FALL CONCERT PREVIEW

The Eagles are set to play Wells Fargo Arena.

So last weekend after we got home from Kansas City, there on the doormat was our Sunday issue of The New York Times, which I tried canceling a little while ago because we read it mostly online anyway and I was thinking about cutting costs, but you have to call (you can't do it on the website) and the telephone operator was really persuasive, so-- well, now you know how you can get a discount on your Times subscription.

Anyway, the Arts & Leisure section this week was like a million pages, and I noticed there was a New York fall music preview. Which reminded me, along with college football starting again and Mrs. Des Noise going back to school, that it was almost fall. And that, hey-- I usually try to write seasonal music previews! Now, I realize I already missed Dale Earnhardt Jr. Jr. and local indie celebs the Envy Corps at Vaudeville Mews earlier this week, and the farewell roast to bartending legend Dirty Dan at the Mews on Sunday before he moves to Hawaii. Also: Hot Hot Heat got canceled, huh?

But there's a whole bunch of interesting stuff coming up the next few months. Probable highlights include, in approximate order of likeliness you might've heard of 'em: Band of Horses, Passion Pit, Tokyo Police Club, Best Coast with Male Bonding, The Books, Electric Six, Atmosphere, Candy Claws, Bear in Heaven, Scout Niblett, David Dondero, Retribution Gospel Choir, Tim Kasher (Cursive), Deakin (Animal Collective), Maps & Atlases, Strange Boys and, for the name alone, maybe +Blissed Out+.

As always, please don't hesitate to let me know what I'm forgetting. Thank you for reading!

ALL I SEE IS FIREWORKS

So Cow: "To Do List" (live in Brooklyn last summer)

It's a lot easier to write a summer concert preview when summer has already started, right? June has already seen some fine sets from the Beets, Coyote Slingshot, Wheels on Fire, and Damien Jurado, among others (still kicking myself for missing Pocahaunted). Interpol unfortunately canceled their June 28 gig at People's and failed to include Des Moines on their rescheduled tour-- all together now, let's shake our fists at Bono-- but there are still plenty of exciting live gigs coming up in Des Moines this summer. Off the top of my head, I'm very, very amped about So Cow, Woodsman, the Autumn Project, Maid Marian, 80/35 (of course!), the Poison Control Center's 80/35 after parties, Candy Claws, Devo, Phoenix, and Best Coast, for starters.

What follows is an incomplete, completely subjective lineup of shows I thought somebody reading this blog might be curious about. I tried to get a mix of local and national acts, but at this point I still only know so many local acts, so there's definitely nothing intentional if I forgot anyone. I put an asterisk next to shows I'm almost definitely gonna attend. (Unfortunately, I won't be at So Cow because I'll be out of town, but you should still totally go.)

Check the venue websites for times; Vaudeville Mews often has both an early show and a late show, due to liquor laws. Anyway, here goes nothing again:

June (what little is left of it)

Summer Jam: Night Ranger, LA Guns, Skid Row, Warrant, Winger, Dokken and Sweet. Saturday, June 26. Blank Park Zoo.

** Tyvek, with So Cow, Wolves in the Attic. Sunday, June 27, Vaudeville Mews. I was just regaining consciousness after a nap when Tyvek opened for Love Is All here in April. So I wasn't at all prepared for the Detroit lo-fi rockers' high-energy assault, and I don't have anything smart to say about it. Apparently I missed new Des Noise faves Coyote Slingshot, too. But Tyvek sounded pretty good, and they're on respected label Siltbreeze, so they're a strong bet for your Sunday night. The band it really kills me I'll have to miss this weekend is Dublin's So Cow. They're here all the way from Ireland, and lead singer Brian Kelly writes the kind of clever, sweet, endearing songs I can imagine anyone in town loving-- the edges are a bit ragged, yeah, but in a ramshackle, you-can-do-this-too way rather than to repel the uncool. I reviewed So Cow's wonderful self-titled album here; see some really intelligent things my Pitchfork colleague Nitsuh Abebe says about them here. Wolves in the Attic are one of my favorite local bands (and were before, full disclosure, I got to know basically all the members); expect really loud, Sonic Youth-inspired indie rock. Anyway, So Cow are the closest thing for most of the summer to the surefire awesome of past Mews bookings like Love Is All, Japandroids, Jonathan Richman, Josh Ritter, Jens Lekman, etc., so I really recommend going if you can; I've seen them live before, and they're for real.

The Melvins. Sunday, June 27. House of Bricks. These avant-garde California metalheads are legendary in their circles.

Big Country Bash: Gretchen Wilson, Rodney Atkins, Jason Michael Carroll, Trailer Choir, Jerrod Niemann, Sarah Darling and Jason Brown. Sunday, June 27. Blank Park Zoo.

