When I first walked in the back of Blue Moose around 10 the crowd was nearly non existent, with just a few groups milling around the area. At 10:15, Owen Bones began. I was a little confused at first because Bones set up his stage in a way I had never seen from a DJ before. He had a screen placed in front of him that covered floor to ceiling, and displayed visuals of a man dancing and/or djing. At the beginning of his set he was only playing cliche hip hop and rap songs so I

wasn’t even sure if he had come on stage yet. It didn’t take long to figure out that he had, and that he would be remaining behind this screen for the entirety of his set.

Bone’s entire set consisted mainly of various popular hip hop and rap songs from Chance the Rapper’s “Mixtape” to Sage the Gemini’s “Gas Pedal” and Kendrick Lamar’s “M.A.A.D City”. While these are of course jams that the whole crowd can get down to, it seemed a bit boring to me. Bone’s did not play any of his own music until the last two songs of his set. He has a very differentiated, calm electronic that coupled very well with his visuals.

The Cool Kids took the stage at 11:10 and started the night with their song “Connect Four”. I couldn’t help but instantly notice their sense of fashion. Mikey Rocks was dressed in a half zip sweatshirt and blue jeans, while Chuck Inglish was wearing a black Death Row Records jacket coupled with gray sweatpants and a camouflage bucket hat. The casual fits matched well with their chill personalities and vibes they projected.

The Cool Kids were unbelievably skilled at interacting with the crowd, specifically Chuck Inglish. As a typical Iowa City show, majority of the conversation focused on beer and weed, according to Inglish “Iowa has the best weed” which brought a good laugh from the crowd. Inglish also shared several cans of beer with people in the front row who he “didn’t like seeing without a beer in their hand”.  I’m not sure if it was due to me being close to the stage, or due to their incredible personas but the set made you feel as if The Cool Kid’s were your friends and you were just there hanging out with them.

Among the many songs they played my favorites were their newest single “TV Dinner” and a single from 2016 “Running Man”.

Both members of The Cool Kids and Owen Bones are Chicago natives. I didn’t know this going into the show but once I discovered this it was an ‘ah that makes sense’ moment. I’ll always have a special place in my heart for Chicago native artists, especially ones that are in the hip hop scene. I have found that Chicago artists across the board bring a sound and passion that can only be formed in Chicago. Not to mention, Chicago artists always have a killer fashion sense.

I came into the night only knowing a few of The Cool Kid’s most popular tunes. Here it is the next day and I have already added many of their songs to my playlist. Overall, the show was great and I look forward to see where The Cool Kids go from here.

Want to hear these artist’s for yourself? Check out The Cool Kid’s Soundcloud and Owen Bone’s Soundcloud.

The post Mission Creek: The Cool Kids @ Blue Moose Tap House 4/7/2017 appeared first on KRUI Radio.

The night started with Oakland, California native, Sayer, whose performance I was unfortunately only able to catch part of. For the part of the set I did see I was in awe of the way his soundscapes seemed to completely fill the space around you. The crowd also seemed to be quite into it, which isn’t always the case for openers in the Iowa EDM scene.

Sayer was followed up by the legendary Yheti, who is just an odd dude that you can’t help but love. Not to mention he makes bad ass music. On the night of the show G Jones sent out a tweet in regards to Yheti stating

“Yheti is the truth. Carving his own lane is an understatement”

After watching his set, I must agree. There is something about the way Yheti sculpts his sound that seems incredibly unique. At some points during his set he would be playing a slower, experimental tune but was able to transition so effortlessly into heavy, grimy dub. The guy is incredible. I was nearly on the rail for his set so I had a great view of him and the passion he puts into his music was very apparent. I went into the night excited to see him, but I left with a whole new appreciation for him and his music.

G Jones came on just after midnight. He performed multiple tracks from his recently released EP Visions. He also of course played one of my personal favorites Mind Tricks, his track with Bassnectar. Throughout his set he talked on the mic a minimal amount of times and also played hardly any remixes of over played songs, both of which were appreciated.

I also was impressed with his consistently high energy throughout the set, he was constantly bouncing around and getting into his music. In another tweet G Jones sent out the night of this show he stated

“imo [in my opinion] challenging an audience with something unfamiliar is important in ways that aren’t immediately apparent”.

