Little Village magazine issue 268: July 31 - Aug. 13, 2019

A L W A Y S

F R E E

ISSUE 268 July 31–Aug. 13, 2019

Five tales of five local haunts

VOL. 27 ISSUE 268 July 31–Aug. 13, 2019 ALWAYS FREE LITTLEVILLAGEMAG.COM PUBLISHER MATTHEW STEELE DIGITAL DIRECTOR DREW BULMAN Jav Ducker / Little Village

ART DIRECTOR JORDAN SELLERGREN MANAGING EDITOR EMMA MCCLATCHEY ARTS EDITOR GENEVIEVE TRAINOR NEWS DIRECTOR PAUL BRENNAN CONTRIBUTING EDITOR ALLANA C. NOYES VISUAL REPORTER—PHOTO ZAK NEUMANN VISUAL REPORTER­—VIDEO JASON SMITH FOOD & DRINK DIRECTOR FRANKIE SCHNECKLOTH BUSINESS STRATEGIST CLAIRE MCGRANAHAN DISTRIBUTION GARY GREGORY, TREVOR LEE HOPKINS, BRIAN JOHANNESEN MARKETING COORDINATOR,

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They’re not just a pretty façade. Get the scoop on five beloved buildings.

College degree in hand, a DACA recipient steps closer to the American Dream.

Terrance Banks, a.k.a.

Soultru, returns to a bigger-than-ever 319 Fest.

VARIOUS AUTHORS

RAUDEL FIERRO

GENEVIEVE TRAINOR

4 - Letters & Interactions 7 - Brock About Town 8 - Carnegie Library 10 - EPB 12 - Paramount Theatre 14 - Gabe’s

16 - Kae Apothecary 20 - En Español 22 - Bread & Butter 24 - A-List 26 - Events Calendar 49 - Ad Index

50 - Dear Kiki 51 - Astrology 52 - Local Albums 53 - Local Books 55 - Crossword

If These Walls Could Talk

Tengo un Sueño

True Iowa Soul

GRAPHIC DESIGNER JAV DUCKER ADVERTISING ADS@LITTLEVILLAGEMAG.COM LISTINGS CALENDAR@LITTLEVILLAGEMAG.COM CONTRIBUTORS JOJO BACCAM, AUDREY BROCK, JEFF CARL, ROB CLINE, NICHOLAS DOLAN, MELODY DWORAK, RADUEL FIERRO, BLAIR GAUNTT, MELANIE HANSON, LAURA JOHNSON, JOHN MARTINEK, ERIN MCCUSKEY, KEMBREW MCLEOD, TREY REIS, SAM RODRIGUEZ, MICHAEL ROEDER, CLAIRE THOELE, HELAINA THOMPSON, TOM TOMORROW, SAM LOCKE WARD SUBMISSIONS EDITOR@LITTLEVILLAGEMAG.COM DISTRIBUTION REQUESTS DISTRO@LITTLEVILLAGEMAG.COM CREATIVE SERVICES CREATIVE@LITTLEVILLAGEMAG.COM CONTACT (319) 855-1474, 623 S DUBUQUE ST, IOWA CITY, IA 52240

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Little Village is an independent, community-supported news and culture publication based in Iowa City. Through journalism, essays and events, we work to improve our community in the Iowa City, Coralville and Cedar Rapids area according to a few core values: environmental sustainability, affordability and access, economic and labor justice, racial justice, gender equity, quality healthcare, quality education and critical culture.

Letters to the editor(s) are always welcome. We reserve the right to fact check and edit for length and clarity. Please send letters, comments or corrections to editor@littlevillagemag.com. Little Village is always free; all contents are the licensed work of the contributor and of the publication.

If you would like to reprint or collaborate on new content, reach us at lv@littlevillagemag.com. To browse back issues, visit us at 623 S Dubuque St, Iowa City, or online at issuu.com/littlevillage.

A L W A Y S

F R E E

ISSUE 268 JUly 31–AUg. 13, 2019

Five tales of five local haunts

Claire Thoele

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LETTERS

LV encourages community members, including candidates for office, to submit letters to Editor@LittleVillageMag.com. To be considered for print publication, letters should be under 500 words. Preference is given to letters that have not been published elsewhere.

I WRITE TO IMPLORE the Iowa

City Community School District to stand firm on their previous decisions to not put SROs (school resource officers) in our schools. I am certain that those who advocate for their placement in our schools come from a place of caring, but I fear they will have an opposite effect on our community, in and out of the schools. I also don’t say this out of a place of fear of the police department, as there are many fine members of the local departments.

I do say this because once officers are in place, it will become too easy to involve them in cases that would have previously been simply office referrals. It has been documented many times that these referrals will be disproportionately on youth of color. It has also been adequately shown that this creates

a school-to-prison pipeline for these youth of color. It should also be noted that among people of color and immigrant communities there is an uneasiness that could effectively chase people away from the schools. There are members of our community who come from places where the police are feared, and for good reason.

I do recognize that people have a fear of an incident involving violence in our schools and the violence recently in our community has stoked those fears. I just feel that we would be better off putting more money to social workers, therapists and family resource workers in our schools rather than SROs. Please consider the evidence-based response rather than the emotion-based response and keep SROs out of our schools.

—Kylie Buddin, Iowa City

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Former Illinois congressman Bobby Schilling is running for Congress in Iowa’s 2nd District “Shilling”? Really? That’s just bad writing.

—Alison C. A statue in search of a pedestal. —Tracy H. Bag that carpet somewhere else. —Josh C.

BeerBurger closes its Iowa City location It’s flanked by two good places for food (The Mill & Estella’s). The times I went to that Beer Burger location it was always solid service. It’s just a tough location for food in that area with the proximity to downtown establishments too.

—Donald P.S.

John Hickenlooper: ‘We must be progressive, but also pragmatic’ Yeah, but the fact that Obama was/continues to be referred to as a socialist kinda proves that the right isn’t able to correctly distinguish a socialist from a centrist anyways. It’s TERRIBLE politics to admit you’re foregoing actual progressive policy to try to appease the opposition when they’re gonna fearmonger anyways. Absolutely spineless. —Riley S.W.

Sen. Joni Ernst says Trump’s tweets are racist, but that doesn’t change her support for him

While I do appreciate your military service, I still don’t support your career as a Senator.

—Billie M.M. Thank you Senator Ernst for making it crystal clear that you don’t mind a little racism as long as you get judges that will promote your radical

Sunday

So Joni is saying “I am going out on a tiny branch to say that those tweets might have been a bit bad. But if I say more I am scared to death of his retaliation.” She is definitely not a ‘people before party’ public servant. —Kristine T.D.

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Christian agenda. Line in the sand drawn and you, Senator Ernst are on the wrong side. Your willingness to compartmentalize racism is a testament to your white privilege. —Jo D.

George’s Buffet is celebrating its 80th anniversary on Saturday

/LittleVillage

READER POLL Are audiobooks *real* books?

Time to get a Georgies burger! —Will W. George’s doesn’t look a day over 70!

—Natalie P. Peace, love and Helen! —Sasha

Jerry Foxhoven says he was forced to resign because he wouldn’t approve using DHS funds to pay a Reynolds staffer

73% Yes, a book’s a book!

27% No, books require reading

This is much less funny and much more angering than the Tupac lyric thing. —S.L.

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Kondo Complex

R

emember your summer project? You know, from the summer fun column last month? We said we were all going to do a project together. Am I the only one who followed through on this? You guys are so lame.

Anyway, back to me. Like all clinically depressed job-seekers who recently earned liberal arts degrees, I’m desperate to feel like I’m in control of my life, which is really what a summer project is all about. (Sorry to drag you guys into it.) This is a need that starting a book club or trying the keto diet simply won’t fill. No, my thirst can only be quenched in the loving embrace of Marie Kondo.

In case you’re not familiar with this paragon of human achievement, Marie Kondo is an organization specialist who advises her followers to evaluate each of their individual possessions, right down to the frog tchotchkes their grandmas got at yard sales, and discard everything that doesn’t “spark joy.” Oy vey. Supposedly, this will help you find a husband, lose 30 pounds and broker peace in the Middle East. That sort of thing is catnip to people like me—people so thoroughly embedded in consumerism that they believe the only thing more likely to make them happy than the stationery section at Target is getting rid of all their stuff and backpacking through the Himalayas. So, along with the rest of America, I had to try it.

Kondo suggests that you start the life-reevaluation process by dumping every article of clothing you own on the floor so you can feel properly ashamed by how much garbage you own and be compelled to get rid of some. On Sunday night, with a heart full of foolish optimism, I did. And then I did not get rid of any of it or put it away, and it’s all still there. So much for self-improvement. Last night, reclining on a bed of ill-fitting jeans, I couldn’t help but wonder: Is the millennial obsession with minimalism a futile attempt to cast off the pressures of the modern world and compensate for our lack of material comforts as compared to previous generations? Or am I just morphing into a Carrie Bradshaw knockoff? It’s not for me to say.

Since this is a print publication, you guys can’t leave comments telling me about your own summer projects, but you do know what I look like.

Accost me in the Starbucks line, write disparaging comments on a mango and throw it at me, whatever. I just want to connect. Am I a Carrie? I always thought I was a Miranda. Xoxo, Gossip Girl ––Audrey Brock LITTLEVILLAGEMAG.COM/LV268 July 31–Aug. 13, 2019 7

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Yesterday’s Library Cedar Rapids’ late Carnegie Library had a special, scented magic. BY ROB CLINE

M

y wife believes there are too many books in our house. I, on the other hand, am quite sure there are not enough.

When I imagine what “enough” might look like, I call to mind the first floor of the Carnegie Library in Cedar Rapids—my first library and the place, it seemed to me as a small child, where all the books in the world were housed.

The shelves towered over me, towered over everyone in my memory, and were filled to bursting with all the stories and all the knowledge that could be accessed by a child in the mid-to-late 1970s. I couldn’t read it all—heck, I couldn’t reach it all—but it was comforting to know it was all there on the corner of 3rd Avenue and 1st Street across from Greene Square Park.

I’ll admit, my memories of the place are a bit hazy. Did one go upstairs or downstairs to find the children’s collection (up, I think)?

Where was the card catalogue in relation to the front desk? What did my first library card look like?

What I remember best is the smell. It was a variation on that scent we associate with old books. Less moldy. Devoid of the cat hair that adds to the olfactory experience of many a used bookstore. Stately, somehow. An odor of importance. When I stood on the cool floor, surrounded by architectural ornament that stood in contrast to the straightforwardness of the shelves, I breathed air filled with an emanation that I now associate with a story well told, a mystery solved by scientist or detective (real or imagined), a history unfurled and so much more.

It’s an odor that didn’t make the move to the Cedar Rapids Public Library’s new home in 1985. That structure, on the riverfront and destined to be partially submerged during the catastrophic flood of 2008, was, by and large, a warehouse that happened to include a brutalist take on a spiral staircase leading to an oddly shaped and under-utilized second floor. Sure, the children’s library was up there and was probably the most engagingly arranged portion of the collection, but the empty expanse outside the kids’ area always struck me as melancholy.

And what of the Carnegie Library after the move? Well, in 1989, it reopened as half of the architectural mash-up that is the Cedar Rapids Museum of Art. For years, I resisted entering the museum (my resolve made easier in the short term by my leaving for college). When I did finally go inside, I avoided the library portion of the facility, afraid to have my memories disturbed.

To be sure, I still find that space—home to the Museum Store and administrative offices as well as the auditorium that was part of the structure originally—disconcerting to enter, particularly on the first floor. It doesn’t look right without the rows and rows of books curtailing one’s view of the space as a whole. And it doesn’t smell right, either. The smell, of course, was in the books, not in the building, and those books are gone.

The latest Cedar Rapids Public Library building stands immediately across Greene Square from the Carnegie Library. It’s a nifty bit of unification, drawing a straight line between libraries old and new (and

Cont. >> on pg. 34

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The Beauty of Iowa’s Ugliest Building Falling in love with (and in) the University of Iowa’s infamous EPB. BY NICHOLAS DOLAN

T

he English-Philosophy Building at the University of Iowa is, you will note upon entry, old. It is not old in the way a faraway Romanian village is old (solitary, self-sustaining); nor old in the way the Electoral College is old (baffling, malevolent); least of all in the way Meryl Streep is old (eternal, unfading). The EPB is the old of the ungraceful elderly. It is a building whose children do not call it on its birthday. It watches too much television, and it is haunted by strange pains, no doubt signaling an imminent and overdue death.

Such is its reputation, and not only locally: Last year, a poll—unscientific, mind—conducted by Business Insider deemed the EPB the ugliest building in the state of Iowa, alongside 49 other buildings considered the ugliest in their respective home states. Many of the selections made are odd to me. For instance, I write these lines from the “ugliest” building in Indiana, Notre Dame’s Hesburgh Library, which strikes me as perfectly respectable by any standard, but especially by those of the Rust Belt, littered as it is with the desiccated skeletons of abandoned factories.

Likewise, the EPB is ugly, but not that ugly. Its squat, prison-like façade, commonly (and to my knowledge baselessly) thought to be “riot-proof,” is typical of professional architecture of the late ’60s and ’70s. And there are worse buildings on campus, let alone in the state.

Have you not been blinded by the utopian sheen of the Advanced Technology Laboratory just north of the Iowa Memorial Union, in the sun of an afternoon? Have you not trod the halls of Mayflower, or of North, now hidden away from prospective students in the long shadow of Catlett?

