Little Village magazine issue 271: Sept. 18 - Oct. 1, 2019

A L W A Y S

F R E E

ISSUE 271 Sept. 18–Oct. 1, 2019

JOKES ON US THE LOCAL COMEDY SCENE GETS NICE AND WEIRD INSIDE YOUR SEXUAL FANTASIES OKTOBERFESTIVUS FOR THE REST OF US YOLA AT THE HOLLOW

PROGRAM INSIDE

Urban Bush Women Hair & Other Stories

$10

STUDENT TICKETS

Saturday, September 21, 7:30 pm Drawn from personal and public narratives centered on individual identity in a collective culture, Hair & Other Stories investigates issues of body image, race, gender identity, economic inequity, and more. With humor, poignancy, and thoughtfulness, Urban Bush Women — a stirring contemporary dance company committed to pushing the boundaries of storytelling through spoken word, movement, and singing—enacts the everyday pursuit of the extraordinary.

Join the cast for a talkback and discussion in the Stanley Café immediately following the conclusion of the performance.

Urban Bush Women will also create work for the University of Iowa Department of Dance’s Dance Gala, In Motion, which will be presented on the Hancher stage on November 15 and 16, 2019.

TICKETS:

EVENT SPONSORS:

ADULT: $45 | $35 | $25

Everybody’s Whole Foods

COLLEGE STUDENT: $40 | $10 YOUTH: $22 | $10

Order online hancher.uiowa.edu Call (319) 335-1160 or 800-HANCHER

Photo: ©James Morgan Owens

Accessibility Services (319) 335-1158

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.

Los Angeles Guitar Quartet

$10

STUDENT TICKETS

American Guitar Masters Wednesday, September 25, 7:30 pm The Grammy-winning Los Angeles Guitar Quartet (LAGQ) returns with a concert featuring music by American composers and guitar virtuosos. Front and center: Road to the Sun, a new work by the incomparable Pat Metheny written for LAGQ. Performing music by the likes of Atkins, Hendrix, Zappa, and Flatt & Scruggs, the quartet will also perform compositions

by Sousa and Copland as well as pieces by Fred Hand, Robert Beaser, and Julian Lage.

TICKETS: ADULT: $45 | $35 | $25 COLLEGE STUDENT: $40 | $10 YOUTH: $22 | $10

Order online hancher.uiowa.edu Call (319) 335-1160 or 800-HANCHER

Photo: Jiro Schneider

Accessibility Services (319) 335-1158

EVENT SPONSORS: Douglas and Linda Behrendt John R. Menninger

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.

Chick Corea Trilogy

$10

STUDENT TICKETS

Friday, October 11, 7:30 pm Chick Corea’s 2014 triple-disc set, Trilogy, added a live masterwork to the venerated pianist’s discography. Featuring bassist Christian McBride and drummer Brian Blade, the recording was a triumph. Now, Corea, McBride, and Blade are bringing the music from Trilogy back to live audiences. This trio is nothing short of a supergroup—and the music they make together is top-shelf jazz.

TICKETS:

EVENT SPONSORS:

ADULT: $65 | $55 | $45

The Gazette

COLLEGE STUDENT: $58 | $10

Gary and Randi Levitz

YOUTH: $32 | $10

OPN Architects, Inc. Sara Wolfson

Order online hancher.uiowa.edu Call (319) 335-1160 or 800-HANCHER

Photo: Andrew Elliott

Accessibility Services (319) 335-1158

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 4 Sept. 18–Oct. 1, 2019 LITTLEVILLAGEMAG.COM/LV271 in order to participate in this program, please contact Hancher in advance at (319) 335-1158.

Chamber Music Society of Lincoln Center

$10

STUDENT TICKETS

New World Spirit Sunday, October 13, 3:00 pm

An ensemble of 13 exceptional musicians—including David Finckel on cello and David Shifrin on clarinet—celebrate the intrepid (and diverse) American spirit in a performance highlighting two pairs of composers who helped shape classical music in the twentieth century. Harry T. Burleigh was a star student of Dvorák ˇ who exposed the Czech composer to ˇ to perform African American folk music.

American spirituals and was in turn encouraged by Dvorák Two generations later, Copland and Bernstein conceived a clean, clear American sound conveying the wonder of open spaces and endless possibilities.

PROGRAM (subject to change):

Burleigh: Southland Sketches, for violin and piano ˇ Quintet in E-flat Major, Op. 97 (“American”) Dvorák: Bernstein: Sonata for clarinet and piano Copland: Appalachian Spring Suite TICKETS:

EVENT SPONSORS:

ADULT: $60 | $50 | $40

Mace and Kay Braverman

COLLEGE STUDENT: $54 | $10

Bill Rubright in loving memory of Karen G. Rubright

YOUTH: $30 | $10

William and Marlene W. Stanford

Order online hancher.uiowa.edu Call (319) 335-1160 or 800-HANCHER

Photo: Tristan Cook

Accessibility Services (319) 335-1158

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 LITTLEVILLAGEMAG.COM/LV271 disability who requires a reasonable accommodation Sept. 18–Oct. 1, 2019 5 in order to participate in this program, please contact Hancher in advance at (319) 335-1158.

VOL. 28 ISSUE 271 Sept. 18–Oct. 1, 2019 ALWAYS FREE LITTLEVILLAGEMAG.COM PUBLISHER MATTHEW STEELE DIGITAL DIRECTOR DREW BULMAN ART DIRECTOR JORDAN SELLERGREN MANAGING EDITOR EMMA MCCLATCHEY ARTS EDITOR GENEVIEVE TRAINOR Alysse Gafkjen

NEWS DIRECTOR PAUL BRENNAN VISUAL REPORTER—PHOTO ZAK NEUMANN VISUAL REPORTER­—VIDEO JASON SMITH STAFF WRITER/EDITOR IZABELA ZALUSKA FOOD & DRINK DIRECTOR FRANKIE SCHNECKLOTH DISTRIBUTION BRIAN JOHANNESSEN, DAI GWILLIAM, NORBERT SARSFIELD MARKETING COORDINATOR, GRAPHIC DESIGNER JAV DUCKER ADVERTISING

12

20

22

Funny People

Fantasy Final

Love All Night, Work All Day

Self-deprecation abounds, but open mics and fests have embraced newcomers.

Take a sex therapist-guided tour through your erotic imagination.

Yola rose from the ashes (literally) to become her own artist and “rich daddy.”

TALITHA FORD

NATALIE BENWAY

KEMBREW MCLEOD

8 - Letters & Interactions 10 - Brock About Town 12 - Comedy 18 - Bread & Butter 20 - Sex & Love

22 - Prairie Pop 24 - A-List 26 - Events Calendar 51 - Ad Index 53 - Your Village

55 - Astrology 56 - Local Albums 57 - Local Theater 59 - Crossword

ADS@LITTLEVILLAGEMAG.COM LISTINGS CALENDAR@LITTLEVILLAGEMAG.COM CONTRIBUTORS NATALIE BENWAY, HANNAH BONNER, AUDREY BROCK, LEV CANTORAL, TALITHA FORD, ALYSSE GAFKJEN, MELANIE HANSON, ELLY HOFMAIER, LAURA JOHNSON, JOHN MARTINEK, KEMBREW MCLEOD, TREY REIS, MICHAEL ROEDER, ANDREW SHERBURNE, GRETCHEN THAYER, TOM TOMORROW , PAIGE UNDERWOOD, 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 271 SEpt. 18–Oct. 1, 2019

JOKES ON US THE LOCAL COMEDY SCENE GETS NICE AND WEIRD INSIDE YOUR SEXUAL FANTASIES OKTOBERFESTIVUS FOR THE REST OF US YOLA AT THE HOLLOW

PROGRAM INSIDE

Jordan Sellergren

POWERED BY CAFE DEL SOL ROASTING LITTLEVILLAGEMAG.COM/LV271 Sept. 18–Oct. 1, 2019 7

LETTERS ANI MATE LAND SCAPES

media art about politics, ecology, and agency in a morethanhuman world

MON 9/30

Sarah Kanouse Annapurna Kumar Deke Weaver Vanessa Renwick Corinne Teed Julia Hechtman Anna Luisa Petrisko

7pm at PS1 120 N. Dubuque (for the last time)

See you in October at 225/229 N. Gilbert.

(We’re moving!)

More info about it all at:

publicspaceone.com

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.

WHY CAN’T IOWA ATHLETICS GO GREEN?

When it comes to sustainable initiatives, the University of Iowa Athletics Department is struggling to compete within the Big Ten Conference. From facilities to nutrition, the Hawkeye Athletics program funds a variety of amazing opportunities for their athletes.

Yet, there is a gaping hole within the program that many of us do not see: sustainability initiatives.

Why can’t they strive to be number one in zero-waste game days and renewable energy instead of growing their carbon footprint?

Athletics needs to put resources toward proper waste management to compete with leading institutions who are already going zero-waste. Just think of all the trash that is collected after games in the stadium, parking lots and tailgates. Having recycling bins is

not enough. Athletics needs to cut waste at its source by eliminating single-use plastics and offering composting at its events.

The ball has already been passed. The wheel doesn’t need to be reinvented. Most Big Ten programs have sustainability initiatives set in full force to help our planet, showing that the tools necessary for a more sustainable future are readily available for Iowa Athletics’ use. For example, Ohio State, with their 100,000-person stadium, has over 90 percent of their game-day trash deferred from the landfill because of compostable products and their pledge for zero-waste football games. Zero waste is possible. All athletics needs is our support!

More recycling, composting and monitored stations are needed in the stadium, parking lots and locker rooms. We take care

HAVE AN OPINION?

F U T I L E W R A T H

S A M LO C K E WA R D

BETTER WRITE ABOUT IT! SEND LETTERS TO EDITOR@LITTLEVILLAGEMAG.COM

of our athletes; let’s start taking care of our world and be number one. The possibilities are endless for Iowa Athletics to make their mark on our community. Let’s just hope it is a green one.

From athletes to fans, we can all cheer, change, recycle and save the planet. Let’s go Hawks!

—Charlene Lange and Isabella Blackman IN THE EARLY MORNING HOURS OF SEPT. 10, 2019, the world lost a treasured,

tired friend. The European larch tree, of Iowa City, was uprooted in a storm that claimed two other campus trees. She didn’t so much die as she was ripped from the earth that fed her.

Nothing can survive absent nourishment.

The moon that night was waxing gibbous; she missed standing beneath one last full moon by just three days.

There is always something the dead just missed.

Standing 40 feet tall, this deciduous conifer offered shade, offered respite, offered joy, offered air to hundreds of thousands of Iowans. Generations of children tested strength and balance on her gracious southern bough. Worn smooth by hands, feet and the 90 degree angle between knee and shin, she appeared the arboreal manifestation of Samuel Beckett’s determined hopelessness.

But it seems we can only love a thing in our own way for so long before it loses its ability

LITTLEVILLAGEMAG.COM/LV271 Sept. 18–Oct. 1, 2019 9

LETTERS & INTERACTIONS S T R E S S F R A C T U R E S

BROCK ABOUT TOWN

JOHN

MARTINEK

to do just that. To go on.

The larch was a landmark. A meeting place. A refuge, a playground, a wonder.

Mostly, though, she simply was.

There is such beauty in the fact of her.

There was such beauty in the fact of her.

So what remains? Those who loved her best will learn saudade: the presence of absence. And on a bare patch of exposed earth in front of Macbride Hall, her absence is palpable.

The larch was preceded in death by many family and friends, including neighbor trees destroyed by Iowa City’s 2006 tornado. She is survived by nearly 8,000 campus trees, including seven siblings—four that live nearby on the Pentacrest, two just north of Hillcrest, and a lone sibling near the edge of Parking Lot 14.

Though larches like her can live for nearly 700 years, she died far too soon, a mere child who did not survive her first century.

There will be other trees. There will even be other European larch trees. And yet. Her singular life provided unique shade. Clean air.

Space to sit, both under and within. Another tree can provide these things. Another tree will. But it won’t be the same.

After death, nothing is ever the same.

Whether this particular September storm

AUDREY BROCK

Welcome to the comedy issue of Little Village! This is my favorite issue we’ve put out because, well, I love comedy (thank God for that, because I’m in a little deep to back out now) and I’m excited to share it with all of you. I’m hoping this issue will inspire you to come out to shows, open mics and other comedy events as audience members or even as comedians. On that note, I’d like to offer some helpful tips for success when navigating the scene.

Be respectful. Nothing derails a comedy show like someone drunkenly wolf-whistling from the back of the room. While most of you probably have the sense not to heckle, there are some finer points of comedy etiquette you might not be aware of. For example, try to avoid triggering phrases, like “You’re a comedian, huh? Tell me a joke,” which we hear from every Tinder date we meet, or the old, “So, what’s your real job?” which is very popular among uncles at Thanksgiving.

Introduce yourself. Comedy is a great place to make friends, so don’t be shy! If you’re into comic books, craft beer or making fun of more successful comedians with Netflix specials, you’ll be sure to fit in.

Step outside of your comfort zone. Go to a few shows and see if it doesn’t encourage you to try some comedy yourself!

We try to cultivate a relaxed, supportive environment, so don’t be nervous. No matter how poorly you do, there’s no way you’re going to be as bad as that guy who only told jokes about his ex-wives, or the guy who wore a RompHim to every show, or that girl who ripped off Amy Schumer, or—Sorry, what was I saying? Oh, yeah—this is a judgment-free zone, so let this issue inspire you to get involved with comedy!

Don’t forget to plug your or your friends’ shows. Speaking of which: On Oct. 6, I and some of the other scrappy, lovable goofballs you’re about to meet in this issue will be doing a Roast of Iowa City. We’ve got complaints, and we’re going to air them. If you, too, are dissatisfied with this town in which you voluntarily live, come and gripe along with us.

10 Sept. 18–Oct. 1, 2019 LITTLEVILLAGEMAG.COM/LV271

was made worse by human action is hardly arguable. But my, how the larch went: in a storm of fury and light and sound.

Of goodbye.

The world was a better place with her in it.

Tread lightly.

—Christine Ralston

/LittleVillage

READER POLL: Who do you trust to predict the winter weather?

19% Farmers’ Almanac

LITTLE VILLAGE

READER PERKS

13% Old Farmers’ Almanac 69% Any random groundhog

Letter to the editor: Why are you not antifa?

Well said! Antifa should be default for anyone who values equality, freedom and human life and dignity. I hope the authorities are investigating the terrorist threats made against Kirkwood in response to the KCRG story. —Erewyn R. I agree. We have to pick sides. Desmond Tutu: “If you are neutral in situations of injustice, you have chosen the side of the oppressor. If an elephant has its foot on the tail of a mouse, and you say that you are neutral, the mouse will not appreciate your neutrality.” —Sara R. This is dead on. I’ve always been in favor of saying the whole phrase instead of just antifa, to make people actually say the words to underline just how silly it is to be against anti-fascism. Fascism should be stomped out all across America wherever it rears its ugly head. —Nick O. Painting Antifa in this innocent light and suggesting there are tens of thousands of neo-Nazis/white supremacists that need to be dealt [with] is grossly misleading. [...]

