Pulse: January 2014

PRESS PLAY

CASSETTES ARE MAKING A COMEBACK

JANUARY 2014

10

BLUES BLOWOUT

11

BEYONCE SURPRISES

12

KELLER WILLIAMS

16

BIG SCREEN RUNDOWN

18

MISSION CREEK PEEK PULSE 1

“One of America’s Prettiest Towns” – Forbes magazine

Discover boutiques, art galleries & coffee shops

Ski, skate or ice fish for a fun, scenic experience

Indulge in gourmet restaurants, bistros and incredible pizza joints

Pamper yourself at a local spa or salon

Snuggle up at one of many cozy B&Bs or romantic hotels

www.visitdecorah.com | 800.463.4692 Call or CliCk for a free Visitor’s Guide!

IN GOOD CEDAR FALLS Beck’s Sports Grill | American, Sports Bar 2210 College St., Cedar Falls 319-277-2646 Hours: Open daily at 11 am www.barmuda.com

Bourbon Street | American, Cajun and Creole 314 Main St., Cedar Falls 319-266-5285 Hours: Monday - Saturday 4 - 10 pm www.barmuda.com Bourbon Street is a step off of Main Street into the French Quarter featuring Certified Black Angus steaks and delicious seafood complimented by an extensive wine list. Voted best choice for dinner with best steak in the Cedar Valley

Ferrari’s Ristorante | American and Italian 1521 Technology Pkwy., Cedar Falls 319-277-1385 Hours: Monday - Friday 11 am - 10 pm Saturday 4 - 10 pm www.barmuda.com

Ginger Thai Cuisine | Authentic Thai Food 111 W. 2nd Street, Cedar Falls 319-266-2150 Hours: Monday - Saturday 11 am - 3 pm, 5 - 9 pm; Sunday 10 am - 4 pm facebook.com/ginger-thai-cuisine Authentic thai cuisine offering lunch and dinner options. Appetizers, entrees, desserts and express menu for a quick lunch. A variety of flavors from coconut, fresh lemongrass, ginger, tofu and vegetables. Take-out and delivery available.

Soho Sushi Bar & Deli The Stuffed Olive | Deli, Sushi, Tapas, Martinis 119 Main St., Cedar Falls 319-266-9995 Hours: Mon-Fri at 6:30am and Sat-Sun at 7:00am www.barmuda.com

Fresh made sushi and deli sandwiches, salads Ferrari's features only the finest steaks, and paninis combined with globally inspired freshest seafood and authentic Italian fare. tapas dishes and over 100 different martinis.

Offering light, quick lunch options along Homemade cookies made from scratch daily! with an extensive dinner menu and wine list.

Now open for breakfast too! Stuffed Olive Voted best place for a business lunch. voted best place for a girls’night out.

The Lone Wolf | WATERLOO Beck’s Sports Brewery Sports Bar | Bar, Restaurant American, Microbrewery Hilton Garden Inn | 777 Isle of Capri Blvd., Waterloo 3295 University Ave., Waterloo Guerilla Brewing/Lava Lounge | Conference Center 319-833-2157 319-234-4333 Microbrewery and Bar 7213 Nordic Dr., Cedar Hours: Monday-Friday-Breakfast 7:00 am - 10:30 pm Hours: Open daily at 11 am 2401 Falls Ave., Waterloo Falls Sunday-Thursday 11:30 am - 1:00 am www.barmuda.com 319-234-5686 319-266-6611 Friday & Saturday - 11:30 am - 2:00 am Hours: Monday-Saturday 11 am - 9 pm New Hilton opened in Voted best burger, best happy hour, best locally owned restaurant Karaoke - Wednesday 8:00 pm - 11:00 pm 2012, elegant dining and A double brown ale and an imperial American pale ale were the and sports bar in the CedarValley Howl Hour 3:00 pm - 6:00 pm Monday - Thursday entertaining of Hilton first two to debut; other varieties will follow depending on the $2.00 drafts & domestic beers and food specials standards. Full service hotel season. None of the brews will be less than 7% alcohol. www.waterloo.isleofcapricasinos.com with Ballroom seating up to Whether you feel like getting food to go or plan to stay a while,The 350 people. Garden Grille ® Otis and Henry’s Bar and Grill | Lone Wolf is sure to please. We have mouth-watering food and thirst- Restaurant and Bar open to quenching drinks with an atmosphere unlike any other.

Bar and Grill Southtown Bar & Restaurant | the public for breakfast, lunch 777 Isle of Capri Blvd., Waterloo American and dinner as well as large 319-833-2241 2026 Bopp St., Waterloo exterior patios with firepits.

Rudy’s Tacos | Hours: Tuesday - Saturday open at 5 pm 319-236-9112 Full service dining on site, Mexican Closed Sunday and Monday Chefs with banquet menus Hours: 7 am - 10:30 pm, bar open later 2401 Falls Ave., Waterloo www.waterloo.isleofcapricasinos.com and banquet bars available. www.southtownwaterloo.com 319-234-5686 Deposits and minimums Located next to Witham Ford behind Golf Headquarters. Stop Combines the comfort of a neighborhood bar and grill with the Hours: Monday - Saturday 11 am - 9 pm required, full payment required www.rudystacos.com in for the great broasted chicken or fresh-made pork tenderloin. favorites of a steakhouse. Choose from the delicious pastas, prior to event. Guest room Rudy’s uses local ingredients through the Northern Iowa Food sandwiches, salads, steaks, fish and more. blocks available. and Farm Partnership’s Buy Fresh/Buy Local program.

Featuring Beck's homemade microbrews, voted best burger, locally owned restaurant, sports bar and place to play pool in the Cedar Valley.

