Preview: High Places w. Ponytail, Wet Hair, and Peaking Lights
Friday night is truly packed with events worthy of your attention. Between Chuck Berry rocking for homecoming weekend (with Rooney…?) and Will Whitmore doing his thing at the Picador alongside Dave Zollo, that’s enough just to get you busy. But, the hottest action takes place at the Mill Friday night as we welcome Brooklyn’s High Places to our town with Ponytail. And while some of the other music going on in town is celebrating some more classic sounds, the hot-blooded, progressive soul of rock music will be swarming you at the Mill. Madison’s Peaking Lights will be getting things started to warm up for Shawn Reed’s tremendous outfit Wet Hair.
Though High Places be headlining this shindig, the true spectacle lies in Baltimore’s Ponytail, so if you happen to be one of those Johnny-Come-Later types (it’s always fashionable to look like you don’t care, ya know), make sure you get here for Ponytail’s unintelligible swarm of ADHD pop. Rivaling Deerhoof in terms of spastic weirdness and lyrical oddity, Ponytail’s brand of art rock enjoys pop, punk, pop-punk and sounds kind of like a strobe light of rainbow colors. It’s going to leave you breathless and sweaty, if not sweatless and breathy.
High Places will be just the thing to cool you down. It’s fall now, and though the duo’s Tropicalia-infused sound may seem more fit for summertime, they’re going to back up that Recommended review with a beautiful performance. I saw them last weekend in Urbana - despite all the knob-twiddling going on, they’re on a surprisingly rhythmic dub trip, and Rob Barber’s drumming is mesmerizing.
Also, don’t forget that you can win some free music from the lovely folks at Thrill Jockey for this one. I’m extending the contest to 6pm CST - so email contest [at] missionfreak.com with the subject heading High Places Contest by 6pm Friday for a chance to win CDs by High Places and some other Thrill Jockey artists. The contest does not apply solely to Iowa City residents! Any one can enter and you do not have to attend the show.
High Places w. Ponytail, Wet Hair, Peaking Lights
Friday Sept. 26 / The Mill / 9:30pm / $6
Download: High Places - From Stardust to Sentience