The real reason the EPB is so widely loathed is not its middling aesthetics. It’s because every undergraduate, sooner or later, is sent there for a section of rhetoric or for “Interpretation of Literature.”

Most students resent being in these required classes, and they come to resent the building by association. For the vast majority of students, their relationship with the EPB ends the moment they hand in their half-baked final paper on Shakespeare or J.M. Coetzee. For these students’ remaining time at Iowa, their memory of the building gradually disappears, evaporating into a vague unpleasantness or a nullity.

But for a chosen few, a predestined freshman elect, the EPB will become home. These few, who possess more big-hearted quixotic idealism than sound financial sense, are novitiates in the life of the mind.

Here is the stalwart English major, stooped over and stupefied by the dazzling theatrics of a Bishop, a Faulkner, a Baldwin. There is the philosophy major, staring in immaculate absorption out of that most appropriately existential of objects, the window that never opens. And here, last, the linguist, cloistered away on the fifth floor that most are unaware exists. Bodily he is hunched under the harsh glare of the fluorescents, speckled with the silhouettes of dead insects—yet mentally he summers in the shade of his sentence trees. These people are not phantoms, abstractions. They are quite real to me.

Cont. >> on pg. 36

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The Streaker of the Opera It was all red carpets and Rossini until a prankster invaded the Paramount. BY ERIN E. MCCUSKEY

I

n 1993, when I was 18 and pretending to be an adult, I figured it was about time I consumed some culture with a capital C—and that meant going to the opera.

The Barber of Seville by Rossini was playing at the Paramount Theatre in downtown Cedar Rapids, and I scored two tickets for my boyfriend Jon and me.

I donned a little black dress, slathered on Clinique bonus makeup from Younkers and carried a beaded red purse from Armstrong’s Department Store. Strutting under the Paramount’s blinking marquee, through the hall of mirrors and down the theater’s red-carpeted center aisle in my prom heels, I felt like a Crapidian itgirl if there ever was one.

The curtains were down, the stage waiting to be revealed. I remember settling into the red velvet seats with the pre-show excitement of a kid. And in comparison to the rest of the audience, we really were kids: I wouldn’t have been surprised to learn many of my fellow opera-goers had attended the Paramount’s first show in 1929.

Jon and I took our seats on the floor, stage right, in the middle of a septuagenarian sea. The orchestra began playing.

Two minutes into the overture, I was struck with the mental image of Bugs Bunny in the “Rabbit of Seville” cartoon, rubbing oil onto Elmer Fudd’s bald head to this very tune. A wave of giggles hit me; the harder I worked to suppress it, the more I felt I was going to burst.

Surely one is not supposed to laugh at the opera, but there was no escaping my seat without pushing past many knobby knees and a cloud of Shalimar. I had to squeeze Jon’s hand and bury my head in his shoulder.

As the players proceeded into the first act, taking us back to the 18th century, it became clear that we were in for a long night. I had prepared for the opera to test my attention span about as much as a movie with subtitles, but it was worse, like watching a really slow musical with so many flourishing ups and downs it was hard to comprehend the action of the players, much less what they were singing. I remember lolling back and gazing at the gold opulence of the ceiling.

Playing adult at the opera now seemed like a lot of boring work.

It is difficult to describe the moment you first realized a naked butt had run past you. It happened so fast I suddenly understood why they called it “streaking.”

The backend making its way up the center aisle was evocative of a classic Greek statue. Even 25 years later, I can see those white cheeks bouncing through the forest of red velvet and beaded Von Maur dresses—can still hear the scattered chorus of “Oh!”s and “Ah!”s rising from the theater of bluehairs, parted by said perfect butt. News reports will later be conflicting, but I swear the guy had pantyhose over his head with a sock covering the jewels.

The orchestra played on in their pit, unwittingly providing a score for the impromptu performance. There was a brief moment when I thought this may have been part of the opera, however nonsensical it seemed. But as the streaker approached the stage, there was a flash of

Cont. >> on pg. 38

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Quarter Beers and Cosmic Cowboys The Pub, Fox & Sam’s, Gabe & Walker’s, the Picador—no matter what it’s called, the freak flag still flies. BY KEMBREW MCLEOD

I

n the beginning there was the Pub, opening inside a nondescript two-story brick building on East Washington Street in Iowa City, which previously housed ACT, Inc.’s offices, in 1970. The restrooms have been on a steep decline since then, but there have also been many highs, both musical and chemical.

By 1974, the eponymously named Pub was rechristened Fox and Sam’s; a year later, the name Gabe & Walker’s won a popular vote among bar patrons (Gabe and Walker were fictional spokesmen for the Falstaff beer brand at the time). Blues-rock band Enoch Smoky was the first to perform in the big upstairs room, which would become a go-to place for local music fans.

Gabe & Walker’s cultivated Iowa City’s version of the “cosmic cowboy” scene, which also grew out of places like Austin and other freak-friendly towns in the 1970s. Country-rock mavericks Long Shot drew a large dancing crowd to Gabe & Walker’s, as well as other local bands and touring artists such as Gene Clark and Asleep at the Wheel.

Clouds of marijuana sometimes drifted from the beer garden out back. Fights were plenty, as were the good times, and few remember ever being there sober. As cosmic cowboys levitated the second floor, the more hardened locals remained rooted at the bar downstairs, scaring off all but the most hardcore.

Writers like T.C. Boyle and Denis Johnson haunted the club, taking mental notes that would inform their fiction. Literary and musical culture also converged with G&W’s longtime bartender Gerry Stevenson, a quintessential Iowa City character and former golf coach who in 1960 opened the Paper Place at 130 S Clinton St, an important bookstore that specialized in avant-garde literature.

The Paper Place, a bridge between the Beat and hippie crowds, served as a hangout for Iowa Writers’ Workshop students and counterculture types. It burned down in 1969—some say Stevenson set the fire—and the odd college-town duck spent years drinking in downtown bars like Kenny’s and Donnelly’s. By the late 1970s, he was working as a bartender at Gabe & Walker’s, which was shortened to Gabe’s in 1979, and he stuck around into the 1990s.

By the mid-’80s, the main upstairs room was advertised as Gabe’s Oasis, and newer punk and college rock groups began crowding out the bluesy hippie bands of yore.

Gabe’s served as a salon for the broke art and music kids who hung out on Tuesday nights drinking 25-cent draws of beer, referred to as “quarters.” It was an eclectic mix of punks, cigar-smoking professors playing chess and regulars like an older woman named Litha, who lived in the Ecumenical Towers next door and would come in every night for a highball.

And the bathrooms, oh god, the bathrooms. “The stuff of nightmares,” one patron said, while another recalled, “The bathrooms were disgusting. The hookups were relentless. The quarter draws were irresponsible. The music was the best in the world. I’m sure of it.”

Cont. >> on pg. 40

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Blissed Out A human chain helped move Kae Apothecary into its historic Marion storefront. BY LAURA JOHNSON

O

ne of Mount Vernon’s most distinctive small businesses trades in herbs, magic and meditation.

Kae Apothecary began with Andrea Gorsh, who moved to the Mount Vernon area in 2009—the same year she was diagnosed with celiac disease. Because of the trouble she had finding gluten-free, natural and non-irritating skin products, she began to research the use of herbs and essential oils, training through a course from herbalist Rosemary Gladstar.

Gorsh started out offering samples to friends, eventually building a business selling custom-blended sprays, oils and teas at pop-up shows in Iowa City and Mount Vernon. She also volunteered with the Mount Vernon-Lisbon Community Development Group, where she met Main Street and Marketing Director Joe Jennison, who suggested that she take on a storefront in Mount Vernon.

Gorsh was unsure about running a brick-and-mortar shop, but she agreed. She opened Kae Apothecary in 2016, which quickly grew by leaps and bounds. As Gorsh settled into that first 400-square-foot store on 2nd Avenue, which had previously been a doll furniture making shop, she began to see the possibilities of creating a space for people to share their human experience.

Gorsh offered a modest variety of proprietary products based on essential oil blends, linen spray and skin care and continued to develop her knowledge of oils and herbs through extensive reading. She also began blending custom teas for ailments and by customer request, and she soon added a free Saturday morning community meditation.

The welcoming ambiance of the store attracted customers despite its off-the-beaten-path location. Gorsh hosted a range of classes, including magic, altar box making and smudge stick assembly. In its original location, the shop also offered tarot discussion groups, as well as classes featuring guest experts in many aspects of metaphysical practices. Kae continued to thrive for two years.

“We used up every inch of the space for meditations,” Gorsh said.

“We moved everything around for classes and groups, so that everyone who showed up could have a spot.”

Gorsh ran the shop as a one-woman show with limited hours on limited days, but the demand blossomed. By late 2018, business was thriving and classes were bursting the small shop at its seams. Gorsh began considering a move to 1st Street in Mount Vernon. Higher visibility and more foot traffic were two pluses of a potential move, but the fact of the matter was Kae had outgrown its first storefront.

So, at the beginning of 2019, when an opportunity to move on to 1st Street became available, Gorsh considered a couple of options.

She chose the location previously occupied by Big Creek Emporium, about two blocks away from that first location. In planning the move, Gorsh couldn’t justify hiring a truck to move the store such a short distance, so she harnessed the power of social media and a strong customer base to create a human moving chain. On a clear, cold day, 75 people turned out to pass boxes and tins up the alley and down to Kae Apothecary’s current location, 100 1st St W.

Cont. >> on pg. 42

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Audra McDonald

Storm Large – September 6 - FREE & OUTDOORS Van Jones – September 10 - FREE Audra McDonald – September 14 Urban Bush Women, Hair & Other Stories – September 21 Los Angeles Guitar Quartet – September 25 RENT – October 4–5 Chick Corea, Trilogy – October 11 Chamber Music Society of Lincoln Center – October 13 Culinary Arts Experience: Pullman Diner/St. Burch Tavern October 16 *Tickets on sale September 16 Sankai Juku, Utsushi – October 22 SITI Company, The Bacchae – October 26 Club Hancher: Tomeka Reid Quartet – November 2 Culinary Arts Experience: Trumpet Blossom – November 20 *Tickets on sale October 21 CONTRA-TIEMPO & Las Cafeteras, joyUS, justUS – November 21 Brunch with Santa – December 7 *Tickets on sale November 4 BeauSoleil avec Michael Doucet – December 7 A Cajun Christmas Jazz at Lincoln Center Orchestra with Wynton Marsalis Big Band Holidays – December 14

2020 The Color Purple – January 24–25 Miró Quartet and Kiera Duffy, soprano – January 29 Kids Club Hancher: Gina Chavez – February 1 Culinary Arts Experience: University Catering – February 5 Dinner with the Chefs *Tickets on sale January 6 Rosanne Cash – February 8 RUBBERBANDance Group, Vic’s Mix – February 15 Syed Umar Warsi, Amir Safi, and Amal Kassir – February 21 Negin Farsad – February 22

CONTRA-TIEMPO Negin Farsad

The Actors’ Gang, The New Colossus – February 28–29 The Chieftains, The Irish Goodbye – March 4 Club Hancher: Dreamers’ Circus – March 8 Alvin Ailey American Dance Theater – March 10 Club Hancher: Melissa Aldana Quartet – March 25 Los Angeles Master Chorale, Lagrime di San Pietro – March 28 Beautiful: The Carole King Musical – April 3–4 The Boston Pops On Tour – April 7 Lights, Camera…Music! Six Decades of John Williams ETHEL + Robert Mirabal, The River – April 18 Compagnia TPO, Farfalle – April 24–26 Slingsby Theatre Company – April 30, May 1–2 Emil and the Detectives Danish String Quartet – May 4 Culinary Arts Experience: Maggie’s Farm Wood-Fired Pizza May 6 *Tickets on sale April 6 The Big Splash! – August 14–16 - FREE & OUTDOORS

Discover more at hancher.uiowa.edu Individuals with disabilities are encouraged to attend all University of Iowa sponsored events.If you are a person with a disability who requires a reasonable accommodation in order to participate in this program, please contact Hancher in advance at (319) 335-1158.

Rosanne Cash

COMMUNITY En Español

Los sueños de un Dreamer POR RAUDEL FIERRO

E

l 18 de mayo del 2019 me gradué de la universidad. Fue un día especial, para mi familia y para mí, además de representar un logro que a veces parece imposible para los millones de indocumentados que viven en las sombras de la jerarquía social de los Estados Unidos.

Llegué a West Liberty, Iowa a la edad de 11 años con mi familia y, la esperanza de un mejor futuro, alejados de la inseguridad política y social que existe en mi país natal, México. Crecí siendo un niño normal, lleno de energía y de sueños: sueños que con el tiempo se fueron sembrando con las decisiones que tomaba desde muy temprana edad. En las noticias se habla de inmigración, de personas que han dejado su país en busca de una vida digna, pero la perspectiva cambia cuando eres tú el protagonista de aquellas historias.

Al llegar a mis años de preparatoria, mis alegrías infantiles se convirtieron en incertidumbres—tenía preguntas a las cuales nadie tenía respuesta. ¿Qué significa ser un humano “indocumentado”? Aquello no tiene definición fija en los pensamientos de un soñador.

Al empezar a buscar respuestas acerca de mi futuro académico me fui dando cuenta de la realidad que yo estaba viviendo. Parecía imposible realizar mis sueños de educación.

