Winger
When: Monday at 8 p.m.
Where: Club Vegas, 445 S. 400 West, Salt Lake City
Tickets: $18 at SmithsTix
Why go: It's been 20 years since bassist Kip Winger left Alice Cooper's band and formed his own outfit, which struck platinum with its hard-rocking 1988 debut. The grunge phase doomed most hair bands, including Winger, in the early '90s, but the band regrouped in the new millennium to tour with Poison and record a fourth album. Now Kip and the boys are touring behind "Winger Live," a double CD and concert DVD.
"The band is better now than we've ever been . . . because we've all kept practicing," said Kip Winger this week from his Nashville home. "We're very much at the top of our game." Winger promises a mix of new songs and such old hits as singalong rocker "Seventeen" and power ballad "Headed for a Heartbreak."
"Salt Lake has always been a great rock town," said the frontman, who also is releasing a solo album in the spring. "Everybody's so repressed that they want to rock out."
HillBilly Fever
and Andy Monaco
When: Tonight at 7:30 p.m.
Where: Unitarian Universalist Society, 6876 S. Highland Drive, Cottonwood Heights
Tickets: $5 at the door
Why go: The latest installment of the Intermountain Acoustic Music Association Local Concert Series is HillBilly Fever, which describes itself as "hillbilly honky-tonk" and along with Andy Monaco, who sings originals. HillBilly Fever is a Salt Lake City quartet with a great love for 1940s and '50s country. With its fiddle and steel guitar, the group's songs sound like outtakes from a long-forgotten Hank Williams Sr. session. Monaco is also a Salt Lake City resident, and is a singer-songwriter who has performed with Bonnie Raitt, Jose Feliciano and John Mayall. Coolers are welcome.
Larry Carlton and Robben Ford
When: Tonight at 7:30 p.m.
Where: The Depot, 400 W. South Temple, Salt Lake City
Tickets: $39.50 at SmithsTix
Why go: Larry Carlton is a three-time Grammy winner who composed the "Hill Street Blues" theme and is Vanessa Carlton's uncle. But he's more famous for his jazz stylings on the guitar. He was an always-booked session player in the 1970s and '80s, supporting Steely Dan, Joni Mitchell and Billy Joel, among about 500 others. Carlton's solo on Steely Dan's "Kid Charlemagne" was named the third-best guitar solo ever by Rolling Stone. Robben Ford is an American blues and jazz guitarist who has worked with everyone from George Harrison to Miles Davis. He was listed as one of the "100 Greatest Guitarists of the 20th Century" by Musician.
The Vandals
When: Tonight at 6 p.m.
Where: In the Venue, 579 W. 200 South, Salt Lake City
Tickets: $15.50 at SmithsÂTix
Why go: The legendary punk band The Vandals formed in 1980 in Orange County with a biting wit that has carried them through many a Vans Warped Tour. Drummer Josh Freese is sought out for his session work, and recently left Nine Inch Nails' touring band. Only one of The Vandals' original lineup remains - bassist and law school grad Joe Escalante - but the current incarnation has been together since the early 1990s.
Chris Proctor
When: Saturday at 7 p.m.
Where: Our Lady of the Snows Chapel at Alta Ski Resort, Little Cottonwood Canyon
Tickets: $5 at the door
Why go: Chris Proctor is bringing his annual concert, "Almost Spring," to an eye-popping mountain venue at Alta. Alta Community Enrichment is presenting the performance by Proctor, Utah's talented finger-style guitarist. A noted performer and teacher, Proctor recently has hosted workshops, master classes and private lessons in Colorado, Michigan and Indiana.
Scream Club and Nicky Click
When: Saturday at 9 p.m.