My unsolicited advice to Antifa, simply stop wearing masks. Burn your flags, hurl insults, get into screaming matches or fights, but do it unmasked. The Anitfa mask is too similar to a KKK hood.

—Peter B.

SHOP HALF-PRICE GIFT CARDS

Oasis Falafel — $20 for $10 Maggie’s Farm Wood-Fired Pizza — $20 for $10 Revival — $20 for $10 Sanctuary Pub — $15 for $7.50 Willow & Stock — $20 for $10 Reunion Brewery — $20 for $10 Ten Thousand Villages — $20 for $10 The Second Act — $20 for $10 Broken Spoke — $50 for $25 Get Fresh — $20 for $10 Joseph’s Steakhouse — $20 for $10 Almost Famous Popcorn Company — $20 for $10 Design Ranch — $50 for $25 Bao Chow — $20 for $10 Café Dodici — $20 for $10

CASH IN WHILE SUPPLIES LAST LITTLEVILLAGEMAG.COM/PERKS NEVER MISS A NEW PERK LITTLEVILLAGEMAG.COM/SUBSCRIBE

LITTLEVILLAGEMAG.COM/LV271 Sept. 18–Oct. 1, 2019 11

COMMUNITY

Kicks & Giggles Student or seasoned, comedians develop their brand of funny on Iowa City stages. BY TALITHA FORD

C

ondensation forms on tables in the Iowa City Yacht Club’s basement as the heavy late-summer air clashes with the building’s rapidly aging air conditioner. The machine kicks on periodically, requiring the volume of conversation to increase by at least a quarter of a shout.

It’s three minutes till 9 on a Monday night, and a combination of comedians and comedy fans have gathered in clusters around the room. Those sitting near the green- and red-lit stage chat and sip drinks, while others in the back flip through leather-bound notebooks or scroll through the notes app on their phone.

About 20 people have signed up to perform, and the open mic’s host, Spencer Loucks, handles the introductions (as well as lighting and emcee duties).

Mid-September must be break-up season—nearly a third of the stand-ups offer heartbreak-tinged takes on movies, their jobs or their own personalities. The absurdity of subjecting oneself to an open mic is another frequent topic; self-awareness is the name of the game. Some have their five-minute sets meticulously planned, clearly navigating a winding maze of detailed gags and callbacks.

Others riff on a rough outline, delivering improvised jokes half into the microphone, half to the wall.

It’s a hodgepodge of different creative styles and paces, the success of each measured by the audience’s laughter and applause—an unreliable source, as the crowd numbers fluctuate between roughly two and three dozen throughout the night. As fickle as audiences can be, the basement crowd represents a growing scene trending towards inclusivity.

“Iowa comedy has a bunch of very good performers: people who take being funny on stage very seriously and put a lot of effort into it,” said Mike Lucas, host of Yacht Club’s Let’s Do This! Comedy Showcase.

“Iowa City is an artistic town with lots of creative people … There are always new people coming to town every year, so the scene is always reinventing itself.”

Lucas said he honed his craft at open mics at the Piano Lounge in Iowa City and 12 Sept. 18–Oct. 1, 2019 LITTLEVILLAGEMAG.COM/LV271

Mike Lucas performs at Little Village’s 9th Annual Roast of Iowa City in 2018 with Jessica Misra, Yual Mohamed and Ethan Everhart. Below and opposite: Clara Reynen and Eric Persoon at Yacht Club’s Comedy Mondays open mic, Sept. 9, 2019. Zak Neumann / Little Village

Penguin’s Comedy Club in Cedar Rapids, though he didn’t take the stage right away.

“It took me about six months before I even worked up the nerve to do it,” he said.

But comedic tastes in the area have changed in recent years, Lucas said, which is likely serving to make shows more welcoming.

“I’ve seen the audiences less interested in gross-out comedy,” he said. “Rude, malicious stuff just really isn’t accepted much anymore, which is cool with me.”

University of Iowa students are also coming out more frequently to perform and spectate. One of these students is Clara Reynen, a UI senior from South Dakota who’s writing her honors thesis on stand-up comedy and hitting as many stages as she can.

“My favorite joke [of mine] right now is bemoaning my attraction to guys who are not great or kind guys,” Reynen said, reciting the gag: “‘I’ve conditioned myself to like awful men. I’m like the Pavlov’s dog of dating.

When I hear a man call his mom a bitch,

LittleVillageMag.com

my ears perk up. When I see a man who looks like he’s going to forget my birthday, my pupils dilate. And when my friends tell me not to trust someone because he’s cheated on his last six girlfriends, I just start drooling.’”

Reynen said she’s most influenced by Cameron Esposito, Steve Martin and Iowa City playwright and comedian Megan Gogerty. (“I got my hair cut so you can part it on either side,” goes one of Gogerty’s bits.“It’s called a universal bang, which was my nickname in college.”)

In addition to opening for the likes of Louie Anderson, Esposito, Eddie Pepitone and Crazy Ex-Girlfriend star Rachel Bloom, Gogerty has taught a stand-up comedy practicum at the UI since 2015, which Reynen had taken. The class places “an emphasis less on creating a false comic persona and more on pulling from and articulating personal truth,” according to the course description, and requires students to regularly attend open mics and other local comedy shows.

“I think Iowa City was a great place to start— you can get on stage without too much pressure, and learn the ropes pretty fast,” said Jessica Misra, a former Iowa City comedian now based in Chicago. She opened for Demetri Martin at the Englert Theatre in February, her biggest stage yet. “There’s room to do weirder things and branch out to other types of comedy.”

Similar to the local music scene, many standups in Iowa City are approaching their craft from a DIY mindset, from the IC Secret Stand-Up Show, a semi-regular showcase held in a downtown Iowa City basement, to the alt-comedy collective Green Gravel Comedy, founded in 2014 by some of the area’s foremost stand-ups with the goal of putting on “odd and fantastic events.”

(These have included a free Pete Holmes show and a talk with the creators of Adult Swim’s Too Many Cooks.)

Outside of stand-up, Iowa City’s improv comedy scene is headed by three troupes, Paperback Rhino, The Great White Narcs and Janice, all mainly comprised of UI students, performing long- and short-form improvised sketches and storylines. Each group has cultivated a distinct style and fanbase.

Meggie Gates, a Chicago-based comedian, actor and freelance writer from Cedar Rapids, began their comedy career in Iowa City as a member and eventually captain of the all-female Janice.

“The audience we drew grew more curious over time, and by my senior year when the teams started doing shows together, it brought together these different crowds,” Gates said in an email conversation. “Iowa City in general is such an open place for creation.”

SEE LOCAL STAND-UP Comedy Mondays, The Yacht Club, Iowa City, Mondays, signup at 8:30 p.m., show starts at 9 p.m.

Open Mic Night, Penguin’s Comedy Club, Cedar Rapids, Wednesdays, sign-up at 6:30 p.m., show starts at 8 p.m.

Hitchhike Open Mic, High Ground Cafe, Iowa City, Thursdays, 8 p.m.

Little Village’s 10th Annual Roast of Iowa City hosted by Audrey Brock, The Mill, Iowa City, Sunday, Oct. 6, 5:30 p.m.

Witching Hour Festival Comedy Showcase w/ Meredith Kachel, Cameron Gillette and Arish Singh, The Mill, Friday, Nov. 1, 9:30 p.m.

Floodwater Comedy Festival, Iowa City, Feb. 27-29, 2020

COMMUNITY Left and opposite: Aloe Mean and Spencer Loucks at Yacht Club’s Comedy Mondays open mic, Sept. 9, 2019. Zak Neumann / Little Village

Gates identifies as nonbinary and pansexual, and taps into their identity for laughs: “I’m hesitant to brand myself as pansexual because everyone I’m attracted to is bad,” reads one of Gates’ tweets. (Gates said they’ve tweeted

14 Sept. 18–Oct. 1, 2019 LITTLEVILLAGEMAG.COM/LV271

“literally any good joke I’ve ever had.”)

Another: “My gender is whichever bathroom is closest.”

“I think comedy is one of the most effective genres for expressing individual

ideas, beliefs, opinions and experiences,” said Leela Bassuk, producer of Iowa City’s Floodwater Comedy Festival and captain of the Paperback Rhino improv troupe, in an email to Little Village.

While both the stand-up and improv communities exist in parallel, typically drawing different crowds to isolated events, the two have come together the last three springs for the Floodwater Comedy Festival. Bassuk said the Floodwater lineup is designed to showcase women, people of color, LGBTQ comics and others “often marginalized in comedy.”

“Since Floodwater’s creation and over our three-year run, we have made it a goal to bring performers from all over the country and from our talented local pool to reflect the wide spectrum of perspectives that color our world,” she said.

The university has incorporated comedy into their programming as well; in April,

LittleVillageMag.com

the UI Obermann Center invited stuttering comedian Nina G. to perform as part of their symposium, Misfitting: Disability Broadly Considered. UI graduate student Andrew Tubbs, who has the rare genetic disorder thrombocytopenia-absent radius (TAR), opened for Nina G. “I realized that as a comedian,” Tubbs told Iowa Now, “I have an immense amount of power to use the disability in a way that is confrontational but also allows individuals space to talk about disability, especially when they feel uncomfortable about it.”

A comedian’s own growth is driven not just by what goes over well with the audience, but also by the responses from other comics, according to Audrey Brock, regular co-host of Hitchhike Open Mic on Thursdays at High Ground Cafe in Iowa City, Little Village humor columnist and host of the 2019 Roast of Iowa City, Oct. 6.

“A lot of what success in the area is about is really about the relationship with the other comedians,” Brock said. “What other comics find funny and what people who come in off

the street find funny might be different, and with other comics, you can’t get away with just doing structure exercises on the same type of set with different jokes.”

Back at the Yacht Club, taking a break

next to the sputtering air conditioner that could, Spencer Loucks reflected on the ways in which Iowa City might break its comedic mold.

“I think a show with a lot of variety, a

LITTLEVILLAGEMAG.COM/LV271 Sept. 18–Oct. 1, 2019 15

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sort of ‘comedy plus something’ would do really well, and hold an audience,” he said.

“Audiences tend to like the mix of types of entertainment—something to break up the sea of stand-ups. Really, I think sketch comedy, burlesque comedy or something in addition to the current circuit could do really well in Iowa City.”

Brock agreed. “We can be more like ‘friends who hang out,’” she said of local comedians. “I don’t think that’s a bad thing, I think it’s made the culture healthier; but to get that broad appeal to new people, both comics and audience members, we might need a little more variety in what we’re doing.”

Floodwater Comedy Festival co-producer and Loucks’ usual Monday night Yacht Club co-host Daniel Frana, originally from Calmar, Iowa, said he stumbled upon open mics as a UI student, and recently celebrated his eightyear “comedy-versary.” When he’s not hosting an event or performing, he’s supporting himself as a bartender at the Deadwood in downtown Iowa City—and wouldn’t have it another way.

“All I want is to be able to continue performing … as often as I can while still bartending at a place I love. So I am living my dream,” Frana said.

Cedar Rapids comedian Trenton Orris has settled into the local scene as well, weaving Iowa references into his material. (“I don’t like the ways that I get reminded that I’m overweight,” he says in one of his choice bits.

“I was walking down the street and a lady pulled up to me in her car and said, ‘Excuse me, sir. Can you tell me where the Pizza Ranch is?’ And I thought, ‘Oh no. I’m the guy who obviously knows where the Pizza Ranch is.’”)

Jessica Misra hosts Little Village’s 9th Annual Roast of Iowa City in 2018. Zak Neumann / Little Village

Orris, too, has kept his ambitions starkly below the clouds: “I just want to do well enough in comedy that my dad will stop asking me if I talked to his friend about that insurance salesman job.”

Fulfilling the aspirations of many an openmic attendee, Meggie Gates has managed to make a career in comedy, performing for the We Still Like You comedy showcase in Chicago on Sept. 8, getting a shout-out from The Good Place writer Megan Amram on Twitter and preparing to launch a web series, See You In Hell, with friend Laura Petro. But Gates said it’s important for comedians not to put too much pressure on themselves to “make it.”

“It’s hard not to beat yourself up about everything you are or are not making and I don’t want people to lose themselves to thinking art is a business,” they said. “There’s magic every time we get to create and it’s easier to forget that when you get older and it becomes your career.”

With nearly two hours and a score of comedic routines under their belt, the Yacht Club’s Sept. 9 open mic crowd dwindles a bit. The majority of the remaining comedians retreat to a corner booth to debrief after their sets as audience members return beer bottles and cups of half-melted ice to the bar. The air conditioner again cycles off, but the room is still buzzing.

Talitha Ford is from Ottumwa, Iowa, but lives in Iowa City with all her plants. She is an alumna of Janice Improv. She hopes you’re having a nice day.

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Oktoberfest-fest The annual celebration of beer and Bavarian culture is well represented in eastern Iowa. BY EMMA MCCLATCHEY

E

arly fall may only be the second most popular time of the year for nuptials, but it was a wedding that kickstarted one of the world’s favorite autumnal traditions: Oktoberfest.

On Oct. 12, 1810, Bavarian Prince Ludwig married Princess Therese, and the people of Munich, Germany celebrated this joyous union with days of drinking, feasting and merriment. The party was such a hit that Bavarians decided to restage it year after year. For over two centuries—save for times of war, plague and economic distress— Oktoberfest has taken over the fairgrounds and streets of Munich in the 16 to 18 days leading up to the first Sunday in October (this year, Sept. 21-Oct. 6).

Inevitably, communities around the globe have created their own versions of Oktoberfest, Iowans included. The Amana

Colonies, founded by German settlers in the mid-19th century, are celebrating the 54th anniversary of their Oktoberfest this fall. (The alcohol-centric festival was likely not emphasized by Amana’s early Pietist Christian residents.)

More than 7.5 million liters of beer were reportedly drunk at the 2018 Munich Oktoberfest, all provided by six traditional Munich breweries, the oldest established in 1328. These breweries stick to Bavaria’s strict, 500-year-old “purity” law limiting ingredients in beer to water, barley and hops.

The type of beer served is a Bavarian lager called Märzen, boasting a medium-to-full body, a touch of malt and a bit more hops and alcohol (5.8 to 6.5 percent ABV) than the average lager. Often, Märzen-style beers are called Oktoberfestbier or simply Oktoberfest.

Several local breweries have developed their own take on the Oktoberfest, including Millstream Brewing Co. in Amana; Big Grove Brewery and ReUnion Brewery in Iowa City; Lion Bridge Brewing Company and Iowa Brewing Company in Cedar Rapids; and Backpocket Brewing in Coralville. Between early August and mid-September, these breweries have

launched their Märzens on tap and in cans and bottles, just in time for the area’s own Oktoberfest celebrations.

But Märzen isn’t the only Oktoberfestive beer style. Hefeweizen, or Weissbier, is another Bavarian specialty, suited for fans of wheaty, refreshing beer. This style is fairly common; Confluence Brewing Company in Des Moines recently released a tasty one called Weiss Grip in pint-sized cans.

