Glimmers of hope: A legislative update on effort to #SaveOurStages

The economic calamity wrought by the coronavirus threatens to devastate live music across the country. In case you think that sounds hyperbolic, a June survey of members of the National Independent Venue Association (NIVA) found that 90% of live music venues could close within six months without additional government help.

That ought to chill music fans everywhere to the bone. But a few proposals are circulating in Congress that could provide help, some of which have received the support of Iowa lawmakers.

Here’s a quick rundown of the proposals and who’s backing them:

The RESTART Act – This legislation would amend and extend the previously approved Paycheck Protection Program with a focus on small and midsize businesses. That would be good news for music venues, and NIVA has backed this legislation. Sen. Michael Bennett, a Colorado Democrat, is the lead sponsor in the Senate. Rep. Jared Golden, a Maine Democrat, sponsored the bill in the House. The proposal has received bipartisan backing, including from Sen. Joni Ernst, an Iowa Republican who has signed on as a cosponsor. Rep. Cindy Axne (D-Iowa) and Rep. Dave Loebsack (D-Iowa) have cosponsored the companion bill in the House. This proposal was assigned the bill numbers S. 3814 in the U.S. Senate and H.R. 7481 in the U.S. House of Representatives.

The Save Our Stages Act – This bill would establish federal grants specifically for live music venues, performance spaces and theaters. It was introduced in the Senate by the bipartisan team of Minnesota Democrat Amy Klobuchar and Texas Republican John Cornyn. The narrow focus of the bill on performance venues makes it a more direct option to keep venues afloat. Dave Loebsack is currently the only Iowan in Congress cosponsoring the legislation . The Save Our Stages Act was assigned the bill numbers S. 4258 in the Senate and H.R. 7806 in the House.

The ENCORES Act – This bill would allow small music venues to recoup some of the losses they sustained due to ticket refunds from canceled events by providing a tax credit for half the value of refunded tickets. This bipartisan bill was cosponsored by Rep. Rob Kind (D-WI) and Rep. Mike Kelly (R-PA). The bill was assigned the number H.R. 7735, and Congress.gov does not list any Iowa cosponsors currently.

An overlooked aspect of this issue is the plight of publicly owned venues, such as Stephens Auditorium in Ames, which is owned by Iowa State University. Federal pandemic relief programs have excluded publicly owned venues to date, despite the fact these venues were among the first to close and will be among the last to reopen. Stephens Auditorium, named Iowa’s building of the 20th century by the Iowa chapter of the American Institute of Architects, is one of the crown jewels of Ames and absolutely deserves federal help during this unprecedented crisis. Publicly owned venues depend on ticket sales for their long-term operations, and the pandemic has crippled their business just as it has for privately owned venues.

Sen. Ernst and more than a dozen of her Senate colleagues signed a formal letter to Senate leadership asking that publicly owned venues become eligible under the Paycheck Protection Program.

“Often, publicly-owned venues are established by a political subdivision of a state or local government, but they fund their operations through event revenue like privately-owned venues,” the letter reads. “Moreover, they typically receive little to no funding from government sources because they are not included in state or local government budgets.”

This is a common-sense adjustment to an existing federal program designed to help Americans get through the financial strains of the pandemic and ought to become law.

So what can we do to support this effort? NIVA has a terrific “take action” resource on its website that allows you to send letters of support to your members of Congress. Beyond that, musicians and music fans should get active. Read up on the proposals, check in with your local music venues and let people know on social media this issue is important for the health of live music.

Virtually everyone, no matter their political affiliation, has enjoyed live music in their lives. Let’s work together to save our stages, save public venues and keep the music going!

NOTE: This post was updated on Aug. 13 to note that Rep. Dave Loebsack has cosponsored the RESTART and Save Our Stages acts.

Iowa Music You Gotta Hear: ‘Dream On’ by TWINS

101134804_342061003425902_8355098802595561472_n TWINS, the longstanding Cedar Valley rock band with a reputation for electrifying power pop, took a hard turn on their latest album, Dream On. Or, rather, a softer turn.

And principal songwriter Joel Sires says it was all by design.

The new nine-song collection, officially released on June 5, dials down the electricity while pushing Sires’ acoustic guitar and lyrics to the forefront. The songs retain the hooky melodic sense of previous TWINS efforts, and the arrangements are still lush and atmospheric. But the new approach showcases a vulnerability that may have been overshadowed by the bombast of the old TWINS. The result is a delicate and sometimes haunting album that draws the listener closer, like a whisper you have to strain to hear.

