I showed up about an hour before her set and watched one of her openers — Squirrel Flower. I’m not here to review Squirrel Flower, but damn, they blew me away. The lead singer has a voice similar to Julien Baker’s, which made them the perfect opening act.

Finally, the lights dimmed, and Julien Baker casually walked on stage in her all-black outfit. She’s a tiny woman, but she is full of passion, which was apparent from the very first song.

Soft white lights beamed down on her as dark blue lights set the perfect backdrop for her slow, mellow songs. Her music is so mellow and quiet that you could hear pretty much everything that was going on in the audience — knuckles cracking, people flipping through programs, the clicks of a camera every time a picture was taken.

It was relaxing, though, to see a set like this. Honestly, Baker could put me to sleep — and that’s saying a lot, and I mean that in the best way possible. Her voice is so soothing, her guitar and piano work so smooth, and the softness in her music just makes me want to curl up and drift away. It’s very atmospheric, which I love so much.

At one point, she had a violinist join her for a couple songs, and w.o.w. it was amazing. The violin added so much dimension to her songs, so much that it almost made me regret taking up the clarinet and not the violin in middle school.

Baker switched between her electric guitar, acoustic guitar, and piano. Honestly, she’s so talented — normally I don’t see many artists switch it up that many times in a show.

One of the things I loved most were the mistakes she made — for example, she hit the mic stand with her guitar, took a step back, and bowed. It was so refreshing to see that she’s just a normal person like you and me. Which tbh, she kinda is — she’s only like a year older than me. Her sense of humor during that was one of the highlights of the night.

After singing a slow and mellow song, she would softly say “Thank you,” into the microphone.

Sprained Ankle by Julien Baker.

Baker is a singer/songwriter from Tennessee, and she released her debut album in 2015 called “Sprained Ankle” on Bandcamp. Her most recent LP, “Turn Out The Lights,” just came out in 2017. Her music is the perfect music to chill to, vibe to, cry to, study to, etc.

The night soon wrapped up, and Baker walked off the stage just as casually as she came on. I’ve been to a lot of Mission Creek shows, so believe me when I say that this was one of the best.

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With their bassist stuck in England due to visa issues, Algiers managed to create an amazingly enjoyable sound. Standing in for the bassist was the band’s tour manager who proved to be no less talented than the other members of the band.

An exceptional element of the performance is lead singer Franklin James Fisher’s ability to effortlessly captivate the crowd through his movements. Fisher’s dancing and rhythm demanded attention. His footwork and spins are reminiscent of the styles of Michael Jackson and Prince combined.

In addition, the band is extremely versatile in their musical abilities. At one point in the show, guitarist Lee Tesche had a guitar strung across his back, a saxophone in front, and bells in his hand.

He later picked up his guitar and played with a paintbrush, which created a unique and gloomy tone so appropriate for their style of music. Fisher moved back and forth from the tambourine, piano, guitar, and vocals. The band also took full advantage of technology.

The group has a very alternative look with each member displaying his own style. Fisher wore a camo bandana tied around his head and a leather jacket. Drummer Matt Tong wore a see-through netted black shirt and glasses. Tesche sported all black. The stand-in bassist displayed a denim outfit and gauges.

Between songs one could hear background narration of various kinds, often touching on racial injustice and fading into the next song. This added to the seriousness of the set and touches on their political agenda.

A visual of the performance of the drums in “Death March” is very prevalent after the show.

The band benefited from drummer Tong’s animated style which employed everyone to dance along.

He often plays with his mouth open as if it helps him keep focused. It is common to see him flail his arms to dramatically beat his instruments. With his long, black hair and quiet disposition, he lets his musical talent speak for itself.

There was minimal verbal interaction with the crowd. After an intense first song, Fisher simply says, “hi,” and transitions to the next. Fisher later explains the visa issues with their bassist and continues.

Once the show began, the crowd began to filter into the front of the stage.

It became progressively difficult to see the band as the audience attempted to catch a glimpse of Fisher. He disappeared to the majority while playing guitar lying on the stage.

His energy exploded as he shot up and knocked the microphone stand into the crowd, who collectively laughed with the singer. After using an instrument, they would ungracefully toss them on the ground and pick up their next tool.

Algiers created a very comfortable atmosphere that felt like you were watching friends. Their unique style and undeniable talent managed to completely captivate the audience and surely won them countless new fans. The band’s newest album “The Underside of Power” is available on Spotify and iTunes.

The post Mission Creek Festival: Algiers @ Gabe’s 4/6/18 appeared first on KRUI Radio.