Helles is an even lighter, crisper brew, devised by Munich’s Spaten Brewery in the 1890s. Cedar Falls’ SingleSpeed Brewing Co. makes a crisp golden Helles called Gable, in honor of wrestler Dan Gable’s gold medal victory at the 1972 Munich Olympics.

Hop fans will enjoy pils or pilsner beers (we’re talking craft pilsners, not Budweiser and Beck’s), which were invented by a Bavarian brewer and popularized across the border in Bohemia, now part of the Czech Republic. Darker Munich-style brews include the Dunkelweizen, Doppelbock and Raunchbier.

Kellerbier is an obscure, unfiltered ancestor to the lager, likely originating in southern Germany in the Middle Ages. Though rarely seen in the U.S., Iowa Brewing Company

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LittleVillageMag.com/Dining Oktobot 3000 Lion Bridge Brewing Co. Oktoberfest Millstream Brewing Co.

Hawktoberfest Backpocket Brewing Marzen ReUnion Brewery

Oktobot Lion Bridge Brewing Co.

recently whipped up a Kellerbier with award-winning Linn County homebrewer Chuck Packard, currently available on tap at the brewery.

You’ll find more than Munich-style beers at the area’s Oktoberfest celebrations. Local, national and international brews of all types can be sampled at Cedar Rapids’ BrewNost and Iowa City’s Northside Oktoberfest. And all area fests encourage guests to wear traditional Bavarian garb and partake in activities ranging from keg bowling to an eating contest involving brats and scotch eggs.

So don your dirndl or lederhosen, pop on a Tyrolean hat, string some pretzels onto a necklace and grab a stein of beer.

Toast it with a hearty “prost!” and sip it with friends as your Haferlschuhe-clad feet wander the leaf-strewn sidewalk (staying within designated open-container areas, of course).

And if you’re planning to get married this fall, consider serving Märzen and inviting the whole town to partake. You never know—you could start the next great global tradition.

—Emma McClatchey

BrewNost, National Czech & Slovak Museum & Library, Cedar Rapids, Friday, Sept. 20, 5:30-9:30 p.m., $65-125 Features: A wide range of international beers for

the sampling, curated by Doug Alberhasky of John’s Grocery, in addition to local brews, wines, cider and spirits; drink and food pairings created by area chefs; a live auction led by Nicholas D. Lowry, president of Swann Auction Galleries in New York City and frequent Antiques Roadshow appraiser

NewBo Oktoberfest (presented by Iowa Brewing Company), NewBo City Market, Cedar Rapids, Saturday, Sept. 21, 12-8 p.m., Free to attend, $30 for hog roast ticket Features: Polka music, outdoor games (pong, keg bowling, cornhole), special

treats from Market stores, Iowa Brewing Company beer for sale

Backpocket’s Hawktoberfest Party, Backpocket Brewery, Coralville, Saturday, Sept. 28, 3 p.m.-close, Free to attend Features: Yard games, live music, stein-holding

competition

Oktoberfest in the Amana Colonies, Friday, Oct. 4, 11 a.m.-evening; Saturday, Oct. 5, 10 a.m.; Sunday, Oct. 6, 11 a.m.-4:30 p.m., Downtown Amana, $10 oneday pass, $15 two-day pass Features: The Ceremonial Tapping of the Keg (Friday in the

Festhalle, 4704 220th Trail), traditional German food and live music, games (beer steinholding contest, pretzel tossing, brat-eating contest, keg toss)

Northside Oktoberfest, Northside Neighborhood, Iowa City, Saturday, Oct. 5, 12-3 p.m. (starts at 11 for BrewMaster ticketholders), Free to attend, $45-55 for wristband Features: Iowa City Brewfest, with more than 65 booths sampling beer, cider and

wine to those with wristbands; adult games (Hammerschlagen, beer slide, keg bowling, giant Jenga); brat- and scotch egg-eating contest; Lederhosen costume contest; food vendors; SodaFest (beginning at 10 a.m.) with activities for families

LITTLEVILLAGEMAG.COM/LV271 Sept. 18–Oct. 1, 2019 19

CULTURE

Gr illage etche n Thayer / Little V

Sex & Love

The Fantasy Formula Passion, power and taboo play into our erotic fantasies.

BY NATALIE BENWAY

T

hink back to the first time you felt sexy feelings. I’m pretty sure my first “tingly” thoughts involved watching David Bowie in Labyrinth, with his very impressive bulge. I also distinctly remember sneaking a peek at softcore porn on staticy channels like HBO or Cinemax late at night. (Think of the TV screen in Poltergeist, but instead of a swirly ghost hand suddenly appearing amidst the fuzz, my eyes were peeled for boobie shots).

These early experiences—often characterized by curiosity, titillation and testing boundaries—can serve as models for our future fantasies. Studies show as many as 98 percent of adults admit to having sexual fantasies, with some of the most common involving multipartner sex, BDSM and breaking taboos. Fantasies don’t have to be raunchy to be erotic: tickling, cuddling and 20 Sept. 18–Oct. 1, 2019 LITTLEVILLAGEMAG.COM/LV271

oily massages abound on fantasy-focused reddit threads.

In his 1995 book, The Erotic Mind: Unlocking the Inner Sources of Passion and Fulfillment, sex therapist and author Dr. Jack Morin distilled hundreds of his clients’ sexual experiences and fantasies into an erotic equation of sorts that has stood the test of time: attraction + obstacles = excitement.

Obstacles can take many forms, from the unattainability of a partner (the Goblin King, for example) to a real or perceived social “rule” (e.g. men may fantasize about being pegged, or cuckolding another man). Hell, bad television reception can heighten the thrill.

Morin elaborated on his equation, identifying four key cornerstones of eroticism: • • • •

Longing and anticipation Violating prohibitions Searching for power Overcoming ambivalence Longing and anticipation

T

he first theme is about wanting what we can’t have. In our fantasies, we can create all kinds of elaborate scenarios with the focus of our desires, many of which hinge on

delayed gratification.

Though we often think of fantasies as carnal, longing is hugely connected to romantic love. From Romeo and Juliet to If Beale Street Could Talk, Twilight to Call Me By Your Name, romance novels and films depict erotic fantasies (even if they may or may not include sex), and almost universally hinge on a character’s desire for someone they can’t or shouldn’t be with. This angst often serves as foreplay for a dramatic climax that, coincidentally or not, can mirror the stages of a really good bang sesh. (Happy endings not guaranteed.)

The titillating potential of longing and anticipation is illustrated well by Frank, a participant in Morin’s sexual excitement survey. Because of his job, Frank was unable to be with his fiancée for the six months prior to their marriage.

“During the wedding ceremony, I kept looking at her, thinking how beautiful she was, that we could be together at last,” Frank said. “Later in our hotel I was so aroused I could hardly keep my pants on. But we undressed each other slowly, taking all the time we needed to fully enjoy the moment.

Our sex that night was the best I’ve ever had.

Why? I’d have to say it was the celebration, our deep feelings for each other—and being

LittleVillageMag.com

apart for months didn’t hurt either.”

As painful as the “obstacle” element of Morin’s erotic equation can be, it’s arguably healthy. In her book Mating in Captivity, Esther Perel explains that partners in longterm relationships have a tendency to smother each other and/or kill the mystery that desire needs to thrive. A little distance really can make the heart grow fonder.

Violating prohibitions

T

he next cornerstone is most present within cultures that limit expectations around sex. Morin calls this theme the “naughtiness factor.”

“The erotic equation predicts that thosewho grow up in sexually restrictive environments are almost certain to discover the erotic potential of breaking the rules,” Morin writes in The Erotic Mind. “If you can recall any titillating childhood adventures—such as playing ‘show me’ or ‘doctor’ or being fascinated by pictures of semi-clothed people in catalogues or National Geographic, secretly

looking up sexy words in the dictionary, or discovering parts of your body that weren’t supposed to be pleasurable—you probably had two contradicting reactions. At times feeling naughty, dirty, guilty or afraid of punishment may have restrained you from further experimentation. On other occasions these feelings might just as well have added an extra charge to your activities and made you want to repeat them.”

Beyond childhood and adolescence, the “naughtiness factor” plays into fantasies about having an affair with a married coworker, getting it on while your parents are in the next room or having sex in a public place.

It may also explain the paradox of people in conservative states consistently watching more same-sex porn than those in more LGBTQ-friendly regions.

Searching for power

D

iscussing fantasies on reddit, user My_Starling expressed a desire to “fuck a Jason on Friday the 13th and see if

he figures it out.”

From horror movies to politics to the dating scene, sex and power can entangle themselves in enticing ways.

“When actual or fantasized power dynamics intersect with experiences of arousal, as they often do beginning early in our lives, the erotic equation predicts that our responses might well be intensified,” Morin observes.

This search for power is where fantasies about submission and domination come into play.

One woman featured in The Erotic Mind describes a fantasy she first had when she was 12, involving passion and surrender: “I am kidnapped by a dark, handsome man. He puts me on a boat and sails us to an island in the tropics. He builds a small bamboo hut and lays out a blanket where he undresses me and then himself. He ties my hands together and gives me oral sex and drives me utterly insane. Afterward we hold each other in the cool breeze.”

Cont. >> on pg. 30

LITTLEVILLAGEMAG.COM/LV271 Sept. 18–Oct. 1, 2019 21

CULTURE

LittleVillageMag.com

Prairie Pop

Fire Walk with Yola The country/roots musician is a reallife phoenix. BY KEMBREW MCLEOD

W

alk Through Fire isn’t just a metaphor about perseverance. The title to the 2019 debut full-length from Yola also refers to a life-changing house fire she survived. In 2014, the British singer had been handling a bioethanol burner with a faulty fuel canister that, unbeknownst to her, leaked throughout the room and eventually ignited.

“It kind of snaked out across the floor and caught the canister on fire,” Yola said, “and then it caught my dress on fire, and my dress went up. So I was on fire, and I had to just to think of something that was worse than being on fire, because I was in shock. And I thought about how the first 30 years of my life were so utterly hellish.”

“I’d been just a couple years out of that stage of my life, and everything had turned around and I was in such a loving and wonderful environment.”

It was at that moment that Yola realized she was truly happy, and she says she thought, I’ll take my life right now—plus fire—any day of the week! “I just started laughing and that took me out of my shock.”

In her music and personal life, Yola has fought for her freedom and defied easy categorization. The idea of a black woman of Caribbean heritage playing country music might seem unusual—but let’s not forget that the banjo came from Africa before it became associated with white American Southerners.

Born in 1984 as Yolanda Quartey, Yola was raised by a single mother who emmigrated from Barbados to Portishead, a suburb of Bristol in the southwest of England.

Her mom arrived in the U.K. as part of the Windrush Initiative, which brought many health care workers from the former colonies to help staff the National Health Service.

There were few people of color in Yola’s village, and her dark skin ensured that she faced the everyday indignities of racism, from being followed by security in stores to living in poverty. It was an isolating experience, but music was a portal that took her into faraway worlds.

“I think one of the most important parts of my life was my connection to music,” Yola said. “The place that I felt that people were 22 Sept. 18–Oct. 1, 2019 LITTLEVILLAGEMAG.COM/LV271

Yola at Codfish Hollow Barnstormers,

speaking to me in some way—about being on the outside, you know, discovering themselves—was in music.”

“My experience was very much [one of] connecting to anything that had the element of storytelling,” she continued. “The thing that attracted me to that was the idea of representing yourself, to truly emote in an environment that didn’t represent my voice. So I was drawn to Aretha Franklin, Dolly Parton, Elton John, Otis Redding. I was drawn to so many musicians who had a sense of agency and confession. That was the very first thing that spoke to me.”

Friday, Sept. 20, 8 p.m., $20 Alysse Gafkjen

Yola realized at the age of 4 that she wanted to be a singer, a career path her mother forbade. “There is the black and brown parent trope of there being only three acceptable jobs: doctor, lawyer, business person. And possibly engineer. So it wasn’t easy to find places that I could even sing, let alone even find myself.”

She realized early on that she was a bit of

Cont. >> on pg. 34

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CULTURE A-List

Setting the Scene FilmScene organizers are “kids in the candy store” ahead of the Chauncey’s grand opening.

BY HANNAH BONNER

O

n Sept. 20-22, Iowa City residents will have the opportunity to attend the grand opening weekend of FilmScene’s new location in the recently raised Chauncey building. The Chauncey is FilmScene’s second space, located off of Gilbert Street in downtown Iowa City; FilmScene will keep their original Ped Mall cinema open as well.

The Chauncey will feature three theater spaces, as well as a bowling alley, a hotel and apartments.

“We’ll have the most state-of-the-art digital projection systems, including 4K projection and a really revolutionary sound system designed by Boston Light & Sound, plus we’ll also have refurbished, vintage 35 mm and 16 mm film projectors for screening archival film presentations,” said Ross Meyer, FilmScene’s head projectionist and facilities manager. “I’m quite confident that our partners from Boston are setting us up to have the best motion picture presentation in the entire state of Iowa.”

Boston Light & Sound, widely regarded as the best in the business, has worked with the band REM as well as on Christopher Nolan’s 70 mm premiere of Dunkirk (2017).

“Creating a dedicated home for film in the heart of Iowa City was no more than an idea when FilmScene began eight years ago,” mused Associate Director Andrew Sherburne.

“To get from there to where we are now has taken incredible work from our dedicated staff and board, a visionary design team, the support of thousands of donors and members and the regular attendance of so many more moviegoers.”

Kicking off opening weekend will be a reception alongside showings of Michael Engler’s highly anticipated Downton Abbey (2019) on Friday night, followed by a Saturday morning open house at the Chauncey at 10 a.m., including many local arts organizations, and multiple screenings of crowd favorites like Field of Dreams (1989) and the beloved cult classic The Blob (1958) beginning Saturday afternoon. FilmScene’s

24 Sept. 18–Oct. 1, 2019 LITTLEVILLAGEMAG.COM/LV271

Programming Director Rebecca Fons has been busy filling the schedule (and new theater spaces) for the fall with an eclectic, exciting lineup.

“Our original location in the Ped Mall, which will continue to be a vibrant space for cinema, has served us incredibly well for nearly six years, but with only two screens we’ve absolutely have had to pass on certain titles or events because we just didn’t have the screen space,” Fons said. “Now, we feel like kids in the candy store—enthusiastically (though cautiously, as we will need some time to find our sea legs) penciling in some of the most anticipated titles for the fall/winter season and confirming a number of new partnerships and planning some really incredible events.”

With Oscar season quickly approaching, it will benefit FilmScene and its patrons to have multiple theater screens in order to ensure space for both the quality, independent cinema Iowa City denizens are used to, as well as the heavyweight Academy Award contenders.

Fons offers a sneak peak of the weekend following the Chauncey’s opening to provide patrons with just a taste of what to expect with the two locations, including a free screening of El Norte, co-presented by the University of Iowa’s Center for Human

The new FilmScene lobby, still under construction, Sept. 14, 2019.

