Electrified pop

What tends to set a really good cover apart is when the artist comes at the song from such an unusual angle that it catches you off guard. If a band can score big points on originality, it can elevate a cover from “listenable” to “memorable” quickly. This is a

Old school cool

Is there anything more ring-a-ding-ding cool than sitting at Chuck’s Restaurant, having jazzy standards and covers crooned at you while you scarf down a mouthful of carbs? Saturday, Feb. 23 was a night for just that sort of thing, courtesy of Steve Charlson.                 Charlson, an accomplished bassist who’s played with

The Cream of the Crop

“We had a private show cancel this week,” Bright Giant frontman Josh Davis said before his show at Gas Lamp. “They said we sounded ‘too goth.’ ” There’s possibly no faster way to identify oneself as a mouth-breathing member of the musical ragtag and bobtail than to classify Bright Giant

From mellow to metal

Mews played host to a plethora of metal acts on Sunday, Feb. 10, headed up by Colorado’s Asylum and Wisconsin-based Micawber. Opening the event were central Iowa acts Shadow of Indra and They Will Repent, which combined to kick off the show with a study in contrasts.                Shadow of Indra’s

A Des Munks kind of funk

Des Munks mark the capital city’s latest entry into the funk/jam band category. While the band’s normal lineup consists of guitarist Spencer Brown, bassist AJ Simon and drummer George McCutchen, the latter of whom was out of town this past week performing in Memphis with the Rock Island Rollers. Filling

Thankful Dirt

In the 2003 film “Lost In Translation” Bill Murray’s character is in Japan to shoot a commercial wherein his only line is: “For relaxing times, make it Santori Time.” Well, Des Moines, for relaxing times, make it Thankful Dirt time.               The band is anchored by the duo of Darren and

Rock Island Rollers

In a town that prides itself on the quality of the blues music it produces, it can take quite a lot to make an impression. Even judging solely by the performance Saturday night — to say nothing of the quality of its lineup — the Rock Island Rollers should have

The Snacks at The Underground, Jan. 9.

“Thank you for coming. You. Specifically.” The Snacks — Mike Pfaff and Jeff Karnowski — are talking directly to me because, at the moment, I’m the only person in the bar. It’s a slow night for Des Moines’ hardest working novelty act. Any city worth its salt has a show

When you’ve got a band with the pedigree of The Queers coming in to town to perform, you can always expect two things: a heavy turnout and a killer performance. Neither Gas Lamp nor the boys from New Hampshire disappointed in those regards, as The Queers unleashed a blistering, break-neck

Christopher the Conquered played the Gas Lamp on Saturday, Dec. 29.

As some of you might be aware, I had a birthday over the weekend. It was actually Dec. 30, but since nobody likes to party on a Sunday, I threw together a show at Gas Lamp on Dec. 29. The White Elephant, Viva Montesa, Christopher the Conquered and Mumfords all