As the clock struck 8:36 precisely, the quintet under the lead singer’s name of Anthony Worden came out and started the show off. At first, the crowd was timid and shy. It wasn’t until a couple of songs in that Worden encouraged a small crowd to gather around.

One of the first things I realized about this group was the prominent bass guitar. I love hearing cool bass riffs live, because you can feel the room vibrating, and it makes the experience a little bit more communal and exciting.

“Thanks for seeing us tonight and not Andrew Bird,” Anthony said. “Fuck the one-percenters at the Andrew Bird show!” He joked.

Their music was really easy to vibe to, which I think the crowd greatly appreciated. A lot of their songs drifted into a purely instrumental verse, where you could tell that all the members of the band were getting lost in the music, vibing out with everyone there. The Mission Creek website described these guys as “canonical rock ‘n’ roll and contemporary indie rock” which I would definitely say is accurate. I would say it leans more on the “psych rock” with the way that guitar riffs and intense heart-racing drums would detach you from reality.

Overall, I think it was a good listen from a good local band. It will definitely be worth your time to check them out.

Up next was Oakland, California’s very own Jay Som. When I read on the Mission Creek website that her genre is described as “woozy”, I was like…huh? What does that even mean??? But in all honesty, I think “woozy” kind of translate into chill rock. The guitars and drums are upbeat, yet not overpowering. I think that lead singer Melina’s voice is what makes this sound work so well for them — her voice is mellow and soothing, and paired with the instruments, woozy seems like an appropriate word to describe this genre.

I would say their first time playing in Iowa City was good and successful. More crowd members came to stand up next to the stage, clearly vibing with the band. The music crescendoed, with the drums, guitar, and bass all in unison, making for a really good listen.

To “Som” it up (#sorrynotsorry for that terrible pun), I would definitely say this was my favorite performance of the night and I will definitely be listening to this artist some more.

Last but certainly not least, Preoccupations took the stage. They started off with their song “Anxiety”, and before I knew it the area surrounding the stage was packed. Lead singer Matt Flegel had a very distinctive voice — if I’m being completely honest, it reminded me of when I was a kid and would speak into a fan, which gave off that vibrating robot sound. I personally liked it, because feeling the vibrations felt as if I myself was singing the song.

By the second song, they were getting into more the post-punk genre as they incorporated more yelling/screaming. One song sounded like they were a punk Mumford & Sons. I thought their sound was really cool — they are definitely the future of punk. With the help of a keyboard and some computerized synth-y sounds, they were able to turn ordinary head-banging punk into borderline psychedelic-futuristic punk, which is kind of refreshing to hear in the punk industry, as sometimes purely punk music can seem monotonous.

One cool thing that I thought was really cool was seeing the opening acts in the crowd jamming out to Preoccupations just like the rest of us. It reminded me that even our favorite artists, no matter how big or small, still look up to other artists.

Their sound definitely isn’t something that I would describe as “chill” — you would probably have difficulties studying or falling asleep to this. This music demands your attention, creeps up in your cerebellum and forces your body to move along to the beat. It was almost impossible to sit still during this set, and I think almost everybody in the room was at the very least nodding along.

As the night came to an end, the band went out with the longest outro of my concert-going life — it had to be at least 10 minutes of pure instrumentals. But once they hopped off stage and the house lights came up, I knew that I would be heading home and making Spotify playlists with some of their stuff in it. They were definitely worth checking out.

The post Mission Creek: Preoccupations, Jay Som, and Anthony Worden @ The Mill 4/4/17 appeared first on KRUI Radio.

I arrived at the Trumpet Blossom Café two hours early to meet with Daisy Chains and get a sense of the atmosphere of this lovely and cozy place. I like their warm lighting, dedicated ornaments in the house.

Around 8:30 pm, Daisy Chains came to my table, and we started our conversation. “We did a ten-day tour in Midwest, and now it is about time to perform in my hometown” said Iowa City native, Drummer Walker Neudorff. The guitarist, main vocalist E.A. Bambery, and bassist Allison Gunderson are from Minneapolis.

Country-inspired, garage, post-punk music group Daisy Chains is the sweet, warm and down-to-earth band when it came to answering my questions. “I like the softness and feminine of the name ‘Daisy.’ Daisy is also a name from my favorite salsa jar” Beth described the band name excitedly. “We love being on the road, doing live show” the three of them agreed, and they enjoy the tension on the stage.

Before the headliner, Daisy Chain played, The Savage Young Taterbug was the first band that started out. When they were playing tunes on the stage, a crowd of people suddenly came closer to the stage, and stood in front of my table. I figured if you want to have a good view of the band, you could only stand between the tables and bar.

The Savage Young Taterbug has a guitar, cello, and electronic keyboard.

They had a soft, thick country-mixed rock feeling. The addition of the cello gradually built up the atmosphere that impressed me a lot. “We got a beautiful feeling, whisper, stash to my baby” got stuck in my head. The third song “The Paperstud” was my favorite song from them. But the keyboard did not play it smoothly in the beginning. The audience laughed a little and waited for them to keep it back on. The sound of the keyboard is liked raindrops falling to compose a beautiful, sad folk rhythm. The Audience seemed enjoyed their performances.

After a short wait, Gem Jones came on the stage with their basses. The main vocalist wore a polka dot shirt with his flamboyant blonde hair: I think they had a good fashion taste.

Their song has the Lo-fi garage rock or punk rock feeling of which I am not a fan. It is fuzzy and loud, and the lyrics were not what they wanted us to listen to, but the beat was awesome. After hearing one song, I felt I lost my hearing a little. I tried to stand in the second row to follow the crowd; I saw people in the first row were moving their heads following their music.

Finally, around 11 pm, the central part of tonight, Daisy Chains, began to set up. Some of the people in the front were gone, and other audiences went to have a seat near the bar. They started with two songs, not on their album. At first, the drum part overpowered Beth’s vocals; later her voice became powerful, but softer at the same time. When the second song “Don’t tell me” played, people started to lean toward the stage. I loved Beth’s voice so much; it is versatile, and she conveyed the bitterness of the lyrics. The ending part featured a radical drum solo that stood out.

The third and fourth song were from their album “Above Abroad.” “Slack Jawed” featured some jumpy bass chords. Between the chords, Beth sang, “let go” and yelled it out. There was a feeling of leaving the ungrateful people. In the middle of the song, Beth paused and softly  thanked the chillness that Walker (drummer) brought, which differed from how she sang on the stage.

I liked their song “Bye Babe” the most. The Bass lead the song. Beth’s voice was emotional when singing “my babe.” It rose and fell and made you want to hear more songs like this. The last song was “Your Heart Out” by the Fall. They added a guitar that added a more smooth feeling.

They ended the show with more and more people coming to the front. When they wrapped up, some people came and asked if they could buy an album from them. I felt the time passed relatively fast and I wanted to hear more from their lyrical songs and sink in the atmosphere again. Their music speaks for them. I wish they would release an LP and maybe record a video so that people who cannot see their live performance can hear it.

The post Mission Creek: Daisy Chains @ Trumpet Blossom Cafe 4/9/16 appeared first on KRUI Radio.