His dystopian like tunes and conceptual beats did just that. This wasn’t just like any typical heavy bass set, it was one of a kind.

I will be seeing G Jones again this summer when he headlines Thursday night at Bonnaroo. I’ve been told G Jones is a master at keeping all of his sets one of a kind, so hopefully this will hold true. I’m also looking forward to experiencing one of his performances in a festival atmosphere versus a small venue. If given the chance everyone should attend a G Jones show, after his show at Blue Moose I can confidently say he will not disappoint.

Music by these artists can be found here: G Jones – Yheti – Sayer

The post Show Review: G Jones @ The Blue Moose Tap House 3/02/2017 appeared first on KRUI Radio.

Accompanied by Kill OG and Ricky Remedy, the trio put on an electrifying, bass-filled performance.

As this was my first time seeing a dubstep show in Iowa City, I was not sure what to expect. I arrived to the show at around 10 o’clock and was instantly greeted with bass heavy enough to shake the building. Kill OG, an Iowa native, had just taken the stage and was doing an excellent job of amping up the crowd with a dubstep driven set.  As I took in my surroundings, I was immediately surprised by the large turnout. Secondly, I was ecstatic to see people wearing merch from many of my favorite artists from GRiZ to Excision. The Iowa City EDM scene appeared to be thriving more than I thought it would be.

Following Kill OG with no intermission, was Rick Remedy, an up and coming artist in the electronic trap genre who has collaborated with many big name artists including Diplo and LOUDPVCK. For someone like me, who admittedly isn’t always into trap, it was not my ideal set but he didn’t disappoint. He was able to use a combination of trap and remixes to multiple popular songs to keep the crowd intrigued and dancing throughout his set. My favorite part of his performance was when he dropped “Supernova”, a song he made with Big Makk, who recently passed. It gave me chills as he shouted “Let’s do it for my brother” and the whole place raged in his honor.

Bear Grillz was set to start at 11:45 and the crowd seemed to be getting more excited with every minute that passed.

Finally, it was 11:45. As Bear Grillz came out on stage in the dimly lit venue, the illuminated eyes and mouth on his newly redesigned bear head shone brightly throughout the room. Wasting no time at all in getting to the heavy songs, Bear Grillz opened his set with a remix of Phiso’s “Jotaro” There was a surprising lack of ‘wow, another “Jotaro” remix, who would’ve guessed?’ type of fans like I’m use to seeing at shows. “Jotaro” got the majority of the crowd head banging and warmed up for the rest of the set.

Next up was a new song by Funtcase, this seemed to be a crowd pleaser and set the bar high for the rest of his set. Throughout the night he continued dropping new songs from many notable artists including Jauz, Bro Safari and Kayzo. Not to mention, a heavy rendition of “Don’t Let Me Down”, because what set would be complete without a Chainsmokers remix? 

He played all of his classics as well, such as; “EDM” and “F*ck Off”, which were both greeted with lots of enthusiasm from the audience. Bear Grillz did an excellent job of choosing the right songs that kept the audience interested and excited. Through the combination of his classic songs, plenty of heavy drops and music from many different popular artists in the scene, he was able to create a memorable mix of music from start to finish.

Bear Grillz spent much of summer 2016 making stops at music festivals all over the country, from Dancefestopia in Kansas City, MO to Moonrise in Baltimore, MD. This was very apparent as he was able to easily bring the hype and atmosphere of a large festival, and project those vibes all throughout the Blue Moose making for one incredible performance and night.

For music from these artists, click here: Bear Grillz, Kill OG and Ricky Remedy.
To keep up to date with where I’ll be next follow me on Twitter.

The post Concert Review: Bear Grillz @ The Blue Moose Tap House 10/13/16 appeared first on KRUI Radio.

Saturday night The Blue Moose Tap House hosted Mission:Beat, a DJ-led dance party presented by Little Village Magazine. Now, I will be the first to say that I really do not know much about EDM or dance parties, I honestly didn’t even know half the music played at school dances. That being said, Mission:Beat was definitely an interesting experience.