“I wrote a good majority of the record alone on my acoustic and I figured the songs just translated better with the acoustic being sort of the backbone of the recorded versions,” Sires told Rock Roads. “I also specifically wanted it in the songs to make it as hard of a turn as possible from our last record, “Square America.”

“Buffalo Snow,” the first single released from the album, accurately previews what listeners can expect from much of the record. A carefully plucked figure on an acoustic guitar does most of the lifting on the introduction while the rhythm section — Luke Sires on drums and Devin Ferguson on bass — remains tastefully restrained throughout. Toby Sires’ lead guitar enriches the atmosphere without stepping on the vocal. An organ, played by newcomer Ben Randall, thickens the sound and adds warmth.

“I just wanna be your vapor trail/Follow you around like a tail,” Sires sings.

The theme of life’s impermanence pops up again and again on the album. Sires’ lyrics make use of fleeting imagery like shooting stars and fresh-fallen snow. Blink and you’ll miss it. Or, at least, blink and it won’t be the same as it was before. The delicate arrangements enhance the ethereal, misty nature of the songwriting.

“Reminds Me of the Rose” is perhaps the high point of the album, featuring rich harmonies and a dynamic structure that climaxes with Sires chanting “You remind me of the rose” as the instruments swell around him. The song urges the listener to slow down and appreciate the miraculous beauty of the everyday, which, like the rose, never lasts long.

Flashes of the old TWINS shine through the wintry clouds at various junctures. “So Far Gone,” the second single released ahead of the album’s debut, features a Stonsey groove that’s reinforced by an overdriven anti-solo. “Passenger,” a bouncy slice of pop rock with a singalong chorus and lyrics about “hangin’ round a burger shack,” recalls previous TWINS efforts as well.

TWINS recorded the album at Chandler Limited in Shell Rock. Recording close to home allowed the band to stretch out and take their time, though Sires said the band worked to preserve a live feel as much as possible.

“We have polished off the rough edges on previous records, and I knew this time I didn’t want to do that at all, if possible,” Sires said. “Because that’s the type of band we are. Sort of like Charlie Brown and the Peanuts Gang if they had a garage band.”

Dream On will be available on streaming services on June 5. Pre-order a physical copy on the TWINS Bandcamp page.

Hinterland 2019 from a kid’s perspective

mickanddad — The author with his 7-year-old son Michael at Hinterland 2019

Few things put a damper on the rock ‘n’ roll lifestyle like parenting.

Rock shows usually go late, and toddlers always wake up early. Accordingly, I’ve passed up countless shows that I otherwise would have jumped at because they simply weren’t compatible with my responsibilities as a husband and father to two kids (ages 7 and 2).

Sometimes that reality frustrates me, but I try to share my passion for music with my family whenever possible. Hinterland, a three-day outdoor music festival earlier this month near St. Charles, Iowa, provides the most recent example of my struggle to balance those two sides of my life. The incredible lineup – including Jason Isbell, Brandi Carlile, Kacey Musgraves, the War & Treaty, St. Paul & the Broken Bones, Colter Wall and others – was simply too good to pass up. Taking my 2-year-old daughter along seemed out of the question, on account of her stubborn insistence on throwing epic tantrums without warning and for no discernible reason. But my nearly 8-year-old son Michael, a thoughtful and compassionate lad who has been to several big concerts, acted excited by the prospect of going. So we sent our toddler to spend the weekend with my wife’s parents and decided to initiate our son into the music festival experience.

The missus and I, along with my way-cool music-loving parents, have attended three Hinterland festivals now, and it’s been a highlight of our year each time. Our first exposure to Brandi Carlile’s live show took place at the first Hinterland in 2015. Carlile put on such an energetic, life-affirming performance that my wife and I swore we’d never miss another chance to see her. We’ve taken in all-timers like Willie Nelson at the Avenue of the Saints Amphitheater and newer favorites like the Turnpike Troubadours, who have perhaps burned out before their time and may never tour again.

But leaving the kids with the grandparents the two previous trips to Hinterland allowed us to pretend we were just a couple kids in love, living in the moment without worrying about whether our son had applied the proper amount of sunscreen or having to carry his snoring form through the darkened parking lot because the last set went way past his normal bedtime (Fun fact: my son is the only person I know who has dozed off in the middle of Bob Dylan AND Willie Nelson concerts). So I think it’s fair to say the decision to bring our son along caused us both some real anxiety. It pleases me greatly, however, to report he did really well – for the most part.

Saturday afternoon, as we dealt with withering early August heat, disaster struck when my son’s melting ice cream cone dripped all over his clothes. This set off some tears from Michael, and I worried that we’d made a mistake. Maybe he wasn’t ready for the rigors of a weekend-long music festival. As his mood nosedived, I felt certain that my worst festival nightmare was coming true, that we’d have to pack up and leave without seeing any of my favorite acts on the bill.

