On the Beat: October’s bag of tricks

October is a month defined by disguises. 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?”

While in most cases such surprises can be stimulating, there is still some comfort that comes from tradition — no one wants a toothbrush in their candy bag, after all. This is why I was pleasantly surprised that in the tricky month of October, I found all of our local venues sticking to that thing that they all do best.
At the reborn White Lightning Wherehouse (700 S. Dubuque, basement), this means picking up on the DiY aesthetic of “straight” venues like Public Space ONE, but infusing it with the art/punk and house-show party mentality that is so vital to that scene. In fact, two noteworthy shows there this month feature bands who have previously played PS1, and I’m excited to see them come back. The first is Pillars and Tongues, who play on the 2nd with Skye Carrasco. This three piece plays weird, slow music using really traditional instruments: upright bass, drums, violin, and their voices (and sometimes only their voices). It’s haunting, interesting music. On the other end of the sonic spectrum are Montreal noise rockers AIDS Wolf, who will play guitars and drums fast and loud. That’s on the 16th. Both shows are all ages and start at 9pm.

Speaking of Public Space ONE, the venue has been getting less and less ink in this column because they have quietly been turning into an incredible incubator for all kinds of other arts, besides the music that still happens there. Exemplary of this is the Works in Progress Festival, happening from the 14th-16th and featuring a wide variety of presentations from artists and performers in many fields.

The Blue Moose is continuing with its mix of shows that are either up-and-coming bands or teen-anthem generators (sometimes both!), but it should come as no surprise that my interests lie more in the former. This month, I’ve starred the 21st on my calendar to check out Phantogram, a hype-generating electronic act that should appeal to fans of The XX, but have their own unique sound. I would highly recommend googling their Daytrotter session–it’s excellent. Opening is Josiah Wolf, who this year stepped out from behind the shadow of younger brother Yoni (of Why? and cLOUDDEAD). His debut, Jet Lag, is out now on Anticon Records, and is a weird electro-folk-pop gem.

On the 8th of this month, Joe Jack Talcum of Dead Milkmen fame comes sauntering back into town to play The Mill. Talcum made fast friends with our own local songwriting legend Sam Locke-Ward, and his Boo Hoos will not only open the show, but stay on as Talcum’s backing band. The last Talcum show I saw here (criminally, underattended, by the way) was him solo, and while mesmerizing, many of the Milkmen tracks seem to beg for more oomph. The Boo Hoos (featuring members of Lipstick Homicide and Leslie Hall’s drummer) should provide that in spades.

My personal favorite basement semi-dive, the Iowa City Yacht Club, is hosting the New Beligium Battle of the Bands. Local music and a party atmosphere are hallmarks of the Yacht Club, and I’m sure these shows will deliver. After several preliminary rounds, the final will take place on Oct. 16th. The winner gets a week of time at Flat Black Studios, where numerous Iowa City bands have recorded their records–from The Tanks to Wet Hair and everyone in-between. Second place gets a keg of beer, though, which has also been known to prompt all varieties of creative energy.

Finally, for some more traditional sounds, there is probably no “straighter” venue than the Englert. This month they are bringing in The Weepies, who Paste Magazine once described as crafting “Sunday-morning songs for the coffee-and-New York Times set.” Yes, this is a compliment! As a husband and wife team, The Weepies make, for lack of a better word, adult twee: unoffensive, sure, but also delicate, thoughtful and eminently melodic. The fact that they haven’t toured for 4 years and have a new album coming out on Nettwerk make this a must-see for the cleanly dressed set.