Live music preview: Five bands to see at The DLC’s first Pogo Fest

One of the cooler spots to check out live music in Salt Lake City is The DLC, a small-capacity live music venue situated inside Quarters Arcade Bar downtown in the heart of SLC’s nascent live music corridor.  The room is intimate, cool and you can battle your homie at Mortal Kombat after the show. This Saturday, June 20 the venue is hosting their first ever Pogo Fest to highlight the great psych-rock and similar acts the venue is booking. Aside from The DLC the area includes venues; International Artists Bar, and SLC Pub . Those locations along with a an outdoor stage at Exchange Place will serve as the four stages for Pogo Fest which is highlighting psych-rock and psych adjacent acts from Salt Lake City for the most part. We picked out five bands to see from the 20-plus artists line-up for SLC concertgoers. The mini-fest is an ideal way for local fans to get to know some of the better up and coming acts playing the growing Salt Lake music scene. Advance tickets are available via 24 Tix.

Boyfriend Sushi Town – Exchange Place Stage – 8p

This jangly psych-folk act has the right blend of post-punk and folk-rock along with a dose of dream-pop with unconventional instrumentation to make Boyfriend Sushi Town intriguing enough for both casual and hardcore music fans to investigate further. The group has been booked for Kilby Block Party previously. With four studio albums under their belt, the group seems poised to make the jump from beloved local act to larger stages. Moses Coker sings vocals and plays guitar along with Ethan Guetier (violin), Brandon Cocard (bass) and Harry Hagan (drums). Check out the band’s latest full-length, Dogwood.

Fiig – The DLC- 8:15p 

There’s nothing better than discovering a band you didn’t already know about because they were on the bill with an act you were already familiar with. Thus was the case with Fiig who were on the bill at DLC with Dead Meadow several weeks ago. We can always count on DLC’s talent buyer, Nate McQuivey to book the type of artists we’re into. Fiig stood that theory up solidly with a heavy and pleasing psych rock performance that made us sit up and take notice. Then we learned the group featured former members of another local act we love, The Groanies. The group’s fuzzy, heavy desert rock hits up right in the sweet spot. Needless to say we’re looking forward to another chance to see these guys again. Check their album Sirens and we think you’ll agree Fiig are a band you should be paying attention to.

Backhand – Exchange Place – 9:15p

The hardcore punk and garage rock sound Backhand make is just the thing to get your motor running. Their single. “Stress Test” is a good example of what we’re talking about. Acts like Gang of Four and Wire have been cited as influences. Frankly we’re stoked the next generation of SLC musicians are continuing the punk tradition of classic documentary, SLC Punks. If you’re ready to rock out with brothers, Ben (vocals. guitar) and Jake (guitar) with cousin Mitch on bass and Matt Timmons manning the drum kit, head to the outdoor, Exchange Place stage to finish off the evening with a high-energy performance by Backhand with a stage dive or two.

The Gontiks – International Bar – 6p

Grunge-pop, indie rockers The Gontiks, led by Gibson Bracken (vocals, guitar) is joined by Emmet Crofoot (bass), Ruben Abeyta (drums). The four piece’s EP Late Bloomer is a good example of the musical objectives the band has set out to achieve. The six-song EP was recorded and produced by the group. The recording was released in late January of this year.

Bracken founded the project as a solo endeavor in 2016 after moving to Salt Lake City from Australia. Inspired by putting his poetry to music, the expat eventually expanded the project into a full band. The name itself was dreamt up years earlier while working a corner store job on the Sunshine Coast. The band has since grown a reputation for their palpable, on-stage chemistry and energetic live shows.

Bone Throwers – Exchange Place – 7p
Salt Lake City surf-punks Bone Throwers add psych-rock and thrash-jazz elements to a familiar Neo-psych-rock sound that makes this four-some stand out. Their heavy, deviant psych sound strikes a nostalgic chord while retaining the excitement of art that feels fresh and new. A neat trick that members Adam Sovinsky (vocals/guitar), Stone Behrens (guitar, vocals), Jake Wagoner (bass) and Gavin Hanson (drums) have managed to make work. We’re hoping for a face-melting performance Saturday on the Exchange Place Stage.

Listen to Bone Throwers’ “Psychic Debris” that channels acts like The Brian Jonestown Massacre and The Dandy Warhols with a small dose of trash-jazz a la Canadians, Voivod or Swiss legends, Coroner. Sounds intriguing right?

Featured photo of The DLC stage courtesy of Concert Archives.

Find the full Pogo Fest schedule and map below:

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