But it was Hinterkids to the rescue. Hinterland organizers anticipated just this sort of emergency and put together a slate of activities just for kids. Children and parents could retire to a tent in a quiet corner of the festival grounds for some shade, and Michael got his photo taken for a nametag that looked like a backstage pass for a 90s Nickelodeon cartoon. Kids could complete activities in a workbook specially designed to feature all of the musicians on the festival lineup. He also painted a picture of an alien that got added to a mural featuring artwork from all the kids who visited the tent.

Michael went into the tent on the verge of a breakdown and came out ready to rock for the rest of the day.

The sun set, and the boiling temperatures eased into a much more comfortable range. St. Paul and the Broken Bones took the stage and delivered an irresistibly funky set. My family and I sat on a blanket, close enough to see the stage but far enough away that we weren’t overwhelmed by dense crowds. Michael, without saying a word, climbed into my lap and watched St. Paul and the Broken Bones in hushed awe. Paul Janeway, the dynamic lead singer, pulled off the most thrilling moment of the entire festival by climbing down off the stage during the last song and making his way back to the VIP area, which was situated on top of the sound booth. Janeway climbed the stairs to the balcony and finished the song standing on top of a folding chair, a couple stories above the audience, conducting the band to an exquisite crescendo. And Michael and I were right there to share the moment together.

We ended up leaving about halfway through Jason Isbell’s headlining set because Michael was clearly running out of steam. Of course, I ended up carrying him through the pasture that served as the general admission parking lot as sleep overtook him. My arms ached by the time we got him in the car, but I honestly didn’t mind.

I’d learned a lesson that night. When it comes to finding that balance between parenting and experiencing all the great music I can, it’s okay to make some compromises if it means sharing a few unforgettable moments with my family. My son got too tired to hear Jason Isbell’s finale, but we’ll always remember Paul Janeway precariously balancing on that chair high over our heads.

Rock ‘n’ roll is a way of thinking as much as it is a musical form. It’s a rejection of the prevailing way of doing things in favor of thinking for yourself. Rock ‘n’ roll, at its purest, challenges the corporate and commercial priorities of our culture in favor of strengthening our ties with the humans around us. In that sense, introducing my son to his first music festival at a young age may have been a pretty rock ‘n’ roll thing to do after all.

Iowa music you gotta hear: Miss Christine’s ‘Conversion’

Time, Christine Moad knew, was of the essence.

Moad, the creative force and bassist for power-pop outfit Miss Christine, decided she needed to record her album quickly in February 2018. Taking time to agonize over every tiny detail could derail the entire project, she reasoned, and keep her songs from ever seeing an official release. So she gathered some charts and demos of her songs and showed them to a group of musicians who had never heard them before.

The band arranged and recorded each song in the studio, quickly turning out the 12 tracks that would form Miss Christine’s latest album, Conversion, released earlier this summer.

“I’m a perfectionist and knew this was the only way I could record my album without getting too much in my head,” Moad said via email. “This approach was terrifying but so rewarding.”

Moad said she hopes the creative energy unleashed when she and the band members figured out the arrangements would saturate the recordings. The approach allows the listener to discover the songs alongside the musicians.

“My idea is that music is most powerful when it’s first created,” she said.

Moad is an Iowa native. She grew up near Allison but moved away at 17 to study electric bass performance at the Berklee College of Music in Boston. From there, she moved to Nashville, where she found work as a session and touring bassist. But Moad moved back to Iowa when she decided it was time to focus on her own compositions, and she currently lives on a farm near Iowa City.

“I found myself at a crossroads and decided I wanted to do my own music,” she said when discussing her return to her home state. “I moved back to Iowa to finish writing my album and do some self reflection. It has been great to reconnect to my roots and enjoy the beauty of Iowa.”

Despite the compressed recording process, the songs on Conversion don’t sound hurried or sloppy. Rather, they feature a diverse range of instrumentation and textures. Album opener “Be Present” crackles with delightfully punky guitar tones and horn swells, while the title track strikes a more dramatic tone with somber keys and ominously whispered background vocals. Breakup song “Without You” dials up an r&b-inspired groove and guitar part and a big-time singalong chorus.

The album covers a lot of lyrical ground as well. Numbers like “Be Present” and “The Millennial Paradigm” take on social and philosophical topics of relevance to modern life. “Green Walls, Red Trim” and “Without You” are more character based. “Nightmare In the Daytime,” in which the narrator finally works up the courage to confront a manipulator, contains some scorchingly cathartic kiss-off lyrics.