With a show that dipped its toes into dub, Detroit techno, and funk, Iowa-City based Purcha$e strode the line admirably through his embrace of the obscure; his music was as out of step as multi-color Christmas lights strung across the ceiling of the Iowa City Yacht Club in April.

Unlike the smooth collage of a well-curated mix, it was clear after only a few tracks that the beauty in the spaced-out dance music came not from what tied each song together, but in how layers of contrast allowed them to drift further apart. In his world, points are scored for sounds with jagged edges and sharp cuts, all while staying in touch with his best intergalactic qualities.

After a jarring intro that featured howling Arabic on top of a Motown drum beat, a tight spiral hook brought the crowd into motion. Equipped with only his grey laptop under the yellow light of the stage, carefully blended tempos helped the punchy acoustics contract and expand as they bounced off of space’s dingy brick walls.

“Love Again”, a month-old single, and perhaps Purcha$e’s most polished offering yet, packed the musician’s most redeeming qualities into three minutes like a Chris Carter tribute; slightly anthemic in its downbeat delivery, fidgety melodies squealed from the stacked JBL’s on either side of the stage. With each glance up at the shuffling crowd, a coy smile confirmed that he was completely contented in his element.

As time passed, tracks picked up additional layers of grit like a snowball rolling slowly downhill. “Vice District #4” and “Tropic Blue” from last summer’s seven-track mini album brought an added boost to the bottom of the EQ, while the detuned chord progressions that ensued leaned on rough, uneven textures. Unlike the retro backbone of earlier tracks, which merged Latin rhythms and soulful claps with bloated bass and kick drums, the final third eschewed any sense of comfort for intensity brought by climbing BPMs that called to mind footwork or dubstep.

The further each song drifted from center, the more appropriate it seemed for the Iowa producer to be opening for Laurel Halo, whose polyrhythmic sound experiments on Hyperdub have been met with unfettered critical acclaim. Where the grooves found in Purcha$e’s live show are inviting in the directness of their loops, Laurel’s are disjointed, chewed up and spit out through layers of distortion, but are no less captivating.

With one final juke, Purcha$e shifted down a gear to make room for a subtle onslaught of apocryphal chants, an appropriate return to the trance-inducing ephemera of the show’s opening minutes. The sinister riff that followed was the sonic equivalent of a room full of art-folk trapped in a darkly lit basement. Matched with a loathsome low-end punch, the jam fizzled to completion, and so too did an unquestionably enjoyable set.

The post Mission Creek Festival: Purcha$e @ The Iowa City Yacht Club, 4/5/18 appeared first on KRUI Radio.

Moen is an Iowa native and graduated from the University of Iowa recently. She is a self-taught guitarist and jazz/blues singer alongside growing in popularity with the general public.

She wrote, recorded and released her first album locally and often returns to Iowa City to venues such as The Mill and Big Grove. Moen writes her own music, inspired by artists such as Stevie Nicks, Angel Olsen, Lake Street Dive, Joni Mitchell, and the Alabama Shakes. All of these are also conveniently bands I love listening to, and their influences definitely emerge in her music.

She has released two albums, her self-titled album in 2016 and “That’s All I Wanted” in May of 2017.

Her first album showcases her vocals more than anything else, but I don’t know if it’s possible to keep them hidden. It holds so much power. Stevie Nicks’ influence definitely comes out in “Keep Your Love,” particularly vocally. Lake Street Dive also has a very strong presence throughout the album. Although it is easy to spot Moen’s inspirations here, it’s also very clear that she has something entirely her own going on in songs like “Lost It” and “Songbird.” It’s personable, almost like the listener is one-on-one with her. Moen and her voice have built a home.

Though her self-titled album is astounding, it is clear that Moen has developed her musical talents and songwriting abilities by “That’s All I Wanted.” The album features twelve other Iowan musicians such as William Elliott Whitmore (folk and country singer) and Dana Telsrow (guitarist, also performing at Mission Creek Festival 2018!).

I also personally love Moen’s cover of “I Put a Spell on You,” originally popularized by another jazz and blues singer Nina Simone. Her deep, rolling voice captures the song perfectly and adds a new layer of movement to it.

She also released a cover of Daniel Johnston’s “True Love Will Find You In the End.” This cover really showcases Moen’s voice in a folky Americana tone in a way not overtly noticeable in her other songs. Listen to both below!

Moen has had the honor of performing with a lot of other really talented artists, such as Caroline Smith, Lake Street Dive, and Lucy Dacus. She will be playing alongside The Weepies at Mission Creek Festival 2018. I haven’t even seen her live yet but she’s already made her way onto several of my playlists. I can only imagine how much more powerful she would be on an empty stage.

Check out who else is coming to Mission Creek here or on KRUI’s website!

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