rhymes off genies’ bottles, divine inspirers or the folk-famous, flow-forging Irish Blarney Stone.
Smoosh July 307 p.m. $8Kilby Court(741 S. 330 West )
Smoosh consists of sisters Asya, 13, and Chloe, 11 — two skinny, blond girls hailing from Seattle, Wash.
One listen to this group’s patented indie-pop songs and the maturity and emotional depth therein will surely belie the ages of their creators.
The tale of their early musical careers began when the girls’ family went to a Seattle Music Trading store to purchase a violin — an instrument quickly abandoned — and a drum set. The girls soon began taking drum lessons from Death Cab for Cutie’s Jason McGerr.
Smoosh has been crafting catchy, indie-pop songs ever since, challenging limitations of both age and gender in music and in a broader context.
You might have to hear it to believe it.
Afro Omega July 30 9 p.m.$5Monk’s House of Jazz(19 E. 200 South)
Deseret may be more renowned for its Mormon Tabernacle Choir than its surprisingly fertile collection of reggae bands, but more than a few Jamaican-mused artists have called Utah home.
Afro Omega is the elite of this Rasta crop, a soulful dub/rock/alternative band completely capable of placing any listener in a feverish, reggae fervor.
Standing out with deep electric-guitar riffs and Ms. Omega’s distinctive, alluring, high-pitched croon, Afro Omega masks politically and socially responsible lyrics behind a more-than-easy-to-listen-to reggae groove.
Monk’s will once again reinforce its high standards with this dynamic band.
Big Business Aug. 19 p.m.$10Liquid Joe’s (1249 E. 3300 South)
One wonders how much noise two people playing a set of drums and a de-tuned bass can make.
Big Business has an answer: a whole hell of a lot.
I pity the plight of Coady Willis’ drums — their surfaces beaten with more ferocity than a shock-and-awe bombing campaign.
This rhythmic beating occurs while second band member Jared Warren attacks the bass and sings like a reverb-laden Robert Plant.
If that isn’t metal enough for you, Big Business’ shirt design features a zebra astride a mound of severed heads. And somehow, while listening to the Biz, this quirky brutality makes perfect sense.
Gift of Gab performs at Club Suede, July 28.