“But I can see right through it to the root of your lies,” Moad sings on one of the catchiest choruses of the entire album. “You’re a horrible person with the worst disguise.”

Miss Christine is wrapping up an East Coast tour and will almost certainly play some gigs closer to home in the near future. In the meantime, stream Conversion and check out Miss Christine’s website for official music videos for album tracks “Conversion,” “Entitled” and “Skinny Jeans.”

‘Old-school’ record shopping at the Analog Vault in Cedar Rapids

vega — Analog Vault owner Jeremy Vega with a copy of Captain Beefheart & His Magic Band’s ‘*Trout Mask Replica’* album

I heard Led Zeppelin the moment I walked through the door and immediately felt at home.

I spent an evening in Cedar Rapids last week and decided to make a stop at the Analog Vault, a record shop in the city’s resurgent NewBo neighborhood. The store moved to its current location earlier this year after it grew out of its old space. The shop features new and used vinyl and audio equipment, and owner Jeremy Vega does repair work on audio gear as well.

Led Zeppelin II played on the store’s speakers as I entered the shop, a particularly tasty pick to my ears since it was my first Zeppelin album, which I bought on CD during junior high. The album had progressed deep into side 2 by the time I stepped into the shop, but I enjoyed ‘Moby Dick’ and ‘Bring it on Home’ while I flipped through shelves full of vinyl.

Vega talked music with customers while I picked out a couple selections to add to my collection. A careful sweep through the bins identified maybe a half-dozen candidates, but I decided my bank account would allow me to go home with only two. So I selected Bitter Tears: Ballads of the American Indian by Johnny Cash and I’m Ready by Muddy Waters and took them up to the counter to pay and ask Vega some questions about his shop.

Music-themed décor covers most of the walls, and Vega said he tries to provide customers with an “old-school record shop,” like the kind that made a deep impression on him as a child.

“I remember being waist-high to my old man, and we’d go to record stores around town and I’d just be awestruck,” Vega said.

He hopes his store can provide a similar feeling for kids today. He said a common sentiment he hears from his adult shoppers is, “Whoa, this takes me back.”

I asked him if there were any records for sale in the shop that he would point to as particularly interesting, and he went over to a bin and returned with a copy of Trout Mask Replica by Captain Beefheart & His Magic Band, priced at $64.

Classic atmosphere, wide selection and a friendly owner. Check, check and check. The Analog Vault gets my full recommendation. And for anyone wondering, those Muddy Waters and Johnny Cash albums sounded fabulous on my home setup.

10 summertime live music events for Iowa music fans

Summertime was made for live music. I believe this to be true without question.

So it’s high time we talked about all the killer live music happening in Iowa the next couple months. I’ve handpicked 10 shows, listed here by date, that cover a lot of musical ground. The list includes blues, country, rock and hip hop artists, some of whom have attained legendary status while others are promising up and comers.

But this list doesn’t come close to capturing every worthwhile musical experience Iowa has to offer this summer, nor was that the intention. Get out there and experience your own adventures in Iowa rock and roll, and let me know what you find!

July 11 – I’m With Her, Codfish Hollow Barnstormers in Maquoketa
As I’ve written before, Codfish Hollow is one of the coolest music venues you’ll ever experience. This Thursday, the dazzlingly talented trio I’m With Her take the stage in rural Maquoketa. Sara Watkins, Sarah Jarosz and Aoife O’Donovan team up to spin enchanting songs with mostly acoustic instrumentation. Their music will scratch your bluegrass itch, but they push the boundaries beyond traditional bluegrass as well.

July 16 – Robert Earl Keen, Englert Theater in Iowa City
Keen’s songs of desperados and criminals on the run conjure a cinematic Texas landscape that feels so realized and romantic that I want to just dive in and live alongside the characters in songs like ‘Corpus Christi Bay’ and ‘The Road Goes on Forever.’ His shows are a little bit country, a little bit rock and a lot of Lonestar.

July 27 – Red Dirt Country Fest, Hard Rock Hotel & Casino in Sioux City
I honestly try not to be the guy constantly ragging on the country music mainstream, but this year’s country representation at the Iowa State Fair grandstand is going to smother a lot of brain cells. Toby Keith, Dan + Shay and Luke Bryan don’t do it for me, and if you’re reading my blog, you probably agree. (Zac Brown is ok, but just barely.)

If rugged, guitar-driven country is more your speed, skip the fair scene and hit up the Red Dirt Country Fest in Sioux City, with headliner Cody Jinks. Jinks is a fire-breathing reformed metalhead who has produced some of the hardest-hitting country albums of the last decade. Listen to ‘Holy Water’ from his most recent album Lifers if you don’t believe me.