Andrew Sherburne

Rights; Bijou Film Board’s screening of the controversial documentary Caniba; a free screening of My Life with Rosie (with a special appearance by Rosa Park’s cousin); and an eight-hour marathon of Sergei Bondarchuk’s War and Peace, in partnership with the Iowa City Book Festival.

“It’s been a true community effort,” Sherburne said, remarking on the many festivities, partnerships and special events, “and looking at this stunning building as it’s just weeks away from opening to the public is truly a dream come true.”

The Bijou Film Board, a student-run University of Iowa organization that programs all their films at FilmScene, is also integral to the innovative programming initiatives at the Chauncey. Established in 1972, the Bijou traditionally shows American independent, foreign and classic cinema. Their meetings will now be held at the Chauncey, allowing them to work seamlessly with FilmScene moving forward, and providing experience for college students hoping to work in arts nonprofits in the future.

Molly Bagnall is Bijou’s executive director

LittleVillageMag.com

for the 2019-2020 academic year, after having served for the past three years on the board’s After Hours Committee. “Bijou is excited for the move into the Chauncey, as it is an opportunity to expand our visibility and our audience,” she said.

Meyer has been an advocate and champion of Bijou since his own time at the UI. “I was the Bijou director when I was in school,” he said. “In fact, I probably would have quit school if I didn’t have the Bijou to keep me involved and excited about university life.

Nothing could make me happier than being able to help and mentor a new generation of Bijou students in their journeys through film exhibition.”

The Chauncey promises to be a draw for students, especially the Bijou programming, which is free for UI students ($6.50 for the general public).

“The Chauncey building is opening up many new possibilities for events Bijou can do as well,” Bagnall said. “This year Bijou is switching to monthly themed programming, allowing Bijou to put films in conversation with one another in a thoughtful way.”

As for special event programming for Bijou, Bagnall said, “In October, we will be presenting, in collaboration with FilmScene, Punk the Capital, a documentary by James June Schneider, Paul Bishow and Sam Lavine about the hardcore band Minor Threat and the D.C. punk scene. The event welcomes the filmmakers to FilmScene to discuss their film and will be followed by a punk music show at Gabe’s.”

FilmScene organizers have found truth to the cinematic cliché “if you build it, they” (technically, “he”) “will come,” with community members coming through on everything from loyally attending Late Shift at the Grindhouse films on Wednesday nights to volunteering to collect tickets before shows.

FilmScene’s Executive Director Joe Tiefenthaler said he has no doubt movie lovers will flock to the Chauncey as well.

“What started with one screen and one full-time employee will soon be five screens (plus one rooftop and one park lawn!) and 10 full-time staffers—hosting and caretaking what is already a wonderfully manic range of community collaborations, educational efforts and special events,” Tiefenthaler said, “all things that have made FilmScene more than a cinema—all thanks to such incredible support from our community.”

now available

516 2nd Street Coralville, IA

EDITORS’ PICKS

CALENDAR EVENTS AROUND THE CRANDIC SEPT. 18–OCT. 1, 2019 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.

FOR CAMPUS AND COMMUNITY: THE COLLECTION OF THE GRINNELL COLLEGE MUSEUM OF ART

Wed., Sept. 18 Iowa City Open Coffee, Merge, Iowa City, 8 a.m., Free (Weekly) THIS WEEK: SPARK CONSULTING GROUP

August 23 to December 14, 2019 The Grinnell College Museum of Art collection contains over 5,000 objects from antiquity to the present day. This fall, the Museum celebrates its 20th anniversary with an exhibition of a diverse and ever-growing collection spanning both the centuries and the globe.

Free and open Monday to Saturday, 11 a.m.-5 p.m. grinnell.edu/museum

One Million Cups, Merge, Iowa City, 9 a.m., Free (Weekly) FIELD TO FAMILY LOCAL FOODS FESTIVAL

Lunch and Learn: We Love (Local) Eggs So Many Ways!, Salt Fork Kitchen, Solon, 12 p.m., Free (lunch purchase optional) Iowa City Wednesday Farmers Market, Chauncey Swan Ramp, Iowa City, 5 p.m.

(Weekly) PROCEEDS TO FIELD TO FAMILY & SLOW FOOD OF THE HEARTLAND

Kurt Friese Memorial Fundraiser for Local Food, Englert Theatre, Iowa City, 7 p.m., $15-75 READING: ‘SAY SAY SAY’

Lila Savage, Prairie Lights Books & Cafe, Iowa City, 7 p.m., Free Community Sings with Urban Bush

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Iowa City

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319-625-2221 2500 Corridor Way Ste 5

26 Sept. 18–Oct. 1, 2019 LITTLEVILLAGEMAG.COM/LV271

Cedar Rapids 319-200-4192 450 1st St SW #101

Des Moines 319-625-2221 506 E. Grand Ave

Women, Hancher, Iowa City, 7 p.m., Free (reservation required) GUITARIST FROM WIDESPREAD PANIC

Jimmy Herring and the 5 of 7, Wildwood Smokehouse & Saloon, Iowa City, 7 p.m., $25-30

STAFF PICKS

WHAT ARE WE DOING? Kent Park Lake Grand Opening, F.W. Kent Park boat ramp, Oxford, Saturday, Sept. 21, 1 p.m. As a north Coralville dwell-

Elly Hofmaier

er, one of my favorite ways to spend a weekend day is to roll out of bed late, download a few podcast episodes to my phone, make the quick and scenic drive down Marengo Road to Kent Park, aimlessly hike the paths until I get turned around, keep walking with false confidence until I see something familiar, eventually reunite with my car, then stop at Jon’s Ice Cream Shop & Restaurant in Tiffin on the way home for two scoops of mint chip ice cream.

I can’t wait to add the lake loop back into my Kent Park routine, as the Johnson County Conservation Board and Iowa DNR finish up a nearly three-year water quality improvement project that involved draining the lake, removing 100,000 cubic yards of excess sediment, reinforcing the shoreline and other improvements. The grand opening party on Sept. 21 will include a water monitoring demonstration, hayrack tours, free kayak and canoe use and other science-y, late-summer activities. Mint chip ice cream not included, unfortunately.

—Emma McClatchey

Elizabeth Moen with Penny Peach (formerly Elly h.) and Dana T., The Englert Theatre, Saturday, Sept. 21, 8-10:30 p.m., $10-15 and Iowa Abortion Access Show (Jordan Sellergren, Jacqui Alpine, Dryad) Trumpet Blossom Cafe, Saturday Sept. 21, 11 a.m.–11:30 p.m., $5-$20 Ugh, how do I choose between these

two events?!? Commitment. Commitment is how. I have made a commitment and I am

SEPT. 18– OCT. 1, 2019

COMMITTED to RAISING MONEY for the BENEFIT of WOMEN’S HEALTH. So I can’t personally manage it (playing at 9 at Trumpet Blossom!), but you guys can easily do both of these things. Make a day of it! From 11 a.m. until close on Sept. 21, a portion of Trumpet Blossom’s food and drink sales go to the Iowa Abortion Access Fund, plus there’s a silent auction till 9. Vegan brunch and mimosas or dinner and cocktails at Trumpet Blossom, then head on up Linn Street. Catch Moen’s truly fabulous annual Englert show. Treat yourself.

It will be fucking good. But move your philanthropic arses back down Linn Street after and put your money toward an important cause— Dryad (Iowa City’s radical woman-led metal fave) plays till 11:30. To be honest, there’s so much going on Sept. 21 that I can’t store it all in my brain, but these two things, I know, are worth your energy. —Jordan Sellergren Murder Case of State vs. Adnan Syed/ Adnan’s Story, The Englert Theatre, Iowa City, Monday, Sept. 30, 7:30 p.m., Free Season one of Serial—celebrating

its fifth anniversary on Oct. 3—captivated listeners for 12 episodes with an in-depth look at the 1999 case in which Baltimore high schooler Adnan Syed was convicted of killing his ex-girlfriend, Hae Min Lee. Serial was one of the first podcasts I listened to, and the crime story really captured my attention, but the unresolved ending left me wanting more. Fans like myself can go looking for a bit of that closure at the Englert on Sept. 30, where Rabia Chaudry, a friend of Syed, will be speaking. Chaudry is an attorney, podcast host and author of Adnan’s Story: The Search for Truth and Justice After ‘Serial.’ The event is part of the University of Iowa Lecture Series. —Natalie Dunlap Friday Night Live Music: Liv Carrow, Wild Culture Kombucha, Iowa City, Friday, Sept. 27, 7 p.m., Free Dear readers,

this event featuring the fantastic performer and genuinely wonderful person Liv Carrow (also a former LV contributor), is occurring the night before my birthday, which feels like a wonderful gift. Come out to hear a voice that sounds like it’s running a massage roller over your heaviest concerns, something the world sorely needs right now.

—Genevieve Trainor

NEWS YOU CAN TRUST.

90.9 910

FM

NEWS | STUDIO ONE

AM

NEWS

Stream online: IowaPublicRadio.org or the IPR app.

activities artart Free popcorn activities Hands-on Freeand andopen opentotothe thepublic public• •Hands-on popcorn • Free • Free icfilmscene.org thethe Chauncey | On the the PedPed MallMall icfilmscene.org| At | At Chauncey | On comingsoon soon the ped mall coming atat the ped mall DAVIDCROSBY: CROSBY: DAVID BACK TO THE FUTURE THE PARTS YOU LOSE BACK TO THE FUTURE III III REMEMBERMY MYNAME NAME THE PARTS YOU LOSE REMEMBER

OPENSSEP SEP2727 OPENS

SEPTEMBER SEPTEMBER 26 26

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EL NORTE EL NORTE

THE HARLEM FILMS FILMS OF THEOF HARLEM RENAISSANCE RENAISSANCE

MONOSMONOS

SEPTEMBER SEPTEMBER 30 30

OCTOBER 3 OCTOBER 3

OPENS OPENS OCT 11 OCT 11

LITTLEVILLAGE MAG.COM/CALENDAR

TOP PICKS: QUAD CITIES

SEPT. 18 –OCT. 1, 2019

Upcoming Events: EVERY MONDAY - PARCHMENT LOUNGE - 6:30 PM

urge to dance (it’s impossible). Close your eyes and let Video Age’s nostalgia-drenched synth pop sound transport you into a foggy club where the fuschia and sapphire lights dance around you. J Fernandez will grace us with their deceptively sunny songs filled with Casio bliss to start off the night. —PU

free write session hosted by Iowa Writer's House EVERY WEDNESDAY - ANDREW'S BAR EXAM - 7:00 PM

SEPT 20

Jarrett Purdy Quartet

SEPT 27

Dave Thacker Quartet

SEPT 28

Three Dogs and a Bone

8 PM 8 PM 8 PM

OCT 4 Cooper Fox

8 PM

OCT 5 8 PM

OCT 11

Twin Peaks w/ Slow Pulp, DEHD, Rust Belt, East Moline, Saturday, Sept. 21, 7 p.m., $20-25 This all-star bill of Chicago

(319) 351-5692 • 405 S GILBERT ST, IOWA CITY

Klaus Johann Grobe w/ Reptaliens, Sunshrine, Rozz-Tox, Rock Island, Friday, Sept. 27, 9 p.m., $10-12 This is a

Sarah Wagner

WAKE’s Rocktoberfest, WAKE Brewing, Rock Island, Saturday, Sept. 28, 12 p.m.

Was Wrong)” by Video Age and resist the

Robert “One Man” Johnson

SUNDAYS ARE 1/2 OFF ALL PIZZA ALL DAY!

perfect lineup if ever there was one. Swiss electro-pop duo Klaus Johann Grobe sound like Beck and Daft Punk have joined forces and will only play with synthesizers illegally manufactured in the USSR. Portland’s Reptaliens perform their brand of sci-fi disco while the psychedelic shamans of Sunshrine start a love-in. —Melanie Hanson

Video Age w/ J Fernandez, Rozz-Tox, Rock Island, Sunday, Sept. 22, 8 p.m., $8-12 I dare you to listen to “Hold On (I

Steve Grismore Trio

MONDAYS ARE HAPPY HOUR EVERY HOUR!

Manu Meyer

artists is a rare occurrence that we’re luckily able to witness in the QC. Twin Peaks, who are touring in support of their new album, Lookout Low, put on a hell of a live show where the crowd is full of energy and never stops moving. With the addition of Slow Pulp’s dreamy psych-pop and DEHD’s infectious, ’60s-inspired trashpop on this bill, this is shaping up to be one of the most fun shows at the Rust Belt so far.

—Paige Underwood

8 PM

Cole Peterson Trio

Of all the Rocktoberfests this season, this one is the best because it’s sponsored by WAKE Brewing, a.k.a. “The Metal Guys.”

Honor your god Lemmy with Motörhead tribute KILLMISTER. Local support includes Short Horn, Rezinator and Road Soda! All money from beer sales goes to King’s Harvest No Kill Shelter and the Broadway District. —MH

COMMUNITY

LittleVillageMag.com

>> Sex & Love cont. from pg. 21 Of course, the desire to dominate or submit is not determined by gender. William Moulton Marston tapped into fantasies of power-shifting and bondage in the original Wonder Woman comics, which Marston acknowledged were expressingly erotic. “Give [male readers] an alluring woman stronger than themselves to submit to,” Marston wrote in the 1940s, “and they’ll be proud to become her willing slaves!”

Overcoming ambivalence

A

mbivalence is not usually an aphrodisiac, but Morin’s final cornerstone suggests that mixed feelings can be a powerful turnon—that the combination of hatred and attraction, resistance and submission, is fodder for fantasy.

It’s perhaps what makes the fight-scene-turned-sex-scene between Brad Pitt and Angelina Jolie in Mr. and Mrs. Smith so iconic, and why “hate fucking” with an ex or rival is a relatively common fantasy.

Morin interviews a woman named Lydia who was reticent about trying anal sex with her boyfriend, but goes for it anyway, starting slowly and chosing the positioning for herself. She found she loved it, and her initial reluctance somehow added to that enjoyment.

Because it’s strange to admit negative feelings can be arousing, many people don’t acknowledge ambivalence is playing into their fantasies. Another of Morin’s subjects, a gay man named George, was unusually self-aware about his contradictory attractions.

“Even as a kid I admired super masculine men, the ones who never had to worry about being called a sissy,” George said. “I remember imagining that one of them—the rougher and tougher the better— would fuck me with love and respect. I knew it would never happen, but I guess that’s what fantasies are for.”

Why dwell on fantasies if they’re just that—fantastical? For one, they allow you to stretch your imagination, which didn’t, in fact, die with your childhood. They can also help you pinpoint a “peak experience.” Psychologist Abraham Maslow describes peak experiences as “moments of ecstasy in which we are fully present in the moment, unselfconsciously expressing our truest selves with ease and grace and grateful to be alive.”

Our fantasies, past and present, reveal something about ourselves.

