Smile Politely

The Overture: September 8-14

WHAT: Skymatic, Penny Horses, Finer Feelings

WHERE: The Canopy Club (free)

WHEN: Monday, September 8th at 8 p.m.

A trio of acts lined up tonight for Canpoy Club’s Monday Night House Party. Skymatic is joined by a duo of locals, Penny Horses and Finer Feelings.
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WHAT: Phases of the Moon Festival

WHERE: Kennekuk County Park (price varies)

WHEN: Thursday, September 11th through Sunday, September 14th

The Bonnaroo-esque festival — Phases of the Moon Festival — is happening this weekend in nearby Kennekuk County Park (east of Urbana near Danville). The lineup is massive, headlined by Widespread Panic, String Cheese Incident, Lunar Landing Conspiracy, and dozens more, check out the full lineup section and see more about the fest at their website.

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WHAT: The Autocorrect, Vaudevileins, Number One Sons

WHERE: Cowboy Monkey ($5)

WHEN: Thursday, September 11th at 9:30 p.m.

Another trio of bands familar to the C-U music scene — locals Autocorrect, Kankakee’s Vaudevileins (pictured here), and Number One Sons, are on the bill at Cowboy Monkey on Thursday night. 
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WHAT: Saba, Frank Leone, Hurt Everybody, John Wal

WHERE: The Canopy Club ($7)

WHEN: Thursday, September 11th at 10 p.m.

Chicago emcess Saba is 19 years old, and known for his “agreessive delivery” and being a member of the rap collective Pivot Gang.

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WHAT: Ryan Groff, Noah Harris, Marielle McNabney

WHERE: Cafeteria & Company

WHEN: Friday, September 12th at 6:30 p.m.

The next show presented by the Undercut Collective is happening at the end of the week. Read up on Saskia Bakker here, and head out to Flying Machine for this acoustic show featuring Elsinore’s Ryan Groff, Noah Harris and Marielle McNabney. There will also be a poetry reading by Elizabeth Majerus (who also plays in Motes).

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WHAT: Tiempo Libre

WHERE: Krannert Center for the Performing Arts ($5)

WHEN: Friday, September 12th at 6:30 p.m.

Tiempo Libre will be performing for Krannert Center’s opening night of the new season on Friday night. Check out our coverage on the new season here and gear up for this show on Friday night.
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WHAT: Local H, Stoop Goodnoise

WHERE: The Highdive ($15)

WHEN: Friday, September 12th at 7:30 p.m.

Alt-rock crew Local H is back in C-U this week, rounding out the week at Highdive on Friday night. The outfit added a new member last November, and with revamped lineup has written new songs, and they’re currently touring in support of their forthcoming EP, Local H’s Awesome Mixtape #2.

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WHAT: Clarke Buehling and the Skirtlifters

WHERE: The Upper Bout ($10)

WHEN: Friday, September 12th at 7:30 p.m.

A night of banjo is taking place at the Upper Bout on Neil Street at the end of the week. Claark Buehling, a classic finger-picking-style banjo player, will be performing in the guitar shop, presented by C-U Folk & Roots Fest.

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WHAT: The Spiritual Bat, Strap On Halo, Dark Valentine

WHERE: Error Records ($5)

WHEN: Friday, September 12th at 8 p.m.

Error Records is hosting a show in the new space, located at 123 W. Main Street in Urbana, and this all-ages show is an “evening of fine goth darkness”. Check out the new space and the show if you’re over there.
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WHAT: Cosby Sweater, Church Booty

WHERE: Cowboy Monkey ($7)

WHEN: Friday, September 12th at 10 p.m.

Cosby Sweater are no strangers to C-U, as they’ve performed a few times at the Canopy Club in recent memory. This time around, they’ll be at Cowboy Monkey and joined by locals Church Booty. Cosby Sweater has a electro-jammy vibe to them.

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WHAT: Bodeans, The Brat Pack, X Crush, 90s Daughter

WHERE: Champaign County Fairgrounds ($15)

WHEN: Saturday, September 13th at 5 p.m.

The Crazy K event is happening in C-U this weekend, and if you’re unfamiliar with the event, check out the website and get up to date. You probably remember them for this track, and they’ll be joined by some other local cover bands for the music component of the event.
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WHAT: Rosanne Cash

WHERE: Krannert Center for the Performing Arts ($15-48)

WHEN: Saturday, September 13th at 7:30 p.m.

Busy weekend to start out the season for Krannert Center, and they’ll play host to Rosanne Cash on Saturday night sandwiched between the aforementinoed opening night and St. Louis Symphony (below). Cash is a country/rock artist, and will be playing this show in the Tryon Festival Theater.
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WHAT: Acker, Wedding Dress, Isaac Arms

WHERE: Mike ‘N Molly’s ($7)

WHEN: Saturday, September 13th at 9 p.m.

Local rock outfit Acker has a few EPs under their belts, and they’re performing on Saturday night at Mike ‘N Molly’s. They’re joined by Chicago’s Wedding Dress and Isaac Arms of Withershins, who is performing solo here.
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WHAT: OK Go

WHERE: The Canopy Club ($15)

WHEN: Saturday, September 13th at 9:30 p.m.

You surely remember OK Go for this video, but they have more going on than just being remembered for that video. We’ll find out more later this week, so stay tuned for our interview with the band to preview the show this weekend at Canopy Club.

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WHAT: Penny Horses

WHERE: The Iron Post ($4)

WHEN: Saturdya September 12th at 9:30 p.m.

New-ish local outfit Penny Horses are busy this week with two shows on the docket for them. This time around, they’ll play at The Iron Post in Urbana, and there still may be some addtions to this bill coming sometime this week. For now, that’s what we’ve got for this one.
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WHAT: Sun Stereo, Dynamo

WHERE: Cowboy Monkey ($7)

WHEN: Saturday, September 13th at 10 p.m.

Local performing machines Sun Stereo has the stage on Saturday at Cowboy Monkey. If you haven’t seen Sun Stereo in concert before, do yourself a favor and get out to this one in Downtown Champaign. Definitely worth it. They’re joined by Dynamo this week.

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WHAT: St. Louis Symphony

WHERE: Krannert Center for the Performing Arts ($15-53)

WHEN: Sunday, September 14th at 7:30 p.m.

A bit of an Arts/Music crossover here, but St. Louis Symphony will be at Krannert on Sunday night. Check out Jeff’s feature on the outfit from a few weeks back.
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EDITOR’S PICK: DRIVE-BY TRUCKERS, LEE BAINS III, THE GLORY FIRES
The Canopy Club ($20 advance/$22 doors) — Sunday, September 14th at 8 p.m. 

Here’s a very good show to round out your weekend being lead by the always-entertaining Drive-By Truckers. This crew is known for their alt-country and Southern rock music, and they are on the coat tails of their past record, English Oceans. If you haven’t done so, or are unfamiliar, check out some of their older records and figure it out. You won’t regret it. For this show, they’ll be joined by a pair of other outfits. Regardless of this being on a Sunday night, it is one that deserves a little extra attention this weekend. A seriously good rock show is going down.

Executive Editor

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