Culture Vulture (Sean Means)

Moving our digs

2009-05-13T15:05:00.001-06:00

A slight alteration to the Vulture blog: The Tribune is using a new blogging software, which will change the site's look.

The blog's URL is the same as before (just be sure you don't have /index.htm on the end of your bookmark) - but if you're getting this via RSS, you will need a new address for the feed: http://blogs.sltrib.com/vulture/index.php?tempskin=_rss2.

Plans for tonight: Where you from?

2009-05-13T11:26:00.003-06:00

- "Horrorcore" hip-hop act Twiztid performs at Saltair, 12408 W. Saltair Drive, Magna. Opening acts are Boondox, Potluck and Prozak. Doors open at 6. Tickets are $22, at SmithsTix or KTix.

- Manchester Orchestra is not an orchestra, nor are they from Manchester. They are an indie-rock band from Georgia who recently appeared on Letterman. Whoever they are, they're playing tonight at the Avalon, 3605 S. State St., South Salt Lake City. Opening acts are fun, Audrye Sessions and Winston Audio. Doors open at 6:30. Tickets are $12, at SmithsTix.

The Internet's learning curve

2009-05-13T10:49:00.004-06:00

So, we're all learning lessons about this here Internet thingee.

The folks who run The Salt Lake Tribune, the Denver-based Media News Group, recently issued a memo to employees - which immediately was posted on Jim Romenesko's journalism-industry blog, for all to read - about where newspapers are going in the online world.

If you can read through the official-sounding linguistic opacity, the upshot seems to be that the company wants to find ways to get Internet users to pay for stuff on the web site. Take this passage:

We are not trying to invent new premium products, but instead tell our existing print readers that what they are buying has real value, and to our online audience (who don’t buy the print edition), that if you want access to all online content, you are going to have to register, and/or pay. If a non-subscriber wants the newspaper content in its entirety online, they will be directed to some sort of registration or pay vehicle (and if they are a print subscriber, they will have full access at no charge).

Encouraging Internet users to pay for content - after they have grown accustomed to getting what they want for free - may feel like stuffing toothpaste back in the tube. So I wish my corporate overlords luck in their endeavors.

But if the news industry is learning hard lessons about the Internet, so are politicians.

Take the example of Utah Attorney General Mark Shurtleff, who apparently thought messages he sent out on the social-blogging site Twitter were only being read by one person - not by anybody in the world.

This is how Shurtleff, as the Tribune's Robert Gehrke reported today, accidentally announced to the world that he will be running for the U.S. Senate seat now held by fellow Republican Robert Bennett. (This news isn't much of a surprise, as Shurtleff has been hinting about a primary challenge to Bennett for awhile now.)

Shurtleff quickly deleted the "tweets," but not before public-radio station KCPW-FM got a screen capture of them.

Oopsie. Gotta be careful on the web - but as the guy who oversees the state's prosecution of Internet crimes, Shurtleff should know that.

No more Utahns "Dancing With the Stars"

2009-05-13T09:35:00.005-06:00

The last Utah pro dancer has been eliminated from ABC's "Dancing With the Stars."

Utahn Chelsie Hightower and her celebrity partner, rodeo champ and Jewel's boyfriend Ty Murray, were booted from the reality-competition show Tuesday night.

That leaves three celebs - actor Gilles Marini, Olympian Shawn Johnson and "The Bachelor" reject Melissa Rycroft - competing in next week's finals.

Utah dancer-turned-singer Julianne Hough and her dance partner/boyfriend, country singer Chuck Wicks, were eliminated a few weeks ago. Julianne's brother Derek and his dance partner, rapper Lil Kim, were voted off last week.

Dancers' dilemma

2009-05-13T09:18:00.004-06:00

Utah dancers are flexible - but can they be in two places at once?

Fox has announced dates for national auditions for the sixty season of its reality-competition "So You Think You Can Dance" - and Salt Lake City is one of the audition cities.

