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.
So, some people are going to be in Des Moines this weekend, but if you’re staying around Iowa City, it won’t exactly be settling. The fine folks with Iowa Ctiy Summer of the Arts have gotten three of the biggest names in contemporary jazz for this year’s Iowa City Jazz Festival: Medeski, Martin & Wood, John Scofield, and the Joshua Redman Trio. For those uninitiated in living jazz artists, you don’t get much bigger. You have to look to the handful of dudes that played with Miles and still giggin’ (oh wait, Scofield was in Davis’ band from ‘82 - ‘85). And like always, the music is free.
John Medeski, Billy Martin, and Chris Wood, headline the first night of the festivitie (i.e. kick off your 4th of July Weekend with a bang). Medeski Martin & Wood have been straddling the line between jam band and jazz band for 16 years, and in many ways, it is that particular friction that keeps them exciting and popular. Loved by dead heads for long, funky jams (or “crunchy grooves”) and equally loved by the jazz set for their avant-garde leanings and incessant exploration, MMW have just enough funk in their trunk or the casual jazz fan and just enough moxy for the snobs.
It’s hard to imagine being an Iowan and missing out on Des Moines’ inaugural 80/35 Music Festival, which boasts an impressive lineup in its first year..The Roots? The Flaming Lips? Black freakin’ Francis? This promises to be not only the premiere Iowa music event of the summer but also a destination as its namesake indicates: two major interstates converge in Des Moines, making it the perfect center for folks traveling from all sorts of Midwestern hubs. Three-fourths of the Freak staff will be in attendance, taking in a weekend of sun, booze, and diverse musical talent. There isn’t a lot more for me to say - I think the line-up speaks volumes. As with any festival, you won’t be able to see everyone, and that will be okay. So straight from us, here’s our ideal take - precisely, where you’ll most likely be able to find us, when we’re not in line for beer - on this weekend’s activities.
Anyway, that clearly leaves a lot of worthy folks out too, so do your research and then do your own thing. Tickets are still available. Advance tickets are cheaper, so pick them up online: weekend passes are only $50, or if you can only make it for a day it’s $30 each. Enjoy some mp3s below, and then get thee a ticket.
This week’s best show happens like, um, tomorrow. Tuesday is the new Awesome. F Yeah Fest rolls into the Mill at 8PM Tuesday night. It’s a festival all in one night, a huge explosion of indie rock, dance music, and comedy. The lineup is pretty incredible. We’ll break it down for ya…
Comedy: Funny men Hannibal Burress and Nick Flanagan will kick things off with something we don’t get too often in town: stand-up comedy. Buress is especially destructive with his entirely subdued deadpan delivery. Check out a clip here and another one there.
Music: First up are the down ‘n dirty Puritanicals pumping out minimalist garage rock anthems. Pitchfork adored Crystal Antlers step up next with a set. After that it’s the dancey punk stylings of Team Robespierre whose sound recalls the exciting antics of Matt and Kim. Monotonix rocks out last, with their legendary lives show that’ll have their lead singer diving from stage into crowd.
Dance Party: After the rock, Iowa City’s best DJ team, School of Flyentology will be throwing a good ole dance party for the people to get down with.
Get to the Mill at 8PM. That’s when everything gets fun and crazy.
Just when I thought I knew what to expect at a “noise show,” the fine folks performing at the Picador on Saturday night, threw me a curveball.
The night started with the high, hard heat of Trash Dog. The quartet, comprised of a trio of guitars and a drummer, brutalized their instruments with minute-long songs that fit somewhere in between noise, punk, and a train wreck. They filled the short songs with scream-therapy vocals and blistering, overdriven guitar workouts.
The one-off project Crackity Sax was a saxophone trio featuring former Violent Femmes sax man Peter Balestrieri and another guy on tenor and a lady on baritone. They knocked out a handful of jazz standards — including a rousing version of “Minnie the Moocher — then capped the whole thing off with a free jazz explosion from the catalog of Mr. Albert Ayler.
The art-loving folks who live at the house at Washington and Lucas have turned their basement into an official D.I.Y. venue called the Glory Hole. The first show kicks off tonight featuring Tree Tops (from Chicago), Uneven Universe (from Detroit), and locals Uncomforter and Supersonic Piss. This is a great thing for Iowa City. It means more art and more music. The venue is a cozy basement with killer sound and astounding intimacy. Look forward to seeing some of the best local and underground touring talent at the Glory Hole. There is another show on Thursday, July 3rd. Details forthcoming. The show tonight begins at 930PM.