And one need not self-psychoanalyze to gain a few insights: My past fantasies about the Goblin King and current fascination with Timothée Chalamet point to an appreciation for confident androgynous men, for example. If we’re willing to indulge some of our fantasies rather than stuff them down, we may get one step closer to having a peak experience.

So I encourage you to identify some of your first tingly thoughts, as well as the people and scenarios you find most hot to this day. Maybe start a fantasy journal. See which of the four cornerstones show up most consistently, and use this information to seek out more deeply satisfying experiences.

Natalie Benway LISW is a psychotherapist in private practice in Coralville. She has a certification in sexuality studies from the University of Iowa and is currently pursuing additional licensure with the American Association of Sexuality Educators, Counselors and Therapists.

30 Sept. 18–Oct. 1, 2019 LITTLEVILLAGEMAG.COM/LV271

OAD L N OW

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EVETED BY E CURA LLAG I V E LITTL

LittleVillageMag.com/App

EDITORS’ PICKS NEW LIVE STORYTELLING SERIES FROM THE HOOK

Truths Be Told: PROOF, Matthew 25, Cedar Rapids, 7:30 p.m., $10-15 Open Mic Night, Penguin’s Comedy Club, Cedar Rapids, 8 p.m., Free (Weekly) BEDROOM POP OUT OF NASHVILLE

Soccer Mommy w/ Squirrel Flower, The Mill, Iowa City, 8 p.m., $16-18 Open Stage, Studio 13, Iowa City, 10 p.m., Free (Weekly) THIS WEEK: PUTNEY SWOPE

Late Shift at the Grindhouse, Film Scene–Ped Mall, Iowa City, 10 p.m., $5.50 (Weekly)

Thu., Sept. 19 I.C. Press Co-op open shop, Public Space One, Iowa City, 4 p.m., Free (Weekly) VEGETARIAN LATE SUMMER SUNSET FEAST

Cobble Hill Farm to Table Dinner, Indian Creek Nature Center, Cedar Rapids, 5:30 p.m., $130 World Canvass Presents: Art and the Face of War: Goya and Tolstoy, Merge, Iowa City, 5:30 p.m., Free FIELD TO FAMILY LOCAL FOODS FESTIVAL

F2F 2019 Culinary Walk, Downtown Iowa City, 5:30 p.m., $15-30 Lamrim Kadampa Buddhist Centre Iowa City Meditation Class, Quaker Friends Meeting House, Iowa City, 6:30 p.m., $5-10 (Weekly) CONFERENCE RUNS THROUGH SEPT. 21

Want to make a difference in Johnson County?

Apply for a board or commission! Vacancies are available on the following boards and commissions: • • • • • • •

Imagining Latinidades in Global and National Perspective Keynote Address with Anna Sampaio, Iowa City Public Library, 6:30 p.m., Free Novel Conversations, Coralville Public Library, 7 p.m., Free (3rd Thursday)

• • • •

Board of Health Building Code Board of Appeals Compensation Commission Conservation Board Historic Preservation Commission Food Policy Council Juvenile Justice and Youth Development Policy Board Medical Examiner Planning and Zoning Commission SEATS Paratransit Advisory Committee Zoning Board of Adjustment

Find applications, deadlines and more information at www.johnson-county.com/vacancies.

Questions? Call 319-356-6000 or email applications@co.johnson.ia.us.

EDITORS’ PICKS Thursday Night Live Open Mic, Uptown Bill’s, Iowa City, 7 p.m., Free (Weekly) READING: ‘TIME IS THE THING A BODY MOVES THROUGH’

T Fleischmann, Prairie Lights Books & Cafe, Iowa City, 7 p.m., Free

witching hour

PRESENTED BY THE ENGLERT + LITTLE VILLAGE

november 1-2, 2019

POP COUNTRY HARMONIES

Nobody’s Girl w/ Colin Gilmore, CSPS Legion Arts, Cedar Rapids, 7 p.m., $16-19 Daddy-O, Parlor City Pub and Eatery, Cedar

mat kearney

CO-PRESENTED BY FIRST FLEET CONCERTS

tuesday, october 15 @ 8 pm

Rapids, 7 p.m., Free (Weekly) PART OF THE FALL FACULTY SERIES SETTING THE TABLE

Rationed: When Food Becomes a Weapon of War, Mount Mercy University, Cedar Rapids, 7 p.m., Free PORTLAND OR FOLK

Friday, September 27

Becca Mancari + frances cone

LIVE AT THE MILL | SPONSORED BY UIHC LGBTQ CLINIC Tuesday, october 8

sinkane

LIVE AT THE MILL | PRESENTED BY MISSION CREEK

Joseph w/ Deep Sea Diver, Englert Theatre, Iowa City, 7:30 p.m., $20-99 AUSTIN ROCK

Emily Wolfe, The Mill, Iowa City, 8 p.m., $12-15 FOLK FAVORITE

Chicago Farmer w/ Joel Sires, Trumpet Blossom Cafe, Iowa City, 8 p.m., $10 Live Jazz, Clinton Street Social Club, Iowa

tuesday, october 15

sarah shook & the disarmers LIVE AT THE MILL

City, 8 p.m., Free (1st & 3rd Thursdays) IOWA CITY ROCK

Citrus Sunday w/ Hummingbird Horizon, Loci, Iowa City Yacht Club, 9 p.m., $5-10

wednesday, october 16

branford marsalis quartet SPONSORED BY TALLGRASS BUSINESS RESOURCES + THE AFRICAN AMERICAN MUSEUM OF IOWA thursday, october 17

john hiatt AN ACOUSTIC EVENING

wednesday, october 30

rhiannon giddens + francesco turrisi

SPONSORED BY THE SANKOFA OUTREACH CONNECTION ENGLERT.ORG | 221 E. WASHINGTON ST. | 319.688.2653 32 Sept. 18–Oct. 1, 2019 LITTLEVILLAGEMAG.COM/LV271

Fri., Sept. 20 FIELD TO FAMILY LOCAL FOODS FESTIVAL

Edible Classroom Garden Tour, Robert A. Lee Recreation Center, Iowa City, 4 p.m.

Fall Beer Tasting, Benz Beverage Depot, Cedar Rapids, 5 p.m., Free FILMSCENE–CHAUNCEY GRAND OPENING

Opening Night Soirée: ‘Downton Abbey,’ FilmScene–Chauncey, Iowa City, 5:30, 5:45, 8:30 and 8:45 p.m., $27

LITTLEVILLAGE MAG.COM/CALENDAR

Zak Neumann / Little Village

TOP PICKS: DES MOINES

SEPT. 18 –OCT. 1, 2019

Mdou Moctar, Vaudeville Mews, Sept.

23, 8 p.m., $13-15 Mdou Moctar just

recently showed up on my radar, but the guy’s been slinging memory cards of music around Africa for over a decade. He’s one of the first musicians to bridge the gap between the music of the Tuareg people and electronic instrumentation. It kind of reminds me of old Gang Gang Dance tracks, but it replaces all of the synthed-out psychedelia with plenty of Moctar’s particular brand of shreddage.

The new album is called Ilana (The Creator) and the tour for it is bringing him through Des Moines and then around the U.S. and Europe through the end of the year.

‘Bill and Ted’s Excellent Adventure,’ Flix Brewhouse, Sept. 25, 6:45 p.m., $5

With the announcement of the new Bill & Ted Face the Music film due out this time next year, one must wonder if nostalgia’s overthrow of American cinema is finally complete. Is a new Bill & Ted film really necessary? We’ll find out next year. In the meantime, Flix is screening the guys’ first excellent adventure together as part of their ongoing “Flix Brewhouse Goes Retro” series, whose very existence kind of proves my point regarding Hollywood’s current obsession with looking to its own past for new inspiration.

The Mynabirds, Vaudeville Mews, Sept.

26, 6:30 p.m., $12-14 The Mynabirds are

the main creative outlet for musical overachiever Laura Burhenn, whose career in the independent music world spans over 20 years. In that time, she’s started her own music label, released four albums through Omaha’s Saddle Creek and toured with bands like the Postal Service and Bright Eyes. In other words, Burhenn has for a long time been doing laps around all these other indie-pop darlings that seem to disappear from the spotlight as quickly as they emerge.

Oktoberfest, Downtown Des Moines, Sept. 27-28, All Day, $7-12 Every year,

lederhosen and dirndl-clad peoples pack the streets of downtown Des Moines for a celebration of all things German culture. The beer floweth freely throughout the two days of Oktoberfest, and it’s tough to make your way downtown without hearing polka music reverberating between the skyscrapers. To be sure, by Saturday night, the whole thing tends to descend into quite the shit show, but then again, that’s kind of the whole point.

Prost! — Trey Reis

CULTURE

LittleVillageMag.com

>> Yola cont. from pg. 22 Co-writing and singing on hit songs also gave Yola the confidence boost that she was capable of doing anything.

“It took essentially three years for me to pick up the guitar and get the songs out of my head,” Yola said. “That was the big transition for me, but when I finally did choose to collaborate with people again it was a matter of choice, not necessity.”

She then used her own money to pay for the session musicians, production and publicity to promote Orphan Offering. “I essentially did all of that alone, just by funding myself and making sure that the essential parts of my team were working to push my name out there. That was the thing that lit the fire.”

Nashville embraced her with open arms, which led “MY EXPERIENCE WAS VERY MUCH [ONE OF] to the Black CONNECTING TO ANYTHING THAT HAD THE ELEMENT Keys’ Dan Auerbach OF STORYTELLING ... TO TRULY EMOTE IN AN producing ENVIRONMENT THAT DIDN’T REPRESENT MY VOICE.” 2019’s Walk Through Fire and signing Yola to his Easy Eye label. The album’s lush sound was supplied be just one-sided, and that’s what I resisted. by legendary backing musicians who played Like, ‘Why do you get to be free and I don’t? with Johnny Cash, Elvis Presley and Dusty How does that work?’”

Springfield.

Before releasing her 2016 debut EP, “It was unreal, ridiculous levels of aweOrphan Offering, Yola was part of Massive some,” Yola recalled. “But you can’t go into a Attack’s writing team and briefly toured room with these people and every time you’re with them as a lead vocalist. She also sang just in awe or flabbergasted, because you and wrote as a gun-for-hire on hit pop and dance songs by Katy Perry, Will Young, Duke can’t make a record that way.”

And what a beautiful record it is. The Dumont and others. While that may have musically rich “Ride Out In the Country” been creatively constraining for Yola, the sounds like an old familiar friend, as if it’s financial windfall was liberating. been around for years. Yola’s versatile voice “That basically provided money for me to soars above the more epic, sweeping songs start again,” she said, “and I decided to bewhile also staying grounded on Walk Through come my own ‘rich daddy.’”

Fire’s fiddle-infused title track.

Yola had seen how many artistically in“It was very much inspired by that moment clined upper-middle class kids had a head of feeling rebirthed through fire,” Yola said of start in the game because they didn’t have to her brush with fate. “Before that I had not been struggle just to keep a roof over their heads, making music for some time. Then I decided but she worked hard and got lucky and was to start learning to play the guitar and was able to buy her own privilege. inspired to write again, but none of that would “Many of them had trust funds and whathave happened without that moment.” not,” she said, “so I could not compete with someone else with a rich daddy. And I didn’t even start with a daddy! So I’m going to be Kembrew McLeod loves Walk Through Fire my own rich daddy.” and the sound of Yola’s voice. an oddball, all the way down to her musical tastes, such as her love Parton’s 1974 album Jolene. “It was almost as though everything I was looking for didn’t exist yet,” Yola said, “or had already existed a long time ago and so people had forgotten that it did exist.”

Much of the music that she grew up with was eclectic and open, but that wasn’t the case when she began breaking into music.

“Categories were being whittled down, like, ‘You fit there, you stay there.’ That was something I fought against as a paradigm.”

Discussing how white rappers like Eminem and older blue-eyed soul artists crossed over into other musical territories, she observed, “That concept of freedom in music should not

34 Sept. 18–Oct. 1, 2019 LITTLEVILLAGEMAG.COM/LV271

EDITORS’ PICKS BrewNost, National Czech and Slovak Museum and Library, Cedar Rapids, 5:30 p.m., $65-125 FAC Dance Party, The Union, Iowa City, 7 p.m. (Weekly) OPENING NIGHT! ALSO RUNS SEPT. 21

SPT Theatre Presents: Tales From the Writers Room Season 12 If You Build It—1 ‘Under Construction,’ Shores Central Park, 7:30 p.m., $20-25 OPENING NIGHT! RUNS THROUGH SEPT. 22

City Circle Theatre Company Presents: ‘The Christians,’ Coralville Center for the Performing Arts, 7:30 p.m., $14-29 OPENING NIGHT! RUNS THROUGH SEPT. 28

Dreamwell Theatre Presents: ‘Hand to God,’ Public Space One (Wesley Center), Iowa City, 7:30 p.m., $10-15 OPENING NIGHT! RUNS THROUGH SEPT. 28

‘God of Carnage,’ RHCR Theatre, Cedar Rapids, 7:30 p.m., $16-19 OPENING NIGHT! RUNS THROUGH SEPT. 29

Iowa City Community Theatre Presents: ‘Pippin,’ Johnson County Fairgrounds, Iowa City, 7:30 p.m., $11-19 OPENING NIGHT! RUNS THROUGH OCT. 13

‘Hello, Dolly!,’ Theatre Cedar Rapids, 7:30 p.m., $25-48 DVIP ANNIVERSARY CELEBRATION!

Forty Years Forward, Coralville Marriott Hotel & Conference Center, 7:30 p.m., $501,000 ALSO SEPT. 21

Michael Palascak, Penguin’s Comedy Club, Cedar Rapids, 8 p.m., $12-15 ELECTRONIC JAZZ ENSEMBLE

Wave Cage, Sanctuary Pub, Iowa City, 8 p.m., Free AUSTIN FOLK

Joe Pug w/ Dead Horses, The Mill, Iowa City, 8 p.m., $15-18 IOWA SOUL

Diplomats Of Solid Sound w/ Public Property, Wildwood Smokehouse & Saloon, Iowa City, 8 p.m., $15-25

RENTING IN IOWA CITY? Learn what to look for when apartment-hunting, how to protect yourself after signing a lease, and what to do if something goes wrong. Get these tips and more at:

icgov.org/RentalTips

STRENGTHEN

Preserve the historic Englert Theatre and FilmScene on the ped mall

GROW

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

EVOLVE

Expand education, outreach, access, and collaboration

Building the

GREATEST SMALL CITY for THE ARTS

LEARN HOW YOU CAN HELP REALIZE OUR COLLABORATIVE VISION AT

www.strengthen grow evolve.org

36 Sept. 18–Oct. 1, 2019 LITTLEVILLAGEMAG.COM/LV271

EDITORS’ PICKS BROOKLYN, NY POWER POP

Charly Bliss, Gabe’s, Iowa City, 8 p.m., $13 LED ZEPPELIN TRIBUTE BAND

Get The Led Out, Paramount Theatre, Cedar Rapids, 8 p.m., $24.50-47.50

CEDAR RAPIDS NEW BOHEMIA/ CZECH VILLAGE

NEBRASKA ROCK/SOUL

Kris lager Band, Famous Mockingbird, Marion, 8 p.m., $15 WISCONSIN DEATH METAL

Micawber w/ Mutilated by Zombies, Acoustic Guillotine, Trumpet Blossom Cafe, Iowa City, 8:30 p.m., $7 SoulShake, Gabe’s, Iowa City, 10 p.m., Free (Weekly) Flirty Friday’s Drag & Dance Party,

the

DAISY

CLOTHING • GIFTS & DECOR Marion

319-249-1898 1105 8th Ave

New Bo

319-362-3615 208 12th Ave

(Weekly)

Tu, Wed, Fri 11-5 Th 11-7 • Sat 11-4 ~ closed sunday & monday ~

Sat, Sept. 21

www.shopthedaisy.com

Studio 13, Iowa City, 10:30 p.m., $5-10

Iowa City Farmers Market, Chauncey Swan Ramp, Iowa City, 7:30 a.m.