Sin embargo, el programa DACA (Deferred Action for Childhood Arrivals) me dio la oportunidad de conseguir un estatus legal que me protegía de la deportación. Aun así, no me garantizaba ayuda financiera para continuar mis estudios en un país donde la educación no es un privilegio, sino un negocio. Con mucho esfuerzo y trabajo fui forjando un camino en un espacio lleno de tropiezos y obstáculos. Gracias a la ayuda de varias personas pude conseguir lo que millones de indocumentados en este país sueñan con alcanzar—graduarme de la universidad. Obtuve mi licenciatura en estudios internacionales.

Aquel 18 de mayo, logré además cumplirle a mi madre el sueño de ver a su hijo mayor

20 July 31–Aug. 13, 2019 LITTLEVILLAGEMAG.COM/LV268

LittleVillageMag.com

recibir su diploma. Conseguí lo que siempre me había propuesto y, con ello demostrarle a nuestra sociedad que los Dreamers también simbolizan el sueño americano.

Nuestras historias tienen el poder de cambiar la historia de nuestro país, dándole a la comunidad una perspectiva diferente y real de lo que es un ser un inmigrante.

Nos sentimos orgullosos de poder ser parte de un país en el cual las oportunidades e Villag Little ren / rg e ll n Se Jorda

surgen con trabajo y dedicación. Nuestras voces son el eco del trabajo y sufrimiento de millones de personas que nunca tendrán la oportunidad de compartir el sueño americano.

Debemos construir puentes en vez de muros que nos separan sin razón propia. Tenemos la responsabilidad de combatir la injusticia social y demostrarle al gobierno que mientras todos vivamos debajo del mismo cielo, ningún ser humano es ilegal.

The dreams of a Dreamer TRANSLATED BY RAUDEL FIERRO

I

graduated from college on May 18, 2019. It was a special day for my family and me, in addition to representing an achievement that often seems impossible for millions of undocumented people, who live in the shadows of the American social hierarchy.

My family and I moved to West Liberty, Iowa when I was 11 years old, looking for a brighter future far from the social and political instability that has destroyed my first

“home,” Mexico. I grew up just like any other kid in town, full of energy and dreams: dreams that started to fade with time, as I realized that my story was going to be different. You always hear about the struggles immigrants have to go through in order to advance in life; it’s different when you are the protagonist of the story.

Once I reached my high school years, my childhood dreams became uncertain—I had questions no one could answer. What does it mean to be “undocumented”? The word does not have a set definition in the mind of a Dreamer.

As I started seeking answers regarding my academic future, I understood the reality in which I found myself. At times, it seemed impossible to achieve my dream of receiving a college degree, yet the program DACA (Deferred Action for Early Childhood Arrivals) gave me the opportunity to obtain a legal status that prevented me from getting deported.

However, I was not guaranteed financial aid to continue my academic career, in a country where education is not a privilege, but rather a business. With hard work and dedication, I was able to continue to move forward through college one step at a time. Thanks to the help of many people, I was able to achieve that which is dreamed by millions of undocumented people, and I obtained an international studies degree.

On May 18, I also managed to fulfill my mother’s dream of seeing her oldest son walk the stage at his college graduation. I achieved the goals I had set for myself, proving that a Dreamer can also embody the American Dream. Our stories have the power to change our country’s history, allowing the community to have a different and true perspective of what it is to be an immigrant. We are proud of being part of a country in which hard work and determination create opportunities.

Our voices echo the work and suffering of the millions who will never partake in the American Dream. We need to build bridges instead of senseless walls that separate us.

We have a responsibility to fight against social injustice, to show the government that as long as we live under the same sky, no human being is illegal.

Raudel Fierro majored in International Studies at Loras College, and currently serves as director of coaching for the Key City Soccer Association.

STRENGTHEN

Preserve the historic Englert Theatre and FilmScene on the ped mall

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Create a state-of-the-art cinema and nurture our festivals

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LV Recommends:

Morning Glory CSA Food Truck Cedar Rapids Farmers Market “Why do farmers farm, given their economic adversities on top of the many frustrations and difficulties normal to farming?”

Helaina Thompson / Little Village

I

n the midst of July’s sweltering heat wave (which I can only hope our bodies and souls will have by now forgotten), I sit in the air conditioning, scrolling through my photos of the Morning Glory CSA food truck, and I think of this question by farmer and writer Wendell Berry.

I took these photos yesterday, on an especially hot Saturday morning at the Cedar Rapids Farmers Market. In them, the blazing sun reflects off the truck’s stainless steel surfaces. Incredibly, chef Kit Kirby contently awaits breakfast-goers in the truck’s interior, which is a good 10 degrees warmer than the outside air. Oh, July.

The food truck is an enterprise of Morning Glory CSA, a vegetable farm in Mount Vernon. It is one way to make a farm business sustainable, said farmer Donna Warhover, who operates the business with her husband Bill Warhover.

“When you are passionate about farming, you want to find ways to make it work,” Donna said.

The food truck’s menu showcases vegetables and herbs grown by Donna and her farm crew. “Making it work” is an understatement.

The quinoa bowl I ordered featured a deliciously savory serving of sautéed zucchini, fennel, carrots, sliced radish and parsley over a generous scoop of tri-color quinoa and a fried egg.

Seasonal vegetables—onions, beets, fennel, squash—shine on this menu when paired with tender Pavelka’s Point pork tacos folded into La Reyna corn tortillas. Or sandwiched between egg, cheese and made-from-scratch English muffins. It’s a simple, straightforward and healthy menu of three or four options, which is a pure relief for those of us in a seemingly constant state of decision fatigue.

“Vegetables are the main ingredient,” Donna unabashedly said of the food truck’s offerings. “Kit turns vegetables into something so amazing.” It’s true.

Why farm? Why make food in the back of a truck underneath the scorching Iowa summer sun?

To his question, and to my own, Wendell Berry concedes: “Always the answer is: ‘Love.

They must do it for love.’”

The Morning Glory CSA food truck will

be in regular attendance throughout the Cedar Rapids Farmers Market season, as well as at Science Thursdays on the University of Iowa healthcare campus and at Food Truck Tuesdays at NewBo City Market.

—Helaina Thompson

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22 July 31–Aug. 13, 2019 LITTLEVILLAGEMAG.COM/LV268

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563 in the 319 This year’s 319 Fest is keeping the mix fresh and the soul true in Cedar Rapids. BY GENEVIEVE TRAINOR

I

n 2016, Cedar Rapids’ 319 Fest took a year off. Their goal was to refocus, redevelop. Organizers changed the location of the festival, and were determined to make it always free, organizer Jason Zbornik said in an email, “in hopes that it would allow more people access to new original music.” Now in its third year back from that break, 319 Fest’s eighth iteration is definitely meeting that goal, featuring over 70 artists on five stages (up from three last year, and including the new EDM stage, Blackout Room).

There’s also a fashion show inside the NewBo Market, along with other attractions such as a Ferris wheel and a giant art wall.

At its outset, the festival truly did center on musicians living and working in the 319 area code, which encompasses the Iowa 380 corridor up north just past Cedar Falls, as well as south down 218 all the way to Keokuk. But 319 Fest + Blended In Fashion Show, Samm Rodriguez with the refocus in 2016, Zbornik said, they NewBo City Market, Cedar Rapids, began to involve some artists from outside Saturday, Aug. 10, 10 a.m., Free the area, “to create a fresh mix of talent that national level,” he said. “Stopping in people in the area may not have seen before.” Kalispell, Montana; Seattle; Portland; Los The mix is kept roughly to 50-25-25 of artists Angeles; and Denver—multiple shows in all from the 319, other Iowa artists and out-ofstage, The Playground, headlined by rapper except Montana—and every show had no less state performers.

TwoCold out of Waterloo—but you’ll find than 30 people in attendance.”

Enter Quad Cities artist Terrance Banks.

Soultru on the White Sofa Records Rock and “I feel like Iowa is growing with the hipBanks, who lives in Davenport (in the Alternative Stage. Banks explored melodhop and spoken word [scenes] at the least,” 563), was among that first crowd of musiic metal “years ago” with a cians who expanded 319 Fest in 2017. He’s Muscatine band, Acceptable returning to perform again this year.

Levels of Violence, an experiAs the timeless, worldly, taffy-pullence he says “helped me just ing-voiced Soultru, Banks has been taking as much as anything” on his “I WANTED TO SPEAK MY TRUTH AND off in Eastern Iowa of late. His December musical journey.

PULL FROM MY HEART AND SOUL,” HE release, Soultru & Progeny (his third album, But, if his performance and first full-length), prompted our reviewer moniker wasn’t a big enough SAID. “NO MATTER THE LYRICS I WANTED Dr. Dawson to write: “The ‘i’ in hip hop clue, “soul” in many senses is PEOPLE TO CONNECT TO MY STORY.” could represent innovation, idealism, even the driving force behind all that pure intellect. I may have to declare that by Banks does. His music is comthe end of 2019 it will stand for Iowa.” ing from a spiritual place and Iowa’s metal scene has seen explosions trying to speak to the same in in national attention recently, as have its others, even when he’s locked blues artists. It might well be time to include into a hip-hop groove or exploring other aveBanks said of the genres he feels he’s been Banks’ blend of hip hop and soul in Iowa’s nues of expression. best embraced by. “Soul music, I know some musical reputation. Banks, who had just “I want audiences to hear the emotion and groups/performers but not as many as I would returned from a West Coast tour when he reality of the world in our songs,” Banks said. like to ... I definitely want to see more soul answered my emailed questions, can certainly artists.”

“Each track has meaning to me one way or see that possibility.

Banks certainly doesn’t let strict genre defi“I think there is a place for us on the nitions lock him in. 319 Fest has a hip-hop Cont. >> on pg. 46

24 July 31–Aug. 13, 2019 LITTLEVILLAGEMAG.COM/LV268

EDITORS’ PICKS

CALENDAR EVENTS AROUND THE CRANDIC JULY 31–AUG. 13, 2019

purple mountains david berman of silver jews LIVE AT THE MILL

wednesday, august 21 @ 8 p.m.

diane coffee

Planning an event? Submit event info to calendar@littlevillagemag. com. Include event name, date, time, venue, street address, admission price and a brief description (no all-caps, exclamation points or advertising verbiage, please). To find more events, visit littlevillagemag.com/calendar.

Please check venue listing in case details have changed.

LIVE AT THE MILL

thursday, september 5 @ 8 p.m.

Wed., July 31 Iowa City Open Coffee, Merge, Iowa City, 8 a.m., Free (Weekly)

thursday, august 8

ricky skaggs & kentucky thunder friday, august 9

todd snider friday, august 16

scott mulvahill LIVE AT THE MILL

saturday, august 17

wellred comedy: trae crowder with Drew Morgan and Corey Forrester thursday, september 5

an evening with

justin furstenfeld (of blue october) AN OPEN BOOK TOUR

friday, september 6

kathleen madigan HOT DOGS AND ANGELS TOUR

englert.org 221 E. Washington St, Iowa City (319) 688-2653 26 July 31–Aug. 13, 2019 LITTLEVILLAGEMAG.COM/LV268

THIS WEEK: GROUNDSWELL CAFE

One Million Cups, NewBoCo, Cedar Rapids, 8:15 a.m., Free (Weekly) THIS WEEK: SOUPS OF SERVICE/MOBILE PHARMACIST

One Million Cups, Merge, Iowa City, 9 a.m., Free (Weekly) Iowa City Wednesday Farmers Market, Chauncey Swan Ramp, Iowa City, 5 p.m. (Weekly) Open Mic Night, Penguin’s Comedy Club, Cedar Rapids, 8 p.m., Free (Weekly) PUNK AMERICANA

Hymn for Her w/ Kibby, the Twisted Roots, Iowa City Yacht Club, 8 p.m., $7-10 FOLK/AMERICANA

Arlo McKinley & the Lonesome Sound w/ with Paul Cary, Gabe’s, Iowa City, 8 p.m., $10 INDIE ROCK

Greentop x Wyatt Moran w/ Basketball Divorce Court & Greenlake, The Mill, Iowa City, 9 p.m., $7 Open Stage, Studio 13, Iowa City, 10 p.m., Free (Weekly)

STAFF PICKS

Zak Nuemann / Little Village

WHAT ARE WE DOING?

JULY 31– AUG. 13, 2019

MidWestOne Bank’s Rock the Chalk, Downtown Iowa City, Friday, Aug. 9, 10 a.m., Free I’ve never done an elaborate

sidewalk piece before; my previous chalking experience consists of hopscotch and doodles on the driveway. I’m looking forward to long squats and dusty hands. At Rock the Chalk, you can sign up to do a piece by yourself or with your friends! Here are some concept ideas: A Bob Ross tribute, an unflattering photo of your friend or a delicious sandwich. With steady hands and patient minds, downtown will turn into a pretty picture show. —Brenda Gao Ricky Skaggs and Kentucky Thunder, The Englert Theatre, Iowa City, Thursday, Aug. 8, 7 p.m., $42-62 It would be unlike

a Leo such as myself not to promote her own birthday. Bluegrass great Ricky Skaggs and his band Kentucky Thunder are performing at the Englert that night and good, mournful, wailing bluegrass tends to drill deep wells into my soul, in a good way, I think. We Leos are complicated creatures. Make me cry, Ricky!

