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On Wednesday Night, Grupo Fantasma made a great first impression on Iowa City. A sweaty, funky, irresistibly dance-able first impression. Playing songs in a variety of Latin American styles, anchored by a world class rhythm section, and topped off with a tight, funky brass section, Grupo Fantasma were muy caliente y muy picante!
I’d have to confess I haven’t seen a Iowa City Community Theatre production since my brother was in a couple of shows in the 90s. But I have no doubt they’re a worthy organization, and since it’s Community Theater, it’s only going to be as good as we in the community make it.
The Weekender usually offers a list of tips for things to do in Iowa City. It’s easy, there’s a constant stream of amazing music and activities, and you all want to hear about them, or you wouldn’t read this. But the greatest thing to do in summer is the simplest one: Just being outside. Being […]
With all of the Iowa Arts Festival excitement from last weekend, you may have missed some of the other shows taking place. Long after guitarist Sonny Landreth had finished up on the festival main stage, Merlin and Mad Monks were still rocking hard at Gabe’s.
Few groups in recent years have had a larger footprint in the Iowa City music scene than Euforquestra. They are all monstrous musicians no matter what style they play. They manage to bring together Jazz fans, Jam Band camp followers, and people (like me) who think there’s nothing better than live dance music, no matter the genre.
Flip through LV 93, from June/July 2010
A Facebook message showed up in my inbox the other day, from Stefanie Drootin, member of the well-known Omaha band The Good Life. It announced the availability of an album’s worth of songs she’d recorded with her friend Chris Senseney. No album title, no track order, unmastered. They went down into Stefanie’s basement and just had fun with writing and recording songs.
Why would Iowa folkie William Elliott Whitmore and Erase Errata frontwoman Jenny Hoyston re-record the six songs from their 2006 EP Hallways of Always for a vinyl-only release? Only they know for sure, but on their return, this time calling themselves Hallways of Always, the performances do seem sharper.
Iowa City indie pop quintet, The Wandering Bears, have offered up a potluck, of sorts, for their self-titled debut. The Bears have cribbed a little bit from nearly every great left-of-center pop act and placed it all in front of you in heaping, steaming, well-produced portions.
The group, comprised of members of The Western Front and Vagabonds, opens with the glitchy, down-tempo, electropop number “William S. Burroughs Teaches Photography” (they also have a knack for whip-smart-alec titles), followed by the alt-country swagger of “Tom Bodett Rearranges his Living Room.”
With well over one hundred artists, culinary row and musical performances by Sonny Landreth, The Pines and Darrell Scott, last weekend’s Iowa Arts Fest drew thousands to downtown Iowa City.
Check out the following video to see what you may have missed at the 2010 Iowa Arts Festival–and to remind yourself why it’s great to be in Iowa City.
Henri Harper filled a difficult position at Iowa City’s City High School for the last 11 years as the juvenile court liaison, helping students transition back into the classroom after personal and legal problems instead of letting them become part of a drop-out statistic. But in December 2007, after a series of fights at City High, Harper realized that his official post at the school wasn’t enough. Along with students, their parents and community support, Harper started the Fas Trac College Bound Program–originally consisting of six black students but eventually growing to more than 40 students from all backgrounds.
June/July 2010~ The Grateful Dead need to be rescued. Rescued from paunchy, balding nostalgia, rescued from the tribute bands, rescued from the scumbags who sold drugs in the parking lot at their concerts. Most of all, they need to be rescued from their hyper-recorded live career, spinning the same fifty songs again and again like […]
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