Here's the rub: The Salt Lake City auditions are scheduled for July 24 - which is, as locals know, a state holiday.

The auditions start at 8 a.m. that day, at a location to be determined (EnergySolutions Arena might be open, since the Days of '47 Rodeo is moving to the E Center). But the Days of '47 parade starts at 9 a.m. that day - and you have to figure that many of the dancers who would be auditioning are members of the drill teams or other parade participants.

Plans for tonight: Virgins and Celtic women

2009-05-12T11:58:00.004-06:00

- New York garage-rock band The Virgins (a terrible band name - either it's false advertising or they're dorks) and Lissie Trullie play Kilby Court, 741 S. 300 West, Salt Lake City. Doors open at 7. Tickets are $12, at 24Tix. (Above is a video of The Virgins' 2008 hit "Rich Girls.")

- Celtic Woman, the international stage-and-song sensation, comes to the E Center, 3200 S. Decker Lake Drive, West Valley City, starting at 7:30. Tickets, from $40 to $64, available at TicketMaster.

- "Thrashgrass" (like bluegrass, but through a lawn mower) band Trampled by Turtles - with opening act, local boys Puddle Mountain Ramblers - play at Urban Lounge, 241 S. 500 East, Salt Lake City. Doors open at 9. Tickets are $12, at 24Tix.

The curtain falls

2009-05-12T10:32:00.003-06:00

A new day is dawning for Utah diners today - the first day when restaurants can take down the "Zion Curtain" that separates patrons from the alcohol preparation.

Some restaurateurs - like Shawn Boyle at Faustina (pictured above) - celebrated by ceremonially removing the glass partitions from their counters.

Others are leaving them up, in part because they are part of their establishment's architecture or esthetics.

The bad news comes for new restaurants: After today, anyone building a new restaurant must have an alcohol-prep area - completely out of view of customers - built into the floor plans.

It's a double-standard that sets up different rules for new restaurants and old ones. But what would Utah liquor laws be without unfair and arbitrary rules?

(Photo: Paul Fraughton/The Salt Lake Tribune)

Rough footing for Ballet West

2009-05-12T09:23:00.003-06:00

In the "things are tough all over" file, add Salt Lake City's premiere dance troupe, Ballet West, to the list of organizations tightening their belts.

Ballet West announced Monday an effort to cut $1.2 million from its operating budget for the 2009-10 season - by cutting four jobs, freezing salaries, requesting furloughs and reducing pension contributions for its 35-member administrative staff, as well as asking for concessions from the unions that represent dancers, musicians and stagehands.

With some corporate and foundation contributions down 60 percent, Ballet West executive director Johann Jacobs said the company aims to cut its budget from $7.5 million to $6.3 million.

The troupe hasn't fired any dancers, though four of the 37-member troupe are leaving for other reasons.

"Sustainability and survival are now the order of the day," Jacobs said. "It's very important to us that our product remain intact, and that it remains as well received as it has been for the last two years."

I'm a trekkie, you're a trekkie...

2009-05-12T09:12:00.003-06:00

It wouldn't be "Star Trek" without microscopic over-analysis by fans, would it now?

Since I, too, am a longtime "Star Trek" fan, I get into the act in today's Culture Vulture column, looking at the science-fiction franchise's fan base - which is suddenly getting much larger, with the $79 million weekend the new movie had at the box office.

Central to the fans' self-identity is the use of two words: "Trekkie" and "trekker." I have always considered myself a trekkie - though, as the column explains, my definition is a bit different than others'.

But no matter how one defines "trekkie," it's great to see these familiar characters back in a new interpretation.

Plans for tonight: Music Monday

2009-05-11T12:37:00.005-06:00

- Margot & the Nuclear So and So's, a folk/pop band from Indiana, plays Kilby Court, 741 S. Kilby Court (330 West), Salt Lake City. Opening act is Everything Now; doors open at 7. Tickets are $10, at 24Tix.

