When I talked to David Cross he was leaving a celebrity poker tournament. It was a benefit for Dave Eggers’ non-profit youth-writing center, 826 Valencia. Cross was heading to the subway, then home to walk the dog and meet up with Amber Tamblyn—actor, poet and fiancé—for their friend’s thirtieth birthday party. I started with the […]
Englert Theatre
Posted inArts & Entertainment
Conversation: All His Little Words: An Interview with Stephin Merritt of The Magnetic Fields
In anticipation of this spring’s Mission Creek Festival, Little Village invited Iowa City novelist and alt-country raconteur Jason T. Lewis  to record a conversation about music and writing with Stephin Merritt of festival headliners The Magnetic Fields. Jason T. Lewis: What are you reading and listening to right now? Stephin Merritt: I’m reading a book […]
Posted inArts & Entertainment, Prairie Pop
Strange Attraction: An Interview with Claudia Gonson of the Magnetic Fields
The Magnetic Fields, the brainchild of pop prodigy Stephin Merritt, hold a unique place in my musical heart. I came across the group purely by chance in 1994 after finding their Holiday album in a dollar bin (the record store clerk who priced it clearly didn’t realize what a gem it was). Rarely have I […]
Posted inArts & Entertainment
The Stage: Love and Dysfunction From Across the Globe
Big Love March 29-April 14 University of Iowa Theatre Building, David Thayer Theatre More than film, literature, painting or almost any medium, theatre is a living, breathing art form. We see the performers on stage, we share a space with them, connect directly to them and, through this connection, also connect to the very […]
Posted inArts & Entertainment
Show Preview: Talkdemonic with Skye Carrasco, 2/15/12
There is something eerie and compelling about wandering through ruins when the
day turns gray and the earth is still. This is the feeling you get upon the first listen of
Talkdemonic’s newest LP, ‘Ruins’-an amazing concoction of synthesized and acoustic
sounds, melodic viola, and fluttering melodies. Ruins, the fourth album from Talkdemonic
finds the band in peak form. Having honed their craft for nearly a decade, it compiles
everything they’ve learned and the result is a darker, more refined album than those
previous.
Posted inArts & Entertainment
On Sale Friday: Seun Kuti & Egypt 80 – Englert – March 31
Seun Kuti is the 27 year old son of the legendary Nigerian musician Fela Anikulapo Kuti. Seun (pronounced Shay-oon) has inherited his father’s booty shaking creation, Afrobeat, which mixes African highlife music with western influences like jazz and James Brown. Seun, like Fela, makes Afrobeat as primarily dance music that is also actively political. “In […]
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H. Jon Benjamin and Jon Glaser to join David Cross at Mission Creek 2012
The Mission Creek Festival announced this morning that frequent collaborators H. Jon Benjamin and Jon Glaser will join David Cross at Mission Creek 2012. This lineup is not part of a tour or anything, just something these friends putting together for us here in Iowa City. If you are a fan of cartoons for grownups, […]
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Angels Among Us
The past year saw a number of celebrations and commemorations in this City of Literature. With the 75th Anniversary of the Iowa Writers Workshop reuniting decades of alums over the summer and Philip Levine named U.S. Poet Laureate in the fall, 2011 played its nostalgia cards well. At the same time, national year-end lists have […]
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Iowa City Weekender: December 15-17
Hello, and welcome to the Weekender! As the semester begins to wrap up for the university, the town starts to shift into slight hibernation for a week until it pops back into full form for the coming new year. This weekend will be your last chance to get out before the hibernation begins, so make […]
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Mission Creek 2012: First Shows Announced!
With the first snowfall just a few days behind us, it is officially time to start talking about spring, when it will get here, and the many joys it will bring. I’m not talking about tank tops, raindrops, or flower pots… I’m talking about Mission Creek, yo! Mark your calendars and turn in your time-off […]
Posted inArts & Entertainment
The Stage: Worthy Traditions
December in any town in the United States large enough to have a ballet school means one thing: the annual ritual of The Nutcracker. In the imagination of young dancers everywhere, it’s always the New York City Ballet under George Balanchine. When I was growing up in Iowa City, that meant the Joffrey Ballet at Hancher.
Posted inArts & Entertainment
Iowa City Weekender: December 8-10
As you check off items on your holiday shopping list, you might find that your pocketbook is looking a little sparse these days. Do not fear, weekend warriors, because the general theme this week is “free and cheap.” We’ve got a range of music, comedy, film and literature to chose from for those of us […]
