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GREENWELL in conversation FEaST | Mr. Softheart | Des Moines Gay Men’s Chorus | The State of Iowa Cinemas Bawdy Bawdy Ha Ha | Crooked Path Theatre | Ballet Folklorico Des Moines & Dubuque Fine Arts | LV Recommends: The Octopus & The Cave
The University of Iowa Stanley Museum of Art is commemorating the second anniversary of its new building, located in the heart of downtown, Iowa City. Since opening its doors on August 26, 2022, the museum has made a profound impact on the community through a fresh rotation of exhibitions, programs, and its contributions to the fields of research and education. In just two years, the Stanley has solidified its position as a cultural cornerstone, attracting over 100,000 visitors from around the world.
The Stanley continues to offer a diverse and thought-provoking rotation of exhibitions that serve the university’s teaching mission, represent Iowa’s history, and challenge museum conventions.
The most notable one being the Keith Haring exhibition which is currently on view up till January 2025. “To My Friends at Horn: Keith Haring and Iowa City” has been a significant show in terms of the impact it has had on the community and the international acclaim it has gathered. Featuring a rarely seen mural by Haring that has been a part of an elementary school in Iowa City for almost 40 years, along with a selection of other works by him, this exhibition highlights the artists connection to the Iowa community. The mammoth task of removing, transporting, and preserving the mural was taken on by the Stanley in its first year and was finally brought to fruition on May 4, 2024, when the exhibition opened to the public.
A Year in Print (March 2024 - Dec 2024)
To My Friends at Horn: Keith Haring and Iowa City
(May 2024 - Jan 2025)
Alternate Paths: New Object
Histories from Africa to America
(Aug 2024 - Feb 2025)
Homecoming (Aug 2022 - July 2025)
This summer also saw the unveiling of a new mural in the lobby, titled “One An Other,” by artist Jiha Moon. This latest work replaces the earlier mural that was a familiar sight for visitors and will remain on view until summer 2026.
In November 2023, the exhibition “Drawn Over: Reclaiming Our Histories” featured the museum’s collection of Native American Ledger drawings and their significance in preserving indigenous narratives.
This was followed by “A Year in Print,” a showcase of contemporary American printmaking that explores the various influences shaping the art form in the 20th century.
The latest exhibition, “Alternate Paths: New Object Histories from Africa to America,” challenges traditional narratives surrounding African art in Western museums, focusing on the complex histories of these objects, questioning their provenance and the role of museums in their display.
In the field of provenance research, the Stanley led a historic restitution effort by returning two artworks from its collection from the Benin Kingdom, commonly referred to as Benin Bronzes, to His Majesty, Oba Ewuare II. This marks the first time a museum in North America has directly returned stolen artwork to the rightful owner. The Stanley hopes to present as a model for other museums who are involved in restitution efforts.
Furthermore, the Stanley has deepened its commitment to education and accessibility. The museum has welcomed thousands of K-12 students and educators, partnered with local schools, and implemented various initiatives to make art accessible to all.
As the Stanley Museum of Art looks ahead to its third year, it remains committed to offering innovative and engaging programs for visitors of all ages and continue to enrich the cultural landscape of Iowa City and beyond. As it continues to evolve and grow, the museum remains a vital hub for creativity, inspiration, and cultural exchange.
Gifts to the Friends of the UI Stanley Museum of Art program provides crucial annual support that allows us to fulfill our vision of connecting the University of Iowa community, Iowans, and the world with extraordinary works of art.
To learn more about how you can invest in our important work, please visit stanleymuseum.uiowa.edu/get-involved/support or scan the QR Code.
The irrepressible Rock & Roll Hall of Famer is ready to bring the house down at Hancher.
“I’m Every Woman” may be the boldest and most triumphant declaration in popular music—and the singular woman who declared it is an undeniable force of nature when performing live. Ten-time Grammy-winner Chaka Khan brings her irresistible charisma and her sparkling catalog of hits— including “Sweet Thing,” “You Got the Love,” “I Feel For You,” and “Tell Me Something Good”—to the Hancher stage for an unmissable night of celebration.
The Gazette FRIDAY, SEPTEMBER 13, 7:30 P.M.
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27 thank You for the Music
This fall festival isn’t just a feast for the senses, but a tribute to its late, great creator. 34
I’m a Bitch, I’m a Lover
A pair of wild Iowa City novelists chat from the edge of career precipices. 40 We
The Iowa Theater in Winterset is nearly as old as motion pictures, and still rolling thanks to film fans.
Little Village (ISSN 2328-3351) is an independent, community-supported news and culture publication based in Iowa City, published monthly by Little Village, LLC, 623 S Dubuque St., Iowa City, IA 52240. Through journalism, essays and events, we work to improve our community according to 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. Subscriptions: lv@littlevillagemag.com. The US annual subscription price is $120. All rights reserved, reproduction in whole or in part without written permission is prohibited. If you would like to reprint or collaborate on new content, reach us at lv@littlevillagemag.com. To browse back issues, visit us online at issuu.com/littlevillage.
EDITORIAL
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Matthew Steele matt@littlevillagemag.com
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Emma McClatchey emma@littlevillagemag.com
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Sept. Contributors
Anthony Scanga, Benjamin McElroy, Britt Fowler, Broc Nelson, Christina Fernández-Morrow, Carlos, Maldonado, Danforth Johnson, Dylan McConnell, Em Gray, Erich Aschenbrenner, Genevieve Trainor, Jeremy Taylor, John Busbee, Hannah Bonner, Jessica Pfohl Paisley, Kate Revaux, Katie Roche, Kellee Forkenbrock, Kembrew McLeod, Kristy Hartsgrove Mooers, Lauren Haldeman, Lucas Benson, Nicholas Dolan, Nick LaPole, Ramona Muse Lambert, Rob Brezsney, Sam Locke Ward, Sara Williams, Tar Macias, Tom Tomorrow
Since 2001 LittleVillageMag.com
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Meet this month’s contributors!
Benjamin McElroy is a writer based in Des Moines. He has opinions on music and film.
Broc Nelson is a lifelong music fan, improviser, Quad Citizen, and enthusiast of all things creative, tasty, and weird.
Christina Fernández-Morrow is an editor and writer for Hola Iowa and the editor in chief for JEFAS: Latinas in Business Magazine. When not clicking on a keyboard, she travels and eats her way through cities and continents.
Em Gray is an artist based in Portland, OR. They are the Digital Media Editor for Brink Literary Journal (IG @em____gray)
Hannah Bonner is a 2023-2024 National Book Critics Circle Emerging Critics Fellow and the author of Another Woman (EastOver Press 2024). She lives in Iowa.
Jessica Pfohl Paisley is a creative media professional, working in fashion and film as cos-
Issue 332 Sept. 2024
Cover by Jason Smith
As entertainment moves indoors for autumn, some of Iowa’s oldest, newest, strangest and most engrossing events take the stage. This Fall Arts Preview is LV’s most thorough ever, covering music, literature, film, dance, theater and art exhibits around the state.
tume designer, print and digital media as writer and editor and program specialist for rural communities throughout the Midwest.
A 20-year Iowa City resident, Katie Roche plays in bands Awful Purdies and Dandelion Stompers and has worked with organizations like PS1, Summer of the Arts, Englert Theatre, FilmScene, The Bike Library, and now the Iowa City Public Library Friends Foundation to help make Iowa City a better place.
Kellee Forkenbrock is the award- winning Public Services Librarian for North Liberty Library. She writes romance under the pseudonym Eliza David. Kellee is active in her community, having lent her service to the Iowa City Public Library Board of Trustees, and currently as Board Vice President for Iowa City UNESCO City of Literature.
Kristy Hartsgrove Mooers is a local theatre maker and professor at the
University of Iowa. She loves her husband Mark, her garden and her cat Ricky Marie.
Luke Benson is an intermittent contributor to Little Village who is developing articles on (or who spends most of his time) rucking, pinball, and being a dad.
Nicholas Dolan is currently a Ph.D. student in English and American Literature at Washington University in St. Louis. His attachment to Iowa City is long (by the standards of a twentysomething) and deep (likewise by the standards of a twentysomething).
Nick LaPole is a multimedia artist and writer living and working in Des Moines. Outside of the studio, he enjoys lounging with his two cats (Hashbrown and Toast) at home or going to the movies alone. You can find his work and future writings at nicklapole.com.
Catch up on some of Little Village’s most-viewed headlines from last month,and get the latest news sent to your inbox every afternoon: littlevillagemag.com/subscribe
Fire destroys the Lighthouse Inn, a Cedar Rapids landmark and one of Iowa’s oldest restaurants
By Paul Brennan, Aug. 14
A century-old supper club and Cedar Rapids landmark was destroyed by a fire on Wednesday morning. No one was injured and the cause is unknown, but the Linn County Sheriff’s Office did confirm that the building, established in 1912, is “considered a total loss.”
Gov. Reynolds rejects millions in aid for foodinsecure Iowa families (again), instead asking feds to fund her own ‘monthly box’ program
By Paul Brennan, Aug.
16
Gov. Kim Reynolds announced she is refusing to allow Iowans to participate in a USDA program that provides millions of dollars in direct assistance to families with children during summer months. She did the same last year, leaving $29 million in federal aid on the table.
Already an Iowa City street-food favorite, Snacky Mini Mart puts the ‘bing’ in mind-blowing
By Jayce Nguyen, Aug.
14
Cousins Sandy and Vivian Pei launched their pan-Asian food stall and pop-up restaurant in 2023. Their menu introduced locals to the jian bing, a crepe-like breakfast wrap and “homage to being in the streets of Beijing,” Sandy said. Vivian added, “It has all the flavors we like to eat.”
By Brittany Brooke Crow, Jo Allen and Kenzi Wyatt
Iowa’s largest music festival was larger than ever Aug. 2-4, with Hozier, Orville Peck, Vampire Weekend, Ethel Cain, Chappell Roan, Noah Kahan and other stars taking the stage amid high temps and a sea of fans. LV photographers were there for (almost) all the action.
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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.
Johnson County Auditor Travis Weipert resigns for health reasons (July 29)
I am so disappointed; but more so, my prayers and best wishes to Travis and his family. He has done an outstanding job for us. —Becci J.R.
Won’t be easy finding a qualified and experienced candidate if there isn’t one on staff now. Should be a civil service job.
—Stan M.
The world reacts to Iowa’s abortion ban, from Kamala Harris to local OB-GYNs: ‘Women will be harmed and die because of this law’ (July 30)
WHY is anyone anywhere ALLOWING this garbage to happen? It makes NO sense.
—Andrew R.
Appeals court lets SF 496, Iowa’s infamous book ban and ‘don’t say gay’ law, go into effect (Aug. 12)
Ban the BIBLE! The book of Psalms is abundant with sex acts! —Ronnie W.
Letter to the editor: Protecting kids? Pull the other leg! (Aug. 13)
The much bigger question, in my view, is why does the media keep letting republicans say they are doing it for the kids but fail to ask why their actions say otherwise. It would be unnecessarily difficult hard to explain this in any way other than because republicans have a lot more influence over the media than anyone seems to want to believe…
—Jason A.
Fire destroys the Lighthouse Inn, a Cedar
Rapids landmark and one of Iowa’s oldest restaurants (Aug. 14)
Damn I may never get to experience fried walleye in a Gilligan’s Island themed underground speakeasy ever again. —Julian K.
In its honor, I am going to have a porterhouse and a grasshopper tonight. —Dave B.
With a wedge of iceberg lettuce with blue cheese dressing… —Susan C.
I sang there many times with the Dick Watson Trio. —Paula G.
Polk County Public Health is providing free Plan B as part of efforts to keep reproductive care accessible in Iowa (Aug. 15)
We get draconian but are fascist, misogynistic, christian and colonial not
What should the DNC have played instead of “Celebration” by Kool & the Gang during the announcement of Iowa’s votes?
“Till There Was You” by Meredith Wilson
“The Iowa Waltz” by Greg Brown
by Slipknot
words that we should be using as well? Anyways, we are so happy that at least Polk County gets what’s up. We 100 percent do not agree with this fascist, misogynistic, christian colonial law.
—Great Plains Action Society
Birth rates are plummeting. —Ryan S.
What’s your point? —Andrew R.
Yeah, that’s by design. it’s a lot easier to do fascism with fewer citizens, plus they get to stoke their culture wars while not giving an actual shit about birth rates or life expectancy. The ongoing pandemic and climate catastrophe are doing the dirty work for American christofascists and zionists. —Renee J.
Gov. Reynolds rejects millions in aid for food-insecure Iowa families (again), instead asking feds to fund her own ‘monthly box’ program (Aug. 16)
How is pro life rejecting funds that would help feed children and lessen food insecurity? $29 million in federal aid vs. $900,000 for her idea. Make sense? F no!!! WOW! Somehow we must vote her out. It is glaringly obvious why she is ranked 50th of 50 State Governors in the U.S. —Dan T.
So not only are Republicans a threat to reproductive freedom, the freedom to parent our kids however we see fit, the freedom to allow our kids to read what we want them to, but she also wants to take away the freedom of choosing foods? We
SATURDAY,
BrewFest, a part of the Northside Oktoberfest, is the beloved sampling event that will be exclusive to only 700 attendees. Upon arrival you will receive your official BrewFest glass that will give you access to unlimited beer and wine samples.
$72 Ticket Includes:
• Exclusive access to unlimited samples from 45+ beer and wine vendors
• $10 gift card redeemable at any Northside business
• Access to beer games, contests, live music, and German food
Bier Hall, the general admission portion of the event, gives you the feel for the classic Oktoberfest where the community spirit is high, the food is authentic, and the drinks are flowing!
$10 Ticket Includes:
• Commemorative Bier Hall mug that can be filled with beer or wine and consumed on the streets
• Ticket holders will be welcomed into the event with a free beer pour
Tickets purchased upon arrival
SodaFest, programmed by the Iowa Children’s Museum, provides kiddos with soda samples so that they don’t miss out on the fun! Activities may include games with the Iowa City Firefighters, cardboard box racing, inflatables, and pumpkin decorating.
$5 Ticket Includes:
• Unlimited soda samples
• Custom soda mug
• Tons of fun with the Iowa Children’s Museum
are SO much more free when we are led by Republicans. —Lindsey C.
Feed your face at the fair when kids are going hungry. Go to hell. —Anne E.
It’s good to see the party of family values and “pro life” leading the way just like Jesus would do, by calling kids fat and denying them food. —Elizabeth D.
Why doesn’t the federal government fund the Iowa Governor’s program? Seems like a simple solution to me. Or maybe they don’t really care about feeding hungry children.
—Dale M.
And what happens when the box of food has things your children are allergic to. Lots of kids can’t eat corn or maybe gluten or dairy. —Julie M.
Plus Reynolds will use a private contractor
You can’t just sit on the deck; you want a swim in the pool. Your day starts and ends with a crossword, Sudoku or Wordle. When it comes to the dishwasher, you know the absolute best arrangement. Two-year-old Luka is cut from the same cloth—a border collie, he loves nothing more than accomplishing a task. His take-control approach can intimidate some fellow dogs, but a laid-back pup would balance out type-A Luka well. And if you’re a human trusted with his leash, brace yourself for the adventure of a lifetime. Think you’re up for it? Visit the Iowa City Animal Center, icanimalcenter.org.
Send your personals for consideration to editor@littlevillagemag.com with subject line “Personals.”
Little Village is a community supported monthly alternative magazine and digital media channel offering an independent perspective on Iowa news, culture and events. The magazine is widely available for free, with a distribution focus on the state’s cultural centers of Iowa City, Des Moines, Cedar Rapids, Ames, Cedar Falls/ Waterloo, Dubuque and the Quad Cities. Scan here to find which one of LV’s 800 distribution locations is nearest to you >>
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The start of a new academic year can be another time of resolutions and new beginnings. Students and working professionals alike can get a charge from the fresh energy. Some of us recommit ourselves to staying on top of tasks and projects and getting our calendar together. Some of us need our paper calendars and notebooks, and others rely on digital tools to keep organized. Luckily, the library has shelves full of books that can help you learn new habits, create a productivity workflow and find tools that not only suit you but support you with all the things you need to do.
David Allen is a known entity in the business and productivity world, and his book Getting Things Done is a classic. He and co-author Edward Lamont recently published a new book called Team: Getting Things Done with Others, with a pick-and-choose format for readers to identify the stumbling blocks they encounter when working with others. The book also offers solutions and workflows to help a team achieve goals better—from delegating tasks and identifying the purpose of projects to finding the best ways to communicate and be an effective team leader. It segues beautifully for those who are already using the GTD (getting things done) system.
YouTuber and productivity specialist Tiago Forte also has a few books, including The PARA Method: Simplify, Organize, and Master Your Digital Life. It’s a short and sweet read, describing Forte’s system for how to organize all the information you gather on and offline. Forte wants people to be able to act on the information and utilize it in helpful ways, focusing on the things that matter. If you struggle with organizing your computer files and other digital notes and media in ways that enable you to find what you need when you need it, the PARA Method may be a good option to learn.
To request copies in your area, or to add your business as a distribution location, contact:
Did you know Marie Kondo of The Life-Changing Magic of Tidying Up has a book for work called Joy at Work? If you’ve enjoyed the Konmari method of keeping things that “spark joy,” she provides guidelines for doing that in your work life as well! Tidying up your work desk, your schedule, your digital files and your meetings can go a long way to helping you feel far more in control of your professional life.
If you’re fairly well organized but recognize that you need to better run your life in general, Emily Ballesteros’s Cure for Burnout: How to Find Balance and Reclaim Your Life is a great resource for those of us in the midst of our careers who maybe need to reassess how we spend our time and what can be done to make our work lives better. There are loads of strategies and good information for professionals of all levels, focusing on what you as the individual can do to better support yourself and manage your stress.
—Amanda Ray, Iowa City Public Library
to fill and distribute for which the taxpayer pays instead of using a program already up and running. —Tarrill A.
Give people money to feed their kids from home when and how they like. It is called freedom. —William T.B.
You could always move. —Laura A.
Yes, people struggling with food insecurity 100% have the financial means to move states when things don’t work so they can eat. Wake up.
—Nicholas R.
We don’t have to move to want improved conditions in a state we live in. Tell everyone you’re heartless without saying it directly. This is about feeding our kids! Jfc. —Meredith H.
Already an Iowa City street-food favorite, Snacky Mini Mart puts the ‘bing’ in mindblowing (Aug. 15)
I food trade with them at the farmers market, they’re so gooooood.
—Zachary S.
Bing chillin!! Local fresh food is crazy good. —Bryan Z.
Please, please come to Cedar Rapids!
—Catherine L.B.
Hinterland 2024 had the hottest lineup yet. But has Iowa’s largest music festival gotten too big? (Aug. 23)
Yes, it has, starting in 2021 when they “limited attendance” due to Covid and doubled ticket sales. It used to be a great festival, now it sounds like a death trap.
—Susan M.
The lineup is a matter of opinion of course. The festival was oversold by at least 5k. It was poorly managed and dangerous. —Darin L.
There is one (1) tree that provides shade.
—Skyler J.G.
My daughter went, I dropped her off on Friday, the shuttle back to Des Moines did not get back till almost 2. She skipped Saturday due to heat, went Sunday and left early due to heat and overcrowding. We heard that they
DES MOINES, AUG. 10
I was running an errand for work and he was sitting on the bench talking to someone outside of blazing saddle. He was dressed in a military uniform and watched me as I walked past. I didn’t have time to stop as I needed to get to work but I just wanted to tell him that I think he was attractive and give him my number.
MIDWESt, AUG. 12
When I first moved to Iowa in the middle of a blizzard in January 2021, I was convinced by new floormates to go to a rave that was held in an abandoned church. I had a few missed connections that night and I’ll explain how I fumbled the bag on both.
The first encounter at the rave was with a masked man (post-lockdown) and he had a large fro but was somewhat socially awkward. As a fellow socially awkward person, I didn’t pick up on the cues so I walked away and looked for mind-altering substances to entertain me instead.
After a couple of hours, I met a white guy...I feel that I have to say this to set up the story, but anyway, he was for sure into me. We had a great conversation but the gag is, that there was a girl who was just as obsessed and I’m going to assume that was his girlfriend. However, fate never misses a chance to give me a big eff you and the next encounter was just that.
This guy who was lurking the entire time like a food-deprived shark, swooped right in. He was nothing to write home about, but I’m from the south and sometimes a lady, so I entertained it. The first thing he said to me was, “Don’t worry, I won’t leave you like that guy, but I can assure you that we are not going to agree on a lot of subjects,” and as soon as I heard this, I knew in my soul I was going to regret being nice.
He led off with “All Lives Matter” and after that I mentally checked out. Two out three of the guys I know until this day, one being the first guy and the other the last encounter....I often wonder about the guy in the middle....we could possibly be Facebook friends...who knows?
AUG. 12
We see each other around at shows occasionally. The last time we crossed paths, you squeezed my hand midway through shaking it and I felt like I’d just been shot, but in the best way possible. Linger a while longer the next time you come say hi to me, I promise it’s welcome.
To the barista with dirty blonde locks and clear frames… I formally accept your hand in marriage for the most amazing tofu pesto sandwich I have ever tasted.
Submit to Missed Connections, LV’s community initiative fostering connection between readers. Questions may be edited for clarity and length, and may appear in print or online. littlevillagemag.com/missed-connections
oversold tickets by thousands, not enough water stations and she said it would take a lot for her to go back.
—Jennifer H.
They should probably find a new venue. Too little shade and the town doesn’t have the proper infrastructure.
—Rachel M.
A wonderful example of corporate greed shown via the music industry again. RIP. Hinterland is a grey old mare… she ain’t what she used to be. —Aaron M.
Sam Helmick, the Iowa City Public Library’s Community & Access Coordinator, has been appointed president of the American Library Association. Helmick previously served as president of the Iowa Library Association, and was once an employee of the Burlington Public Library.