Aug. 1 – Wu-Tang Clan, Stir Cove in Council Bluffs
They performed in Des Moines for the 2013 80/35 Music Festival, and Iowans will get another chance to enter the 36 chambers of Wu-Tang in August. We all miss Ol’ Dirty Bastard, but the legendary NYC hip-hop group still brings serious swagger to the stage. Legends in their own time.

Aug. 2-4 – Hinterland Music Festival in St. Charles, Iowa
Brandi Carlile and Kacey Musgraves are fresh off Grammy-winning years, and they’re only a fraction of the talent worth taking in among this year’s staggeringly good Hinterland lineup. Jason Isbell, St. Paul and the Broken Bones, Brent Cobb, Colter Wall and John Moreland all have produced thrilling work in recent years. And Hozier and Hippo Campus have you covered if you prefer pop and indie rock to Americana and roots.

My sleeper pick among this year’s field is The War and Treaty, a powerhouse vocal duo with a penchant for old-school soul. If you’re in need of an instantaneous energy transfusion, listen to the title track off their 2018 album Healing Tide.

Aug. 10 – Twins of Evil: Rob Zombie & Marilyn Manson, US Cellular Center in Cedar Rapids
Dig through the ditches and burn through the witches on your way to the dope show. I’ll be pretty disappointed if this show doesn’t turn out to be the weirdest on this list.

Sept. 3 – Kiss End of the Road Tour, Wells Fargo Arena in Des Moines
I usually shy away from arena shows, but Kiss – with all the pyrotechnics and theatricality – represent the pinnacle of the form. I remember when their Psycho Circus album came out in 1998. Rock 108, my local radio station of choice, played the hell out of it, and I thought it was pretty rad. I gather that rock critics didn’t regard it as highly as I did at the time, but maybe it’s due for a critical reevaluation. (Probably not.)

Sept. 10 – Social Distortion and Flogging Molly, Water Works Park in Des Moines
A couple of punk rock’s most stalwart acts will take the new Lauridsen Amphitheater stage at Water Works Park on Sept. 10. Flogging Molly mixes heavy doses of Irish folk music into its sound, while Social Distortion has leaned on rockabilly and country throughout its four-decade(!) history. This show should provide a satisfying one-two punch for rockers and punks who like their summertime jams cranked up loud.

Sept. 18 – Soccer Mommy, the Mill in Iowa City
One of the most exciting indie rock acts to emerge in the last few years, Soccer Mommy is the vision of singer-songwriter Sophie Allison. Soccer Mommy’s studio debut, 2018’s Clean, features a hazy, intoxicating mix of teenage vulnerability and pop melodies. Iowa City feels like a fitting stop for any Soccer Mommy tour.

Sept. 23 – Robert Plant & The Sensational Space Shifters and Lillie Mae, the Surf Ballroom in Clear Lake
Technically, this show lands on the fall equinox, but how many people living on the planet right now can make an honest claim to be a bigger rock legend than Robert Plant? Like, maybe a half dozen? Maybe. Plant’s still making adventurous, thrilling music, and he’s playing one of Iowa’s most iconic rooms. This is a pretty big deal.

Also, don’t sleep on opener Lillie Mae, whose 2017 album Forever and Then Some released on Jack White’s Third Man Records. Lillie Mae is a combustible fiddle player with a voice capable of inflicting maximum emotional damage.

The end of music? DG’s Tap House goes silent

exterior DG’s Tap House, the Main Street bar that became the best-known rock club in Ames for the last decade, went quiet last Saturday night.

A liquor license suspension, brought on by systemic management failures, spelled doom for DG’s, as well as two other Ames establishments under the same ownership. Stories in the Ames Tribune and Des Moines Register detail some of the management issues that got us here, but the truth is, predicting the demise of DG’s became something of a parlor game among Ames music enthusiasts for the last couple years.

Despite the difficult circumstances surrounding its closure, I’ll miss DG’s Tap House one hell of a lot.

I played my first show there around eight years ago. I’d just moved back to Ames after a stint in Washington, D.C. I didn’t know many people in the music scene anymore, but I got an opening slot at DG’s as a solo singer-songwriter. I brought my cutout Alvarez acoustic and a handful of original songs that I’d later record with the Colt Walkers. I took the stage at DG’s a handful of times every year thereafter. It was as close to a musical home as I ever had. I felt comfortable on that stage, and I developed a lot as a performer as a direct result of the experience I gained there.

stalldoor — The men’s room stall door at DG’s Tap House, exactly as a rock club bathroom should look

Perhaps even more importantly, I took in some incredible shows as a fan at DG’s. I remember practically swimming my way through the crowd to get a spot at the bar the night Meat Puppets played at DG’s for the 2013 Maximum Ames Music Festival. Nate Logsdon, the Max Ames mastermind who booked Meat Puppets, doubled as a booker and bartender at DG’s at the time. Nate manned the bar with unrelenting (and sleeveless) energy and positivity. I flagged him down to thank him for bringing the Meat Puppets to my favorite little rock club. He paused just long enough to grip my hand and shout “Rock and roll legends!” before moving on to the next customer.