PRICING GUIDE (per entrée) 2 PULSE

|

$10

$20

$30

$40+

CONTENTS Issue No. 112

10

Cedar Valley House Concerts provides an intimate setting for listeners and artists. A Cedar Falls woman opens her home for just such occasions.

CAFFEINE BUZZ

6

cedar falls

cedar rapids

iowa city

11

IN THE LOOP

0114

BLUES BLOWOUT The Friends of KUNI/KHKE is gearing up for its annual fundraiser. And you’d be crazy not to go. The annual Blues Blowout features some of the hottest names of the genre.

The Cedar Valley is chock-full of mom and pop coffee shops. Take a tour of area coffee houses with Pulse Writer Aaron McNally.

8

waterloo

January 2014

IN THE HOUSE

4

dubuque

6

in this ISSUE

NO SURPRISE HERE How she kept is a secret it beyond us, but Beyonce dropped a surprise album in December and it’s hot hot HOT! In just a few days it became one of the top sellers of 2013.

14

They’re inexpensive to produce and provide a unique sound with every listen.

Yeah. Cassette tapes are making a comeback. Give it up for the mix tape.

DIGITAL LOVE Check out what we thought about the latest Zelda, Mario and Batman games, and get a preview of what’s coming up this winter.

MAGAZINE An award-winning product of Courier Communications, P.O. Box 540, 100 E. Fourth St., Waterloo, IA 50703.

16

Wanna know more about this awesome magazine?

Get in touch.

SHOUT OUT

pulse@wcfcourier.com

LIKE

14

facebook.com/PulseMag

TWEET

@CVPulse

GOOGLE BOX CVPULSE.COM

10

SMRT PHONE

18 PEEPS

ADVERTISING

EDITOR

ASSOCIATE EDITOR

STAFF WRITER

CREATIVE CAT

WEB GURU

Sheila Kerns 319.291.1448 sheila.kerns@wcfcourier.com

Meta Hemenway-Forbes 319.291.1483 meta.hemenway-forbes@wcfcourier.com

Alan Simmer 319.291.1487 alan.simmer@wcfcourier.com

John Molseed 319.291.1418 john.molseed@wcfcourier.com

David Hemenway

Chris Koop

PULSE 3

House music For these concerts, there’s no place like home

JOHN MOLSEED | PULSE WRITER

T

he Midwest may be known for hospitality but inviting dozens of strangers into one’s home isn’t a common practice.

Darice Mangin, home owner and host of Cedar Valley House Concerts, finds herself having to explain the concept of what a house concert is to her Iowa native friends.

“I get people who say, ‘They play in your house? Where?’ or, ‘You let strangers in your house?’” she said.

Mangin describes herself as a lifelong music fan. She came from Phoenix to Cedar Falls in 1997. In 2008, she moved into house built in 1924 at 122 W. 10th St. with extra space and hardwood floors.

That same year, Alabama musician Eliot Morris, one of her favorite artists, was parting from his record label and put out a nationwide plea for house concert venues for his upcoming independent national tour.

Mangin offered her home as a venue.

4 PULSE

“It just seemed like such a perfect fit,” she said.

Morris accepted. Mangin hasn’t quit hosting traveling musicians and bands since. Some of her favorite performers come to her house, she said.

“I thought if I’m going to be selfish about it, I might as well share,” she said.

Although house concerts aren’t common in the area, Iowa is well-located for people who do host them, Mangin said.

“So many musicians travel through Iowa,” she said. “But a lot of times, Iowa gets skipped.”

For musicians on the road, house concerts give them a stop for one night, a chance to get fed, play an intimate concert and receive 100 percent of the concert revenue. Convincing performers to Singer-songwriters Tom Brosseau, facing, and Sean Watkins perform for a small audience play in her home doesn’t take much ef- at a private residence in Cedar Falls Monday. fort, she added.

Guests are asked to bring a dish to daughters Jordan Thompson and Ni- nations range from ranges from $10 to share and their own beverage. Attend- Cole Thompson, who ask for a donation $20. All the proceeds go directly to the ees are greeted at the door by Mangin’s for the music at the door. Suggested do- performers.

BRANDON POLLOCK | PULSE PHOTOGRAPHER

Even though Mangin doesn’t see any of the proceeds, she said hosting shows saves her money in the long run.

“I actually come out ahead,” she said. “Plus, I don’t have to be driving home at three in the morning.”

The main rule at Cedar Valley House Concerts is no talking.

“If you want to talk and listen to music, go to a bar,” Mangin said, jokingly adding she’s getting spoiled from the house concerts.

“You get used to hearing music without people talking,” she said.

Attendees appreciate the intimate setting, as do the performers.

Guests get to hear about the music, what inspired the songs and stories that other listeners never get to get to hear.

“This is really nice,” said Julie Baldwin-Thoreen of the duo Hardi-Har. She and Andrew Thoreen performed at Mangin’s home earlier this year. “This is so much better than playing a bar. We’re really not a bar band. I wish we could play all our shows like this.”

The Cedar Valley House Concert season is from autumn through ear-

ly spring. The shows fill the gap left when the weather gets too cold for outdoor shows in the upper Midwest.

Crowds for a house concert range from about a dozen guests to more than 40 people squeezed into Mangin’s living and dining rooms.

“It really depends on what’s going on locally,” she said.

Many of the regular concertgoers make sure to free up their evenings when there’s a show.

“We have guests who come every time regardless of who’s playing,” she said.

The musical genres vary, and Mangin has hosted artists from across the country and even across the Atlantic. In 2009, Ari Hest performed at a house concert and brought Declan O’Rourke from Ireland along for the performance.

For more information on upcoming shows, go to Cedar Valley House Concerts on Facebook or contact Mangin at daricemangin@gmail.com. Reservations are first-come, firs-served. Alcohol for people 21 and older is strictly enforced.

