Why Utah sucks for live music
by Hotbands Editor - Patrick Ferris

What do you think of when you someone mentions Utah?  Skiing?  Arches National Park?  Site of the next Winter Olympics? Mormons?  The answer is probably a bit different for each person, but I'm sure those are some of the first things that come to minds of most. 

One of the things that doesn't come to my mind is a happening music scene! 
Why?  Maybe it's because there are a number of dry counties which definitely don't help the club scene stay afloat.  Perhaps it's the rigid Mormon upbringing of the majority of the locals.  Maybe it's the anal-cranial inversion that the local law-enforcement has against anything that goes against the grain of what the community deems is "proper".  Who knows!?

After 9 months of being on-line and seeking out top original bands in every major city, there has been minimal response from the land of the Mormons...one of which is a hard-working Salt Lake City band who calls themselves Elbo Finn. 
After six years, three CD's, over 500 shows and the same band members, Elbo Finn has decided that enough is enough and is heading West for greener pastures. 

Their music is self-classified as "Folk Core" but varies from alternative to folk to metal-rap in an eclectic mix on their CD's.  They've toured Vegas, San Francisco, Los Angels and Boise, building a decent following and able to make ends meet enough to keep cranking out the CD's and songs.   Jayson Gates on vocals, guitar, percussion; Josh Bjorn Crowther on acoustic guitar, vocals, harmonizer; Maurice Hille -percussion, vocals; and Jake McCandless on Bass, Vocals make up Elbo Finn.

Their final gig in Utah was at a club called The Point After in Murray City, about 100 miles south of Salt Lake City in the center of the State.  After a smoking first set, their second set turned into a fiasco when Murray City Police felt it was their duty to bust the band, bust the club and bust up the crowd of people enjoying the Finn's music.  The reason?.... because they didn't have a Murray City Work Card;  a $10 picture ID required of bar employees—entertainers included—before they set foot behind a bar or on a stage.   Although their last show was a farewell party they were playing for FREE, the police didn't care and cited them all with a class-B misdemeanor for performing without cards. "We had to shut the show down and remove ourselves from the premises" said Finnster guitarist, Gates.  "Now we have to appear in Murray City court three days before we leave town—what a way to end our last bar show !”   More in-depth coverage of this embarassment can be found at The Salt Lake City Weekly.

Elbo Finn is heading to Portland, Oregon with a date of departure being Wednesday, September 1st at 6am.  With a series of shows already lined up, and an alternative music scene that rivals Seattle, I'm sure that they will be received warmly by the locals of Portland's music venues! 

As for Utah and Salt Lake City?.... Hotbands will keep searching for something out of that area, but don't hold your breath for anything too interesting...that is unless you are into church tabernacle music!