Tag Archives: Blue Moose Tap House

Upcoming Shows: Fitz and the Tantrums Hit the Midwest!

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In addition to having a pretty cute band name, Fitz and the Tantrums seem to have really taken the scene by storm in their relatively short existence. The story goes that frontman Michael “Fitz” Fitzpatrick rescued a vintage keyboard from someone who needed to leave town quickly. The keyboard was the inspriation that Fitz needed to start writing the keyboard-fueled R&B that is the signature of Fitz and the Tantrums. A chance hearing by Maroon 5 frontman Adam Levine gained them a gig opening for his band on tour. Another opportunity performing on Daryl Hall’s “Live From Daryl’s House” online video series, a spot on Carson Daily and some choice placement of songs on a couple of TV shows and you have a formula for a band that is enjoying a meteoric rise. Having a shit-hot single and stylish video in “Moneygrabber” doesn’t hurt any either!

As luck would have it, the L.A. band is going to be visiting the tundra-like Midwest at the beginning of February with some Play B-Sides connections in the mix.

On Saturday, February 5th Fitz and Co. will be headlining a gig in Chicago at The Metro with JC Brooks and the Uptown Sound and Play B-Sides extended family The Right Now! That is a powerhouse lineup of Soul and R&B and my pick for a not-to-be-missed show on the Windy City’s calendar. This is a rare show for a while for The Right Now as they are holed up in their secret hideaway writing songs for their sophomore release. The few songs they’ve already trotted out on tour last year show promise for a suitable follow-up to Carry Me Home— a Play B-Sides Top 20 of 2010.

On the following Monday they will make the trip to Iowa, and play a gig at the Redstone Room with opening act Bermuda Report which features the vocals of former Diplomette Abby Sawyer. Bermuda Report snagged a spot in my Top 10 releases I’m looking forward to in 2011 with their upcoming full-length due this year.

If that wasn’t enough, they are going to do an all-ages show in Iowa City on Tuesday, 2/3 at The Blue Moose Tap House for a measley $3! WTF? FTW!

So, with all of these opportunities to see Fitz and the Tantrums, get out to see them! Then you can say you “saw them when!”

Here is the video for the fantastic “Moneygrabber”

Check out their whole album with this player:

Fitz and the Tantrums Tour Dates (from Dangerbird Records)
Tuesday January 18, 2011 – Philadelphia, PA @ World Cafe Live
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Wednesday January 19, 2011 – New York, NY @ Bowery Ballroom
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Thursday January 20, 2011 – Allston, MA @ Brighton Music Hall
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Friday January 21, 2011 – Clifton Park, NY @ Northern Lights
w/ Michael Franti & Spearhead

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Saturday January 22, 2011 – Northampton, MA @ Iron Horse Music Hall
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Monday January 24, 2011 – Portland, ME @ Port City Music Hall
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Tuesday January 25, 2011 – Montreal, QC @ Petit Campus
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Wednesday January 26, 2011 – Toronto, ON @ Mod Club
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Friday January 28, 2011 – Cleveland, OH @ Grog Shop
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Saturday January 29, 2011 – Milwaukee, WI @ Turner Hall Ballroom
Pablove Foundation benefit show w/ Silversun Pickups (acoustic performance), Maritime, and more
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Sunday January 30, 2011 – Madison, WI @ High Noon Saloon
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Monday January 31, 2011 – Columbus, OH @ The Basement
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Thursday February 3, 2011 – Pittsburgh, PA @ Club Cafe
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Saturday February 5, 2011 – Chicago, IL @ Metro
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Monday February 7, 2011 – Davenport, IA @ Redstone Room
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Tuesday February 8, 2011 – Iowa City, IA @ Blue Moose Tap House
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Thursday February 10, 2011 – Minneapolis, MN @ Bunkers
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Sunday February 13, 2011 – Nashville, TN @ 3rd & Lindsley
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(Upcoming Show) Pezzettino at The Blue Moose Tap House 9/15

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Pezzettino at CSPS Crop
The last time Margaret Stutt who performs as Pezzettino was in Eastern Iowa was back in January as part of a quick jump through the Midwest on her way to some shows on the East Coast. Since then she’s effectively adopted Brooklyn as one of her homes (Milwaukee being the other).

Freshly energized from an over-achieved Kickstarter fund raiser for her new record LubDub which is going through the process to create candy-yellow vinyl (in addition to CD and download)– Ms. Pezz has decided to embody the fuller sound of the record (via production by Milwaukee beatsmith and producer LMNtylist) by bringing some additional musicians along with her– a percussionist and a guitarist! This isn’t the first time she’s performed with a band– she used to for local shows, but most of her touring to date has been a solo affair.

I’m really excited to hear the new songs and the old done with a full band! Pezzettino will be opening for Chicago act Mike Mangione & The Union at the Blue Moose Tap House in Iowa City on Wednesday, September 15th. It is an all-ages show that starts at 7PM. I don’t know what the cover will be.

Pezzettino’s  guitarist for this tour is Wolfgang Schaefer and he will be doing a solo set as well.

And if that wasn’t enough, before the show at the Blue Moose, Pezzettino will be the in-studio guest for Little Village Live on KRUI in the 5-6PM slot Wednesday night!

Here is the Facebook Event for the show— RSVP!