Tom Brosseau plays for a small audience at a house concert in Cedar Falls.

Fans of house concerts say the intimate setting puts more focus on the music.

PULSE 5

Coffee buzz

A look at the Cedar Valley’s caffeinated goodness

AARON McNALLY | PULSE WRITER

D

enizens of College Hill have most likely noticed (and, just as likely, already enjoyed) a new addition. Recently, Sidecar Coffee finally opened its doors after a brief period of extraordinary buzz. Jed Vander Zanden, the company’s already-established local roaster, has joined forces with Cedar Falls native Andy Fuchtman to run a full-service coffee shop complete with sandwich menu and local pastries from Scratch cupcakery and C’Est La V bakery.

The emphasis is on unpretentious excellence. Everything from the repurposed wood embellishing, to the sleek aesthetic of the shop, to the house-made vanilla and chai served by well-trained baristas, illustrates the duo’s focus.

“We really appreciate it when people try really hard to do something well,” Andy said. “There are a lot of people who enjoy that atmosphere. We hope that everyone will feel welcome and never feel small.”

J e d ’s

small roaster is housed in a windowed room at the back of the shop, available for all to see. While he still roasts most of his beans at his downtown industrial space, Jed can be found several times a week introducing his clients to the fine art of roasting.

Stop by Sidecar to grab a cup of coffee that has been roasted within the last week, a mocha made with coveted Guittard chocolate, a latte made with local Hansen’s dairy products or any of the uniquely novel drinks they offer (such as a Gibraltor, or a Chemex pour-over). But don’t let your caffeine escapade stop there. While its brilliantly subdued ambience, uberintelligent sophistication and its unabashed hipness might charm you, Sidecar is but one shop in the area that’s chock-full of coffee goodness.

The Cedar Valley has steadily evolved into a remarkably noteworthy haven for the caffeine-obsessed. Whether you are looking for uncompromising flavor in your coffee drink or an appealing ambience for study sessions or hang-outs, the Cedar Valley offers a diverse selection of businesses certain to appeal to your particular desire. Here’s a brief look at the caffeinated delights in the area.

CUP OF JOE Cup of Joe has been serving quality espresso and five brews of compellingly delicious drip coffee for nearly two decades. Its vintage decor, provided by the personal collection of former owner Anne Eastman (now proprietor of Miss Wonderful), makes the shop a charmingly vibrant destination for Cedar Falls Main Street’s social set and any welcome visitor.

Located conveniently across from the Oster Regent Theatre, Cup of Joe is the cornerstone of Cedar Falls Main Street and was one of the first businesses to spring up during the historic location’s revival. Offering an array of locally made baked goods, a full menu of cof-

6 PULSE

fee drinks and an astounding collection of artisanal sodas and other cool beverages, Cup of Joe impresses as much as it enchants. Step onto its retro tile floors to enjoy an ever-changing, ever-inspiring gallery of art and enjoy its bold, colorful Fiestaware cups and saucers as you catch up with old friends while making new ones. Cup of Joe also offers live music and other entertainment several times a week.

THE LAMPOST This delightful coffee shop serves as a front for a bona fide dinner theater. While its live shows are limited to certain weekend performances, Lampost’s quaintly personable coffee shop serves Sidecar espresso and a variety of drip coffees and teas year round.

The ambience is casual, colorful and unassuming.

Handcrafted table tops fill the space, and touches of bright green breathes a vibrance into the charming room. Like Cup of Joe, Lampost is stocked with a full selection of games for those taking a study or work break. One might immediately notice the crystal chess set on a special table near a window. Stop by the Lampost to catch a show or to grab a beverage or sandwich after visiting the Hearst Center for the Arts, conveniently located next door.

CABIN COFFEE South Waterloo no longer suffers from caffeine withdrawals. The Kimball/Ridgeway crowd can amble in anytime at this cowboythemed joint based out of Dubuque. This Iowan-owned coffee chain location is suited for kids and adults alike, boasting a small play area for toddlers and a sequestered room with ample seating for business meetings. A saddle tops a stool at one of its high-top tables. Odds are that the roaster will be going anytime you stop in to Cabin

Coffee, creating the unmistakably delicious aroma that accompanies freshly roasted coffee beans. Sit by the stone fireplace on a comfy couch to visit with friends or enjoy a book or magazine. Decorated with rustic, Western decor and walls painted with heartwarming slogans, Cabin Coffee is cozy and endearing.

COTTONWOOD CANYON For a more urban retreat, stop by Cottonwood Canyon on East Fourth Street in downtown Waterloo. Next door to the vital 220East Art Gallery, Cottonwood is situated in a historic building, complete with high ceilings and brick walls. Housed at the front of the shop, entirely visible to sidewalk spectators, is a fullyoperational coffee roaster with an industrial, almost antique appeal. The exhaust from the roaster fills the entire downtown area with a lovely aroma on certain nights. Cottonwood also displays a host of paintings by local artists. And, in addition to it’s already impressive coffee selection, Cottonwood offers an entire menu of Jamaican wraps, sandwiches, salads, rice bowls and more to assuage your appetite. And, as though freshly roasted beans weren’t enough, every single cup of Cottonwood coffee is brewed to order via a pour-over method.

er emb c e D

8PM-10PM

1-4:

ed easT

1-11:

CrysTaL Weber

1-17:

Open MiC

Live Jazz every Thursday.

DUO’S This shop sits surrounded by large windows on Bremer Avenue in Waverly, just across from Wartburg College. Offering good, strong drip coffee and a full espresso menu, this shop is unique in that it also offers ice cream. Like Cup of Joe and Sidecar, the shop uses local dairy products from Hansen’s in Hudson. Filled with comfy leather chairs, sofas and a multitude of tables from two-tops to six-seaters, this coffee shop is a great destination for students and community members alike. This is an essential stop located near downtown and close to several eateries.

