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This page is a Monthly Archive of entries from April 2008 listed from newest to oldest.
Programming at the Urbana Free Library never ceases to amaze me. Tonight Sarah Lee Guthrie and Johnny Irion's nationwide tour brings them to town to perform a free concert a part of the library's "Heroes" series. The concert begins at 7 p.m.
Sarah Lee is the daughter of folk rocker Arlo Guthrie and granddaughter of the legendary Woody Guthrie — there's no doubt that talent runs in the family. Guthrie and Irion's music resembles the lyricism of Bob Dylan, mirror the spirits of June and Johnny Cash and continues the legacy of her grandfather's one-of-a-kind sound. Click here for a quick taste of Guthrie and Irion performing an acoustic set. And make your way to the library tonight to catch the darling duo live.
The Urbana Free Library is located at 210 W. Green St. in Urbana.
Cristy: Ah...the mid-1990s. Before Nickelback and Limp Bizkit clogged up radio with generic tattooed sludge, the rock that rose from Nirvana's Pacific-Northwestern ash was everywhere. Exquisite Sunny Day Real Estate. Mellow Toad the Wet Sprocket. And, of course, Radiohead B.C. (Before Critical-darlingness). St. Louis/Bloomington's Red Edmund hearkens back to that glorious time period.
A trio consisting of Cory Graddy (guitar, vocals, keyboards, songwritng), Tim Lyons (bass, vocals) and Chad Geiser (drums, vocals, trumpet), Red Edmund wear those mid-1990s influences on the their sleeves — their bold cover of Radiohead's "Planet Telex" (from The Bends) is part of their live show. In fact, their eponymous CD is rife with the Pablo Honey-era Radiohead sound.
Tribal drums rain down, town folk flock over, bass and saxophone debate, but in the end, get together. Afro-Cuban drumming meets free jazz and flirts with electronica. And the ensemble is constituted of 11 members. My oh my, what do we have here?
Sonic Liberation Front, a Philadelphia based group, performs this Saturday at the Krannert Center for the Performing Arts. With their first album, Water and Stone, released in 2001, SLF continues to expand the all-encompassing genre known as jazz. Now with three albums and several collaborations ranging from free jazz pioneer James “Sunny” Murray to alternative television producer Termite TV Collective, SLF is set to push the boundaries of music.
To all the patrons of the local music scene who keep looking for a way to make a difference: here is a way to make a difference.
High Anxiety Music Center — where local bands can rent rehearsal space, local fans can see great all-ages shows (with an old-school house party vibe) and anyone with the proper hankering can receive recording advice, studio time and, perhaps, even a record deal — is closing.
The house, located at 302 S. State St., was put on the market last week due to the landlord's financial troubles and an illness in the family. None of the parties interested in purchasing the house are similarly interested in letting High Anxiety Music remain.
President Ralph Petrella (a Smile Politely contributor) is putting out an open call for volunteers to help move some large items from the house this Sunday, April 27th. In addition, much of the furniture from the house will be for sale, so stop by if you're interested in some pieces with a bit of local history.
High Anxiety is hosting two remaining shows in the space before they have to fully vacate early next month, and the first is tomorrow with High Anxiety favorites Deconstructing Jim and Withershins. Admission to the 9 p.m. show is $5, so pack up your friends, give your money, lend a hand or an ear, and see what you can do to help. Who knows — perhaps the next home of High Anxiety Music is for rent on your street.
When I was a kid, I loved Star Wars. I had pretty much every collectible known to man. I had the movies, the soundtracks on vinyl, the action figures, bed sheets, curtains, talking Ewoks…all of it. My first word as a baby was “Yoda." I had a severe mental complex that had me thinking that I was actually Luke Skywalker bulls-eying womp rats on Tatooine for much of my childhood. I lived and breathed Star Wars.
I eventually grew out of my SW phase and moved on to more sophisticated movies like The Wizard and Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles, but every now and then, my brain will snap and I’ll see the world in Star Wars vision again. This week, I took a hard look at the Champaign-Urbana local music scene and made stunning comparisons of people in our local universe to people in the galaxy far, far away.