The Blue Moose in general is a pretty cool venue; the staff is pretty chill as are the patrons. The doors for Mission:Beat were said to open at 8 PM, with the show starting at 9, but when I arrived at the bar at a cool 8:45 PM there was like no one there (and by no one I mean like 8 people). As still being underage, I have only been on the ground floor of the bar (generally upstairs is 21+ only at all times) so I hung downstairs for a while seeing if people would start filling in (they didn’t really). The event was being held upstairs, so around 9 PM venture upwards into the unknown I did.

Upstairs was slightly less dead than downstairs, but only by a few people. However, it was like ascending into a whole new dimension. I watched the DJ’s do their last sound checks and by the metallic sounds coming from the speakers and strange alien images scrolling along the screens by the stage, the theme of the evening seemed to be, Futuristic Space?

People kept filtering in as the time passed and I was surprised to notice that the median age of attendees seemed to be around 30, which I guess makes sense seeing as rave culture was pretty big in the nineties and early 2000’s, but it was still a bit jarring in the moment. However, at this point in the night, the Cubs and Diamondbacks game playing on the television above the bar was slightly more interesting than the actual event.

As it got closer to 11 PM, the dance floor was at least crowded enough to squeeze into and have a bit of cover if you wanted to go a little wild to the beat, and I uncharacteristically actually did on occasion. It is weird listening to electronic dance music in the sense that you don’t actually know what is going on, but you feel like you know what’s going on. In the slower beats, I stood off to the side and people-watched, which turned out to be a pretty entertaining experience. You could see nearly everyone on the dance floor just casually bobbing with the music, and then look a little deeper and see one person just feeling it and going all out.

Overall, I spent the majority of the evening stuck in a limbo between wanting to leave and being mesmerized by the music and atmosphere. I don’t know if I would personally re-attend this event next year; I decided it just isn’t my thing. Maybe it is just one of those things you can’t go through completely sober, which I did. However, if dance parties are your thing then I’d say definitely give it a go next Mission Creek season. Just maybe don’t go sober.

Glow stick count: 6

Light up yo-yo count: 1

People feeling it: 4-5 at any given time

The post Mission Creek: Mission:Beat @ The Blue Moose Tap House 4/9/16 appeared first on KRUI Radio.

On Friday night, zombies took over the Blue Moose Tap House for the Mission Creek Festival. Along with Remy Banks and ASAP Twelvy, the Flatbush Zombies performed for a sold out crowd. The show was part of the 3001: A Laced Odyssey tour, promoting their latest album.

I hate to do it, but I have to start this review out with a bit of a rant. First and foremost, I have no idea why this show was all ages. Nothing about Flatbush Zombies screams family friendly in any way, and nothing was done to hold back their style in any way. If a show is clearly marketed towards an adult audience, just slap an 18+ sign on it and be done with it.

Secondly, and in the same vein, Iowa City’s 21 bar ordinance is awful for shows. To my understanding, people over the age of 18 are allowed to stay in the venues past 10pm for musical acts. But for a show like Flatbush Zombies, when all ages are allowed, the venues try to make sure the show is wrapped up and done by 10pm. Unless it’s an outdoor music festival, Flatbush Zombies should never have to play a show when it’s still light out. The doors opened for this show at 6pm! What kind of raging party starts at 6pm?! Ok, rant aside, let’s get to the actual show

The show sold out of tickets well in advance, which means that a few of my friends that originally planned on going were unable to get tickets. Since I was alone, and had seen Flatbush Zombies before and knew what their shows could be like, I decided to pull a “dad” and observe the action from the sidelines. I found a nice chunk of rail to lean on and posted up to watch the action. The crowd was surprisingly young, more so than I expected, which I guess is why Blue Moose made it all ages. It was also vastly white, which is pretty standard for rap shows in Iowa City. The audience was a strange mix of high schoolers smoking weed, frat bros, and the elderly couple that stood next to me. At one point, a white guy with dreads walked by with a shirt that said “Bitches and Bluntz”, which I thought was a pretty accurate depiction of the general type of people in attendance.

The music started right away with Remy Banks, a rapper from Queens, New York. The immediate start to the night was appreciated, and Remy got the show started on the right foot. While he wasn’t very energetic, he had a relaxed stage presence that oozed cool, and the crowd really fed off it. I don’t think I’ve ever seen someone control an audience so well while actually doing so little, and I actually really liked his set.