WO-030212008

happy hour 3-7 and great food!

Jan 3 Jan 4

Jan 10 Jan 11

Jan 17 Jan 18 Jan 24 Jan 25 Jan 31

Fire hazard 7 pm zazen Feet to Fall over Free range medicine 9 pm 5$ sideshow bob 7pm KaraoKe neutral red every unity 9pm thursday!

5$ metal maFia 9pm 5$ acoustic rocK show 9pm 5$ super bob 8pm 5$ moonshine and sorrow 9pm tba

3555 University Ave Waterloo 287-5747 SHUTTERSTOCK PHOTO

www.thereverb.net PULSE 7

The Friends of KUNI present

Blues Blowout Saturday, Feb. 8, 2014 Electric Park Ballroom

Marcia Ball

The Friends of KUNI present a Blues Blowout featuring Marcia Ball with special guests, Big James and the Chicago Playboys.

Big James The Chicago Playboys

DoorS oPEn 7 PM

Show begins 8 PM. Tickets $30 in advance. Tickets available at Bob’s Guitars, or online at tikly.co $35 at the door. Proceeds benefit Iowa Public Radio.

8 PULSE

I love the impermanence. ... I love the aspect that it’s going to be different every time you play it.

ILLUSTRATION BY DAVID HEMENWAY AND SHUTTERSTOCK PHOTOS

LOOPING AROUND

VINTAGE FORMAT SOUNDS OFF AGAIN

A

relic of the past is starting to reappear, wrapping its quirks and imperfections around the ears of music listeners and producers.

You heard it right. Cassette tapes are making a comeback.

“Lately it seems people are interested in listening to music on tapes again,” said. Chuck Hoffman, a Waterloo native who runs a Des Moines-based DIY record label, the Centipede Farm.

Much of the music Hoffman publishes is on cassette tape. Among his reasons for favoring the decades-old format is plain old nostalgia.

“It’s what I grew up listening to music on,” Hoffman said.

But he also likes the novelty of the cassette.

“For some people, having something to hold or handle is part of the fun of music,” he said.

JOHN MOLSEED | PULSE WRITER

But his biggest draw to the twowheeled music vehicle is cost.

“It’s not an expensive medium,” he said.

Hoffman began producing runs of cassette tapes after buying a tape duplicator that was no longer used by its owner at Worker Bee records. With that, Hoffman can produce multiple copies of a tape in short time. Most of his runs are about 25 to 60 copies at a time.

Most people about 30 years of age or older made mix tapes or captured their favorite songs on cassette. Musicians used the format to cheaply record their music.

“As an artist, you feel free to experiment a bit more,” Hoffman said.

That freedom has cultivated a subculture of artists producing their work on cassette tape.

“There are a lot of musicians out there

I like and the only way to get their stuff is with tapes,” said Bob Bucko Jr. Bucko, who lives in Dubuque, not only finds artists who put their recordings on cassette tapes, but also records most of his own music in that format.

He also runs a small label, Personal Archives, that specializes in releases on tape. Of the more than 50 releases he has put out, two have been on vinyl, five on CD and the rest have been on tape, Bucko said. The vintage format raises reactions ranging from curiosity to mild anger.

“There’s a big ‘why’ looming over all of it,” Bucko said. One prevailing criticism Bucko hears of tapes is their lack of durability.

“Every time you play a tape, the sound gets worse,” Bucko said. “I love the impermanence. ... I love the aspect that it’s going to be different every time

you play it.”

Bucko doesn’t consider himself a purist or a snob of the media.

“It’s another tool,” he said. “I like anything to serve the end result.”

Tapes were the first media to allow anyone to record their own sounds and to challenge copyright laws by allowing people to make copies of others’ work.

Cassettes became the prevalent music media between the early 1970s and 1990s, but has faded in recent years. It has survived because of use by prisons and churches for books on tape, Bucko said.

Collecting and producing music on tape provides a more intimate exchange of creativity, Bucko added.

“You could just put (your music) on Bandcamp and be done,” he said. “I think it’s about putting an imprint on things.”

PULSE 9

A CASE O F T H E

BLUES Marcia Ball is a woman with a reputation. The Texasborn, Louisiana-raised pianist/vocalist/songwriter is famed worldwide for igniting a full-scale roadhouse rhythm and blues party every time she strolls on stage.

And she’ll stroll into Waterloo’s Electric Park Ballroom in February to headline the annual Blues Blowout.

Marcia’s groove-laden New Orleans boogie and rollicking Gulf Coast blues have made her a one-of-akind favorite with music fans all over the world. She is a multiple blues award winner and Grammy nominee.

Opening for her is Big James & the Chicago Playboys.

Big James Montgomery has created a Chicagorooted, funky, horn-heavy sound, steeped in the city’s signature blues tradition. The group is tearing up packed houses at home and across the seas, winning multiple blues awards along the way. But, says James, “I don’t play music to win awards, I play music ‘cause I love it, and it comes from my heart.”

MARCIA BALL COURTESY, SHUTTERSTOCK IMAGES

Blues Blowout Saturday, Feb. 8 @ 8 PM $30 advance | Bob’s Guitars in Cedar Falls | tikly.com $35 door Proceeds benefit Iowa Public Radio Sponsored by the Friends of KHKE/KUNI

BIG JAMES

REVIEWS The HuB

Upcoming shows at

B

BEYONCÉ BEYONCÉ

MESFIN FEKADU | THE ASSOCIATED PRESS

eyonce is a beast.

commercially appealing and artistically enticing.