A show like this, on the surface, sounds like something of a novelty: hip-hop and indie rock? Together? This is the stuff that gets pulled off on major festival circuits, but how will it fare in the C-U community? Perhaps that’s putting naïve words into the mouths of our hyper-educated viewers, but it’s a question worth asking despite the fact that this type of show has gone on for quite some time around town. Krukid shows up here, Larry Gates shows up there; at The Great Cover-Up, rock bands cover hip-hop acts for a full set, from Absinthe Blind performing as the Beastie Boys on through Beat Kitchen’s rendition of Run-DMC. Point in case, though this might be the first to call attention to the relationship between hip-hop and indie rock by name, the C-U music community is no stranger to cross-genre shows.
Also of note is that the pairing of these genres, increasingly related in terms of PR if nothing else, makes a whole lot of sense: In both cases, grassroots promotion plays a giant role in getting the word spread about the quality of musical acts, from venues such as MySpace to the traditional word-of-mouth. To boot, independent acts of both the rock and hip-hop varieties (not to mention most other genres) are the ones who consistently expand upon respective boundaries, the proverbial meal tickets for the future of music.
Food, Sex, and Death... and Insects (2007)William: The Venus 3—Peter Buck (R.E.M.), Bill Rieflin (formerly with Ministry) and Scott McCaughey (leader of the Young Fresh Fellows)—have been playing together since 2005. In October 2006 they released Olé! Tarantula with Robyn Hitchcock and visited London to record more material at Hitchcock's house.
The subject of this documentary is the time they spent recording, then touring America. The camera follows the band from Hitchcock’s house in London to Maxwell's in Hoboken, New Jersey, and then to the Crocodile Cafe in Seattle. Chris Ballew (Presidents of the United States of America), John Paul Jones (Led Zeppelin), Morris Windsor (Hitchcock’s lifelong collaborator, usually on drums and harmonies), Gillian Welch and David Rawlings, and Nick Lowe all put in appearances in this film, just dropping by to hang out or to lay down tracks in Robyn’s surprisingly normal-looking living room.
The most open-minded fans of experimental or avant-garde music will — in their most private moments — admit they know precisely why the great majority of music-listeners tend to shy away from their chosen genre. It' s not necessarily because the music is harsh or dissonant, or because it lacks a recognizable structure. Everything from new age to Timbaland contains some or all of these elements.
I always like going to shows at the IMC. The space is inside the old historic Urbana post office building, which is a neat old structure, and the couches and paintings are very nice and welcomed choices for alternative furnishings. The place really has a good atmosphere for all ages shows, and the "secret" BYOB policy for those above the legal age. Above all else though, the bands and sound system work really well in the room.
[The Highdive, Saturday, April 19]
Cristy: Power pop—the candy aisle of rock. You got your classic Hershey’s chocolate (Big Star); tangy Smarties (Weezer); and sparkly gold Werthers caramel (Matthew Sweet). If you're a power pop fan, Three Hour Tour and The Redwalls are pure sugary confections.
“Sometimes I feel like hip-hop has me runnin’ in place.”
True. But, the ability to move minds and bodies keeps you from standing still for too long.
I admit: as one of the fresh-faced youth that came to Champaign-Urbana in 2002, and having been exposed to the hip-hop scene here for the lot of my college career (5.5 years and going strong!), I can say that the way Text describes his passion could be readily applied to hip-hop heads in this town. But, with a very hopeful outcome, if the current trend of albums and releases continue.
If you haven’t come across the Broke Rappers Coalition, or BRC, then you may want to stand in their path for a little while, if for nothing else but to catch Text performing. His most recent release, Jameson Dreams, is anything but a drunken romp through 13 tracks. Text weaves a web that dodges between full-on rhythmic confessional, to lyrical onslaught with several of his BRC brethren.
Do you hear that? It's the collective sigh of disappointment from American Idol fans across Central Illinois.
Last year's winner, Jordin Sparks, canceled her concert at the Assembly Hall scheduled for Friday.
With all the scenesters I see walking around campus, I was very surprised when I walked into the Canopy to find this show in the Void Room, or, their front bar area. An indie-rock veteran like John Vanderslice who has released a string of excellent and critically adored solo albums since the start of the new millennium should have packed the place, but since finger wagging won’t get people out to shows, I’ll just move on.