Unfortunately, Remy peaced out after barely twenty minutes. While remaining professional, it seemed pretty obvious that Iowa City was not his favorite city on the tour, and he got off stage as soon as his business was done.

The wait between acts was less obnoxiously long than usual, and pretty soon A$AP Twelvy took the stage. While it was clear that no one really knew Remy Banks, A$AP Twelvy clearly had larger fan base in the audience (one of the perks of being a member of the A$AP mob no doubt). I was not particularly huge on his set, but it’s difficult to put a finger on exactly why. He wasn’t terrible by any means, but his act felt a little forced and a little cliché. At one point he went on about how much he loves Iowa City and how we were all honorary New Yorkers for the night, and the pandering was a little too much. The crowd went wild when he played his hit “Hella Hoes” though, and he ended his 30 minute set on a high note.

Before Flatbush Zombies took the stage, there was an announcement telling people to not come on stage at any point during the show. This really riled up the audience, especially when the Blue Moose security staff walked on to the stage. Unfortunately, the rowdy mood was then killed by some extremely obnoxious feedback testing and sound issues. When the issues were resolved though, Flatbush Zombies took the stage to a roar. Accompanied by an LED video board playing trippy visuals and a massive wave of smoke from the audience, they immediately got the crowd hyped with their unique brand of high energy acid rap. Their newest album 3001: A Laced Oyssey has been warmly received both critically and commercially, and it transferred very well from the album to the stage.

For those that don’t know, Flatbush Zombies really push this idea of “opening your mind”, mostly with drugs. While I’m not sure exactly what you’re supposed to open your mind to, they seem pretty passionate about it and their fans certainly love it, so I guess there are worse messages out there in music today.

Another major theme of theirs, especially in their newest record, is mourning the disappearance of physical mediums of music. Their song “R.I.P.C.D.” is a loving ode to the death of the CD-ROM, an oft forgot physical medium in the age of vinyl hipsters. Unfortunately, they over-sold this message a little too much in the song’s introduction, and their insistence that I buy and not pirate their music left me I feeling like was being attacked by one of those late night charity ads for abused animals.

The energy came screeching to a halt with a ballad about suicidal thoughts, followed by two more down tempo tracks. While these songs have their place in the album, I wasn’t expecting to see them performed live, and it really didn’t mesh with the energy of the crowd. After passing around the largest cigar I’ve ever seen (presumably filled with weed), they finally played some of their older hits and the crowd really went wild. Flatbush Zombies are one of the few acts in rap that will call for the audience to start mosh pits, and that’s exactly what happened when they played “Palm Trees”. The crowd loved it so much that they rapped an entire verse of the song on their own, to the amusement of the Zombies.

They ended their show the way they end every show; by quieting down the audience, telling them that there’s one message to their music; “Open your fucking mind”. After two times seeing them live, I’m still not sure exactly what this means, but apparently the crowd understood because they cheered and starting chanting “Zombies! Zombies!”. Just before leaving the stage however, they decided they had one more message to give. After asking the crowd what was going to happen in November (which was met with general confusion), they implored everybody to go out and vote on election day. The video board behind them switched to “FUCK DONALD”, and they proclaimed their hatred for Donald Trump and told everybody not to vote for him. This was received a little less warmly than their previous message, probably because of all the guys in the crowd that looked like this. It got a chuckle out of me though, and if that’s what “opening your mind” entails, I can definitely get behind it.

Check out some music by Remy Banks, A$AP Twelvy, and Flatbush Zombies. Click here to see the rest of the dates for the 3001: A Laced Oyssey tour.

The post Mission Creek: Flatbush Zombies @ Blue Moose 4/8/16 appeared first on KRUI Radio.

First up was Silent Hope, a duo from Munich, Germany. They describe their genre as “tragic lullabies” and after listening to them I understood what they meant. The music had a very dark and almost eeriefeel to it; it was not my cup of tea at all. There weren’t many people there yet when they were on, but people seemed to enjoy them.

Up second was Straight Up!, a band straight out of the Quad Cities. Out of all three of the bands I enjoyed them the most. They were a very upbeat pop punk band so it was pretty difficult not to have a good time.