Her fifth self-titled album, released in surprise form, is a collection of songs that highlight Beyonce’s evolution as a woman and artist. It’s her strongest and most cohesive album to date.

What’s most appealing about Beyonce is that it shows — in the sound and method of release — how she isn’t conforming to mainstream and commercial standards. The songs, while some will find success as singles, play like a unified assembly instead of a loose body of work (that’s a hit at the slew of contemporary pop singers who are singles artists). On the gloomy Haunted, Beyonce even hints at the album’s future success (or lack thereof): “This probably won’t sell,” she says. “I don’t trust these record labels, I’m torn.”

The album marks a powerful time for Beyonce. While her competitors include acts like Katy Perry, Rihanna and Lady Gaga — singers who consistently release chart-topping songs — Beyonce jumps back in front of the pack with an album that is both

She kicks off the 14-track set in a supreme way with the Sia-penned Pretty Hurts, a mellow R&B number about the sickness behind attempting perfection. It’s matched with a beautiful video — as are the other songs — and features lyrics like, “It’s the soul that needs surgery.” That’s followed with the Jay Z-assisted Drunk in Love, a strikingly thumping, sexually charged jam that’s irresistible. And sexuality is a large part of Beyonce’s album.

On the old school-flavored Blow, one of the disc’s best tracks, Beyonce sings proudly of hitting the sheets with her lover, and on Rocket, co-written with Justin Timberlake, she provides a Quiet Storm-anthem, where she sings softly: “Punish me, punish me please.” On the falsetto-heavy No Angel, Beyonce declares she’s a freak.

previously released Bow Down/I Been On and is full of swag, much like the beat-heavy Partition.

Beyonce, a mostly guarded celebrity, has become more open over the years, and that’s especially the case with songs like the self-explanatory Jealous and Heaven, a soft and slow song about a loved one’s death that could refer to her miscarriages.

Blue, which includes the voice of daughter Blue Ivy, closes the album and features Beyonce’s beautiful tone and pitch. And that’s just it — Beyonce is pitch perfect.

The songs on Beyonce often double up in sound like two tracks combined, in the vein of Timberlake’s work, though most of Beyonce’s songs aren’t as long. ***Flawless interpolates parts of the

JUSTIN BIEBER JOURNALS

J

ustin Bieber has decided to collect all the songs he’s released in the past 10 weeks on his “Music Mondays” and throw in a few more songs and the trailer to his upcoming movie and call it a new album, Journals.

But a lot of these songs don’t sound formally finished, and he travels a lot of the same ground in several of them — broken relationships set to Justin Timberlake soul. Is there much difference between All Bad and Bad Day? No.

But there is a huge difference between Bad Day and his new single, Confident, which shows Biebs moving into hiphop with a catchy, memorable groove and first-rate help from Chance the Rapper. It’s a sign Bieber will move through his struggles into greater success. The throwback groove of Rollercoaster backs that up, as does his tender pop Heartbreaker.

Someone needs to explain to Bieber that he can take a break. In fact, a break probably would help his career.

— Glenn Gamboa, Newsday

27 DEC

6pm: easy street 9:30pm: dennis wayne GanG

28 DEC

7pm: 10pm

tba suave Johnny’s

31 DEC

7pm: 10pm:

the snozzberries pork tornadoes Free champaGne & balloon drop!!!

3 jan

6pm:

raldo schneider & Friends w/ the enablers

4 jan

6pm: 10pm

wicked andersons dJ tenpoint - all request show! no cover!

7 jan

9pm:

Free keG & karaoke

9 jan

9pm:

suave Johnny’s

10 jan

6pm: bob dorr & the blue band 9:30pm: illeGal smile w/ harakiri (mn)

11 jan

6pm: 10pm:

12 jan

7:30pm: acoustic open mic w/Featured Guests GreG heysinGer (oF JJy) and amelia & melina

17 jan

6pm 10pm

checker & the bluetones pork tornadoes

18 jan

6pm 10pm

beaker brothers dJ tenpoint - all request| show! no cover!

23 jan

9pm

suave Johnny’s

24 jan

6pm 9:30pm

the ramblers John June year

25 jan

7pm: 10pm:

tba dJ tenpoint - all request show! no cover!

8 fEb

9pm

bon Jovi & 80’s hits by bad medicine*

21 fEb

9pm

Journey/reo/styx by arch allies*

the snozzberries dJ tenpoint - all request show! no cover!

http://www.thehublivemusic.com

B.O.B. UNDERGROUND LUXURY

B

.o.B arrived as a crafty, pop-leaning rapper-producer, scoring big hits with Bruno Mars on Nothin’ on You and Paramore’s Hayley Williams on Airplanes.

But the follow-up failed to click as well, so now we get Underground Luxury — where he mostly dumbs down his sound to its most formulaic and crass, while cultivating an anti-hero persona.

He shows some style in Headband and some soul-searching in Coastline, but mostly it’s about buying crap, using women and putting out half-baked conspiracy theories, then wondering why people think he’s a jerk.

“I guess I bit off more than I could chew,” he laments in Nobody Told Me. Guess so.

— Glenn Gamboa, Newsday

* = advance tix available

What the

FUNK! HILARY MAHONEY | PULSE WRITER

GET TICKETS Keller Williams and More Than a Little Tuesday, Jan. 21 @ 8 PM $20 advance | $22 door | englert.org

Luck o’ the lively Their name is Gaelic for “lively,” and that’s exactly what Beoga promises to deliver at CSPS on Jan. 15.

The band, based in County Antrim in the north of Ireland, has a bedrock of sound that lies firmly within the Irish tradition. However, they are not afraid to incorporate other genres’ nuances into their music.

From bluesy riffs to Astor Piazzola-style jazz, to a raunchy New Orleans jamboree vibe, their music always returns to a wonderfully bouncy Irish sound.

