This is kind of where it all started with me. High Fidelity was first obviously, but in the late 2000’s/early 2010’s I got really into video editing, and putting little clips up on YouTube. You might say that I was the original influencer, and everyone else has been imitating me ever since. There’s really no way to prove that statement is false, so I’ll leave it. Anyway. Before iPhones were ubiquitous, I carried around a little Hi8 camcorder to record bands at shows, and do short interviews for the music blog that I ran with my friend Dan. Every year around Christmas, I would force all my friends into making a Top 5 Anything video. There were no rules, and I simply wanted to know their favorite moments from that year. It could have been literally anything (hence the name), and the most random answers were always the best. Casey always tried to find weird places to film his, a few people invited me to their house, and most stopped by my house specifically to take part.
It was super fun, but I stopped making them when Instagram took off because the longest video allowed was 30 seconds (and even that took a few years). This idea is kind of perfect for Reels and TikTok now, but I have no interest in becoming one of those people that talks into the camera. So when you start seeing something like this popping up all over your feed next week, you know who to thank (or blame).
But I digress. These are my Top 5 Anythings from 2022 (and a few honorable mentions). If you want to tell me about yours, I would love to hear them.
Spooky A-Go-Go - Downtown SLC - The most consistent Halloween tradition I have is playing a Misfits cover set with whoever else I can find that loves that band as much as I do. Dan Fletcher has been with me every time so far, and this year I was able to get the rest of Milk Money on board, too. The last two times we did it at Super Top Secret (a local ad agency), we tried to do it as a karaoke set which never worked as well as we hoped. The problem was twofold: First, everyone thinks they know Misfits lyrics until it’s time to actually sing them. Second, even if they do know most of the lyrics, they’ve never sang with a live band. Those songs aren’t easy to sing, and are a lot faster than anyone is ready for. Once you miss your cue, it’s really hard to get back on. This year we recruited our friend Brighton to take full vocal duties, and it was one of the most fun sets I’ve ever played. We set up in the courtyard behind Este Pizza during an art show put on by honorary M$ member Robin Banks. It was the tail end of October, and literally the last night of good weather of the year. We blasted through 12 songs while people sang along, danced, and Brighton took full advantage of her wireless mic by running through the crowd and getting people involved. The whole thing was awesome, and I’m already thinking of ways to make next year as much fun as this was.
Cali Burrito from Tacotarian - Burritos are a hugely important part of my life. A lot of bands go out for post-show drinks, but Milk Money does post-show burritos. It’s great, and I look forward to it almost more than playing the actual show. The best burrito I had this year wasn’t in Salt Lake, unfortunately, so the M$ dudes couldn’t experience it with me. I went to Vegas twice this year—once to see Nine Inch Nails, and again for my friend Kristin’s 40th birthday—and both times I ventured off the strip to the Arts District to eat at Tacotarian. This place might hold the title of my favorite vegan restaurant right now, and I’m so sad that the closest one is six hours away. I went twice while I was there most recently, and the only thing that stopped me from going a third time was that it took too long to get a Lyft. Everything that I’ve had is delicious, but the Cali Burrito is at the very top, and I’ve been thinking about it every day since. It’s entirely possible that I’ll be making a road trip just for Tacotarian and Ronald’s Donuts in the near future. The sign-up sheet for adventure buddies will be posted below.
Magic Castle in Hollywood - This is a fancy private dinner club that sits on top of the hill above Hollywood Boulevard, but with a little twist—it’s only for magicians. If you think that sounds ridiculous, you probably hate fun and I can’t believe you’re friends with me. My friend Matt is a member, so he got us in while I was visiting in October, and my only regret is that I didn’t have as much time to wander around to look closer at all the little details. It’s several different levels, with showrooms and bars scattered throughout, and allegedly designed by one of the Disney Imagineers that originally worked on the Haunted Mansion. There are vintage posters lining the walls, finely detailed portraits, and weird knick knacks around every single turn. The guy working the secret basement bar did some of the coolest card tricks (I mean illusions, sorry) I’ve ever seen, and I had so much fun people watching and listening to Matt give us the lowdown on its history. It’s one of the coolest places I’ve ever been, and that might sound silly coming from a 42-year-old man, but it’s 100% on brand.