––Jordan Sellergren

Grey Area, Flat Black Studios, Lone Tree, Friday-Saturday, Aug. 9-11, $0-40

I’d be remiss not to mention (and to miss) the 2019 Grey Area fest. Flat Black Studios and White Rabbit’s third-annual showcase of Flat Black recording artists and friends includes Tornavalanche (performing for the first time in a decade!), William Elliott Whitmore, Karen Meat, Dana T, the full Annalibera set, Appleseed Cast, Dead Rider, Catfish Keith,

American Cream, Good Morning Midnight, Starry Nights and Little Village’s own Brian Johannesen and Jordan Sellergren, among others. Grey Area is one of the only fests around to offer free parking and camping, as well as free admission for humans under 16.

Heartland Yoga will provide a free yoga class on Saturday morning, and kids can enjoy a bounce house. Festival-goers can refuel at food trucks, and organizers promise “more port-apotties than needed.” After experiencing the unspeakable bathroom conditions at the 2012 Bonnaroo Music Festival, this is a high selling point. (Little Village is a co-presenter of Grey Area.) —Emma McClatchey Dreamwell Theatre Presents: ‘Visages,’ Public Space One, Iowa City, Fridays and Saturdays, Aug. 9-17, 7:30 p.m., $7

Dreamwell is kicking its season off early this year with an original play written by Iowa City’s Colin Mattox. Visages looks beneath the surface, as it were, at the life and legacy of Anna Coleman Ladd, a sculptor who turned her art to service in World War I, making masks for disfigured soldiers. Ladd’s work has evolved into anaplastology, which melds visual arts with biology, behavioral sciences and more to advance prosthetic rehabilitation. The artist was honored by the French government in 1932 as a Knight of the Legion of Honour. I know that I’m always beating the drum of new work, but it’s especially lovely to see a smaller company like Dreamwell taking the opportunity to lift up and collaborate with a local playwright.

—Genevieve Trainor

LITTLEVILLAGEMAG.COM/CALENDAR

Jeff Carl

TOP PICKS: QUAD CITIES

JULY 31– AUG. 13, 2019

misogyny. Instead, Burns celebrates QC locals like legendary musician Pat Patrick and award-winning actor/producer Lara Flynn Boyle. Buy a print or a coloring book(!) and 25 percent of the profit goes to Family Resources of the Quad Cities.

Benefit Show: RI School Supply Drive, Rozz-Tox, Rock Island, Saturday, Aug. 3, 6 p.m., Free with donation of supplies

Two words: Dark. Family. This amazing local band is a new collaboration that everyone’s talking about, and you can catch them for free with a donation of notebooks, pencils, calculators or anything else for an elementary school classroom. This hefty benefit show also features a Roaring Rhetoric showcase and experimental and hip-hop sets, as well as some unexpected visitors.

QC Icons & Landmarks: The Art of Jon Burns, DeSoto Pottery Studio, Rock Island, Friday, Aug. 2, 6 p.m., Free

Attacking the white nationalist patriarchy via mixed media, this series is Burns’ direct response to “the old world ‘heroes’ of yesteryear” still idolized today despite their support for institutionalized slavery, xenophobia and

The F#%k?: A Quiz Show, Rozz-Tox, Rock Island, Sunday, Aug. 4, 7 p.m., Free Host

Andrew King returns with the quiz show you’ll swear is straight out of Idiocracy.

Inspired by a certain well-known quiz show, each contestant must answer trivia in the form of a question that begins with “The fuck…?”

Two local comedians and one civilian chosen from the audience will compete for a RozzTox gift card.

—Melanie Hanson

EDITORS’ PICKS THIS WEEK: DREAM STALKER

‘SHADOWLANDS: FEAR AND FREEDOM AT THE

THIS WEEK: JAKE DODDS AND JESSE ALLEN

Late Shift at the Grindhouse, FilmScene, Iowa

OREGON STANDOFF’

Uptown Friday Nights, McGrath Amphitheatre,

City, 10 p.m., $5.50 (Weekly)

Reading: Anthony McCann, Prairie Lights Books &

Cedar Rapids, 5:30 p.m., $5

Cafe, Iowa City, 7 p.m., Free THIS WEEK: THE SURF ZOMBIES

Thu., Aug. 1

Daddy-O, Parlor City Pub and Eatery, Cedar Rapids, 7

Rock the Block, NewBo City Market, Cedar Rapids,

p.m., Free (Weekly)

6 p.m., Free (Weekly)

‘Doublewide, Texas,’ Old Creamery Theatre, Amana,

Live Jazz, Clinton Street Social Club, Iowa City, 8

FAC Dance Party, The Union, Iowa City, 7 p.m.

2 p.m., $12-32.50

p.m., Free (1st & 3rd Thursdays)

(Weekly)

I.C. Press Co-op open shop, Public Space One,

Comedian Lena Dansdill, Iowa City Yacht Club, 8

OPENING NIGHT!

Iowa City, 4 p.m., Free (Weekly)

p.m., Free

RUNS 2 & 7 P.M. AUG. 3 AND 2 P.M. AUG. 4

Meet Me at the Market, NewBo City Market, Cedar

PRIMAL COUNTRY

Moors—A Radio-Play,’ City High Opstad Auditorium,

Rapids, 5 p.m., Free (Weekly)

Possessed by Paul James, Trumpet Blossom Cafe,

7 p.m., Pay-what-you-will

OPENING PERFORMANCE! RUNS THROUGH AUG. 25

Combined Efforts Presents: ‘Children of the

Iowa City, 9 p.m., $10 Uptown Getdown ft. Flaming Camaros, City Square Park, Marion, 6 p.m., Free

SOUL & BLUES FESTIVAL

Fri., Aug. 2

Soul & Blues Fashion Show, Downtown Iowa City, 7:30 p.m., Free

Lamrim Kadampa Buddhist Centre Iowa City Meditation Class, Quaker Friends Meeting House,

SOUL & BLUES FESTIVAL

OPENING NIGHT! RUNS THROUGH AUG. 25

Iowa City, 6:30 p.m., $5-10 (Weekly)

DJ Freeze and Mr. DJ Ice, Downtown Iowa City, 5

‘The Mousetrap,’ Giving Tree Theater, Marion, 8

& 8 p.m., Free

p.m., $27.86

Thursday Night Live Open Mic, Uptown Bill’s,

IOWA CITY DOWNTOWN

Iowa City, 7 p.m., Free (Weekly)

Open 7 days a week

You’re with friends now.

11 S. DUBUQUE ST. MICKYSIRISHPUB.COM

BREAKFAST • LUNCH • DINNER • DRINKS

Younger NIGHT MILK

TOP PICKS: DES MOINES

JULY 31– AUG. 13, 2019

Via lastpodcastontheleft.com

LittleVillageMag.com/Younger

LITTLEVILLAGEMAG.COM/CALENDAR

LITTLE VILLAGE HQ

623 S DUBUQUE ST, IOWA CITY

RECORD COLLECTOR 116 S LINN ST, IOWA CITY

THE MAKERS LOFT

125 S DUBUQUE ST, IOWA CITY

‘Last Podcast on the Left,’ Hoyt Sherman Auditorium, Aug. 9, 8 p.m., $25-150 Turning a podcast into a live show

and charging no small sum for tickets is still kind of a strange concept to me. I suppose it’s not any different than a late-night talk show, sans the house band and superstar guests, perhaps—although you would never catch Letterman geeking out on stories of the supernatural and extraterrestrial the way the hosts of Last Podcast on the Left do.

Maybe there’s something to the podcast live show after all. I mean, it’s not every day you get a room full of freaks in a nice place like Hoyt Sherman to listen to some dorks talk about serial killers, aliens and Bigfoot.

B.Well ‘W.E.S.T.’ Album Release Show, Wooly’s, Aug. 10, 7 p.m., $10-15 I heard

BStar LittleVillageMag.com/BStar

someone on the sidewalk the other day say, “It’s a new era of Des Moines hip hop.”

When I turned to look, he was looking at a poster for this show. I feel that sentiment, and artists like B.Well seem to be among the most prolific of the new crop of hip-hop acts.

His new album, W.E.S.T. (“Well Established & Still Trippin’”), infuses that chilled-out production style with trap-like embellishments, carried by B.Well’s signature baritone flow. It’s his second album, after last year’s The Hills, both out via B.Well’s own label, Highzmen Records. Check him out at this Wooly’s release show alongside fellow beatheads Teller Bank$, Johnny Marz, Pyko Da Syko, Apollo Spacey and the Feel Right.

Via slipknot1.com

AVAILABLE NOW

Slipknot, Iowa State Fair, Aug. 10, 7 p.m., $37 Everyone seems to think it’s

strange that Slipknot had never played the Iowa State Fair before. I’m not surprised: I think KISS is about the closest thing to a metal band that the fair has ever booked.

Still, I suppose it was only a matter of time before the Iowa-born metal legends infested the fairgrounds with their heavy tunes and swarming fanbase, known affectionately as “maggots.” Reserved seating is sold out, but standing room tickets are still available at the door. I, for one, am excited to see all the black T-shirts weaving their way between the hordes of NASCAR tanks and faded denim overalls. If that’s not just a real snapshot of Iowa and all of its wonderful peculiarities, I don’t know what is.

—Trey Reis

LITTLEVILLAGEMAG.COM/LV268 July 31–Aug. 13, 2019 31

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EDITORS’ PICKS TWIN CITIES SKA PUNK

I.C. Press Co-op Open Shop, Public Space One,

Space Monkey Mafia, Famous Mockingbird, Marion,

Iowa City, 12 p.m., Free (Weekly)

8 p.m., $10-15 SOUL & BLUES FESTIVAL

August 3

ALSO AUG. 3

Kevin B.F. Burt, Downtown Iowa City. 12:30 p.m.,

Brendan Eyre w/ Greg Henderson, Penguin’s

Free

Comedy Club, Cedar Rapids, 8 p.m., $10-12 United We March Forward Cultural Festival, CHICAGO BLUES

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NewBo City Market, Cedar Rapids, 1 p.m., Free

Rico McFarland, The Mill, Iowa City, 8 p.m., $20 SOUL & BLUES FESTIVAL

Precious w/ Henry Hank, Curt Oren, Jason,

Kevin B.F. Burt, Downtown Iowa City. 12:30 p.m.,

03sem, Trumpet Blossom Cafe, Iowa City, 9 p.m., $7

Free

SOUL & BLUES FESTIVAL AFTER PARTY

SOUL & BLUES FESTIVAL

SoulShake, Gabe’s, Iowa City, 10 p.m., Free (Weekly)

Goosetown, Downtown Iowa City. 2 p.m., Free

Flirty Friday’s Drag & Dance Party, Studio 13,

SOUL & BLUES FESTIVAL

Iowa City, 10:30 p.m., $5-10 (Weekly)

Tanya English Band, Downtown Iowa City. 3:30 p.m., Free

Sat., Aug. 3

SOUL & BLUES FESTIVAL

Rico McFarland Band, Downtown Iowa City. 5 p.m., Iowa City Sunday Farmers Market, Chauncey

Free

Swan Ramp, Iowa City, 7:30 a.m. (Weekly) NOLA SLUDGE/DOOM METAL

Cedar Rapids Downtown Farmers’ Market,

Crowbar w/ Lo-Pan, Section Hate, Beyond the

Downtown Cedar Rapids, 7:30 a.m.

Heavens, Space Virus, Gabe’s, Iowa City, 5:30 p.m., $17-20

Marion Farmers Market, Taube Park, Marion, 8 a.m.

(Weekly)

SPECIAL 30TH ANNIVERSARY SCREENINGS; ALSO 8/4, 5 & 8

Guest Vendor Market, NewBo City Market, Cedar

‘Do the Right Thing,’ FilmScene, Iowa City, 6 p.m.,

Rapids, 10 a.m. (Weekly)

$5

Family Storytime, Iowa City Public Library, 10:30

The Lonelyhearts | Words + Music w/ Tameka

a.m., Free (Weekly)

Cage Conley, RSVP, Iowa City, 6:30 p.m., Free

SOUL & BLUES FESTIVAL

SOUL & BLUES FESTIVAL

Black Authors Panel w/ Venise Berry, Steven

JC New King of Funk, Downtown Iowa City. 7 p.m.,

Torriano Berry, Rachelle Chase, Prairie Lights,

Free

Iowa City, 11 a.m., Free

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Iowa Irish Fest 2019, Downtown Waterloo, Friday-Sunday, Aug. 2-4, Free-$25 Now in its 13th year, the Iowa

Irish Fest is a production of the Cedar Valley Irish Cultural Association. It brings together Iowans of Irish heritage from across the state, as well as those simply infatuated with the culture and history of the Emerald Isle. Kids 15 and under as well as military, police, firefighters and EMS (with valid ID) are all free.

There are workshops and cultural events, including a variety of separately priced ($25-35) whiskey-themed classes. The best of local and regional Irish musicians will be performing, as well as a wide selection of musicians from further afield, including many from Ireland.

Stem & Stein Food Beer and Wine Fest, RiverLoop Expo Plaza, Waterloo, Saturday, Aug. 10, 4 p.m., $35-45 This

tasting festival features more than 30 craft and domestic breweries as well as wine and food exhibitors. Admission includes unlimited tasting and a commemorative glass.

Proceeds benefit Friends of the Waterloo Center for the Arts.