A few years later, I dragged my wife along to see Wayne Hancock, the world’s finest purveyor of juke joint swing, at DG’s. When Liz and I arrived, Hancock and his band were standing on the sidewalk, at the foot of DG’s stairs, having a smoke. The show was far from a sellout. Liz and I sat at a table on the dance floor, and I remember fighting the nearly irresistible urge to get up and dance when Hancock’s band launched into his more energetic honky tonk tunes.

bartenders — Katlyn and Vincent behind the bar at DG’s Tap House one last time.

And for every incredible show like the Meat Puppets or Wayne Hancock, there are maybe a dozen shows I remember with less clarity, most likely due to too much PBR and Ten High. But I cheered on old friends, met plenty of new ones and tried to buy merch from the touring acts whenever I had some extra cash in my wallet.

I went to the last show at DG’s on Saturday night. I’d never heard of Wilderado or Duncan Fellows, the two acts who played the last show. That didn’t matter all that much to me though. I just wanted to be there for the last song. Both bands, as it turned out, played good sets. Duncan Fellows did a really faithful version of “Don’t Let Me Down,” and the lead singer for Wilderado told the crowd he felt bad his band would be the last one to grace the DG’s stage, despite never having played there before. I appreciated that, and it turns out Wilderado is a tight indie band with a bright future ahead. For the record, the very last song they played was “Siren.” I confirmed the title with one of the band members when he went out to smoke after the set.

The show drew a respectable crowd but not an enormous one. The dance floor was full much of the evening, but plenty of tables and booths were available at various points. Sound guy Evan Taylor made sure both bands sounded good. He even asked me how I thought the show sounded at one point, which I found strangely touching.

Taylor, who ran sound at DG’s for over three years, said he learned a lot working at DG’s. He acknowledged “stupid decisions” made by the bar’s ownership, but he stressed most of the staff did their best to give Ames a quality music venue.

“It’s a really mixed bag,” Taylor said. “I’m happy to have been part of this experience but really bummed out because the place meant a lot to me.”

evantaylor — Evan Taylor behind the sound board during the last show

Bartenders Katlyn and Vincent kept the drinks coming as best they could. Plenty of the taps were empty and much of the space reserved for liquor was bare. After Wilderado’s final song, Katlyn stepped up to the mic to announce the availability of $1 pints until all the beer ran out.

I left feeling a touch disappointed there wasn’t more pomp and circumstance to mark what looks to be the last show ever at DG’s Tap House. But I know beyond a shadow of a doubt that the music won’t stop in Ames just because one venue closed. Too many talented musicians and too many passionate music fans live here for the scene to wither away. But it certainly won’t be the same without DG’s.

Sing it with me now: Hey hey, my my… dgsheart

Iowa music you gotta hear: Crystal City’s ‘Three-Dimensionality’

Crystal City throws a lot at the listener on their new album Three-Dimensionality.

The album’s 12 tracks experiment with crunchy rockabilly, dreamy jazz, sugary pop and even some power balladry along the way. But songwriter Dave Helmer’s creative vision combines with the band’s live energy to tie the songs together into a cohesive listening experience. The result is a dynamic and ambitious rock album that’s well worth your time.

“See Thru,” the album’s closing track, best illustrates the impressive ambition on display throughout Three-Dimensionality. The song begins with stark piano chords that give way to a funky R&B groove for a couple verses before the song soars to a jazzy guitar-driven crescendo that crashes into an ethereal fadeout in the closing seconds. Crystal City packs all that dynamism into a dense and intoxicating four-and-a-half minutes, making it the longest track on the album. Other standout tracks include forceful rocker “All Gone South” and the blissfully infectious pop tune “You in the Morning.”

Crystal City’s most distinct sonic hallmark is the way Helmer’s gruff vocals, which remind me of Mark Knopfler, mix with those of bandmate Sam Drella. At some points, Drella sounds as if she’s singing the same melodies as Helmer, giving tracks added thickness and urgency. At other points, Drella sings harmonies that add color and nuance, reinforcing the multi-dimensionality hinted at in the album’s title. Drella’s harmonies elevate the material, particularly on “Cigarettes for Breakfast,” where her “ooohs” during the verse call the to mind Kim and Kelley Deal of the Breeders.

