As you may or may not know, many universities and colleges around the country have already started their fall sessions. The University of Iowa is no exception. I should know through my various frustrations at riding a bike through this town. The first week of the session generally tends to bring a lot of cultural heat. One such event is Taste of Iowa City, an event where all of the freshmen can eat and learn where they will take their parents when they come to town on a football weekend or at any other meaningless time.

While there were many people sampling the culinary delights of exotic restaurants as Subway, I sidled into Public Space One where Little Village Live was happening with Sleepy Sun. A San Francisco band known from their swirling, psychedelic sound, Sleepy Sun played an acoustic set for that show, which was a bit of a downer because I was expecting to skip the later show. I use the term downer relatively. Their songs have a nice folk feeling to them, so they actually translate really well to the acoustic instruments. But, given that they are an electrified band primarily, they didn’t have very many songs to play for the acoustic set. They did play excellent new songs though. It was actually pretty cool to hear them in sort of a raw form like that. I had to imagine what they would sound like when they were actually put through some amplified instruments.

A few hours passed and with an assist, I got into the show. Skye Carrasco opened the show. I have an embarrassing admission to make: I’ve never seen Skye Carrasco before. I’ve lived in Iowa City since 2008 and have seen her at shows but never heard her play. I’m not sure exactly what she is doing with her music, but it’s really good. It was a cross between punk, metal, folk, pop, and a couple of jazz rhythms thrown in for good measure. It got a little crazy at times, but in the end, the whole thing came off really well. She’s someone you should see if you are living here in Iowa City for sure.

After her and some vibing on The Mill patio (lots of attractive people out on the patio this night. the summer brings out the best in everyone), Sleepy Sun got up on stage. That mellow band from earlier that sounded like 13th Floor Elevators unplugged sounded a bit like 13th Floor Elevators electrified, but they had clear influences from the psych scene that has existed in San Francisco (their hometown) since the Summer of Love. In addition to bringing in the 60s psych sound, Sleepy Sun are super heavy. They would be playing their regular songs with that sort of classic Jefferson Airplane style psych swirl, then they would transfer into an epic metal groove and just get heavy for a couple of minutes before switching back to normal.

Above the awesome music, the band was really into it. The lead singer fed a lot off of the audience, which was just plain awesome to see. The indie rockers are too disaffected now to actually interact with crowds anymore. God forbid they should show some spirit while destroying my hearing. I wish I could tell you how long they played for, but I have no idea. I checked my watch once, and it was around 12.20 am, which didn’t help me at all because I had no idea of when they actually started playing music. However long it was, it wasn’t long enough. I could have gone for a couple more songs.

While I knew some travelers that were not into it, they also didn’t have much choice in the matter. The consensus from those who chose to be there was almost universal acclaim. As someone who had no idea of anything about them and their music, I was thoroughly blown away. Wherever I settle in the world, if I see that they are coming again, I will be at that show. It was easily one of the best shows that I saw this summer without question. Seeing as this is the third time they’ve been to Iowa City, it wouldn’t be unfathomable to expect them again here. If there was some way we could get them and Peaking Lights on the same bill, I think it could be a contestant for show of the year.