September 13
The Knoitalls$5Monk’s (19 E. 200 South)9 p.m.
Local microphone wrecker The Knoitalls is releasing its “Jewelers Mixtape” this Thursday before the warm and intimate hearth of Monk’s House of Jazz. Consisting of emcees Johnny Utah (member of Broken Silence) and Facts, the Knoitalls is Salt Lake City’s premiere hard-hitting underground rap duo. With recordings backed by a notoriously energetic live show, this event will provide just a small taste of the duo’s upcoming full-length, Kiss the Ring.
Brian Jonestown Massacre$15Urban Lounge (241 S. 500 East)9 p.m.
Emerging from the same 19th-century wooden Victorian neighborhood as Janis Joplin, Jefferson Airplane and the Grateful Dead, the Brian Jonestown Massacre claims roots in the legendary Haight-Ashbury district of San Francisco. While the band is somewhat of a revolving door, with artists frequently passing through, it centers around cult-obsessed founder Anton Newcombe. A combination of its collective influences, BJM is a genuinely enticing Dylan/Stones/Beatles amalgam.
September 14
Pep Love$10Uprok (342 S. State St.)8 p.m.
A member of the legendary Hiero Imperium, Pep Love is the most lyrically capable of his Oakland-based comrades. His 2001 solo debut, Ascension, has proved unequivocally his ability to exist independently from the Hieroglyphics collective. Bringing clever and precisely delivered written raps, as well as one of the best freestyles in the underground, this world-traveler will be gracing Salt Lake City’s own hip-hop shop, Uprok, on Friday along with fellow label-mate Casual from The Souls of Mischief.
The Format$5 for students, $17 general admissionRedfest6 p.m.
Its name a quip on the record industry’s penchant for reproducing successful pop archetypes, The Format’s ability to craft catchy indie-pop ballads has been clear since the release of its ironically titled and highly communicable pop hit, “First Single” (the reason for the invention of the “repeat one” function on your iPod). Despite being plagued by record-label woes (the band has been dropped twice, first by Elektra then by Atlantic), The Format has continued to delight its devoted legions with a second full length, Dog Problems, in addition to a show-only released EP (Snails). While Dog Problems isn’t worthy in the company of previous releases, older material is more than enough to buoy a thoroughly fun and entertaining evening of indie revelry.
September 16
Black Moth Super Rainbow$6Urban Lounge (241 S. 500 East)9 p.m.
The clandestine Black Moth Super Rainbow is an experimental electronic group hailing from Pittsburgh. The group consists of five enigmatic figures: the seven fields of aphelion, power pill fist, iffernaut, father hummingbird and tobacco. As strange as the monikers of the band’s constituent members may be, they are ordinary in comparison to the group’s weird version of psychedelic hip-hop electronica. With influences ranging from hip-hop innovator Odd Nosdam (anticon.) to western Pennsylvania folk tales, Black Moth Super Rainbow evokes a paralytic childhood dream — all primordial and unconscious. Musical compatriot Aesop Rock comes as close to any in describing the Rainbow’s slippery sound with the unintentionally poignant line, “the rogue Vocoder blitz.”