They released a new single a couple months ago off their debut full-length album “Trials” called ‘Snow Day’ that I really liked so check it out. Not only did I love them but so did the crowd, they got everyone pretty pumped up.

Headlining was Every Time I Die, a popular metalcore group from Buffalo, New York. The majority of the crowd was there to see them. They had a pretty broad fan base because they have been around since 1998 and are relatively popular. Out of all the bands Every Time I Die had the highest energy and really knows how to get the crowd moving. The band even tweeted about there being no barricade at the show and encouraged the audience to “get in their faces.”

Don’t be afraid, Iowa City. No barricade tonight so get in our face. If you know the words to a song, it’s yours! pic.twitter.com/exovbFwB99

— Every Time I Die (@everytimeidie) December 6, 2015

Overall, it was a really fun show and I encourage anyone to go see any of these bands if they ever get a chance. Blue Moose Tap House is also another great venue we have here in Iowa City.

If you’re interested, here are more dates on this tour.

The post Iowa Music Review appeared first on KRUI Radio.

Making their second stop on the North of Hell Tour, Atmosphere will be playing at Blue Moose Tap House on Sunday, November 2.

Rhymesayers Entertainment’s poster boys, Ant & Slug are bringing their soulful production and provocative storytelling to Iowa City. Arguably the most influential independent Hip Hop label in the business, Rhymesayers’ second offering ever was Atmosphere’s Overcast in 1997. Now considered a classic of the genre, the duo has released a combined eight studio albums and nine EPs. Most recently the duo released their album Southsiders in May of 2014.

On Southsiders, rapper Slug and producer Ant speak to the monotonous and dejected society they trudge through daily. Their hallmarked northwest hip hop sound is consistent throughout the record, utilizing soft rock and electronic sounds, with heavy jazz influences—most noticeably on the track “Arthur’s Song.” Expect much of the same Sunday night.

Watch the official music video for the title track, “Southsiders” off Atmosphere’s latest album:

Dem Atlas, Prof, & DJ Fundo are touring as support acts on the North of Hell Tour.

Tickets are on sale now at Blue Moose Tap House or on Ticketfly.

The post Show Preview: Atmosphere @ Blue Moose Tap House (11/2/14) appeared first on KRUI Radio.

The Seattle native’s most recent project Together/Apart, a self-discovering story-line three years in the making anchored most of the set. Grieves wasn’t afraid to pull out songs from his past projects. While his stage presence was phenomenal, a faulty sound system throughout the set created for a bit of disappointment.

The technical difficulties allowed  for the energetic opening act, Sweatshop Union, to shine a bit more. The “Back On My Grizzly Tour” has been supported by the Vancouver, Canada based hip-hop collective. They performed the majority of their most recent album Infinite. However the biggest crowd-pleaser was their song Bill Murray, an ode to the legendary actor. Their energetic and carefree attitudes dazzled the crowd and made for an incredible opening set.

Before Sweatshop Union, local hip-hop group AWTHNTKTS hit the stage. They have recently been gaining exposure by opening for acts such as Danny Brown, Mobb Deep and Grieves throughout the last six months. Although they were without vocalist Romulan, the group still put on a great show.

Grieves came on soon after Sweatshop Union. The room fell dark as the erie baseline animated the crowd. Grieves burst onto the stage without his microphone working. The faulty beginning took some life from of the crowd. However his anecdotes between songs recaptured the crowds attention. Telling stories of his past trips to Iowa City, where he woke up naked in a sorority house, as well as relating to the heartbroken listeners with a breakup story. In between dodging money, taking shots from the crowd and at one point being hit with a bottle full of cherries, Grieves was able to play an enticing and dynamic set.

If you are interested in Grieves’ music check out his website or buy his album Together/Apart on iTunes.

The post Show Review: Grieves @ the Blue Moose 11/10/13 appeared first on KRUI Radio.

Since releasing their second project, BetterOffDEAD, on September 11, they have performed at North Coast Music Festival and Rock The Bells before kicking off their “Better Off Dead North American Tour” in early October. The group, consisting of rappers Meechy Darko, Zombie Juice and producer/rapper Erick “Arc” Elliot, is known for putting on wildly electrifying and passion-filled shows. Their Brooklyn based hip hop and psychedelic influences fuse together to create a genre all on it’s own. The intimate atmosphere of the Blue Moose helped to create a mosh-pit filled, rage fest of a performance.

