All day yesterday I told people what an amazing show I had seen the previous evening at Gabe’s: the March Fourth Marching Band. “What were they like, Yale?” And that was the problem. I couldn’t say what they were “like” because they were so damn unique. I’d never seen anything “like” them ever before in […]
live music
Posted inArts & Entertainment
Show Photos: The Coathangers and Slut River at Wherehouse, Nov. 7
Shame on me. I have shots from half of this show. The official lineup included Wax Canon and the Boxknifes, but I just couldn’t get my tail down to the Wherehouse fast enough. To those bands, my sincerest regrets for not digitally capturing your performance. As far as what I DID see….well done. How can […]
Posted inArts & Entertainment
Show Preview: Jay Farrar at The Mill, Nov. 3
Nov. 3 | 8:00 p.m. A founding member of perhaps the most important alt. country band of all time, Uncle Tupelo, Jay Farrar shared vocal and songwriting duties with future Wilco leader Jeff Tweedy. After the Tupelo split-up, Farrar went on to form the seminal alt. country rockers Son Volt. He continues to be an […]
Posted inArts & Entertainment
Show Preview: Ghostface Killah at Blue Moose, Nov. 3
Nov. 3 | 7:00 p.m. One of the most popular rappers in the game right now, Ghostface Killah is an original member of the Wu-Tang Clan. Known well for his off-kilter, stream-of-consciousness flow which can shift from topics as extreme as dealing drugs to his diabetes as well as his straight love of wallabies (the […]
Posted inArts & Entertainment
Iowa City Weekender: October 21-23
THURSDAY
Phantogram w. Josiah Wolf | The Blue Moose Tap House | 6 p.m. | $12, all ages
Electronic/rock duo Phantogram is astounding. They’ve already gained notoriety in Iowa City for upstaging an Antlers headlining show at the Blue Moose Tap House. Now they return, as sure as ever, with their slick beats, lilting vocals, and sick guitar hooks to tear up Iowa City in their own right.
Posted inArts & Entertainment
VIDEO: Vagabonds live @ College Green Park
Last Saturday afternoon, local folk sweethearts The Vagabonds graced College Green Park with their presence and old-timey tunes. Here are just a couple of the tracks they performed. Sam Blickhan and Sarah Mannix, members of the Vagabonds, can be seen tonight at the Mill performing in another of their local music projects The Wandering Bears.
Posted inArts & Entertainment
Show Preview: Thunder Power at Gabe’s 10/14/2010
Don’t let the name mislead you; there is little “thunder” in this ensemble’s repertoire. Rather, the Omaha band’s “power” lies more in their generous, cascading melodies and subtly shifting harmonies. Instead of complicating and cluttering these already compact pop songs with studio witchcraft, Thunder Power draw on the beguiling arrangements of Bacharach or, more recently, the early ’00 works of Sam Prekop.
Posted inArts & Entertainment
Iowa City Weekender: October 7-10
It’s a beautiful world in Iowa City. Especially when we’re all doing our part to 1) Save the environment, and 2) Keep the art alive by going out to look at it, buy it, enjoy it and dance to it. Fortunately there are plenty of opportunities to do all of that this weekend. Here’s a checklist to help you make sure you have your fair share of the fun!
Posted inCommunity/News
LV 96: October 2010
The Future South of Burlington; p. 10 – 21, Take 2; p. 8 – Larry Baker Saves the Day; p. 12 – Perfect Season: Over. Now what?; p. 6 – Take a Joke, Iowa; p. 23 – New Diplomats: Still Solid; p. 32 – Max Weinberg Keeps Going; p. 22 – Art Scene; p. 18 – Lit Scene; p. 16 – Live Music; p. 28 – Movies; p. 26
Posted inArts & Entertainment
Tonight: Joan Baez at Englert Theatre
From her early collaborations with Bob Dylan, to her tireless activism for civil rights and peace, to her later involvement with Dylan’s legendary Rolling Thunder Review, to her thousands of live performances all over the world, Joan Baez has lived a life of passionate engagement with the world and several generations of fans.
Posted inArts & Entertainment
A One, and a Two, and a Three
Max Weinberg has led an interesting life as a musician. He recorded and toured with Bruce Springsteen and it’s his snare shots that propel Bruce’s biggest hit, “Born In The USA.” When Springsteen disbanded his E Street Band in 1989, Weinberg tried a variety of things–producing records, session work, Law School, college drum clinics, even (according to Wikipedia) motivational speaking to corporate audiences–before becoming the band leader for Conan O’Brien’s “Late Night” on NBC in 1993, a job he held for 17 years.
Now, in what Weinberg calls his “third act,” he has formed a 15-piece big band, appearing at the Englert Theatre Oct. 22. Weinberg was in Italy when I spoke to him about his current project and where it fits into his career.
Posted inArts & Entertainment
On the Beat: October’s bag of tricks
Best known for Halloween, its costume-and-trickery grand finale, October leaves almost everything to the imagination. The theme of surprise and disguise has also been a trend this year in local music promotion. With the rapidly changing venue scene, including new owners/bookers/venues, a bunch of shows popped up that had people saying, “Really? That show is happening there?.
