CoMo Weekend: 4/20-22

April 20, 2012 By 1 Comment

I bet you thought we forgot about you, didn’t you? We could never quit you, CoMo. Let’s do something this weekend, just the two of us. What do you say?

Friday the 20th

House of Vansickle Spring Show at The Catacombs in the North Village Arts District; 7:00 PM (Free) – This imaginative fashion show featuring the designs of Suzanne VanSickle will include performance art and fiber installations. Come out and see Vansickles’ spring line. You can check out her work at the House of VanSickle website or her Etsy page. The aforementioned fiber installation is by Easily Distracted. Modeling and performance art by Moon Belly. For more information call us at 573-442-1859 or email at houseofvansickle@gmail.com.

Artrageous Friday; 6pm-9pm (Free) – Wander downtown and through the North Village Arts District for this quarterly event. This edition features something a little different: “In an effort to liven and beautify the space between our Artrageous Members/Venues, Artrageous Fridays will coordinate and promote the budding concept of ‘guerrilla art’.  These spontaneous, organic, creative & temporary art installations will enhance the excitement and appeal of Artragoeus Fridays allowing community members to display their works in parking lots & alleyways, on buildings & sidewalks, and even places in between.” Be on the lookout for these installations and performances as you enjoy the nice weather. More information can be found at Artrageous Friday’s website.

Saturday the 21st

Cursive at Mojo’s; doors 8PM, show 9PM ($14) – Cursive has been around so long, that they were pre-emo and post-emo before Conor Oberst had a driver’s license. Still, they sound as fresh and as energetic as they did rapping on the 2001 EP Burst and Bloom. Plus, Tim Kasher has never sounded more tortured than he did on 2000′s Domestica. The Omaha natives make yet another pit stop in CoMo this weekend to present new material from yet another concept album, I Am Gemini. The excellent Cymbals Eat Guitar and fellow Omahaians Conduits open. Check Mojo’s for more details.

80′s New Wave Dance Party at the Blue Note… Check Susan’s write-up.

Adventures in Graduate Education in Jesse Hall;  10AM-2PM (Free) The popular Mizzou event for families is back! Explore roughly 30 different activities in science, art, music, engineering, computers, and animals. There’s something for everyone, especially elementary-age kids. http://gradschool.missouri.edu/adventures

CoMO Derby Dames vs. Mid-Iowa Rollers at Sk8 Zone in Jefferson City; doors 4:30, bout 5:00 (children <10 free, $10 at the door; advance tickets are available for $8 at Maude Vintage) – Drive on down to Jeff City to see our CoMo Derby Dames take down the Mid-Iowa (Isn’t all of Iowa Mid-Iowa?) Rollers this Saturday. It’s violent lady fun for the whole family. Check the Dames’ website for further details.

Sunday the 22nd

Columbia Earth Day is held throughout downtown; noon-7PM (Free) – Music, food, booths, and generally Earthly goodness happens all afternoon in beautiful downtown Columbia. Celebrate our global home by meandering through the many exhibits, enjoying the good weather. More details are available here, including a rain date just in case.

Mid-MO Pridefest is downtown; noon-??? (Free) - Pridefest will be selling one inch wide silicone wristbands, courtesy of 360Bandz.com. All proceeds will help support the costs that go into putting together Pridefest and help keep the event free. Additionally, Pridefest hopes to raise money for their August celebration. See Mid-Missouri Pridefest for more details.

Dubb Nubb at Sparky’s;  8PM (Free) – Actually, Nicholas Naioti, Henry Daggs, Seth Moore (“Three sweet ass dudes from TN”) and Soul Mama (Justin Hickersquashed) are also playing Sparky’s, but it’s CoMo’s own Dubb Nubb you’re coming to see. Check it.

Lunafest at the Blue Note;  4PM ($20, $15 w/student ID) – If it rains or you need a break from all the patchouli downtown, head over to the Note for a fundraiser featuring an assortment of short films made by women. There’s plenty more to know about Lunafest at their website.

Filed Under: CoMo Arts and Music, CoMo Events, CoMo Family, CoMo Fashion, CoMo Weekend, CoMusic, Kids Activities, What's Going On in CoMo Tagged With: , , , , , , ,

CoMusic: Singing Valentines!

February 8, 2012 By Leave a Comment

Looking for that special Valentine’s Day gift for your spouse, partner, or concubine? Luckily for you, the ladies (and possibly a few boys) at Special Passenger Records has the perfect solution: Singing Valentines!

For a fee of your choosing, Dubb Nubb and Lizzie Wright will serenade your sweetie with a song and a card wherever you may be enjoying a romantic evening. All you have to do is download this document, fill out the form, and deliver it to Lizzie Wright or Amanda Rainey at the email or phone number listed on the form.

For this Valentine’s Day, give her (or him) something she (or he) will never forget: a singing Valentine from Special Passenger Records!