Where: The Broken Record Bar & Grill, 1051 S. 300 West, Salt Lake City
Tickets: Tickets are $5 at the door
Why go: Washington state's Scream Club is an electro-hip-hop duo of two female rappers, Cindy Wonderful and Cindy Adorable. Their publicist calls them "two gay-symmetrical superheroes" who "perform songs about heartbreak, frustration, love, politics, drunk-dialing, girl gangs and international adventures, all with tight lyrics and killer hooks." One of their protégés is Nicky Click, a female beat maker, songwriter and performance artist whose new electro-pop album is titled "I'm On My Cell Phone." Salt Lake City's electro-new-wave band Rope or Bullets opens.
Craig Morgan
When: Tonight at 9 p.m.
Where: Peppermill Concert Hall, 1045 Wendover Blvd., West Wendover, Nev.
Tickets: $15 to $60 at www.wendoverfun.com
Why go: Country artist Craig Morgan, 42, an Army veteran and USO regular, first tasted success in 2003 with "Almost Home," which reached the Top 10 on country charts. His gold-selling album "My Kind of Livin'," came out in 2005, and produced the hits "That's What I Love About Sunday" and "Redneck Yacht Club." Billboard named "Sunday" the most popular country single of 2005.
Brother Ali
When: Saturday at 6:30 p.m.
Where: Kilby Court, 741 S. 330 West, Salt Lake City
Tickets: $13 in advance, $15 day-of, available at SmithsTix and 24tix
Why go: Brother Ali has a busy Saturday night in Salt Lake City. Right after this 6:30 p.m. show, he has a late show at 9 p.m. at Salt Lake's The Urban Lounge, 241 S. 500 East, for the same price. Brother Ali is a legally blind rapper whose latest album, "The Undisputed Truth," was named as one of the top 40 albums of 2007 by Spin and was the Minnesota Star-Tribune's No. 1 album of the year. He endured controversy with one of his songs, "Uncle Sam Goddamn," in which he calls America the "United Snakes, home of the thief and land of the slave." Abstract Rude, Toki Wright and BK-One join Brother Ali on this tour, called The Truth is Here Tour.
Mury and Broke City
When: Saturday at 7 p.m.
Where: Velour Live Music Gallery, 135 N. University Ave., Provo
Tickets: $10 at SmithsTix
Why go: Mury and Broke City are Salt Lake City rock bands who have joined up for a tour. Pop-rockers Mury now reside in San Francisco and plan on visiting St. George the day after their Provo show, bypassing Salt Lake on this leg of the tour. Their average age is 23. Broke City is a trio that compares its sound to Foo Fighters and The Cure. Also on the bill are Allred, The Lives Of Famous Men and The Real You.
Xiu Xiu and Thao Nguyen
When: Monday at 9 p.m.
Where: The Urban Lounge, 241 S. 500 East, Salt Lake City
Tickets: $8 in advance, $10 day-of
Why go: Xiu Xiu is an experimental rock band from northern California. Its name is from "Xiu Xiu: The Sent Down Girl," a Chinese film from the late 1990s. The band's latest album, "Women as Lovers," was just released in January. Thao Nguyen is a guitarist and fellow Kill Rock Stars labelmate with Xiu Xiu, usually associated with her folk-pop band The Get Down Stay Down.
Sweatshop Union
When: Wednesday at 7 p.m.
Where: Kilby Court, 741 S. 330 West, Salt Lake City
Tickets: $8 in advance, $10 day-of, at SmithsTix
Why go:Sweatshop Union, a politically motivated hip-hop collective from Canada, hates misogyny, racism and the Iraq War, and will tell you about it. Recently they've toured with Swollen Members, who just performed at the University of Utah. Blue Collar Theory opens. Sweatshop Union also performs Thursday at Celsius Lounge in Park City.
Travis Morrison
When: Thursday at 7 p.m.
Where: Kilby Court, 741 S. 330 West, Salt Lake City
Tickets: Tickets are $8 at 24tix
Why go: For a decade, Travis Morrison was the lead singer and songwriter for The Dismemberment Plan, a Washington D.C. art-rock, hip-hop-influenced band. His new band is called the Hellfighters. Morrison describes his band as "nu-jazz, jam band and happy hardcore." Also on the bill are Nathan Spenser and The Auto Pirates.
