Luckily, I was indeed right, and just before artist Dana T. went on at a 9, the audience swelled with lots of people, crowding the upstairs of Gabe’s into a proper audience. Even more people came just in time for the start of Younger’s performance. I remained, if I had to guess, the youngest person there by several years, which was readily apparent as the other music goers all held beers and I held a cup of water (sigh). Water and all, the atmosphere was very fun and enjoyable, just as I expected it to be when listening to some women jamming out to their songs under the blinking lights at Gabe’s.

As I was reading about Iowa City-based Younger on the Mission Creek festival website, I found it funny that the band, composed of members Sarah Mannix on the drums, Amanda Crosby on the bass, and Rachel Sauter on guitar, “accidentally” wrote their first album as a sort of experiment, diving into what collaboration really means. I’m not sure how that happens in the first place, but I’m glad it did. Younger’s songs are simultaneously “feminine and tough” and tackle such topics as crappy experiences with men, frowned upon behavior, complicated relationships, and more.

What I noticed the most about Younger throughout their 35-ish minute set is their ability to maintain the initial energy established with the first song all the way to the end. Some other artists or bands may start strong, but then play a song that slows the room down, deflates the audience, and ruins the overall upbeat vibe. This was not the case with Younger – each song was lively and fast, fitting together cohesively, yet unique at the same time.

The very first song they played immediately reminded me of “Reputation” from the original Shrek soundtrack (side note: what a masterpiece that soundtrack was); awesome drums, strong female vocals and unapologetic lyrics. The audience, myself included, was compelled to jump around and bop our heads to the infectious song. I believe the second song they played was “Trash,” a crowd favorite for its funny lyrics and somewhat outrageous concept of using such an unappealing title. They later threw in a cover song, which I unsurprisingly did not recognize since they prefaced it with “this will show you old you are.”

The titles of their other songs are pretty straight forward, such as “20s,” “Art School,” and “Divorce,” highlighting the band’s upfront honesty about the topics they are exploring. Bold and energetic, Younger is yet another band to keep an eye out for as they promote their second album. Read more about them here.

The post Mission Creek: Younger @ Gabe’s 4/4/2019 appeared first on KRUI Radio.

I sauntered into an Iowa City venue, the Mill, on a rainy Wednesday night, looking for a change in my daily routine of class, followed by a mediocre dinner and studying. Arriving at the venue early, early enough to see the entire opening act, Pink Neighbor (more on them coming from Elaine, but I must say I was quite impressed with their saxophonist and lead singer Katie). I found a good seat as more and more people poured into the stage seating area.

By the time Halfloves took the stage promptly at 8:30, it was standing room only by the bar, and rightfully so, as their approximately 45-minute set was thoroughly enjoyable and thought-provoking; a wonderful change from my usual Wednesday evening. I didn’t even mind so much my table being perpetually knocked into as listeners tried to get closer. They took the stage quietly in the dimming lights, prompting one member of the audience to yell “WE LOVE YOU!” perhaps unnecessarily.

Described in the Mission Creek lineup as “the best currently active rock band in Iowa” with a “emotionally charged sound,” the Iowa City native band, Halfloves, is composed of five male members, all of whom looked like they belonged in a band: a Canadian tuxedo, buttoned-up and collared cotton shirt, ripped light wash jeans … you get the picture.
The most notable member for me was the drummer who wore sunglasses throughout the entire set. A little bit of Radiohead, a little bit Imagine Dragons (both of whom share a producer), even some potential Hippo Campus or Foster the People mixed in there, Halfloves blends a unique sound of classic guitar and steady drum beats with pulsing synthesizers and hazy vocals, capturing and maintaining the audience’s ear.

Halfloves started playing with no formal introduction, letting the music speak for itself. Their initial sound was inviting and mellow, allowing me to picture them playing at a vibe-y music festival like Pitchfork in Chicago. Unfortunately, I found the lyrics a bit hard to understand at times, but what the band lacked in vocals they made up for in style and skill. I did make out some lyrics: “Even if it lays me to waste / Time and Time again / I still need a little taste” from their feature “A Little Lie” was a notable favorite. The guitars would build in time with the chorus in a satisfying way, crescendoing to meet the intensity of the song. Not everything they played possessed the same fervor as the first few songs, showcasing their versatility. It was also apparent they were enjoying themselves
— the guitarist was head-banging by the end of the set, his hair swaying in time with the music.