Beoga Thursday, Jan. 16 @ 7 PM CSPS Hall, Cedar Rapids $17 advance, $21 door 319.364.1580 | legionarts.org

I

owa City is about to get funkified. Keller Williams and More Than a Little will be bringing the What the FUNK tour to the Englert Theatre on Jan. 21.

Williams released the album Funk in November, the most recent installment in a long line of monosyllabic titles in a discography that began in the early 1990s.

He has become known primarily as a solo artist of what he refers to as “acoustic dance music” through a process known as live phrase sampling or looping.

“There’s a machine that is on the floor and basically what it does is it records what I play and plays back exactly what I played,” Williams said. “What I do is I step on the button, play something or sing something, step on the button again at the right time and repeat what I just played or sang.

Then, once a loop is created, I can play over it with bass lines or guitar lines and then I can solo or sing over the top of that.” And a one-man band is formed as Williams moves across the stage to a variety of different instruments, adding as he goes.

Each individual performance is unique.

Nothing is pre-recorded.

However, the What the Funk tour is not a solo show but a collaboration with some hard-hitting funk musicians: EJ Shaw on bass; Gerard Johnson on keyboards; Toby Fairchild on drums; backup vocals by Tonya Lazenby Jackson; and Sugah Davis and Williams on vocals and guitar.

“My main connection with the band is through the drummer,”Williams said. “Toby Fairchild and I were in a group together several years ago. He was doing an R&B night on a Tuesday in a local bar, and he had a wide variety of musicians that would rotate in and out, and the one night I was there was with this particular band.

I sat in with them and something special happened, and I wanted to do something with it so I kind of put it in my back pocket.

A year later I called him up and tried to get that exact same band up and running.”

The result of this collaboration is what the album’s liner notes refer to as “more than a

little soulful, more than a little funky.”

“It’s very natural for me to go to the funky side of things,”Williams said. “There’s a certain funk that comes out whether I want it to or not, that comes out in my rhythm playing. I think it was pretty easy to go there.”

Wartburg W artburg College

Funk, which was recorded live, includes four new Williams originals and also some interpretations of songs that will be familiar to the crowd, such as Once in a Lifetime by Talking Heads and West L.A. Fadeaway by Grateful Dead.

“I consider myself a music lover first, musician second, songwriter third,” said Williams. “So those songs are definitely prominent in my set, mainly just to entertain myself and hope that will translate to the audience, and definitely it has and it does.”

2013 also saw the release of another Williams album, Keys, a collection of Grateful Dead covers to benefit the Rex Foundation.

“I put out two releases this year, so there’s no real rush to leave any kind of new product,”Williams said. “I have several new songs ready for the next record. I’m about three quarters of the way, as far as material goes.”

Williams also hosts a weekly syndicated radio show, Keller’s Cellar, which he describes as “a self-indulgent, hourlong narrated mix tape of stuff I’m into. It’s rule-less except for what the FCC says we can’t do.”

As for his upcoming Englert performance, Williams said he’ll stay true to his roots and throw in some of what is he best known for.

“It’s a large majority of the band because I’m so known for the looping, the solo side of things, there will be some representation of that in the beginning of the set as well. So it’s not just the band, but it also showcases a little bit of the solo acoustic dance party that I’ve come to create a monster with.”

COURTESY PHOTOS

JANUARY 16

Tuesday, Jan. 28, 7:30 p.m.

Wartburg Artist Series presents

BROADWAY’S NEXT H!T MUSICAL Adult Tickets: $24-$35 K-12 Students: $10

Broadway’s Next H!T Musical is the only unscripted theatrical awards show. Master improvisers gather made-up, hit-song suggestions from the audience and create a spontaneous evening of music, humor, and laughter.

ORDER TICKETS TODAY! 319-352-8691 or www.wartburg.edu/artist PULSE 13

FEBRUARY 7 FOR: 3DS

ALAN SIMMER | PULSE WRITER

Dragon Ball Z: Battle of Z I haven’t watched the show since high school, but apparently Goku can go Super Saiyan GOD now, and you can play as that in the game. So yay, I guess?

PS3, X360; Jan 28.

Secrets of Rætikon Wander through the open world of the Alps and find wild animal tribes and the secrets of an ancient culture. Be careful, though; these fox-looking things are sort of terrifying.

If it looks like Final Fantasy and quacks like Final Fantasy, it’s probably a Final Fantasy. It just might not be called that. This RPG from Square Enix certainly fits the bill, with its turn-based action and four-character party. It’s a new IP that features battles where you can “default” to one action or use bonus points to be “brave” and strike multiple times.

Mac, PC; Jan. 7.

Tomb Raider: Definitive Edition The next-gen versions of this game have even better hair physics, I’m sure, but if you’re still rocking the old consoles and don’t have it, it comes with all the DLC.

FEBRUARY 11 FOR: PS3, X360

PS3, PS4, X360, XB1; Jan. 28.

The Banner Saga The Viking civilization is in peril, and not everyone’s going to make it out alive. So choose your comrades carefully if you don’t want to end up with an axe lodged in your head.

Mac, PC; Jan. 14.

Assassin’s Creed Liberation HD This high-def port of the Vita game tells the story of Aveline, the first playable female assassin in the long-running series.

PC; Jan. 15.

14 PULSE

She’s baaaaaack! After a whole game spent hiding in Valhalla, Lightning’s on the job again in the final game of the Final Fantasy XIII trilogy. As the world comes to an end, it’s her job to save as many souls as she can. But there’s a catch: she’s only got 13 days to do it. (Wonder how they arrived at that number?)