Cedar Rapids Downtown Farmers’

Black Earth Gallery Art Consulting

Market, Downtown Cedar Rapids, 7:30 a.m.

FIELD TO FAMILY LOCAL FOODS FESTIVAL

Local Food Fair At Iowa City Farmers’ Market, Chauncey Swan Ramp, Iowa City, 8 a.m.

for businesses and personal homes, pop-up shows and public art events blackearthgallery.com @black_earth_gallery blackearthgallery@gmail.com

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

If art isn’t important, then why does it have so much power?

THE MAYOR IS DECLARING SEPT. 21 ‘CRUNCH BERRY DAY’

The Crunch Berry Run, Green Square Park, Cedar Rapids, 9 a.m., $22-34 REGISTER EARLY FOR EXTRA CLUES!

Iowa Humane Alliance Treasure Trek, Ped Mall, Iowa City, 10 a.m., $15-35 COMMUNITY CELEBRATION WITH TOURS, DEMOS AND MORE

Open House for the Greatest Small City for the Arts, FilmScene–Chauncey, Iowa City, 10 a.m., Free LITTLEVILLAGEMAG.COM/LV271 Sept. 18–Oct. 1, 2019 37

A R T IS AGELESS ART AUCTION FUNDRAISER TO BENEFIT THE IOWA CITY/JOHNSON COUNTY SENIOR CENTER

EDITORS’ PICKS Family Storytime, Iowa City Public Library, 10:30 a.m., Free (Weekly) 2019 Cedar Rapids Food Truck Festival, Benz Beverage Depot, Cedar Rapids, 11 a.m.

PRESENTED BY IOWA BREWING COMPANY; HOG ROAST DINNER AT 6 P.M. FOR $30

NewBo Oktoberfest, NewBo City Market, Cedar Rapids, 12 p.m., Free-$30 I.C. Press Co-op Open Shop, Public Space One, Iowa City, 12 p.m., Free (Weekly) OPENING PERFORMANCE! RUNS THROUGH OCT. 12

FRIDAY, SEPTEMBER 27 6:30 - 8:00 PM

SILENT AUCTION LIVE ENTERTAINMENT, DESSERT BAR

BEER & CIDER TASTING BY BIG GROVE BREWERY, WILSON'S ORCHARD, REUNION BREWERY

‘Madagascar: A Musical Adventure,’ Old Creamery Theatre, Amana, 1 p.m., $10.50 Kent Park Lake Grand Opening, F.W. Kent Park boat ramp, Oxford, 1 p.m., Free READING & CONVERSATION: ‘STATE: A TEAM, A TRIUMPH, A TRANSFORMATION’

Melissa Isaacson w/ Lisa Bluder, Prairie Lights Books & Cafe, Iowa City, 4 p.m., Free 4 P.M. MAKEUP, 5:30 P.M. MARCH, 6:30 P.M. AFTERPARTY @ DEADWOOD

14th Annual Iowa City Zombie March: Fall Formal, College Green Park, Iowa City, 4 p.m., Free

FEATURING WORK BY LOCAL ARTISTS

LINDA BROWN & JOHN BIRKBECK

Immigrant Foodways: Czech St. Food, National Czech and Slovak Museum and Library, Cedar Rapids, 6 p.m., $30 NEW YORK DANCE; TALKBACK AFTER IN STANLEY CAFE

Urban Bush Women: ‘Hair & Other Stories,’ Hancher, Iowa City, 7 p.m., $10-45 IC SONGBIRD

Elizabeth Moen w/ Elly H, Dana T, Englert Theatre, Iowa City, 8 p.m., $10-15 ICONIC IOWA SINGER-SONGWRITER

David Zollo & the Body Electric w/ Abbie Callahan, The Mill, Iowa City, 8 p.m., $12-15 TULSA PSYCH ROCK

ZUNIS w/ Megababes, Iowa City Yacht

Public preview & open bidding begin Thursday, September 19.

28 S. Linn Street, Iowa City www.icgov.org/senior 38 Sept. 18–Oct. 1, 2019 LITTLEVILLAGEMAG.COM/LV271

Club, 8 p.m., $5-10 Michael Glabicki of Rusted Root w/ Dirk Miller, CSPS Legion Arts, Cedar Rapids, 8 p.m., $20-25

LITTLEVILLAGEMAG.COM/CALENDAR

SEPT. 18–OCT. 1, 2019

Younger NIGHT MILK

LittleVillageMag.com/Younger

via Dickie’s facebook

TOP PICKS:

WATERLOO/CEDAR FALLS

DICKIE Record Release w/Joel Sires, Octopus College Hill, Cedar Falls, Friday, Sept. 20, 9 p.m., $5 In

the last issue, reviewer Michael Roeder noted that, with Minus Thieves, the Dick Prall and Billy Barton iteration of DICKIE “aren’t the heroes we deserve, but quite possibly the ones we need.”

Celebrate the heroes at their release party.

Oktoberfest 2019, SingleSpeed Brewing Co., Waterloo, Saturday, Sept. 21, 10 a.m. SingleSpeed is cel-

Mohair Pear’s Pear Fair 2019, College Hill, Cedar Falls, Saturday, Sept. 28, 11 a.m. The ninth annual Pear Fair, held

in the open air in Municipal Lot G, beside Octopus College Hill, builds on the legacy of the past with new indie artists as well as returning favorites offering the best in craft and design. Once again, ZZZ Records will also be holding a record fair as part of the event, and food will be available on site from La Calle.

AVAILABLE NOW 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

ebrating the release of their Märzen 16 Days with an Oktoberfest event complete with live music (Isaac Smith) and (wait for it) a visit from irresistible baby goats.

Cedar Valley Kings Show, Kings and Queens Club, Waterloo, Saturday, Sept. 21, 10:30 p.m., $5 The Cedar

Valley Kings are having their first show ever! Oliver Hugh, Miles Long, Eli Skye and Jaybaby Bangz will be joined by special guest Kade Lovewell from Des Moines.

Lewis Black: The Joke’s On US Tour, Gallagher Bluedorn Performing Arts Center, Cedar Falls, Sunday, Sept. 22, 7 p.m., $39.75-64.75 The

Grammy-winning comedian brings his well-known, belligerent stand-up act to Cedar Falls.

BStar LittleVillageMag.com/BStar

EDITORS’ PICKS IOWA SOUL

SPUN TUNES FROM REVEREND

Kevin Burt w/ Big Medicine,

CHARLES PAGAN & DOCTOR ELI

WWildwood Smokehouse & Saloon,

CALICO

Iowa City, 8 p.m., $10-25

Eye Meets The Pyramid Medicine Show, Gabe’s, Iowa City, 9 p.m.,

Elation Dance Party, Studio 13,

Free

Iowa City, 9 p.m., $5-10 (Weekly) BIJOU AFTER HOURS FOOD&DRINK SALES + SILENT

‘The Wayward Cloud,’ FilmScene–

AUCTION 11 A.M.-9 P.M. ALSO

Chauncey, Iowa City, 10 p.m., Free-

BENEFIT THE FUND

$7

Iowa Abortion Access Show ft. Jacqui Alpine, Jordan Sellergren, DRYAD, Trumpet

Sun., Sept. 22

Blossom Cafe, Iowa City, 9 p.m., $520 sliding scale

CzechFest 2019, Czech Village, Cedar Rapids, 9 a.m., Free

Studio 13’s 19th Birthday!, Studio 13, Iowa City, 9 p.m., $5-10

Farm Cycle 2019, starts at Big Grove Brewery & Taproom, Iowa City,

GROOVE/FUNK/JAM FROM CHICAGO

9:30 a.m., Free-$50

Mungion w/ 6 Odd Rats, Gabe’s, Iowa City, 9 p.m., $10-12

Hiawatha Farmers Market, Guthridge Park, Hiawatha, 10 a.m.

LITTLEVILLAGE MAG.COM/CALENDAR St Wenceslaus Goulash Days, St.

FIELD TO FAMILY LOCAL FOODS

Wenceslaus Church, Cedar Rapids,

FESTIVAL

11 a.m., Free

Wetherby Park Edible Forest Tour, Wetherby Park, Iowa City, 4:30 p.m., Free

IOWA BLUES

Blues & Bloodys w/ Kevin BF Burt, Big Grove Brewery & Taproom,

HIP HOP CLASSICAL

Iowa City, 1 p.m., Free

Black Violin, Englert Theatre, Iowa City, 7 p.m., $10-37.50

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

IOWA ALT-ROCK-COUNTRY

(Weekly)

The Nadas, The Mill, Iowa City, 7 p.m., $15-20

CLOSING PERFORMANCE

‘The Importance of Being

COSTUMED CANADIAN ROCK

Earnest,’ Giving Tree Theater,

TWRP w/ Rich Aucoin, Gabe’s,

Marion, 2 p.m., $27.86

Iowa City, 7 p.m., $15-75

Opening Reception: Mark

IWP Cinematheque, FilmScene–

Vollenweider, Makers Loft, Iowa

Ped Mall, Iowa City, 7 p.m., Free

City, 4 p.m., Free Pub Quiz, The Mill, Iowa City, 9 p.m., $1 (Weekly)

fair trade

Rug Event O c t 2 –6

Persian, Tribal and Bokhara rugs ~ Classic to Contemporary ~ from 2’x3’ to 10’x14’ & runners. rugs.tenthousandvillages.com

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EDITORS’ PICKS MOLINE INDY ROCK

NASHVILLE INDIE ROCK

READING: ‘ALL DAY I DREAM ABOUT SIRENS’ /

Pollinators w/ Rubin Flores, Scottie Feller,

PONCÉ, Gabe’s, Iowa City, 8 p.m., Free

‘VALUING’

Domenica Martinello and Christopher

Iowa City Yacht Club, 9 p.m., $5-10

Mon., Sept. 23 Coralville Farmers Market, Coralville Community

Comedy Open Mic with Spencer & Dan, Yacht

Kondrich, Prairie Lights Books & Cafe, Iowa City,

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

7 p.m., Free

Tue., Sept. 24

Yahoo Drummers, Downtown Iowa City, 7:30

Cultivate Hope Market, Cultivate Hope Urban

Weekly Old-Timey Jam Sessions, Trumpet

Farm, Cedar Rapids, 4:30 p.m. (Weekly)

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

Practice in the Prairie, Indian Creek Nature

ICCT Musical Theater Karaoke Night, Johnson

Center, 6 p.m., Free (Weekly)

County Fairgrounds, Iowa City, 8 p.m., $5

BIJOU HORIZONS

Dance Party with DJ JD, Iowa City Yacht Club, 9

‘Rec,’ FilmScene–Chauncey, Iowa City, 6 p.m.,

p.m., Free (Weekly)

p.m., Free (Weekly)

Aquatic Center Parking Lot, 5 p.m.

WILD GENRE AMALGAM WORTH EXPLORING

Just Friends w/ Save Face, the Sonder Bombs, Gabe’s, Iowa City, 5:30 p.m., $15 Open Mic, The Mill, Iowa City, 7 p.m., Free (Weekly) READING: ‘CITIZEN BROWN: RACE, DEMOCRACY,

Free-7 p.m.

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

AND INEQUALITY IN THE ST. LOUIS SUBURBS’

Colin Gordon, Prairie Lights Books & Cafe, Iowa

Blues Jam, Parlor City Pub and Eatery, Cedar

City, 7 p.m., Free

Rapids, 7 p.m., Free (Weekly)

Free (Weekly) Karaoke Tuesdays, The Mill, Iowa City, 10:30 p.m., Free (Weekly)

GOURMET POPCORN ICE CREAM BOTTLED SODA FIND

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EDITORS’ PICKS

Wed., Sept. 25

Thu., Sept. 26

Burlington Street Bluegrass

PRESENTED W/ CAPTIONS IN

Band, The Mill, Iowa City, 6 p.m.,

CELEBRATION OF INT’L DEAF WEEK

$5 (2nd & 4th Wednesdays)

‘The Parts You Lose,’ FilmScene– Ped Mall, Iowa City, 5:30 p.m.,

PNW ROOTS/AMERICANA

$8-10.50

The Lowest Pair, CSPS Legion Arts, Cedar Rapids, 7 p.m., $15-18

READING: ‘CLOUDS’

Chandrahas Choudhury, Prairie FEATURING ‘ROAD TO THE SUN’—A

Lights Books & Cafe, Iowa City, 7

NEW WORK BY PAT METHENY

p.m., Free

Los Angeles Guitar Quartet: ‘American Guitar Masters,’

TRIBUTE SHOW INCL. LOCAL

Hancher, Iowa City, 7:30 p.m.,

STUDENT QUARTET

$10-45

Beatles VS Stones, Paramount Theatre, Cedar Rapids, 7:30 p.m.,

“PSYCHEDELIC DOOM BOOGIE”

$23-68

TK & the Holy Know-Nothings, Iowa City Yacht Club, 8 p.m., $5-10

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44 Sept. 18–Oct. 1, 2019 LITTLEVILLAGEMAG.COM/LV271

THIS WEEK: EASY RIDER

The Clinton St. House Band,

Late Shift at the Grindhouse,

Clinton Street Social Club, Iowa City,

Film Scene–Chauncey, Iowa City, 10

8 p.m., Free (Monthly)

p.m., $6 (Weekly) iHearIC, The Mill, Iowa City, 9 p.m., Free

LITTLEVILLAGE MAG.COM/CALENDAR Americature w/ Bain-marie, TV

READING + VISUAL ART SHOW

Cop, Joretta Oaks, Gabe’s, Iowa

INTERWOVEN // vanitas, Old

City, 9 p.m., $5

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

CHICAGO ELECTRO-POP

JOIN THE YEE YEE NATION FOR

CHNNLL, Iowa City Yacht Club, 9

NASHVILLE COUNTRY

p.m., $5-10

Granger Smith w/ Jerrod Niemann, Tucker Bethard,

FARGO, ND METAL

McGrath Amphitheatre, Cedar Rapids,

Phobophilic w/ DRYAD, Zuul,

7:30 p.m., $26.50-46.50

Gabe’s, Iowa City, 9 p.m., Free NASHVILLE FOLK

Becca Mancari w/ Frances Cone,

Fri., Sept. 27

The Mill, Iowa City, 8 p.m., $12-15

OPENING NIGHT! RUNS THROUGH

MELLOW JAZZ

SEPT. 29

Dave Thaker Quartet, Sanctuary

Combined Efforts Theatre

Pub, Iowa City, 8 p.m., Free

fresh cut, beautifully arranged, locally-sourced flowers

Presents: ‘Meet Us At the Horizon,’ Johnson County

ALSO SEPT. 28

Fairgrounds Montgomery Hall, Iowa

Steve Kramer, Penguin’s Comedy

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

Club, Cedar Rapids, 8 p.m., $12-15

READING: ‘THE DEARLY BELOVED’

Cara Wall, Prairie Lights Books & Cafe, Iowa City, 7 p.m., Free

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LITTLEVILLAGEMAG.COM/LV271 Sept. 18–Oct. 1, 2019 45

IOWA CITY SOUTH OF BOWERY

EDITORS’ PICKS Comedy Showcase presents The Griz: Goes To School, Iowa City Yacht Club, 8 p.m., $5-10 SOLO PROJECT OF POISON CONTROL CENTER’S DONALD CURTIS

Histo w/ Rubbur, Midwest Waves,

Professional Printers for 65 Years 408 Highland Ct. • (319) 338-9471 bob@goodfellowprinting.com

Sengoko, Trumpet Blossom Cafe, Iowa City, 9 p.m., $7 IC METAL

Dead Emperors w/ Otros Outros, Superquiet, Denny Richards, Gabe’s, Iowa City, 9 p.m., $8

Sat., Sept. 28 Iowa City Farmers Market, Chauncey Swan Ramp, Iowa City, 7:30 a.m.

