Smile Politely. Speak Directly. A Champaign-Urbana Culture Blog

Four-piece Champaign group Shipwreck tie up their magic phones, live cobras, and intoxicating brand of atmospheric rock into a red handkerchief on a stick, take to the highway to inspire enchanting dance parties in strippers, hipsters, and orange trees alike with their newest release, Rabbit in the Kitchen with a New Dress On.

With the crowd still filling in, as it would be throughout the first two bands’ sets, Tractor Kings took the stage. Influenced by Bob Dylan and his disciples, it was a special set with The Living Blue lead singer Steve Ucherek adding his electric guitar to the band, giving the songs a post-rock sound. They covered Bob Dylan’s “Masters of War” and trampled the stage with rattling drums, a walking bass, and psychedelic fuzz guitar, making for a better version than Dylan himself plays these days.

I walked into Caffé Paradiso in-between the sets of Mit’n and The Western Civilization. Privacy, the band normally backing up Mount Eerie on the tour, was very sick, but luckily a couple of other concerts were in town, so The WS played an acoustic set before their full-band show later in the night. They played with three acoustic guitars and emotional boy-girl lead vocals. Someone not in attendance would just have to think of Margot and the Nuclear So and Sos, Straylight Run, or Bright Eyes, and they’d get the idea of the type of music being played.