- Underground hip-hop MC Louis Logic - with opening acts The Let Go, Tulsi and Mindstate - play, starting at 9, the Urban Lounge, 241 S. 500 East, Salt Lake City. Tickets are $8, at 24Tix.

Marie KO'd by sushi

2009-05-11T11:52:00.004-06:00

Donny and Marie had to cancel Friday night's performance of their Las Vegas show, after Marie Osmond had an allergic reaction to some sushi.

According to "Entertainment Tonight," Marie stopped at a sushi before Friday's show, and what she ate tripped one of her allergies (she's allergic to peanuts and shrimp).

Marie was back onstage with her brother for Saturday's show at the Flamingo Las Vegas. It was the first cancellation since the duo premiered their show there in September.

The mustache seen 'round the world

2009-05-11T10:55:00.005-06:00

The plight of Murray Mayor Dan Snarr's nearly foot-wide mustache has drawn attention all over the place.

The Tribune's Katie Drake reported last week that Snarr may shave off his trademark cookie-duster - as part of a fund-raising effort for the Children's Miracle Network. Customers at the Murray Costco may vote at the counter whether to "save" or "shave" Snarr's 'tache, from now until Saturday.

Snarr's mustache has long been a local legend. It gained national prominence last year when Snarr was seen on "American Idol," greeting hometown hero David Archuleta.

The story has been reported across the West (here are posts in Denver and Spokane), and even in the United Kingdom's venerable paper, The Guardian.

And a group called the American Mustache Institute has implored Snarr to reconsider his plan, and rescue his mustache from the razor.

Plans for the weekend: Take it to the limit

2009-05-08T11:51:00.003-06:00

- Comedian and "Ghost Whisperer" co-star Jamie Kennedy - who, by the mere fact that he's dating Jennifer Love Hewitt, could be the luckiest SOB in Hollywood (have you seen the new cover of Maxim? Yikes!) - performs tonight and Saturday at 7:30 and 10 p.m. at WiseGuys Comedy Club, 3500 S. 2200 West, West Valley City. Tickets are $20, at SmithsTix.

- The "world famous" (registered trademark) Lipizzaner Stallions do their tricks, tonight at 7:30 at the E Center, 3200 S. Decker Lake Dr. (2200 West), West Valley City. Tickets are $22.50, at TicketMaster.

- The Utah Symphony performs Tchaikovsky's Symphony No. 5 in E Minor, along with works by Borodin and Prokofiev, tonight and Saturday at 8 p.m., at Abravanel Hall, 123 W. South Temple, Salt Lake City. Andrew Grams is guest conductor (i.e., auditioning for Keith Lockhart's job), with violinist Baiba Skride (pictured at left) performing. Tickets available at ArtTix.

- "Live Green," the sixth annual downtown eco-festival, is set for Saturday, from 10 a.m. to 6 p.m. at Library Square, 210 E. 400 South, Salt Lake City. Free.

- Metal five-piece band A Skylit Drive headlines a long bill - that includes Dance Gavin Dance, Attack Attack!, Lower Definition and In Fear and Faith - Saturday, starting at 6:30 p.m. at the Avalon, 3605 S. State St., South Salt Lake City. Tickets are $12 in advance, $14 on the day of show, at SmithsTix.

- The Eagles christen Rio Tinto Stadium's debut as a concert venue, Saturday at 8 at Rio Tinto Stadium, 9256 S. State St., Sandy. Michelle Branch is the opening act. Tickets, from $50 to $175, available at the stadium web site. (Read an e-mail interview with The Eagles' Don Henley and a phone talk with Michelle Branch, both conducted by the Tribune's David Burger - and read Burger's story about the stadium's musical aspirations.)

Filling in the blanks

2009-05-08T10:06:00.003-06:00

What is it about Salt Lake City civic leaders that they can't see a patch of green without thinking about what kind of building should fill it up?