Lily Schloss, an 18-year-old singer from North Liberty, won the Bill Riley Talent Show at the Iowa State Fair on Aug. 18 for her rendition of Whitney Houston’s “I Have Nothing.” She said the $10,000 cash prize will go towards her college education.
Former University of Iowa wrestler Spencer Lee earned a silver medal at the 2024 Paris Olympics for freestyle wrestling in the 57kg weight class. Lee earned three NCAA titles during his tenure as a Hawkeye, overcoming repeated knee injuries.
Arctic Monkeys The Nadas Portugal.
Bella Moss Spoon Pieta Brown Modest Mouse
Phantogram Hozier Shovels & Rope Alvvays
Jimmy Eat World Father John Misty Bright Eyes
Leon Bridges Best Coast Weary Ramblers
Jason Isbell The Smiths Death Cab for Cutie
Jack White St. Vincent Brother Trucker
Goth Babe Elvis Costello Dr. Dog Maggie Rose
Radiohead Elliott Smith New Order Blondsh
The Killers Nathaniel Rateliff & The Night Sweats
Vampire Weekend Beck Karen Meat Avett Bro
House of Large Sizes Bad Religion Mt. Joy
The Black Keys Dickie Pixies Young The Giant
Cage The Elephant B. Well The Replacements
Cold War Kids Allegra Hernandez Beastie Boys
The Smashing Pumpkins Echo & The Bunnymen
The Police Talking Heads Frank Turner
Interpol The Cure Briston Maroney Devo King Gizzard & The Lizard Wizard Flaming Lips
The Clash Surf Zombies Black Pumas Weezer
Chris Wiersema always served up weird, challenging events. This posthumous music fest is no exception.
BY KEMBREW MCLEOD
“Bring the Noise” was a musical mantra popularized by the hip-hop group Public Enemy, and Chris Wiersema lived that aesthetic ideal as Iowa City’s premiere programmer of experimental music and other out-there sounds. Over the past quarter century, he brought hundreds of boundary-breaking artists to town in his myriad roles as a house show promoter, booker for local rock clubs, Mission Creek Festival programming director, and founder of Feed Me Weird Things, his own deep listening series.
In 2022, Wiersema launched FEaST, an annual music festival featuring avant-garde luminaries Godspeed You! Black Emperor, the Sun Ra Arkestra and other iconoclastic, internationally acclaimed artists. When the widely beloved programmer passed away earlier this year, the captivating sounds that he curated likely would have gone silent if not for Wiersema’s friends and collaborators, who ensured that FEaST would be back this fall to decimate minds.
“As sad as this all could be, it truly is a thing of beauty to see this level of talent, verve and daring all in one place, and is a testament to the generational programmer that he was, and would have continued to be,” Dylan Marcus McConnell wrote on the FEaST website. “Though we may be without his guiding hand, he has handed us the reins: we are going to make this a FEaST he’d be fucking proud of.”
The graphic artist, who works under the name Tiny Little Hammers, first met Wiersema not long after moving to town from Portland, Oregon. While in a bit of a buzzed state—and feeling quite convivial and enthused after a performance that he had just experienced—McConnell approached the tall, bearded, rather imposing fellow who stood in the back of the room and asked something along the lines of, “Why are you always here?”
“Because I book the shows,” Wiersema curtly responded. McConnell promptly offered his services as a designer, primarily so that he wouldn’t have to pay admission. It was true love and lots of work from there on out. Wiersema introduced him to the team behind Mission Creek Festival, for which he began designing posters, along with creating publicity materials for Feed Me Weird Things and FEaST.
Wiersema had already booked most of the 2024 FEaST lineup by the time of his unexpected death, so Matt “Red” Rebelskey and several other compatriots ensured that the din didn’t fade out. Wiersema’s memorial service at the Englert Theatre attracted hundreds of people, many from out of town, serving as a tribute to the outsized impact that he had on underground music scenes around the country.
Recalling Wiersema’s signature brand of black humor, Englert programming director Brian Johannesen recalled how he used to say the biggest irony in a promoter’s life is the turnout for their funeral. That got a big, cathartic laugh.
“I don’t think people were aware of how much Chris’s presence in Iowa City shaped the culture around us until we lost that support,” McConnell told me. “For the weirdos, the seekers, those of us looking for
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Sunday, Sept. 1, 7 p.m., The Buttertones, Raccoon Motel, Davenport Sunday, Sept. 1, 8 p.m., Yung Gravy, Vibrant Music Hall, Waukee
Monday, Sept. 2, 7–9 p.m., Tatsuya Nakatani / David Hurlin, Public Space One, Iowa City
tuesday, Sept. 3, 6 p.m., Veaux & The Foxies, Raccoon Motel, Davenport tuesday, Sept. 3, 6:30–8 p.m., Blake Shaw, Northside Market Place, Iowa City Wednesday, Sept. 4, 6 p.m., Lung, Noun, Arc Numbers, and If I could just get some sleep, Smokestack, Dubuque Wednesday, Sept. 4, 6 p.m., The Wildwoods w/ Brad & Kate, xBk Live, Des Moines Wednesday, Sept. 4, 7–9:30 p.m., Burlington Street Bluegrass Band, Wildwood, Iowa City
thursday, Sept. 5, 6:30 p.m., Signs of the Swarm, Wooly’s, Des Moines
thursday, Sept. 5, 7 p.m., Bouqet & Khamsin w/Heaving., Glittermouth, Manhattan Blockade, Gabe’s, Iowa City Friday, Sept. 6, 7 p.m., Superfly Samurai, Yardarm Riverfront Bar & Grill, Dubuque
Friday, Sept. 6, 7 p.m., Jeb Bishop & Tim Daisy Duo, Smokestack, Dubuque
Friday, Sept. 6, Reveren Kristin Michael Hayter, Wooly’s, Des Moines
Friday, Sept. 6, 6 p.m., Goatwhore w/Vitriol & Necrofier, Gabe’s, Iowa City
Friday, Sept. 6, 7 p.m., Dickie–EP Release Party, xBk Live, Des Moines
Friday, Sept. 6, 7 p.m., The Nola Jazz Band, 10 Year Celebration, pt 3, Noce, Des Moines
Friday, Sept. 6, 7 p.m., Bob Log III w/Samuel Locke Ward, Raccoon Motel, Des Moines
Friday, Sept. 6, 8 p.m., The Hooten Hallers, Wildwood, Iowa City
FEaST Wednesday, Oct. 30–Saturday, Nov. 2, The James Theater, Iowa City, $100-300
Des Moines: Girls Rock! Des Moines Fall Session, Sept. 5–Dec. 12 AGED, of AGED & malik grey, is looking forward to taking his daughters to the next Girls Rock! Des Moines session this fall. Of a previous showcase, he says Girls Rock! musicians Sarah Tonin and Allegra Hernandez, “...totally tore the roof off. Allegra can straight up shred on the guitar, it’s amazing. My girls left even more fired up about music.”
Friday, Sept. 6, 8 p.m., Mr. Softheart, Anthony Worden and Dj Pals, Octopus, Cedar Falls
Friday, Sept. 6, 7 p.m., Goatwhore w/ Vitriol & Necrofier, Gabe’s, Iowa City
Friday, Sept. 6, 6:30 p.m., The Dealbreakers, El Rays, Iowa City Sept. 6,7, 10 p.m., Pom Teddy, El Rays, Iowa City
Saturday, Sept. 7, The Droptines, Wooly’s, Des Moines
Saturday, Sept. 7, CMT’s Next Women of Country Kimberly Perry, Wooly’s, Des Moines
Saturday, Sept. 7, 1:30 p.m., Johnnie Walker, Fergedaboudit Vineyard & Winery, Dubuque
new and, yes, the weird, he was both a beacon and a net swung into the sky to bring those experiences to us, a little Midwest flyover university town more interested in sports than seems healthy.”
Wiersema went to great lengths to cultivate sonic spaces that were inclusive, even when the artists that he booked and the reverberations they produced could encroach on an audience’s comfort zone. As he told me a year ago while sitting in his listening room at home, when he happened to be (unironically) adorned in a Madonna T-shirt, “FEaST and Feed Me Weird Things aren’t meant to be this kind of anti-music, anti-pop kind of thing, or anything like that. It’s just a different way to listen.”
“Chris had a particular way of cultivating curiosity,” Rebelskey explained. “There was no guilt or shame thrown for not knowing an artist, but an outreached hand welcoming you to come for the ride. Friends old and new got together to experience something exceptional and share new thoughts and ideas. It’s a truly welcoming community full of people you know, and people you’ll soon know.”
boundaries between art and everyday life by demonstrating through rigorous practice the ways that aurality can offer us new ways of understanding the world and creating community.
“I think we have a greater chance of discovering paths to empathy by engaging with the unknown,” Wiersema told me, “paths that we don’t necessarily have when we go back to the familiar. Engaging with something new is both terrifying and also cathartic, because it can reveal things about the ways we think and process information in real time.
Rebelskey, who had helped produce shows with his good friend over the years, recalled that the performances Wiersema booked were a part of him—they moved to his core, and he believed that everyone should have the opportunity to access these transformational experiences.
The sonic outlaw’s origin story began at the age of 16, when Wiersema was sent to a reform school in the Dominican Republic that banned any kind of secular music.Wiersema had been a voracious lister since he was a kid; Prince’s Batman was the first cassette tape he owned, and the early 1990s alternative rock explosion provided the soundtrack of his adolescence.
“When I was there,” he recalled, “like, every night after lights-out, I would just go through albums in my head and try to replay them and replay them until my mental tape kind of wore out and I couldn’t remember that music anymore. I sort of hit this bottom where I just forgot. But then I started hearing music everywhere—whether diesel engines or thunderstorms—and I began to attune to natural environment sounds in the way that I used to fixate on music.”
From there, Wiersema set out to dissolve the
“That can make us feel vulnerable, but through doing that, we can also recognize that vulnerability in others. By taking in things fully without the armor of critique and past experience, it creates a path to more positivity. I think it engenders an empathy, an understanding of each other’s unique experience and perspective—not just in art, but in the world.”
Soon after Wiersema’s death, Rebelskey and Englert Programming Coordinator Grace Merritt didn’t think twice about making sure that the Feed Me Weird Things shows that he had already booked would happen in his absence. They are also part of the team presenting this year’s FEaST.
“We got a small list of people together and reached out to them,” Rebelskey told me. “They all said ‘yes’ in an instant. Since then, we’ve been putting our heart and soul into this festival.”
Two of the artists who are part of the FEaST 2024 lineup—Haley Fohr (a.k.a. Circuit des Yeux) and Jon Muller (performing as Friend with Andrew Fitzpatrick)—also played at Wiersema’s memorial service. And even though a shadow will loom over this year’s FEaST, its performances will first and foremost be a celebration of life itself, in all its complexity and dissonance.
“This year’s FEaST has a pretty broad span,” Rebelskey said. “You can get down to some sweet guitar licks from Ava Mendoza, or get lost in yourself with Robert Aiki Aubrey Lowe and Sarah Davachi. If you’re looking to be bludgeoned in the best way possible, stop in and see Wolf Eyes. There really is something for anyone who wants to hear or feel something new.”
Kembrew McLeod has purchased his tix for FEaST, and you should too!
Presented by University of Iowa Division of Performing Arts
Saturday, Sept. 7, 5 p.m., Gurnfest: Day 2, xBk Live, Des Moines
Saturday, Sept. 7, 6 p.m., Jordan Sellergren, Northside Market Place, Iowa City
Saturday, Sept. 7, 6:30 p.m., The Squares, El Rays, Iowa City
Saturday, Sept. 7, 7 p.m., 8-Bit Creeps w/ llo llo & Mars Hojilla, Raccoon Motel, Des Moines
Saturday, Sept. 7, 7 p.m., Jabberbox, Yardarm Riverfront Bar & Grill, Dubuque
Saturday, Sept. 7, 8 p.m., Horace Greene, Alma Sub Rosa, Smokestack, Dubuque
Saturday, Sept. 7, 8 p.m., Greg Wheeler and the Poly Mall Cops & Astro Bat, Octopus, Cedar Falls
Sunday, Sept. 8, 6 p.m., TopHouse, xBk Live, Des Moines
Sunday, Sept. 8, 7 p.m., The Convalescence w/ Ignominious & 72 Legions, Wildwood, Iowa City
Sunday, Sept. 8, 8 p.m., Deer Tick/ Sugadaisy, Cod Fish Hollow, Maquoketa Monday, Sept. 9, 6 p.m., Afroman Presidential Tour, Wildwood, Iowa City
Monday, Sept. 9, 7 p.m., Los Shadows w/ wht.rbbt.obj, Raccoon Motel, Des Moines
Monday , Sept. 9, 8 p.m., Snow Tha Product–Good Nights and Bad Mornings Tour, Val Air Ballroom, West Des Moines
tuesday, Sept. 10, Phantogram, Val Air Ballroom, Des Moines
tuesday, Sept. 10, 7 p.m., Alash Ensemble, CSPS Hall, Cedar Rapids
Wednesday, Sept. 11, 6 p.m., Mike Clark & The Sugar Sounds, Raccoon Motel, Des Moines
Wednesday, Sept. 11, 7–9:30 p.m., Burlington Street Bluegrass Band, Wildwood, Iowa City
thursday, Sept. 12, Black Pumas, Val Air Ballroom, Des Moines
thursday, Sept. 12, Aaron Watson, Wooly’s, Des Moines
thursday, Sept. 12, 6 p.m., Dale Hollow, xBk Live, Des Moines
thursday, Sept. 12, 6 p.m., The Zenith Passage w/ Abstract Forms, Braver Than I, Wildwood, Iowa City
thursday, Sept. 12, 6 p.m., Mon Rovia w/ Tish Melton, Raccoon Motel, Des Moines
thursday, Sept. 12, 6:30 p.m., Bob Dorr’s Blues Jam, Octopus, Cedar Falls
thursday, Sept. 12, 7 p.m., Jazz on the House w/ Vocalist Lauren Vilmain, Noce, Des Moines
thursday, Sept. 12, 7 p.m., Sum 41: Tour of the Setting Sum, Vibrant Music Hall, Waukee thursday, Sept. 12, 7:30 p.m., Gillian Welch & David Rawlings, Hoyt Sherman Place, Des Moines
Friday, Sept. 13, Home Free: Crazy(er) Life Tour, Vibrant Music Hall, Waukee
Friday, Sept. 13, Goth Babe, Val Air Ballroom, Des Moines
Friday, Sept. 13, The Record Company, Wooly’s, Des Moines
Friday, Sept. 13, 6:30 p.m., Cage the Elephant, Wells Fargo Arena, Des Moines
Friday, Sept. 13, 7 p.m., Derty Rice, Smokestack, Dubuque
Friday, Sept. 13, 7 p.m., Rock Steady, Yardarm Riverfront Bar & Grill, Dubuque
Friday, Sept. 13, 7 p.m., Mickey Dolenz, Surf Ballroom, Clear Lake
Friday, Sept. 13, 7 p.m., Bodywash w/ Muted Color & Blist Her, Raccoon Motel, Des Moines
Friday, Sept. 13, 7 p.m., Queercore ft Nur-D w/Issac Jordan, xBk Live, Des Moines
Friday, Sept. 13, 7:30 p.m., Nitty Gritty Dirt Band, Hoyt Sherman Place, Des Moines
Iowa City: Chaka Khan, Hancher Auditorium, Friday, Sept. 13, 7:30 p.m., $25–$135 With a discography that covers 22 studio albums through five decades, Chaka Khan is part of a small handful of musicians that transcends genre and time period. Following an unspoken tradition of having at least one big tentpole artist early in its season, Hancher Auditorium couldn’t have picked a better artist to kick-off their stellar musical lineup this fall.
Friday, Sept. 13, 8 p.m., Steven Morgan, El Rays, Iowa City
Friday, Sept. 13, 8 p.m., Brad & Kate w/The Bird Hunters, Octopus, Cedar Falls
Friday, Sept. 13, 8 p.m., Sundance Head w/ Eva Maeve, Wildwood, Iowa City
Sept. 13, 14, 10 p.m., Cassidy Karsyn Band, El Rays, Iowa City
Saturday, Sept. 14, Blues Traveler–30 Years of Four Tour, Val Air Ballroom, Des Moines
Saturday, Sept. 14, 1:30 p.m., Vince Amore, Fergedaboudit Vineyard & Winery, Dubuque
Two valued team members from Principal Financial Group were delivered here to the LiFT—by the divine means of Court Ave, or maybe, Fong’s—and found themselves next to me. There was nowhere else to go. The place was packed on Aug. 1 to welcome Mr. Softheart (the band, not man) into the home stretch of their summer tour. This would be the first of four final shows in Iowa, following a dozen others that covered more of the continental United States than Culver’s franchise locations.
I watched the future of the insurance industry watch Mr. Softheart. The pair of apple-cheeked co-workers, still reeking of post-grad posi vibes, went for their phones as soon as the four valued members of the night’s newwavey, home-townie headliners hit the stage. Their first focal point was, naturally, Nick Fisher, the frontman right in front of them. But as the set opener, “Million Dollar Question,” boogied into the room, a barfly’s wobble took Nick in and out of what would’ve been the money shot.
A few doors down 4th Street from the disfigured remains of Vaudeville Mews, the de facto stage at the LiFT couldn’t have been as big as the living rooms the Softhearts stopped by in between venues on their way through St. Louis, Detroit, Brooklyn and a show just outside Pittsburgh at the Jean Bonnet Tavern. But the square footage of the LiFT was beside the point—the borderline-unbranded martini bar became a load-bearing safety pin in the Des Moines DIY scene, thanks to its all-arewelcome concerts and anything-goes art exhibits.
Something Nick sang-said streaked across the PA and grabbed hold of me: “College girl smoking credit carddsss.” I considered the empty bowl and empty bank account that would bring about such a decision. In the background, with his back turned to the audience, John Fisher (yes, related, brothers) stood before two double-decker stacks of abbreviated keyboards and blinking lights. There, he produced synth lines that one moment might sound like the thud of the Escape From New York theme, and another, like a clubby little interlude on the American Gigolo soundtrack.
Stage left, the other side of Mr. Softheart’s mouth, Halen Becker, added her own halo-adorned two cents. The poise with which she held a martini glass between songs could be heard in the almost digital precision of her harmonies, vocals melting into synth, like ice cubes into cocktail. Stage right, ripping into yet another song, Charlie Patterson pummeled the silver grill of his Supro Black Magick amp with the rollicking good guitar lick for “Purgatory: A Dream Sequence.” It was a murky number, and a crowd favorite from city to city. Nick, John and Charlie assembled and animated Mr. Softheart in 2022. The first time I saw them was at Gas Lamp (R.I.P.), mere minutes after Charli XCX finished her set at 80/35. Between the three of them, they had one vocalist, two part-time guitarists, three part-time synth players and zero drummers. Seeing this three-piece lineup meant seeing each song’s creation, without so much as a sneeze guard in the way. They were a Chipotle crew portioning out Frankenstein’s monster—hot, fast, now. In late 2023, Halen guested on their debut album,
Magdalene In Crisis. (Shout-out to “Carnage of the Rose,” such a perfectly anachronistic needle drop that you could surely sneak it over the credits of a Jerry Bruckheimer production from the 1980s.) By early 2024, Halen had become a full-time member for the sessions that turned out to be Songs for Subdued Spaces. Seeing this four-piece lineup meant seeing a leaner, meaner, less-is-more-ier monster. I hadn’t seen them so tight, their tone so toned.
The last song on the EP’s tracklist, “It Happened Like This,” rippled across the amassed surface of faces. I, a beautiful little fool, assumed this would be the last song on the setlist. Nick even poked and prodded the audience with a certain fuck-it finality. Compared to the empty togetherness that artists default to these days, each poke and prod seemed to delight the Principal Groupies, like a couple of Pillsbury Doughboys. Then there was the pearl of an opening line: “You never thought that it would happen like this / Well, it happened to be a bitch.”
The seven-minute, more-is-more misfit in the Mr. Softheart songbook is about a filmmaker and the Hollywood machine that threatened to consume her until all she could see was its insides. In my official capacity as rock ‘n’ roll journalist, exactly two or three Modelos deep, I was ready to report that this was the best song on the EP. And that this was the best song of the night. Until the Softhearts got to what was actually the last one.
This new, unreleased song, tentatively titled “Drowning in the River of You,” started with a drum loop sampled from “What’s That You’re Doing?” by Paul McCartney (and featuring Stevie Wonder). The band jammed from there, letting us once again see the song’s creation. Every part and piece on stage, whether body or instrument, slinked out from the sample, suddenly unrecognizable, still gorgeous. Tonight’s take would end up somewhere other than the night before; tomorrow night’s take would end up somewhere other than tonight’s.
On one of Mr. Softheart’s tour stops, in Cleveland, Ohio, the crowd was evidently so into this jam sesh they couldn’t help but start a reverse conga line. I looked for one last update on the perfectly nice, perfectly normal guys who were closer than ever to never seeing me again. They were into it. I was into it. But I didn’t reach for their waists, nor did they reach for mine. I’d like to believe it was only because there wasn’t enough square footage at the LiFT.