Newest Zelda mixes things up ALAN SIMMER | PULSE WRITER

T

he Legend of Zelda: A Link to the Past is one of the best video games ever made. Let’s get that out of the way.

So when Nintendo said they were making a direct sequel for the 3DS, I was worried. You can’t go messing with perfection, man.

But I needn’t have been concerned.

Shame on me for doubting Eiji Aonuma and his team, because they freaking nailed it.

The Legend of Zelda: A Link Between Worlds is one of the best Zelda games I’ve ever played.

The overworld will be instantly, intimately familiar to those who have played LTTP (and if you haven’t, shame on you, go do it right now).

But just like the SNES original, there’s another world lurking behind the pastoral fields of Hyrule.

The Dark World has been ditched in favor of Lorule, a sort of parallel kingdom in another dimension, that’s been remixed and redesigned to provide surprises left and right.

You can explore the world at your leisure because the dungeons can be completed in any order. Many of the key items are available near

For: 3DS | Price: $39.99 | Rated: Everyone PROS: Great music — listen to it with headphones for the best experience.

CONS: Don’t miss the optional Pegasus Boots early in the game. (I did.)

the start of the game for rent or for purchase, removing the hindrances that normally prevent Link from accessing dungeon three before dungeon two.

But the biggest game-changer is the ability to merge with walls and sidle along them for a limited time. It alters the flow of dungeons in a brilliant way.

I can’t count the number of times I got frustrated with an impassable pit only to

remember that, hey, I can MERGE INTO THE WALL and go around it.

Derp.

I can’t really separate the nostalgia out of my experience, and I won’t deny that it’s really fun seeing what’s changed and what surprises the Aonuma team has come up with.

But A Link Between Worlds stands on its own.

The dungeon design, the overworld, the characters, the music and — most crucially, for those a little tired of hand-holding — the freedom offered by this great entry in the Zelda series make this a game I’ll gladly play again and again.

For: Wii U | Price: $59.99 | Rated: Everyone PROS: Stamps for Miiverse posts are fun; wide range of power-ups.

CONS: CAN WE ALL PLEASE GO OVER HERE NO DON’T GO IN THE PIPE AGAIN AAAGH.

Super Mario 3D World best Wii U game so far ALAN SIMMER | PULSE WRITER

A

Arkham Origins gets under Batman’s skin

nd you thought the multiplayer action in New Super Mario Bros U was crazy.

Take the four-player chaos, add a third dimension, toss in cat suits that let you climb walls and stir it all together with a dose of competitive spirit, and you’ve got Super Mario World 3D, the flagship title to date for the Wii U.

JAMES FRAZIER | PULSE WRITER

The new cat suit: awesome. The new world map: awesome. The clone-creating double cherries: awesome.

he Arkham titles are perhaps the first video games to really nail the vibe of taking control of an iconic character.

The level design is clever — like we would expect any less — and keeps you guessing with a wide range of ideas.

T

How developers Rocksteady Studios and Warner Bros. Montreal have managed to do this is simple yet mind-bogglingly difficult; they created games that understand the Batman mythos. Here he’s not just a hero, but a scientist, an inventor, a detective. He is, through his darkness, a beacon of light.

Through the Batman: Arkham Origins experience, these elements of America’s favorite superhero unfold steadily and blend seamlessly. It manages a great feat of electronic storytelling by making Batman’s psyche both frighteningly complex yet accessible.

The gameplay is, as with previous titles, astounding.

There are fights. Hundreds, thousands of them, with Batman often taking on dozens of goons at once. The combat system relies on timed button-pressing directed into slick, lengthy combinations which see Batman channeling his skills

into deft, quick, powerful attacks that dispatch opponents in droves. This is both complex and fun, beautifully realized through fantastic animations and a control system that’s sophisticated yet accessible.

For: PC, PS3, Vita, Wii U, X360 Price: $59.99 | Rated: Teen

There are times when you roam Gotham City’s open world, soaring through the urban decay. There are detective sequences, which see Batman using high-tech gear and a keen eye for detail to solve an array of crimes. There are sneaking sequences, where Batman stalks armed men, taking them down in ones and twos, descending from above like a winged demon. The henchmen chatter about how they hope to get through the night without running into Batman, and the game makes it clear why.

At the story’s core is the relationship between Bruce Wayne, the billionaire under Batman’s mask, and Alfred, his loyal butler, as well as Batman’s dealings with Jim Gordon and the Joker.

The lesser-known villains of the game are well-realized here, especially when placed together as a mass threat to our hero.

Take Deathstroke, a worthy hand-to-hand combatant whose match with Batman makes for one of the series’ best uses of its combat system. Or Deadshot, a sniper whose reliance and skill with the gun contrasts with Batman’s rejection of them.

Of course there are joys other than the story: challenges to complete, puzzles to solve from the man who would become the Riddler, leaderboards to compare with friends. But the amazing thing is that, like its predecessors, Origins allows the player to be the Batman, which is to be the best.

And the best might just be what this series is in the gaming world right now.

NINTENDO, SQUARE ENIX, WARNER BROS., BROKEN RULES, STOIC, SHUTTERSTOCK IMAGES

PROS: Superlative combat system, fullyrealized iconic universe.

CONS: Setting virtually identical to previous installment .

I love that you can be Peach — and Rosalina as an unlockable character — and that the characters each have their own strengths, a la Super Mario Bros. 2, instead of being carbon copies of each other. It allows you to strategize and keep things interesting when playing with friends.

I’m not saying it can’t get frustrating. To be fair, anything requiring cooperation on this scale can. But that’s part of the fun, and there’s always single-player mode if you really must have every hidden green star and Miiverse stamp.

The high-def graphics look incredibly polished, and the gameplay really can’t be matched. Grab a friend or two and get playing.

