Monday night? Just another night for a show this summer, as the newly reintroduced Public Space One will open its doors and welcome you to its friendly confines. Joining us this time will be Californians El Olio Wolof, a quintet whose lengthy style of songwriting evokes some hybrid form of the Decemberists (without any prog leanings) and Okkervil River (without that Will Sheff croon). El Olio Wolof make pop songs, yes, but they also make pop tales: “I went to my closet the other night, guess what I saw / A fire-breathing dragon must’ve stood, thirty feet tall / I invited her for lunch but I, first asked my Ma / She said, “Okay just this once, Melvin, but don’t tell your Pa.” This world in which El Olio Wolof resides has been compared to the poetry of Shel Silverstein, and rightfully so. It’s the world where fantasy meets the suburbs on the backbone of pop music. Through it all an intoxicating accordion drones and the songs unfold like strip malls. They invite you to join them Monday night, July 7 at PS1 in downtown Iowa City at 115 East Washington Street. Joining them will be Michael Morris, who played Mission Creek earlier this year, and local songwriter Amanda Crosby.
Remember, July 7: doors are at 8pm, $3.
Download: El Olio Wolof - Apathetic Apple
Ah, Independence Day weekend…a celebration of our nation’s coming of age. When I was younger this meant trips to our beach house, spending time with family, fireworks, and the like. As I’ve aged, it’s come to mean something more like drinking heavily with friends. The spirit hasn’t really changed. Something vaguely patriotic about overcoming tyranny, or something…anyway, this year is a special cause for celebration as we’ll be headed west to enjoy ourselves at the inaugural 
It’s hard to imagine being an Iowan and missing out on Des Moines’ inaugural 
So with the reservoir officially crested it appears we’re on the way to recovery, and it looks like it’s going to be lengthy. That being said, it is summer (officially as of Friday!), and we’d be remiss if we let record flood conditions get in the way of our merrymaking. Summertime means all sorts of things, like baseball and fireworks and hot dogs on the grill and stuff, and it certainly means that you’ve no excuse to be out enjoying yourself in the company of good music and friends. Remember when it was so cold that you’re favorite band in the world could have been playing and you still might have looked out side and said, “Fuck it.”? Well that time is over now. Don’t take it for granted. Stay dry. And for the record, I did not know that the water skiing squirrel was named Twiggy. They say you learn something new every day, and that just may be true.
Tilly and the Wall have released their third album, O, on Team Love Records. A few months back 
Today’s featured 
It’s a strange time in Iowa City (to say the least) but by no means does that mean that the rock has to stop. Wednesday night at the Picador is the most immediate evidence of this we could find, with a show featuring one of our favorite Iowa bands, 
Tonight, the Picador hosts a show that will veer between noisepop (Datagun), metal-influenced prog (Russian Circles), and straight-up metal (Paria). It should be an interesting mix. Local openers and Mission Creek staffers, Datagun, have been steadily exacting their drum-machine driven synth-pop on Iowa City audiences this year, playing songs that highlight nice harmonies at some points and full-on guitar noise at others. Omaha’s 