Listen to LubDub Here:
PEZZETTINO prod. LMNtlyst LubDub by Pezzettino

Visit Pezzettino’s website
Visit Pezzettino’s MySpace Page
Visit Wolfgang Schaefer’s MySpace Page
Visit Mike Mangione’s Website

Upcoming Show: L.A. Shoegazer Band Warpaint at The Blue Moose Tap House 6/7/10

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In an interview from earlier this year on Pitchfork, author Ryan Dombal describes L.A. band Warpaint as having “desert dust grooves, breathy, Cat Power-style vocals, and slithering guitar work.” That seems to describe what I hear on Warpaint’s debut EP Exquisite Corpse (Manimal Vinyl). For an EP, there are an impressive three songs over six minutes! Guitarist/vocalist Emily Kokal said in the interview, “I like progressive rock like King Crimson and Yes along with electronic music, things that don’t have standard pop structures. My mom listened to a lot of Grateful Dead bootlegs throughout childhood and even though I swore I hated them, I know they seeped in.”

Warpaint started gaining some buzz this year touting some celebrity fans and production help from Red Hot Chili Peppers guitarist John Frusciante. Warpaint recently signed to Rough Trade Records and are currently working on their debut full length with Tom Biller.

Warpaint is currently on a whirlwind tour of the US hitting a bunch of Midwest dates leading up to a desirable Bonnaroo appearance on 6/11 followed shortly by some NYC dates with Lollapalooza in Chicago in August.

Upcoming tour dates (from MySpace):

Jun 4 2010   8:00P ZANZABAR Louisville, Kentucky, US 
Jun 5 2010   8:00P RADIO RADIO Indianapolis, Indiana
Jun 6 2010   4:00P DO DIVISION STREET FESTIVAL Chicago, Illinois
Jun 7 2010   6:30P BLUE MOOSE Iowa City, Iowa
Jun 8 2010   7:00P CROSSROADS w/ The Temper Trap Kansas City, Missouri
Jun 9 2010   7:00P THE PAGEANT w/ The Temper Trap St. Louis, Missouri 
Jun 11 2010  12:00P BONNAROO 2010 Manchester, Tennessee
Jun 13 2010  8:30P DC9 Washington, DC
Jun 14 2010  6:30P MERCURY LOUNGE ::EARLY SHOW:: New York, New York
Jun 15 2010  8:00P KNITTING FACTORY - BROOKLYN Brooklyn, NY
Jun 16 2010  8:00P MOHAWK PLACE w/ The Phenomenal Handclap Band Buffalo, New York 
Jun 17 2010  8:00P NXNE @ LEGENDARY HORSESHOE TAVERN Toronto, Ontario, CANADA 
Aug 6 2010   12:00P LOLLAPALOOZA 2010 Chicago, Illinois 
Aug 7 2010   12:00P LOLLAPALOOZA 2010 Chicago, Illinois 
Aug 8 2010   12:00P LOLLAPALOOZA 2010 Chicago, Illinois
Oct 28 2010   7:30P SCALA London, UNITED KINGDOM

Warpaint will be performing in the Blue Room upstairs in the Blue Moose Tap House on Monday 6/7. Local pinch-hitter opening act Electro group Datagun opens. I saw Datagun open for Death Ships a couple months ago and was really impressed with their energy– not to miss. Tickets are $10 and doors are at an early 6PM.

Click Here for the Blue Moose Tap House Events Calendar

Warpaint on Noisemakers with (former MTV VJ) John Norris which has interviews and live performances:

Click Here for Warpaint’s MySpace Page
Click Here for Warpaint’s Facebook Fan Page
Click Here to follow Warpaint on Twitter
Click Here for Warpaint’s Page on Rough Trade Records.

Upcoming Show: David Daniell and Douglas McCombs at Blue Moose Tap in Iowa City 3/4/10

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Birthed from the very fertile improvisation and post rock scene in Chicago comes the collaboration of guitarists David Daniell and Douglas McCombs. David Daniell’s career dates back to 1996 with work in the improvisation group San Agustin. Between his collaborations and solo work he has established a pretty substantial recorded career. Daniell met Doug McCombs when they toured together in 2006 in  Rhys Chatham’s six-guitar Die Donnergötter band. McCombs notably plays bass and guitar in Tortoise as well as his solo project Brokeback and Eleventh Dream Day. This meeting cemented a relationship of the two music fans where they exchanged records which lead to the recording sessions that would result in their 2009 release Sycamore on Thrill Jockey.

Sycamore was recorded over five days in two Chicago loft spaces chosen for their acoustics. The resulting seven-and-a-half hours of music was pared down to the four songs on the album by Daniell and McCombs in editing sessions in a fashion recalling how the late Teo Macero worked with Miles Davis on albums like In A Silent Way (a personal favorite). Final editing and mixing was done by Tortoise compatriot John McEntire at the legendary Soma Studios.

The resulting album is an impressive execution. The ambiance of the record reminds me a lot of Tom Verlaine’s 1992 album Warm and Cool which was very a very influential record for me when it came out and was re-released by Thrill Jockey in 2005. Clean, layered guitars, sparse percussion provide what is a great soundtrack for my day.

Coincidentally, Bettina Richards– the label head for Thrill Jockey— told me when I visited last year that it was Doug who turned her on to the Verlaine album.

David Daniell and Douglas McCombs will be playing The Blue Room at the Blue Moose Tap House (which used to be The Industry, and before that The Cue) on Thursday, March 4th. The opening act will be Star City and another act to be announced. Doors are at 8 PM and tickets will be $7 and are general admission. You can purchase tickets in advance at TicketWeb.