Why Make Clocks, with Pink Kodiak. Monday, June 28. Vaudeville Mews. Solid local lineup. I mentioned Why Make Clocks before here. I'd go if I were going to be around.

** Woodsman, with the Autumn Project, Maid Marian. Wednesday, June 30. Vaudeville Mews. Denver's Woodsman are warm, woozy, electro-psych instrumental band with releases on a couple of the more interesting labels these days, Lefse and Mexican Summer. The Autumn Project are a towering local instrumental post-rock group I haven't seen in a while; anybody who went to the Mono show here last month should check them out (full disclosure: I hear it might be baritone guitarist and bassist John Huffman's birthday?). Ames' own Maid Marian come highly recommended as well, and I'm looking forward to checking out the tape on Sweat Power (Coyote Slingshot)-- so far sounds a bit like Beach House: slow, keyboard-based, elegant female vocals.

Justin Bieber. Wednesday, June 30. Wells Fargo Arena.


July



Spoon: "Is Love Forever?" (Live on "Jimmy Kimmel")

** 80/35 Festival: Modest Mouse, Spoon, Yo La Tengo, Walkmen, the Cool Kids, Holly Golightly, Avi Buffalo, the Heavy, Earl Greyhound, Dawes, William Elliot Whitmore, Christopher the Conquered, Canby, Dar Williams, Slightly Stoopid, Railroad Earth, Particle, Family Groove Company, and more. Saturday, July 3-Sunday, July 4. Downtown Des Moines. (Full disclosure: I volunteered for the booking committee this year. But I don't think I really did anything that felt like work.)

** The Poison Control Center. Saturday, July 3-Sunday, July 4. Vaudeville Mews. (80/35 After Party.) I've said enough about how great these Ames indie rockers are. Check out a little bit of the praise here. (Full disclosure: I've gotten to know these guys, too. Curse all these friendly, nice Midwesterners foiling my attempts to maintain critical distance!)

Waxeater, with Golden Veins, NERV, the Seed of Something. Monday, July 5. Vaudeville Mews. I wrote about Golden Veins (ex-Beati Paoli) previously here.

Ingrid Michaelson. Thursday, July 8. Simon Estes Amphitheater. I don't know much about this New York singer/songwriter, except that she has played 80/35 and friends tell me she's good. Might be one to check out!

Hanwell, with So Much Fun. Saturday, July 10. Vaudeville Mews. Another solid local lineup.

Abstract Rude, with Musab (Sab the Artist), DJ Tramlife, Gaiden Gadema w/ Richie Daggers, Young Tripp. Sunday, July 11. Vaudeville Mews. I met Richie Daggers at the Vaud when he overheard me talking about Nicki Minaj. I was wondering what rap Des Moines residents who really like rap listen to. I mean, don't get me wrong, I'm totally down with Aeon Grey and Maxilla Blue, but it always seems like they're billed as rap for people who don't usually listen to rap, you know? Daggers gave me the name of Young Tripp, making comparisons to Nas's Illmatic. So maybe this would be a good one to check out.

The Autumn Project, with Why Make Clocks, others. Friday, July 16. Vaudeville Mews. I'll be out of town; otherwise there would be stars next to this local show. See June 30.

Samantha Crain, with Canby. Sunday, July 18. Vaudeville Mews. Same as above. I've seen and enjoyed Canby, one of the best local indie rock groups, a number of times, and I've liked what I've heard from Oklahoma roots-rocker Crain. I keep thinking I particularly love a song from her that the dude from Bon Iver covered, but I just spent the last 20 minutes searching Google and my computer for any trace of such a thing and I must've dreamed it. Should be a good show, though.

** YellowFever, with the Land of Blood and Sunshine, Deep Sleep Waltzing, the Seed of Something. Monday, July 19. Vaudeville Mews. (Early show.) Austin's YellowFever play skewed guitar pop with 1960s-style melodies and alluringly aloof female vocals recalling post-punk groups like the Slits. With local groups, including Marshalltown's Land of Blood and Sunshine, whom I've seen a couple of times now and am still trying to figure otu. If I can still stand after a weekend at the Pitchfork festival, I'll definitely be at this.

** Candy Claws, with Maid Marian. Monday, July 19. Vaudeville Mews. (Late show.) This Fort Collins, Colo. duo are very much a part of whatever the heck we're calling "chillwave" these days. Right bros? I wrote about them here.

Old 97's. Thursday, July 22. Simon Estes Amphitheater.

** Devo. Saturday, July 24. Simon Estes Amphitheater. New-wave legends within walking distance vs. $50 ticket price. I'd like to be there, so we'll see. In the meantime, here's New York rap duo Das Racist icing these bros backstage at The Colbert Report.

** Black Mountain. Monday, July 26. Vaudeville Mews. Sludgy Canadian psych-rockers on Bloomington, Indiana's excellent Jagjaguwar label should please Led Zeppelin fans for blocks around.