Filed Under: CoMo Arts and Music, CoMusic, Misc CoMo Tagged With: , , , ,

CoMusic 101: The Best of 2011

January 9, 2012 By 4 Comments

Normally, I write lists when looking back upon a year’s music. However, to rank the best in CoMusic this year would require me to rank my favorite friends. I’m not going to do that. Instead, I’m giving you some local music entities that did enough this year to warrant attention in the new year.

Dubb Nubb
The twindie trio released a full-length album this year and has been playing all over the state and south, honing their skills for another run at your hearts. Be prepared, because many good things will come from the sisters Rainey this year after what was a life-altering 2011. Besides the releases and touring, Dubb Nubb’s twins, Hannah and Delia, made the big move to Columbia as first-year MU students. Expect to see them play out in the coming months as their class schedules allow, especially as buskers at this year’s True-False fest. Check out their session at Daytrotter.

Special Passenger Records
It’s no coincidence that Dubb Nubb’s success over the last year is tied to the growth of their label, Special Passenger. Aside from the Dubb Nubb material and releases from CoMo local folkster Lizzie Wright, SP put out two of the more memorable compilations of the past year. The first was Cicada Summer, a collection of songs from Missouri bands commemorating the summer of cicadas. Highlights included Delia Rainey’s “Another State” (a song I loved so much that it made my top-20 tracks of the year) and Butterflies’ “Yummy! Pass the Sprinkles” which details the entire cicada ice cream phenomena at Sparky’s. The second compilation of note was the Feels Like Coming Home project where the SP folks asked 16 of their closest friends from all over the country to sing about their homes. Listen to Lizzie Wright Super Space Ship’s “JXN.MS”.

Hairhole
Shows there may be sporadic, but few venues have created the buzz and energy Hairhole has achieved in 2011. A highlight of the past year includes the Believers show where the band closed with a rousing albeit sloppy version of The Breeders’ classic “Cannonball”. Shows at Hairhole are not easy to keep track of, but persistence will reward.

Ptarmigan
Ptarmigan put out what may be the record of the year in CoMo. We covered The Forest Darling back in May, but the albums sounds just as fresh today. Keeping an eye open and an ear to the ground for the next Ptarmigan showing is highly recommended. Listen to and buy The Forest Darling.

Believers
I will avoid gushing. I promise. Here are the facts… Believers formed in time to make True/False theirs. Aside from providing music for the bumpers, the band made their debut at a secret party, blowing away those in attendance. Since, they’ve taken the town and state by storm with their energetic live show, a show they eventually took east. To close out the year, Believers started a Kickstarter in order to press their first EP. The fundraiser was a success and should mean good things for the band in the coming year. See them play Mojo’s on February 10th.

Richard the Lionhearted
Few bands have worked as hard as Richard. The band bought a van and have recorded a significant amount of music in a short time. Nearly every opening gig is awarded the alt.country band and for good reason. Richard plays a kind of music that just feels familiar. You swear that you’ve heard it before even if you actually haven’t. Of course, as often as they play out, you may have actually heard it before. Listen to and buy their album or check out the two new tracks released over the holidays.

Enemy Airship
Rising from the ashes of Nonreturner comes Enemy Airship. They’ve played live a few times, but it’s usually a secret only they know. Still, from the reports I’m getting, the mopiness that permeated through Nonreturner’s material seems to have given way to some energy a la Broken Social Scene. Added to the crew has been our own Ben Chlapek (who has his own Neatly Knotted project). So, expect some good things from this reincarnation of an old CoMo favorite.

New Tongues
There isn’t much known about this band except that former members Bald Eagle, Caterpillar Tracks, MTMQ, Corn Boss, The Foundry Field Recordings, Non Stop 3, The Confident Years, Amputee Set, The Carry On Killaway, Subscribe, etc. I suspect noisy, three-piece, Socialist rawk from this band. Look for them to play out later this month or next.

Hott Lunch
There’s loads of buzz surrounding this band. After playing Bitchfork this summer and opening for Cave and Jerusalem & the Starbaskets, the buzz is hitting the right circles to insure that Hott Lunch should have the connections necessary to make some real noise in 2012. Check out Hott Lunch on January 14th at Mojo’s.

The True/False Busker and Live Show Lineup
The music at True/False has always been excellent, but this year should have a new flavor as Billy Schuh (Foundry Field Recordings, Emergency Umbrella) and Amanda Rainey (Dubb Nubb, Special Passenger) are taking over for the 2012 fest.

Bonus: White Rabbits
Although they’re no longer residents here or haven’t really done much in 2011, CoMo’s favorite sons have a new album coming out and here’s a taste…

Filed Under: CoMo Arts and Music, CoMusic, CoMusic 101 Tagged With: , , , , , , , , , , , , ,

CoMusic 101: Feels Like Leaving Home (feat. Candyland)

October 19, 2011 By Leave a Comment

Special Passenger Records is embarking on a tour to promote the compilation Feels Like Coming Home, which you can purchase here. To kick things off, Dubb Nubb and Lizzie Wright Super Space Ship played Candyland, a DIY living room-turned-stage here in CoMo, earlier this week. The event was captured in the video below.

