Ben Kweller
Feb. 13, 8 p.m.
$15 (plus service fee at Smith’sTix) or $15 (no service fee at Slowtrain Records – 221 E. 300 South)
The Depot (13 N. 400 West)

Texas native and multi-instrumentalist Ben Kweller is making his way out West for a one-off show in Salt Lake City this weekend. Kweller will headline the closing party of the newly renamed City Weekly Music Awards, with the top local finalists of the competition8212;Neon Trees, The Furs, Band of Annuals and Form of Rocket8212;opening the show. Kweller has been an active musician since he was 12, playing in numerous bands around the Texas scene. When he was 19, he moved to New York City and began self-releasing his music. He put out four EPs before getting noticed by Evan Dando of The Lemonheads, who took Kweller on his first tour of America and across Europe. He gained notoriety and accompanied Jeff Tweedy and Juliana Hatfield on tour soon after. His music has been featured on more than 20 releases to date, and he’s one of the more accomplished young solo artists working today. His new album Changing Horses was recently released on ATO Records.

Zepparella
Feb. 16, 9 p.m.
$7 (plus $2.75 service fee)
Urban Lounge (241 S. 500 East)

All-female cover bands have been one of the bigger draws over the past decade, with groups such as AC/DShe and the Iron Maidens packing clubs all across the country. There must be something people like about pretty women dominating a predominantly male-oriented genre of music. Or maybe, for all the metalheads out there, it’s merely a dream come true8212;beautiful women that love to rock. Either way, Zepparella, an all-girl Led Zeppelin cover band brings the intensity of Page, Plant and Co. to small clubs for those of you (most likely all of you) who never got the chance and never will. Anna Kristina, a popular Bay Area stage actress, gives Plant’s vocals a seductive lure and Gretchen Menn’s guitar work would make Jimmy Page proud. Zepparella is as close to the real thing as you’re ever going to get, and that’s not a bad thing at all.

Deicide
Feb. 17, 7 p.m.
$20 (plus $4 service fee)
Club Vegas (445 S. 400 West)

Deicide is defined as “the act of killing a being of a divine nature; particularly, the putting to death of Jesus Christ” and this is exactly what the Florida death-metal band of the same name has been singing (or growling) about for more than 20 years. Deicide has been one of the top bands in the metal scene since the early 1990s, hanging right alongside Cannibal Corpse and Slayer when it comes to longevity. The band has faced constant criticism and controversy because of the anti-Christian sentiments of most of their lyrics, songs and albums. They’ve been banned from several cities and even a hardcore-metal festival after several graves in a cemetery near where the festival took place were found spray-painted with the song title “When Satan Rules His World.”

Ironically, the fest that Deicide was banned from was called Hellfest. Deicide’s newest album, Till Death Do Us Part was recently released on Century Media Records and the band has been on the road in support of it since. The band might be nothing more than a gimmick, but the members are a talented bunch and the live show is spectacular.