There was a strong but small crowd though, last night. At first it seemed that most people were there to support opening act, an artist with ties to the C-U community, Jared Bartman. He is a young looking fella that wears the underage “U” on his right hand like all the rest of us not old enough to drink, but he and his band played his songs like they have been doing it for years.
Hey kids, did ya hear? “World music” is fast becoming the new hipster-approved genre of the week. A recent spate of indie rock bands like Vampire Weekend, and Yeasayer and the requisite Pitchfork best new frenzy prompted a recent Tribune article proclaiming the “fading boundaries of world music.” Freak-folk? Yesterday’s news. Bust out your marimbas. Paul Simon is the new Vashti Bunyan. Take that, Sasha Frere-Jones!
Tonight at the Independent Media Center, Modern Skirts, hailing from Athens, Georgia, will perform as openers for Nashville indie-rockers Parachute Musical and local atmospheric rock duo Common Loon. The power-poppy Modern Skirts, gearing up to release their sophomore album this fall, recently had their single "Motorcade" featured on a Q Magazine sampler, and will be opening for REM this summer in Amsterdam.
Be sure to catch them tonight before it costs you more than one of those creepy new fives to see them.
The Independent Media Center is located at 202 S. Broadway Ave. in Urbana. The show starts at 8 p.m., admission is five dollars, and is all-ages and alcohol-free.
Brace yourselves, campus dwellers.
Ben Folds, the actually really great pop songsmith, returns to campus for the third time in the last eight years. Ben Lee opens the show, which will no doubt be more fun than a trip to the zoo on ecstasy.
Starcourse, the campus-based concert committee must have really reached deep into their bag of tricks for this one. A quick glance at their website will tell you who they have brought to town over the past 100 years. And the last ten years confirms it: this organization is hanging out with the wrong people.
Tickets are $29 for students and $31 for the general public.
I might be the only twenty-something from the Western suburbs of Chicago who had never seen Lucky Boys Confusion live. They have a somewhat legendary reputation in my old neck of the woods, including with my younger brothers. However, being the skeptic that I am, I will admit I have always assumed this reputation to be somewhat exaggerated. So it was with fresh eyes that I attended their performance at The Canopy Club on Saturday, April 12.
[Kimya Dawson, L’Orchidee D’Hawai and Angelo Spencer at the Independent Media Center on April 13]
Angelo Spencer, the first opener of the evening, was quite the modern day troubadour. Taking ambidexterity to the limit, he played guitar with the upper half of his body and an abbreviated drum kit with his feet. There was something inescapably amateur about his sound, but even when the Frenchman’s banter was a bit lost in translation, people continued cheering for him. The speak-sung lyrics and spastic strums highlighted both a slight similarity to Art Brut, and unfortunately, the void of not having a full band.
This weekend promises variety when it comes to one of the finest new bands in town. Kristov’s Agenda has finally arrived. So, what makes this particular weekend so special?
Why none other than not just one, but two, CD release shows for the band that takes cues from everyone from Radiohead, to Massive Attack, to Portishead, to MF Doom, that's what.
Illini Union Courtyard Café, 4/10/08
William: The venue's website said the show would start at 8 p.m. The DJ on WPGU said 7:30. The poster said 9:00. The guy at the Illini Union Box Office said "Caribou...That's a band, right?"
The opening act, Fuck Buttons, was for some reason not mentioned on the radio or in the university's official promotional material.
So we arrived late. And as a result missed the best part of Fuck Buttons' set, catching just the tail end. We heard only two songs we missed the names of, and so refer to them as"The Washing Machine Song" and "The Lawnmower Song." A few adventurous fans were nodding along to the very loud grinding beat, though most stood around the stage like witnesses at a car crash, staring petrified into the distortion. I sensed a Velvet Underground influence, or at least Metal Machine Music.
It was previously reported that the likeness of Ryan Groff, frontman for local band Elsinore, had appeared in an elderly woman’s morning breakfast. Now, another story regarding Groff has surfaced.
Last week, our C-U Siz reporters have retrieved this video of Groff apparently writing new solo material while communicating with geese at a local park. He appears in the video to be taking inspiration from the friendly fellows:
Story is developing.
