Musical moments abounded in 2006

• Still occupied with 1985: Def Leppard, Journey, INXS, Tesla, Poison and Cinderella all made Utah stops in 2006. And let's not forget, not one but two sold-out nights at the Depot for Queensryche. Although these bands are all past their primes, Utah's love for the arena-rock '80s shined again in 2006. All we ask of fans: It's it's time to get rid of the spandex.

• Best new venue: The Depot. Salt Lake's new club with the huge stage and outstanding sound system marked its first full year in operation. Just about everyone played there in 2006 from the funk-jams of Victor Wooten to punk-pop chords of Unwritten Law to classic rockers.

• Guaranteed great show every time: Speaking of outstanding Depot shows, Roger Clyne and the Peacemakers (P.H. Naffah, Steve Larson, Nick Scropos) rolled into town on a Sunday night in April (think empty city) and still played as if they were in front of a sold-out crowd at Madison Square Garden. The boys from Tempe can't return fast enough to the Wasatch Mountains from the Sonoran Desert.

• Worst venue to get in the door: McKay Events Center. The lines, er, line, is ridiculous every time. Some folks have figured out that for best results they should go to the will-call door. But what the facility really needs is to put screeners at another entrance or two and then work out a better system for getting people onto the main floor.

• The kids seem to like it: If you ask your kids what shows they saw this year, chances are they'll say Hawthorne Heights, Fall Out Boy, Dashboard Confessional, +44, Yellowcard or the X-96 BASH, which featured many of these artists plus others, including Blue October and the Red Jumpsuit Apparatus. And they likely would have been at Panic! At the Disco had the show not been canceled due to snow.

• Country rocks: Lyle Lovett at Deer Valley, Del McCoury and Old Crow Medicine Show at Red Butte ... it just speaks for itself. Great shows, great venues.

• No shows: What did Billy Joel, Pearl Jam, Roger Waters and Bob Seger have in common in 2006? None of them came to Utah. Here's hoping Santa takes note of my wish list.

E-mail: preavy@desnews.com