Soil Compilation

News
Under the Table: George’s Buffet

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George’s Buffet is an unassuming dive bar sat just off of the one-way, westbound, Market Street. The small structure is saddled between an alley leading back to another side street and a modern imposing building housing The Webster (a high-end feature in Iowa City’s restaurant scene) on the corner of North Linn Street. Further up the road is the Bluebird’s parking lot, and its corresponding classic diner.

Music
Interview: Set Your Goals at When We Were Young

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I sat down with Jordan Brown and Matt Wilson of Set Your Goals while at When We Were Young Festival. The California natives made their highly anticipated homecoming this past February, playing their first gig in 6 years. We spoke about their return to live performances, whats next for Set Your Goals, and how good “One Battle After Another” is.

Music
iowa city

“Blackbird” by David Harrower at Riverside Theatre

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Crumpled, greasy pieces of paper and plastic littered the Riverside Theatre stage during a special preview last Thursday, April 4, at 7:30 PM. A table holding salt and pepper shakers stood beside an overturned chair while a piano version of the Beatles’ “Blackbird” played throughout the theatre. Riverside’s most recent production, Blackbird, opened on Friday, April 5 and runs through Sunday, April 21. Scottish playwright David Harrower’s show won an Olivier Award, the British equivalent of a Tony Award, in 2007.  Blackbird concerns Una, a twelve-year-old girl, who had a relationship with Ray, a forty-year-old man. Fifteen years have passed … Continued

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Show Review: Michael Zapruder’s Pink Thunder @ The Mill — 4/3/13

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Mission Creek touts its festival as a week of music as well as literature, and this event combined both beautifully. Wednesday night at the Mill hosted a lively group ready to watch one of Iowa’s best known bands, Christopher the Conquered, share a show with a unique poetry project, Michael Zapruder’s Pink Thunder. I came to the venue with expectations of a good night and I was not disappointed. One of my favorite local bands, Christopher the Conquered, opened the night and the energy from the crowd fueled the show. Chris Ford was so successful in evoking feeling from his … Continued

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Show Review: I Hear IC at The Mill

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I Hear IC is an hour long extravaganza of people making art and music of all types, welcoming both students and residents of Iowa City to perform their finished or unfinished projects. In the past they have welcomed choirs, plays, bands, alternative singer/songwriters, poetry — if it’s art, you can perform it at I Hear IC. Wednesday, March 13 was a hodgepodge of music and poetry, ranging from opener Gabi Vanek playing adapted guitar music on her bassoon to regular Jessica King reciting poetry of heartbreak and fairy tales to Combined Efforts Men’s Chorus (directed by Michael Pelnik and organized … Continued

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Valgeir Sigurdsson @ The Englert

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On Wednesday, March 13 at 8 PM, a handful of Iowa City residents entered The Englert Theatre. Instead of filing into the usual theatre seats, listeners were invited on stage. A group of approximately fifty chairs was nestled around a piano, a music stand, and a Mac computer. The stage was otherwise rather bare and decorated sparsely: bricks, pipes, blue lights, and dulled yellow lights created a calm, relaxed environment. Everyone comfortably chatted, visited the bar, and eagerly awaited the start of the concert. Eventually, Valgeir Sigurdsson himself came out on stage followed by Nadia Sirota, a violist with whom he … Continued

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