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Octopus 7th BDay Party featuring Hex Girls, Voodoo Gearshift, Land of Blood & Sunshine, Partition, Octopus College Hill, Cedar Falls, Saturday, Aug. 10, 8 p.m., $10 The well-loved bar is turning 7 and

pulling out all the stops for a birthday blast extravaganza. A selection of regional favorite bands plays and beer specials abound—including, they say, “a surprise from Bells Brewing.�

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Carnegie Library >> Cont. from pg. 9 leaving the 1985 library to its new incarnation as the home of an insurance and financial services firm).

The current library is undeniably lovely. It’s airy and spacious and welcoming. It has a coffee shop, a strikingly beautiful auditorium and a roof garden. But to my way of thinking, the books— the objects, I would argue, that make a library a library—aren’t allowed to assert themselves as the primary, essential, irreplaceable asset.

Whether it’s a trick of perspective, a failure of memory, a more efficient use of space or a simple numbers game, the collection in the current library doesn’t seem as weighty or as important as the collection I grew up among did. I don’t necessarily mean that the content of the books is less valuable or impressive; I mean the books themselves do not occupy pride of place in the space. I suspect, for this reason, they don’t hold pride of place in the minds of the young people who enter that space.

This is not a criticism, exactly. After all, I’m well aware that all of the books in the old Carnegie Library—indeed, truly all of the

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books in the world—can now be stored as data in the cloud and accessed via the device in my pocket. The sheer physicality of books, their tactile pleasures and, yes, their distinctive, collective smell—those characteristics are not valued to the same degree they once were. I’m nostalgic for the overcrowded, overwhelming collection that still resides in my mind, but I’m not making a case for yesterday’s library in today’s world.

I’m just revisiting a space as sacred to me as any house of worship. A space where fiction and nonfiction and the sometimes blurred boundaries between them take on a collective physical form at once impressive, inspiring and deeply comforting.

The comfort I find in the presence of books, whether read or unread, is certainly central to my friendly disagreement with my wife’s assessment of my personal collection. Too many books in our house? Not a chance. I think we can squeeze another shelf in right over there. Now, take a deep breath.

Rob Cline loves libraries but is not generous about loaning out his own books. He buys extra copies of his favorites to give away.

His wife, you will not be surprised to learn, does not approve of this approach.

34 July 31–Aug. 13, 2019 LITTLEVILLAGEMAG.COM/LV268

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EDITORS’ PICKS CLASSIC HARD ROCK

Dan Baird and Homemade Sin, Wildwood Smokehouse & Saloon, Iowa City, 7 p.m., $20-25 TAMPA BAY SOUL

Lauren Mitchell, Famous Mockingbird, Marion, 8 p.m., $20-25 King of the Tramps w/ Megababes, The Mill, Iowa City, 8 p.m., $10

c i s u m s e t a “He radi ” g n i h t a e r b when “B.F.” BURT,

on KEVIN . .C F y h t o –Tim NDIC winner A R C e h t in n Best Musicia

Chris Merz’ Very Happy Band, Sanctuary Pub, Iowa City, 8 p.m., Free THIS WEEK: SISTER ACT

Summer of the Arts Free Movie Series, Pentacrest, Iowa City, Sunset, Free (Weekly) SOUL & BLUES FESTIVAL

Tomar and the FCs, Downtown Iowa City. 9 p.m., Free Elation Dance Party, Studio 13, Iowa City, 9 p.m., $5-10 (Weekly) SOUL & BLUES FESTIVAL OFFICIAL AFTER PARTY

Boogie Nights Summer Retro Party, Iowa City Yacht Club, 10:30 p.m., $10

Sun., Aug. 4 Guest Vendor Market, NewBo City Market, Cedar Rapids, 10 a.m. (Weekly) Hiawatha Farmers Market, Guthridge Park, Hiawatha, 10 a.m. (Weekly) 5 P.M. PERFORMANCE IS FREE

Ten Thumbs Pro Ukulele Workshops and Performance w/ Tyler Austenfeld, FSCC Theater, Mount Vernon, 2 p.m., $20-25 Sunday Funday, Iowa City Public Library, Iowa City, 2 p.m., Free (Weekly) PHILADELPHIA INDIE PUNK

The Menzingers w/ the Sidekicks, Queen Of Jeans, Gabe’s, Iowa City, 6:30 p.m., $20-23 Pub Quiz, The Mill, Iowa City, 9 p.m., $1 (Weekly)

Mon., Aug. 5 Coralville Farmers Market, Coralville Community Aquatic Center Parking Lot, 5 p.m. (Weekly)

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LITTLEVILLAGEMAG.COM/LV268 July 31–Aug. 13, 2019 35

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EPB >> Cont. from pg. 11 The EPB is where I met my best friend. On the first day of freshman year, in a section of rhetoric, I spotted a young woman who lived on the same floor as me from across a dungeonid basement classroom.

She, Chicagoan (and not the suburbs), was suspicious of my precious white-boy precocity, while I, shy and insecure, suppressed my adolescent anxieties for long enough to strike up a conversation. More conversations followed, and as Amanda realized, despite my preppy affectations, that I, too, was unhappy and desperately poor, a friendship for which I will always be grateful was born.

The EPB is where I fell in love. My sophomore and junior years, I helped run a student org called the English Society (still around, and worth checking out!), whose officers met on Tuesday evenings in the third floor hallway, by then empty. Tom, the third floor’s senior janitor and one of the kindest souls I have ever met, would invariably swing

THESE PEOPLE ARE NOT PHANTOMS, ABSTRACTIONS. THEY ARE QUITE REAL TO ME.

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by our little circle and offer us whatever sweets he had brought to give away that day, usually something chocolate. But I did not fall in love with Tom, except perhaps platonically. As the meetings ground on and my attention dwindled, I grew to find the handsome “event planning officer” sitting across from me immensely more interesting than the events themselves. And he was a poet! With what fashion sense! As of writing, we’ve been together 19 months, and we will be fleeing the country for England in October.

Though an ocean away, we and the EPB will not be far apart. A concept ubiquitous in Christian theology from Augustine onward is the “church invisible.” On the one hand, there is the church visible, that constellation of concrete phenomena—sacraments, rituals, Bibles, buildings—that collectively form the external Church. Then, however, there is the church invisible: the set of all souls, across all time and space, who are destined for salvation.

So, too, I claim, is there an EPB invisible. Wherever you find a budding novelist straining for the right word; wherever one reads Dostoevsky, to be assured of the holiness of one’s poverty; wherever one frantically refreshes one’s bank account, convinced that Dostoevsky was an idiot; and, sad to say, wherever an adjunct is sucked dry of time and energy by a vampiric university bureaucracy— in all these places and more, there you will find the EPB also.

Whitman wrote, “What is it then between us? What is the count of the scores or hundreds of years between us? […] Distance avails not, and place avails not.” God keep this shitty building that I love, and the curious people in it, in their needful gratuity.

Nicholas Dolan is a recent graduate of the University of Iowa, based in Iowa City and South Bend, Indiana. He is currently an instructor at the Robinson Community Learning Center at the University of Notre Dame.

Follow him on Twitter @nickfromiowa.

36 July 31–Aug. 13, 2019 LITTLEVILLAGEMAG.COM/LV268

TICKETS AVAILABLE ONLINE riversidecasinoandresort.com OR IN THE GIFT SHOP 319.648.1234

EDITORS’ PICKS Blues Jam, Parlor City Pub and Eatery, Cedar Rapids,

Comedy & Karaoke, Studio 13, Iowa City, 9 p.m.,

7 p.m., Free (Weekly)

Free (Weekly)

Natural Born Leaders, Gabe’s, Iowa City, 8 p.m.,

FLORIDA NU-METAL

Karaoke Tuesdays, The Mill, Iowa City, 10:30 p.m.,

Free

Nonpoint w/ Caught in the Crypt, the Hong

Free (Weekly)

Open Mic, The Mill, Iowa City, 7 p.m., Free (Weekly) ASHEVILLE, NC NEO-SOUL

Kong Sleepover, Chapter, Wildwood Smokehouse & Comedy Open Mic with Spencer & Dan, Yacht

Saloon, Iowa City, 7 p.m., $20-25

Club, Iowa City, 9 p.m., Free (Weekly)

Wed., Aug. 7

JAM/BLUES

Jocelyn & Chris Arndt, CSPS Legion Arts, Cedar

Iowa City Open Coffee, Merge, Iowa City, 8 a.m.,

Rapids, 7 p.m., $16-19

Free (Weekly)

Food Truck Tuesdays, NewBo City Market, Cedar

‘THE DEADLY MONDAINE’—PROCEEDS FROM SALES

THIS WEEK: 319 FEST BY NEXUS ENTERTAINMENT

Rapids, 11 a.m. (Weekly)

AT THE READING TO RAICES

ARTS

Reading: Craig N.Willis, Prairie Lights Books &

One Million Cups, NewBoCo, Cedar Rapids, 8:15

Cafe, Iowa City, 7 p.m., Free

a.m., Free (Weekly)

Yahoo Drummers, Downtown Iowa City, 7:30 p.m.,

THIS WEEK: ALL DONE/PRAIRIE ROSE COFFEE

Free (Weekly)

One Million Cups, Merge, Iowa City, 9 a.m., Free

Tue., Aug. 6

Cultivate Hope Market, Cultivate Hope Urban Farm, Cedar Rapids, 4:30 p.m. (Weekly) Practice in the Prairie, Indian Creek Nature Center, 6 p.m., Free (Weekly)

(Weekly) Weekly Old-Timey Jam Sessions, Trumpet

MASSACHUSETTS METALCORE

Blossom Cafe, Iowa City, 7:30 p.m., Free (Weekly)

The Acacia Strain w/ Kublai Khan, Chamber,

Iowa City Wednesday Farmers Market, Chauncey Swan Ramp, Iowa City, 5 p.m. (Weekly)

Judiciary, Hardship, Blue Moose Tap House, Iowa

Dance Party with DJ Batwoman, Iowa City Yacht

City, 6 p.m., $17-20

Club, 9 p.m., Free (Weekly)

LITTLEVILLAGEMAG.COM/LV268 July 31–Aug. 13, 2019 37

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Paramount >> Cont. from pg. 13 surprise on the faces of the players, momentarily gobsmacked by the near-naked man poised to steal their spotlight.

The moment broke when the backside took a hard right at the orchestra pit, sprinted past the front row into the wings and up the short flight of stairs and disappeared through the side curtain. The opera continued without a hitch. The audience was left agape. The streaker got away.

How do you return your attention to a performance you barely understood to begin with after that?

I joined the rest of the audience in taking a deep, refocusing breath. The soprano ascended a staircase on stage and prepared to sing her tune from a balcony. Her wig was tall and fantastic. As she began her part, a streak of black appeared, and stayed.

Was this part of the show? The question was answered yet

THE BACKEND MAKING ITS WAY UP THE CENTER AISLE WAS EVOCATIVE OF A CLASSIC GREEK STATUE. EVEN 25 YEARS LATER, I CAN SEE THOSE WHITE CHEEKS BOUNCING THROUGH THE FOREST OF RED VELVET AND BEADED VON MAUR DRESSES.

again by gauging the reactions onstage: As soon as the singer spotted the unidentified flying object, her eyes became so big we could see the whites from our seats.

It was a bat. The bat had emerged from somewhere backstage, and appeared to want to nest in that magnificent wig. The soprano started ducking, her giant wig swaying back and forth. She sang on, and the bat circled on. Her voice was strong, but there was a warble of fear behind it. The audience held their collective breath, releasing little gasps that coincided with the bat’s swooping.

Just as the players did not stop for a butt, they persevered through the flight of a bat. It was impressive. The show must go on. The aria ended, the soprano descended the staircase and the bat flew out of sight.

The whole spectacle lasted more than two and a half hours.

When the final notes ceased ringing and the house lights glowed bright, the audience rose to a standing ovation that warmed the entire 1,690-seat theater. It was an outpouring of appreciation not only for the players, but for the shared sense that we had all witnessed—and survived—something truly singular. It was a bonafide opera buffa.

Erin E. McCuskey lives in Iowa City with her family. While she has many more stories from the Paramount, she begs you to find your own stories by seeing shows at your local venues every year.