Before their last song, one of the members thanked the audience for coming and left us with this piece of advice, “Let the lounging abide.” A curious mix between lax and upbeat, Halfloves did not disappoint, exiting the stage with a lasting applause. I will definitely be checking out more from Halfloves, as new music is expected this fall.

Check out their music video for “Not too Keen” here.

The post Mission Creek: Halfloves @ The Mill 4/3/2019 appeared first on KRUI Radio.

Shortly after my Amazon Prime discovery, I started seeing ads for and hearing about Chalamet’s newest movie, Beautiful Boy, which opened a few weeks ago in the US. I quickly penciled it in my calendar as part of my weekend plans. Let me say, my obsession with Chalamet only grew after seeing the film.

The movie is based on the acclaimed memoirs of David and Nic Sheff, father and son respectively, who chronicle their personal experiences with addiction. Nic, who is now 8 years sober and works to spread awareness about addiction as a disease, became hooked on crystal meth as a teenager and began living on the streets, going in and out of rehab. Both Carell and Chalamet expressed an added pressure for them to portray real people, but Nic and David themselves, upon seeing the final cut, stated it in an interview was overwhelming to watch because it was so realistic and true to their reality.

Moving forward and backward in time, the film makes a wise decision in seeking to tell the story as nonlinear, since addiction rarely follows a steady and reliable path to recovery. As David, played by Steve Carell, struggles to understand how his son spiraled out of control, he thinks back to Nic as a child who loved to surf, draw, and write but has since slipped away. The concept of “everything” is a testament to David’s devotion to his son- he tells Nic that all the words in the English language don’t measure up to how much he loves him – he loves him more than everything.

Carell is exceptional in his performance, articulating a mix of helplessness, desperation yet undying love for his son, despite the pain Nic had caused his whole family.

When he gets a call in the middle of the night that Nic is in a New York hospital, David gets on the next flight out of San Francisco. Chalamet also plays Nic very convincingly, teetering back and forth between broken, weepy apologies and explosive fits of anger and frustration. He demonstrates the stark contrast between a sober Nic that smiles and laughs and wants his family to be proud of him, and a Nic that shoots up in a bathroom stall and breaks into his own house.

There are precise moments when the audience is hopeful that Nic was able to turn it around. He enrolls in college, he checks into therapy, he moves back home and plays with his two younger siblings. But each time, he succumbs to the power of drugs, even going so far as to stealing money from his kid brother to buy them.

An especially haunting scene that sticks with me is when David finds Nic’s journal that is filled with disturbing drawings of creatures with needles, scribbles of swears and descriptions of how he now sees the world in “technicolor” with his use of drugs.

The use of drugs is never glamorized, rather it is painted as the monster it is; one that destroys seemingly normal families and sends its victims down a rabbit hole, one that is increasingly difficult to climb out of. It opens up a forum for discussion on addiction and how it can happen to anyone from any walk of life. I did think to myself that this story seems to exist in a sort of vacuum. Nic’s friends are never introduced, David is never at work, there a very few important characters that not part of Nic’s immediate family. This thought did not stop me from being captivated by what I was seeing.

I recommend seeing this movie not only for its performances by the leading characters, but since it puts a face to the nationwide epidemic of addiction. The credits of the movie reveal that drug overdoses are now the leading cause of death for Americans under the age of 50 – an astounding and humbling fact. If you know someone who is showing Fentanyl Addiction Signs, it is never too late to get them help.

The post Beautiful Boy: Movie Review appeared first on KRUI Radio.

The self-described “wonky funk” artist and East London native is well established in her home country; she performed in the Glastonbury Festival and even earned a Brit nomination in 2017 for Best British Female Solo Artist for her 2016 album For All We Know. I’m hoping Saturn, released on October 26, will put her on the radar for a greater American audience.

For people unfamiliar with Nao, it’s likely you’ve unknowingly come across some of her previous work. She is a credited songwriter on Ariana Grande’s song “Be Alright” on the album Dangerous Woman. She did background vocals for Kwabs on the song “Make You Mine” and was a featured vocalist on Disclosure’s album Caracal.

Known to blur the genre lines of electronic, R&B and pop, Nao proves her versatility in this recent album, combining different sounds and styles into an artful blend that applies to fans of pop and electronic alike.