Saturday, Sept. 14, 5 p.m., IOWinds Alliance Woodwind Festival, Coralville Center for the Performing Arts, Coralville Saturday, Sept. 14, 6 p.m., KPOP Breakout Tour 2024, xBk Live, Des Moines
Saturday, Sept. 14, 6 p.m., Norma Jean w/ Darkest Hour, Wildwood, Iowa City
Saturday, Sept. 14, 6 p.m., Exit, Emergency 10 Year Anniversary, Gabe’s, Iowa City
Saturday, Sept. 14, 7 p.m., Brushfire Bandits, Yardarm Riverfront Bar & Grill, Dubuque
Saturday, Sept. 14, 7 p.m., The Nate Sparks Big Band, Noce, Des Moines
Saturday, Sept. 14, 7 p.m., The 4onthefloor w/ Comancheros, Sammy Brue & More, Raccoon Motel, Des Moines
Saturday, Sept. 14, 7 p.m., Molly Shannon, El Rays, Iowa City
Saturday, Sept. 14, 8 p.m., Hemlock, Tu’mera, Hashman and the Carpet Surfers, Smokestack, Dubuque
Saturday, Sept. 14, 8 p.m., Ryan Burns, Joel Sires & Ben Rendall, Octopus, Cedar Falls
Saturday, Sept. 14, 8 p.m., Eddie Piccard, Ideal Theater & Bar, Cedar Rapids
Saturday, Sept. 14, 8 p.m., An Evening with Horseshoes & Hand Grenades, Cod Fish Hollow, Maquoketa
Saturday, Sept. 14, 9:30 p.m., Standard Time w/ Max Wellman, Noce, Des Moines
Mr. Softheart 2024 Tour homecoming/ cap-off show and Anthony Worden album release Friday, Sept. 6 at 8 p.m., The Octopus, Cedar Falls
Monday, Sept. 15, 7 p.m., Moonshine Bandits w/ Chris Heaton, Wildwood, Iowa City
The Des Moines Gay Men’s Chorus produces some of its campiest and most accessible performances through HarMANY.
BY JOHN BUSBEE
Under the umbrella of the Des Moines Gay Men’s Chorus (DMGMC) is a dedicated outreach choir, HarMANY. These musical ambassadors share much more than their inspirational music. They spread messages of unity and acceptance.
Under the new leadership of DMGMC’s Artistic Director and Conductor Eric Shepard and HarMANY’s founder, Ben Hagen, this 15-year-old group continues to refine and expand its mission, engaging a greater diversity within its ranks while plucking the heartstrings of growing audiences.
The mission of HarMANY is the same as the chorus: “a community champion, singing to promote harmony, ignite hearts, and move minds.” All of DMGMC’s work is built on the foundation of music as a vital part of not only the participants’ lives, but also the audiences they reach.
The DMGMC is a non-auditioned chorus made up of 80+ singers and welcomes all individuals, regardless of gender, who sing in the tenor and bass ranges. The chorus currently boasts great diversity in the group regarding gender identity and sexual orientation, with a welcoming invitation for all who sing in the tenor or bass range to come sing with them.
Hagen is a regional phenom on piano and in arranging, with a strong penchant for producing entertaining, high-caliber vocal ensemble experiences. HarMANY was originally started in 2009 “…in response to increasing interest in outreach performances … especially during daytime hours, as well as a way for chorus members to perform more popular forms of music, whether pop, Broadway, rock, country, etc.,” Hagen said.
This specialty ensemble evolved into its current 12-member profile, representing Tenor 1, Tenor 2, Baritone and Bass sections. The group rehearses one additional night per week during a concert cycle (DMGMC rehearses once weekly). HarMANY members are required to sing with the DMGMC as well in order to be eligible for the small ensemble.
HarMANY now performs three major concerts each season, pivoting “from campy, show choir” performances into “a more elite singing ensemble,” Hagen said.
“Don’t get me wrong, we still enjoy camp,”
HarMANY’s mission is to spread a message of unity and acceptance through music.
he clarified. “We have done numbers wearing nuns’ habits. [HarMANY] more recently performed a cheerleading choral set complete with original cheers, pom poms and cheerleading outfits at the international GALA Festival in Minneapolis.
“But the focus in the last few years has been creating a beautiful and unique sound from the voices that show up to sing.”
The growth of DMGMC from its founding in 2001 by Dr. Randal A. Buikema is impressive. Their first public performance, described as “electrifying,” was given before a standing-room-only crowd. Buikema turned the lead-
Showtune Sundays with the Des Moines Gay Men’s Chorus First Sunday of the month, 2-6 p.m., The Blazing Saddle, $15
and 2016 GALA Festivals in Denver, Colorado. DMGMC is also a member of Chorus America and the American Choral Directors Association.
CHORAL MUSIC IS NOt ONE OF LIFE’S FRILLS. It’S SOMEtHING tHAt GOES INtO tHE VERY HEARt OF OUR HUMANItY, OUR SENSE OF COMMUNItY, AND OUR SOULS.
—SIR JOHN MILFORD RUTTER, ENGLISH COMPOSER AND CONDUCTOR
ership reins over to Dr. Rebecca Gruber, who led the org until 2020. Through the years, DMGMC has provided a welcoming place for LGBTQ+ and ally members, where the unifying mission is the shared love for music as a catalyst for meaningful connections.
DMGMC is a member of GALA Choruses, an LGBTQ choral organization made up of over 190 choruses and 10,000 singers worldwide dedicated to continued support of LGBTQ choral music programs. DMGMC has performed at the 2008 GALA Festival in Miami, Florida and the 2012
“I have been going to the chorus concerts for years and have witnessed the group grow, expand, and most importantly, improve,” said Mark Holub, a Greater Des Moines cultural patron and a longtime fan of DMGMC. “It has become more diverse and inclusive while under this new director and grown dramatically artistically and vocally. At this last concert [June 2024, in the Temple Ballroom], I was particularly moved by the sub group HarMANY. Not only did they rise to the occasion vocally but, to me, they represent the very essence of the DMGMC and all it wants to be ... and all it should be.”
With this kind of endorsement, one voice in a growing chorus of supporters, the future for DMGMC and its affiliate ensembles, HarMANY and Transcendent, is strong and appealing.
John Busbee produces a weekly arts & culture radio show, The Culture Buzz, broadcast and streaming at kfmg.org. He also has participated in choral and ensemble singing for decades, including the University of Iowa Oratorio Chorus and as a 20+ year member of a gospel quintet.
Sunday, Sept. 15, An Evening with Goose, Vibrant Music Hall, Waukee
Sunday, Sept. 15, 2 p.m., A Night on the Town, Coralville Center for the Performing Arts, Coralville
Sunday, Sept. 15, 6 p.m., Public Memory w/Clubdrugs, Raccoon Motel, Des Moines
Sunday, Sept. 15, 6 & 8 p.m., Julian Lage, Hancher Auditorium, Iowa City
Sunday , Sept. 15, 7 p.m., GEL w/ MSPAINT, Destiny Bond & The Mall, Gabe’s, Iowa City
Sunday, Sept. 15, 8 p.m., The Ozark Mountain Daredevils, Hoyt Sherman Place, Des Moines
tuesday, Sept. 17, 6 p.m., Six Organs of Admittance w/ Goatfoam, xBk Live, Des Moines
tuesday, Sept. 17, 7–10 p.m., David Dondero / Tommy Santee Klaws, Public Space One, Iowa City
Wednesday, Sept. 18, Mother Mother, Val Air Ballroom, Des Moines
Wednesday, Sept. 18, 6 p.m., Scream & Soulside w/ Blaster, Raccoon Motel , Davenport
Wednesday, Sept. 18, 6 p.m., Blues Jam Night w/ the Mighty Mudcats, Smokestack, Dubuque
Wednesday, Sept. 18, 7 p.m., Abby Holliday, xBk Live, Des Moines
Wednesday, Sept. 18, 8 p.m., Shamarr Allen, Wildwood, Iowa City
Wednesday, Sept. 18, 8 p.m., Chris Isaak, Hoyt Sherman Place, Des Moines
Wednesday, Sept. 18, 8 p.m., Dreamist w/ New Neighbors & TV Cop, Gabe’s, Iowa City
thursday, Sept. 19, Nicotine Dolls, The Englert Theatre, Iowa City
thursday, Sept. 19, 6 p.m., The Way Down Wanderers & Stillhouse Junkies, xBk Live, Des Moines
Two iconic Iowa City authors discuss midlife crises, “rewilding” domesticity and putting their trust in Amy Adams.
BY CHUY RENtERIA
When we learned the movie adaptation of Nightbitch—Iowa City author Rachel Yoder’s satirical 2021 novel about a new mother embracing her inner (and outer) beast—would be headlining FilmScene’s Refocus Film Festival in October, Little Village editors naturally began imagining a cover for this Fall Arts Preview involving Yoder holding some type of raw meat. Then we caught wind that another Iowa Writers’ Workshop alumnus, Garth Greenwell, would be moving back to Iowa City and that his third book, Small Rain, was due to release in
September. Greenwell’s first two novels, What Belongs to You (2016) and Cleanness (2020), were hailed as instant classics, experimental in form and unflinching in their depiction of queer relationships and desire. Small Rain, his first book set in the U.S., follows an Iowa poet navigating a dysfunctional healthcare system and new love. Romance, fury, domesticity, ferality— Greenwell and Yoder both grapple with the chaos and comforts of being human in a storytelling style that can’t be mistaken for another author. So we had a proposal for the two locals: Interview each other, let us record the conversation and then
participate in a photoshoot that would double as a kind of trust exercise. In spite of some impossibly busy schedules, both writers were game.
This conversation has been edited for length and clarity.
Garth Greenwell: I saw the announcement that the movie is opening up the Refocus Film Fest. Congratulations on that. The novel was extraordinarily successful, but putting something on a screen means maybe it’s going to reach a whole bunch of different people, and maybe more people. How are you feeling about this new life the book’s going to take on?
Rachel Yoder: I’ve been trying not to think about it too much and just ride the wave that has been and will be this movie. It’s been such an honor to have another artist be inspired by something I wrote and then make their own art about it. I feel really protective of [director] Marielle Heller and [lead actor] Amy Adams. I want them to get their flowers. I’m a bit nervous to see what the reception will be. It’s a weird movie, because the book is weird, and I’m just trying to experience it as fully as I can. I’m just trying to have fun with it. So that’s how I’m feeling.
GG: Teach me to live, Rachel Yoder! [Rachel laughs] That’s all so wise.
RY: Oh, it’s been a long road, Garth. Well, I have a really broad, somewhat ridiculous question about your book [Small Rain]. I was just really taken by your ability to write in such detail and to stay in this narrator’s fluid train of thought so closely to the minute details of this experience. I know that the narrator’s experience is very close to an experience you had. When did you write this in relation to your experience that mirrors it and how did you approach capturing that detail on the page?
GG: I wrote the book over about three years. I started writing it a month after I got out of the hospital. The medical crisis that the narrator undergoes, I went through a similar medical crisis. One of the things I believe about art is that we have art because there are situations that are so difficult and complex that they defeat all our other tools for thinking. We need the pressure of form. I needed that in order to unpack and try to understand what had happened to me. One of the primary virtues of art-making is being patient— trying to resist my urge to move ahead to finish a sentence, to finish a scene, and instead to stay moment to moment and to try to do this thing that literature can do, which is to stop time and unpack a really dense, complicated moment. Not
just what the consciousness is thinking, but also what the body is experiencing.
RY: I was really surprised and delighted to find that the prose in this book felt more sung than written. The book felt really scored to me, and I’m interested in hearing how you were thinking about punctuation and sentences and paragraphs and sections, because it does feel like it’s a movement.
GG: Oh, I love that you say that. That’s a beautiful observation. So I, like my narrator, have a background in music. I was a singer. I do think that the way that I approach sentences and scenes is really conditioned by that. English punctuation is really chaotic, more chaotic than punctuation in many other languages. English punctuation has always been as much about music as sense. Once, when I published a story in the New Yorker that had like a six- or seven-page-long paragraph, my editor said, “Will you let me try to put in paragraph breaks and just see how you feel?” And it was the strangest thing because it felt like you were listening to an organ concerto and the pedal tones were shifting at the wrong place. So I have a question for you. We’re in a moment where there’s a lot of discussion about women writing the impossibility of heterosexual marriage. Something that really strikes me about Nightbitch is that there is a lot of similar energy in the book, a woman who finds the structure of her life unbearable, and yet what the book does, instead of scrapping that structure, is to “re-wild” that structure. Like a rewilding of domesticity. I wondered if you had thoughts about how the book resonates for you in this particular moment of the discourse.
What Belongs to You (an opera for tenor and chamber orchestra) Thursday, Sept. 26, 7:30 p.m. at Modlin Center for the Arts, Richmond, VA
Nightbitch isn’t the only adaptation releasing this fall. Greenwell’s first novel, What Belongs to You, is coming to the stage as an opera. LV asked Greenwell about his experience with the adaptation.
“Opera was my first education in art–I studied to be a singer for several years–and that affects my writing at every level, from how I think about sentences to how I think about plot. In some ways, What Belongs to You was written with the toolkit of opera, and so, both for the book and for me, it feels like a homecoming. I think the music is brilliant; listening to it is overwhelmingly moving to me…The whole (adaptation) experience has been very intimate, very collaborative–a really beautiful experience of art as friendship. It has changed and enriched my understanding of my novel. Now there is a new element–the brilliant, iconic choreographer Mark Morris, who is staging the opera for its premiere in Richmond this month. I’m so excited to see how he will transform this story for me again.” —Garth Greenwell
RY: It was very tempting with the book to turn it into a right and wrong, into something that was just angry and not much more. It occurred to me very early on that that wouldn’t work. It wasn’t truthful and it wasn’t that simple. It’s been really interesting because the women who continue to write to me are not writing about how their partners are horrible. They’re saying, “I feel so seen. Thank you. I needed someone to acknowledge my experience.” And that’s very different for me.
What I find challenging about the current slew of books about the impossibility of heterosexual marriage is that they are angry and don’t move much beyond that. Yes, embrace the anger, but I’m interested in what comes after the anger in heterosexual marriage, because that to me seems like the more complicated and nuanced part of the story. The first third of Nightbitch I would characterize as rageful, and I knew the entire book couldn’t be rageful. That wouldn’t be interesting nor narratively wise. So how was the book going to shift into a different key, and what would that key be? That was part of the discovery of writing the book. How to stay instead of how to leave, what the lessons of staying were. What was important and needed in the staying.
GG: I find so beautiful the moment when the
littlevillagemag.com/calendar
thursday, Sept. 19, 6 p.m., Autopilot, Raccoon Motel, Des Moines
thursday, Sept. 19, 7 p.m., Willy Porter, CSPS Hall, Cedar Rapids
thursday, Sept. 19, 7 p.m., DeadPhish Orchestra, Gabe’s, Iowa City
thursday, Sept. 19, 7 p.m., Jazz on the House w/ Trumpeter Scott Davis & Co, Noce, Des Moines
thursday, Sept. 19, 7:30 p.m., Cooper Alan, Five Flags Center, Dubuque
thursday, Sept. 19, 8 p.m., Hip Hop
Showcase: Denku, Octopus, Cedar Falls
Friday, Sept. 20, Petrock: A Tribute to the Smooth Rock of the 70’s, Wooly’s, Des Moines
Friday, Sept. 20, 6 p.m., For Those About to Yacht, Wildwood, Iowa City
Friday, Sept. 20, 7 p.m., Who Are These Guys, Yardarm Riverfront Bar & Grill, Dubuque
Friday, Sept. 20, 7 p.m., Kris Lager Band, xBk Live, Des Moines
Friday, Sept. 20, 7:30 p.m., Julia Bullock and Conor Hanick, Hancher Auditorium, Iowa City
Friday, Sept. 20, 7:30 p.m., Crash Test
Dummies, The Englert Theatre, Iowa City
Friday, Sept. 20, 8 p.m., Halfloves & Dickie, CSPS Hall, Cedar Rapids
Friday, Sept. 20, 8 p.m., 28 Days Later w/ Dirty Blonde & Treecloud, Gabe’s, Friday, Sept. 20, 8 p.m., Soultru & TBA, Octopus, Cedar Falls
Friday, Sept. 20, 8–9:30 p.m., Lauren Alaina, Riverside Casino & Golf Resort, Riverside
Sept. 20, 21, 10 p.m., Wrestle With Jimmy, El Rays, Iowa City
Saturday, Sept. 21, Dorian Electra, Wooly’s, Des Moines
Saturday, Sept. 21, 1:30 p.m., Lenny Wayne, Fergedaboudit Vineyard & Winery, Dubuque
Saturday, Sept. 21, 3:30–8 p.m., End-OfSummer Bash with Surf Zombies, The Green, Maquoketa
Saturday, Sept. 21, 5:30–10:30 p.m., Kat Blue & The True Believers w/Avey Grouws Band, The Olympic, Cedar Rapids
Saturday, Sept. 21, 6 p.m., Brianfest, Northside Market Place, Iowa City
Saturday, Sept. 21, 7 p.m., Hard Salami, Yardarm Riverfront Bar & Grill, Dubuque
Saturday, Sept. 21, 7 p.m., Arkansauce w/ Winterbottom & Waite, xBk Live, Des Moines
husband acknowledges what Nightbitch has accomplished and says, “This is your best work.” Why was it important to have the husband see and acknowledge her art, and then the role of art in the novel as a whole?
RY: Someone said, “Nightbitch doesn’t have a witness to any of her life, really.” She’s with her child. She’s alone. There’s this deep desire of the book to be witnessed, to be acknowledged. These women readers who write to me, that’s what the book is stating for them. They want to be acknowledged and witnessed. That moment with the husband was so important because he finally sees her. He sees how beautiful and important her work was, and he sees that she’s doing it within this context of motherhood. It felt like that act of seeing and witnessing was essential for her journey and for her marriage. I don’t quite know how to talk about art in the book. Oddly enough, that’s the thing I’ve talked about least. I was interested in this idea of how performance and art seemed like they could be used in a great way in life, and also used to destroy your life. I feel like at the beginning of the book, Nightbitch feels like she is performing an inauthentic role. There was something about the ability of art and performance to allow you to access authenticity.
GG: Well, it’s interesting thinking about performance art, because it was another way that your book resonated for me. One of my favorite books is The Gift by Barbara Browning. In it, she’s a performance artist and when there’s something in her life that is daunting, if she can just conceive of it as a performance art piece, then she can do it. I’ve always loved that idea. It’s very foreign to how I move through the world, but I love that, and that does feel resonant with Nightbitch, too.
RY: Oh my gosh, that rings so true for me. I think especially coming out of this Mennonite culture and Amish culture, which was very removed from mainstream culture, and feeling like, as I
crossed class boundaries, that there were different performances that had to happen. Like going to Georgetown from the dead-end of a dirt road, there were different performances that had to happen there. So I suppose that’s sort of what Nightbitch is doing, too.
So I took your class on apophatic writing, which I loved. It occurred to me that there’s so much in your book that looks at an idea and then looks at its opposite, that embraces not knowing. Were you thinking about this apophatic gesture? And is the apophatic gesture perhaps the emblematic gesture of midlife—this place in the middle, where you see both the is and is not—and you really come into this physical knowing of living and dying?
“Someone said, ‘Nightbitch doesn’t have a witness to any of her life, really.’ She’s with her child. She’s alone. there’s this deep desire of the book to be witnessed, to be acknowledged. these women readers who write to me, that’s what the book is stating for them.”
—Rachel Yoder
GG: Oh, that’s such a good question. You really brought A-plus questions. One of my central beliefs about art is that one of the reasons we need art is because it helps us to say yes to life. And yet, the question is, what makes that yes convincing? A lot of the art that I see, especially in a queer context, called “affirming” feels like propaganda for life. That’s not genuine affirmation for me. This question of how can art offer an affirmation that moves through negation, like a yes that carries no with it, is something I think of a lot.
I do think Small Rain is structured around what is basically an apathetic paradox. The drama of the book is, here’s this guy in midlife, in a life that he did not expect for himself. His life had been
characterized by adventures of various kinds, adventures abroad, sexual adventures. Now, here he is in Iowa, seven years into a relationship. He has a mortgage. His life, in some ways, I think he resents. He’s stopped seeing it as a source of wonder, then it gets taken from him by this pain that strikes him down and this crisis that he undergoes. And paradoxically, in taking that world from him, this experience also delivers that world back to him. He is awakened to this life and to what is really a very remarkable love that he has. Part of what I hope he comes to realize in the book is that domesticity itself is an adventure. It’s an adventure he wants to keep having as long as he can.
RY: I found it to be an incredibly romantic book with an incredibly romantic narrator.
GG: That’s so kind. Thank you for reading the book so generously. It’s so nice, especially because the book’s about to come out, so I am just an utterly psychotic person.
RY: Oh, I know there’s no consoling or accommodating you, but it’s really remarkable and really beautiful, and I think you’ve achieved something so singular and breathtaking.
GG: Well, thank you so much. And I am such a fan of your book too, and I’m so excited to see it take on this new life. You know, I really resist seeing films of books that I love. In fact, I almost never do it, but I love Amy Adams so much that I think I have to make an exception and see it.
RY: Thanks. And also just saying [going in], “Sure, this is an adaptation of the book, but it’s also someone else’s work of art,” and to just go and see what another artist has produced.
GG: And to not hold it accountable to your book—I’ll try! [They laugh]
LV Recommends: Eastern Iowa
Cedar Falls’ Octopus has been one of Iowa’s favorite venues for over a decade and is set up to serve food since its recent kitchen build-out.
BY JESSICA pFOHL pAISLEY
Iarrived at the Octopus in Cedar Falls for the first time on a Friday around 6 p.m., hoping to catch the weekly 5 o’clock Free Chicken Wings special, a tradition/homage to the old crew that ran Stebs.
Clocking the where-are-the-wings look on my face, the bartender chuckled goodnaturedly and said, “Yeah, we had a rush—and those don’t last long!”
Undeterred, I grabbed a menu and the last available barstool and ordered a drink. The natural light from the street-facing window and stacked glass blocks behind the bar created a perfectly pleasant dim. The inside felt and looked like the hull of a giant ship, and at one end of
the bar a regular was spinning vinyl, and damn if the speakers weren’t perfectly dialed in and the song selections on point. As the intro to Tom Petty’s Breakdown snaked through the room, a half-crocked patron walked in off the patio and happily shouted, ‘I LOVE THIS MUSIC,” which was met with three-quarters of the bar tipping their drinks in general agreement, and an agreeable tail wag from the bar dog laying contendly on the floor.