Helmer’s lyrics often center on down-and-out characters facing up to difficult circumstances. “I ain’t got a dollar in the bank/I ain’t got a gallon in the tank,” Helmer and Drella sing on the title track. But the relentless energy of the songs inspires hope and motivation.

“I want this album to make people feel good and energized,” Helmer said in an interview. “We touch on a lot of themes people deal with on a regular basis, so I want people to feel like they’re not alone.”

This is the third album from the Iowa City-based band, following 2014’s Change and 2017’s Bartenderly. Helmer said the band recorded a handful of the album’s tracks in his home studio, while the rest were recorded at Flat Black Studios outside Iowa City. Engineer Luke Tweedy mixed the entire album, expertly handling the various configurations and approaches Crystal City utilized for the record.

Three-Dimensionality will sweep you up in its intense energy, precise musicianship and sheer ambition. The album is streaming online and is available on vinyl through Crystal City’s Bandcamp page. Crystal City will perform at the Mill in Iowa City on May 18 and at the 80/35 Music Festival in Des Moines on July 13.

crystalcitypromo — Crystal City’s Sam Drella and Dave Helmer

The Science of Things: Uncertainty Fest 2019 kicks off on Thursday

The scientific process relies on experimentation to push beyond the limits of human knowledge and into the unknown. The organizers of this weekend’s Uncertainty Festival hope live music can perform a similar function.

The 2019 Uncertainty Festival includes nine events at three venues on Main Street in Ames beginning on Thursday and extending into Sunday. Each showcase features a different twist on a scientific theme, and attendees will be able to take in a sweeping range of musical styles. A “universal festival pass,” available through MIDWESTIX, costs $20.

uncertainty2019poster Single-show passes are available as well, but you’ll get the most out of Uncertainty if you make an effort to take in some acts you haven’t heard before, said festival organizer Rachel Dudley.

“I hope that people go and have an opportunity to see musicians they ordinarily wouldn’t have checked out and get their minds blown,” Rachel Dudley said.

Rachel and her husband, Bryon, have spearheaded Uncertainty since the festival began in 2017. Rachel and Bryon described themselves as “nerds” who thought a science-themed music festival sounded like fun. Accordingly, each show associated with this year’s festival comes with name like “Cosmic Expansion,” “Planetary Motion” or “Particle.”

The names suggest an experimental quality to the festival, as if Bryon and Rachel are gathering data and testing their own theories on the periodic table of rock ‘n’ roll.

This year’s festival has grown considerably larger than the previous two iterations. Last year’s festival hosted three showcases, while this year’s festival will feature nine events, including a meet and greet for musicians and fans on Sunday afternoon. The expansion resulted from Bryon and Rachel working on last September’s Maximum Ames Music Festival and gaining confidence in their ability to organize a larger event, they said.

Uncertainty Festival doubles as a spotlight for acts that have released music on Nova Labs, the independent record label that Bryon and Rachel run out of their house. Nova Labs has helped dozens of Iowa musicians release music and find a larger audience, and Bryon said he takes that responsibility seriously. That means he makes sure everything about Uncertainty Festival, from the acts to the venues, reflects positively on Nova Labs.

“If this is something I’m going to put the Nova Labs name on, I want it to be something that I believe in very strongly,” he said.

That approach carries over to the all-local list of festival sponsors, including London Underground, Prints Copy Center, Smiles Food Carts, Alluvial Brewing Company and the Tom Russel Piano Service.

And once it’s over, Rachel and Bryon will head back to the lab again with a fresh set of data to analyze and new hypotheses to test.

Uncertainty Festival 2019 programming

April 18

Hypothesis: Piano
7 p.m., London Underground
Elizabeth Zimmerman, Holly Figueroa,  Evelyn Davis &  Lizzy Poppyseed

April 19

Particle Showcase
8 p.m., DG’s Tap House
Lionessa , Matt Woods, Ducharme-Jones Band, Brother Trucker

Cosmic Expansion
8:30 p.m., The Angry Irishmen (formerly Deano’s 119)
Obsidian’s Dream , Moonrabbit &  Other Brothers

Hypothesis: Beat
7 p.m., London Underground
SLICE the Celestial Sorcerer &  Quërvo

April 20

Wave Showcase
1 p.m., DG’s Tap House
Free The Snakes , Bleujack,  Fred Love &  Dylan Boyle

Hypothesis: Dance
7 p.m., London Underground
Pink Kodiak  & DJ Saturn Savant (aka Austin Robert)

Light Showcase
8 p.m., DG’s Tap House
Bitter Canyon , Pink Neighbor , Wiitch Tiit &  Linear Symmetry

Planetary Motion
8:30 p.m., The Angry Irishmen
Great Caesar’s Goat,  Mountain Eats Mountain , Kickstart The Sun & Electric Jury

April 21

Hypothesis: Interaction (musician meet and greet)
1 p.m., London Underground
Starlight Therapy , Tom and Will (Tom Russell and Will Pett),  DJ Strooya (aka Zee Krizhan)

The answer to one of live music’s biggest drawbacks and other scenes from Mission Creek 2019

Live music can test your patience.