It happened when the Gallivan Center was fresh and new, and somebody suggested that the Marriott should build a hotel there. (There also have been plans discussed to put a building up on the north side, between the Marriott and the One Utah Center.)

Now, according to this report by the Tribune's Derek P. Jensen, Mayor Ralph Becker is making a pitch to build a new headquarters building for the city's police and fire department in the green space on the east side of Library Square.

OK, Salt Lake's cops and firefighters need a new building. The current HQ is 50 years old and falling apart.

But crowding out the park east of the Library - and potentially blocking the view of what is easily the most architecturally gorgeous building in downtown Salt Lake City - is wrong-headed.

"The massing there is a big mistake," City Councilman Luke Garrott told the Tribune's Jensen, adding that the location in question was once home to "some of the ugliest buildings in town," the jail and the Metropolitan Hall of Justice.

Plans for tonight: Linking the food chain

2009-05-07T12:46:00.003-06:00

- "What’s on Your Plate?," a documentary that follows two 11-year-old New York kids who explore their place in the food chain, screens at 7 at the Fort Douglas Post Theater, 245 S. Fort Douglas Blvd., University of Utah, Salt Lake City. Free.

- Baltimore prog-rockers Ponytail - with opening acts Blair and Boy of Bark - play at 7 at Kilby Court, 741 S. Kilby Court (330 West), Salt Lake City. Tickets are $6, at 24Tix.

- Buster Keaton's 1928 silent classic "Steamboat Bill Jr.," with Blaine Gale's accompaniment on the Wurlitzer organ, screens at 7:30 at the Organ Loft, 3331 S. Edison (half a block east of State Street), South Salt Lake. Admission is $5; call 801-485-9265 for reservations.

Mind your own beeswax

2009-05-07T09:14:00.006-06:00

This may be a textbook example of "what's it to you?": Utah Congressman Jason Chaffetz (R-The Inquisition) is upset that the city council of Washington, D.C., has voted to recognize gay marriages performed in states where it's legal.

And Chaffetz is looking to have Congress overturn the D.C. Council's 12-1 vote.

Mind you, the D.C. Council's action does not affect a single human being outside of the District of Columbia - and certainly not the good people of Utah who sent Chaffetz to Congress.

But, because of the constitutional vagaries that put the District's laws under the perusal of Congress, yahoos like Chaffetz get to weigh in on the personal lives of nearly 600,000 citizens who never voted for those people - and, in fact, have no voting representative in Congress at all.

Chaffetz would be screaming bloody murder if the Feds told the city of Alpine, Utah (Chaffetz' hometown) what laws it should make. But it's OK for him to meddle in local D.C. affairs, he says, because Washington receives federal tax money.

"People in Salt Lake City are paying for the operation and government in the District of Columbia," Chaffetz told the Tribune's Thomas Burr. (If Chaffetz read the federal budget a bit more carefully, he'd see that every city - including Alpine - receives some federal tax money, directly or indirectly.)

On the other hand, it's a relief to see that every other problem in our nation - the economy, two wars, health care, the environment - has been solved. Why else would Chaffetz have time to stew over what local legislators in D.C. are doing?

Plans for tonight: Bend it without Beckham

2009-05-06T11:44:00.002-06:00

- Real Salt Lake faces the Los Angeles Galaxy - minus superstar David Beckham, whose still on loan to AC Milan - at 7 at Rio Tinto Stadium, 9256 S. State St., Sandy. Tickets available at the Real web site.

- All That Remains, a "melodic metalcore" band (whatever that means) from Massachusetts, and opening acts August Burns Red, Born Of Osiris, Too Pure To Die and From Sword To Sunrise, play starting at 7 at the Murray Theatre, 4959 S. State St., Murray. Doors open at 6:30. Tickets are $20, at the door.