** June Panic. Tuesday, July 27. Vaudeville Mews. North Dakota's June Panic is one of those guys who can't stop writing songs regardless of the recording quality, in the mold of Capstan Shafts, Guided By Voices, etc.

Poppets. Tuesday, July 27. Vaudeville Mews. This Swedish punk duo played here last summer, but I don't think I gave them a fair shake. It'd be cool to see them again.

The All-Girl Boys Choir, with Squidboy. Sunday, Aug. 1. Vaudeville Mews. Not too familiar with the All-Girl Boys Choir, but longtime local indie-rockers Squidboy are always worth stopping by the Vaude.

Electric Leaves, with Why Make Clocks. Tuesday, Aug. 3. Vaudeville Mews.

Jamey Johnson. Thursday, Aug. 5. Val Air Ballroom. Here's what I said about this country outlaw's performance at last summer's state fair.

** The Delta Mirror, with Golden Veins. Friday, Aug. 6. Vaudeville Mews. Here's what I wrote for Pitchfork about the Delta Mirror; for Golden Veins, see July 5.

Black Keys, with Morning Benders. Sunday, Aug. 8. Val Air Ballroom. Morning Benders played here not too long ago, but I'd be curious to see them again.

Rooney. Monday, Aug. 9. Vaudeville Mews.


Toro Y Moi: "Blessa"


** Phoenix, with Toro Y Moi. Tuesday, Aug. 10. 7 Flags Event Center. French band Phoenix had one of the best records of last year, Wolfgang Amadeus Phoenix, and it still blows my mind that they'll be playing in Clive. I once overheard somebody around town saying they're kind of weird, but they're really not at all, except for occasionally fanciful lyrics-- you've heard these guys in car commercials for a reason. With Toro Y Moi, who have one of my favorite albums of this year. Here's what I wrote about them for SPIN.

Keith Urban. Friday, Aug. 13. Iowa State Fair.

The Battle Royale. Saturday, Aug. 14. Vaudeville Mews.

** Vanilla Ice, with Tone Loc. Sunday, Aug. 15. Iowa State Fair. Hey, it's free! And I probably still know more of the words to "Ice Ice Baby" than I'd like to admit.

Tegan and Sara. Tuesday, Aug. 17. Hoyt Sherman Place.

Pat Benatar, with REO Speedwagon. Tuesday, Aug. 17. Iowa State Fair.

Broken Spindles. Wednesday, Aug. 18. Vaudeville Mews.

Darius Rucker. Thursday, Aug. 19. Iowa State Fair.

Sugarland. Saturday, Aug. 21. Iowa State Fair.

Sheryl Crow. Sunday, Aug. 22. Iowa State Fair.

American Idol Live Tour. Tuesday, Aug. 31. Wells Fargo Arena.


September


Best Coast: "When I'm With You"

** Best Coast, with Male Bonding. Friday, Sept. 17. Grinnell College.


November (OK, not even arguably summer, but just looking ahead here)

Electric Six, with the Constellations, the Jitz. Tuesday, Nov. 2. Vaudeville Mews.


All right, what did I miss? See you out there.

BLANCHE DUBOIS AND IT STARTED TO SEEM LIKE THE ONLY THINGS THAT HAPPENED HAPPENED IN MY DREAMS

Dear Chuck aka Chet,

I have decided to write this blog post in the form of an apology letter to you, because you're the one person I know of who said you have been refreshing this page every now and then for the however-ridiculously-many weeks it has been since my last update, only to glance at the first post and go, "Headlights?! Still?!!!" Sorry, sorry, sorry. A hundred times, sorry. I still can't believe you're taking the time to visit this page regularly, anyway.

Despite my blog silence-- which I realize is pretty much the most trite thing ever for a blog, next to writing apologies for how your blog has been silent-- I've actually seen a pretty good amount of music in Des Moines in the past month or so. As you already know, I guess, since I just talked to you last week. Whatever.

Let's go in reverse order:

Last night, I wrangled a photo pass to see the Black Eyed Peas at Wells Fargo Arena. I had an idea of writing about the show as part of a feature somewhere, but I didn't e-mail anybody in time to get actual tickets. So this meant I missed Ludacris (well, I could've gone, but only for three songs). And, in keeping with that three-song rule, it meant I saw only three songs of the Black Eyed Peas' set (well, make that two and a half). But-- it was a scene, man!!! I entered at the wrong entrance-- apologies to Adam and the great Wells Fargo Arena personnel for creating extra work; thanks for being cool about it, won't happen again-- and I had a hard time keeping up with the person who let me into the show for all the hyped/dolled-up masses going back for more beer as she led me toward the photo area. As a critic and a fan, I've seen lots of future stars on the way up, but I don't think I've ever been to a show quite this big, at least not an arena show. My 2.5 songs were well worth the effort: The photo pit was right next to the enormous stage, which had sort of a peninsula jutting out into the audience. The weirdest thing, which I hadn't expected, was seeing Fergie up close-- I should admit I'd never really thought much about the Black Eyed Peas until last year's The E.N.D., though I did really like Fergie's "Clumsy" and "Glamorous," but I used to watch the Disney Channel show KIDS Incorporated basically every afternoon for a little while there when I was a kid and she was a kid named Stacey Ferguson. All the sudden I had this odd sensation that this silver-suited fembot standing a few feet away from me should recognize me, because I had this vague memory of her from childhood or something. Like I said, it was weird. Will.I.Am flew around suspended from the ceiling by strings, Broadway-style. Dancers in boxy chrome-colored marched out onto the little peninsula like futuristic Tin Man Oompa Loompas. I heard "Get It Started," "Rock That Body," and half of one other song before I had to leave. Wanna know the rest? Hey, buy the rights. (Oh I also had to use a film camera because our digital camera is broken and my regular iPhone stylee would have made me look like a fake photographer, so I don't have the pictures yet. But I will. If they're any good, I'll save them for that prospective feature.)

Not alone in the new pollution: "Good Feelings."

Chicago band Light Pollution worked in an early set at Vaudeville Mews March 10. They've played here a number of times, apparently, but now they had a big booking agent and a track on Pitchfork's Forkcast blog (full disclosure, if you don't know me by now: I write for Pitchfork and used to write for Forkcast when it was in a more text-intensive format). Light Pollution didn't headline or anything because they had to drive up to the Ames Progressive for another set, but they played some promising if indistinct wavy electronic indie rock, in an Animal Collective-meets-Passion Pit way but with a way more subdued vocalist and bigger rock-style drumming.
 

 Passionate introverts.

Philadelphia sextet A Sunny Day in Glasgow were exactly the early highlight to spring concert season I had hoped, and not only because my good friend Brendan from Brooklyn, now of Madison, was in attendance. They played with the always excellent local band Wolves in the Attic, possibly (say it ain't so!) that group's final show, at Vaudeville Mews. But Chet, you were there! So I don't need to tell you: It was beautifully textured, ambient-pop stuff, with plenty from new EP Nitetime Rainbows (which I scored on vinyl) and fantastic 2009 album Ashes Grammar. Really great turnout for a somewhat challenging, harmonically complex (I think I know what that actually means?) band making their first appearance in town, even if the crowd seemed to dwindle a bit before the encore. Their fairly recently added female lead singers add some good on-stage charisma to the dense musicality (see previous parenthetical) on display. Sorry about calling them "tweegaze" that one time on Pitchfork-- I meant it in the nicest possible way, and anyway I stole the phrase from Eric Marathonpacks!

Blame this man for John Mayer's "Neon."

Jazz guitarist Charlie Hunter was at the Vaud on Feb. 28 with a drummer and a trumpet player, as I recall. He played bass lines and solos at the same time on a seven-string guitar. It was strange seeing the Mews with seats in it, and I'm guessing a lot of the crowd was made up of guitar students looking to watch a master, but then, Hunter and his band really did put on a clinic. The pieces were basically structured around your standard pre-free-jazz lines, with everybody getting a solo and everything really nice and tuneful and bluesy, but within that realm (in which I'm really not an expert) Hunter's playing would seem pretty tough to top. Only complaint: No CDs to buy!

Grab the CD May 18 and it all comes into focus. Magic Eye!

Ames' own the Poison Control Center were at the same venue on Feb. 26-- you were there, too, Chet! Which is good, because I don't know how else to keep saying how impressive I think these guys are. If there's only one Iowa band that I think deserves national acclaim, it's the PCC. They played songs from their forthcoming album, Sad Sour Future (apparently a pun on Stereolab's Fab Four Suture, because the PCC think of this record, like that one, as four EPs). Keep an eye out for their upcoming video, featuring the poppy "Being Gone", written and sung by drummer Donald Curtis (who really will be gone, unfortunately, on the band's upcoming tour, due to Ph.D. work).

So anyway, Chuck, see you soon, probably at Fong's Pizza! Maybe at GDP? Hope you and Angela are both great.

