Cher Khan + Fight the Future: Private Show at Paxton Studios December 10th

concert

Nearly six months after releasing their debut single, local post-hardcore band Cher Khan performed their first live performance at Paxton Studios over the weekend. I’ve written about Cher Khan a few times, so I was excited to attend and see if the group would be as dynamic and loud as their recordings. I wasn’t disappointed. With Fight the Future’s loud opening, Cher Khan’s thunderous performance and charmingly unorthodox venue, this proved to be an all-time local show for me.

Fight the Future opened the evening with “Gaslight,” theirs Bikini Kill-Subsequent anthem about sticking to the truth of your own narrative, no matter what you are told to believe. I had never seen Fight the Future live before and was overwhelmed by their gigantic stage presence. Singer Kelly Green stomping and hopping around like a screaming kangaroo in combat boots while the rest of the band chugged their instruments explosively on the plush carpets that served as the venue’s stage.

I was particularly fascinated by the way Green switched back and forth between the lyrics of the song between addressing the microphone, which she held in her powerful fist, and the audience’s warm smiles. “I’m mad, but not at you. You are my friend because you are here with me,” she conveys the impression and creates space for everyone who is ready to join her righteous resistance against patriarchy, homophobia and racism.

Fight the Future rumbled through their 30-minute set like a tank, playing their best songs, including my personal favorite, “Erica.” Then it was time for Cher Khan to take the stage.

I want to pause here and talk a little about the venue, which gave the show as much personality as any of the other musicians. Paxton Studios is just as intimate as Kilby Courtbut it’s also a worker like a blacksmith’s shop – because that’s more or less what it is. The building used to be a warehouse, but John Clarencea former contractor, converted it into a multi-purpose space for two of his passion projects: making music and making knives.

During the show, power tools hung from hooks on the cinder block walls and heavy machinery rested under tarps like giant, angular ghosts gathered from beyond the grave to investigate all the commotion. And let me tell you: you haven’t heard hardcore music until you’ve heard it ten feet from an industrial lathe. Unique locations like this really bring out the “underground” in “Salt Lake Underground” and I take every opportunity to catch a show Paxton Studios from now on.

After a quick sound check and some technical difficulties – which guitarist Brad Rhoades filled dead air by employing his impressive repertoire of early 2000s guitar licks – the band kicked things off with “Cycloptic”. I was particularly excited to hear this song live because Aria Newberry‘S rousing solo, a highlight of the band’s self-titled EP.

With half her hair dyed pink and half brown, Newberry resembles a Neapolitan ice cream who has learned to absolutely kick a guitar’s ass. Her nimble fingers hit every note of her solo with absolute precision, setting the audience up for the rest of the band’s set, which somehow only went up from this already breathtaking height.

Over the next 30 minutes, Cher Khan flipped through her entire EP like an avalanche and added an amazing cover Super heaven‘S “Knew” and played two unreleased songs by this singer Syd Hale announced would appear on the band’s upcoming album.

Unlike Green from Fight the Future, Hale has a much more reserved – but no less imposing – personality. When she first took the stage, she planted herself like a willow in front of her microphone and stared at the audience through the curtain of her black pony with utmost vulnerability. From this determined stance, she bellowed draconically through every song, fueling lines like “Tell me you want to be dead / without saying you want to be dead” with plasmic vitriol.

Despite the palpable fear in Cher Khan’s music, a loving energy flowed between the bandmates through supportive smiles and mischievous banter. I felt like I was watching a family bonding together against a cruel world that they are trying to improve with their combined anger and compassion.

And while Hale mostly stayed in one place throughout the performance, Newberry, Rhoades and the bassist did Wesley Manalo kept the party going by obsessively banging around (without missing a single note) and drummer David Sedano everyone bathed in it his bone-crushing drums.

The band finished with their frenetic new song “Shift Shape” and the lights in the hall came on to the ensuing applause. Since it was a secret show, the crowd didn’t have the numbers to catalyze a mosh pit, but the energy was definitely there. We in the audience were a convulsive mass, reeling from the waves of sonic fury emanating from the band. Returning to the real world after such a trance is always a little disorienting, and in every blinking face I saw a desire to remain enveloped in the withering glow of the music for a while longer.

Afterwards I met with Hale and Newberry to discuss a few details about the upcoming album. The official release date is unknown, but Hale told me the record will be released under the title in 2025 Bliss. I for one can’t wait to hear the new Cher Khan, and I’m also excited to see where the band goes after their stunning debut.

You can find more concert reports here:
Clairo @ The Great Saltair 10.13
Judah & the Lion @ The Union 10.07

Photos by India Mendoza | [email protected]