- Rappers The Grouch and Eligh, two members of the Living Legends group from California, perform at the Urban Lounge, 241 S. 500 East, Salt Lake City. Label-mates Afro Classics are also on the bill; doors open at 9. Tickets are $15, at 24Tix.

License to censor

2009-05-06T10:07:00.003-06:00

Vanity license plates, reports author Stefan Lonce (LCNS2ROM: Vanity License Plates and the GR8 Stories They Tell), are often subject to regulations against offensive content.

Each state's rules are different, Lonce told Esquire magazine's Answer Fella blog, but fall within the same general guidelines: "Nothing obscene, lewd, lascivious, derogatory to a particular ethnic group, or patently offensive."

The Answer Fella dug a bit deeper, and received a list of 1,000 license-plate requests rejected by the state of Utah. They include:

ARREOLA ("sex reference")
BGBOOTY ("sex reference")
BUCKNKD ("sex reference")
CAMLTOE ("ethnic")
DEZNUTZ ("vulgar")
GIGGIDY ("sex reference" - somebody at the DMV watches "Family Guy")
GOBUSH ("sex reference")
HITMAN ("public welfare")
JAILB8 ("sex reference")
MANH8TR ("shows contempt")
MMMBEER ("drug reference")
SLCPUNK ("public welfare")
UTSUX ("derogatory")

Marie supports her daughter

2009-05-06T09:26:00.002-06:00

The rumor mill has been running overtime lately about Marie Osmond and her daughter Jessica - after the British tabloid, The Sun, reported that Jessica is a lesbian.

Marie got on the radio Tuesday - an interview with L.A. station KOST-FM - and confirmed the rumors about Jessica, and said (according to The Advocate) they were no big deal:

"You know, on those types of things I'm very supportive. When it comes to marriage, I think that civil rights need to be for all. ... When you start mixing religion into that and beliefs, you know, I do believe in the Bible. My daughter understands my beliefs. And, you know, God said to be married and be productive with your children and, you know, replenish the earth or whatever. She understands those things. My daughter is sharp. And we have a great relationship and I think she would tell you that."

Marie's open-mindedness seems to be a bit at odds with the views of her brother, Donny, who issued a statement opposing gay marriage last December.

Plans for tonight: Folk or metal

2009-05-05T11:50:00.003-06:00

- Alt-folkie band Thao and The Get Down Stay Down (pictured), along with opening acts Samantha Crain and Sister Suvi, perform starting at 7 at Kilby Court, 741 S. Kilby Court (330 West), Salt Lake City. Tickets are $10, at 24Tix.

- Zack Wylde, once Ozzy Osbourne's guitarist and now a character on the "Guitar Hero: World Tour" videogame, brings his metal band Black Label Society to The Depot, 400 W. South Temple, Salt Lake City. Cycle of Pain is the opening act. Show starts at 8. Tickets are $35, at the door.

Six bits

2009-05-05T09:50:00.004-06:00

If you buy The Salt Lake Tribune out of a vending box or at a convenience store, you've already noticed that the price has gone up.

As of May 1, the newsstand price (an anachronism, because who has newsstands anymore?) of The Tribune went up from 50 cents to 75 cents.

The Tribune isn't the only newspaper to make such a change recently. The Boston Herald kicked up its single-copy sale price from a quarter to a buck, while its rival The Boston Globe raised its price within the city from 75 cents to a dollar. The Chicago Sun-Times went from 50 cents to 75 cents at the end of March. And the Financial Times reported Friday that the venerable New York Times will likely raise its newsstand price - from $1.50 to $2 for the daily paper, and from $5 to $6 on Sundays - sometime this week.

Of course, if you're reading this blog, then you probably read The Tribune for free online - so you couldn't care less about the newsstand price.

And the Tony goes to...

2009-05-05T09:01:00.003-06:00

... possibly the guy from "The Singles Ward."