I love watching country music videos when I’m hungover. Besides the really schlocky and profit-driven-patriotism that is a sad sub-genre of contemporary country, by and large country music videos are awesome: dynamic acting, melodramatic and rousing score, beautiful acoustic guitars, and really great storylines. Because with country, you really have to feel; whereas in indie rock you can sing about butterflies or old movies or your own fragmented urban existence, in country, you sing about life and death and love and heartbreak. By definition, country music is narrative music, and while at the beginning of country music videos that little text box tells you who the director is, at the end it tells you who the songwriter is. Because that’s really what it all comes back to in country music: the songwriter. And Lucinda Williams, first and foremost, is a fucking brilliant songwriter.
Voted the funniest comedian in Chicago by Time Out, the hilarious Hannibal Burress will be in Iowa City on Tuesday, July 1st as part of the F Yeah Fest at the Mill. I could go on about his comedic talents but it makes more sense to let the stand-up speak for itself. Check it out and if you like it swing by the Mill at 8PM on Tuesday, July 1st.
Ho-hum, it’s been a slow week around here. I keep falling asleep all over myself. I was about to engage permanent hibernation until I realized — holy crap! — dd/mm/yyyy is playing in Iowa City on Saturday night! Bringing together elements of noise, math-rock, and sweet irresistible pop, dd/mm/yyyy (day - month - year) is an outfit from Toronto. They’ve been tearing it up on summer tour, playing side by side such wonderful weirdos as Videohippos and Crystal Castles. They come through the Picador this Saturday on the tail-end of their travels. Their sound is all energy and their songs are all craft, well-conceived ear-bending nuggets. They recall that killer Iowa City duo Foul Tip although their sound is much fuller with their five-man lineup. And it’s totally appropriate that they’re sharing the bill with Iowa City rock stars, Birth Rites.
Mannix! plays at the Mill tonight in honor of bass player / tom-thumper Sarah Mannix’s birthday. She can’t be more than 18 but this party sure is gonna be adult. In fact it’s going to be a circus, a rock n’ roll circus. Remember way back in the ’60s when the Stones got all self-indulgent and tried to rock some star-studded circus antics via electric guitars? Well it’s back. Mannix!, some of Iowa City’s best garage-iest rockers, channel the raw energy of the Gossip. They share the stage with rock n’ roll heartbreakers and tasty songcrafters, the Puritanicals. Brooklyn hipsters, Renminbi, open up with their funky, almost mathy blend of indie rock. The party starts at 9PM. Bring costumes and wear your cred on your sleeves. Or just pump down some Jaeger shots with the bar staff. It’ll be good, for sure the best thing happening in Iowa City tonight, that is if you are into good times and rock n’ roll.
All music posted here is for evaluation purposes only. If you are an artist or a label who would like to see your music taken down, send an email to craigeley [at] gmail [dot] com, and we'll happily do it.
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.
So, some people are going to be in 
It’s hard to imagine being an Iowan and missing out on Des Moines’ inaugural 
This week’s best show happens like, um, tomorrow. Tuesday is the new Awesome. F Yeah Fest rolls into the Mill at 8PM Tuesday night. It’s a festival all in one night, a huge explosion of indie rock, dance music, and comedy. The lineup is pretty incredible. We’ll break it down for ya…
Just when I thought I knew what to expect at a “noise show,” the fine folks performing at the Picador on Saturday night, threw me a 
I love watching country music videos when I’m hungover. Besides the really schlocky and profit-driven-patriotism that is a sad sub-genre of contemporary country, by and large country music videos are awesome: dynamic acting, melodramatic and rousing score, beautiful acoustic guitars, and really great storylines. Because with country, you really have to feel; whereas in indie rock you can sing about butterflies or old movies or your own fragmented urban existence, in country, you sing about life and death and love and heartbreak. By definition, country music is narrative music, and while at the beginning of country music videos that little text box tells you who the director is, at the end it tells you who the songwriter is. Because that’s really what it all comes back to in country music: the songwriter. And Lucinda Williams, first and foremost, is a fucking brilliant songwriter.
Ho-hum, it’s been a slow week around here. I keep falling asleep all over myself. I was about to engage permanent hibernation until I realized — holy crap! — 
Mannix! plays at the Mill tonight in honor of bass player / tom-thumper Sarah Mannix’s birthday. She can’t be more than 18 but this party sure is gonna be adult. In fact it’s going to be a circus, a rock n’ roll circus. Remember way back in the ’60s when the Stones got all self-indulgent and tried to rock some star-studded circus antics via electric guitars? Well it’s back. Mannix!, some of Iowa City’s best garage-iest rockers, channel the raw energy of the Gossip. They share the stage with rock n’ roll heartbreakers and tasty songcrafters, the Puritanicals. Brooklyn hipsters, Renminbi, open up with their funky, almost mathy blend of indie rock. The party starts at 9PM. Bring costumes and wear your cred on your sleeves. Or just pump down some Jaeger shots with the bar staff. It’ll be good, for sure the best thing happening in Iowa City tonight, that is if you are into good times and rock n’ roll.