Best,
Marc

P.S. COMING UP:

- the fifth annual Gross Domestic Product at All Play March 27
- Red Pony Clock w/ Zoos of Berlin and Child Bite at Vaudeville Mews March 28
- Pocahaunted at Mission Creek Festival in Iowa City March 29
- Electric Six at Vaudeville Mews March 31
- Booker T of the MGs at Mission Creek Festival March 31
- Xiu Xiu and tUnE-yArDs at Mission Creek Festival March 31
- David Bazan, Headlights, and the Poison Control Center at Mission Creek Festival April 1
- Chuck D, Bomb Squad, Harry Allen: A Discussion on the Making of Public Enemy's Fear of a Black Planet at Mission Creek Festival April 1
- Acid Mothers Temple at Mission Creek Festival April 1
- Bomb Squad with the Hood Internet at Mission Creek Festival April 1
- Christopher the Conquered at Mission Creek Festival April2
- Tim Hecker at Mission Creek Festival April 2
- Little Dragon at Mission Creek Festival April 2
- Meat Puppets with Joe Jack Talcum of Dead Milkmen at Mission Creek Festival April 2
- Camera Obscura with Princeton at Mission Creek Festival April 3
- Grant Hart of Husker Du at Mission Creek Festival April 3
- Love Is All at Vaudeville Mews April 8
- the Morning Benders at Vaudeville Mews April 9
- Dum Dum Girls at Vaudeville Mews April 12
- Cowboy Mouth at Vaudeville Mews April 14
- Julian Casablancas at People's April 23
- Manchester Orchestra and Thrice at People's April 25
- Poison Control Center's Record Release Party at Vaudeville Mews April 30
- Brother Ali at Vaudeville Mews May 2
- MONO and the Twilight Sad at Vaudeville Mews May 18
- Mark Mallman at Vaudeville Mews May 19
- Damien Jurado at Vaudeville Mews June 6
- Keith Urban at Iowa State Fair Aug. 13
- Pat Benatar and REO Speedwagon at Iowa State Fair Aug. 17
- Darius Rucker at Iowa State Fair Aug. 19
- Sugarland at Iowa State Fair Aug. 21
- Sheryl Crow at Iowa State Fair Aug. 22

ARE YOU GONNA BUY OUR RECORD OR WHAT?

I've still been going to shows, I just haven't been finding much I needed blog-length posts to tell you about.

For my random brain spatterings, there's Twitter. To highlight recent articles, blog posts, or songs of interest, there's Tumblr. And then there's all the stuff I've been writing for work, whether as a business journalist or as a reviewer over at Pitchfork.

That doesn't mean there haven't been fun things going in Des Moines-- hopefully you didn't miss 'em-- and that doesn't mean there aren't still fun things coming up!

First, let's look ahead. Turns out my fall concert preview was premature and left out some great shows.


Catchy, clever, slightly yelpy Alabama garage-poppers Thomas Function (above) play tonight at Vaudeville Mews, and I would highly recommend that anyone who isn't seeing Miley Cyrus or Gwar/Lamb of God go check this out. They share a label with So Cow, who released one of my favorite albums of the year, and they should be a great time.

Local piano-pop heroes Christopher the Conquered have a few shows coming up. First is the free CD release party for new album You're Gonna Glow in the Dark, coming Oct. 10 at Ames Progressive with Patrick Tape Fleming, who also recorded the album. Christopher the Conquered come back to the Mews again Oct. 17 with the Atudes, Andrew Fish, and Nuclear Rodeo. They play Scented Vinyl at Mars Cafe on Oct. 26. Then come a couple of Iowa shows outside the Des Moines area before they return to the Mews with Des Noise favorites the Poison Control Center, plus Atudes, New Bodies, Bradley Unit, and Coax from Chuckanut. If you're curious about local music, you should put at least one of these shows on your calendar, because these guys are some of our best and brightest.

On Oct. 13, indie website Daytrotter swoops into Johnston with its Barnstorming Tour. The lineup, featuring up-and-comers Suckers and Paleo, looks pretty good! Here's the info: 6pm -- Johnston, Iowa: BARN SHOW #4: The Simpson Barn, 6169 Northglenn Dr. (Performing -- Dawes, Christopher Denny, Suckers, Snowblink, Paleo)

Also Oct. 13, though, shoegaze pop group Ringo Deathstarr plays Vaudeville Mews. Hmm. I'm also really into their locally based openers, Wolves in the Attic. (Deep Sleep Waltzing opens, too, but I haven't heard that band yet.)

Omaha's Little Brazil hits the Mews on Oct. 18, with Weatherbox, Bright Giant, and the Chatty Cathys. I'm told they've played Des Moines a few times before, so there should be a good crowd for this one. (The doors open at 5 p.m., show starts at 5:30. It's all ages and $7.00.)

Oct. 25, South Dakota folk-poppers We Have Hooks for Hands play the Mews. They're on Minneapolis-based Afternoon Records, same label as the Poison Control Center.

And on Oct. 28, you should go check out... uhm, me. I'm honored and really excited to be a part of a panel being held by the Greater Des Moines Music Coalition at 7 p.m. at the House of Bricks. Jill Haverkamp, marketing and PR co-chair of the DMMC, will be the moderator. For me, it'll finally be a chance to meet Jill, CityView critic Michael Swanger, and Juice/Register critic Joe Lawler for the first time, and to hear some questions from locals who share my interest in music. For you, well, here's the panel description:

Exploring the best ways to approach reporters and bloggers to get coverage for your band. Panelists will discuss how to stand out amongst the clutter, their process in deciding what to cover, and the ins and outs of being a music journalist in the new music industry. The discussion will also expand upon press kits, biographies, pitch letters, and general media relations techniques.