Actor Will Swenson, who got his start at Utah's Hale Centre Theatre (working for his grandma, Ruth Swenson Hale) and starred in the Mormon Cinema comedies "The Singles Ward" and "Sons of Provo," has been nominated for a Tony Award. (Nominations were announced today.)

Swenson is nominated for Best Featured Actor in a Musical (the Tony's equivalent of a supporting actor) for his role as Berger, the leader of the hippie tribe in "Hair." ("Hair" received eight nominations in all, including Best Revival of a Musical.)

Swenson's competition: David Bologna and Gregory Jbara, both for "Billy Elliot: The Musical" (two of its leading 15 nominations); Marc Kudisch for "9 to 5: The Musical" (in the boss role Dabney Coleman played in the movie); and Christopher Sieber as the villain Lord Farquaad in "Shrek: The Musical."

Another Broadway figure with Utah ties scored in the Tony nominations: Bad-boy playwright Neil LaBute, a Brigham Young University alumnus, got a Best Play nod for his latest, "Reasons to Be Pretty."

Plans for tonight: Doctor's dilemma

2009-05-04T11:57:00.002-06:00

- The documentary "The English Surgeon," which follows neurosurgeon Henry Marsh’s mission to Kiev and shows the dilemmas he faces there, screens at 7 at the City Library auditorium, 210 E. 400 South, Salt Lake City. Free.

- Moreland & Arbuckle - that's blues guitarist Aaron "Chainsaw" Moreland and singer/harmonica player Dustin Arbuckle - perform starting at 8 at The State Room, 638 S. State St., Salt Lake City. Tickets are $18, at the State Room's web site or at the door.

"Best of the West"?

2009-05-04T11:13:00.003-06:00

Forgive the tooting of my own horn, but the Culture Vulture blog just won a major award - a first place for blog reporting from the Best of the West journalism contest, which covers newspapers big and small in 13 Western states.

Here's what the judge in the contest - Amanda St. Amand, continuous news editor at the St. Louis Post-Dispatch - said about the Vulture:

All five of Means' entries were top-of-the-line good - funny, informative, well-written, timely and made excellent use of the tools available online. For example, "American Idol" tryouts come around to a half-dozen or so big cities every year. After a while, how can you write the same story, or cover the same hopefuls? Easy, if you blog at the Culture Vulture. The "American Idol" entry was a great way to click through quickly, stop on the ones that interested you or skip the ones that didn't.

The same could be said for his blog entry on the Outdoor Retailers. Capturing "snapshots of the strangeness" was smart - it didn't make fun of the outdoor lovers but it did point out some of the more offbeat stuff you can find.

The other three entries - the political party involving the McCain drinking game, the sock monkey and "Dan Savage stands me up" - also were strong. Not a weak link among the five, and I have bookmarked this blog as one I plan to watch.

For a look at the competition, here are the blogs that came in second and third: The OC Weekly's "Navel Gazing" blog, and Larry Altman's crime blog in The Daily Breeze in Torrance, Calif. Congratulations to both of them.

Low-key celebrity sighting

2009-05-04T11:04:00.002-06:00

A celebrity spotting in Kanab, courtesy of Tribune online producer (and guest Vulture blogger) Kim McDaniel:

Kanab, Utah, is probably the last place you'd expect to see an Oscar-winning actress, but on Saturday night that's just where Linda Hunt was spotted.

A longtime supporter of the nearby Best Friends Animal Society, Hunt was having dinner with a small group at a front window table at the acclaimed Rockin' V Cafe (incredible key lime pie, by the way).

Not a single person acknowledged her fame - at least not overtly - but the entire place was like one big family reunion, with tourists, locals and Best Friends staff mingling and laughing throughout the evening.

Hunt, you may recall, won the Best Supporting Actress Oscar for her role as photographer Billy Kwan in "The Year of Living Dangerously" (1982). Her credits also include "Dune," "Kindergarten Cop" and "Stranger Than Fiction." She's also the narrator, Gaia, on the videogame series "God of War."