mission freak!

Saturday night was one we had all been looking forward to for a long time, as Mission Creek & the NonFictioNOW conference curated an evening of live music and readings. The Mill offered an intimate setting for the first half of the night: a nonfiction reading of music-related pieces by three different writers from the website, Cokemachineglow. Mission Creek producer Andre Perry was joined by his peers Dom Sinacola and Clayton Purdom for a downright captivating reading.

It was unclear, at first, which direction the event would take. Were they just going to read music reviews? Frankly, that sounded boring. Fortunately, Mr. Sinacola treated us to his striking review of Sparklehorse’s 2006 record Dreamt For Lightyears In the Belly of a Mountain. Fantastical, absurdist, and frequently hilarious, Sinacola’s writing reflected a surprisingly creative side of music criticism, as the critical narrative followed its author on an Odyssey-like journey, culminating in a conversation with Satan himself. No, seriously.

Mr. Perry followed up with his essay “American Gray Space,” which was part memoir and part examination of the way race is portrayed through music in America. As he moved seamlessly between the different sections of his performance, he continually dressed himself down as he spoke with a conviction that both fed off and belied his nervous energy. It was clear that though the essay dealt with larger social issues, that the topic was also intensely personal, lending itself easily to the close atmosphere despite its heavy themes.

The final essay was Mr. Purdom’s lengthy recap of Bonnaroo in 2006: an honest diatribe about farcical hippies, an account of the near-religious experience of seeing My Morning Jacket, and an entertaining explanation of drug use at the rural Tennessee festival all rolled into one. Purdom’s tone was both sarcastic and personal, something I’m sure many writers would aspire to but few achieve with such ease.

By coincidence, I had read all of these articles before, but all three took a new life in the live setting, which is more of a credit to the readers themselves than anything else.

Read the articles:
Sparklehorse: Dreamt For Lightyears in the Belly of a Mountain by Dom Simacola
American Gray Space by Andre Perry
The Unwashed Weekend: Hippies at Bonnaroo by Clayton Purdom

After the readings were finished, the evening gave way to the highly anticipated musical portion that included both the return to Iowa City of Lawrence’s Fourth of July, as well as local indie favourites Death Ships‘ first Iowa City performance in some time.

Since appearing in July as the opening act for Tilly and the Wall, Fourth of July have come back three times, culminating in this, their most recent trip. It was their first time playing the Mill after two stints at the Picador and one at the Yacht Club, and while the Fourth are well-suited to any of our fine venues here in Iowa City, their energy and presence fit well in the Mill. They treated us to a set that we essentially hand-picked; they allowed Tanner and I to write their setlist, though they kept things interesting by adding non-album tracks “Goodbye” and “I Don’t Want To Lose You” amidst a lot of tracks from their most stellar Range Life Records debut Fourth of July On the Plains. The band was slightly rusty, undoubtedly endebted to their lengthy tour that saw them go out with the Good Life before heading out on their own tour including a stop at CMJ. However, they proved that they’ve plenty adapted to playing without their back-up singer Adrienne, whose currently playing in Art in Manila and promoting her own new album. Highlights of the set included “She’s in Love” and “The Faint.”

Death Ships closed out an excellent evening with a set consisting heavily of songs from their own self-released debut Seeds of Devastation. Though they’ve essentially been hibernating while working on the next record, they haven’t slipped as a live band, with a commanding presence that suits their big sound. It was good to hear Death Ships live in their Iowa City return, but if anything it left us looking forward to the next record.