What's more, Grant Hart of Husker Du is playing the Mews on Nov. 5, and I hear local band Why Make Clocks' Chuck Hoffman may be opening.

Also, Old Crow Medicine Show plays Nov. 6 at Hoyt Sherman. I don't know their music very well-- they're a little bit on the jammier side of my tastes-- but a friend burned me some tracks a few years ago, and they should be a good time.

Don't forget the Meat Puppets are coming to the Mews on Nov. 8. Why Make Clocks is definitely opening for that one. Bob Schneider will be there Nov. 10, and Modern Skirts, who put on a good show at 80/35, will be there Nov. 17. Folkie Ellis Paul, whose "Did I Ever Know You" was on a good mix CD I got once in college, comes Dec. 4.

Even further ahead, country-pop darling Taylor Swift will be headlining at Wells Fargo Arena on May 6, 2010.

Another country star, Brad Paisley, comes to Wells Fargo on Jan. 15. If that weren't Mrs. Des Noise's birthday, I might be tempted to see if I could finagle a way to go for opener Miranda Lambert (Justin Moore also opens). But though I may be dumb, I'm not THAT dumb.

Me, I'm roadtripping to Omaha tonight for one of my favorite veteran bands, Yo La Tengo.
In case you missed it, New York magazine had a great profile on the band last month. Mrs. Des Noise and I used one of their songs as our going-down-the-aisle music at our wedding a couple of years ago up at Jester Park; I wrote something about the song for Pitchfork's "Top 500 Tracks of the 2000s" list, which you can read (#182) while listening to the song here.

Last night we went to see Maya Angelou speak at Drake University. She started by singing a snippet of an old spiritual about a "rainbow in the clouds." At first I wasn't sure what was going on, but then she brilliantly incorporated that theme into her entire speech, relating it to events in her life and closing by singing a bit of the song again. She was hilarious and wise, like a grandmother who has seen it all and is going to share some life lessons with you. She could've chosen to speak on some intellectual topic, or to wax political-- her interview in the Des Moines Register defined courage as "defending the defenseless"-- but with her background of accomplishments, she didn't need to. Instead, she shared a message that even the preteen sitting behind us could probably appreciate, about how there can be hope in darkness (a rainbow in the clouds), and how we every one of us can make a profound difference in someone's lives-- even if we don't know it.

I've been to a few other fun music-type things lately, including Christopher at the Conquered at the Mews, Austin May at Scented Vinyl, indie-folk group Menlo and rappers Maxila Blue at the Dogtown Festival (apologies to Beati Paoli-- I didn't mean to miss your set, it's just that dinner took longer than expected), and the Rural Albert Advantage with the Love of Language and Pink Kodiak at the Mews. Oh, and I did some successful record shopping at ZZZ Records, too: Picked up some old Kraftwerk, Talking Heads, Harry Nilsson, Fleetwood Mac, Sylvester, Jan Hammer, Slade, New Order, and George Carlin, along with the new Jim Guthrie LP and a couple of personal favorites I should've already owned on vinyl (Belle and Sebastian's Tigermilk and If You're Feeling Sinister).

Other notable recent musical goings-on:

Sian Alice Group canceled. So did Skee-Lo. No, you can't wish for infinite wishes.

The John & Mary Pappajohn Sculpture Park! I love it. Totally proud to have this in our city.

On a sadder note, longtime local rock'n'roll radio DJ Dic Youngs died at 68. I never heard him, but it sounds like he made a great contribution to music and culture in this city, and he will be missed.

So: What else is coming up? What am I forgetting? I always blank on something.

THE FALLING LEAVES. THE FOAMING ALES. THE BELATED DES NOISE FALL CONCERT PREVIEW.

I barely managed to post my summer concert preview before it officially became summer and my list would've no longer been even technically on time. I've been hoping I could be at least that punctual with my fall concert preview, especially after seeing the Cityview and the Des Moines Register's Datebook fall entertainment guides pile up on my coffee table. This is my best effort.

Britney Spears on Sept. 11, I'm sorry I missed you.

(Hat tip to Tom Ewing for the title of this post. Thanks to Patrick and Ashley Tape Fleming for making the adjacent photo with the IOWA shaved-head fan guy happen... it was our dirty iPhone, not any shakiness by Ashley, that caused the blur. Mrs. Des Noise is cropped out, to protect the innocent. And the jobs thereof.)