The Des Moines based duo Daggers & Gadema were the first act of the night. They started off rocky when the sound system faulted, however the poised Emcees took to their roots and spit a cappella freestyles, recieving “oohs” and “aahs” from the crowd. After the equipment was fixed, their upbeat tracks from their recently released EP The Reclaimers permeated through the crowd. This duo has a lot of talent and showed it Friday night.

The second act to hit the stage was Spanish Harlem native Bodega Bamz. Already collaborating with rappers like ASAP Rocky and the headlining Flatbush Zombies, “Papi” as he prefers, has made a name for himself in the hip hop world.

The Flatbush Zombies came on soon after. The horror influenced beat dropped as Juice crept onto the stage to the chants of eager fans. After a completely solo performance of Minephuck, LS Darko and Erick “Arc” Elliot flew onto stage, swiftly cutting through high energy tracks. The Zombies stage presence is extraordinary. They connect with the crowd and know how to create an electric atmosphere. With their lyrics ranging from playful drug anthems to serious and enigmatic ballads, they clearly take lyricism to a whole new level. You can easily see that they have one mission when on stage: Have fun. It’s hard to appreciate the intensity of the Zombies if you have never seen them live.

After rocking the mic for almost 45 minutes, the Zombies too were plagued with technical difficulties. Instead of walking out on their dedicated fans, Darko assured the rowdy mob that the show would go on. Making his way to the center of the crowd, LS Darko began the song “Thug Waffle” as raucous ensued. The Emcee’s a cappella bars, echoed by the mosh-pit, brought the house down. After a quick fix to the sound system the Zombies closed the night with the intro track to BetterOffDEAD “Amerikkan Pie.” The Zombies left the crowd eager for more and a message of open mindedness. Even with technical difficulties the Flatbush Zombies put on an incredibly performance, fueled by the energy of Iowa City. If you haven’t heard the Zombies check out their Facebook page.

The post Show Review: Flatbush Zombies @ the Blue Moose – 10/18/13 appeared first on KRUI Radio.

It’s only fitting that rock n’ roll’s biggest partier came to the nation’s biggest party school. Iowa City was a perfect place to stop for his “Party Messiah” tour. Andrew W.K.’s concert Thursday night at Blue Moose was a testament to the fact that you don’t actually have to have any good songs to put on an incredible performance. 

 Straight Up! was the only opening band of the night. I was surprised there was only one, but I guess it would be difficult to find openers for someone like W.K., since it’s impossible to pinpoint his genre. I actually really liked Straight Up. This young pop-punk band from the Quad Cities sounded like Sum 41, (but not nearly as egotistical), with a nice edge of post-hardcore elements.

The majority of their songs were completely clean singing with catchy melodies, until their finale, which was almost entirely screaming. It threw me off a little, but vocalist Andrew Grimes actually had a good screaming voice, and I think this band could have a lot of potential if they explored experimenting with that avenue more.

Andrew W.K. usually tours with a  backing band, but this time he opted for a solo show with just his keyboard and backing music tracks… and what appeared to be a very drunk homeless man dancing and shouting on stage with him.

I was very curious to see how this one-hit-wonder was going to fill an hour set, and the product was beyond entertaining. On one hand, he really only played maybe five legitimate songs, but on the other hand he literally never stopped playing uptempo dance music, slayed an impressive keyboard jam, made an impromptu song about how great Iowa City is, and let the entire crowd come dance on stage with him and his hilarious homeless sidekick.

The experience definitely became more of a rave than a simple concert. The word “party” had to have been said more than a hundred times in his songs, but there really is no better word to describe what happened. I wish I had gotten a picture of the security gaurds’ faces when the crowd stampeded onto the stage; it was almost as funny as whatever W.K.’s colleague was doing. It’s hard to say W.K.’s performance was a good concert from a music-critic perspective, but there is no question he is a world-class entertainer incapable of putting on a lackluster show.

I had a great time despite only knowing his one hit, “Party Hard”. In case you’re unfamiliar, check it out below.

The post Show Review: Andrew W.K. @ Blue Moose 9/19 appeared first on KRUI Radio.