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

Fall Marion Market, City Square Park, Marion, 8:30 a.m.

Fasting and Ketogenic Eating with Dr Terry Wahls, Coralville Public Library, 10 a.m., Free (registration recommended) NC METAL

Corrosion Of Conformity w/ the Skull, Mothership, Witch Mountain, Wildwood Smokehouse & Saloon, Iowa City, 7:30 p.m., $20-25 STEVE GRISMORE & FRIENDS

Three Dogs and a Bone, Sanctuary Pub, Iowa City, 8 p.m., Free NOLA-BASED, JAZZ-INFUSED SINGER/ SONGWRITER

Carsie Blanton Band, CSPS Legion Arts,

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Cedar Rapids, 8 p.m., $16-19 MI+TX SINGER-SONGWRITER

Small Houses w/ Dear Rabbit, Spectral Snake, Trumpet Blossom Cafe, Iowa City, 8 p.m., $10 WATERLOO TRAP

Too Kleen w/ Special Guests, Iowa City Yacht Club, 8 p.m., $5-10

0 3 .

T P E S E S O L C S L L O P CRANDIC ag.com/ M e g la il V le t Lit

LITTLE VILLAGE’S BEST OF THE CRANDIC IS PRESENTED BY:

LITTLEVILLAGEMAG.COM/LV271 Sept. 18–Oct. 1, 2019 47

EDITORS’ PICKS “FREAK ROCK”

IWP Cinematheque, FilmScene–

Tripmaster Monkey w/

Ped Mall, Iowa City, 7 p.m., Free

Porcupine, Deleters, Gabe’s, Iowa City, 9 p.m., $12

BROAD-BASED ROOTS MUSIC

HAWKTAIL, CSPS Legion Arts, BIJOU AFTER HOURS

Dodge & Davenport Iowa City 319. 354. 2623 info@designranch.com

Cedar Rapids, 7 p.m., $17-21

‘Perfect Blue,’ FilmScene–Chauncey, Iowa City, 10 p.m., Free-$7

Lotería Night, The Mill, Iowa City, 7 p.m., $5

Sun., Sept. 29

ROOFTOP SERIES

‘Back to the Future III,’

Sleek, modern, beautifully simple.

Hiawatha Farmers Market,

FilmScene–Ped Mall, Iowa City, 8

Guthridge Park, Hiawatha, 10 a.m.

p.m., $15

NATIONAL THEATRE LIVE

“GARAGE AMERICANA”

‘The Lehman Trilogy,’ FilmScene–

Ariana Hodes w/ Joe Sorensen,

Chauncey, Iowa City, 2 p.m., $15-18

William & the Wildflowers, Iowa City Yacht Club, 9 p.m., $5-10

TOURING STAGE PLAY

‘If He Won’t Love You, I Will,’ Englert Theatre, Iowa City, 3 p.m., $23.50-27.50

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WWW.RAPIDSREPRO.COM Send story tips and submissions: editor@littlevillagemag.com 48 Sept. 18–Oct. 1, 2019 LITTLEVILLAGEMAG.COM/LV271

IOWA CITY 415 HIGHLAND AVE, STE 100 319-354-5950

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Mon., Sept. 30

Tue., Oct. 1

Coralville Farmers Market,

Cultivate Hope Market, Cultivate

Coralville Community Aquatic Center

Hope Urban Farm, Cedar Rapids,

Parking Lot, 5 p.m.

4:30 p.m.

POST-SCREENING DIALOGUE W/ UI

Blacktop Mojo, Gabe’s, Iowa City,

CENTER FOR HUMAN RIGHTS

5 p.m., $12

‘El Norte,’ FilmScene–Ped Mall, Iowa City, 5 p.m., Free

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

EXPERIMENTAL MEDIA

Animate Landscapes screening

TN ROOTS ROCK

w/ Sarah Kanouse, Public Space

Black Lillies, The Mill, Iowa City, 8

One (Wesley Center), 7:30 p.m., $5-

p.m., $10

10 sliding scale UI LECTURE COMMITTEE

Murder Case of State vs. Adnan Syed/Adnan’s Story, Englert Theatre, Iowa City, 7:30 p.m., Free Comedy Open Mic with Spencer & Dan, Yacht Club, Iowa City, 9 p.m., Free

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PLEASE SUPPORT OUR ADVERTISERS! l ittlev i lla gem a g.co m /a dverti sing READ • SHARE • SUPPORT LITTLEVILLAGEMAG.COM/LV271 Sept. 18–Oct. 1, 2019 51

YOUR VILLAGE

BY PAUL BRENNAN

What kind of name is Chauncey for a building? —Anonymous, via the Your Village feature on LV’s homepage.

I

n most cities, The Chauncey would be a wonderful or terrible name, depending on personal preference, but in Iowa City it is historic. Like the park and the parking ramp next to it, the new 15-story mixed-use building borrows its name from Chauncey Swan, who’s been called “the father of Iowa City.”

There’s no record of Swan being given that title during his lifetime, but if anyone deserves it, it’s him. He was largely responsible for the site and original shape of Iowa City.

Chauncey Swan was born in New York, sometime during the last few years of the 1700s. In the mid-1830s, Swan, his wife Dollie and their four children moved to Dubuque, where Swan hoped to make a fortune mining lead. It didn’t happen. He did, however, set up a successful distillery at Catfish Creek, two miles outside Dubuque.

Swan may have lacked skill (and luck) in mining, but he made up for that with skill (and luck) in politics.

Back in New York, Swan had been postmaster of the town of Otisco. Postmaster was a highly desirable job in 19th century America, providing a steady income and instantly giving the holder a certain local prominence. The job usually went to a well-connected member of whichever party controlled the White House. Swan, a Democrat, was a loyal supporter of Andrew Jackson, and that was enough to get him appointed while Jackson was president.

When the Iowa Territory was created in 1838, the Democratic Party dominated the territory and Washington D.C. Swan saw a chance for something better than distilling and prospecting for lead.

Dubuque County elected him to the territory’s House of Representatives. The new legislature met in Burlington, but Gov. Robert Lucas wasn’t happy with Burlington. He pushed a bill through the legislature creating a new territorial capital named Iowa City.

Lucas appointed Swan, John Ronalds and Robert Ralston to determine where to build Iowa City. After the site was selected, Lucas appointed Swan “acting commissioner” in charge of planning the city. President Martin Van Buren, a Democrat, made Swan Iowa City postmaster in 1839.

His tenure as postmaster ended in 1841,

when William Henry Harrison became president. Harrison, a Whig, replaced Democratic postmasters with loyal Whigs. (Actually, John Tyler did most of the replacing. Tyler was Harrison’s vice president, and became president when Harrison died 31 days after being sworn in.)

Although Swan lost the post office, he didn’t have to worry. Lucas had appointed him Superintendent of Public Buildings, which put Swan in charge of construction of the new (now Old) capitol building.

In 1842, with the Democrats temporarily out of power—Tyler had appointed Whig John Chambers governor of the Iowa Territory—Swan looked for other work. That year, he opened Swan’s Hotel at the corner of Jefferson and Capitol Street.

The following year, Swan became president of the Iowa City Manufacturing Company—a grist mill, despite its industrial-sounding name—but the company soon went out of business.

The hotel, however, was a success. Swan’s Hotel was known for its barroom, which a contemporary called “the only good tavern ever established in Iowa.” (Ironically, Swan was also a founding member of the Iowa City Sons of Temperance.)

In his personal life, Swan suffered major losses in Iowa City. In 1839, his youngest child, Cordelia, became the first person to die in the new city. And early in 1847, his wife Dollie fell ill and died.

About six months after Dollie died, Swan married Mary Walker, an Iowa City widow with a 10-year-old son.

The marriage appears to have been happy, but the two were separated in 1849, when Swan joined the California gold rush. He was part of a group of 70 local gold-hunters nicknamed the Iowa City Argonaut, who set out for California on May 6, 1849.

At first, they followed the Oregon Trail, which was as welcoming as the virtual one people remember from elementary school.

“The colera [sic] was ahead of us (we judged by the graves),” Swan wrote to Mary in his first letter from the trail.

LittleVillageMag.com

The Argonauts reached the safety of Salt Lake City before winter turned brutal. In spring, Swan joined a party headed south to the Old Spanish Trail, which led to Los Angeles.

Swan loved L.A., even if he never learned to spell its name.

“I think that De Los Ge Angeas (City of Angels) is the best place in the world,” he wrote to Mary in late 1850.

Things changed when he finally headed north to the goldfields. Swan was shocked by the violence, greed and corruption he saw. He also found his luck mining gold was no better than his luck mining lead.

“If ever I committed one fault worse than all, it is coming to this place for if ever there was a Hell on Earth, California is its location,” Swan wrote to Mary in July 1851. He said he was trying to save enough money to get home, and told her she would always be on his mind, until “this heart of mine will be cold in death.”

Swan left California at the end of 1851, traveling by ship. It was a long journey and at some point, he fell ill. Chauncey Swan died in 1852, before the ship reached port. He was buried at sea.

By then, the other two men who selected the site of Iowa City had been honored by having their names attached to public spaces—a street for Ronalds, a creek for Ralston— but Swan received no such honor until 1994, when the city named its newly acquired small, downtown park after him.

Chauncey Swan rests his weary arm. Courtesy of Old Capitol Museum

Have a question about what’s going on in your community? Ask Little Village.

Submit your question through the Your Village feature on our homepage, or email us at editor@littlevillagemag.com.

LITTLEVILLAGEMAG.COM/LV271 Sept. 18–Oct. 1, 2019 53

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BY ROB BREZSNEY

LIBRA (Sept. 23-Oct. 22): In 1936, the city of Cleveland, Ohio staged the Great Lakes Exposition, a 135-acre fair with thrill rides, art galleries, gardens and sideshows. One of its fun features was The Golden Book of Cleveland, a 2.5-ton, 6,000-page text the size of a mattress. After the expo closed down, the “biggest book in the world” went missing. If it still exists today, no one knows where it is. I’m going to speculate that there’s a metaphorical version of The Golden Book of Cleveland in your life. You, too, have lost track of a major Something that would seem hard to misplace. Here’s the good news: If you intensify your search now, I bet you’ll find it before the end of 2019.

SCORPIO (Oct. 23-Nov. 21): In 1990, the New Zealand government appointed educator, magician and comedian Ian Brackenbury Channell to be the official Wizard of New Zealand.

His jobs include protecting the government, blessing new enterprises, casting out evil spirits, upsetting fanatics and cheering people up. The coming weeks will be an excellent time to find your personal equivalents of an inspirational force like that. There’s really no need to scrimp. According to my reading of the cosmic energies, you have license to be extravagant in getting what you need to thrive.

SAGITTARIUS (Nov. 22-Dec. 21): “Do silly things,” advised playwright Anton Chekhov. “Foolishness is a great deal more vital and healthy than our straining and striving after a meaningful life.” I think that’s a perspective worth adopting now and then. Most of us go through phases when we take things too seriously and too personally and too literally. Bouts of fun absurdity can be healing agents for that affliction. But now is not one of those times for you, in my opinion. Just the reverse is true, in fact. I encourage you to cultivate majestic moods and seek out awe-inspiring experiences and induce sublime perspectives. Your serious and noble quest for a meaningful life can be especially rewarding in the coming weeks.

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Warhammer. Warmachine. RPGs. Board Games. X-Wing. Dice. LotR. HeroClix. Miniatures. GoT. Blood Bowl.

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Huge Magic singles inventory plus we buy/trade MtG cards. Weekly drafts, FNM, league play, and frequent tourneys.

Now buying/selling/trading video games & toys! Bring in your Nintendo Gameboy, NES, SNES, N64, Gamecube, Sega, WiiU, Xbox 360, PS1-2-3, & other used games, consoles, action figures, and toys for cash or trade credit!

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115 S. Linn Street (by the Public Library), Iowa City Tel: 319-333-1260; Email: chg@criticalhitgames.net www.criticalhitgames.net @criticalhitgamesiowacity

CAPRICORN (Dec. 22-Jan. 19): Before comedian Jack Benny died in 1974, he arranged to have a florist deliver a single red rose to his wife every day for the rest of her life. She lived another nine years, and received more than 3,000 of these gifts.

Even though you’ll be around on this earth for a long time, I think the coming weeks would be an excellent time to establish a comparable custom: a commitment to providing regular blessings to a person or persons for whom you care deeply. This bold decision would be in alignment with astrological omens, which suggest that you can generate substantial benefits for yourself by being creative with your generosity.

AQUARIUS (Jan. 20-Feb. 18): Actress and author Ruby Dee formulated an unusual prayer. “God,” she wrote, “make me so uncomfortable that I will do the very thing I fear.” As you might imagine, she was a brave activist who risked her reputation and career working for the Civil Rights Movement and other idealistic causes. I think her exceptional request to a Higher Power makes good sense for you right now. You’re in a phase when you can generate practical blessings by doing the things that intimidate you or make you nervous. And maybe the best way to motivate and mobilize yourself is by getting at least a bit flustered or unsettled.

