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Set in rural Iowa, Darnielle’s ‘Universal Harvester’ focuses on connections
John Darnielle Reading Prairie Lights -- Monday, Feb. 27 at 7 p.m. A palimpsest is a piece of parchment that has been written on, scrubbed clean and written on again. Scholars of the first millennium...
View ArticleAlbum Review: Beyond Peace — Beyond Peace
Beyond Peace Beyond Peace beyondpeacehc.bandcamp.com Beyond Peace by Beyond Peace It’s not original to compare metal and punk music. Both use loudness as their primary gesture, both use distortion...
View ArticleExploring the visceral and diaristic music of Mykki Blanco
Mykki Blanco has gained prominence in the past few years as an artist that blows up conventions — in the hyper-masculine world of hip hop, she’s queer, HIV positive and gender fluid, a gay man...
View ArticleAlbum Review: Bridget Kearney — Won’t Let You Down
Bridget Kearney Won’t Let You Down bridgetkearney.bandcamp.com MCF: Bridget Kearney with Elizabeth Moen, Paul Cary The Mill — Wednesday, April 5 at 10 p.m., $12-15 Won't Let You Down by Bridget...
View Article‘Quite a little fight’— the Harris family’s move to Bever Avenue was an early...
At Percy Harris’ Memorial Service on Jan.30 at St. Paul’s United Methodist Church in Cedar Rapids, Ted Townsend, the president of St. Luke’s Hospital, began his eulogy for Dr. Harris by saying that...
View ArticleAlbum Review: The Fuss — The Fuss
The Fuss — a Des Moines-based rock band who have released a couple of EPs in recent years — make the kind of catchy pop rock music that reminds one of Tommy Tutone or The Replacements. Their...
View ArticleIowa City band Aseethe is taking its minimalist metal sound back on tour
Aseethe, the Iowa City band made up of Brian Barr and Eric Dierks, has been kicking around the Midwest heavy music scene for a few years now, with an evolving sound based around Barr’s exploration of...
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SassyBlack talks Michael Jackson, *NSYNC and science fiction ahead of Middle...
SassyBlack w/ DJ Espina, Wolf Mixer, M50 The Mill -- Friday, Sept. 1 at 9 p.m. SassyBlack performs at The Mill on the first night of the festival. -- photo courtesy of Middle of Nowhere Fest...
View ArticleAlbum Review: Keith Reins and Tara McGovern — Folk Songs You Never Sang In...
Some of the best musicians in Iowa City and environs are not chasing a career in music. Keith Reins, for example, is a player and collector of folk songs who also works as a professor of English at...
View ArticleAlbum Review: Rust Belt Union — Impromptu Musicals for the Skeptic
Trust a joker like Matthew James to open Impromptu Musicals For the Skeptic, his album with the Rust Belt Union, with a song titled “Goodbye.” Like Groucho Marx’s song “Hello, I Must Be Going,” it’s...
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Fiddler’s Picnic thrives in its fourth decade
Fiddler's Picnic Johnson County Fairgrounds -- Sunday, Sept. 24 at 12 p.m. Fiddler's Picnic 2005. -- photo courtesy of Friends of Old Time Music This coming Sunday, Sept. 24, at noon at the Iowa City...
View ArticleAlbum Review: Illinois John Fever — Out Here Nobody Knows
Illinois John Fever are a country blues band with a backyard party vibe; they lock into steady grooves made more exciting by the occasional moments where they drop time. The post Album Review: Illinois...
View ArticleAlbum Review: Selec — Teleph and homemade sin
To release two EPs under two different names within a few months of each other suggests Clancy Clark — aka Selec, aka Clarence Johnson — has been busy. According to Clark, horror at the election of...
View ArticleAlbum Review: Homogenized Terrestrials — Suspension
Homogenized Terrestrials Suspension homogenizedterrestrials.bandcamp.com/album/suspension suspension by homogenized terrestrials Phillip Klampe is a veteran of the dark ambient scene, self-releasing...
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Review: Nils Frahm’s show was riveting, and a big feather in the Englert’s cap
Composer Nils Frahm performing at the Englert Theatre, March 28, 2018. — photo by Zak Neumann Some things about the Nils Frahm concert. That it happened is completely down to the fearless advocacy of...
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Album Review: Society of Broken Souls — Midnight and the Pale
Society of Broken Souls Midnight and the Pale www.societyofbrokensouls.com Society of Broken Souls w/ Molly Durnin Dick’s Tap & Shake Room — Sunday, April 8 at 7 p.m. Dennis James and Lauryn...
View ArticleAlbum Review: JCϟjp — Self-titled
JCϟjp JCϟjp jcjp.bandcamp.com/releases JCϟjp by JCϟjp The name JCϟjp is an unpronounceable acronym of the group members’ names, Justin Comer and Jason Palamara. Palamara is a violinist and electronic...
View ArticleAlbum Review: Belly Belt — Stay True
Belly Belt Stay True EP bellybelt.bandcamp.com Stay True by Belly Belt Iowa City West High alum Kate Feldmann’s Belly Belt isn’t miles away from her day job dressing as a Disney Princess for...
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Set in rural Iowa, Darnielle’s ‘Universal Harvester’ focuses on connections
John Darnielle Reading Prairie Lights — Monday, Feb. 27 at 7 p.m. A palimpsest is a piece of parchment that has been written on, scrubbed clean and written on again. Scholars of the first millennium...
View ArticleAlbum Review: Beyond Peace — Beyond Peace
Beyond Peace Beyond Peace beyondpeacehc.bandcamp.com Beyond Peace by Beyond PeaceIt’s not original to compare metal and punk music. Both use loudness as their primary gesture, both use distortion...
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