Meat Puppets
Jan. 22, 9 p.m.
$15
Urban Lounge (241 S. 500 East)
Although a vast majority of college kids will no doubt be gravitating toward the “World Famous” Harry O’s in Park City this weekend, hipsters and genuine music lovers will be relishing the welcome return of the Meat Puppets. One of the most influential underground rock-punk bands of the ’80s and ’90s, the Meat Puppets never got the mainstream attention they deserved and are probably only recognized from their one big radio hit, “Backwater.” The band got its start on SST Records (the home of Black Flag and Minutemen) and quickly established a sound unique enough to distinguish itself from the rest of the label’s roster. Meat Puppets toiled away on the road for years before gaining significant exposure after they joined Nirvana onstage during their “Unplugged” session. The band broke up for a while over the past decade, but reunited a couple of years ago and released Rise To Your Knees in 2007. -TH
Virtuoso Series: Soojin Ahn
Jan. 22, 7:30 p.m.
$25 general admission, $10 for students
Libby Gardner Concert Hall
The U’s own School of Music presents Korean-born pianist Soojin Ahn, performing a number of her favorite compositions. Ahn has been playing the piano since she was 3 years old, and has scored rave reviews from critics everywhere. All proceeds benefit the School of Music programs. -CF
The Utah Symphony
Jan. 30-31, 8 p.m. and Feb. 6-7, 8 p.m.
Prices vary (www.utahsymphony.org for details)
Abravanel Hall (123 West South Temple)
First up is Maestro Thierry Fischer and pianist Louis Lortie. The evening includes performances of Schubert’s Unfinished Symphony, Mendelssohn’s Concerto No. 1 for Piano, and Stravinsky’s Petrushka.
Fischer is a world-renowned Swiss conductor, and performed with the Symphony in October 2007. Lortie is a celebrated Canadian pianist known for his interpretations of Chopin, Ravel and Beethoven. The evening promises to be a great one, as all three of the above composers have withstood the test of time and continue to entertain today. And in case that doesn’t sell you, keep in mind that Stravinsky’s compositions routinely caused rioting at their premiers.
Then, just a few weeks later, The Utah Symphony welcomes Maestro Hugh Wolff and pianist Peter Serkin. This performance includes pieces by Berlioz, Mozart, Nielson, and, again, Stravinsky. World-famous Serkin is led by Wolff in Mozart’s Concert-rondo for Piano in D Major and Stravinsky’s Concerto for Piano and Wind Instruments. The program also includes Berlioz’s Roman Carnival Overture (from a truly awesome opera, “Benvenuto Cellini”) and Carl Nielsen’s Symphony No. 4 “The Inextinguishable.” Now that’s a good name for a symphony. -CF