Prior to my arrival, I had spoken with the owner of the Octopus, Dave Diebler (lead singer/guitarist for House of Large Sizes. for all you ’80s/’90s alt nerds out there) to learn about the history of the place. Like many great music venues, it was never intended to be one, but somehow over the last 13 years a PA system was installed, a stage built in the back of the room, and an array of artists from all genres imaginable booked to play the room.
The most recent changes, however, have been the installation of new bathrooms and a kitchen.
While offering food is a logical progression, Dave made it clear in our conversation that the
Saturday, Sept. 21, 7 p.m., Damani Phillips, Noce, Des Moines
Saturday, Sept. 21, 7 p.m., Caleb Caudle & The Sweet Critters, Raccoon Motel, Davenport
Saturday, Sept. 21, 7:30 p.m., Molly Nova & The Hawks, Ideal Theater & Bar, Cedar Rapids
Saturday, Sept. 21, 7:30 p.m., KC and the Sunshine Band, Hoyt Sherman Place, Des Moines
Saturday, Sept. 21, 7:30 p.m., Burning Red: Tribute to Taylor, Paramount Theatre, Cedar Rapids
Saturday, Sept. 21, 8 p.m., Back Pocket, Octopus, Cedar Falls
Saturday, Sept. 21, 8 p.m., Trilogy: The Ultimate Tribute Show, Five Flags Center, Dubuque
Saturday, Sept. 21, 9:30 p.m., Standard Time w/ Max Wellman, Noce, Des Moines
Sunday, Sept. 22, The String Cheese Incident, Vibrant Music Hall, Waukee
Sunday, Sept. 22, The Aces, Wooly’s, Des Moines
Sunday, Sept. 22, 2 p.m., Trombonist Steve Davis & Pianist Andrea Domenici, Jazz at The Caspe Terrace, Waukee
Sunday, Sept. 22, 6 p.m., Arkansauce w/ Marc Janssen, Wildwood, Iowa City
Sunday, Sept. 22, 6:30 p.m., Matt The Electrician, CSPS Hall, Cedar Rapids
Sunday, Sept. 22, 7 p.m., Briscoe w/ Ferdinand the Bull, Raccoon Motel, Des Moines
Saturday, Sept. 22, 7 p.m., The Dickies, Raccoon Motel, Des Moines
team was still in the early stages of developing its food offerings.
“This is a scary fucking time for food, man,” Dave said. “I want to be as forthright about this as possible, because I’m not much into wasting anyone’s time. Food is the next step of enhancement for the Octopus, but ultimately I see this place as a public house where people go to get nourished— in all senses of that word. I truly believe there is nothing more important in this world right now than conversation, and the Octopus is a place where you can go to get that, whether that be with the person sitting next to you at the bar, or the exchange you get listening to live music.”
Keeping in mind the importance of eating a well-balanced meal, I ordered the following from the appetizer-centric menu: Garlic Cheese Bread (carbohydrate), Popcorn Chicken (protein), and Corn Nuggets (vegetables, duh). The food arrived in fast fashion and was served in charming red plastic diner baskets lined with brightly ornamented red/white parchment paper. Straight out of Happy Days.
Each appetizer came with a generous helping of dipping sauce tailored to support its starring player. The garlic cheese bread had garlic and cheese and both were melted onto bread, and yes, it was exactly as delicious as it sounds. The popcorn chicken was straightforward, to the point, nothing flashy, but also the easiest and quickest basket to crush. The true stand-out performer in this appetizer bonanza, though, were the corn nuggets, which (I came to learn) are cheese curds, with one essential difference: they also have corn in them. And yes; they are exactly as delicious as they sound, especially when dipped in honey, which gives the app a cornbread flavor/ sensation that feels like comfort food.
Having satisfied my initial gluttonous cravings, I offered the remainder of my bounty to the room. As a reward for my appetizer benevolence, I got to chat with some of the regulars, and each interaction solidified my initial sense that the Octopus was really less a bar and more of a family—or as one regular put, “The Octopus is really less a bar and more of a family.” I learned that once a year, the whole crew of the Octopus shuts down the venue and all go see a Cubs game.
Another patron simply said, “I just like it! And as a woman, I feel completely safe, which I can’t say for all places.”
Oh, and get this—you remember that bar dog I mentioned earlier? Well, that bar dog has a name, and it’s Hank, and it turns out that Hank’s owner (who had been a regular at the bar and always brought Hank in with him) sadly passed away recently. Hank was adopted by another regular at the bar who has continued bringing him in so he can “at least have a little normalcy.”
Next-level good human moves like that are what reinforce my belief that the amount of good that occurs in venues like the Octopus is immeasurable, and that every community needs this type of gathering place. It’s hard to say what the X factor is in creating places like this, but two common threads I’ve noticed are that A) the place is connected with live music, and B) the space is radically inclusive in a completely unforced way. I truly believe because places like the Octopus exist and are so aggressively and easily themselves, they make it possible for the patrons within to be the same.
Thanks to people like Dave, the staff at the Octopus, the musicians who perform and the patrons who show up and listen, people in Cedar Falls are receiving and providing some sorely needed Nourishment. And by god, when you find a place that generates and provides this type of Nourishment and THEN adds a side of corn-embedded cheeseballs dunked in honey, a superbly curated vinyl playlist (masterfully spun by DJ Pals) in a perfectly lit room filled with friendly folks (and the goodest pupper) and cold drinks, well hot damn, that’s about as good as it’s ever going to get.
Just make sure you arrive early enough on Friday to grab a free wing. Keep a weather eye out for the Octopus’s expanded food menu, which will continue being developed in the months to come. Their regular hours are 3 p.m. to 2 a.m., seven days a week.
www.ncsml.org/BrewNost
Iowa is steeped in cinema history—and historic cinemas. But keeping an old theater ticking is no easy task.
BY HANNAH BONNER
In Tommy Haines’ and Andrew Sherburne’s 2017 documentary Saving Brinton, Iowa history teach Mike Zahs discovers a treasure trove of old film reels in a farm basement, including rare footage of Teddy Roosevelt and a never-before-seen film by Georges Méliès (A Trip to the Moon, The Impossible Voyage). Zahs then embarks on an international odyssey to get the reels—originally collected at the turn of the 20th century by early motion-picture projectionist Frank Brinton—preserved and shared with the world, taking him from Paris to D.C. to Washington, Iowa. Only one of those cities is home to the world’s oldest continuously operating cinema. After years as a traveling entertainer, Brinton returned to his home county in Iowa and took ownership
of Washington’s Graham Opera House, today called the State Theatre. He began screening movies there in May 1897, and the theater hasn’t stopped since. In July, roughly seven miles east of the State Theatre at the Ainsworth Opera House, Zahs hosted the 27th annual Brinton Film Festival, sharing his found footage with the public once again.
Through no small amount of work, Zahs preserved some of the first moving pictures ever seen by Midwestern eyes—and proved Iowa’s cinematic history goes much further back than 1989’s Field of Dreams
To wit: The Iowa Theater in Winterset. Built in 1899, the location was originally a one-story grocer and meat market before becoming a live
theater and cinema in the early 1900s. (Just in time for the birth of John Wayne in Winterset in 1907.) The theater showed silent films, then talkies; for decades, films were presented on 35mm using carbon arc projectors.
“It was where I spent my weekends,” Rebecca Fons, the Gene Siskel Film Center’s director of programming, told Little Village. “I hung out with my friends without parental supervision, my first kiss was there, I pulled a filling out of my tooth when I was eating Milk Duds.”
But with the transfer of celluloid to digital projection in the early aughts, the Iowa Theater began to flounder financially. The building fell into disrepair. By Memorial Day weekend of 2015, the business closed its doors indefinitely.
“This was also the weekend of my wedding,” Fons continued, “and I got word the theater was shuttered unceremoniously.
[My mom and I] sort of instantly looked at each other with a glint in our eyes and said at the same time: we should buy it.”
What followed was an intense restoration project that only the closest of collaborations, like mother and daughter, could weather.
“The revitalization included pretty much taking the whole place down to the studs and then making it stronger as we built back,” Fons admits. “[This included] plumbing, electric, expanding the lobby, bringing back the balcony, making it ADA compliant, installing a digital projector, giving the marquee a face lift, and restoring many of the historic elements, including the gold arch above the screen. We also made the screen retractable so the local community theater could have a home, and opened our doors to the local ballet school [for their annual Nutcracker show]. Two years to the day, and about a million dollars later, we reopened the Iowa.”
The rise, fall and reemergence of the Iowa Theater is a familiar narrative for many nonprofit
Sunday Movie Club, last Sunday of the month, 5:30
cinemas in the past 20 years. The Varsity Theater in Des Moines, for example, originally opened in 1938, and by the late ’70s, was known for primarily playing arthouse films. Roughly 50 years later, in 2018, the owners announced they would be closing the theater. Subsequently, the nonprofit Des Moines Film Society stepped in to purchase the Varsity. After a sizable capital campaign and extensive renovations, the Varsity reopened in 2022 and has stayed true to its 1970s roots.
“While [arthouse programming] has always been core to our mission, we see more and more that what our audience is hungry for is not so much any one specific film, but for the opportunity to gather together and connect with fellow film lovers,” said Ben Godar, executive director of Des Moines Film and the Varsity. “Our most successful screenings are consistently those that provide a Q&A, panel conversation or some other opportunity to connect and go deeper than just the film on the screen.”
Though movie theaters have financially suffered with both the advent of streaming services and COVID-19’s impact on audience attendance, the local theater as a site of community, collaboration and conversation is irreplaceable.
Andrew Sherburne, the executive director of Iowa City’s nonprofit FilmScene, admitted, “It hasn’t always been easy since we reopened, but moviegoers are showing up and they’ve reconfirmed what matters—excellent presentation, thoughtful curation, a real sense of community and connection.”
“Our attendance hit an all-time high last year,” he said, even though their team had to “work a little bit harder to make it happen. But that’s OK—it’s the work we love to do, and it connects us more authentically with our audience.”
It’s a labor of love only a select few Midwest cinephiles can truly understand. Fons is among them.
“Now the Iowa Theater is again a place for first kisses [and] girls nights out,” she mused. “A place to see the world on the screen, to eat really good popcorn and escape for approximately two hours—without driving far from home.”
Built in 1910 as an Opera House that entertained residents of West Liberty and those traveling by train, the New Strand Theatre has long been a part of the community’s social fabric. Unfortunately, the movies in town are on hold as the theater’s projector needs replacing. Part of the conversation on the local Iowa cinema landscape involves the challenges of historic preservation (estimated costs are over $55,000 for the project). Check out the “Support New Strand Theatre” GoFundMe page to learn more.
Monday, Sept. 23, 6 p.m., Chatham County Line, xBk Live, Des Moines
Monday, Sept. 23, 7 p.m., Worry Club w/ Sorry Mom, Raccoon Motel, Des Moines
tuesday, Sept. 24, 7 p.m., The Holdup w/ Noah Richardson and Dylan Reese, xBk Live, Des Moines
tuesday, Sept. 24, Trippie Redd, Vibrant Music Hall, Waukee
tuesday, Sept. 24, The Front Bottoms, Val Air Ballroom, Des Moines
Wednesday, Sept. 25, Dashboard Confessional–Fall Tour 2024, Val Air Ballroom, Des Moines
Wednesday, Sept. 25, Shovels & Rope, Wooly’s, Des Moines
Wednesday, Sept. 25, 6 p.m., Blues Jam Night w/ the Mighty Mudcats, Smokestack, Dubuque
Wednesday, Sept. 25, 6 p.m., Will Paquin, Raccoon Motel, Des Moines
Wednesday, Sept. 25, 6 p.m., Davina and the Vagabonds, xBk Live, Des Moines
Wednesday, Sept. 25, 7 p.m., The Des Moines Big Band, In Residence, Noce, Des Moines
Wednesday, Sept. 25, 7:30 p.m., Paul Thorn, Wildwood, Iowa City
Wednesday, Sept. 25, 7:30 p.m., John Moreland, Hancher Auditorium, Iowa City
Wednesday, Sept. 25, 7:30 p.m., the Magic of Motown, The Englert Theatre, Iowa City
Wednesday, Sept. 25, 8 p.m., Octopus New Band Night, Octopus, Cedar Falls
Wednesday, Sept. 25, 8 p.m., Intocable: 30 Aniversario Tour, Hoyt Sherman Place, Des Moines
thursday, Sept. 26, Randall King, Wooly’s, Des Moines
Davenport: Strange News, Long Mama & Lady Igraine, t 26, 6 p.m., $19.84 you like Midwestern heavy rock? Check out our pals in Strange News,” says the Moline based band, The House Flies of their fellow Quad City rockers. Strange News will be joined by Milwaukee based Americana act, Long Mama and fellow Quad City locals Lady Igraine. If you can’t make that show you can still check out Strange News Sept. 28 at The V’ue in Clinton. “That second show also includes Mirabilia on the bill, who never disappoints.”
thursday, Sept. 26, 7 p.m., Jazz on the House w/ Trombonist Jackson Churchill & Co, Noce, Des Moines
thursday, Sept. 26, 7 p.m., Stories Through Storms w/ Switchblade Saturdays & Common Hollow, Gabe’s, Iowa City
thursday, Sept. 26, 7:30 p.m., Hari Kondabolu, Hancher Auditorium, Iowa City
thursday, Sept. 26, 8 p.m., John Rohlf’s Birthday Party, Octopus, Cedar Falls
thursday, Sept. 26, 6, 9 p.m., Meshell Ndegeocello, Hancher Auditorium, Iowa City
Friday, Sept. 27, R&B Only, Vibrant Music Hall, Waukee
Friday, Sept. 27, Kameron Marlowe, Val Air Ballroom, Des Moines
Friday, Sept. 27, Floggin Molly, Capitol Theatre, Davenport
Friday, Sept. 27, Not Quite Brothers, Wooly’s, Des Moines
Friday, Sept. 27, 6 p.m., Shade of Blue ft. Joan Ruffin & Anthony Hendricks, Wildwood, Iowa City
Friday, Sept. 27, 7 p.m., Unicorn Fist, Yardarm Riverfront Bar & Grill, Dubuque
Friday, Sept. 27, 8 p.m., Source, Autumn Reverie, cervine, Smokestack, Dubuque
Saturday, Sept. 28, 7 p.m., Adam Bartels Band, Yardarm Riverfront Bar & Grill, Dubuque
Friday, Sept. 27, 7 p.m., GB Leighton, xBk Live, Des Moines
Friday, Sept. 27, 7 p.m., Jolie Holland, Raccoon Motel, Davenport
Friday, Sept. 27, 8:30 p.m., Madison Cunningham & Andrew Bird, Hancher Auditorium, Iowa City
Saturday, Sept. 28, Polaris, Capitol Theatre, Davenport
Saturday, Sept. 28, Little Stranger, Wooly’s, Des Moines
Saturday, Sept. 28, Highly Suspect, Val Air Ballroom, Des Moines
Cedar Falls: the Lost Woods Festival, Location tBA, Saturday, Sept. 28, 4 p.m., Free Salt Fox, Elizabeth Moen, Halfloves and Shikimo are just a few of the artists on the lineup for the second Lost Woods Festival. Another on the lineup is Jim Swim, who is looking forward to taking in their fellow artists in the (hopefully) crisp autumn weather. “Love some live music outside in the fall!” says Swim.The free will donation event is set for a secret location somewhere in the Cedar Falls area. Hit the Lost Woods site and RSVP for details announced closer to the date.
Chicago’s Ammunition performs during Bawdy Bawdy Ha Ha’s August 16 show at CSPS. Kate Revaux / Little Village
Bawdy Bawdy Ha Ha brought big-top burlesque to eastern Iowa. A local erotica writer offers a review of the revue.
BY KELLEE FORKENBROCK
No animals were harmed by Bawdy Bawdy Ha Ha, Iowa’s premier burlesque ensemble, in the presentation of their circus-themed variety shows last month. But you could still hear plenty of hooting and hollering from the wild animals in the audience of the adults-only Cirque Sensuale—including Yours Truly.
Full transparency: this wasn’t my first time at the striptease rodeo. I popped my Bawdy Bawdy cherry this past May at their Sweet & Spicy Burlesque Buffet. My main reason for attending was to reunite with a high school friend (Chicago’s own Kitti O. Sheabutter) performing in the revue, but I’ll admit: I was curious and intrigued about burlesque. I arrived with minimal knowledge of the artform. Besides reading Gypsy Rose Lee’s autobiography and penning several erotica novels of my own as Eliza David, I had no idea what to expect.
I left entertained, invigorated and thirsty for more good times—so to say I jumped at a chance to join the naughty circus at my second Bawdy Bawdy event is an understatement. Co-produced by Bawdy Bawdy Ha Ha founder Catty Wompass and fellow performer Anita Sativa, Cirque Sensuale was performed on Aug. 16 at CSPS Hall and Aug. 17 at the James Theater. I attended the latter.
The evening began with a rousing rendition of “The Greatest Show” from The Greatest Showman. Chey Boi—who sang the opener with equal parts fiery energy and stone-cold sexiness— set the tone for what would unfold into two hours of mayhem and taboo fun. Accompanied by a soundtrack ranging from classic rock to Chappell Roan, the show’s sounds were as varied as its sights.
The costumes screamed at you to enjoy yourself: cowbois and cowgrrls, ’50s prom dresses and, yes, a few circus animals. Standouts included Matt Adore (a favorite of mine from the May performance) doing the very best interpretation of a sexy slinky snake, Jean Wildest and their mind-bending acrobatics and the gorgeous Symone Loudly twirling about in a negligee of white ribbon and lace.
The headliners of the evening, Miss Ammunition and Isis the Entertainer, traveled from Chicago and St. Louis, respectively, to bless the stage with their amazing set of skills. Miss Ammunition made her presence known in a flowing set of red Lilith-esque wings, daring the devil
tempt every soul in the audience with her captivating command of carnal heat. Isis, a beauty of brown curves and agile body, came equipped with her own pole and showed us exactly what she can do with it.
The show ended with the headliners reappearing, Isis dripping in red lace and wanton lust, Miss Ammunition closing out the night with a pyrotechnic flair. The crowd roared with appreciation for the entire cast of colorful and diverse characters. I think I felt the theater shake from the love. The greatest show, indeed!
The following morning, I sat with Anita and Catty at downtown Iowa City’s Coffee Emporium, a short walk from the theater that captivated us the evening before. The energy in the café was the same as onstage: welcoming, fun and unadulterated.
Catty’s performance journey began in San Francisco before relocating to Iowa City in 2017. Her initial foray into burlesque on the West Coast had been met with some bias.
“I felt confused about my place in the world,” Catty shared as she sipped coffee at our table. This was the impetus for her founding of Bawdy Bawdy Ha Ha, an inclusive group of dancers with experience ranging from none to certified dance student. Catty began to feel accepted in her new Midwestern home.
“My body’s valued here,” she said, with nods from Anita beside her.
Anita joined the group in 2021, right as we entered some semblance of a new normal. She immediately felt the welcoming warmth of the group.
“Anything I could do, I wanted to do.”
The driving force behind the Bawdy Bawdy Ha Ha philosophy is, first and foremost, inclusion and belonging. “Self-selecting history,” as Catty calls it, may have one believe that burlesque looks only one way: white, femme and thin. Bawdy Bawdy shatters that perspective one performance at a time.
Bawdy Horror Friday, Oct. 18, 7 p.m., The Olympic and Saturday, Oct. 19, 7 p.m., The James Theater
Blake Shaw Live Band Burlesque Saturday, Dec. 14, The Englert Theatre
“BLACK WOMEN HAVE BEEN A pARt OF BURLESQUE SINCE tHE BEGINNING. WE HAVE A RESpONSIBILItY tO pUt BLACK WOMEN ON StAGE.” —CATTY WOMPASS,
BAWDY BAWDY HA HA
“Black women have been a part of burlesque since the beginning,” Catty explained. “We have a responsibility to put Black women on stage.” This statement, as a Black woman, touched me deeply. Seeing performers like Symone Loudly and Isis the Entertainer ignited a glow in me that evening. Platforming people of all backgrounds, genders and ethnicities is a central part of Bawdy Bawdy’s core message. It’s not just pillow talk; Anita and Catty put their money where their garters are.
“What’s next for Bawdy Bawdy? What’s on your burlesque bucket list?” I asked as our conversation wound to a close. The co-producers gave me a rundown that sped faster than my pen could jot.
In October, look out for a Halloween-themed extravaganza. The ensemble will be featured at the Englert on Dec. 14 for their first ever show at the Iowa City theater, accompanied by the
top left: Quad Cities’ Lychee Mynx, Chicago’s Ammunition and Isis the Entertainer from St. Louis perform at CSPS in August.
Blake Shaw Band (because what’s better than burlesque set to live music?). In 2025, you can expect to see more Bawdy Bawdy fundraisers, show-stopping performances and an expansion into the Quad Cities area—and for good reason. Bawdy Bawdy is doing the work onstage as well as off to make sure the community is a more inclusive and exciting place.
“We have really intentionally curated this space,” Catty said, with Anita adding, “All we ask is that you come with an open mind.”
And if there’s something we need more of in this world, it’s open minds. Do yourself a favor and catch Bawdy Bawdy Ha Ha the next time they bless the stage—and bring your hollers and your dollars!