Sometimes it’s the exquisite torture of those last few moments waiting for your favorite band to take the stage when the house lights dim. Sometimes it’s the monotony of waiting for a band to load its gear off stage so the next act can set up. Sometimes there’s a sound check in there too, which slows the proceedings down even more.

But this is all just an unavoidable part of the experience, right? If you take in a lot of live music, you’re going to slog through some downtime.

tanyatnt — A copy of Tanya Tucker’s *TNT* that I bought between acts at the vinyl market during the 2019 Mission Creek Festival.

Friends, I’m delighted to report Mission Creek Festival, the annual music and literature celebration held in Iowa City, may have found the optimal solution to this age-old problem: vinyl records! The festival brought in a bunch of record vendors to set up shop at Big Grove Brewery, allowing listeners to comb through crate after crate of the good stuff while waiting between acts. The lines to snag beer and food were prohibitively long most of the evening I was there, but I barely had to wait at all to score a good deal on old records. It was a brilliant diversion to keep boredom from setting in.

My wife and I spent Saturday evening in Iowa City. It was the only night of the Mission Creek Festival our schedules permitted us to attend, so we missed a bunch of great programming from the other days of the festival. But I want to highlight some of the excellent stuff we experienced and congratulate the Mission Creek crew on a successful event.

For the uninitiated, Mission Creek takes place every spring in downtown Iowa City. The festival is presented and produced by The Englert Theatre. In addition to music, the festival also features a full slate of literary events, reflecting Iowa City’s reputation as one of the world’s premier destinations for literature.

My wife and I arrived at Big Grove just in time for the start of Middle Western’s set. Middle Western includes some fabulous Iowa musicians, including David Zollo and William Elliott Whitmore. They put on a terrific show, featuring a couple Les Paul-toting guitarists and Whitmore handling most of the lead vocals while playing a Gibson SG bass. Zollo took lead vocals on a few songs as well, his bare feet sliding around on the floor beneath his keyboard.

middlewesternmissioncreek — Middle Western plays at Big Grove Brewery in Iowa City during the 2019 Mission Creek Festival.

After Middle Western wrapped up their set, I meandered into the adjoining room for some record shopping. I scored an excellent deal on a nice copy of Tanya Tucker’s TNT album from 1978 while East Nashville songwriter Lilly Hiatt set up.

Hiatt’s set turned out to be the highlight of the evening for me. I’m a big fan of her 2017 album Trinity Lane, and she and her road-tested band served up sizzling renditions of all my favorite tracks from the album, including “The Night David Bowie Died,” “Records” and the title track. The band delivered a spirited version of “Get This Right,” a track from Hiatt’s 2015 album Royal Blue with which I was unfamiliar, but I’ve been playing the song on repeat in my house all week. Hiatt also took home the award for “best guitar tone” with her gorgeous Rickenbacker plugged into a Princeton Reverb. The way her tone broke up on her louder material was just gloriously unadulterated rock ‘n’ roll.

Also of note: Between songs, Hiatt referenced a mysterious incident in Fairfield, Iowa, as one of the best nights she and her band had experienced on the road, but she didn’t elaborate further. The cryptic remark left me curious to learn more.

After Hiatt’s encore, we made our way to the iconic Englert Theatre to take in Hurray for the Riff Raff, our final show for the night. The Englert is one of those classic venues that every Iowan should visit at some point. Some true legends have graced that stage over the course of the theater’s 106-year existence.

Alynda Lee Segarra, the singer and main songwriter for Hurray for the Riff Raff, delivered an electric performance, particularly when she put down her guitar to roam the stage. Hurray for the Riff Raff’s set drew mostly from The Navigator, the band’s most recent album, which delves into political themes such as colonization and oppression. The songs demand action from the listener, while also providing hope, such as on “Pa’lante,” which Segarra told the audience translates to “move forward.”

For those keeping score at home, that’s three righteous shows (plus a sweet deal on a classic Tanya record and enough time to grab a burger for supper) in a span of less than five hours. Well played, Mission Creek. I’ll see you next year.