Nine Inch Nails in Las Vegas - There’s no way I would leave this one off the list. I bought the tickets way back in February, and spent every day for the next seven months hoping a new Covid surge wouldn’t derail the tour. It was one of the last stops, and I was stressed about it until I was actually in the theater with the lights starting to go down. The setlist this time around wasn’t my favorite, but they did pull out some songs that I haven’t seen live before (The Becoming and Heresy), while also hitting the ones that I’m always excited to hear (Wish and Somewhat Damaged). The guy behind us yelled out the song title as soon as each one started, and he did it every single time. It went from being mildly irritating to downright hilarious by the end of the set. It was a cannonball run of a trip, but in that span of 30 hours I discovered Tacotarian, saw my favorite band play live, ate vegan chicken and waffles at the Wynn, grabbed a bag of coffee from Vesta, and then got to sit down at Ronald’s Donuts to let a wave of nostalgia wash over me. The actual casino didn’t get a single dollar of my money, and we were back home in time to watch Sick of it All and Agnostic Front in SLC the next night. As much as I wish I hadn’t dropped the ball on getting tickets to the Red Rocks show(s), this was a damn fine consolation prize. It also assured me that my body isn’t capable of ever going on tour again. Two shows in two cities in two days was brutal—and I didn’t even have to load gear in or play. Those days are long gone.
Hot Ones Challenge - Casey’s House - During the latter half of 2020 and most of 2021, Casey and I would get together at his house about once a week to order takeout, and watch TV while hanging out with his kids. Hot Ones was a staple, and it’s the perfect show to have on in the background while we argued about dumb stuff. Earlier this year, we found out that Walmart sells small batches of three sauces featured on the show, so Casey and I decided to have our own Hot Ones Challenge. We grabbed the sauces, some vegan wings, and everything that might help us make it through—soda crackers, ice cream, chocolate Silk, etc. I’m not a hot sauce connoisseur by any means, but I love a little bit of spice. Little being the key word there, because I’m also kind of a wimp. It wasn’t crazy, but man those sauces are hot, and I definitely needed more than a few bites of strawberry ice cream to get through. His daughter Rosie really wanted to play along, but changed her mind as soon as she saw our faces. I think the moral of this story (and most of this list) is that it’s really important to make time to still do dumb, fun stuff with your friends. I promise that it makes all the other shit you have to deal with in life better. In the immortal words of 7 Seconds, I’m gonna stay young until I die.
Worth Mentioning
M$ Summer shows - Playing shows with my friends is still a blast, and we got to do it at some of our favorite venues in SLC this past summer. We had a BBQ at Kilby Court with the homies in Absolved and Vincent Draper, played the final SLUG Mag Localized at Urban Lounge, got to try out the new all-ages Black Lung Society, and annoy everyone at the Craft Lake City DIY Fest by playing as loud as possible in the middle of the day. There wasn’t time to get burritos after every single one of them, but we gave it an honest effort.
Oreo Shakes at Mark of the Beastro - I can always count on Elsha to come through when the others (*cough* Rush *cough*) try to pull the old Vertical Diner move of saying “the machine is broken” or that they’re “out of ice cream.” We all know that’s not true and never was. Jokes aside, I really hope this generation of vegans, punks, and hardcore kids know how good they have it with Beehive and Mark of the Beastro. Something like this would have been a godsend when I was younger, and everyone should be thanking Andrew for it every single chance they get.
Quicksand at The Depot - As a supporting act for Clutch, they only had time for a short set. On the plus side, I saw another one of my favorite bands rip through a dozen of their best songs and was back home by 10pm. Forgive the bad photo. It’s a screenshot of a video, and I couldn’t let them be the only caption without an image.
Nachos at Gracias Madre - This place is in West Hollywood, and I think about these nachos at least once a week. If Tacotarian ever expands to LA, and they suddenly have both of these restaurants I may have to rethink my living situation in this city.
Shannon’s 30th Birthday - This was just a fun night, and with how much time Casey and I spent filling up balloons and decorating, I felt like it needed to be acknowledged. I wish more of my friends would host parties where we can all just hang out together for a while. I guess it’s gonna fall on me to get a place big enough for that.
Short List for 2023
At the end of the Top 5 Anything videos I always made people choose a couple things they were looking forward to in the new year, so continuing tradition, here’s what I’m excited about in 2023.
AFI playing Sing the Sorrow at the Forum - It’s not Black Sails, but it’ll have to do. I’m so happy I was able to snag tickets to this show, and I will definitely be carving out time for Nachos at Gracias Madre.
New Milk Money - We have one new song that’s finished, and a bunch of riffs floating in the group text thread. We’ll put them all together next year, then hit the studio. I can’t wait for people to hear it.