Iowa City Weekender: June 13-16

And it’s the weekend again! It’s humid. I’m really sweaty, all the time. Like, you won’t even want to hug me even though I know you can’t help yourself. Save the kisses though, my mouth/moustache is full of gnats. Some cool stuff happening this weekend, check it out!

Thursday, June 13

Low Movie (How To Quit Smoking) | 8PM | The Englert | $5 adv/$8 dos

If there’s one thing I really love, it’s smoking. Even through my allergy-induced asthma I can’t seem to quit. I really like Low, too. For some reason I doubt this movie will actually teach me how to quit smoking, but I’ll probably go and see it anyway (and probably take a smoke break or two).

This film compiles 20 years (!) of footage of the band and their relationship with director Philip Harder. Like their music, I’m sure there are times of minimalist noise and also times of epic grandeur. Clearly for fans of the band and also fans of film/music in general. Co-presented with FilmScene and Mission Creek.

Spawning from the weirdo-keyboard trio Viking Fuck a number of years ago, Mikey Shaw, Matt Fenner and Walker Neudorff switched keyboard with guitar, added a floor tom to the snare and cymbal, and welcomed bass guitarist and cutie-pie extraordinaire Brendan Wells into the mix… and Iowa City has never been the same. The hooks remained, the talent never left, but the energy grew to a breaking point as they locked in their punk groove. With two releases already out on the Chicago-based Rotted Tooth Recordings, they’re back again with a new 7” to melt your brain.

Atlanta-based WYMYNS PRYSYN is the touring act on this one and though this show celebrates some Iowa City punk greats and their new record, this band is nothing to ignore. More straightforward and pop-oriented, but with a weird edge that certainly defines it as punk. Local pop-punk sweethearts Good Habits round out the bill!

I.C. Kings Presents: Show Us Your PRIDE | 9PM | Studio 13 | 19+ after 10pm

So after you’re done shaking your punk stuff at The Mill, you might wanna head over to Studio 13 to see some of the best drag performers the midwest has to offer! This week celebrating Iowa City Pride, the show features Franky D. Lover, Hugh Jindapants, J.T. Amore, Julius Fever, Max E. Mum, & Scott Abigwun. Check it out on Facebook.

Friday, June 14

Party on the Patio: Brazilian Night | 6PM | Gabe’s | Free

Alright, I write about it every week but are you there every week? YOU SHOULD BE! DADDYHOFF COMMANDS IT! This week sounds killer: 70’s era Brazilian soul and samba, bossa nova and tropicalia. What’s better in this sticky summer mess than Brazilian tunes, $3 Corona’s and free mexican food? I can’t think of anything…can you? Check out this month’s schedule on Facebook.

Eric Pettit Trio w. Sean Costanza | 8PM | The Mill | $6 | 19+ after 10pm

So if you need to mellow out after all the ‘rona’s are in your tummy, head to The Mill for Eric Pettit and his band. Iowa-based folk, conjures up the likes of Will Whitmore and others. Don’t know Sean Constanza but I’m guessing he’s pretty cool! (hopefully related to George! but probably not)

Electric Thunder: Lexi Sherod’s Birthday Celebration | 10PM | Gabe’s | $3 | 19+

I don’t know Lexi Sherod but she looks pretty cute! And it’s her birthday so she’s throwing a party at Gabe’s with ACG3 (aka The Goat), Giant Child (Honey, I Blew Up The Kid style), and Drumai. I’m guessing this is all techno/dubstep/electronic stuff but I have no idea, really! Someone on the Facebook event said there would be eargasms! Sounds cool! Check out the Facebook event.

Saturday, June 15

Grand Opening of the Jellyfish Artist Collective | 11AM | The Hall Mall

Some really awesome people are opening a new shop in the historic Hall Mall on Saturday. I’d really recommend heading up there! There are too many awesome details to the grand opening to put them all here, so check out the Facebook event!

Music IC 2013 | 7:30PM | The Englert | Free

A Festival of Chamber Music Inspired by Literature – presents Igor Stravinsky’s Histoire du Soldat (A Soldier’s Tale). This performance, directed by George de la Pena, features a text written by Kurt Vonnegut that tells the story of Pvt. Eddie Slovik, the only American soldier since the Civil War shot for desertion. The story is told by four actor/dancers in conjunction with Stravinsky’s music played by seven musicians. –via Englert Theatre

Pressed And w. Cuticle, It Is Rain In My Face, Phosphenes | 8PM | The Mill | $6 | 19+ after 10pm

A night of electronic weirdness and some of the best ‘chill-wave’ on the market.

Pressed And is the intriguingly named collaboration of Andrew Hamlet and Mat Jones, one of the hydra heads of a burgeoning southeastern electronic scene that we’ve often seen in association with North Carolina’s Denmark Records. Their debut LP, Imbue Up, is a testament to that emergent milieu; some are calling it post-chillwave, but the reality is a more complex interplay of primal effects and synth landscapes, rife with tension in a cascading sequence of loops and glowing drones. This is an album of sensation, that lingers and mingles in ways you rarely expect and despite its coherence never quite master.

Local support comes from Cuticle, dance tunes from electro hell, and Phosphenes, I., MacMillan’s droney electronic project. This’ll be a good one!

Sunday, June 16

Hard Feelings w. Puddle Jumper, SFW | 8PM | Gabe’s | Suggested Donation | 19+ after 10pm

Who doesn’t like punk on a Sunday? Hard Feelings is some tight snotty punk from Minneapolis, their drummer also plays in the band Serenghetto who just came through town recently. Puddle Jumper reigns from my high school stomping grounds of the Quad Cities and this guy Pat Quinn (who is really cool) plays in the band. SFW is a guy named Sam Fraiser Windmill who plays songs. This one is free which means bring some donations for the Minneapolis band!

Pub Quiz | 9PM | The Mill

A good way to see how many brain cells you’ve lost over the weekend. $1 to play, 2 for 1 pizzas and cheap beers. Hosted by Dylan and Abba.

So that’s the weekend! I am taking a much needed vacation starting Friday and ending the next, so while you will not see me at most of these aforementioned events and I will be taking next week off of writing this here Weekender, you’ll see my face all over town for #DADDYHOFFSBLOCKPARTY on June 29!