SEPTEMBER

Friday, Sept. 18: Grace Basement @ Vaudeville Mews
Catchy, jangly St. Louis guitar-pop with reverence for '60s psych: "Today I made some hummus for you" (listen)

Saturday, Sept. 19: Silversun Pickups and Manchester Orchestra @ Hoyt Sherman
Two popular indie rock bands I've never seen live. L.A.'s Silversun Pickups go for taut rythms, Placebo-pinched vox, and post-"Popular" Nada Surf mellow anthemics, while Atlanta's Manchester Orchestra do the "grandiose 1990s alternative (slight keyboard)" thing. If I can convince Mrs. Des Noise, I'll go.

Sunday, Sept. 20: Laura Barrett @ Vaudeville Mews
My favorite moment for the kalimba, or thumb piano, so far is former Vaud-playing Swede Jens Lekman's cover of late Iowa native Arthur Russell's "A Little Lost". Expect Toronto's Barrett to play the instrument-- and maybe keyboard, kazoo, bass pedals, and "other percussion"-- when she brings her low-key, minimalist folk-pop to Des Moines. (listen)

Monday, Sept. 21: Bruce Springsteen and the E Street Band @ Wells Fargo Arena
The Boss returns to Des Moines for the first time since 2006, this time with his longtime accomplices. OK, I really like Nebraska, "The River", "It's Hard to Be a Saint in the City", and probably plenty of other songs I'm blanking on right now-- I'm not a total Philistine!-- but I've always found "Born to Run" ridiculous, winced after Springsteen got a career boost out of 9/11 with The Rising, and I don't have $90 to shell out on tickets, so since I'm sitting this one out anyway I'm gonna have to side with Richard Meltzer, who compared Bruce's blend of 1950s nostalgia (Roy Orbison!) and 1960s nostalgia (Bob Dylan!) to another 1970s phenomenon: the Fonz. This view is probably the real reason I could no longer live in the mid-Atlantic states.

Monday, Sept. 21: Trivium @ People's
Three years ago, friend of Des Noise Tom Breihan called Trivium "the Jackson 5 of Underground Metal." I'm not one of those indie rock guys who nurtures a pet metal obsession; the only aggressive bones I have in my body are passive. But still.

Monday, Sept. 21: The Chambermaids @ Vaudeville Mews
Pedal-pushing Minneapolis power trio (their MySpace bio invokes shoegazers My Bloody Valentine, art-punks Wire, the Auckland Sound of New Zealand's Flying Nun, and the heady foreboding of 4AD) gets Down in the Berries. (listen)

Wednesday, Sept. 23: (early show) Good Old War @ Vaudeville Mews
My God, Fleet Foxes already have their own Thorns. At least that's what I thought when I first heard this band, a splinter project of Philadelphia indie-rockers Days Away, but it was only a live acoustic track. The full-band material is more textured and forceful; my RSS reader suggests these guys, like Jersey's Gaslight Anthem, are affiliated with the punk world despite their easygoing folk-rock sound. (listen)

(late show) Yourself and the Air @ Vaudeville Mews
"I don't know why but I feel so strange," these shimmery Chicago indie-rockers murmur plaintively on "So You've Come to Mingle", a buzzing, chiming, handclapping, whoa-oh-ohing stop-starter from their record Friend of All Breeds. "I don't know why but I feel like a mess... with you." I've only heard a couple of tracks, as with most of the up-and-coming groups playing at the Mews this month, but I could totally see myself bouncing around and making a mess of myself to this energetic, emotive stuff. (listen)

Thursday, Sept. 24: The Love Language @ Vaudeville Mews
Red-lining North Carolina indie band rocks nostalgic for Western swing, Buddy Holly, and a girl named Mary Lou who stole their heart. Says Ladd: "I really, really love this band!" Consider me there. (listen) Also: Saddle Creek-signed Toronto indie-folkers the Rural Albert Advantage (listen)

Friday, Sept. 25: Dave Matthews Band @ Principal Park
I understand Dave Matthews fandom. I heard about the band from an older cousin in 8th grade. When I moved to Nashville a year later and everyone was freaking out about some Hootie and the Blowfish band, DMB was common ground. They were even my first concert, in Phoenix in 10th grade. I still have some of the bootlegs. And I find this video hilarious. Everybody who goes will have a good time! I get it, and I think there's something good to be said for it, but I don't think anybody wants to read my take on it.

Friday, Sept. 25: The Shirelles, the Crystals, the Chantels @ Prairie Meadows Racetrack and Casino
What are the chances these are the people who actually sang on the records?