A festival exploring the unknown, discussing the creative process, and presenting new work

Nov. 1-2, 2019 Downtown Iowa City $40 Early Bird 2-Day Pass / $15 Student 2-Day Pass now on sale at witchinghourfestival.com

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38 July 31–Aug. 13, 2019 LITTLEVILLAGEMAG.COM/LV268

EDITORS’ PICKS TEXAS CHRISTIAN METALCORE

Lamrim Kadampa Buddhist Centre Iowa City

OPENING NIGHT: ‘AURORA’; FESTIVAL RUNS

Fit For A King w/ Norma Jean, Currents, Left

Meditation Class, Quaker Friends Meeting House,

THROUGH AUG. 18

Behind, Blue Moose Tap House, Iowa City, 6 P.M.,

Iowa City, 6:30 p.m., $5-10 (Weekly)

Underground New Play Festival—Out There: Science, Technology, Fantasy and Humanity, Theatre

$18-20 GRAMMY-WINNING BLUEGRASS MANDOLIN

Cedar Rapids, 7:30 p.m., $13-40

Open Mic Night, Penguin’s Comedy Club, Cedar

Ricky Skaggs and Kentucky Thunder, Englert

Rapids, 8 p.m., Free (Weekly)

Theatre, Iowa City, 7 p.m., $42-62

Feed Me Weird Things presents: CJ Boyd,

Thursday Night Live Open Mic, Uptown Bill’s,

Trumpet Blossom Cafe, Iowa City, 9 p.m., Free-$8

Iowa City, 7 p.m., Free (Weekly)

THIS WEEK: ROCK ‘N’ ROLL HIGH SCHOOL

The World Famous Glenn Miller Orchestra,

Late Shift at the Grindhouse, FilmScene, Iowa

Coralville Center for the Performing Arts, 7 p.m.,

City, 10 p.m., $5.50 (Weekly)

$22-27

Fri., Aug. 9

Thu., Aug. 8

When the Great Migration Met the Black

MUSIC FROM ANDREW HOYT, THE REAL ZEBOS,

Diaspora, African American Museum of Iowa, Cedar

BRAD & THE BIG WAVE

Rapids, 7 p.m., Free

Rock the Chalk 2019, Downtown Iowa City, 9 a.m.,

Joe Bonamassa, Paramount Theatre, Cedar Rapids, 8 p.m., $102-202 Rebellion Burlesque—Sultry Smorgasbord, Iowa City Yacht Club, 9 p.m., $5-10

I.C. Press Co-op open shop, Public Space One, Iowa City, 4 p.m., Free (Weekly) Meet Me at the Market, NewBo City Market, Cedar

Free ‘GOD LAND’

Reading: Lyz Lenz, Next Page Books, Cedar Rapids,

THIS WEEK: THE COMPASS ROSE BAND W/ THE

7 p.m., Free

COUNTRY BAND

Rock the Block, NewBo City Market, Cedar Rapids,

Rapids, 5 p.m., Free (Weekly) Daddy-O, Parlor City Pub and Eatery, Cedar Rapids, 7 Uptown Getdown ft. Lonesome Road, City

5 p.m., Free (Weekly)

p.m., Free (Weekly)

Square Park, Marion, 6 p.m., Free

LITTLEVILLAGEMAG.COM/LV268 July 31–Aug. 13, 2019 39

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Gabe’s >> Cont. from pg. 15 As with many bars, Gabe’s had its share of creeps and sexual predators; many disturbing things went down there, but there was still a sense that the staff was looking out for those who were the most vulnerable.

Iowa City’s relative proximity to several major Midwestern cities ensured that a head-spinning range of talent could be seen at Gabe’s on any given week: Nirvana, L7, Los Lobos, Sonic Youth, Stereolab and so many others.

There was also an explosion of Iowa bands such as Drednex, Dangtrippers, Stickdog and Iowa Beef Experience. A symbiotic relationship developed between Gabe’s, KRUI and local record stores, and Record Collector owner Kirk Walther played a key role in making things happen, often quietly fronting booking fees for bands he wanted to come to town.

Gabe’s siren song drew in young’uns like Iowa City musician Katie Roche (Awful Purdies, Dandelion Stompers), who was in high school in the early 1990s.

“All the bands we loved who played at Gabe’s got huge,” she said. “At least that’s how we saw it out in the cornfields of Iowa.”

Likewise, Ali Colleen Neff, who worked the door in the late ’90s, recalled, “Gabe’s was legendary—and highly permeable by schoolchildren.”

(While a music critic for her high school newspaper, the Cedar Rapids native slipped in with a fake ID to see the Dead Milkmen.)

While Gabe’s continued to put on some phenomenal shows, the momentum soon slowed for live music. Fewer people were buying from band merch tables, a factor that made touring less economically viable in an age of streaming and downloading. But the emergence of the internet also made possible a new chapter for Gabe’s.

By posting to electronic bulletin boards and her GeoCities-hosted website, Michelle Higley began promoting electronic dance music events under the name Rotation in the late 1990s. Major DJs from Detroit, Chicago and New York had residencies at Gabe’s—Terrence Parker was a regular—and it attracted visitors from throughout the Midwest who heard about it online.

“In some ways, Gabe’s mirrored a lot of venues in Detroit,” said Rotation regular Rebekah Farrugia, a communication professor who earned her Ph.D. at the University of Iowa. “It was small, gritty, no frills, and the bathrooms were in terrible shape, but the sound system was on point.” These nights expanded Gabe’s clientele, from the many LGBTQ partygoers who attended to the core group of women who worked in production roles and as DJs. In 2006—with the building’s glory days in the rearview mirror—new owners named it the Picador, then in 2010 it was rebranded Gabe’s after another change in hands. Iowa City booker Chris Wiersema was a manager during the brief and tumultuous reign of the Picador, something that he said permanently cured him of any romanticized Cheers-y poetics about bars.

He also isn’t nostalgic about all the legendary artists who played the room. He doesn’t believe they imbued the club with their essence, as if talent were communicable. Wiersema prefers to reflect on those never-happened performances, like when a previous booker passed on the White Stripes due to perceived lack of interest, or when he was emailed the Myspace link to a Wisconsin singer-songwriter who requested $750 to play the club.

“At this price,” Wiersema recalled thinking at the time, “no one is ever going to hear from some weepy asshole named Bon Iver ever again.”

Kembrew McLeod thanks everyone he talked to and the Iowa City Public Library reference librarians for their research assistance. An expanded version of this article is available online at littlevillagemag.com.

40 July 31–Aug. 13, 2019 LITTLEVILLAGEMAG.COM/LV268

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Grey Area 2019, Grey Area Acreage, Lone Tree, 5 p.m., Free-$40 THIS WEEK: ALISABETH VON PRESLEY AND JETT THREATT

Uptown Friday Nights, McGrath Amphitheatre, Cedar Rapids, 5:30 p.m., $5 Friday Night Out, Ceramics Center, Cedar Rapids, 6:30 p.m., $40 (2nd Friday) THIS WEEK: RUDE PUNCH AND BAMBOOZLERS

Summer of the Arts Friday Night Concert Series, Ped Mall, Iowa City, 6:30 p.m., Free ‘MAMA SAID THERE’D BE DAYS LIKE THIS’

Reading: Lori Lacina, Prairie Lights Books & Cafe, Iowa City, 7 p.m., Free

DEC. 6 THURSDAY, ON! ILS SO MORE DETA

FAC Dance Party, The Union, Iowa City, 7 p.m.

(Weekly) OPENING NIGHT! RUNS THROUGH AUG. 17

Dreamwell Theatre Presents: ‘Visages,’ Public Space One, Iowa City, 7:30 p.m., $7 ALT-COUNTRY/FOLK

Todd Snider, Englert Theatre, Iowa City, 8 p.m., $26.50 Mike Maas & Carlis, Sanctuary Pub, Iowa City, 8 p.m., Free C R E AT I V E S E R V I C E S CHICAGO SOUL ROCK

Lauren Anderson, Famous Mockingbird, Marion, 8

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Carlos Mencia, Penguin’s Comedy Club, Cedar Rapids, 8 p.m., $32-55 DES MOINES METAL

VooDoo Gearshift, The Mill, Iowa City, 8 p.m., $10 DENVER JAM BAND

Chompers w/ Special Guests, Iowa City Yacht Club, 9 p.m., $5-10

MAINTENANCE AND SECURITY

SoulShake, Gabe’s, Iowa City, 10 p.m., Free (Weekly) Flirty Friday’s Drag & Dance Party, Studio 13, Iowa City, 10:30 p.m., $5-10 (Weekly)

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Kae Apothecary >> Cont. from pg. 17 The brick building is part of Mount Vernon’s Historic Commercial District. In fact, it’s where the city’s Historic Preservation Commission begins its online walking tour, written

by Dr. Richard H. Thomas. Thomas calls the wood-framed hotel that originally occupied the site “probably the first commercial hotel” in the city. It burned in 1868, and the current brick building, also initially a hotel, was built in its place. The W. E. Platner Hardware Store and Tin Shop took over in the late 1870s, adding the tin accents on the upper windows and cornice that distinguish the building in the neighborhood. A cash store and appliance stores were among the building’s other tenants prior to Kae’s predecessor, Big Creek.

Kae has now grown from a one-woman shop open irregularly to a fully staffed, seven-days-a-week store where Gorsh, along with her two employees, are ready to help shoppers “find their bliss,” as Kae’s website encourages. The front of the store is filled with natural, sustainable self-care items, household products and candles. Kae also carries two original tank-top designs with the phrases “The moon made me do it” and, inspired by an out-ofstate customer’s sentiment, “I visited Mount Vernon, Iowa and all I’ve got to say is Iowa doesn’t suck.”

Take a few steps past the door and you will find spiritual products such as sage, tarot cards and a variety of magical paraphernalia. At the back of the store is a tea bar with a community space.

Customers can buy a cup or a pot of tea, browse the small reading section and have a chat.

“I love coming to the Apothecary, looking around and talking with Andrea,” customer Nate Harriss said. “Also, she made me a personalized tea blend for my voice when it was show choir season, and it really helped me a lot.”

In addition to the apothecary space on the first level, the Sanctuary at Kae can be found on the second floor. This space houses several practitioners who offer reiki, shamanic healing, spiritual counseling and yoga. While the Sanctuary is not a direct off-shoot of Kae Apothecary, Gorsh noted that these therapies complement the products and classes that Kae offers.

Classes and meditations are still in full swing in the new roomy store. Gorsh teaches many of the metaphysical classes herself, such as Introduction to Tarot, Practical Magic and Your Magical Home. Gorsh also hosts area experts in metaphysical fields for a variety of classes each month. Every Saturday from 9-10 a.m., Gorsh continues to lead free community meditation. There are occasional evening events with local live music, or literary readings in the community space near the tea bar. In late July, Mount Vernon’s Full Sun Theatre staged a production there.

“Customers may wander into the shop alone, but everyone leaves with at least one new friend,” Gorsh said. “Kae is a safe space for everyone. At its heart, Kae is a place where everyone is welcome to join the conversation.”

Laura Johnson is a poet and writer in Eastern Iowa who serves as a co-editor of the online literary journal Backchannels. Her work has appeared or is forthcoming in Rosebud, High Shelf Press, Prompt Press, the Chestnut Review and First Literary Review–East.

42 July 31–Aug. 13, 2019 LITTLEVILLAGEMAG.COM/LV268

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EDITORS’ PICKS

Sat., Aug. 10 Iowa City Sunday Farmers Market, Chauncey Swan Ramp, Iowa City, 7:30 a.m. (Weekly) Cedar Rapids Downtown Farmers’ Market, Downtown Cedar Rapids, 7:30 a.m.

Marion Farmers Market, Taube Park, Marion, 8 a.m.

(Weekly) Uptown Marion Market, City Square Park, Marion, 8 a.m.

Guest Vendor Market, NewBo City Market, Cedar Rapids, 10 a.m. (Weekly) UAY Presents: Youth GameCon 2019, Iowa City Public Library, 10 a.m., Free 319 Fest + Blended In Fashion Show, NewBo City Market, Cedar Rapids, 10 a.m., Free Lib Con 2, Iowa City Public Library, 10 a.m., Free Family Storytime, Iowa City Public Library, 10:30 a.m., Free (Weekly) I.C. Press Co-op Open Shop, Public Space One, Iowa City, 12 p.m., Free (Weekly) 5th Street Social—Coralville Block Party, Downtown Coralville, 4 p.m., Free Third Annual Czech Village Blues featuring Toronzo Cannon, Czech Village, Cedar Rapids, 4 p.m., $20-80 CRBT Movies on the Riverbank: ‘Trolls,’ McGrath Amphitheatre, Cedar Rapids, 7 p.m., Free ‘IOWA’

Reading: Lucas Hunt, Prairie Lights Books & Cafe, Iowa City, 7 p.m., Free HELL NEVER DIES TOUR

Twins of Evil: Rob Zombie & Marilyn Manson w/ Palaye Royale, U.S. Cellular Center, Cedar Rapids, 7 p.m., $39.50-89.50 BO RAMSEY!

Bo Ramsey, The Mill, Iowa City, 8 p.m., $17-20 THIS WEEK: THE LITTLE MERMAID

Summer of the Arts Free Movie Series, Pentacrest, Iowa City, Sunset, Free (Weekly)

Sunday, August 18 • 12pm - 3pm DoubleTree by Hilton Hotel Cedar Rapids Convention Complex

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CULTURE A-List >> Cont. from pg. 24 another whether ... experiencing something first hand or something that came from another persons perspective.”

Banks first came up with the name Soultru in junior high, when he started writing poetry.

“I wanted to speak my truth and pull from my heart and soul,” he said. “No matter the lyrics I wanted people to connect to my story.”

And although he “grew up in gospel churches” and sang choral music at the allstate level in high school, the soul sound is a natural landing pad for his style and approach.

“I’ve been singing since as far back as I can remember,” Banks said. “I learned how to sing by imitation … learned how to sing that [soulful] way by ear over time, which I feel helped me to be the artist I am today.”

Banks, who has collaborated with a wide variety of artists on his releases, will be joined at 319 Fest by pianist Colton David Graham; the two have been performing shows as a duo for a while. The pair recently recorded a track called “Must Be,” out Aug. 9 on The Record Machine, a Kansas City, Missouri label that also represents the Fey, a Lincoln, Nebraska band who close out the White Sofa Records stage, immediately after Soultru.

“Must Be” is a fantastic vehicle for Banks’ voice. He’s in fine form, turning in a track filled with retro flavor and modern restraint.