FRI, SEPT 20
SAT, SEPT 28
FRI, OCT 4
SUN, OCT 13
FRI, OCT 18 at The Englert
The multi-Grammy nominated rock band is hitting the road again
Cesar Rosas
Founding member of the iconic band, Los Lobos
Joan Osborne and Joshua Radin
Double-headliner featuring stunning vocals and storytelling
American rock band founded by Academy Award-winning actor at The Englert at Wildwood Saloon at The Englert at The Englert
Catch their Their anthemic hit single “Best Day of My Life” live
Bilal
SAT, OCT 19 at The Englert at The Englert at The Englert
FRI, NOV 1
FRI, NOV 15
Blending jazz, afro-futurism, classic soul, r&b, rock, and classical in his vocals and music
This four-piece alt-folk-rock is a phenomenally rowdy live act
Folk music's renaissance man master instrumentalist, powerful singer-songwriter
littlevillagemag.com/calendar
Saturday, Sept. 28, 1:30 p.m., Kara Gordon, Fergedaboudit Vineyard & Winery, Dubuque
Saturday, Sept. 28, 5 p.m., aja monet, Hancher Auditorium, Iowa City
Saturday, Sept. 28, 6 p.m., Good to be King Tom Petty Tribute, Wildwood, Iowa City
Saturday, Sept. 28, 7 p.m., Nap Sings Nat: Napoleon Douglas Sings Nat King Cole w/ His Band, Noce, Des Moines
Saturday, Sept. 28, 7 p.m., Daddy Long Legs, Raccoon Motel, Des Moines
Saturday, Sept. 28, 7:30 p.m., Billy Bob Thornton & The Boxmasters, The Englert Theatre, Iowa City
Saturday, Sept. 28, 7:30 p.m., The Music of Mancini, Coralville Center for the Performing Arts, Coralville
Saturday, Sept. 28, 8 p.m., Winterland–Grateful Dead Tribute, Octopus, Cedar Falls
Saturday, Sept. 28, 8 p.m., Patti Smith and Her Band, Hancher Auditorium, Iowa City
Saturday, Sept. 28, 8 p.m., The Toxhards w/ Fishbait & Worst Impressions, Gabe’s, Saturday, Sept. 28, 8 p.m., Shovels & Rope, Cod Fish Hollow, Maquoketa
Sunday, Sept. 29, Highly Suspect, Capitol Theatre, Davenport
Sunday, Sept. 29, 6 p.m., La Luz, xBk Live, Des Moines
Sunday, Sept. 29, Marcus King: Mood Swings The World Tour, Vibrant Music Hall, Waukee
Sunday, Sept. 29, 7 p.m., Kashd Out w/ Dale & ZDubs and 28 Days Later, Gabe’s, Iowa City
Sunday, Sept. 29, 8 p.m., Elephant Revival/ Two Runner, Cod Fish Hollow, Maquoketa
Monday, Sept. 30, 6 p.m., Peelander-Z, xBk Live, Des Moines
Wednesday, Sept. 4, 7 p.m., Regina Porter in conversation with Claire Lombardo, Prairie Lights, Iowa City
Wednesday, Sept. 4, 6:30 p.m., Meet the Author–T. Patrick Graves, Beaverdale Books, Des Moines
Wednesday, Sept. 4, 6 p.m., Author Talk: Shawntelle Madison, Marion Public LIbrary, Marion
thursday, Sept. 5, 7 p.m., Chelsea Bieker in conversation with Rachel Yoder, Prairie Lights, Iowa City
JUNE 27 - JULY 20
FLYING DUTCHMAN WAGNER
CUNNING LITTLE VIXEN JANÁČEK THE RAKE’S PROGRESS STRAVINSKY Experience world-class opera in a theatre that brings you within arm’s reach of the action onstage. Find out for yourself why audiences from around the world make Iowa their summer arts destination! For more information and to order tickets, visit dmmo.org/tickets or call (515) 209-3257
thursday, Sept. 5, 5 p.m., Meet the Author–Ruth Harkin, Beaverdale Books, Des Moines
thursday, Sept. 5, 7 p.m., Fall
Author Series: Shawntelle Madison, Des Moines Central Library, Des Moines
Friday, Sept. 6, 7 p.m., Hannah Bonner & Dan Wriggins, Prairie Lights, Iowa City
Friday, Sept. 6, 6:30 p.m., Meet the Author–Jodi Picoult, Beaverdale Books, Des Moines
Friday–Saturday, Sept. 6-7, Mic
Check Poetry Fest 2024: Rudy Francisco Ft. Outspoken Bean, Hancher Auditorium, Iowa City
Friday, Sept. 6, 12 p.m., 2024
International Writing Program Panel
Discussion, Iowa City Public Library, Iowa City
Saturday, Sept. 7, 4:30 p.m., Slam O Vision International, Merge, Iowa City
Saturday, Sept. 7, 7 p.m., Poetry in Motion, The Center, Iowa City
Saturday, Sept. 7, 1 p.m., Writing Garden Party and Open House, Porchlight Literary Center, Iowa City
Saturday, Sept. 7, 10:30 a.m., Author Signing: Jacqueline Astor, Swamp Fox Bookstore, Marion
Monday, Sept. 9, 6:30 p.m., Meet the Author–Stacy A. Cordery, Beaverdale Books, Des Moines
tuesday, Sept. 10, 6:30 p.m., Meet the Author–Dr. Jen Harvey, Beaverdale Books, Des Moines
Wednesday, Sept. 11, 6:30 p.m., Meet the Author–Marc Dickinson, Beaverdale Books, Des Moines
Friday, Sept. 13, 12 p.m., 2024
International Writing Program Panel
Discussion, Iowa City Public Library, Iowa City
Friday, Sept. 13, 7 p.m., Poetry Open Mic Night, Beaverdale Books, Des Moines
Monday, Sept. 16, 6:30 p.m., Gracie Under the Waves Launch Party with Author Linda Sue Park, Sidekick Coffee & Books, Iowa City
Monday, Sept. 16, 7 p.m., Meet the Author–Kaveh Akbar, Beaverdale Books, Des Moines
Friday, Sept. 20, 12 p.m., 2024
International Writing Program Panel
Discussion, Iowa City Public Library, Iowa City
Carrie: The Musical, Sept. 29–Oct. 13, Theatre Cedar Rapids
the husbands to mysterious, murky jobs like ‘consultant’ or ‘entrepreneur.’ We’ve given the women all the agency and we’ve made the men very happy about it!”
Crooked Path’s tagline is “Illuminating, astonishing and rigorous.” As Okiishi put it, “If [we are producing] new work, we want to present it in an illuminating way. If it is classical work, we want to offer an astonishing take. Throughout all of it we believe in a rigorous approach to theatre which involves technique, coordination, rehearsal and respect.”
This theatrical duo aren’t afraid to flip the classics on their ear—even a blood-drenched cult classic.
BY KRIStY HARtSGROVE MOORES
This article is about two great shows happening in the corridor this season, and it is also a love letter to two theater powerhouses.
The impact of Chris Okiishi and Patrick Du Laney on the performing arts in eastern Iowa cannot be overstated. Even before starting their own company—Crooked Path Theatre in Iowa City— they were part of hundreds of productions, either onstage or behind the scenes, making amazing performances happen all over eastern Iowa. This fall is no exception, with Du Laney directing The Merry Wives of Windsor in Iowa City for Crooked Path (which just closed its run on Sept. 1) and Okiishi directing Carrie: The Musical for Theatre Cedar Rapids, running from Sept. 22 through, appropriately enough, Friday, Oct. 13.
Crooked Path Theatre started with a party. It was summertime, and Du Laney and Okiishi decided to turn a gathering of friends into a musical, casting their invitees in a spontaneous production of Stephen Sondheim’s Company set in
Coralville’s North Park Pavilion. The success of that venture led to more site specific work—Sense and Sensibility at Luxe Interiors and Design in Coralville, Ghost-Writer upstairs at Prairie Lights Books. While they still stage work at other sites, they’ve since found a fitting home in The James Theatre on N Gilbert Street in downtown Iowa City, where they produce two annual cabarets and plays such as What the Constitution Means to Me and last year’s exciting adaptation of Hamlet And, of course, this autumn’s Merry Wives
For his take on the Shakespeare comedy, Du Laney cast eastern Iowa favorites including Jason Alberty as Falstaff. Du Laney and Alberty have worked together for years in The Writers’ Room for SPT Theatre, and Du Laney had always thought Alberty would make a good Falstaff.
Shakespeare’s work is inherently patriarchal and often misogynistic, but as Du Laney puts it, “Without changing a word of text, we’ve flipped it on its ear. Mistresses Page and Ford are clearly the primary breadwinners of the household, leaving
It is this rigorous, professional approach that motivated Theatre Cedar Rapids to invite Okiishi to direct Carrie: The Musical, an entertaining but notoriously challenging piece to stage. The 1976 horror film Carrie was originally adapted as a musical in the ’80s, so some of the slang, pop culture references and characterizations in the book don’t necessarily suit 2024 sensibilities. Carrie’s arc in the musical remains consistent with the film, but the motivations of the characters surrounding her have evolved, including those of her mother Margaret, memorably played by Piper Laurie in the film.
In Stephen King’s original novel and all its film adaptations, Margaret is rigid and grotesque, motivated by twisted religious dogma. In the latest version of the musical, she is given more shades of empathy, with space for apology and forgiveness far greater than on the page or screen. Okiishi cast Iowa City’s own Kristen Behrendt DeGrazia as Margaret, which is a good sign to get your tickets now. Unlike the R-rated film, Okiishi said the musical is appropriate for teenagers as well as adults.
“This is a show for anyone who has ever felt like they were on the outside or have felt like someone has bullied them,” he said.
What’s next for Crooked Path’s dynamic duo? Their cabaret season—which includes a Halloween Cabaret in October and Holiday Cabaret in December—will be followed by Kate Hamill’s adaptation of Pride and Prejudice the last two weekends in February. Following that, they’re bring back Rob Bell’s We’ll Get Back to You (which got its world premiere at Mirrorbox Theatre in Cedar Rapids last spring) for a run at the James in March and April 2025.
Past that point, Okiishi says we’ll all have to “see where that goes next!” You can try and keep up with them at their newly redesigned website, crookedpaththeatre.com.
Friday, Sept. 20, 6:30 p.m., Meet the Author–Scott Dominic Carpenter, Beaverdale Books, Des Moines
Sunday, Sept. 22, 2:30 p.m., Meet the Author–Angela Glover, Beaverdale Books, Des Moines
Wednesday, Sept. 25, 6 p.m., Author Event: Jen Ferguson, Marion Public LIbrary, Marion
Wednesday, Sept. 25, 7 p.m., Fall Author Series: Austin Frerick, Des Moines Central Library, Des Moines
thursday, Sept. 26, 6:30 p.m., Meet the Author–Nina Lohman, Beaverdale Books, Des Moines
thursday, Sept. 26, 6:30 p.m., Meet the Author–Ruth Harkin, West Des Moines Library, Des Moines
thursday, Sept. 26, 6 p.m., Author Event: Kevin J. Koch, Marion Public LIbrary, Marion
Friday, Sept. 27, 12 p.m., 2024 International Writing Program Panel Discussion, Iowa City Public Library, Iowa City
Iowa City: patti Smith: A reading of selected poetry at the Englert, Friday, Sept. 27, 5 p.m., Free Patti Smith for an evening reading of her acclaimed poetry at The Englert Theatre in downtown Iowa City. The reading is free and open to the public. Smith comes to Iowa City as part of Hancher Auditorium’s second Infinite Dream Fesitval. A festival that explores and reflects upon the American story.
Friday, Sept. 27, 7 p.m., Rooftop
Reading Series, 202 N. Linn St, Iowa City Friday, Sept. 27, 5 p.m., Adult Book Fair, Marion Public LIbrary, Marion
Des Moines: Banned Books Festival, Sunday, Sept. 29 Chalk this event up in the, “We wish we didn’t need it, but are glad it exists” category. Beaverdale Books presents its 2nd annual Banned Books Festival.
The fest caps off Banned Books Week and celebrates the idea that we should be able to read whatever books we want.
tuesday, Sept. 3, 7 p.m., Mary Swander
Presents: Squatters on Red Earth, The Hearst Center for the Arts, Cedar Falls Sept. 5–15, Scalia/Ginsburg, Riverside Theatre, Iowa City
Friday, Sept. 6, 8 p.m., Luenell, Hoyt Sherman Place, Des Moines
Sept. 6–14, Steel Magnolias, CSPS Hall, Cedar Rapids
Iowa City: Once Upon a Time in the People’s Republic of Johnson County, Sept. 6-14, the James theater, Iowa City The fact that “Captain Billy’s Whiz Bang Theater” is behind the zombie play Once Upon a Time in the People’s Republic of Johnson County just makes intrinsic sense. Billed as the story of Iowa City’s very own zombie apocalypse, the story is the brainchild (no pun intended) of local playwright Scott Smith. Watch as a band of desperate survivors runs for their lives as they battle the undead and try to preserve everything that makes our town “the Athens of the Midwest.”
Sept. 6–22, It’s
Only A Play–By Terrence McNally, Tallgrass Theatre Company, Des Moines
Saturday, Sept. 7, Luenell, Capitol Theatre, Davenport
Sunday, Sept. 8, 7 p.m., Justin Willman: Illusionati Tour, Hoyt Sherman Place, Des Moines
Friday, Sept. 13, 7 p.m., Voix de Ville: A Noce Folly from Max Wellman, Noce, Des Moines
Sept. 13–20, Jack and the Beanstalk, Waterloo Community Playhouse, Waterloo Sept. 13–22, A Streetcar Named Desire, Playcraft Barn Theatre, Moline
Sept. 13–29, Jersey Boys, The Playhouse, Des Moines
Cedar Falls: playwrights Showcase, Saturday, Sept. 14, 2 p.m., Cedar Falls Community theatre The historic Oster Regent Theatre hosts an evening of stories by local playwrights, featuring 52 SEpt. 2024 LITTLEVILLAGEMAG.COM/LV332 CoCoRaHS Training 4:30-6 p.m. @ The Senior Center 9/23
Fare Free Celebration @ Big Grove 5-8 p.m. @ Big Grove Brewery 9/24
Music & A Movie 6-6:30 p.m. | Community Sing @ Chauncey Swan Park 7-8 p.m. | Scale of Hope screening @ FilmScene
Personal Climate Action Plan 3-6 p.m. @ ICPL Digital Media Lab 9/26
NonProfit Nerd Out 2-4 p.m. @ The Senior Center 9/27
9/28 EVs at the Market 7:30 a.m.-Noon @ the Iowa City Farmers Market 9/25
Presented by University of Iowa Division of Performing Arts
staged readings of three brand-new scripts: Stars of Saint Matthew by Grant Tracey, KREON by Stephen Taft and It’s Raining Cats and Dogs by Tom Ballmer, Hannah Huey-Jones and Michael Huey-Jones. Cedar Falls Community Theatre describes the evening as, “...an intimate glimpse into the creative process, offering audience members the chance to engage with the playwrights and see local actors perform new work.”
Sunday, Sept. 15, 2 p.m.,
Prompt for the Planet, The Englert Theatre, Iowa City thursday, Sept. 19, 6:30 p.m., Marlon Wayans, Adler Theatre, Davenport
Friday, Sept. 20, 6 p.m., Wife & Death with the Glaucomfleckens, The Englert Theatre, Iowa City
Sept. 20–Oct. 13, Carrie: the Musical, Theatre Cedar Rapids, Cedar Rapids
Saturday, Sept. 21, 7 p.m., Wife & Death with the Glaucomfleckens, The Englert Theatre, Iowa City
Saturday, Sept. 21, 10 p.m., Cirque Du Buque–Drag Cabaret!, Smokestack, Dubuque
Friday, Sept. 27, 6:30–10:30 p.m., Peter Antonoiu Comedy Show, The Olympic, Cedar Rapids
Friday, Sept. 27, 8 p.m., Octopus Comedy Showcase: Leslie Mitchell, Octopus, Cedar Falls
Saturday, Sept. 28, 6:30–9:30 p.m., Jimmy Pardo Comedy Show, The Olympic, Cedar Rapids
Iowa City: What We’re Doing in Iowa
Instead of Church, Sept.
27-28, pS1 Close House Leisha Nicole Stanek is a spoken
word poet, performance artist, book- and zine-maker, model, teacher, playwright, actor, even a trained death doula. Her personal website is nudepoet.com—a hint of the boundaries her work pushes against. The Mount Mercy alum describes her new onewoman, one-hour show at the Close House with a string of nouns, including sex, marriage, divorce, Catholicism, capitalism and “just feminist shit.” If you’d like to bear witness to Stanek’s bare witness, you must be 18 or older or accompanied by a guardian.
Sept. 27–28, Stamptown, Hancher Auditorium, Iowa City Sept. 27–28, Road Work Ahead, CSPS Hall, Cedar Rapids
Sunday, Sept. 29, 7 p.m., Moms Unhinged Standup Comedy Show, Hoyt Sherman Place, Des Moines
Ames: Black Magic Ball, Reliable Street, Saturday, Sept. 7, 9:30–1 a.m., $5-$15
A celebration of queer poc liberation, the Black Magic Ball is an ode to underground queer Ballroom culture birthed in NYC, think death drops and vogue moves. With three Djs and cash prizes for dance competitions in vogue, house, juke, disco and more, the Black Magic Ball will be a celebration through and through.
For 40 years without fail, local kids have fallen in love with Mexican dance traditions preserved by the generation before them.
BY CHRIStINA FERNÁNDEZ-MORROW
In 1984, Arnulfo Camarillo and his wife Beatriz gathered their kids, nieces and nephews at the downtown YWCA to teach them some traditional dances from their hometown in Mexico. They decided to put on a Mother’s Day performance with a few other families.
“It was such a success that the families didn’t want to stop, and it continued since then,” says Karina Camarillo, daughter of Arnulfo and Beatriz. Her family formed the Quad Cities Ballet Folklorico, currently celebrating 40 years of sharing Mexican culture in southeast Iowa through music, traditional costumes and dance.
A 501(c)(3) nonprofit since 2008, QCBF is still run entirely by volunteers, including a board
of directors, assistant instructors and a lead instructor, Ray Terronez, Jr., who has also served as the org’s director for the last 16 years.
“I was a dancer, I started when I was 7,” Terronez said. When the opportunity to become director was presented, he was torn. “I was young, I only had two years of being an instructor and assistant instructor under my belt at the time. But I thought it was important because if I didn’t say yes to the position, the QCBF probably would have stopped. We didn’t have anyone who could take over as director.”
Fortunately, the founders took on roles of advisors, mentors and board members, helping Terronez make decisions and look out for the well-being of the group.
QCBF has come a long way. After years of bouncing from spot to spot for rehearsals, in 2017 they rented a studio shared with a martial arts school. Having a consistent home has helped the morale of the group, Terronez said—“Kids like to hang out before or after practice in the hallways or lobby.” This fosters friendships among the dancers, while also giving QCBF space to store the elaborate, colorful, eye-catching costumes and props they use when performing. Of course, 2020 presented its challenges. All performances were canceled as gatherings became health risks. The studio closed and the group couldn’t collect the donations they rely on. The board, parents and Terronez worked hard to apply for grants to pay the bills until it was safe
to perform again.
The demand for membership was stronger than ever upon their return in 2021, and QCBF surpassed 100 dancers. Terronez attributes it to a resurgence of cultural pride among youth.
“I currently have students with no Hispanic heritage that want to learn our type of dance. I’ve noticed more youth embracing our traditional dancing. I go to quinceañeras and a lot of the kids are doing steps that are folkloric. They’re dancing to huapangos and doing steps we teach at the studio. They might not know it because they’re dancing in jeans and modern clothes, but they’re doing the traditional Mexican dances we teach.”
Extracurriculars tend to improve a student’s academic outcomes, and QCBF is proud to boast that their dancers go on to graduate high school. Part of that accomplishment comes from their mentor program, Pasos Con Amigos; in English, Steps with Friends.
“It was designed to bridge the gap between our small and older groups,” Terronez explained. “It incorporates helpful learning opportunities for our small group students through fun activities while further building the leadership skills of our older group students.”
Some graduated dancers return to help with choreography. Currently, there are three former members/current college students volunteering their time as assistant instructors, giving back to the group that made such an impact on their lives.
Supportive parents have also been invaluable to the success of the group. They often carpool dancers to performances, even out of state, hauling costumes, props and equipment with them. Camarillo and Terronez are especially thankful to the community for their backing over the years—from the nursing home shows that allow newer dancers to gain confidence in front of a friendly crowd; to the colleges and universities that invite QCBF to perform and get a taste of a higher-ed environment; to the festivals and fairs that call on the dancers to
share their talents—all have made the 40th anniversary possible.
To celebrate, QCBF is hosting two events this month: Sept. 27 is the Mexican Fiesta XIII, a recital at the Galvin Fine Arts Center in Davenport. They have a special presentation planned that includes original costumes from the group’s first performance in 1984, and the debut of two new dances that were taught by instructors brought in from Colima and Tabasco, Mexico.
These new styles will mean QCBF will have performed dances from more than 20 Mexican states, Terronez said, making the recital “a mixture of our history and our future.”
“The kids have been working hard and are so excited,” Camarillo said.
“It’s going to be a story of history from when it started to the present day.”
The next day, Sept. 28, QCBF volunteers, founders, dancers past and present, and their families will celebrate with the community at a banquet at the Isle of Capri Grand Ballroom in Bettendorf. Both events are affordable ($5-10 for the recital, $25-45 for the banquet) to encourage as many current and prospective member families to attend as possible.
“We’re going to have dancers and parents speak about what Quad Cities Ballet Folklorico means to them,” Camarillo explained.
For more information, visit their website, theqcbf.com, or contact QCBF’s board president Karina Camarillo at alegre78@gmail.com or call 630-526-3558.