Upon the premiere of last year’s indie film sensation Juno, Kimya Dawson said, “I am excited for when the soundtrack comes out. But […] it's all really scary for me. Some of those songs were recorded in my bed in Bedford Hills, under the covers, on the 4-track. And when people were coming up to me telling me I did a great job, it felt weird because I didn't do a job. I wrote a bunch of crap when my heart was hurting.”
Anti-folk pioneer and cult favorite Kimya Dawson was launched into sudden stardom last year with the release of the Juno soundtrack, on which her music was heavily featured. Dawson, who performed as one-half of The Moldy Peaches until 2004, began a solo career when the band went on hiatus, recording a series of heartfelt lo-fi albums, the latest titled Remember That I Love You – a phrase that could also serve as a mantra for Dawson’s music.
There once was a moniker named Manitoba, and behind the mask was Dan Snaith — Ontarian musicmaster, purveyor of a style bred in isolation and unpredictable as such, a blender of styles as diverse as Kraut-rock, dance, ‘90s indie, techno, and the twee jangle of certain classic rock maestros. After two records and a bizarre lawsuit over his nom de plume, Snaith re-emerged as Caribou. He’s up to the same old business — a strange mix of progress and homage — and along with two records, The Milk of Human Kindness and 2007’s Andorra, Snaith has also re-released his records previously available as Manitoba (Start Breaking My Heart and the enigmatic Up In Flames). Each of these records boasts its own vision, an installment of sorts in Snaith’s catalog of musical mania. The progress has seen Snaith grow from recording electronic music in his bedroom to a highly ecstatic, organic style that transcends genre altogether.
There are many notable things about Bon Iver. The first is that the band name is purposefully misspelled, according to the press kit, and is pronounced "bohn eevair;" I’m not sure this is the technical language of pronunciation, but those with even menial training in French can recognize this as a version of the French for “good winter.” The second thing is that Bon Iver is the stage name for Justin Vernon, who sometimes has a couple of bandmates in tow despite the fact that he wrote and recorded the brilliant album For Emma, Forever Ago in literal isolation in the woods of northwestern Wisconsin. (For Emma was self-released in 2007 and picked up by Jagjaguwar for its February 2008 wide release.) Tonight, Vernon will play a sort folk music for you.
The Canopy Club, 4/7/08
Cursive:
Call it a mash-up of the arts or a quick case of amnesia.
Hollywood Video, a video rental store situated on the corner of Neil and Green streets, is not known for it's reputation as a live music venue. And that is probably because they have never hosted a live band before.
That all changes tonight at 8:00 p.m. when the Covington, IN band, Axxis, will take the "stage" for Student Appreciation Night at the video rental mainstay open since 1997.
Students will be treated to free pizza and able to rent one movie and get another free while the band, which could best be described as "angry", rocks out for the last part of the store's regular business hours.
Hollywood Video is located at 512 S Neil St Champaign, IL 61820. There is no cover charge. Obviously.
Krannert Center, 4/3/08
William: For over 35 years, Kronos Quartet has performed and commissioned unusual works, sometimes receiving criticism from the general direction of the stodgy, black-tie classical music establishment. With their striking fashions and eclectic repertoire — including Black Angels, a piece of music based on the Vietnam War, and their much-cited Hendrix cover/arrangement — their music is undeniably transgressive in the sense of crossing boundaries.
But is it progressive in the sense of yearning, leaning toward a fairer world? Tonight’s program suggested that the quartet was responding to the new resurgence of U.S. militarism by including music from Iraq, Iran, Serbia, Armenia and India. I thought this would be a bold refutation of the elitist hegemony of U.S. culture and highbrow, “classical” art music. After the concert, I’m less convinced.
Bows up, eyes alert, as this Sunday, National Public Radio host Garrison Keillor conducts the Champaign-Urbana Symphony. Together with music director Steven Larsen, whose 11 years amidst C-U Symphony is sure to provide an exceptional experience.
Expect humor, bow ties, upright citizens and of course, passionate music.
Keillor is best known for NPR's radio variety show, A Prairie Home Companion or for Disney fans, Odin's voice in animated series Hercules. The Minnesota native boasts of books, audio cassettes and poetry, all entangled in his quirky sense of humor.