The walking cadence of Graham’s piano propels the tune forward, forcing Banks’ vocals into a dance with the line. If this is the future of Iowa soul, the world is in for a treat.

Genevieve Trainor tried singing in a soul band once, but it was all covers, and they never got out of the drummer’s basement. She still keeps “Laura” by the Scissor Sisters in her repertoire, though, dammit.

Coming to CSPS Hall Coming to CSPS Hall Fri Jul 26 Winterland performs Reckoning Fri Jul 27 26 The Winterland Sat Sea the Sea performs Reckoning Freddy & Francine Sat Jul 27 the Sea Tue 30 The SethSea Glier Trio & Francine Tue Aug 6 Freddy The Jocelyn & Chris Tue Jul 30 Seth ArndtGlier BandTrio Tue Aug 6 Jocelyn & Chris Thu 8 The Lyz Lenz Band Fri Sep 6 Arndt Holly Bowling Thu Lenz Sat Aug Sep 8 7 Lyz Halfloves FriSep Sep17 6 Holly Bowling Tue Dan Bern SatSep Sep19 7 Halfloves Thu Colin Gilmore Tue Sep 17 Dan Bern Girl Nobody’s Thu Sep 19 Colin Gilmore Art, musicGirl and theatre Nobody’s

in Cedar Rapids since 1992 www.legionarts.org Art, music and theatre 319.364.1580 in Cedar Rapids since 1992 www.legionarts.org 319.364.1580

EDITORS’ PICKS MAINE AMERICANA

‘KOJIKI: THE BIRTH OF JAPAN: THE JAPANESE

Muddy Ruckus w/ Good Devils and No More

CREATION MYTH ILLUSTRATED’

Honey, Iowa City Yacht Club, 9 p.m., $7-10

Reading: Kazumi Wilds, Prairie Lights Books & Cafe, Iowa City, 7 p.m., Free

Sun., Aug. 11

PRIDE AT FILMSCENE

‘A Kid Like Jake,’ FilmScene, Iowa City, 8 p.m., Guest Vendor Market, NewBo City Market, Cedar

$8-10.50

Rapids, 10 a.m. (Weekly) Comedy Open Mic with Spencer & Dan, Yacht Hiawatha Farmers Market, Guthridge Park,

Club, Iowa City, 9 p.m., Free (Weekly)

Hiawatha, 10 a.m. (Weekly) CLOSING PERFORMANCE

Tue., Aug. 13

‘Disney’s Frozen Jr.,’ RHCR Theatre, Cedar Rapids, 2 p.m., $15

Food Truck Tuesdays, NewBo City Market, Cedar Rapids, 11 a.m. (Weekly)

Sunday Funday, Iowa City Public Library, Iowa City, 2 p.m., Free (Weekly)

Cultivate Hope Market, Cultivate Hope Urban Farm, Cedar Rapids, 4:30 p.m. (Weekly)

NATIONAL THEATRE LIVE

‘Frankenstein,’ FilmScene, Iowa City, 2 p.m., $15-20

Practice in the Prairie, Indian Creek Nature Center, 6 p.m., Free (Weekly)

‘IRISH IOWA’

Presented by

Reading: Timothy Walch, Prairie Lights Books &

Blues Jam, Parlor City Pub and Eatery, Cedar Rapids,

Cafe, Iowa City, 3 p.m., Free

7 p.m., Free (Weekly)

Summer Wine Party: Sweet Corn and Crab

Yahoo Drummers, Downtown Iowa City, 7:30 p.m.,

Claws, Brix Cheese Shop & Wine Bar, Iowa City, 4

Free (Weekly)

p.m., $65 Weekly Old-Timey Jam Sessions, Trumpet Pub Quiz, The Mill, Iowa City, 9 p.m., $1 (Weekly)

Blossom Cafe, Iowa City, 7:30 p.m., Free (Weekly)

Mon., Aug. 12

Dance Party with DJ Batwoman, Iowa City Yacht

Coralville Farmers Market, Coralville Community

Comedy & Karaoke, Studio 13, Iowa City, 9 p.m.,

Aquatic Center Parking Lot, 5 p.m. (Weekly)

Free (Weekly)

Open Mic, The Mill, Iowa City, 7 p.m., Free (Weekly)

Karaoke Tuesdays, The Mill, Iowa City, 10:30 p.m.,

PM

 � � �

Â? Â

Â

Â? Â?Â?

Club, 9 p.m., Free (Weekly)

Free (Weekly)

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IOWA CITY OLD TRAIN DEPOT

DEAR KIKI

D

ear Kiki, One of my best friends was recently married to a wonderful man who I think is a perfect fit for her. Although he’s very shy, after the wedding he began reaching out to me via Facebook Messenger in order to—as I first assumed—get to know me better. However, the conversation on his end soon shifted from typical banter to topics that make me feel uncomfortable, such as statements about his “endowment,” questions about my sexual history and requests for advice regarding his personal sex life. Many of these messages arrive out of the blue while he’s at work or after his wife has gone to bed.

I have no feelings for him other than those of a friend. I’ve always tried to be nice and understanding, while subtly shifting the conversation back to his wife or on to other topics. He has explicitly asked that I keep our chats confidential—including from his new wife—which has also begun to worry me. I’m afraid that she wouldn’t approve.

Is he trying to start an affair? I want to believe that it’s nothing, or that he’s simply lacking a guy friend to ask those types of questions. I’m afraid that revealing our conversations might jeopardize both our friendship and their marriage. What should I do?

Sincerely, Un-Marriaged Counselor

D

OPEN 11-2AM DAILY

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ear Counselor, Let’s forget for a second that this man is your good friend’s husband.

He is initiating conversations that make you feel uncomfortable, and he is asking you not to tell anyone about them. That is not OK. In-and-of itself, that is unacceptable behavior.

If he is indeed simply turning to you in the absence of any other friend to turn to, that would require that he considers you a friend—in which case the last thing he should want is to make you uncomfortable. Call his bluff: Make your discomfort known to him, unequivocally. If he persists, then he is not being an awkward friend, he is being

LittleVillageMag.com/DearKiki

emotionally abusive and manipulative.

I know your instinct is to protect your friend and her marriage, but this is a case where you need to put your own oxygen mask on first. Forget what he may or may not be “trying” to do. Forget any desire to be nice to him; be forthright instead. You deserve to have your mental and emotional space honored.

I KNOW YOUR INSTINCT IS TO PROTECT YOUR FRIEND AND HER MARRIAGE, BUT THIS IS A CASE WHERE YOU NEED TO PUT YOUR OWN OXYGEN MASK ON FIRST.

Enact clear boundaries that any good friend would willingly respect—and in case he is just friendless and awkward, have the names and numbers of a couple of good therapists on hand, so you can suggest an alternative to his choice of turning to you with questions.

And Counselor? I’m sorry to say this, but keep the chat transcripts, for a while, anyway.

Until you see how this pans out. Because there is a worst-case scenario here, and that’s him taking your healthy boundaries as rejection, reacting with anger and attempting to come between you and your friend as retaliation.

In that instance, you have my full permission to go nuclear. Tell your friend the whole story, show her your evidence, be prepared that she might not believe you—and then step back and wait to catch her when she falls away from him, whether that be in a night, a month, a year or a decade. xoxo, Kiki

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Questions about love and sex in the Iowa City-Cedar Rapids area can be submitted to dearkiki@littlevillagemag.com, or anonymously at littlevillagemag.com/ dearkiki. Questions may be edited for clarity and length, and may appear either in print or online at littlevillagemag.com.

ASTROLOGY

Upcoming Events: EVERY MONDAY - PARCHMENT LOUNGE - 6:30 PM free write session hosted by Iowa Writer's House EVERY WEDNESDAY - ANDREW'S BAR EXAM - 7:00 PM

AUGUST 3 8 PM

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Cole Peterson Trio Bluetone Jazz Collective Cole Thomas "The Piano Man"

MONDAYS ARE HAPPY HOUR EVERY HOUR! SUNDAYS ARE 1/2 OFF ALL PIZZA ALL DAY! (319) 351-5692 • 405 S GILBERT ST, IOWA CITY

BY ROB BREZSNEY

LEO (July 23-Aug. 22): Let’s check in with our psychic journalist, LoveMancer, who’s standing by with a live report from inside your imagination. What’s happening, LoveMancer? “Well, Rob, the enchanting creature on whose thoughts I’ve been eavesdropping has slipped into an intriguing frontier. This place seems to be a hot zone where love and healing interact intensely. My guess is that being here will lead our hero to breakthrough surges of love that result in deep healing, or deep healing that leads to breakthrough surges of love—probably both.”

AQUARIUS (Jan. 20-Feb. 18): How many handcuffs are there in the world? Millions. Yet there are far fewer different keys than that to open all those handcuffs. In fact, in many countries, there’s a standard universal key that works to open most handcuffs. In this spirit, and in accordance with current astrological omens, I’m designating August as Free Yourself from Your Metaphorical Handcuffs Month. It’s never as complicated or difficult as you might imagine to unlock your metaphorical handcuffs; and for the foreseeable future it will be even less complicated and difficult than usual for you.

VIRGO (Aug. 23-Sept. 22): Virgo figure skater Scott Hamilton won an Olympic gold medal and four World Championships. He was a star who got inducted into the United States Olympic Hall of Fame and made a lot of money after he turned professional.

“I calculated once how many times I fell during my skating career—41,600 times,” he testified in his autobiography. “But here’s the funny thing: I also got up 41,600 times. That’s the muscle you have to build in your psyche—the one that reminds you to just get up.” In accordance with current astrological omens, Virgo, I’ll be cheering you on as you strengthen that muscle in your psyche during the coming weeks.

PISCES (Feb. 19-March 20): People who sneak a gaze into your laboratory might be unnerved by what they see. You know and I know that your daring experiments are in service to the ultimate good, but that may not be obvious to those who understand you incompletely. So perhaps you should post a sign outside your lab that reads, “Please don’t leap to premature conclusions! My in-progress projects may seem inexplicable to the uninitiated!” Or maybe you should just close all your curtains and lock the door until your future handiwork is more presentable. P.S. There may be allies who can provide useful feedback about your explorations. I call them the wounded healers.

LIBRA (Sept. 23-Oct. 22): What’s the story of your life?

Psychologist James Hillman said that in order to thrive, you need to develop a clear vision of that story. How do you do that?

Hillman advised you to ask yourself this question: “How can I assemble the pieces of my life into a coherent plot?” And why is this effort to decode your biography so important? Because your soul’s health requires you to cultivate curiosity and excitement about the big picture of your destiny. If you hope to respond with intelligence to the questions and challenges that each new day brings, you must be steadily nourished with an expansive understanding of why you are here on Earth. I bring these ideas to your attention, Libra, because the coming weeks will be an excellent time to illuminate and deepen and embellish your conception of your life story.

ARIES (March 21-April 19): “Dear Diary: Last night my Aries friend dragged me to the Karaoke Bowling Alley and Sushi Bar. I was deeply skeptical. The place sounded tacky. But after being there for 20 minutes, I had to admit that I was having a fantastic time. And it just got better and more fun as the night wore on. I’m sure I made a fool of myself when I did my bowling ball imitation, but I can live with that. At one point I was juggling a bowling pin, a rather large piece of sweet potato tempura, and my own shoe while singing Led Zeppelin’s ‘Kashmir’—and I don’t even know how to juggle. I have to admit that this sequence of events was typical of my adventures with Aries folks. I suppose I should learn to trust that they will lead me to where I don’t know I want to go.”

SCORPIO (Oct. 23-Nov. 21): “Artists are people driven by the tension between the desire to communicate and the desire to hide,” wrote psychoanalyst Donald Winnicott. I think that description fits many people born under the sign of Scorpio, not just Scorpio artists. Knowing how important and necessary this dilemma can be for you, I would never glibly advise you to always favor candid, straightforward communication over protective, strategic hiding. But I recommend you do that in the coming weeks. Being candid and straightforward will serve you well.

SAGITTARIUS (Nov. 22-Dec. 21): Sagittarian poet Aracelis Girmay writes, “How ramshackle, how brilliant, how haphazardly & strangely rendered we are. Gloriously, fantastically mixed & monstered.” Of course that’s always true about every one of us. But it will be extraordinarily true about you in the coming weeks. According to my analysis of the astrological omens, you will be at the peak of your ability to express what’s most idiosyncratic and essential about your unique array of talents and specialties.

CAPRICORN (Dec. 22-Jan. 19): Sometime soon I suspect you will arrive at a crossroads in your relationship with love and sex—as well as your fantasies about love and sex. In front of you: a hearty cosmic joke that would mutate your expectations and expand your savvy. Behind you: an alluring but perhaps confusing call toward an unknown future. To your left: the prospect of a dreamy adventure that might be only half-imaginary. To your right: the possibility of living out a slightly bent fairy tale version of romantic catharsis. I’m not here to tell you what you should do, Capricorn. My task is simply to help you identify the options.

TAURUS (April 20-May 20): In his poem “Wild Oats,” poet W.S. Merwin provided a message that’s in perfect alignment with your current astrological needs: “I needed my mistakes in their own order to get me here.” He was not being ironic in saying that; he was not making a lame attempt to excuse his errors; he was not struggling to make himself feel better for the inconvenience caused by his wrong turns. No! He understood that the apparent flubs and miscues he had committed were essential in creating his successful life. I invite you to reinterpret your own past using his perspective.

