Feed Me Weird Things is the newest curation effort of Chris Wiersema, the soft-spoken but large-bearded part of Witching Hour and Mission Creek responsible for keeping Iowa City immersed in unusual sounds from around the world. Wiersema organized this series in terms of volumes and episodes, and each installment promises to be a unique event, with an emphasis on range rather than continuity (see full lineup below).
Daniel Boscaljon
Posted inArts & Entertainment
A-List: Helltrap Nightmare’s Sarah ‘Squirm’ Sherman and Julia Dratel talk comedy and the grotesque
In anticipation of their headlining show at the Green Gravel Comedy Festival on Saturday, May 13 I spoke with Helltrap Nightmare head writer/performer Sarah “Squirm” Sherman and producer/collaborator Julia Dratel as they traveled by van to their next performance on the East Coast leg of their tour. Their overlapping answers (as each jumped into the midst of the other’s sentence) are represented here.
Posted inFeatures, Opinion
Opinion: What does it mean for a straight white man to become aware of sexual assault?
Meditation practices distinguish attention and awareness. One simple way to distinguish them is to understand attention as a mental or conceptual activity — one’s thoughts — and awareness as what falls outside of the mind — perceptions, sensations, attunements. President Trump issued a proclamation on March 31 declaring April Sexual Assault Awareness Month — the […]
Posted inArts & Entertainment
A hushed full house at The Mill for the Pines, Dead Man Winter
The Mill was the perfect venue on April 19 for a Wednesday night of atmospheric delicacy, performed for a hushed full house. The Pines, local legends transplanted to Minnesota, framed the night with a sense of intimate delicacy. Their first songs, without percussion, allowed the audience to focus on the twining of harmonies and whispered vocals that generated a sense of intimacy.
Posted inCommunity/News
Lama Khenpo Choephel Rinpoche to visit Iowa City for a retreat at Milarepa Buddhist Center
The Milarepa Buddhist Center (207 Scott Ct, Iowa City), a volunteer-run Buddhist community that opened in 2016, will be hosting Tibetan Lama Khenpo Choephel Rinpoche for a retreat April 21-23.
Posted inArts & Entertainment
Review: J. E. Sunde and Kishi Bashi close down Mission Creek 2017
The concluding night of the 2017 Mission Creek Festival was hosted by the Englert, and as usual drew a full crowd. The closing acts face the daunting challenge of being measured against each other show that the audience has watched — and finding their audience likely to be more exhausted than on previous nights as […]
Posted inArts & Entertainment
Review: Joy unfolded on stage at Englert and Blue Moose on Mission Creek Festival’s Saturday night
Mission Creek’s offerings last night provided attendees with three presentations of timeless joy.
Posted inArts & Entertainment
An ephemeral night at Mission Creek as day four captures Dickie, DIIV and Pieta Brown
Amidst the bustle of a busy week of Mission Creek, Friday night’s musical possibilities included a night of pleasant music that seemed to emphasize ephemerality.
Posted inArts & Entertainment
Review: Mission Creek night three at Gabe’s — Maiden Mars, Younger and Cloud Nothings
[vc_row][vc_column][vc_column_text] On the third night of Mission Creek, Gabe’s featured a punk lineup that ended up showcasing the quality talent of the local Iowa City music scene. I had seen advertisements for Maiden Mars around town and knew they had been part of the Iowa Music Project compilation but had not seen them live. They […]
Posted inArts & Entertainment
Review: Mission Creek opening day events at Hancher
At 6 p.m. on April 4, Joe Tiefenthaler opened Mission Creek 2017’s Hancher component with a short statement about the enduring importance of the arts in terms of building what is essential within human communities. In addition to thanking sponsors, it was a necessary statement (given the current political backdrop in which the arts risk no longer being funded by the government), and a welcome invocation of the need to remind ourselves of the essential ingredient that the arts play in our experience of being human.
Posted inArts & Entertainment
FilmScene to participate in a nationwide screening of ‘1984’
1984 FilmScene — Tuesday, April 4 at 6 p.m. FilmScene, located in the Pedestrian Mall at 118 E. College, will join more than 90 independent film theaters across the country who are screening 1984 on April 4 (the date that protagonist Winston Smith begins his diary entry) as a way of articulating protests against the […]
Posted inArts & Entertainment
Interview: Whitney’s Max Kakacek on process and relationship
Whitney w/ Helena Deland The Mill — Saturday, April 1 at 9 p.m. Lauded for their Light Upon the Lake and playing in their own backyard after an Australian tour, Chicago’s Whitney will perform at the Mill on April 1 at 9 p.m. A Mission Creek Presents show the weekend before Mission Creek kicks off […]