Presented by University of Iowa Division of Performing Arts
thursday, Sept. 7, 10 p.m., Iowa Loves
Bollywood–Back to School Bollywood Party, Gabe’s
Sunday, Sept. 8, 2:30–6 p.m., Zoukchata, Kindred Coffee, Iowa City
Monday, Sept. 9, 5:45–6:45 p.m., Brazilian Rhythms, PS1 Close House, Iowa City
Saturday, Sept. 14, 6–10 p.m., Sunset Salsa, Iowa City Ped Mall, Iowa City
Sunday, Sept. 15, 3–5 p.m., Iowa Corridor
Dance, Ely American Legion, Iowa City
Monday, Sept. 16, 5:45–6:45 p.m., Brazilian Rhythms, PS1 Close House, Iowa City
Monday, Sept. 23, 5:45–6:45 p.m., Brazilian Rhythms, PS1 Close House, Iowa City
Friday, Sept. 27, 7 p.m., Ballet Folklorico: 2024 Mexican Fiesta XIII Dance Recital, Galvin Fine Arts Center, Davenport
Sept. 27–29, Sweet Corn Swingout: Lindy Hop Level Up, Various Locations, Iowa City
Saturday, Sept. 28, 5 p.m., Ballet Folklorico 40th Anniversary Banquet, Isle of Capri, Bettendorf
Monday, Sept. 30, 5:45–6:45 p.m., Brazilian Rhythms, PS1 Close House, Iowa City
tuesday, Sept. 24, 7:30 p.m., Conrad Tao and Caleb Teicher: Counterpoint, Hancher Auditorium, Iowa City
Iowa City: International ScreenDance Festival, FilmScene, Saturday, Sept. 28, 6:30 p.m. The International ScreenDance Festival returns for its eighth iteration this fall. With submissions categories for university students and dance professionals around the world, the fest’s mission includes engaging with the Iowa City community while embracing artistic films from all over the world.
Classes/Community: All the Way Up
Studio, North Liberty
Fall Session: Sept. 2–January 2
Mondays, 6:15 p.m., Heels
Mondays, 7:30 p.m., Chair
Tuesdays, 6 p.m., Hip Hop 1
Tuesdays, 7:15 p.m., Heels
Wednesdays, 6 p.m., KPOP Wednesdays, 7:30 p.m., Hip Hop 2/Body Control
Thursdays, 6 p.m., Hip Hop 1
Thursdays, 7:15 p.m., Jazz Funk
Des Moines Breakerz, Des Moines Mondays, 5 p.m., Open Session
Mondays, 7:30 p.m., Adult/Teen Breaking Nolte Academy of Dance: Nolte Academy, Coralville
Sundays, 10 a.m. Intermediate/ Advanced Modern Dance for Adults
public Space One: pS1 Close House, Iowa City
Sundays, 5:30–6:30 p.m. Beginner Samba
Sundays, 6:30–7:30 p.m. Intermediate Samba
Mondays, 6:45–8 p.m. Zouk 101
Mondays, 8–9:30 p.m. Zouk 201
Mondays, 9–9:30 p.m., Zouk Practica & Social Dancing
Tuesdays, 7–8 p.m., Argentine Tango, alllevels class
Tuesdays, 8–9:30 p.m., Tango Social
Wednesdays, 6:15–7 p.m., Beginner West Coast Swing
Wednesdays, 7–8 p.m., Intermediate West Coast Swing
Wednesdays, 8–8:30 p.m., West Coast Swing Practice/Social Dancing
Thursdays 7:15 –8 p.m., Beginner Swing Dance Thursdays 8–8:30 p.m., Swing Dance Social Dance/Practice
Thursdays 8:30–9:30 p.m., Level 2 Swing
rjct: Studio 9 ½, Des Moines 8 Week adult sessions: Sept. 3–Nov. 1 Tuesdays, 6:15 p.m.
Wednesdays, 6:15 p.m.
Thursdays, 9 a.m.
Fridays, 9 a.m.
he ArtiFactory, Iowa City
Wednesdays, 7–9 p.m., Salsa Practice
he Studio on third, Cedar Rapids: West Coast Swing Club
Tuesdays, 7–8 p.m., Lesson Tuesdays, 8–9 p.m., Practice/Social Dance
Wednesday, Sept. 4 , 5:30 p.m., Stories of Community, FilmScene, Iowa City
Davenport: German Expressionist Film Series, the Last picture House, Sept. 4-Oct. 2 Thought Eddie Redmayne’s Cabaret performance at the Tony Awards was freakishly intriguing? You ain’t see nicht yet. Take a bracing dive into the deep end of German Expressionist filmmaking from the post-WWI, pre-WWII Weimar era with this fantastical film series from The Last Picture House and the German American Heritage
BY NICK LApOLE
Teo Nguyen is a painter’s painter. His parents were a poet and glass painter, and he applies their attention to detail to his canvas.
Moberg Gallery in Des Moines will present Nguyen’s latest series “The Politics of Worthiness” from Sept. 13 through Oct. 5. Initially organized by the Minneapolis Institute of Art, the show is composed of oil paintings and complemented by a few installations of the sculptural and video variety.
Nguyen’s previous work consisted of landscapes and abstractions, divided nicely between two categories in his portfolio. You have “Studio A,” Midwestern landscapes with enough detail to transport the viewer to the scene itself, with eyes inclined to the sky and the quiet air made manifest in the gallery space. Then there is “Studio B,” composed of paint swatches that appear to float, to linger, to solidify and evaporate alike amid a backdrop of (oftentimes) white pigment, like topographical studies.
Sky, land, horizon; Houses, barns, fences; cadmiums, ochres, oxides. The longer we look, the
quicker distinctions break down. The genre leap between Nguyen’s two studios reveals itself to be a simple distinction between neighbors. The artist’s intentions for the work bring both into the same fold, beyond Formality, centering calm and peace amid the elements. Whether literal or nonobjective, the viewer is invited to look.
“The Politics of Worthiness” advertises itself as a struggle towards that peace so readily grasped in prior bodies of work. At first glance, it’s a relapse into Studio A, albeit with new visual wrinkles. Brambles, light beams, rocks, gravel, stone, smoke, concrete, cloud formations, empty roads, alleyways—visual problems set up to flex the hand of a masterful painter.
Or so it seems! Many stretches of road among these paintings have a disconcerting aura about them, especially with titles such as Stay with Me, Brother and The Singing Stops in All the Trees. Others, such as The Foreign Lands and I Have Come to Be with You, stare into foliage with expectancy. Each view is accomplished in their rigor, but it’s difficult to
Teo Nguyen, “The Politics of Worthiness,” opens Friday, Sept. 13, Moberg Gallery, Des Moines
shake a foreboding feeling, the pregnant pause in them all. While not necessarily intentional, the compositions beckon the eye to seek out something otherwise missing.
One canvas, Sense of My Childhood, depicts a family situated in a field, tending to a herd or farm just beyond the picture plane. Elsewhere, perhaps adjacent to it, is a picture. It’s the reference image—an old one at that—with a layout and color palette matched exactly. The only thing missing in this painting, standing out plain as day in the original picture, is the American soldier. His back is to the camera, gun slung over his shoulder.
“I find with much visual art,” Nguyen writes, “there is subjectivity and fabrication of realities, where significance and impact are too often
reserved for and defined by those with positional power.”
“The Politics of Worthiness” is about pictures, war pictures—pictures that came out of the Vietnam War: supply drops, bombs, fires, injured soldiers, crying children, dead bodies. These are flash points that seared the Vietnamese landscape, the American consciousness and the mindset of the entire world; phosphoric stills repeated in the classroom, resuscitated in the cinema and kept alive to haunt us.
Yet, going against the contemporary expectation of trauma ad nauseam, the machinations of war are absent in these paintings. The grasslands, while distinct with their elephant grass, suddenly have an attention to their rendering that would otherwise be overshadowed by violence. While aged to shades of grey or stained by the Kodak chemistry, the scenes are allowed to be and we are given a chance to contemplate.
Born and raised in Vietnam, Teo Nguyen grew up with these stories aplenty. Over time, they curdled into caricatures, blockbusters, savior complexes and other distortions that hamper a clear picture of the country.
Despite this, the artist keeps calm. These paintings ask the viewer to consider the scene not as a battlefield or a tragedy, but as a field, a road, a family, a country that is home, as if to say, “Come and see! You are invited.”
The opening reception will take place at Moberg Gallery on Sept. 13 from 5 to 8 p.m.
An artist reception and discussion happens on Oct. 5 at 1 p.m., in which Nguyen will be present to discuss the exhibition and participate in a Q&A.
Presented by University of Iowa Division of Performing Arts
Center and Museum in Davenport. It’s $15 per film or $60 for all five, with a screening every Wednesday: Cabinet of Dr. Caligari (Sept. 4), Nosferatu (Sept. 11), Metropolis (Sept. 18), The Blue Angel (Sept. 25) and M (Oct. 2).
Wednesday, Sept. 4, 6 p.m., The Cabinet of Dr. Caligari, The Last Picture House, Davenport
Saturday, Sept. 7 , 7 p.m., O Brother, Where Art Thou?, FilmScene in the Park, Iowa City Saturday, Sept. 7, 10 p.m., Totally F***ed up, FilmScene, Iowa City
Mason City & Clear Lake: Iowa Independent Film Festival, Mason City Community theatre and Lake theatre, Sept. 5-7 Fistpump freeze-frame! The 17th annual IIFF includes guest appearances from Gen X icons Judd Nelson (The Breakfast Club, St. Elmo’s Fire), Randal Kleiser (director of Grease, Blue Lagoon) and Iowa’s own Gary Kroger, a Saturday Night Live veteran and Cedar Falls native, UNI grad and regular actor with the Cedar Falls Community Theatre. Dozens of film screenings will take place between two theaters in Mason City and Clear Lake for three packed days of cinematic splendor.
Iowa City: Union, FilmScene—the Chauncey, Sept. 8 & 9, 7 p.m. The next event in FilmScene’s Vino Vérité series (co-presented by Little Village) centers on a Cinderella story of the modern labor movement: Staten Island’s Amazon Labor
Union. Union, a new documentary from L.A.-based filmmaker Samantha Curley, follows Christian Smalls and a ragtag team of working-class organizers as they take on one of the nation’s most powerful corporations. Sunday’s event includes hors d’oeuvres, a screening of the film, a Q&A with Curley, a dessert reception and, of course, plenty of vino for the tasting. Monday’s “labor solidarity” encore screening is pay-what-you-can and also features a Q&A with Curley.
tuesday, Sept. 10, 6:30 p.m., Goodbye Julia, FilmScene, Iowa City
tuesday, Sept. 10, 7 p.m., Peck with cast and crew Q&A, Varsity Cinema, Des Moines
Wednesday, Sept. 11, 6 p.m., Nosferatu, The Last Picture House, Davenport
Friday, Sept. 12, Another Woman, FilmScene, Iowa City
Saturday, Sept. 13, Late Shift at the Grindhouse: Friday the 13th, FilmScene, Iowa City
Saturday, Sept. 14, 7 p.m., Art Dealers w/ live performance from Adam Weiner of Low Cut Connie, Varsity Cinema, Des Moines Saturday, Sept. 14, 10 p.m., (500) Days of Summer, FilmScene, Iowa City
Sunday, Sept. 14, Join or Die (IRL Movie Club), FilmScene, Iowa City
Sunday, Sept. 15, 3:30 p.m., The Monk and the Gun, FilmScene, Iowa City
Sunday, Sept. 15, 7:15 p.m., Ghost Dog: The Way of the Samurai, FilmScene Rooftop, Iowa City
littlevillagemag.com/calendar
tuesday, Sept. 17, 7 p.m., Science, Sex and the Ladies with Directors Q&A, Varsity Cinema, Des Moines
Wednesday, Sept. 18, 6 p.m., Metropolis, The Last Picture House, Davenport
Wednesday, Sept. 18, 10 p.m., Another Wolfcop, FilmScene Rooftop, Iowa City
thursday, Sept. 19, 6 p.m., Panel Series: FILM, Fix!, Iowa City
thursday, Sept. 19, 7 p.m., Casa Susanna, FilmScene, Iowa City
Saturday, Sept. 21, 10 p.m., Run Lola Run, FilmScene, Iowa City
Saturday, Sept. 21, 7 p.m., In the Mood for Love, FilmScene in the Park, Iowa City
Saturday, Sept. 21, 7:30–9 p.m., Halloweentown, Johnson County Fairgrounds, Iowa City
Wednesday, Sept. 25, 6 p.m., The Blue Angel, The Last Picture House, Davenport
Wednesday, Sept. 25, 7 p.m., The Scale of Hope, FilmScene, Iowa City
Wednesday, Sept. 25, 7p.m., Selena, presented with spanish subtitles, Varsity Cinema, Des Moines
thursday, Sept. 26, 6:30 p.m., Nelly Queen: The Life and Times of Jose Sarria, FilmScene, Iowa City
thursday, Sept. 26, 6–7:30 p.m., Reversed Memories at the Iowa Crossroads, Public Space One, Iowa City
Saturday, Sept. 28, 6:30 p.m., International Screendance Festival 2024, FilmScene, Iowa City
Saturday, Sept. 28, 10 p.m., The Killing, FilmScene, Iowa City
Sunday, Sept. 29, 4 p.m., The Inside Singers, FilmScene, Iowa City
Sunday, Sept. 29, 6:50 p.m., Bridesmaids, FilmScene Rooftop, Iowa City
Des Moines: Buster Keaton Double Feature featuring live score, Varsity Cinema, Sunday, Sept. 29, 7 p.m. Silent films tend to be quite loud, and not just in the artistic sense—they often include such chair-shaking, mischiefmaking, heart-swelling orchestral themes that you forget you’ve never heard the actors’ voices. Varsity Cinema will present two silent classics starring the inimitable Buster Keaton with live scores on Sept 29, continuing an eight-year tradition for the nonprofit Des Moines Film Society.
Opens Aug. 24, Revolutionary Artist: The Prison Fantasies of David Alfaro Siqueiros, Figge Art Museum, Davenport
will be on exhibit at the Dubuque Museum of Art through Oct. 13. Em
/
As it turns 150, DuMA is celebrating crafty Midwest artists, including sneaker sculptor Y.J. Lacour.
BY JESSICA pFOHL pAISLEY
The Dubuque Museum of Art, Iowa’s oldest cultural institution and home to over 2,700 works, was founded as an art association in 1874 by Dubuque citizens eager to share their collections with the public. It’s amusing to imagine Gilded Age art patrons walking through a contemporary exhibition, such as DuMA’s upcoming Craft Invitational. Common materials like wood, leather, pottery, glass and metal become gravity-defying sculptures, impossibly detailed embellishments, luxurious versions of utilitarian tools, even a bedazzled likeness of Lewis Carroll’s White Rabbit. It’s enough to drop the jaws of a modern-day museum-goer.
“All of the artists push boundaries to some degree,” DuMA Curatorial Director Stacy Peterson said of the 21 Midwest craftspeople with works featured in the showcase. “Derek Brabender of Stoughton, Wisconsin demonstrates an advanced technique that yields multiple, nested bowls from a single wood piece. This technique is practiced by few woodturners worldwide. Clayton Salley, a recent MFA grad from the University of Iowa and a current U.S. Fulbright Scholar, uses advanced, experimental 3D printing technology to bridge ancient and modern metalsmithing.”
2024 DuMA Craft Invitational, continues through Sunday, Oct. 13, Dubuque Museum of Art
The star of the Craft Invitational is Yohance Joseph Lacour, a fine leather and bespoke sneaker artist making a significant impact in the realm of leatherwork. A lifelong sneakerhead, Lacour draws from his personal experiences, particularly his youth in Chicago in the ’80s and ’90s. (In addition to art, Lacour is a Pulitzer and Peabody award-winning podcaster for his work on You Didn’t See Nothin, a seven-part investigation into the 1997 hate-crime murder of Lenard Clark on Chicago’s South Side, which also serves as a partial memoir of Lacour.)
Lacour spent time in prison in the late 2000s, where he first discovered leatherwork. Upon his release, his curiosity and desire to learn led him to take classes on shoe-making, applying meticulous handwork and attention to detail. Produced and crafted by hand in Portugal, Lacour’s collections are now sold online and in boutiques throughout the country.
The polyglot describes his handcrafted bespoke leather sneakers as the “intersection of luxury, fine art and fortitude.” Three of the sneakers—two prototypes and a production model—are on view at DuMA for the showcase.
Like Lacour, the other artists involved in DuMA’s fourth biennial Craft Invitational don’t normally see themselves in a traditional museum environment. This curated group was chosen and invited by the previous invitational’s artists.
The theme for this exhibit was “Crossing Barriers”: artists embracing craft and traditional techniques, along with a focus on process, sustainability and concept, with an emphasis on how these elements carry forward into the future.
Though the show closes Oct. 13, the Dubuque Museum of Art will debut a new exhibition on Oct. 26 celebrating their 150th anniversary, called Dubuque by Design.
“[We’re] looking back at designs that have shaped our community and forward to the new museum building design that will shape our future,” Peterson said.
For more information on the planned 38,000 square-foot building project, its $89 million capital campaign, and current and upcoming DuMA exhibitions, visit dbqart.org.
LV Recommends: Central Iowa
This chic Des Moines hangout keeps it natural, from the drinks to the soundtrack.
BY DAN RAY
Iyou want to feel like you’re doing something bougie while still on a budget, go chill at The Cave. Situated at the very edge of downtown in a small building so nondescript you’d miss it if you weren’t looking for it (I nearly did), The Cave is a wine bar that might also be Des Moines’ most underrated music venue. On any given night, you can sip a modestly priced glass of natural wine—everything was either $11 or $12 when I went—nosh on some bar snacks, and listen to whatever musicians are nestled in the corner playing the piano or plugging into a PA. What I love most about The Cave, though, is how accessible it is. Yes, they have wine, but they also have beer and NA beverages. There are gluten-free options on their small food menu. And co-owner Nick Leo and organizational wizard Angela Rauch make you feel like family when you sit down.
As someone with ADHD, I often get overwhelmed in large restaurants with huge menus. Going to The Cave, though, feels like sitting down in a friend’s living room and having them put on your favorite record while they pour you something nice to drink. They just want you to feel comfortable.
The wine: Marcona almonds, housemade baguettes, marinated anchovies and olives, za’atar flatbread, charcuterie plates—the “Snacks” served at The Cave aren’t your typical bar fare, complementing a beverage selection that’s atypical, too.
The Cave serves exclusively natural wine. Natural wine, which can also be called low-intervention wine, is exactly that: wine that’s left alone as much as possible during the fermentation process. While conventional wines can contain up to 72 additives to enhance the color, flavor and clarity of the wine, natural wine is unfiltered, has no additives, and is made from organic yeast and grapes. That also means there are fewer sulfites in natural wine—the preservatives are added to conventional wine throughout the winemaking process as a means to kill off yeast, but are also a fairly common allergen. It’s more expensive to make natural wine and also potentially riskier for winemakers, as part of what additives do is standardize the flavor of each bottle. What that means, though, is that each bottle of wine at The Cave is going to be slightly
different, even if it’s the same varietal.
Especially as someone with ADHD, that made my wine tasting experience fun and exciting. The night I was there, the menu only featured six wines, and Rauch let me try all of them. I started with an Argentinian malvasia from 2022 that the menu described as “light & bright / kumquat / sage / flint.” The other white on the menu, a sauvignon blanc they were out of, was described as “textured & mineral forward / tangerine / flowers / chalk.” I’d never seen words like “flint” and “chalk” used to describe something edible, and I was immediately intrigued.
For my second glass, I moved to a 2022 Bracchetto, a red described as “light & tart / black raspberry / violets / orange zest / dried roses.” All of the wines I tasted had a depth and complexity to them I hadn’t experienced before with conventional wine, and I loved how accessible The Cave made the ordering process. There’s nothing worse than trying to order a glass when the only description is “Chardonnay, 2022, France.” I don’t want to drink that. I do want to drink whatever the heck it is that tastes like flint.
The music: I went to The Cave several times over the course of writing this article, and every time I went I found something different. Most weekdays, it’s a wine bar spinning records. Most Fridays, it’s a classy little getaway where you can drink wine and toast the jazz musicians playing. And sometimes, it’s a full-blown venue with a touring band and a fog machine.
In mid-August, Fiona Moonchild, a post-punk band from Seattle, was playing the fifth show of their tour at The Cave. They jammed four
musicians, a fog machine, flashing lights and their PA into a maybe 50-square-foot space at the front, putting on a mystical, Bowie-esque performance. My favorite—and the most quintessential Seattle—part was when guitarist Scott Yoder joked that they had put weed tincture in the fog machine instead of fog juice.
I used to run a music journalism website when I lived in Seattle, so it was a treat for me to get to see a band from my former home all the way out here in the smack-dab middle of the country. And it was also nice to see an androgynous West Coast hazy shoegaze band lighting up the local winery. I loved the intimacy of the setup and the juxtaposition of grungy, underground music paired with wine, which is typically thought of as a high-brow, mainstream beverage. It felt like the best parts of two worlds colliding.
Presented by University of Iowa Division of Performing Arts
Friday, Sept. 6, 5 p.m., Opening Reception, Art by David Johnson, The ArtiFactory, Iowa City
Sept. 6–Oct. 5, Eric Conrad, Clothes That Don’t Fit, Public Space One, Iowa City
Sept. 13-Oct. 5, Teo Nguyen, The Politics of Worthiness, Moberg Gallery, Des Moines
Opens Sept. 14, A More Perfect Union: Political Art from the Collection, Cedar Rapids Museum of Art, Cedar Rapids
Sept. 19–Nov. 27, Red House Artists: Works by Noah Doely, Taylor Hansen, Monica Sanguino, and Angela Waseskuk, Hearst Center for the Arts, Cedar Falls
Sept. 26–Nov. 27, Permanent Collection featuring Osie L. Johnson, Hearst Center for the Arts, Cedar Falls
Sept. 26–Nov. 27, North American Review exhibition, Hearst Center for the Arts, Cedar Falls
Iowa City Body Freedom For Every(Body), public Space One, Sept. 17–20 A crosscountry exhibition tour inside of a 27-foot box truck celebrating reproductive justice, queer liberation and trans joy is visiting Public Space One. Newark-based Project for Empty Space is bringing over 200 artists’ works inside this truck to cultivate community, coast to coast. The endeavor addresses the importance of agency, autonomy and choice when it comes to healthcare and individual identity.
Cedar Rapids Exodus Report, National Czech & Slovak Museum & Library, Opens Sept. 19 Award-winning photojournalist Jana Rajcova has been collecting stories of Ukrainians who escaped the Russian invasion and found their refuge in Slovakia and documenting them in this photo gallery exhibition.
