I enjoy seeing opening acts, especially ones that accompany a band across a tour. Entrance, a solo singer-songwriter, was worth seeing. He seemed steeped in a folk tradition, and most of the melodies felt like memories with words I had not heard. The songs seemed to haunt the edges of what I already knew without […]
Beach House
Posted inArts & Entertainment
Just announced: Beach House at the Englert
Beach House The Englert Theatre — Sunday, August 14 at 7 p.m. The Englert Theatre has just announced that it will be welcoming Baltimore dream pop band Beach House to the stage on Sunday, August 14 at 7 p.m. Victoria Legrand and Alex Scally have been performing and recording together as Beach House since 2004; […]
Posted inArts & Entertainment
Music: Elite Eight Albums of the Year 2012
If nothing else, 2012 can be described as the Year of Easy Listening. A multitude of indie bands (Beach House, The Walkmen, Divine Fits), beat makers (Flying Lotus, Lindstrom, Crystal Castles) and hip-hop artists (Killer Mike, El-P, Big KRIT) put out strong, extremely listenable albums, which, in turn, made it difficult for anything to really […]
Posted inArts & Entertainment
On the Beat: Party Time
As the year winds down, December is a time when I generally become pensive. Looking back on the past twelve months, I can safely say that 2012 has been an excellent year musically. There have been solid releases in all genres of music. Artists like Chromatics, Kendrick Lamar, Wild Nothing, Japandroids and Tame Impala have […]
Posted inArts & Entertainment, Prairie Pop
Prairie Pop: Black Rain Onslaught – Pitchfork Preview + Interview with Tim Hecker
So, you are a composer and performer whose music requires close listening, preferably in the dark. Your recent Iowa City show at the First United Methodist Church blew the audience away—or, rather, it sucked them into an all-enveloping temporary autonomous zone created with pipe organ and electronics. This aural explosion transported some listeners into the […]
Posted inArts & Entertainment
On the Beat: Summer listening guide
Summer in the Clubs! Live Music Venue GUIDE Iowa City is what is known in the biz as a ‘small market.’ Acts on national tours book shows in Iowa City based on it’s geographical position within a half-day’s drive of Chicago, Minneapolis, St. Louis and Kansas City—it’s a great place to shoehorn a show in […]