GEMINI (May 21-June 20): Even if you’re an ambidextrous, multi-gendered, neurologically diverse, Phoenician-Romanian Gemini with a fetish for pink duct tape and an affinity for ideas that no one has ever thought of, you will eventually find your sweet spot, your power niche and your dream sanctuary. I promise. Same for the rest of you Geminis, too. It might take a while. But I beg you to have faith that you will eventually tune in to the homing beacon of the mother lode that’s just right for you. P.S.: Important clues and signs should be arriving soon.

CANCER (June 21-July 22): What would a normal, boring astrologer tell you at a time like now? Maybe something like this: “More of other people’s money and resources can be at your disposal if you emanate sincerity and avoid being manipulative.

If you want to negotiate vibrant compromises, pay extra attention to good timing and the right setting. Devote special care and sensitivity to all matters affecting your close alliances and productive partnerships.” As you know, Cancerian, I’m not a normal, boring astrologer, so I wouldn’t typically say something like what I just said. But I felt it was my duty to do so because right now you need simple, basic, no-frills advice. I promise I’ll resume with my cryptic, lyrical oracles next time.

LITTLEVILLAGEMAG.COM/LV268 July 31–Aug. 13, 2019 51

LOCAL ALBUMS

Submit albums for review: Little Village, 623 S Dubuque St., IC, IA 52240

A DISTINCTIVE STYLE WITH FRINGES OF HOARSENESS THAT LEND A BLUESY HONESTY YOU CAN’T IGNORE

The Maytags Meriweather THEMAYTAGS.COM

I

f Des Moines R&B combo the Maytags had followed up their 2016 album Love Lines simply by revisiting their proven formula, it would still have been a welcome chapter in their developing story. Love Lines was a standout in a landscape of retro R&B albums.

Instead, their latest album, Meriweather, shows a band working to push the needle even further in developing their sound.

Although busy schedules prevented the band from reconvening to write like they had for Love Lines, signature elements of their sound are still present—the horns, the bumping bass, the stabbing rhythm guitars.

The soulful vocals of Dustin Smith are still front and center: He has a distinctive style, with fringes of hoarseness that lend a bluesy honesty you can’t ignore.

But as leader Smith explained in an email, “I really wanted to push the sound of this album in a different direction … I wanted

to use instruments that we hadn’t really used before, like synths and vibraphones.”

Tracks two and seven—“Shake Down” and “Weekend”—show this new sound firing on all funky pistons. The songs are stripped back to a groove of drum and bass with the rest of the instruments along for the ride. Squiggly synths and disco beats recall the purple ’80s production of Jimmy Jam and Terry Lewis (responsible for The Time and Janet Jackson’s early albums).

“Next to Me” has strings carrying the melody with Smith alternating between a smooth rap and the singing that he drops into as he builds to the chorus: “Come get next to me, when you come around / You’re my ecstasy, when the lights go down.” The fantastically lush disco song is parts Barry White and parts Jamiroquai.

The lemon yellow cover of Meriweather reminds us that sunshine is within reach, and with summer in Iowa upon us, a soundtrack for the beach, patio or driving around should start here.

“Are you ready for the weekend?” the Maytags ask on track seven.

Yes, yes we are.

—Michael Roeder

Jarrett Purdy Motion & Stillness

J

arrett Purdy is a pianist, a composer and a recent graduate of the University of Iowa’s School of Music (and through the end of July, he’s an intern at Hancher Auditorium, where I am on staff). His debut album, Motion & Stillness, is entirely made up of his jazz compositions, and it was recorded in Voxman Music Building on the UI campus over two days in mid-January.

The record highlights Purdy’s gifts as a musician and composer while also bringing to the fore the talents of five other area musicians: Blake Shaw (a leader in his own right) on bass, Chris Jensen on drums, Nolan Schroeder and Jim Buenning on reeds and Joey Schnoebelen on trumpet and flugelhorn.

Though Purdy lays out a fairly high concept in his brief liner notes, notions of motion and stillness were not necessarily part of my listening experience—except,

perhaps, during “Motion” and “Stillness,” which arrive back to back in the fourth and fifth slots.

But a theme that is more apparent to the composer than to the listener is not necessarily the sign of an unsuccessful record. Thematic intent aside, Motion & Stillness succeeds as solid jazz engagingly performed.

Purdy is a generous leader— arguably too generous, by which I mean I would have liked for him to stretch out on solos more than he does. Indeed, as he takes the opening of “What Matters Most,” the lovely closing number which begins with just his piano, I found myself hoping his might be the only voice on the track.

Throughout the record, he leaves ample room for his mates to take inventive solos. But it is the fully composed moments that most impressed me. For example, a Philip Glass-esque setting provides a background for an engaging melody as “Emerald Lake” opens.

I was also struck by the underpinnings of “Quicksilver,” the funkiest tune on Motion & Stillness, which provide plenty of space for expressive, rough-around-the-edges soloing. The track, more than any other, sounds as though it’s being performed live in a club; I expected the sound of applause as it came to an end.

Certainly, the whole of Motion & Stillness is worthy of applause and marks a strong, creative debut.

—Rob Cline

Kim will help you find your way HOME kimschillig@gmail.com 310.795.2133 V/T

52 July 31–Aug. 13, 2019 LITTLEVILLAGEMAG.COM/LV268

LOCAL BOOKS

Andy Douglas Redemption Songs: A Year in the Life of a Community Prison Choir INNERWORLD PUBLICATIONS

Reading: Andy Douglas, ‘Redemption Songs: A Year in the Life of a Community Prison Choir’, Prairie Lights Books & Cafe, Iowa City, Friday, Aug. 16, 7 p.m., Free

W

hat can music do for the incarcerated soul?

Turning trauma into personal transformation, music and art creates a nest in even the most locked-up hearts.

Iowa City author Andy Douglas explores this idea in his 2019 book, Redemption Songs: A Year in the Life of a Community Prison Choir. Douglas has been an “outsider” member of the Oakdale Community Choir, led by conductor Mary Traschel, for seven years. His book takes us on a season-by-season tour of his experiences. Making music together— singing in a group—affects both insiders and outsiders alike in very powerful ways.

Submit books for review: Little Village, 623 S Dubuque St., IC, IA 52240

Oakdale’s official name is the Iowa Medical Classification Center Correctional Facility. It’s a medium-security prison that holds roughly 1,000 inmates in an unassuming campus on Coral Ridge Avenue.

Tyrone, an inmate quoted in the book, says, “I want you to know that the choir is a shining high point of our week. When I leave rehearsal, I go back to my cell, all hyped up, and my cell-mates are like—‘What’s with you?’ We just appreciate you guys so much.”

In his book, Douglas grounds such experiences in research. He notes findings that music affects insiders in several areas: “Teamwork, group order, social adjustment, new companionship, fair play and sense of cooperation, decreased prejudice and a healthy sense of community cohesiveness.”

Readers might find themselves wanting to sing along. The book’s other strengths include moving lyrics written by prisoners themselves and reflections by experts who work with prison populations.

The storytelling would be stronger had we gotten to know the prisoners better. It is difficult to tell which inmate he is talking about when he just uses a first name and a vocal section. Despite this drawback, anyone who works in the public service sector,who believes in social justice or who aspires to “love thy neighbor” would benefit from reading this book.

—Melody Dworak

Frances Cannon Walter Benjamin Reimagined: A Graphic Translation of Poetry, Prose, Aphorisms, and Dreams MIT PRESS

A

rtist, former Iowa Citian and sometime-Little Village contributor Frances Cannon has delivered a delightful, insightful nugget of wonder with Walter Benjamin Reimagined. This book is everything a fan of the German Jewish cultural critic and philosopher could ever hope for, and it offers an accessible window into his brilliance that even the most casual of readers can appreciate.

In this book, which comments and folds in on itself trippingly, taking the reader along for the ride, Cannon has curated a seemingly haphazard but deliciously fraught selection from Benjamin’s oeuvre and placed herself in conversation with it through her art. It is, perhaps, a new genre of its own: deeper than mere illustration, broader in scope than most graphic

novels or memoirs, more personal than the typical philosophical treatise.

Benjamin’s writings on literary theory, translation and cultural criticism make him a ripe target for treatment such as is offered here. Cannon takes Benjamin’s writings and not only responds to and illuminates them but translates them, creating what she calls in her preface “a visual echo of his work.” There is layer upon layer upon layer of meaning in this volume, every choice a joy to sit with.

Cannon’s work is at its best when it is inviting the reader to lay down additional layers upon it, to contribute to its creation.

“A Child’s View of Color,” for example, winds in and around Benjamin’s words (including, “Color is something spiritual ...

The rainbow is a pure childlike image”) with images that take on a nonexistent, entirely imagined color. Helped along by her expert shading, Cannon’s blackand-white drawings—a peacock, a soap bubble, children’s masks—jump off the page with a vibrancy that the reader’s mind can’t help but assign colors to.

It’s a kind of magic.

The endearing, hand-written style of text, the choppy whirlwind of quote choices and the obvious deep love for the source material combine to make Walter Benjamin Reimagined a gem.

—Genevieve Trainor

Your Opportunity to Engage with Arts and Culture CulturalCorridor.org LITTLEVILLAGEMAG.COM/LV268 July 31–Aug. 13, 2019 53

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The American Values Club Crossword is edited by Ben Tausig.

1

2

3

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8

14

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21

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36 40

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10

19 20

22

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ACROSS 1. Drives 8. Grand design 14. Like Pepé Le Pew 15. Sagacious 16. Pork preservative 17. Out together 18. Author of a notorious dossier

19. Like many Le Creuset items 20. Conclusion reached after trying?

22. Pot quantity 25. Punch chunks 31. Relative condition that might be clarified by

53

“warmer” or “colder” 33. Memorial offering 34. Rule of ___ (writing principle) 35. NASCAR sponsor 37. Dark marten 38. Did something hot and steamy in the bedroom, or

54

55

just as likely the laundry room 40. When raises may be given 42. Mollusk that is a source of sepia ink 44. Po’ boy alternatives 45. Like some processing

47. Plugs with more prongs, say 52. Sword whose sharpness is used to characterize some wit 56. Stay away?

57. First ballerina to tour around the world 58. Gas giants, e.g.

59. Like slacks with channels 60. Headache cause 61. Lupita Nyong’o and Richard Dawkins, by birth

24. Deck with cups 26. ___ Spice 27. Constant commentary 28. One might show whom you’re wearing 29. Zest 30. Certain forecasters 32. Portrait painter Alice 36. “Not interested ...”

39. Just compensation, at times 41. Harmonized vocal work 43. Between Two ___ (Zach Galifianakis show) 46. One of the Teen Titans 47. Poisonous pests 48. Blinkard 49. Unshut 50. Southern side 51. DVD release day: Abbr.

53. Jumping-off point for Icarus?

54. “I seriously can’t ___ ...”

55. CT scan emissions 57. Walther ___ (James Bond weapon)

DOWN 1. No ___ land 2. Drop 3. Farmers’ market carrier 4. “In America, few people will trust you unless you are ___” Norman Mailer 5. Sheer fabric 6. Music muse 7. ORD to ATL direction 8. Clementi compositions 9. Cioppino item 10. Palm or pocket, say 11. Abbreviating abbreLV267 ANSWERS viation 12. Tinge CH A F E A T T I E DO F F D I V U L GE A N T I F L U 13. Slayed S C A R BOROUGH F OU L T ORNOP E N R E L 15. Puerto Rican port D I S HWA S H E ROU T A CC E S S S T UN S 19. Simpletons, sarT OUR D I A N UN I T A ND W I L DC A T B A L L castically SOV I E T I Z E CH I C K E N S A F E COO 21. Gibe D EMO S E T S R A HM CH I N A MOE S H A 22. Caper T E CHN I C A L F A I R P B A E Y E S H A D E 23. Leader who in fact D E B U T A N T E S T R I K E F E L L A T E S A V E F OR wore a sherwani S T E A L T H S I S E NOR

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LITTLEVILLAGEMAG.COM/LV268 July 31–Aug. 13, 2019 55

FRIDAY, AUGUST 2

Presents

SOUL & BLUES FESTIVAL

5 p.m.

Culinary Delights, DJ Freeze and Mr. DJ Ice at Main Stage

7:30 p.m.

Fashion Show

8-9:30 p.m. Dance Party with DJ Freeze and Mr. DJ Ice 10 p.m.

Soul Shake at Gabe’s for after party

SATURDAY, AUGUST 3 11 a.m.

Black Author’s Panel, Prairie Lights Books

12 p.m.

Artists, Children’s Activities, Culinary Delights Open

12:30 p.m. Kevin B.F. Burt 2 p.m.

Goose Town

3:30 p.m.

Tanya English Band

5 p.m.

Rico McFarland Band

7 p.m.

JC New King of Funk

9 p.m.

Tomar and the FC’s

10:30 p.m. Boogie Nights After Party at Yacht Club with DJ Freeze and Mr. DJ Ice

D OWNTOWN I OWA C ITY , A UGUST 2 & 3, 2019

summeroftheARTS.org

Kim Schillig, Lepic-Kroeger Realtor is pleased to support Summer of the Arts by sponsoring the Accessibility Shuttle LICENSED TO SELL REAL ESTATE IN THE STATE OF IOWA