A Tale of Three Fabulous Female Rock ‘n Rollers

What started with Superbubble and Spirit Machines at the Depot on Friday, and ended with SilkE, Do Lï and Uma Fuzz at the Tailgate Tavern on Saturday, turned out to be a weekend of amazing Halloween music and discovery.

We’ve covered Superbubble and  Spirit Machines so for this review we’re going to focus on what went down at Tailgate Tavern: three bands fronted by three hot rockin’ ladies putting on three great performances.

…three bands fronted by three hot rockin’ ladies putting on three great performances.

A sparkling debut

The band Silke (left to right): Kyle Hetrick, Adilea Sprouse, Jason Rawlings (partially hidden) and David Phillips.

The evening’s trifecta fem-rock show kicked off with Adilea Sprouse and her new band SilkE. Sprouse has been around the scene for a while—both on stage and behind the sound board. This show would be a first for Sprouse, who would be fronting the band and performing her own material.

A few weeks earlier, Sprouse had told me how excited she was about the debut, which would be a milestone for any musician…let alone the songwriting alien who took the stage with her three-astronaut escort.

Performing original material is always exciting and a bit nerve-racking. You wonder what people think of your performance (e.g., your playing, your singing), and you what they think of your songwriting (e.g., the melodies you crafted, the hooks, the words and phrases, etc.).

Editor’s Note: Go here for a photo gallery with more photos from the show.

That said, Sprouse had her band backing her up and they put on an impressive performance. The band was tight and Sprouse sang effortlessly over the top of her melodic riff-based guitar parts. I definitely heard a modern surf-style with a bit of a harder edge. Diamond in the rough is not the right term to describe the performance, because that diamond is ready to wear. I got a glimpse of where SilkE is going and I liked it.

There’s a phenomena I often experience with new bands: I find myself impressed at the direction, then blown away later when I see the band arrive at their destination.

That’s how it was with Do Lï (‘dah-lee). It had been about 6 months since I had seen one of their early performances—it might have been their first—and the change was dramatic.

…I find myself impressed at the direction, then blown away later when I see the band arrive at their destination.

A band hitting its stride

Alexandra Moran showed up for the Halloween gig with her band Do Lï. The band has been around less than a year, and had a couple new faces in the lineup, but they we smokin’ hot and Alex seems to have found her comfort zone front and center.

The band Do Lï (left to right) Taylor Millet on bass guitar, Jake Barrett on drums, Alexandra Moran on vocals and rhythm guitar, and Kyle Smith is on lead guitar.

Moran’s vocals were great—reminding me of David Bowie, with a dynamic range that at one moment is deep and throaty, and the next moment is a haunting falsetto. Alex told me that some have compared her to Grace Slick. I definitely heard that as well.

What I saw this night was a woman with total confidence in her voice and a commanding stage presence. Her movements on stage were relaxed and grooving—as her body rippled in a slow, fluid wave-like motion from her ankles to her shoulders. Making the performance even more emotional was the raggedy Anne doll makeup that almost made her look tearful.

What I saw this night was a woman with total confidence in her voice and a commanding stage presence.

I loved guitarist Kyle Smith, with his Joker face paint exaggerating the real smile fixed to his face. His playful style, and melodic answers to Moran’s vocals, enhanced the emotional aspect of the show. I know it was Halloween, but to be honest this performance kind of freaked me out a bit. Was Smith live and in the flesh, or was I viewing this all through a VR headset? Either way, I couldn’t take my eyes off his painted face or his guitar.

You know a band hitting its stride when the players are sincerely into what the they are doing. I’m not talking about stage presence or forced liveliness. In the case, every time I look at drummer Jake Barrett—who has recently collaborated with Moran on songwriting—the look on his face was genuine and you could tell he was having the time of his life. Bassist Taylor Millet payed more of a straight man and was harder to read, but his playing was tight: driving at times and sending riffs at all the right moments.

For me, Do Lï was the surprise factor of the show….made even more enjoyable by what I knew what was coming up next with Uma Fuzz.

Senior Fuzz

The seniors of the class were most definitely Uma Fuzz. I reviewed the band last April, so I’m not going to go into too much detail here.

The band Uma Fuzz (left to right) Jordan Shonberg, Sara Little Drum, Micah Alldredge and Dan Muir.

Uma Fuzz have been together for several years, and I can’t think of a harder working musician than front gal Sara Little Drum. She’s like a female version of Dave Crespo: playing in 3-4 bands, doin multiple gigs every week and working days as a vocal coach.

Combined with Dan Muir on Bass, Jordan Peterson on Guitar and new member Micah Alldredge on drums, there are probably ten bands represented on stage between this fuzzy bunch. By the way…you might have seen Alldredge play with Scenic Byway, who we reviewed in September of ’21. You definitely have to check them out.

Halfway through their set, I found my mind wandering a bit. It was a long night in a long weekend. But then the band launched into a couple tunes—one of them a new number written by Muir—and I was all in. The driving bass of Muir’s number had that frequency and rhythm that forces you to move. And just when I though it couldn’t get any better, the Fuzz brought out a secret weapon in the form of a fiddle playing sprite called Juliette Camille.

…just when I though it couldn’t get any better, the Fuzz brought out a secret weapon in the form of a fiddle playing sprite called Juliette Camille.

At that point it was GG and high energy the rest of the way until the band finally relented about 1 am.

Side show

At one point that evening, I ran into recent L.A. transplant, producer Tyce Griffiin Jr. As we talked, I pointed out Camille and told him she was hot. He asked if she was Devil Went Down to Georgia hot? I replied: a) I didn’t think that fiddle part was that great; and b) “yes” she was. Later, as Camille was doing her thing, I spotted Tyce in the crowd and his face was literally melting.

I also ran into Maxwell Sessions who runs a new and very cool open mic night every Tuesday night, 7 pm at Shades on State, in downtown SLC.

Last thing…hats off to Angelique Gordon and her friendly crew at Tailgate Tavern. It’s a small venue but drinks are cheap, it’s intimate, and it’s a place where you can still experience the rawness of a good Rock ‘n Roll show.

Salt Lake Bard is Utah’s source for local music-only reviews and news. Follow us on facebook and Instagram.