Pay special attention to the end of the video as the kid who appears to have established Candyland (didn’t catch his name) talks about creating a community as opposed to waiting for it to happen. This is important as the current crop of artists and musicians frequenting CoMo’s music scene seem to be hell-bent on making said scene happen with greater frequency. I’m all for this and applaud their efforts. I used to attend a few shows at a place called the Neil House in Columbus, OH, just down the street from Ohio State. CoMo needs more venues like Candyland and Hairhole (and the numerous houses I have failed to mention here).

Either way, watch the video, follow the tour, and buy the album.

Filed Under: CoMo Arts and Music, CoMusic, CoMusic 101 Tagged With: , ,

Vinyl Art Show Event Is Friday!

September 29, 2011 By Leave a Comment

The Vinyl Art Show and Hairhole benefit was mentioned here a couple of weeks ago. Well, all those fantastic pieces of art are now ready for your perusal. 48 artists transformed some old, unwanted vinyl into some kick-ass pieces of art. You can check out the details at the Facebook event page.

The Vinyl Art Show’s closing event is Friday night from 6-9 at Cafe Berlin.  Music by Dubb Nubb, Jack Grelle and Max Garcia Rubio.  The silent auction closes at 8:30 and there is a Hairhole show(!) afterwards with Hott Lunch, Bookmobile, Bug Chaser and Comfort Zone rocking your socks off, all for a donation at the door. For those not into the Hairhole scene, you can hang around for the No Coast Rap Battle Festival set to begin at Cafe Berlin at 9:00 for a $5 cover.

Check below for some of the great works of art up for auction:

 

All photos are courtesy of Amanda Rainey (pictured above).

Filed Under: CoMo Arts and Music, CoMo Events, CoMusic, Misc CoMo, shopping, What's Going On in CoMo Tagged With: , , , ,

CoMusic Preview: Pearl and the Beard, Jack Grelle and Dubb Nubb at Mojo’s

August 28, 2011 By Leave a Comment

There was the True/False Boone Dawdle earlier this month. And now, there’s a night of busking over at Mojo’s this Tuesday evening when Pearl and the Beard are joined by Jack Grelle (Nature Walk) and Dubb Nubb. That’s right. Three of our favorite buskers are taking the stage here in CoMo six months before they do it again at our favorite nonfiction film fest.

Opening the evening is Dubb Nubb, the twindie duo from St. Louis are fresh off some touring and winning battle of the band contests to grace us once again with their presence. Dual Joanna Newsom vocals pack a powerful punch in the shape of two diminutive sisters bent on ruling the world. If only they did actually rule the world…

Jack Grelle busked the hell out True/False with his band Nature Walk last February. The group could be found on street corners and in front of fest-goers at any point during the weekend. This time, you won’t catch all of Nature Walk, just band leader Jack Grelle for a solo set.

Pearl and the Beard might have been the most polished buskers of last year’s festival lineup. They bring a punk ethos to their decidely non-punk sounding trio. Their dark yet powerful version of folk is dominated by three of the strongest voices you’ll ever hear in one group. A key feature is their acoustic approach that’s given a backbone to said voices and a cello. If you missed them play at this year’s fest, don’t miss them play Mojo’s.

There’s an $8 cover and doors open at 8:30.

Filed Under: CoMo Arts and Music, CoMo Events, CoMusic, What's Going On in CoMo Tagged With: , , , ,

CoMusic: The Weekend in Three Images

May 23, 2011 By 1 Comment

Believers @ Mojo's, Friday

Jerusalem & the Starbaskets @ Mojo's, Friday

Dubb Nubb @ Sparky's, Sunday

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CoMusic Review: Dubb Nubb – New Bones

April 23, 2011 By Leave a Comment

Once dubbed as the only “twindie-pop band in America,” created a buzz with their turns as buskers for this year’s True/False Films Fest, Dubb Nubb has conjured quite the following in our fair city. Recalling the undead ghosts of Joanna Newsom and Julie Doiron, the twins harmonize with a youthful zeal not often caught on tape. There’s hurt beyond their years, hopefulness despite our times, and a bit of anger to keep it honest.

All this comes through loud and clear on the duo’s latest release New Bones. Sparse, echo-y production feature the grrrls at their finest, fully capturing the craft in their vocals, chords, and lyrics. Listening to New Bones, it’s hard to believe that Dubb Nubb is young enough to enter a battle of high school bands while simultaneously finding it hard to get into some of the clubs in which they play. I suspect they don’t need fake ID’s, just hand over a copy of New Bones to the doorman and they’ll be granted instant access with a Manhattan on the rocks to follow.

I recognize that this blog typically follows Columbia acts or those bands playing CoMO venues. Technically, Dubb Nubb has played this town and are well-connected here. Plus, New Bones is worthy of a listen, download, and one-of-a-kind cloth packaging (while supplies last). So, this all adds up to the band being honorary CoMOians. Welcome them with open arms and hearts, Columbia, and be on the lookout for a Dubb Nubb gig in the near future…after graduation, anyway.

Filed Under: CoMo Arts and Music, CoMusic Review Tagged With: ,