Welcome to 2011, everyone! Living in a college town primarily consist of upsides as you get access to rather lovely artistic and cultural events in an environment that encourages such expression. While there are certainly a number of other upsides, one of the greatest downsides is the fact that they dictate the schedule of the town. Seeing as many of the students are still out of town doing whatever they actually do, the options are lean this week. While thin, the options this week are all really solid, so you should find yourselves thoroughly entertained.
Before we get to the events, a couple of quick questions. Do you like reading this column? Do you hate having to remember to come and read it? If you answered yes to both of these questions, you should subscribe to get the weekender delivered to your email box every Thursday morning. Put your name in the box to the right and hit enter. A window will pop up, fill it out. 30 seconds of work for hours of entertainment and you’ll have a copy in your email box, a good thing for those of you with the new-fangled smart telephones. Keep an events calendar in your pocket. Subscribe to the email Weekender.
THURSDAY
The Velcro Lewis Group w/ Mondo Drag and Alex Body | Iowa City Yacht Club | 9 PM | $7, 19+
Traveling from the not-so-distant landscape of Chicago, The Velcro Lewis Group’s sound comes from much further away. The band is a swirling dervish of 60s prog and psychedelic sounds (think the Soft Machine here) and 70s rock and funk with some blues thrown in as well. Their music is urgent and rather catchy. They will be bringing their unique sound to the stage of the Yacht Club this Thursday with Iowa psychers Mondo Drag and Iowa City psych man Alex Body in support. You can find some of The Velcro Lewis Group’s music at an awesome website: The Free Music Archive.
FRIDAY
My Fair Lady | Englert Theatre | 7:30 PM | $12 Students, $20 General Admission, All Ages
Following the success of the staged reading of South Pacific in the summer, The University of Iowa School of Music will be putting on My Fair Lady this Friday and Saturday. Minimizing the dialogue and costumes, the show will be focused on the music, featuring a 35-piece concert orchestra and singers from both the voice faculty of the University and the local theater community. For those who are not familiar with the play, My Fair Lady follows the transformation of Eliza Doolittle from a lowly London flower merchant into a proper lady. This would be a lovely family outing, a way to break up some of the winter monotony.
Joe & Vicki Price | George’s Buffett | 9:00 PM | Free, 21+
This Saturday brings Iowa City visitors from the northern town of Decorah, Joe & Vicki Price. No strangers to this town, The Prices play the sort of blues you dream about if you like the blues. Hypnotic, dirty, and full of slide guitar, the Prices can feel the blues in their bones and express it with guitars and lyrics. Their music hits deep and hits hard like all good blues should. They will be playing at the Northside watering hole George’s Buffet, so grab a booth, a cheeseburger, and a beer and enjoy your Saturday night.
Like I said, brief but effective. There are some cool things coming next week on the eve of Martin Luther King Day, so keep your eyes out for next week’s issue. Until then, have a good weekend and try to keep your resolutions! You have one more week before you can officially quit.
~LV
