WHAT: Midas the Crow, Emily Otnes, Justin Rondon
WHERE: The Clark Bar (free)
WHEN: Tuesday, October 9th at 7:00 p.m.
The Clark Bar continues to put together some solid bills every Tuesday. This week, Justin Larkin, aka Midas the Crow, and his raspy acoustic tunes will headline, along with other locals Emily Otnes and Justin Rondon.
…………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………..
WHAT: Rasputina, Fun Fables 
WHERE: The Highdive ($15)
WHEN: Tuesday, October 9th at 8:00 p.m.
Quirky cello trio Rasputina stop in C-U on their month-long tour across the U.S. with touring partner Fun Fables. The band isn’t really like anything I’ve ever heard before, almost sounding like a gypsy punk outfit or something of that nature. You can check it out for yourself below, by streaming one of their tracks from their new record.
Listen: Rasputina: “Holocaust of Ghosts”
…………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………..
WHAT: Ensemble Basiani
WHERE: Krannert Center for the Performing Arts ($10–$32)
WHEN: Tuesday, October 9th at 7:30 p.m.
The huge twelve member harmonic ensemble will take the stage in the Foellinger Great Hall at Krannert on Tuesday evening. We’ll have an extensive look into what the ensemble will bring to the table when they come through. As a preview to that, expect some ancient choral singing and some pretty haunting harmonies. Pretty amazing stuff if you’re interested in that sort of thing. Listen to some of it over at their website.
…………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………..
WHAT: Blessed Feathers, Mutts, Way Yes 
WHERE: Mike ‘N Molly’s ($5)
WHEN: Wednesday, October 10th at 10:00 p.m.
Milwaukee’s Blessed Feathers will be providing some soulful indie rock with Ohio’s Way Yes and Chicago’s Mutts. Blessed Feathers have a new record coming out, which you can preorder here, so they’re playing some shows in support of that and make their way mid-week at Mike ‘N Molly’s. Mutts also have something going of their own, as they’ll be releasing their new double record Separation Anxiety as well. Solid show right here.
…………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………..
CANCELLED (UPDATED – 10/9/2012) WHAT: Hunter Valentine
WHERE: Courtyard Cafe
WHEN: Wednesday, October 10th at 8:00 p.m.
This alt-rock crew comes through on campus, playing in the Illini Union Courtyard Cafe for their Collide & Conquer tour. Their album of the same name drops in a few weeks on October 23rd. To get a taste of what their sound is like before the show, head over and take a listen to Collide & Conquer over at their website.
…………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………..
WHAT: Wolfgang Gartner, Pierce Fulton, Popeska 
WHERE: The Canopy Club ($17 advance/$20 door)
WHEN: Thursday, October 11th at 9:00 p.m.
DJ/producer Wolfgang Gartner and his electro-house beats come through to Canopy, which has featured a lot of shows in the same vein as this in recent weeks. The wildly popular Gartner has been featured with all types of artists, doing remixes for Timbaland and Britney Spears, amongst others. Should be quite the party going down as the weekend is drawing near. Check out some of his music here.
…………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………..
WHAT: Minor Characters, Kowabunga! Kid, Ryan McCoy
WHERE: Mike ‘N Molly’s ($5)
WHEN: Thursday, October 11th at 9:00 p.m.
Some catchy indie-pop going down over at Mike ‘N Molly’s Thursday evening. Chicago’s Minor Characters have been playing a handful of shows here and there around Illinois last month and now into October. They’ll be joined by locals Kowabunga! Kid and Midstress frontman Ryan McCoy as they stop through this part of the state. Check out their self-titled record below, released last November.
…………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………..
WHAT: Victor Wooten 
WHERE: The Canopy Club ($15 advance/$18 door)
WHEN: Friday, October 12th at 7:00 p.m.
Bassist extraordinaire Victor Wooten plays the early show over at Canopy before Paper Diamond takes over late. If you haven’t seen Wooten play before, it’s pretty freakin’ remarkable what this guy is capable of. One of the best bassists I’ve ever seen, and is decorated with tons of awards for his ability to slap that bass. You might know him as a part of Bela Fleck and the Flecktones if you’re familiar with that jam-folk outfit. He just released two records, one instrumental and one with vocals. You can check out a preview of that here.
…………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………..
WHAT: Paper Diamond, Eliot Lipp, Clicks & Whistles
WHERE: The Canopy Club ($15 advance/$16 door)
WHEN: Friday, October 12th at 10:30 p.m.
Night Vision Tour 2012 is in full swing as Paper Diamond looks to fill Canopy Club for the late show Friday night. We’ll take a closer look at this show a bit later in the week, with some history of this project, as well as what to expect at the show. If you’re interested in some free music, you can download some remixes and other tracks over at the music section of Paper Diamond’s website. Check out the full tour mix below.
…………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………..
WHAT: Duke of Uke and His Novelty Orchestra 
WHERE: The Iron Post ($6)
WHEN: Saturday, October 13th at 6:00 p.m.
Duke of Uke released their pretty solid April’s Empire earlier this year, which we took a good look at when it came out. The world might not look as colorful right now as the album art makes it out to be, but this would be a good one to catch earlier in the evening over at the Post on Saturday.
…………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………..
WHAT: DJ Belly, Kirkwood West, Swords, Miles “Hauser” Holt, Terse, Cid Ikarus
WHERE: Cowboy Monkey ($3)
WHEN: Saturday, October 13th at 9:00 p.m.
Some local grooves going down at Cowboy Monkey known as the “Taste Maker,” and it looks like it should be pretty great. Solid lineup of DJs and producers on tap, with some house music, techno, DJ mashups, and hip hop all in the mix for this one.
…………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………..
EDITOR’S PICK: OLD LIGHTS, BELIEVERS, ANNA KARINA/ANNA KARENINA
Mike ‘N Molly’s ($5) — Friday, October 12th at 10:00 p.m.
St. Louis natives Old Lights aren’t a whole lot to see from the outside looking in. The real treat with these guys is within the comfort of what they bring to the table as far as their music goes. Get in touch with what this band has to offer through their record, Like Strangers, which I’ve linked below. Great stuff.
Not only is the headlining act great, but we can’t fail to mention they’re playing with two other really solid acts, including Believers, a collaboration between brothers Wesley and Tyler Powell, as well as one of my favorite new acts in town, Anna Karina/Anna Karenina. The latter aren’t that new anymore, but you get the idea.
…………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………..
WHAT: Mille Nomi 
WHERE: Bentley’s Pub ($2)
WHEN: Saturday, October 13th at 11:30 p.m.
A fairly late-starting show happening at Bentley’s Saturday night, as Mille Nomi will hold down the stage solo. If you didn’t catch them at Pygmalion, this is a good opportunity to catch a pretty solid local outfit. Check out their WEFT Session from their Bandcamp below for a quick preview.
…………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………..
WHAT: Tommy Castro and the Painkillers, Delta Kings
WHERE: The Highdive ($15 advance/$18 door)
WHEN: Sunday, October 14th at 7:00 p.m.
Blues outfit Tommy Castro and his band the Painkillers stop through, sharing the stage with familiar rock crew Delta Kings. Castro has won numerous awards in the blues genre, even winning Best Song in the Blues Category for the 2011 International Songwriting Competition. Pretty good stuff here if you’re a blues fan.