Though not as heinous as the act of rape itself, blaming rape victims is an infuriating practice that, for reasons beyond this writer, has not yet died. (You might ask the Los Angeles Times or Cosmo about that
one — both have run articles since the beginning of the year that did exactly that.)
Locally, we're fortunate to have Rape Crisis Services. Not only are they advocating for and providing services to victims of rape, they're also educating students and community members about sexual harassment, rape and how to support rape victims. And they're out there dispelling rape myths, too (such as that it could be a victim's fault).
This Saturday night, five local bands will come together to raise money to support all of Rape Crisis Services' programs at the fifth annual Rock Against Rape.
Aside from the occasional listen, I never really got in to the Wu Tang Clan or any of the 324 solo albums that spawned from the group. I always, however, appreciated and respected them in the world of hip hop. I’ve heard some say that Method Man’s show in 2006 was the best hip hop show ever at the Canopy, but the same can definitely not be said for Ghostface Killah’s 2005 show.
Stopping by the Canopy Club on a short spring jaunt through the northern Midwest and out to New York is Saddle Creek’s indie-rock veterans, Cursive. Expect a night of personal catharsis; a live musical exorcism led by front man Tim Kasher with his aggressive manner of unleashing his vocals.
In 2005, John Hoeffleur made the following soon-to-be-understatement: “I must confess I personally have a bad feeling about it.” Hoeffleur, the frontman for local group The Beauty Shop, was speaking (on the local music forum OpeningBands) of the WPGU/buzz Local Music Awards, then in its first year. The Beauty Shop took home the award for “Best Roots/Americana Band” that year, but this year, they have turned down a nomination. “In the past the price of my acquiescence has been a couple free drinks,” says Hoeffleur of his current nomination refusal. “This year, my costs have gone up.”
“I feel that any attention paid toward the local music scene is a good thing,” says Jon Hansen, Operations Manager at WPGU 107.1 FM. The way he sees it, WPGU is doing just that tonight — by presenting the fourth annual Local Music Awards, at which four bands will perform at The Highdive, and locals will be awarded top honors in fourteen categories, such as “Best Rock Artist” and “Best Student Band.” However, the event is not going uncriticized.
Axl Rose is the front man and sole remaining original member of Guns N’ Roses. GNR’s last new album of original material came out in 1991.
Bob Higgins is a thirty-seven-year-old former bank teller from Los Angeles. He has been stalking Mr. Rose full-time since 2003, and before that part-time since 1998.
March 14, 2008
9:13 AM: Am late again. Shoot! Can only assume that dogs have already been out for morning run, as handler’s car is nowhere to be seen and several dead fowl are visible near edges of courtyard. Should not have started watching Empty Nest marathon last night. Will await cleanup crew’s van and maybe have a donut.
10:01 AM: A.R. appears briefly at 3rd floor window, east wing. Shirtless, sprinkles what look like depilated red chest hairs down over tiger lilies. Retreats from window. Moments later reappears, drops first(?) feces of the day, again into tiger lilies. Sniffs air. Retreats from window again.
Before Attack and Release, The Black Keys had never recorded an album outside of their Akron, Ohio, basement. They had never worked with a producer and had always recorded and mixed all of their own records. All of this is simply the beginning of a musical story that boasts the stuff of musical lore. The story goes like this: Brian Burton (a.k.a. Danger Mouse) called Dan Auerbach and Patrick Carney (a.k.a. The Black Keys) to ask if they want to write and record some songs for the forthcoming Danger Mouse-produced record by soul/r&b pioneer Ike Turner. Unfortunately, Turner passed away in December and the record — as of now — seems as if it was not far enough along to complete in any way, shape, or form. For The Black Keys, though, recording with Burton was something of a watershed moment and they immediately asked him if he would produce their next record. Attack and Release is the result.
Don’t let their unreliable website fool you — the B-Girls and B-Boys of UC Hip-Hop Congress are very busy these days. And this week they’re bringing you a whole host of events to celebrate Hip-Hop Awareness Week. Check it out — click the flyer thumbnails for full line-ups and event details.Let’s kick things off tonight with a good old-fashioned house party. This one features the likes of Braille (Portland, OR) and Nato Caliph (St. Louis, MO), among others.
BASIC House is located at 1008 S. Lincoln Ave. in Urbana. The party starts at 6:30 p.m. and admission is $5.
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