Opens Sept. 20, Minor Key, Des Moines Art Center, Des Moines
Davenport Opens Sept. 21, Leo Villareal: Interstellar, Figge Art Museum Interstellar will showcase nine works from light sculptor Leo Villareal’s Nebula series. Using LEDs and custom software, Villareal delves into the realms of space, time and perception. Each artwork features a unique sequence created through generative code, ensuring that no two sculptures are alike.
Catch these exhibitions before they’re gone: Until Sept. 15, Thinking Big: Large-Scale Works from the Collection, Cedar Rapids Museum of Art, Cedar Rapids
Until Sept. 15, Coexist, Des Moines Art Center, Des Moines
Until Sept. 22, Hurricane SeasonCaribbean Art + Climate Change, Des Moines Art Center, Des Moines
Until Oct. 13, DuMA Craft Invitational 2024, Dubuque Museum of Art, Dubuque
Until Oct. 20, b. Robert Moore: In Loving Memory, Des Moines Art Center, Des Moines
Until Oct. 27, Roy G. Biv: A Rainbow of Art, Cedar Rapids Museum of Art, Cedar Rapids
Until Nov. 17, Walter Wick: Hidden Wonders!, Figge Art Museum, Davenport Until December, A Year in Print, Stanley Museum of Art, Iowa City
Iowa City: Until Jan. 7, to My Friends at Horn–Keith Haring and Iowa City, Stanley Museum of Art
What began as
an exchange of letters and care packages between Haring and Iowa City gradeschoolers at Horn Elementary grew into a three-day residency by the artist in March 1984. The Stanley Museum of Art opened this exhibition last spring, on what would have been Haring’s 67th birthday, to celebrate the residency and those in our community that Haring encountered in his visit.
Dear Kiki,
There are numerous walls I meet when trying to date online. Writing a decent bio is my #1 problem. Also equally tough is explaining the uncomfortable years of not understanding our American social etiquette. What seems like anxiety to a possible flame is confusion I possess for what’s going on.
What would be the best way for me to show myself off without seeming like a guy with no experience?
—Cleaning Up My Past
Dear Cleaning,
While the way we present ourselves is undeniably important, I’m not sure I can agree with you that writing a decent bio is your “#1 problem.” Nor, for that matter, is explaining away your past. What you seem to be missing from your online efforts are a strong understanding of who you are and a clear sense of what you want.
Unless you’re disclosing something potentially harmful, your past is none of anyone’s business (yet). This is not a job application where you have to account for gaps in employment. That’s not my encouragement to be dishonest— all I want you to do is to keep looking steadfastly forward, instead of obsessively checking your rear view.
having ears? And, crucially: Who do you picture across the table from you as you answer these questions?
You are not your past, Cleaning. And the best way to make that clear to those you are trying to woo is to believe it yourself. You’re concerned that your confusion may be mistaken for anxiety, but anyone who would be put off by either anxiety or confusion is likely not someone worth explaining the difference to. For that matter, your dream date could be someone who shares your lack of experience or your etiquette antipathy. The possibilities, while not endless, are broader than you imagine.
Figure out who you are, and figure out who you want to be. Those two people aren’t just more relevant than who you were—they’re liable to be infinitely more interesting as well.
xoxo, Kiki
DYOU’RE CONCERNED tHAt YOUR CONFUSION MAY BE MIStAKEN FOR ANXIEtY, BUt ANYONE WHO WOULD BE pUt OFF BY EItHER ANXIEtY OR CONFUSION IS LIKELY NOt SOMEONE WORtH EXpLAINING tHE DIFFERENCE tO.
If you see yourself as “a guy with no experience,” then that’s how you’ll come off, no matter how many bells, whistles and layers of paint you cake on. You need to focus on determining who you are, today, now: That’s the person any potential partner is going to meet on a first date.
What excites you? What are your passions, your preferences? What’s the best meal you’ve ever eaten? What movie coming out this year are you looking forward to? When did you last look in the mirror and just grin goofily at the person you saw? What song makes you dizzy with gratitude for
ear Kiki, I discovered my sexuality in college, and later came to terms with my gender identity. I feel pretty comfortable in both, but I’ll admit that I’m a pretty “boring” queer person. I’m not really that kinky, I’ve only had a few relationships and hookups in the past, and I’m now in a monogamous, long-term relationship and have a kid. I don’t really feel like my sexuality is all that important in my current life, but I’m fully supportive of other LGBTQ+ people expressing themselves in whatever way they want. My problem is, I keep seeing people talking (mostly online, but in real life too) about how “non-kink queer people need to shut up, and conforming to a vanilla lifestyle won’t make bigots accept you.” And I feel conflicted; for one
Cont. >> on pg. 66
Submit questions anonymously at littlevillagemag.com/dearkiki or non-anonymously to dearkiki@littlevillagemag.com. Questions may be edited for clarity and length, and may appear either in print or online at littlevillagemag.com.
thing, I feel like it’s dismissive of Ace people, and for another, I’m not looking for the approval of bigots and that’s not the reason I live the way I do. I like my lifestyle, but I understand everyone is different and I’m in full support of kink communities, polyamorous people, etc. I think part of the beauty of this community is how diverse we are.
How can I respond to this kind of rhetoric when it comes up? How can I be accepting when it feels like I’m being targeted by people in my own community? It sometimes feels like I’ve almost isolated myself by choosing to enter into a closed marriage and raise a family. Should I just try to ignore it until sentiment shifts?
Sincerely,
Quaintly Queer
Dear Quaintly Queer, I’m just gonna put all the cards on the table with this one: What you’re experiencing is privilege. I hear what you’re saying! You’re not the way you are on purpose to fit in; you didn’t choose your quaintness; all you’re doing is trying to live your life, not placate bigots. But it’s still true that who you are is more palatable to a certain type of person outside the queer community.
If individuals close to you or those you’d like to feel closer to are persistently regurgitating this rhetoric in your shared spaces, then there’s always the option of approaching them at a time when you both are calm, and asking them to be less aggressive and more inclusive when you’re around. You deserve to be treated with respect and kindness. You deserve your place in the group.
Like all experiences of privilege, though, the best course of action when you feel targeted by someone who has less privilege than you in any given area is to listen: not to respond, but to understand. The fact that it’s not in your control makes it more important—not less—that you actively work to understand, accept and engage with it.
No one likes being told to shut up, Quaintly. However, the kind of rhetoric you’re describing is far more likely to be coming from a place of pain and anger than one of dismissiveness or superiority, no matter how blustery it sounds. If you can find a way to be less reactive and listen through the literal, you might find opportunities for deeper community building.
––xoxo, Kiki
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Stan’s Barber & Stylists
Stella
Studio 13
Stuff, Etc
Systems Unlimited
T-Spoons
Thai Spice
The Airliner
The Club Car
The Englert Theatre
The Graduate
The Green House
The James Theater
The Konnexion
The Shop
The Vine
The Wedge Pizzeria
Tru Coffee
Trumpet Blossom
Cafe
UI QuickCare
Univ. of Iowa Campus
Wellness &
Recreation Center
VFW
Whitedog Auto
Wig & Pen East
Wild Culture
Kombucha
Wildwood Saloon
Willow & Stock
Florists
World of Bikes
Yotopia
Zen Salon & Spa
JOHNSTON
Johnston Library
Sovereign Tattoo
Stoney Creek Hotels
KALONA
Best of Iowa
Kalona Brewing Co.
Kalona Chocolates
Kalona Coffee House
Tequila Grill
Tuscan Moon
KNOXVILLE
Atlantic & Pacific Pub
Casa Grande Mexican
Deng’s Garden
Dingus Lounge
Fast Freddy’s Pizza
Grand Theater
Hometown Market
Knoxville Barber
Knoxville Public Lib.
Manny’s Diner
Mrs. D’s Family Rest.
Nearwood Winery
One Eleven Pub
Peace Tree Brewing
Revive Hair Studio
Wackos
MARION
Alter Ego Comics
Belleza Salon & Spa
Frydae
Giving Tree Theater
Kettel House Bakery
Marion Public Library
Short’s
Uptown Snug
MOLINE/E MOLINE (IL)
Analog Arcade Bar II
Co-Op Records
East Moline Coffee Co.
Milltown Coffee
Rust Belt
MOUNT VERNON
Bijou Theater
Chameleons
Fuel
Lincoln Wine Bar
The Local, Glen Mayr Winery
White Tree Bakery
NORTH LIBERTY
Bluebird Diner
Capanna Coffee
Copper Boar
El Azul
Java House
Johncy’s Liquor Store
Laundromania
Linder Tire
North Liberty Auto
North Liberty Library
Premiere Automotive
Smash Juice Bar
Smokin Joe’s
Suga Peach
Sugar Bottom Bikes
Synergy Gymnastics
The Lounge
Barbershop
UI QuickCare
Urban Fuel
Wig and Pen
PELLA
Butcher’s Brewhuis & Deli
Cellar Peanut Pub
In’t Veld Meat Market
Iris Coffee Company
Main Street Markt
Pella Books
Pella Convention & Visitors Bureau
Smokey Row Coffee
The Brew Coffee
The Queue
The Wijn House
Vander Ploeg Bakery
Windmill Cafe
PLEASANT HILL
Breadeaux Pizza
Copper Creek 9
Great Escape
La Feria Mexican
Pleasant Hill Diner
Pleasant Hill Public Lib.
Rolling Smoke BBQ
RIVERSIDE
La Chiva Loka
ROCK ISLAND
Bayside Bistro
Ragged Records
Rozz-Tox
SLATER
Slater Public Library
Town & Country Markets
URBANDALE
Bike World
Campbell’s Nutrition
Friedrichs Coffee
Hotel Renovo
Living History Farms
Microtel Inn
Palmer’s Deli & Market
Revel Hotel by Hilton
Rieman Music
Tasty Tacos
Ted’s Coney Island
Urbandale Public Lib.
WASHINGTON
Cafe Dodici
Coffee Corner
Frontier Family Rest.
Lewbowski’s Rock n’ Bowl
Panda Palace
Taste of China
The Hair Bar
The Wooden Spoon
Bakery Outlet
Washington Public Lib.
WATERLOO
Jameson’s Public House
Lava Lounge
Newton’s Paradise Cafe
Rocket’s Bakery
Rodney’s Kitchen
SingleSpeed Brewing Co.
Waterloo Bicycle Works
Waterloo Center for the Arts
Waterloo Community Playhouse
Waterloo Public Lib.
WAUKEE
Central Standard
Home Sweet Cone
Kue’d Smokehouse
Kyle’s Bikes
Palms Theatres
Saints Pub
WEST DES MOINES
Atomic Garage
Banana Leaf
BeerStyles
Bike World
Budu/Bu
Coffee Cats
Early Bird Brunch
Eggs & Jam
Element West Hotel
Friedrichs Coffee
Hilton Garden Inn
Hurts Donuts
Hyatt Place West
Jay’s CD & Hobby
Kavanaugh Gallery
Keg Stand
La Barista
Roslin’s on Fifth
Sheraton Hotel
The Distillery @ the Foundry
The Hall @ the Foundry
The Rewind by Hilton
Townplace Suites
Val Air Ballroom
Valley Junction
Foundation
Waterfront Seafood
Wellman’s Pub
West Des Moines Public Library
In print at least monthly since July 2001, Little Village is among the longest-running free alternative publications in the Midwest.
We distribute an average of 20,000 free copies each month at about 800 Iowa locations.
Known to support and participate in the local, brickand-mortar community at above average rates, nearly all LV readers picked up the mag while visiting their favorite food, retail, performance or other cultural venue.
LV readers are deeply invested in community. 73% are, and have 1-2 children per household on average. 98% voted in 2020, and 96% in 2022. With your help, we’ll reach 100% in 2024!
VIRGO (Aug. 23-Sept. 22): When an infant giraffe leaves its mother’s womb, it falls six feet to the ground. I suspect that when you are reborn sometime soon, Virgo, a milder and more genial jolt will occur. It may even be quite rousing and inspirational—not rudely bumpy at all. By the way, the plunge of the baby giraffe snaps its umbilical cord and stimulates the creature to take its initial breaths—getting it ready to begin its life journey. I suspect your genial jolt will bring comparable benefits.
LIBRA (Sept. 23-Oct. 22): Many people living in the Napo province of Ecuador enjoy eating a dish called ukuy, which is a Kichwa word for large ants. This is not an exotic meal for them. They may cook the ukuy or simply eat the creatures alive. If you travel to Napo anytime soon, Libra, I urge you to sample the ukuy. According to my reading of the astrological omens, such an experiment is in alignment with the kinds of experiences you Libras should be seeking: outside your usual habits, beyond your typical expectations, and in amused rebellion against your customary way of doing things.
SCORPIO (Oct. 23-Nov. 21): The theory of karma suggests that all our actions, good and bad and in-between, send ripples out into the world. These ripples eventually circle back to us, ensuring we experience events that mirror our original actions. If we lie and cheat, we will be lied to and cheated on. If we give generously and speak kindly about other people, we will be the recipient of generosity and kind words. I bring this up, Scorpio, because I believe you will soon harvest a slew of good karma that you have set in motion through your generosity and kindness. It may sometimes seem as if you're getting more benevolence than you deserve, but in my estimation, it's all well-earned.
SAGITTARIUS (Nov. 22-Dec. 21): I encourage you to buy yourself fun presents that give you a feisty boost. Why? Because I want you to bring an innovative, starting-fresh spirit into the ripening projects you are working on. Your attitude and approach could become too serious unless you infuse them with the spunky energy of an excitable kid. Gift suggestions: new music that makes you feel wild; new jewelry or clothes that make you feel daring; new tools that raise your confidence; and new informa-
On a Tuesday in August in 2012—one full Jupiter cycle ago—a Capricorn friend of mine called in sick to his job as a marketing specialist. He never returned. Instead, after enjoying a week off to relax, he began working to become a dance instructor. After six months, he was teaching novice students. Three years later, he was proficient enough to teach advanced students, and five years later, he was an expert. I am not advising you, Capricorn, to quit your job and launch your own quixotic quest for supremely gratifying work. But if you were ever going to start taking small steps towards that goal, now would be a good time. It’s also a favorable phase to improve the way your current job works for you.
AQUARIUS (Jan. 20-Feb. 18): Three years ago, an Indonesian man celebrated his marriage to a rice cooker, which is a kitchen accessory. Khoirul Anam wore his finest clothes while his new spouse donned a white veil. In photos posted on social media, the happy couple are shown hugging and kissing. Now might also be a favorable time for you to wed your fortunes more closely with a valuable resource—though there’s no need to perform literal nuptials. What material thing helps bring out the best in you? If there is no such thing, now would be a good time to get it.
PISCES (Feb. 19-March 20): For many years, I didn't earn enough money to pay taxes. I was indigent. Fortunately, social programs provided me with food and some medical care. In
recent years, though, I have had a better cash flow. I regularly send the U.S. government a share of my income. I wish they would spend all my tax contributions to help people in need. Alas, just 42 percent of my taxes pay for acts of kindness to my fellow humans, while 24 percent goes to funding the biggest military machine on earth. Maybe someday, there will be an option to allocate my tax donations exactly as I want. In this spirit, Pisces, I invite you to take inventory of the gifts and blessings you dole out. Now is a good time to correct any dubious priorities. Take steps to ensure that your generosity is going where it's most needed and appreciated. What kind of giving makes you feel best?
ARIES (March 21-April 19): Although there are over 7,000 varieties of apples, your grocery store probably offers no more than 15. But you shouldn’t feel deprived. Having 15 alternatives is magnificent. In fact, most of us do better in dealing with a modicum of choices rather than an extravagant abundance. This is true not just about apples but also about most things. I mention this, Aries, because now is an excellent time to pare down your options in regard to all your resources and influences. You will function best if you're not overwhelmed with possibilities. You will thrive as you experiment with the principle that less is more.
TAURUS (April 20-May 20): Taurus comedian Jerry Seinfeld, now 70 years old, has testified, “As a child, the only clear thought I had was ‘get candy.’” I encourage you to be equally single-minded in the near future, Taurus. Not necessarily about candy—but about goodies that appeal to your inner child as well as your inner teenager and inner adult. You are authorized by cosmic forces to go in quest of experiences that tickle your bliss.
GEMINI (May 21-June 20): I’m not saying I would refuse to hire a Gemini person to housesit while I’m on vacation. You folks probably wouldn’t let my houseplants die, allow raccoons to sneak in and steal food, or leave piles of unwashed dishes in the sink. On the other hand, I’m not entirely confident you would take impeccable care of my home in every little way. But wait! Everything I just said does *not* apply to you now. My analysis of the omens suggests you will have a high aptitude for the domestic arts in the coming weeks. You will be more likely than usual to take good care of my home—and your own home, too. It’s a good time to redecorate and freshen up the vibe.
CANCER (June 21-July 22): These days, you are even smarter and more perceptive than usual. The deep intelligence of your higher self is pouring into your conscious awareness with extra intensity. That's a good thing, right? Yes, mostly. But there may be a downside: You could be hyper-aware of people whose thinking is mediocre and whose discernment is substandard. That could be frustrating, though it also puts you in a good position to correct mistakes those people make. As you wield the healing power of your wisdom, heed these words from Johann Wolfgang von Goethe: “Misunderstandings and lethargy produce more wrong in the world than deceit and malice do.”
LEO (July 23-Aug. 22): Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart had an older sister, born under the sign of Leo. Her nickname was Nannerl. During their childhoods, she was as much a musical prodigy as he. Supervised by their father, they toured Europe performing together, playing harpsichord and piano. Nannerl periodically got top billing, and some critics regarded her as the superior talent. But misfortune struck when her parents decided it was unseemly for her, as a female, to continue her development as a genius. She was forcibly retired so she could learn the arts of housekeeping and prepare for marriage and children. Your assignment in the coming months, Leo, is to rebel against any influence that tempts you to tamp down your gifts and specialties. Assert your sovereignty. Identify what you do best, and do it more and better than you ever have before.
Music for the Next Scene
Ina recent email from Chris Bernat, guitarist and vocalist for Quad Cities band Chrash, said, “We are all very pleased with the cover shot featuring a big shiner on my right eye.”
The week the band was scheduled to do the photoshoot for the album artwork for their latest album, Bernat had a pretty bad bicycle accident.
“The return of the Chrash clip-on magnifier (also featured on the 2011 EP See Through Music) to enhance the cosmetic damage seemed to fit any theme that was emerging.”
Music For The Next Scene is the first album from the band since 2017 The Music which was rushed to release in time for the 2018 midterm election, and targeted the political landscape and headlines following the 2016 election. While the new album doesn’t have as sharp a focus on
hungry / Standing by and decide when to sell or buy those / 10 more thousand summer homes”
“Fox Fear” might be my favorite track on the new album, and is the thematic antithesis of “Thank You Late Night” from the previous album. The lyrics are a scathing takedown of the dog whistle/echo chamber that is Rupert Murdoch’s lasting legacy: Fox News.
Own the narrative by any means / Divide the people into separate teams / Instill the fear into their nightmare dreams / Put doubt into the heads of everyone.
The song has an early ‘80s postpunk sound reminiscent of New Order’s post-Joy Division sound— single note buzzy guitar lines with a slinky walking bass snaking around the melody. I find myself replaying this song quite a bit. (BRB, I’m going to play this again.)
The band is a tight trio made up of bass, drums, guitars and vocals. This simple architecture, which affords the bass and guitars to trade off melody duty, makes for deceptively complex arrangements. The songs where bass player Kim Murray takes the lead recall similarly minimal bands like the aforementioned New Order as well as The Pixies and Guided By Voices. It’s a formula with a long history, and Chrash’s
tHE CLEAN ARpEGGIAtED GUItAR AND BASS tRADING LINES LIFtS BERNAt’S SWEEtLY SUNG VOCALS, EULOGIZING FRIENDS pASSED.
the dumpster fire that is U.S. politics, it doesn’t completely avoid it either. “Billionaire Breeding Ground” from 2017 returns with its marching drum and bass rhythm, but with a much improved clarity in its production.
Listening to both versions backto-back, the new recording has less of the crowded, muffled sound of the original, as if a cloud was lifted. Sadly, the song’s message is as pertinent now as it was then: “There it goes with the weight of the country / On the back of the poor and the
friends passed. The song wraps up with distorted guitars and a rallying cry: “Come on we’re down here coming to the light right now / We have to get this to you all somehow / I can’t be talking to myself this loud / We honor you right now but you’re gone.”
A fitting end to the album. As the adage goes, you can’t get out of this life unscathed. We all end up with bruises to prove it. Sometimes they’re literal.
—Mike Roeder
My favorite time of year is approaching: cool autumn air, hoodies, bonfires, long-sleeve band T-shirts and of course, Halloween. While you can catch me in all black clothes most any time of the year, spooky season is the time of year I feel most at home. That feeling requires a solid soundtrack of atmospheric and goth-indebted tunes.
shimmering cloak that is familiar, yet distinct. “She Hums Mozart” is a strong lead track with a perfectly reverbed guitar lick that immediately made me think of Disintegration-era The Cure. The drums play an upbeat, mid-tempo rhythm while the bass slinks in the background. Riggen’s vocals are less dramatic than Smith or Ian Curtis, but still more forward than shoegaze acts like My Bloody Valentine or Slowdive. He does deliver an easily hummable melody reminiscent of ’90s alt rock.
The following track, “Sequin” delivers post-punk low-ends and blaring guitars over syncopated snare beats, overall feeling more raw and pronounced than its predecessor. “Twilight Eyes” follows suit with synth bass, drums that march through the murk and guitars reminiscent of the Sisters Of Mercy. This is my favorite track on the album, but I am a sucker for brooding.
“Queen Underground” and “Hounds” are more upbeat endeavors showcasing pop sensibilities before “Apple” takes us back into the midnight drive.
