Superbubble Brings Love and Good Times Back to The Depot

The crowd was festively-dressed and in high spirits as they lined up at The Depot entrance to see SuperBubble, in what would be the band’s first big show since the pandemic began.

As I rounded the corner and the scene I describe above came into view, I knew this was going to be a good night. It’s always a good night when you see hundreds of festival-starved fans getting reacquainted with the abundant love one feels when groovy music meets groovy people. I know “groovy” is a dated word, but that’s how it felt as the coogi-clad and flowing-attired crowd milled about the The Depot entrance.

groovy” is a dated word, but that’s how it felt, as the coogi-clad, flowing-clothed crowd floated through the doors.

The Depot is one of the great Salt Lake City venues. Located adjacent to the city’s old train depot, the venue definitely has vintage urban charm with a capacity of 1,200. The bar staff were a well-oiled machine as—despite deep lines at the bar—they were able to quickly put drinks in everyone’s outstretched hands. And while I normally hate waiting in lines, I actually enjoyed standing at the bar, chatting with the many joyous faces.

Quite a few Utah bands are touring this year, but SuperBubble is not one of them. Don’t mistake that as a sign of the band’s popularity, or lack thereof. Fans in Salt Lake know what’s up and the turnout for the show made The Depot show hands-down the largest local music, non-arena show since the lockdowns began in March of 2020.

The band opened with my favorite song Inner Mission—the chorus of which which described quite well why we all were there:

Let the music show you the way, be you guiding protector
Let the music fill your head, infect your mind like a mentor
Let the music take you back, connect you with your ancestor
Let the music free your soul, and help you find your way back to the center

As the show progressed, singer/bassist Brandon B Barker commented that the band—at that moment—was certainly getting what they hoped for: that moment when the band finds itself in perfect sync with a large appreciative crowd. His stoke was high and he definitely had found the way back to his own center.

In addition to Barker, the lineup included Tim Ouburg on keys, Rob Drayna on guitar and backing vocals, Max Webb on lead guitar, percussionist Dan Muir and Pierre Menefield on drums. Menefield was a nice surprise for me. I had been a fan for several years, but had no idea Menefield had replaced the band’s previous drummer before the whole pandemic bullshit landed.

Missing was the band’s old horn section. Dan Muir says the band doesn’t have a solid horn section right now. Because of Covid, the band didn’t call everyone up for this show.

One of my favorite moments of the show came when Ouburg took a break from keys to run around the stage, acting all goofy. This came shortly after the band played his tune Goods For You—inspired by the music of his birthplace in the Netherlands.

The festival thing really got going about halfway through the show, when blowup glowing aliens, beach balls and soap bubbles began appearing. The festival tradition of batting beachballs brought the audience closer together and amplified the good vibes.

The festival tradition of batting beachballs brought the audience closer together and amplified the good vibes.

SuperBubble closed their set at the Depot with another favorite of mine, Hey Nice Coogi. I was thinking there would be no encore…I thought I had heard the best the band had to offer. I was wrong. After an appropriate amount of cajoling and arm-twisting, the band returned and played for another amazing half hour.

Catch SuperBubble Saturday, August 28, from 6-7 pm at the Utah Arts Festival on August 28. Check out the Bard Recommends calendar for more on that event. Learn more about SuperBubble on superbubbleband.com, stream their music on Spotify, follow them on facebook, or stream/purchase on Apple Music.

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Salt Lake Bard shares news and events from Utah’s top music talent, venues and industry service providers. If you enjoyed this review, you can find more like this in our Artist Review section.