2010 Victory Cross Roads. Midnight Cherry. For the bike nerds in the crowd, it’s all stock at the moment except for an upgraded Arlen Ness exhaust.

I blame travel. And then life.

If you’d be interested to see some photos of my time in Italia, etc., check ‘em out here, here and here.

Last night, Fox 13 SLC included me in a piece on some of the rumors about what’s happening with the 2010 Twilight Concert Series.

Saying “Pornographer” (as in, “the New Pornographers”) on local news might be my finest accomplishment in this conservative state.

Check out the clip below.

As the renovation on the Gallivan Center finally begins, the Twilight Concert Series continues to look for a home, at least according to Fox13 News. Says the article, Pioneer Park is being considered, but a decision has still not been reached of the ultimate location. Apparently, the decision should be announced within the next week or two.

A little disheartening for the Salt Lake City summer concerts, especially given Red Butte’s lackluster lineup. (See below.)

As far as who is playing the Twilight Concert Series, well, naturally nothing has been released yet officially. It’s tough to confirm an act when you don’t have a stage to book them to, after all. A couple of the big-name rumors that I’ve heard—and again, these acts are rumors, NOT confirmed—have included the New Pornographers and She & Him. The NPs seem pretty logical because they have a gig in Denver on Wednesday, July 28 and one in Boise, on July 30, leaving the Thursday night (Twilight night!) open conveniently between the two cities.

Unfortunately, there isn’t much in the way of supporting evidence that She & Him would be in the neighborhood on a Thursday night as they have very little booked in July and August, making that rumor much more iffy.

Who have you heard that’s rumored to play Twilight this year?

**UPDATE**
A little bird told me that he’d heard that Pioneer Park is a go (still unofficial) and that he’d also heard that the Dodos were to be included. A quick look at their summer touring schedule reveals that they’re touring with the New Pornographers, so it would be safe to assume that the Dodos will be rolling through SLC on July 29, too.

Tickets went on sale yesterday for Red Butte Gardens members. As has been widely discussed by me and others within the SLC music community… the lineup’s a little light this year. Tickets go on sale to non-members May 3. Tickets and more info here.

Not surprisingly, the August 20 (Norah Jones & Corinne Bailey Rae), September 1 (Sheryl Crow) and September 10 (Willie Nelson) shows are already sold out. I think it’s worth noting that those shows feature some of the bigger name, more contemporary artists than some of the other billings (see: Chicago, Joan Baez, John Prine, and the Doobie Brothers, for example.) Of course, one could argue whether or not Willie is contemporary given that he is 76-years-young, but IMO, he’s done a far better job of appealing to audiences beyond the older-end of the baby boomers than the other artists mentioned.

The Swell Season, pictured above, play August 15.

***

June 6 Kenny Wayne Shepherd

June 16 Steve Martin with the Steep Canyon Rangers

June 18 Joss Stone

June 22 Chicago

June 28 JJ Grey & Mofro with Todd Snider featuring Great American Taxi

July 7 Joan Baez with Guy Clark

July 11 Brandi Carlile with Katie Herzig

July 13 Barenaked Ladies

July 14 Lyle Lovett and his Large Band

July 25 Rhythm Devils featuring Mickey Hart, Bill Kreutzmann, Keller Williams

Aug 1 Mary Chapin Carpenter

Aug 4 Natalie Merchant

Aug 8 Allen Toussaint with Dirty Dozen Brass Band, Trombone Shorty and Orleans Avenue

Aug 10 Chris Isaak

Aug 15 The Swell Season

Aug 19 John Prine

Aug 20 Norah Jones with Corinne Bailey Rae

Aug 22 A Prairie Home Companion with Garrison Keillor Summer Love Tour

Aug 29 Doobie Brothers

Sept 1 Sheryl Crow

Sept 10 Willie Nelson

Pollstar.com announced three additional Red Butte Gardens shows for this summer.

• Brandi Carlile, Sunday, July 11
• Chris Isaak, Tuesday, August 10
• Colbie Caillat, Wednesday, September 1

Got to say, still not fired up about the Red Butte lineup, other than Willie (see below) and Brandi Carlile. And is it me, or has Chris Isaak reached house-musician-status at Red Butte? Tickets for Red Butte members go on sale Monday, April 19.

(Thanks to Kelly for sharing this info with me.)

In my humble opinion, a big, gaping hole will be left in the SLC summer concert scene this year with the Twilight Concert Series’ fate schedule still up in the air. Yesterday, the Tribune reported that the shows will go on—just not at the Gallivan Center, which is currently undergoing remodel. My fear is that a new temporary location, coupled with the issue of unfriendly crowds that were too large for fire codes at the Gallivan, may force the people behind Twilight to contract with smaller, lesser-known acts for 2010. Only time will tell. The lineup is set to be announced mid-April, and as of yet, I have not heard any rumors.

Another bummer on the Utah summer concert front: look for Snowbird to have far fewer concerts this summer, too. Last year, Snowbird booked some pretty incredible acts (Old 97s, Son Volt, the Cowboy Junkies, to name a few). Unfortunately, none were particularly well attended, and as a result, it looks like most of the summer concerts there will not be of the same scale.

What about Red Butte Gardens, you ask? Well, in my humble opinion, Red Butte has been going through a bit of an audience identity crisis for the last couple of seasons. Do we go after the old folks (read: known money), or take a chance on the youngsters (read: cheap hipsters who prefer free concerts downtown)? For the last couple of seasons, Red Butte hedged its bets and did a little of both, as evidenced last year by acts like Chicago, Smokey Robinson and Bonnie Raitt playing the same series as the Avett Brothers, Death Cab for Cutie and Andrew Bird. With everyone doubting that the Twilight Concert Series will be able to live up to its past potential in a new, smaller and temporary locale, the Red Butte series could have stolen some of its youthful audience. So far, that does not appear to be the case. Three Red Butte shows have been confirmed:
•    Mary Chapin Carpenter, August 1
•    The Doobie Brothers, August 29
•    Willie Nelson, September 10

With the exception of Willie, those listings make me yawn. Red Butte tickets go on sale for members April 19.

For the bike nerds out there, it’s a Mustang Wide Vintage Solo and a Motherwell Solo Luggage Rack. Both scored on Ebay, nice and cheap.

When I lived in Boston and New York, St. Patrick’s was an all-day affair. In Salt Lake City, not so much. But I’m doing my best. I’ll be here for lunch and here for dinner.