Having trouble letting go of summer? Well to help you to put it to bed, Monadnoc is embarking on a September tour of (mostly) Eastern States. His recent release is Olive Oil and Indian Blood, a beautiful record of poetic soundscapes crafted with care along with David Strackany (aka Paleo) as well as some other fine musicians. So if you’re finding yourself resisting fall, Monadnoc can help you put your summer to bed with dusty, faraway folk-noir that can be evocative of the most desolate places. Catch him in your city along with Jeb Morris of Nashville band the Betty Rats. Both artists will be playing solo sets.
Also, make sure to swing by the official site to check out the newest Monadnoc endeavor, an ongoing project called READ/RECORD. This project sees Miguel setting poetry and prose from all over the literary world to music. The project began in April and will continue through this tour, with collaborative sessions being set up with other musicians throughout the dates.
Download: Monadnoc – House On a Home
09.02.10 Nashville, TN :: Springwater
09.04.10 Roanoke, VA :: Bazaar
09.07.10 Richmond, VA :: Sprout
09.08.10 Washington, DC :: The Red & the Black
09.09.10 Baltimore, MD :: House Show TBA
09.10.10 Philadelphia, PA :: JR’s Bar
09.12.10 New York, NY :: Sidewalk Cafe
09.13.10 Brooklyn, NY :: Goodbye Blue Monday
09.15.10 Pittsburgh, PA :: Club Cafe
09.16.10 Columbus, OH :: Treehouse
09.17.10 Cincinatti, OH :: The Marburg Hotel
09.18.10 Indianapolis, IN :: The C Hut
09.19.10 New Albany, IN :: The Dandy Lion
This weekend, despite offering some great musical acts coming to Iowa City, can’t be ignored for one major reason: the World Cup kicks off this weekend in South Africa, marking the beginning of arguably the most important global sporting event (maybe rivaled only by the Olympics). This means that much of the globe is going to spend the next month in soccer mania, and I for one plan to join them. Key matches this weekend include both of tomorrow’s, the opener between South Africa and Mexico (9am CST) and France vs. Uruguay (1:30pm CST). Of course the most anticipated here in the States is Saturday’s opening clash between the USA and England, which goes down at 1:30. The USA has a winnable group in meeting England, Slovenia, and Algeria in the first round, and could have a successful time in South Africa if injuries and inconsistency don’t crop up. However, don’t consider them a favorite to win it all. If they do make it out of group play alive, a likely second round match with Germany would await. World Cup finals are July 11th. Here’s some things to keep you occupied when you aren’t watching football, as the rest of the world calls it. 
Wow, what a week it’s going to be. Between last night’s thrilling show with Daniel Francis Doyle at PS1 and tonight’s 
On a personal note: So, I’m sitting here in my room recovering from the mind-f*ck dance-party that was Caribou last night. Those guys really know what they’re doing. I’m wondering to myself how I can start off my week after such a ridiculous party and the only thing that is making me feel optimistic is the new Warpaint EP and their impending show (tomorrow night — Monday) at the Blue Moose. A four-piece from L.A., Warpaint mixes ethereal reverb’d vox, bubbling dub rhythms, and twinkling hypnotic guitars into a cool, eerie sound. I haven’t seen them live before though having their tunes on-repeat for the past six or seven weeks is making me feel like I really know them. They reference so many interesting touch-points of older bands like the Slits, Can, Cat Power and Portishead while also staying in the groove of contemporaries like Pocahaunted and Black Blondie; yet they are clearly doing their own thing too: in particular they have a fine command of the balance between psych abstraction and captive head-bobbing rhythms. If we are to give any credence to the music media, in this case the NME and Pitchfork, Warpaint made quite an impression at this year’s SXSW, the NME going as far to give them that coveted (and burden exacerbating) label of Break-Out Buzz Band of SXSW. Despite the catapults/pitfalls of hype (seriously, whatever happened to Vivian Girls?) one definitely gets the impression that this is a MUST-SEE band on some level. We find out tomorrow night at the Blue Moose. It is an early all-ages show, Doors at 6PM / Show at 7PM / Tix are $10 and available in advance at 
It is that time of year again: NBA Finals time. For me, it’s one of the more exciting sporting events of the year, and even more so this year with the Celtics and Lakers meeting for yet another hate-filled best-of 7 battle. So you’ll have to excuse me if you find me posted up more in front of a television than a stage for the next two weeks, but this year’s Cs-Lakers match-up has me more than intrigued. For the rest of you, however, here’s a weekend rundown that doesn’t include sporting events. 
The last time contemporary folk group Horse Feathers were in Iowa City, it happened to be a certain Tuesday night when Barack Obama was elected President. There was an amount of jubilation in the air that won’t be possible to match on Wednesday when they return with their new album, Thistled Spring. Regardless of the lack of political implications, they’re still very much worthy of your time and money, as Thistled Spring represents a continuation of Horse Feathers’ excellent form. If anything, the new album is more driven, and a bigger sounding record than their Kill Rock Stars debut, House with No Home. Songwriter Justin Ringle has one of those voices that could propel him into stardom on its own – not unlike another indie musician named Justin, also known as that dude in Bon Iver. Now a quartet, Horse Feathers’ songs swirl with diverse American instrumentation: piano, violin, cello, banjo, acoustic guitars. It is a modern take on a traditional American music. But rather than inject Americana with a dose of rock ‘n’ roll, as so many bands today tend to try, Ringle’s songs sound modern while sounding old. As far as indie folk goes, it’s got about as much in common with Appalachia as it does with Iron & Wine. And it’s beautiful. Highly recommended. Iowa City’s trio of female vocalists, the Vagabonds, open the show. This show begins late (following the biweekly Burlington Street Bluegrass Band), with doors at 10pm and a cover of $8. 
My memory’s troublesome, but what I remember of the last time I heard Peter Bognanni read in public, he set the stage for an honest religious experience…WWF style. I remember spandex onesie costuming. I remember a megachurch style arena. I remember the character’s religious (conversion?) experience. But what I remember most is laughing, alongside everyone else fortunate enough to have been there, its own sort of collective experience.
So, by now the word is fully out that rising rap star Wale has had to pull out of tonight’s SCOPE semester finale due to illness. However, in a sweet twist, indie rap luminary Talib Kweli has come on to take his place and join Girl Talk for this fantastic bill. Talib Kweli, if you need a refresher course, is one half of the legendary rap duo Black Star. In Black Star, Kweli collaborated with Mos Def, releasing one album in 1998 that helped launch both their careers as well as helping push the “conscious rap” movement forward. Kweli’s finest solo work has come along with DJ Hi-Tek (the American one, not the 
Tonight, join one of our favorite bands from Iowa, the Poison Control Center, as they celebrate the release of their new album, Sad Sour Future. The record, their first since A Collage of Impressions in 2007, officially comes out on May 18, but they’ve been spending this weekend performing in Des Moines, Ames, and now Iowa City to give the album its unofficial release. They’re also warming up for a lengthy US tour this summer beginning in early June that takes them through late July. Tonight’s early, all-ages show also features Des Moines rockers Beati Paoli as well as our own Datagun. Grab the first single from Sad Sour Future, “Being Gone,” below.
