Thursday, June 2, 2005 Edition
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Cover Story: Some like it hot


Hot season of sounds ahead

If you've purchased tickets to see Green Day and Paul McCartney this fall at Wells Fargo Arena or you're traveling out of town to catch the Rolling Stones, you've probably already spent a good share of your concert dollars for the year, but that doesn't mean you have to miss out on the abundance of good shows scheduled to hit town before then.

Good music is best experienced live, which means putting your money where your mouth is and spending a few additional dollars and hours to take in a few concerts in the coming months. It's time to lay your video rental card to rest, stop whining about how there's nothing to do in Iowa, open your mind and do your part to make this a cooler place to live. >> more

 
Gaskell: Up in smoke

Healthier, wealthier Iowa disappears into thin air

Was it the fact that fewer people would be smoking or the millions of dollars for the state that bothered legislators the most about a proposal to increase taxes on cigarettes? Being healthier, one would think, shouldn't bother them. And with all the bitching about money going on up at the capitol, one might also hazard a guess that having more of it wouldn't have been a bad thing either. >> more

Scene Scribe: Eclectic rock band opens Nitefall series

By Michael Swanger michael@dmcityview.com

Here's the conundrum for fans of the Chicago group Umphrey's McGee: How do you convince your friends to go to the Nitefall on the River show Thursday when you struggle to describe them? Are they:

A) An aggressive jam band

B) Nerdy progressive rock

C) Masturbatory jazz fusion >> more

Civic Skinny: Not getting involved

Party bigwigs will sit out primary fights

Top players in both parties plan to stay on the sidelines in the gubernatorial primaries. Don't expect U.S. Sen. Charles Grassley to choose between Congressman Jim Nussle and Bob Vander Plaats or U.S. Sen. Tom Harkin to choose between IDED Chief Mike Blouin, Chet Culver and Mike Gronstal (assuming all are in). Gov. Tom Vilsack will remain neutral - outwardly, at least - and Lt. Gov. Sally Pederson >> more

Upfront: Squeeze play?


Matt Johnson saw the large, orange object being carried through the front door of his coffee shop, Cup O' Kryptonite, and said, "No thanks." The object was a stand for Juice, The Register's new free weekly, and although the delivery person told Johnson that he had requested it, Johnson assured the individual he had not. The same story has played out in the East Village, on the skywalk and in various other local businesses that have called us to say that Juice folks are trying to push our stands out of the way to make room for The Register's latest desperate attempt to gain young readers. >>more

City Sounds: People before profits

Mustard's Retreat unifies people with folk music
By Michael Swanger michael@dmcityview.com

Perhaps no other group of artists has captured the triumphs and troubles of working-class people while playing a role in shaping our nation's identity than have folk musicians. From Woody Guthrie to Bob Dylan to Ani DiFranco, folk musicians - at least the good ones - entertain, educate and enlighten.

It was with that goal in mind that Mustard's Retreat was formed in 1974 in Ann Arbor, Mich., when two University of Michigan students, David Tamulevich and Michael Hough, discovered their mutual passion for folk music and its social activism. Thirty-one years and six albums later, the duo remains dedicated to the "cause," though they don't beat anyone over the head with their views. Instead, Tamulevich adds, they pride themselves in uniting people. >> more


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