Saturday, Sept. 26: Dogtown Fest
The Register's Sophia Ahmad has the lineup (I've only see Beati Paoli; curious about the others):

• Main stage at 23rd and University Street — 4:20 p.m. – Finn Miles, 5:30 p.m. – Menlo, 6:30 p.m. – Beati Paoli, 8 p.m. – Maxilla Blue, 9:30 p.m. – Cashes Rivers
• Acoustic stage at Mars Cafe, 2318 University Ave. — 6:15 p.m. – James Biehn, 7:30 p.m. – Seedlings, 9 p.m. – Curry & Red

Saturday, Sept. 26: The Airborne Toxic Event @ People's
Earlier this year, I wrote: "When I read the Don Delillo book from which this band got their name, I thought it was overrated, the sort of thing a celebrity might say is great just to feel smart-- the postmodern Old Man and the Sea. OK, I was still just a freshman in college. There's a very good chance I was wrong."

Monday, Sept. 28: Mark Mallman @ Vaudeville Mews
Minneapolis piano-rocker with grandiose guitar touches befitting Wells Fargo Arena performers Trans-Siberian Orchestra toes up to the Weird Al irony line. (listen) (Star Tribune profile)

Tuesday, Sept. 29: The Rosewood Thieves @ Vaudeville Mews
Rootsy recent Hold Steady openers have the double-track vocals, syllable-stretching tunes, and melancholy guitar arrangements to earn comparisons to Elliott Smith or Earlimart, if not quite John Lennon. The folk and country tinges also align the New York band with the likes of Blitzen Trapper, Fleet Foxes, or Whiskeytown. (listen) with Portland's slightly folksier rock howlers the Dead Trees (listen)

Wednesday, Sept. 30: Wovenhand @ Vaudeville Mews
Former frontman for Denver alt-country band 16 Horsepower gets heavy and Nick Cave ominous in support of last year's Ten Stones. (listen)

Thursday, Oct. 1: Wilco at University of Iowa Memorial Union, Iowa City
Wilco (The Des Noise fall concert preview item).

Thursday, Oct. 8: Owl City @ House of Bricks
Mrs. Des Noise has already instantly denounced this EXTREMELY Postal Service-like band's "Fireflies" as more or less a crime against humanity. So I may be in the minority here. But I like the Postal Service! I like the idea of a band revisiting the Postal Service/Discovery sissy electro-pop sound and translating it for a mainstream radio audience! I like "Fireflies"! And I hope to like Owl City live.

Friday, Oct. 9: Miley Cyrus @ Wells Fargo Arena
Miley's "Party in the U.S.A.", like Kylie's much better "Can't Get You Outta My Head" before it, sounds like a pop hit with both mass audiences and critics in mind. I don't know that I'd believe the KISS FM DJ I heard saying he saw a trucker blasting the Hannah Montana star's current hit with the windows down, but I do know that it's a fascinating song to talk about. Meta to the max, it's already been called "the first Michael Jackson tribute record," and it prompted Mrs. Des Noise to ask whether she's getting paid for all those endorsements: KISS FM, Britney, Jay-Z. The only people the Top 40 really matters to, though, in terms of IRL social impact, are teenagers and preteens, and I sort of hate how endorsing this song would suggest you're endorsing the conformity that makes Miley's tummy feel better. Hey young girls: Don't like KISS FM or Britney, let alone that sweet feminist Jay? You don't get invited to the party! I won't be showing up, either, but I am morbidly curious.

Friday, Oct. 9: Lamb of God, Gwar @ Val Air Ballroom
Yeah, so I probably won't go to this. I know that some of my friends probably would. Metal! And joke-metal! And unfair jokes about metal that write themselves, thereby perpetuating metal's embrace by indie kids who maybe used to joke about metal!

Friday, Oct. 9: Yo La Tengo @ the Slowdown, Omaha
I will, in fact, be heading to Nebraska to see Hoboken's post-Sinatra finest this night. New album Popular Songs is their second straight triumph after 2003's uncharacteristically middling Summer Sun. I wrote something about their song "Our Way to Fall" for one of Pitchfork's best-of-the-decade lists: here.

Saturday, Oct. 10: AC/DC @ Wells Fargo Arena
Totally worth $90, says aforementioned friend of Des Noise Tom Breihan, who wrote up the classic kilt-rockers' 2008 Madison Square Garden gig for the Village Voice. Almost certainly true, but anybody wanna get me on the guest list?

Wednesday, Oct. 14: Dethklok, Mastodon, High on Fire, Converge @ Val Air Ballroom
Finally! A metal show I really want to see!

Wednesday, Oct. 28: The Veronicas @ the M Shop, Ames
I'd still be curious to see this Avril-like band some time.

Thursday, Oct. 29: Matisyahu @ People's
Everyone's favorite Hasidic reggae-rapper from this year's 80/35 festival makes his autumnal return.

Sunday, Nov. 1: New Found Glory @ People's
Whoa, these pop-punks are still around? That one guy looks kinda like Morrissey with a skunk hair-stripe.

Sunday, Nov. 22: Minus the Bear @ People's
Mathy Seattle indie rockers.