“Morrow” picks up the pace again before the closing track stops the show with The House Flies’ longest and darkest song. “Ghosts Will Speak Again” carries Joy Divisionesque vibes over its eight-minute run time. The guitars and intensity crescendo like slow waves of inevitable
seasoned approach shines on Music
For The Next Scene
Speaking of long history, the album closer “To Those Who’ve Passed” was co-written with Tripmaster Monkey guitarist Jamie Toal. In an email, Bernat said the song “has become the best closer we have ever written and for now is always the last song in our set. It is hard to follow that up with anything.” The clean arpeggiated guitar and bass trading lines lifts Bernat’s sweetly sung vocals, eulogizing
Thankfully, I don’t have to look very far to find exciting new bat vibes. Moline, Illinois’ The House Flies worship at the altar of Robert Smith and all the good indie, shoegaze and alternative sounds that inspire fishnets and black eyeliner. Their first full length album, Mannequin Deposit (out now on Wilhelm & Sons Entertainment) brings these elements together for a romp into dusky shadows and chilly winds beneath neon signs.
The three-piece band is composed of Alex Riggen (guitar, vocals), Ozzie Woods (bass), and Nick Pompou (drums) who studiously weave their sonic threads into a
MANNEQUIN DEPOSITS IS A pROMISING DEBUt FROM A BAND tHAt SCRAtCHES A DEEp-SEEDED ItCH WItHIN MY SOUL.
apparitions in a haunted mansion.
Mannequin Deposits is a promising debut from a band that scratches a deep-seeded itch within my soul. The part of me that has always been a closet goth is happy with these sounds, though not overly punk, industrial or new wave, The House Flies carry catchy, melodic, yet dark tunes through the basement cobwebs and into the daylight.
—Broc Nelson
For many, fishing brings to mind a whole lot of casting, sitting and waiting—a favorite of grandpas and teenagers alike. But for Fishbait, fishing is gnarly, bloody, sewage-filled and above all, slimy. That’s the general message of their self-titled (and fittingly fishthemed) debut album: Bodies of water, whether bathtub or ocean, are forces of danger, death and the
must’ve broken free.
Fishbait’s funk metal genre description rings true. The closing track, “Grundall,” best represents their style, both whimsical and gritty. A nearly eight-minute odyssey, it begins as an almost Rocky Horror Picture Show-esque tribute to a home-brewed creature (or monster; it’s hard to say) until fits of metal-death growl and rasp cut through, jarring and perfect.
A lot of care went into the making of this Iowa City band’s debut, particularly evident in its lyrical creativity and loose lore that invades each sonic adventure. In Fishbait’s world, there are many foreboding places and characters to stay away from.
In “Blue Lagoon,” a cursed place is described, inhabited by “sharks with 15 eyes on its beak.”
“Mr. Rainbow” presents a fabled character that seems menacing to the children it beckons to. In
EACH tRACK ON FISHBAIt FEELS MUSICALLY IN LINE WItH tHE pUSH AND pULL OF A FISHING EXpEDItION, DARtING BEtWEEN SpURtS OF StILLNESS AND EXCItEMENt
undiscovered deep. Band members J.J. Razor, Thomas Halligan and Nathan Ward infuse an uneasy feeling across the album’s six tracks—all with a sense of humor and playfulness right at home with the B-52’s sun-drenched beach hit “Love Shack.”
Each track on Fishbait feels musically in line with the push and pull of a fishing expedition, darting between spurts of stillness and excitement. The album regularly challenges a conventional song structure, with many songs shifting tempo at the drop of a verse, as if the fishing line tightens and slacks. The sporadic bursts of metal bass lines are reminiscent of the intense experience of reeling in a catch. Just as suddenly as the dynamic guitar solo begins, the act is dropped while slow, quiet vocals creep in—the fish on the line
Gabrielle Kouri’s tune-wrangling—he quirky lyrics and distinctive compositions—have long been long admired in Eastern Iowa folk music circles. Raised in Creston in a bicultural family with Lebanese, German and Scandinavian roots, Kouri’s songs delve into the complexities of being a honky-tonk singer, cowboys who inherit dysfunction along with the ranch, and a blunt lament that, “VJ day was good, they say, unless you were in Japan.” Like Joanna Newsome, she’s good at fitting a few too many words into a line, and like Melissa Carper, some of her melodies feel like you’re dusting off 70-year-old records.
“Got out of my own way, nothing more to say.” Capturing old favorites, some tracks will be familiar to fans, while newer songs, such as “Trail to Santa Fe,” surprise with a spaghetti western feel. Culminating with “The Sad Ones,” which ponders how self-knowledge doesn’t always translate into breaking old patterns, the chorus repeats: “When I look into your eyes, pull the sky through the roof / I’m a sucker for the sad ones, the bad ones, I hope you never have ones / and I’ll always be a fool.”
In Bloom was recorded and mixed over six days in spring 2024 at Future Apple Tree Studios in Rock Island, Illinois under the guidance of Pat Stoley. The first two days focused on capturing the band’s live base tracks—Kouri on banjo, her lilting vocals up front, recorded clean and without effects. Having previously collaborated with the band on singles, Stoley’s analog recording technique was crucial in achieving the album’s distinctive warmth and richness.
“Sizzle,” the dangers of the deep got the best of poor Billy, whose skeleton is “turned into brine.”
Even though the consequences for Fishbait’s cast of characters are often dark, the playfulness of their lore prevails, especially when the listener reaches the standout gem “Sharks in Bathtubs”—a six-minute song quite literally about a shark in the bathtub.
You won’t hear anything quite like this, and that’s a good thing. The tracks are haunting and memorable, while its musical odysseys lead to equally electrifying live costumed performances. Part classic metal, part punk-rock opera and part funk jam, Fishbait reclaims fishing culture from every guy holding a fish on a dating app and makes it cool again.
—Elisabeth Oster
Big Begonias’ new album, In Bloom, beautifully captures classic country’s essence, a significant departure from their earlier, more experimental work, with the country sound harking back to an era before commercialization altered the genre. Though it draws on country influences from Amanda Shires and
SHE’S GOOD At FIttING A FEW tOO MANY WORDS INtO A LINE, AND LIKE MELISSA CARpER, SOME OF HER MELODIES FEEL
LIKE YOU’RE DUStING OFF 70-YEAR-OLD RECORDS.
Patsy Cline, Big Begonias describe their style as “transcendental honky tonk,” successfully arriving at an ethereal yet gritty vibe.
The album opens with “My Own Way” matter-of-factly proclaiming,
Big Begonias features Dave “Chief” Lumberg, a versatile bass and mandolin player known for his work with the 2000s Iowa City band The Mayflies; Dan Miller on drums with a knack for dramatic spareness; and George Spielbauer (brother of Tom Spielbauer of The Cedar County Cobras), vital to arranging and layering guitars. Studio musicians included Elizabeth Kouri, the lead singer’s sister, providing low-in-the-mix background vocals described by the band as adding “muppet vibes.” Dustin Busch and Craig “Pappy” Klocke, ace Iowa City noodlers, contribute pedal steel and steel guitar, respectively, shaping the country-western sound. Looking ahead, Big Begonias plans to work on new material and return to the studio this winter, focusing on themes of spiritual comfort and peace. Fans can see them live on Sept.13 in downtown Iowa City as part of the Friday Night Concert Series, sharing the bill with Miss Christine. ––Katie Roche
We can stop HIV, Iowa— by staying up-to-date on recommended screenings!
Health screenings help to identify diseases and chronic conditions before symptoms occur. The CDC recommends:
All people ages 13-64 should be screened for HIV at least once in their lifetime.
All people ages 18 and over should be screened for hepatitis B at least once in their lifetime.
All people ages 18 and over should be screened for hepatitis C at least once in their lifetime.
Pregnant women should be screened for HIV, hepatitis B, & hepatitis C during each pregnancy.
Talk to your healthcare provider about getting screened! Forgot if you’ve had a screening? Ask them to check your records! Screenings are important because HIV, hepatitis B and hepatitis C don’t always have noticeable signs or symptoms. Some people should be tested more often visit the web resources below to learn more!
Or visit: https://cdc.gov/hiv/testing/ Scan here for HIV screening information
https://cdc.gov/hepatitis-b/testing/ Scan here for hepatitis B screening info
https://cdc.gov/hepatitis-c/testing/ Scan here for hepatitis C screening info
AGED & MALIK GREY
Ferment & Rot
AGED.BANDCAMP.COM
By the time “Reactivated,” the first track on Ferment & Rot by Des Moines-based producer AGED and Georgia rapper Malik Grey, is over, you will only have a vague sense of what awaits you for the remainder of the 20-minute project. The production starts out with lo-fi bass and snares carrying an unsettling synth and Malik’s laid-back flow, but glitchy percolations and waves of white noise work their way into the beat. I had little doubt in my mind that AGED likely has a collection of obscure noise tapes.
Don’t let that scare you, though. While Ferment & Rot fits nicely into the vague “abstract hip hop” genre, there are enough influential touchstones to not feel entirely lost in their sauce. This is more Earl Sweatshirt abstract than the industrial hip hop of clipping. or Dälek, but AGED’s dense synth textures and snappy beats are juxtaposed with enough pops and flourishes to startle listeners out of the hazy, heady meditation that would overtake otherwise.
This rare feat manifests as an atmosphere that is encompassing and heavy while simultaneously playful. “Get some noise and drone/put a clap on it,” Malik spits in a moment of self-awareness on “SHIPWRECKED 64”, “you jealous/just act honest”. The rapper’s hushed wordplay dances between braggadocious trash talking and reflective self-consciousness, mirroring the interplay of intensity and quirkiness of the production. On “Guernica” he raps, “I’m on the B-sides but I got better beats/give
a fuck about these lines, I really bring heat,” displaying confidence and humility at once.
The duo isn’t interested in party tracks, trap beats, Soundcloud clout or anything danceable. This is music to vibe to, preferably in an indica induced couch sink with your eyes closed. If the psychedelic mushroom and visual trail cover art is any indication of what Ferment & Rot is offering, it arrives on “No Victory Lap” which employs crossfades mid-track to disorient your psyche.
This is immediately followed by “Ethanol” featuring Lou Murk, which stands out as the most traditional feeling track, albeit traditional in the context of this already delightfully bizarre album. When the beat hits, an 8-bit synth lead carries a playful melody as the bars follow suit. “The illest writer since the Iliad, but I ride a Honda Odyssey that’s my minivan,” makes a strong case for my favorite line on the album. Lou Murk’s verse shines as the most aggressive on the album channeling Danny Brown and JPEGMAFIA.
There are few albums this year that display the abstract weirdness and aural economy that Ferment & Rot presents. In less time than it takes to stream an episode of The Simpsons, AGED & Malik Grey pack an astonishing amount of creativity into this album.
—Broc Nelson
JIM SWIM
Unruly Automatons EP ITSJIMSWIM.BANDCAMP.COM
I thought I knew what I was getting into when I started up “Creature,” the first track on
Jim’s Swim’s Unruly Automatons Keyboard chords stutter as if a DJ is warming up a crab scratch. A drum loop kicks in that would feel at home in a Metal Fingers Special Herbs volume. A lyrical showcase of multi-syllabic rhymes ensues.
At first, the EP firmly took me back to that transitory period of indie rap in the early 2000s.
Let the algorithm throttle me / I’m out of step / They push perfect reproductions / And I’m not impressed / Serve my purpose use datasets / They can’t collect / My code is quick and embodied / They ain’t caught up yet
Is a rhyme scheme that would feel at home on an early Aesop Rock or El-P albums or one of Del The Funky Homosapien’s notebooks, or to be even more specific, in Deltron 3030, the classic project that Del took on with Dan “The Automator” Nakamura.
The cyber themes also draw comparison to 3030, with album art that features an illustration of Jim Swim affixed with cybernetic coils, metal plates and a pixelated photo of Swim’s eye behind a cyberpunk viewfinder. But if Deltron 3030 saw the future through the lens of anime DVDs and Rockman X playthroughs then perhaps, in contrast, Unruly Automatons is more aware of the potential malaise of our technological symbiosis.
“Now that the project is finished,
about feeling a little absurd, and all too human.”
But here is the one-two that set this EP apart from its influences in my mind. The first is when Swim starts to sing—the chorus for the second track “For Whose Entertainment?” is a perfect example of the melodic earworm hooks that grace each song on this project. How many times have we listened to an underground rapper that prides themself on their aversion to melody? On the contrary, each time Swim sings it’s a showcase of their songwriting and melodic chops.
The second element is how varied and textured the instrumentation proves to be across the five tracks. All the more impressive, as Swim wrote, produced, recorded, mixed and mastered the songs himself. (Friend Tyler Stück is co-credited on the tracks, having laid down the initial drum tracks.) Check that seamless musical transition from “Randonaut” to the final track, “A Thousand Ways,” and tell me that isn’t the product of a musician with a deft touch.
By the project’s conclusion I had transcended my initial rap comparisons with a gestalt of musical genres and influences. “It’s a blend of bedroom pop, soul, alternative hip-hop, lounge and indie rock,” as Swim describes it. “It’s the closest I’ve got to combining all of the sounds I love.”
Ultimately, it’s this piece that
tHAt StANDS ON It’S OWN AMIDSt tHE BLEAKNESS OF A CYBORG’S WORLD.
I realize most of these songs are about not feeling at home,” Swim said via email. It’s about feeling “like an animal in a cyborg’s world; feeling like an automaton in a capitalist system; feeling old on a young scene; feeling restless in the ‘right’ relationship. They are songs
has me most excited for the future of Jim Swim. The musical prowess on display—the willingness to weave in and out of genres—creates a warmth and humanity that stands on its own amidst the bleakness of a cyborg’s world.
Chuy Renteria
is Library Card Sign-Up month! Scan here to learn more about getting a library card.
AIM gives students access to all three local libraries. Check out three books or audios and get access to online resources. iowacityaimcard.org
HANNAH
Another Woman
EASTOVER PRESS
Hannah Bonner’s Another Woman (Eastover Press, 2024) is a cutting surprise of a collection that explores the emotional stakes of a woman’s relationships. With acerbic and spare language that circles in on itself, Bonner instructs her readers to live in her body and experience these moments with both an intimacy and a distance that, as the poems collect, become heavy with grief.
Bonner’s poems begin in the body. Her collection, while perhaps easily categorized as a break-up narrative or a catalog from “the other woman,” functions as a snapshot of life as a
down as close to the quick as a poem can get, that it is difficult to excerpt without sharing whole poems. Some poems are only a few lines long and ask the reader to fill in the flesh along their skeletons. But Bonner doesn’t fall into the tropes of “Instagram poetry” in her brevity. Instead, her poems, while short and accessible, build a scaffolding for a greater narrative. A whole message may be transmitted in just a few lines, but these shortest of her poems nudge the reader to come closer.
Bonner’s language is quick and deft and sexual; she weaves repeating images of deer, night time and seasons with repeated themes of hunger and heartache that enriches the way these poems interact with one another. A little over halfway through the book, the poem “To The Bone” calls to deer, a stream, a meadow, moonlight and sex. In my favorite passage from this poem she says “Not the blade on the bath / I walk away from, // skin parting air / like rain. Not the wet // want inside me which whispers / spring is coming, cupped low and mulched at my ear.”
There is a poem that discusses the body as a political object (“My Body Is Not Your Politics”), an interrogation of the culture millennials grew up with (“The Year I Was Born”), and poems of recovery and
it’s almost fire.” What draws me to Bonner and what will have me revisiting this collection again and again is her language.
—Sarah Elgatian
pEtER MISHLER
Ihuman animal. Bonner is certainly employing some wordplay in the title (and titular poem)—Another Woman interacts with the idea of the other woman—since many of the poems deal explicitly with an extramarital affair, but I think she is also playing with the idea of “woman,” and with whomever else she may share space or identity. In the title piece she says, “I wait for night / to turn over within me. // Then another woman / walks out of the space // where I have been.” These poems are so sparse, pared
survival after loss (“too many to name”). Desire, love and loss are at the center of this collection, but it is not a dialogue between two lovers. Instead, the collection explores the speaker’s place in her own life, within or outside this one relationship.
Bonner innovates in every sentence, subverting my expectations on a word-by-word basis in lines like these: “a shaft of skin / sacrament, / strange country” “you fevered through me” “a clemency of wild air” “A water so febrile
children appear in the lengthy title poem, which is given pride of place in a central numbered section all its own. Mishler must think it is some of his best work, and I agree, so I linger on it here.
The poem’s six-page opening sentence begins: “As I was walking all alane, / they came to me, / and they were very well, / their upper lips beaded / with Tamiflu, / their bodies dressed / in tactical gear…” From there the children ritually “shepherd” a sacred bullet toward “a mountain / of colorful plastic,” show the poem’s speaker their sea inhabited by “very colorful weapons,” and sacrifice the youngest of their number by spinning him to death in “a steel centrifuge” in order to generate “a fresh, new wellness / for each of us.” The poem inhabits a garish plastic cosmos, as if the designer of the McDonald’s PlayPlace were promoted to the status of deity and, mad with newfound power, evolved a taste for violence.
n Paradise Lost, Milton describes Satan’s army of fallen angels as engaging in swarm behaviors: “As bees / In spring-time,” upon their summoning the unholy host “Thick swarmed, both on the ground and in the air, / Brushed with the hiss of rustling wings.” By the 18th century, the supernatural ensemble of an epic—or a mock-epic, like Alexander Pope’s The Rape of the Lock—was referred to as its “machinery.” So Pope’s machinery, the tiny, airborne, spritelike Sylphs, will “sport and flutter in the fields of Air” before collectively “surround[ing]” their favorite human, the beautiful Belinda, primping her up for primetime as would Cinderella’s helpful bluebirds: “These set the head, and those divide the hair, / Some fold the sleeve, whilst others plait the gown.”
In a new collection by Peter Mishler, who alongside Stephanie Choi is one of two winners of this year’s Iowa Poetry Prize, the role of the neo-machinery is played by the eponymous Children in Tactical Gear. (Though a similar case could be made for the “children running from jet bridge to jet bridge with no discernible end” in the book’s one prose poem.) The geared-up
The poem illustrates the pleasure Mishler takes in (and gives by) infusing his miniaturized, mock-epic world-making with the ultracontemporary details of American social life, in a time of flourishing for what Philip Roth called “the Indigenous American berserk.” Mishler mines the language for the ironically disparate valences of “well”: its incantatory repetition in the poem summons by turns a resonant, eschatologic finality (owed to Julian of Norwich’s “all shall be well, and all manner of thing shall be well”), the phatic banality of professional email-speak (as in “I hope you are doing well”— a phrase not in the poem, but doubtless in your inbox), and eventually, the “well” of wellness culture (“the bullet, as it rode, / was practicing mindfulness, / and the bullet was very well”).
The result is a richness of language rare in poems so comic and nakedly political. George Saunders’ first book was memorably called CivilWarLand in Bad Decline. The phrase captures the ethos of Mishler’s book, and if a young George Saunders wrote poetry, it might look something like this.
—Nick Dolan
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relaxed
19. Luxury lodgings
20. Morse code sound
22. “What I Am” singer Brickell
23. Individual
24. Cartoon monkey in a fez
25. Really stink
26. Coachella aesthetic
29. “are u srs rn??”
31. Word with squeeze or
event
33. Midnights or evermore, e.g.
34. Way off
35. Longtime Survivor host Jeff
38. Tax form ID
39. ____ suppression treatment (gender-affirming care, for some young people)
41. ___ Show ’Em No
Mercy (game with a “draw 10” card)
42. Throws gently
44. Actress Taylor-Joy of The Menu
45. Dashed
46. Pile on the praise
47. Small bit
48. Reptile Beanie Baby that may have a rare “tag error”
49. Auto loan figs.
51. Arwen, for one
53. Remains to be seen?
55. Subscribe again
56. Coastal inlet
57. Responsible, in a way
61. “Seems likely to me”
63. Saved a problem for Tomorrow You, say
65. Disney on Ice venue
66. Shocker in a series?
67. “___, ___, look who’s
40” (certain birthday card sentiment I haven’t received just yet)
68. The Bronx Bombers, on scoreboards
69. A drink with jam and bread, in song
DOWN
1. Systems with a Mii Channel
2. Beige hue
3. Hatcher of Desperate Housewives
4. Major biotech company
5. Spooky Gothic family (and building) in a Poe story–turned–Netflix series
6. Knee injury initials
7. Do something!
8. Cereal bit likely found under a car seat
9. German airship featured on an iconic Led Zeppelin album cover
10. Fisher of Eighth Grade
11. Shiny and smooth
13. Artoo-____
14. Went down, as four other entries in this puzzle with the same first letter all did
15. Part of UAE
21. Anthropomorphic egg in a nursery rhyme
26. Outdo
27. “Ish”
28. Die Hard villain played by Alan Rickman
30. Shakespearean fairy queen
32. Maisie Williams’s Game of Thrones role
34. Mimics
36. Minor setback
37. Award for Rent
40. Genetic messenger
43. Terminate, as a political campaign
48. Along for the ride, say
49. Popular typeface
50. Actor Pascal who’ll play Mr. Fantastic in the MCU
52. Speech therapy target, perhaps
54. Threadbare
58. Textbook section
59. Have a heated reaction?
60. Blues guitarist Baker
62. Singer Swift, familiarly
64. Long time
October 12, 2024 | 10am
Whipple Auditorium at CRPL
October 13, 2024 | 11:30am
Iowa Children’s Museum
YY SMITH YOUNG ARTIST PROGRAM
CEDAR RAPIDS OPERA
*PERFORMANCES ARE FREE AND OPEN TO THE PUBLIC
SEPTEMBER 26 — DECEMBER 15, 2024
Each year, nearly 2,000 objects from the Museum’s ever-growing art collection are requested by professors and students for discussion, research, writing, art making, and exhibition projects. This exhibition features works of art, from ancient to contemporary, that continually enrich the learning experience for all our audiences across campus and community.
And Gladly Teach is presented in celebration of the 25th anniversary of the opening of Grinnell College’s Bucksbaum Center for the Arts.