JANUARY 17 STARRING Chris Pine, Kevin Costner, Keira Knightley, Kenneth Branagh ABOUT Jack Ryan is a young covert CIA analyst who uncovers a Russian plot to crash the U.S. economy with a terrorist attack. Sounds cool, but it seems we’re pretty good at crashing our own economy.

STARRING Allison Miller, Zach Gilford, Steffie Grote ABOUT While recording her pregnancy for posterity, a husband begins to notice odd behavior in his new wife that has a sinister origin.

Yeah. Because titling this one Devil’s Due Date would’ve just been silly.

JANUARY 17

OTHER JANUARY MOVIES JANUARY 3 Paranormal Activity: The Marked Ones

16 PULSE

JANUARY 10 One Chance

JANUARY 17 Ride Along The Nut Job

JANUARY 31 Labor Day That Awkward Moment

PARAMOUNT, 20TH CENTURY FOX, LIONSGATE IMAGES

JANUARY 24 STARRING Aaron Eckhart, Bill Nighy, Yvonne Strahovski ABOUT It’s a weird blend of a classic tale and fantasy action, but it just might work. Here, Frankenstein’s creature finds himself caught in an all-out, centuries-old war between two immortal clans.

making plans? we’ll point the way

ReaD. WATCH. sURF CVPulse.com

PULSE 17

COURTESY PHOTO New Bums

Mission Creek Festival first peek The Mission Creek Festival has released the first Wolf Eyes, Leslie Jamison and New Bums. More prolineup announcement for this spring’s festival. The gramming will be announced soon. festival returns on April 1-6 in venues throughout downtown Iowa City and will feature performances by Philip Glass, Jason Isbell, Rachel Kush- Mission Creek Festival ner, Oneohtrix Point Never, Nat Baldwin, Weekend, missionfreak.com

BE

HEARD! WANT TO SEE YOUR MUSIC LISTED? E-mail us at pulse@wcfcourier.com.

Submissions must be received 10 days prior to publication date.

18 PULSE

Wartburg W artburg College

Smash-hit musical to rock Cedar Rapids In 1987 on the Sunset Strip, a Speedwagon, Foreigner, Pat Benasmall-town girl met a big-city tar, Whitesnake and many more. dreamer – and in L.A.’s most legendary rock club, they fell in love to the greatest songs of the ’80s.

Rock of Ages Yeah, we’re talking about Rock Friday, Feb. 14 of Ages, a hilarious, feel-good love Paramount Theatre, Cedar Rapids story told through the hit songs of bwayattheparamount.com | iconic rockers Journey, Styx, REO 319.366.8203

We missed you, Lisa!

She emerged from the New York coffeehouse and club circuits with her trademark Grammy-nominated hit and is the only artist to ever have a No. 1 Billboard pop single while not signed to a recording contract. And now she’s coming to the Redstone Room in Davenport.

Lisa Loeb started her career with the platinum-selling No. 1 hit song Stay (I Missed You) from the film Reality Bites and has parlayed that early success into a multi-dimensional career. Her acclaimed studio releases include the gold-selling Tails and its follow-up, the Grammy-nominated and gold-selling Firecracker. Her latest release is No Fairy Tale, 12 tracks of pop/punk rock sound.

COURTESY PHOTO

Lisa Loeb Wednesday, April 23 @ 7:30 PM Redstone Room, Davenport $25 midwesttix.com

Saturday, Feb. 8, 7:30 p.m.

Wartburg Community Symphony presents

DOUBLE BASS DELICACY Adult Tickets: $16.50 K-12 Students: $6.50

Indulge yourself with a taste of double-bass splendor.

Hunter Capoccioni, Wartburg instructor of double bass, will be featured on Bottesini’s Double Bass Concerto No. 2.

The Symphony will be joined by the Waverly-Shell Rock and Charles City high school orchestras.

ORDER TICKETS TODAY! 319-352-8691 or www.wartburg.edu/symphony PULSE 19

GALLAGHER BLUEDORN

2013-14

season

RAIN A TRIBUTE TO THE BEATLES

Performing the full range of The Beatles’ discography live onstage plus previously unheard songs that The Beatles themselves never performed for an audience, the Associated Press raves RAIN is “the next best thing to seeing The Beatles!”

Together longer than The Beatles, RAIN has mastered every song, gesture, and nuance of the legendary foursome, delivering a totally live, note-for-note performance in this multi-media, psychedelic, rock concert that’s as infectious as it is transporting. From early hits to late classics including “I Want To Hold Your Hand,” “Hard Day’s Night,” “Sgt. Pepper’s Lonely Hearts Club Band,” “Let It Be,” “Come Together,” “Hey Jude,” and “Can’t Buy Me Love,” this performance will take you back to a time when all you needed was love and a little help from your friends!

RAIN returns to the Gallagher-Bluedorn direct from Broadway on the 50th anniversary of The Beatles first appearance on The Ed Sullivan Show!

2:00 P.M. / FEB. 9

SPONSORED BY

moulin ROUGE

ROYAL WINNIPEG BALLET

THE BALLET

DIN

Performed by the remarkable Winnipeg Ballet, Moulin Rouge – The Ballet has been seen by over 100,000 people in more than 30 cities across North America, bringing cheering audiences to their feet at every stop! Featuring French period music and high-kicking choreography, the ballet follows two innocents, Matthew and Nathalie, drawn to the passionate city of Paris in search of romance and stardom. Their passion ignites a powder keg of emotion as they tempt the fates while seeking love and destiny in the infamous cabaret…the Moulin Rouge.

NER

@

SPONSORED BY

FEB. 7:30 P.M. / 28

FOR MORE INFORMATION ABOUT EACH SHOW VISIT

20 PULSE

WWW.GBPAC.ORG