Nao was inspired by the astrological concept of The Saturn Return, aka when the planet Saturn returns to the same place in the sky as it was when someone was born approximately 29 years later. The 13 track Saturn takes listeners on a trip, traversing feelings of despair and bliss and regret, all while maintaining lyrical creativity and mellow beats. When listening with headphones, it flows perfectly from one ear into the other. While Nao’s voice isn’t the most soulful, what she lacks in depth she makes up in breathy ballads and synthesized styles that keep listeners intrigued.

The title song (a personal favorite of mine on the album) featuring Kwabs is about inevitably revisiting an old flame, just how Saturn reliably returns to the same slice of the sky after some time has passed.

You leave and return / you’re just like Saturn to me / Eventually you will proceed to give me what I need / And that’s how it should be. It features underlying jazz beats, Kwabs’ soulful verses, and pop-y beats that give it a unique sound.

Another cosmic inspired song is “Orbit”, but it takes a slowed approach and explores feelings of nostalgia. Kind of sad but you remind me / You remind me of a love who outgrew me too.

Two more tracks that stick out are “Gabriel” and “A Life Like This”, but for very different reasons. “Gabriel” is a groovier and more lighthearted song, with complex layers of beats, while “A Life Like This” is more emotionally charged and personal: You’re like a window that keeps opening / I’m hoping that it stays the same and / Saturn won’t return to me. Beautiful strings are also heard in the chorus, adding another dimension to this song.

Nao may be teetering on the edge of mainstream music, since there aren’t any discernible commercial tracks that would mesh perfectly with what’s being played on popular radio stations. But I think that’s a good thing- Saturn showcases Neo’s skills as an emerging artist. If she makes an appearance at an American music festival in the near future, say Lollapalooza, I can say I was ahead of the curve for once.

Listen to the album on Spotify here.

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This four-course collaborative dinner event was hosted in the red-lit den of St. Burch, and it worked in tandem with the nationalities of four members of The University of Iowa International Writing Program, all of whom read short pieces from their various projects. Inspired by the acclaimed late chef and travel extraordinaire Anthony Bourdain, the evening was a celebration of the power of food and its ability to bring turn strangers into friends. White notecards with quotes from Bourdain adorned the tables, such as the following: “Without experimentation, a willingness to ask questions and try new things, we shall surely become static, repetitive, and moribund.”

I unknowingly took Bourdain’s advice about trying new things (like being a pseudo food critic for the night) when I walked into this event a little before 5 p.m. on Saturday as not only the sole college student, but also the youngest patron by 20 years. I was initially prepared to simply observe the event and not partake in the actual dining since it was a full house, every seat booked.

However, there was a no-show at one table in the corner, and I happily occupied the vacant seat before the second course started (the first course, which I did not taste, was a Fijian dish called Kokoda, served in a coconut while Fijian author Gina Cole read.) My table mates included two couples, one from Des Moines and one from Chicago, and two women flying solo. In the true spirit of the evening, they chatted with me and asked me about school and what brought me to this dinner. Then the second course rolled out.

This Lithuanian dish called Kibinais and Kepta Duona, filled with roasted shiitake mushrooms and creamy potatoes and accompanied by two savory sauces for dipping, reminded me of a refined chicken pot pie. The buttery crust had the same melt-in-your-mouth appeal, and the filling was incredibly flavorful even without the extra sauces. I would have loved one or two more big bites of it, but I had to pace myself for the last two courses. While guests filled their stomachs, Lithuanian writer Aušra Kaziliūnaitė read from her collection of poetry “The Moon is a Pill”.

The real star of the show was the third course, a Venezuelan dish called Asado Negro: a beef roast that’s been prepared in a delectable wine broth and served over a bed of yellow rice, black beans and plantains. Not surprisingly, it beat anything I could whip up in my apartment by a landslide. I feasted on two thinly sliced pieces and all the rice I could take while still being polite to my table-mates. Venezuelan author Jacqueline Goldberg read during this course, both in her native Spanish and English.

To finish out the night, the dessert course and its flavors was unlike anything I had eaten in a long time.

Inspired by Eman AlYousuf, who is from the United Arab Emirates, and her family recipe, this fragrant dessert called Basboussa was a dense sweet cake, garnished with colorful carrot jam and yogurt sauces and candied almonds. AlYousuf was the last of the writers to read, and she expressed her gratitude towards the St. Burch staff, the diners, as well at the IWP. As I said earlier, I was incredibly lucky and grateful to attend this event, to taste dishes from cultures with which I was unfamiliar, and talk with adults who welcomed me into their table.

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