PISCES (Feb. 19-March 20): Syndicated cartoon strip Calvin and Hobbes appeared for 10 years in 2,400 newspapers in 50 countries. It wielded a sizable cultural influence. For example, in 1992, 6-year-old Calvin decided the Big Bang was a boring term for how the universe began, and instead proposed we call it the “Horrendous Space Kablooie.” A number of real scientists subsequently adopted Calvin’s innovation, and it has been invoked playfully but seriously in university courses and textbooks. In that spirit, I encourage you to give fun new names to anything and everything you feel like spicing up. You now have substantial power to reshape and revamp the components of

your world. It’s Identify-Shifting Time.

ARIES (March 21-April 19): We’re in the equinoctial season.

During this pregnant pause, the sun seems to hover directly over the equator; the lengths of night and day are equal. For all of us, but especially for you, it’s a favorable phase to conjure and cultivate more sweet symmetry, calming balance and healing harmony. In that spirit, I encourage you to temporarily suspend any rough, tough approaches you might have in regard to those themes. Resist the temptation to slam two opposites together simply to see what happens. Avoid engaging in the pseudo-fun of purging by day and bingeing by night.

And don’t you dare get swept up in hating what you love or loving what you hate.

TAURUS (April 20-May 20): “I tell you what freedom is to me: no fear.” So said singer and activist Nina Simone. But it’s doubtful there ever came a time when she reached the perfect embodiment of that idyllic state. How can any of us empty out our anxiety so completely as to be utterly emancipated? It’s not possible. That’s the bad news, Taurus. The good news is that in the coming weeks you will have the potential to be as unafraid as you have ever been. For best results, try to ensure that love is your primary motivation in everything you do and say and think.

GEMINI (May 21-June 20): Some things don’t change much.

The beautiful marine animal species known as the pearly nautilus, which lives in the South Pacific, is mostly the same as it was 150 million years ago. Then there’s Fuggerei, a walled enclave within the German city of Augsburg. The rent is cheap, about one U.S. dollar per year, and that fee hasn’t increased in almost 500 years. While I am in awe of these bastions of stability, and wish we had more such symbolic anchors, I advise you to head in a different direction. During the coming weeks, you’ll be wise to be a maestro of mutability, a connoisseur of transformation, an adept of novelty.

CANCER (June 21-July 22): Granny Smith apples are widely available. But before 1868, the tart, crispy, juicy fruit never existed on planet Earth. Around that time, an Australian mother of eight named Maria Ann Smith threw the cores of French crab apples out her window while she was cooking. The seeds were fertilized by the pollen from a different, unknown variety of apple, and a new type was born: Granny Smith. I foresee the possibility of a metaphorically comparable event in your future: a lucky accident that enables you to weave together two interesting threads into a fascinating third thread.

LEO (July 23-Aug. 22): “Every masterpiece is just dirt and ash put together in some perfect way,” writes storyteller Chuck Palahniuk, who has completed several novelistic masterpieces.

According to my analysis of the astrological omens, you Leos have assembled much of the dirt and ash necessary to create your next masterpiece, and are now ready to move on to the next phase. And what is that phase? Identifying the help and support you’ll need for the rest of the process.

VIRGO (Aug. 23-Sept. 22): In 1959, scandal erupted among Americans who loved to eat peanut butter. Studies revealed that manufacturers had added so much hydrogenated vegetable oil and glycerin to their product that only 75 percent of it could truly be called peanut butter. So began a long legal process to restore high standards. Finally there was a new law specifying that no company could sell a product called “peanut butter” unless it contained at least 90 percent peanuts. I hope this fight for purity inspires you to conduct a metaphorically comparable campaign. It’s time to ensure that all the important resources and influences in your life are at peak intensity and efficiency. Say NO to dilution and adulteration.

LITTLEVILLAGEMAG.COM/LV271 Sept. 18–Oct. 1, 2019 55

LOCAL ALBUMS

Pollinators Going Home POLLINATORS.BANDCAMP.COM

Pollinators w/ Rubin Flores, Scottie Feller, Iowa City Yacht Club, Sunday, Sept. 22, 9 p.m., $5-10 Pollinators w/ Dark Family, Aqualife, Rozz-Tox, Rock Island, Friday, Oct. 4, 8 p.m., $5

A

t first listen, Pollinators’ new album, Return Home (out Oct. 4) seems to be from an era that never existed, but should have. It’s a version of the 1990s where Jer Bear got healthy and the swing revival never happened. Energizing guitar riffs make you want to lace up your Docs and jam. It sounds like Weezer before and after their pop makeover that gave us the Green Album.

But there’s a striking undertone of melancholy throughout.

It’s so deeply embedded in the lyrics that you’re not consciously aware of it—you just wonder how this peppy record relates to the nagging discontent you’ve

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

suddenly noticed.

Songwriter and frontman Tom Teslik opens the up-tempo first track with “Beautiful morning, terrible day,� sung in a mild, accepting voice. Track three’s instrumentals echo the familiar melody of a 1950s-era tune designed for couples dancing in high school gymnasiums—but in a minor key that reflects the song’s subject matter (hint: it’s titled, “Why Do You Cry�).

This is a break-up album.

Teslik wrote it around the time he left both an abusive ex and his adopted hometown of Madison, Wisconsin to return to his actual hometown of Moline, Illinois.

Collectively, the tracks reflect who he seems to be: an agreeable dude with some shit to get off his chest.

My personal favorite is “Action and Cut,� which includes lines like, “I don’t want to keep score / Plus, I’ve done it all before� while matter-of-factly acknowledging “that oxymoron love, so black and blue.� It’s downright comforting. The kid’s gonna be all right.

Pollinators celebrates this first 10-song album with a record release party on Oct. 4 at Rozz-Tox. Can’t wait that long? Pollinators will be at the Yacht Club in Iowa City on Sept. 22. If you can’t make either of those shows, you need to rethink your priorities. —Melanie Hanson

Pieta Brown Freeway PIETABROWN.COM

T

he press material for Pieta Brown’s new album, Freeway, quotes guitarist Jeremy Ylvisaker asking, “what kind of music IS this?

Prairie gaze?!�

The question, while humorous, touches on the sonic explorations of the sessions that make up her eighth album. This freeway of song is dotted with many roadside attractions of pure beauty.

For her first album on Ani DiFranco’s Righteous Babe label, Brown returned to Justin Vernon’s April Base studios,where she made 2014’s Paradise Outlaw.

Brown was joined in the woods by a troupe of interrelated musicians including Bon Iver regulars S. Carey and Mike Lewis, as well as Ylvisaker, who is in Twin Cities band Alpha Consumer with Lewis.

Their connection is the spun silk that makes up the web that captures the magic of these songs.

On the surface, what draws the listener in is Brown’s signing: Her

signature laid-back, often intimate and disarmingly captivating vocal style is center stage. At times, it feels like eavesdropping on her alone, singing to herself.

The presence of Carey, Lewis and Ylivisaker is subtle, paying honest tribute to the songs. The typical everything-but-the-kitchen-sink approach to producing a Bon Iver record has been tempered to the point that you don’t really notice it—but on close listen, there are all manner of interesting ear nuggets.

Track nine, the hypnotizing “Before We Break,� moves away from a typical Brown arrangement to something that sounds like it could be a Bon Iver track. A circular ticking of spare drums with slinky bass line is echoed in the way Brown builds upon the lyric, using repeating phrases to make a kind of chant. “Around / around the forest / the forest / the forest you took / from a weathered book / to make a picture / and take a look.�

Beneath the foundation of instruments bubbles a liquid stream of swirling and churning feedback swells.

Brown said she hopes to never have to answer the question of what kind of music she makes.

After eight albums, she has established a distinctive voice in music: timeless, but at the same time all her own. She makes Pieta Brown music. —Michael Roeder

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 2790 N DODGE ST., IOWA CITY (319) 569-1722

Located just off I-380!

201 3rd Ave. SW, Cedar Rapids, Iowa

319-200-2791 • groundswell.hub25.org/cafe Vegan and vegetarian options available!

56 Sept. 18–Oct. 1, 2019 LITTLEVILLAGEMAG.COM/LV271

LOCAL THEATER

Now Is the Time to Go to the Theater

W

ith the variety of offerings in Eastern Iowa, you won’t have to go far to find something for date night, the whole family or just a quiet evening for one.

This seems particularly true in September. Shows continuing their runs include: Mamma Mia! (Old Creamery Theatre, Amana; through Oct. 13) Keegan Christopher serves as director, co-choreographer (with his wife Katie Colletta, who also acts in the show) and actor in this musical, set in Greece, with the rousing music of ABBA. Old Creamery is always worth the drive for high-quality shows in a friendly atmosphere.

The Importance of Being Earnest (Giving Tree Theatre, Marion; through Sept. 22) If a humorous stroll through 18th century Great Britain is more your style, grab a cozy seat to see Oscar Wilde’s classic study in human foibles and mistaken identities. Michele Hinz directs.

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

Uncle Vanya (Riverside Theatre, Iowa City; through Oct. 6) This staging offers a new translation of Anton Chekhov’s play, which centers on rural life in Tsarist Russia and shifting times and relationships of the time period. Riverside Artistic Director Adam Knight directs this look into family conflict.

The weekend of Sept. 20 welcomes an unprecedented number of show openings to area stages. “We’re calling it ‘ShowPocalypse!’,” said K. Michael Moore, director of The Christians. He went on to issue this invitation: “I’d like to encourage everyone to look at it like they might plan a theater vacation to Chicago or New York, right here in the Corridor.

See a show Thursday, see a show Friday, Saturday, Sunday!”

God of Carnage (RHCR Theatre, Cedar Rapids; Sept. 20-28) If you’re looking for something serious and modern, Yasmina Reza’s 2009 Tony Award-winning play might be just the ticket. Brian Tanner directs this examination of the human condition that touches on racism, homophobia and misogyny.

The Christians (City Circle Theatre Company, CCPA, Coralville; Sept. 20-22) Another modern examination of

life is offered in Lucas Hnath’s 2015 play, which examines what faith is and how it looks when it is played out in the real world.

Hand to God (Dreamwell Theatre, Public Space One, Iowa City; Sept. 2028) Set in a small town, a boy’s puppet takes on its own personality. Director Grant Freeman offers us another chance to reflect on life, faith and the ways in which humans are bound together. Not a family show.

Pippin (Iowa City Community Theatre, Johnson County Fairgrounds, Iowa City; Sept. 20-29) For some lighter fare, Josh Sazon (director) and Wes Habley (musical director) offer this Stephen Schwartz musical comedy. Knowing the ensembles that ICCT puts together, Pippin is likely to be a raucous good time for all.

Hello, Dolly! (Theatre Cedar Rapids; Sept. 20Oct. 13) TCR has added shows to make sure everyone gets a chance to see this musical, which features some of the best known show tunes in the canon, including “Penny in My Pocket” and, of course, the title song.

Brian Glick directs with the musical direction of Cameron Sullenberger.

If You Build It: Under Construction (SPT Theatre, Shores Central Park; Sept. 20-21) If you’re looking for more music and comedy, attending the first installment of SPT’s 12th season will prompt to you mark your calendars for the rest of If You Build It. Meet Us at the Horizon (Combined Efforts Theatre, Montgomery Hall, Johnson County Fairgrounds, Iowa City; Sept 27-29) Opening the following weekend is the newest Combined Efforts production.

If you enjoy truly local theater, consider joining the audience for the graduate capstone play of Jorrell Watkins, a Diversity and Inclusion Fellow at the University of Iowa Master’s Program. Directed by Jason Grubbe.

All told, if you time it right, you can see three musicals, a variety show, a comedy and five dramas over the next month.

“In any given month, I could fill my calendar with large-scale musicals, contemporary plays, cutting-edge work, the occasional classic and even a farce or two,” said Knight. Moore said, “We are extraordinarily lucky to have this abundance of art right in our backyard.”

—Laura Johnson

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

LITTLEVILLAGEMAG.COM/LV271 Sept. 18–Oct. 1, 2019 57

+ Present

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

Nov. 1-2, 2019

Downtown Iowa City

Passes on sale now: witchinghourfestival.com

$55/two-day $35/one-day $20/student two-day

FLEX TIME 1

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BY B E N TAU S I G

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ACROSS 1. A parent might draw one for a child 5. Things often censored along gendered lines, casually 9. Make a scene 13. Figura that might be turned in patinaje sobre hielo 14. Crackerjack

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16. Look too long at, say 17. Warming winter supper 18. ___ rights (Planned Parenthood concern, briefly) 19.

20. ___ Center (Detroit convention space named for a stunningly racist former city mayor—seriously, f that guy)

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23. Word that’s a grammar hurdle for some 24. Snarky 26. Summer worker, say 28.

33. Gin fizz fruit 34. Analogy words 35. One reading thebump. com, perhaps 39. Betrayed

LittleVillageMag.com

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7

The American Values Club Crossword is edited by Ben Tausig.

42. Adam Rippon move 43. Tabloid couple 44. Corner store?

50. One on the take 51. Blue Ivy Carter, to Solange 54. Unagi, e.g.

56. Twisted mind?

59. Tater 60. Crooked cop?

62. Island nation en

route from Hawaii to New Zealand 63. Modern assistant 64. Link up, as devices 65. Noted American Gladiator of the early 1990s 66. Place to live, in real estate parlance 67. A head 68. McGregor recently on Fargo 69. Major links tournaments played in August, informally

material 35. ___-jongg (tile game) 36. Palindromic vegetable peeler brand 37. Bugs voice 38. Letters before a summary 39. Transit org. in Lori Lightfoot’s city 40. Court judge, briefly 41. Bad sign, perhaps 43. “Ah, OK, OK” 45. Fruit that might be wrapped in bacon 46. Passing essays?

47. Election do-over 48. Be a brown-noser 49.

52. Ancient Roman court 53. Keeps an author from getting self-indulgent, say 54. In ___ (actually) 55. New Age artist whose music is featured in The Girl With the Dragon Tattoo 57. City that contains the most famous mausoleum in the world 58.

61.

DOWN 1. Bartlett relatives 2. Do something about 3. Kinky sex?

4. “Hmm ... I could have sworn that TV was on the opposite wall last week” 5. Joint account?

6. Concept 7. Protein cousin 8. Bolt action?

9. Turned tail?

10. Fighting and such 11. Place to put a coin 12. Stitches, as a cap 15. One might have a cap LV270 ANSWERS 22. Originally called C A M E O M A R G S W A T O L E A N URGE H I K E 25. Oil company GOA T CH E E S E E R I N with a red, white S E L F L E S S KWE E N S R E A L SOA S and blue logo P A R E P I NCU S H I ON 27. Stat for Pujols A T E S T S OA T H R A E C A C H E D V D ME A T S 29. Priestly attire E R A NC A A S E X T E T 30. San Francisco’s R I P CURR E N T P E N S I RON OR A L ___ Valley I N S T E P S T A T I ON S D E E R P I T A POC K E T 31. Palindromic L I E U E D I T M I R E D foreign summer E L MS D A R E S T A T S 32. Outfield

Creative. Educational. Here.

visit gallery.uni.edu for exhibitions and hours

LITTLEVILLAGEMAG.COM/LV271 Sept. 18–Oct. 1, 2019 59