Champaign-Urbana blogs

Next week, over a thousand performers will descend upon Austin, Texas. These musicians, comedians, artists, and filmmakers will be joined by around ten thousand fans for a week of innovation, creativity and really killer music. Meanwhile, I will be here in Urbana, analyzing mouse brains and jonesing for a week away from work spent wrapped up in the best in indie music. While most of us probably can't afford to take a week off work and make it to South By Southwest, this year C-U has the opportunity to get a taste of the talent headed down to Austin (or, for you lucky bastards who are headed to the festival, a preview). Mike n' Molly's will be playing host to four SXSW bands this Thursday, Friday, and Saturday nights, as part if their first ever Exit 182 Festival. The festival kicks off on Thursday with The Young Republic, supported by locals Heyokas, Kilroy, et. al. and Roses and Saké. On Friday, Chicago SXSWers Jared Grabb will be playing alongside Tina Sparkle, Laarks, and Mayhew the Traitor and on Saturday Pet Lions and Mittens on Strings will play before heading down to Austin, with Jet W. Lee and The Fantastic Plastics supporting. While many of the bands playing in the mini-festival will be new to my ears, there's one I can't wait to see: The Young Republic. In the interest of full disclosure, I should tell you that I have a previous relationship with The Young Republic. Although we didn't meet until five years ago, the band went to school across the street from my alma mater in Nashville, and when they were looking to expand their tour dates in the Midwest, I pointed them toward Mike n' Molly's. While I wouldn't say we were friends, the band was a mainstay in my little piece of the Nashville music scene, and having them play in Champaign feels just about like having an old friend come visit. The Young Republic is the creative outlet of Julian Saporiti, who grew up in Nashville and recruited a handful of talented friends from his high school, the University School of Nashville, which is well known for churning out smart, motivated and creative students. The Young Republic were no exception. Julian and the band were prolific and assertive, handing out home-burnt CDs at shows and cramming into our tiny radio station to promote their local gigs. I remember them as friendly, enthusiastic, surprisingly savvy to the hurdles they faced as musicians. They headed to Berklee College of Music but have remained Nashvillians at heart, coming back in town to play shows at their high school and in local coffee shops and venues. Having been a listener of theirs for so long, I am thrilled by the growth The Young Republic has embraced throughout these recent years. When I first met them in Nashville, the band wrote earnest, orchestral songs ranging from smooth pop to sweeping ballads, relying heavily on sweeping strings and airy acoustic guitars. Their first (apparently unofficial) releases, which I imagine can now only be heard on old music blogs or directly from the band, give The Young Republic a very distinct identity as articulate and thoughtful pop musicians. Their new full-length, Balletesque, (which seems to be being promoted as The Young Republic's "debut") presents an entirely new sound for the band. Balletesque sees the band taking on new characters apart from the wide-eyed dreamers of their previous work. In place of youthful optimism is a shrewd and playful dark side (The Young Republic curse? Who knew?!). They've picked up a few new tricks in their time together, as their careful strings now mix with electric guitar riffs and energetic drumming. For a Young Republic fan, Balletesque is full of surprises. "Rose..."  [Read more]

I'm not going to pretend like this whole thing is easy. I don't want to fall into a trap here of trying to gloss things over or to make them pretty for public consumption. This is intended to be a true documentation of my journey during The Yoga Experiment. And this week I fell off the wagon. I didn't just fall off, I jumped off and went flying into oblivion. It isn't the yoga, really. Yoga is awesome, and I have still kept to my at-least-one-hour-a-day-five-times-a-week edict. It's part of my life now; I get up and go to class without thinking about it too much. I'm still seeing improvements in my flexibility with each passing day, and I'm having a really good time. Continue Reading... Published in: The Yoga Experiment  [Read more]

As is often the case, I entered the Krannert Center's Colwell Playhouse knowing next to nothing about what I was about to see. If I'd read more about this particular play, I'd probably not have attended. Christopher Durang's "A History of the American Film" is a parody of the classic 1930s–1940s musicals and films that the WWII Generation enjoyed. Good Girl Loretta falls in love with Jimmy the Gangster, and through their adventures we're treated to an historical account of the best that American film had to offer during the early 20th century. Continue Reading... Published in: Theatre  [Read more]

As is often the case, I entered the Krannert Center's Colwell Playhouse knowing next to nothing about what I was about to see. If I'd read more about this particular play, I'd probably not have attended. Christopher Durang's "A History of the American Film" is a parody of the classic 1930s–1940s musicals and films that the WWII Generation enjoyed. Good Girl Loretta falls in love with Jimmy the Gangster, and through their adventures we're treated to an historical account of the best that American film had to offer during the early 20th century. I know virtually nothing about American film during the early 20th century, best or otherwise. Sure, I've seen Gone With the Wind and Fantasia. I've seen Casablanca (was that filmed in the 40s? I think so). I know that there were a lot of films that featured beautiful women performing synchronized swimming (and that this is now an Olympic Sport); I know that there were old, skinny men—wearing top hats and tails—singing and dancing with beautiful, gorgeously dressed women who were also singing and dancing. So I recognized these references. But I've never seen a Fred Astaire film, or an Al Jolson film (did he make films?), or Joan Crawford, or Katherine Hepburn, or anything with Judy Garland after The Wizard of Oz (I'm gonna lose my gay card for this; I know it). So, I'm afraid that I probably missed a lot of Durang's references. Continue Reading... Published in: Theatre  [Read more]

Today's NG: Even before Gov. Pat Quinn formally proposed his budget that includes a cut in the state revenue sharing program with cities and counties, there were howls from local government. Champaign County Administrator Deb Busey said Quinn’s planned reduction in income tax sharing with municipalities would mean a loss of $795,000 to the county. The governor will propose today a reduction from 10 percent to 7 percent in the amount of income tax revenue the state passes on to local governments. “To us that’s a 30 percent drop in the revenue stream,” Busey said at Tuesday’s county board committee of the whole meeting. “In 2008 that generated over $3 million.” Discuss.  [Read more]

Wednesday, March 10, 2010.  [Read more]

  [Read more]

A very weird Czechoslovakian film re-imagines Alice in Wonderland  [Read more]

WPGU's music staff reviews the newest effort from these Scots.  [Read more]

Mark Morris Dance Group performed three choreographic works at the Krannert Center for the Performing Arts in early March that received a standing ovation for their physical commitment to their work and elementary-thematic style.  [Read more]