A college town during break is a wonderful thing. All the advantages of a place built to accommodate lots of people with different interests but none of the people. Sweet. There are several things worth doing while town is partially empty, like…

Going to Cafe Kopi and sitting at a table of your choice, instead of the only empty or almost empty table
Driving the length of Green Street in under 20 minutes
Drinking in Campustown after 10pm without waiting in line
Ordering food and having it delivered in under an hour
Walking around campus and enjoying the relaxing emptiness

These are just some of the advantages of break, not including the lack of classes and Thanksgiving itself, which are totally awesome and just great, respectively. Have a happy turkey time C-U, let me know if I overlooked your favorite “ghost town” activity.

Went to the Emmitt Nershi Band show on Sunday night at the Canopy Club. This is an all-string band with Drew Emmitt from Leftover Salmon and Billy Nershi of String Cheese Incident, as well as uber-banjo player Chris Pandolfi and a bass player whose name I did not catch. They sounded great–very energetic and rockin, and the crowd was loving every minute.
I think I would rather be at a show where I had to throw an elbow or two to discourage over-stimulated dancers than a show where everyone is still. Then again, I have been an over-stimulated dancer at many shows, so this is strictly a personal preference people! It is interesting how many hippies emerge from the woodwork when a good jam show comes to town. I know that Umphreey’s and Keller Williams always draw a killer crowd at the Canopy.
As one of the two people who does Jambana on WPGU, I am certainly biased in my appreciation of jam music, but I think even some of the more indie music listeners would enjoy being at a live show where the crowd is super-pumped and the musicians are astoundingly technically accomplished. (Not that nonjam musicians are not, but to see Chris Pandolfi rage his banjo is an amazing sight.)
I must admit that I am a little apprehensive about this post, since my last live-show related post drew such dramatic response…but this is my blog dammit and I am certainly not out to offend. Can’t we all just get along?

Last week I wrote a blog about the new Beauty Shop ep, and in the spirit of field research (and pure enjoyment) I went to check them out at the IMC fest in the old Urbana post office. I have seen them several times at the monkey and other locations, and never have I been in such a lame crowd.

After a rocky start from the sound crew, the sound was great, the music sounded sweet, the space was big, and most of the spectators looked like they had shuffled over from the coma ward of Carle Clinic. There were maybe five people moving during the entire show. Perhaps John Hoeffleur’s fantastic pink sparkle wig created a force-field around the stage that made coming within ten feet impossible.

We must just be spoiled in this town of musicmusicmusic. All I know is that when Beauty Shop tickets are impossible to get your hands on, there will be some people regretting that they never took the chance to see them around town. Where was everyone?

hi everyone!
This is my blog of activities in Champaign-Urbana. There are not many Italian activities in our city, but there are many Italian restuarants. Some restaurants are owned by Italian families, but other resaturants are own by Americans.

Two of these, Biaggis and Olive Garden, are chains, but the other restaurants are privately owned. These others are:

Manzellas
Minneci
Timpone’s
The Great Impasta (where I work)

If you like Italian food, go to one of the Italian restaurants within our city!
(per leggere questo blog in italiano, andate qui

I think that The Beauty Shop is one of the best bands playing around town right now and since they have just out out a new ep “Just Some Demos,” I am a very happy music listener. The band had been playing some of the songs on the ep around town this summer, and they are great.

WPGU is playing one called “Ambulance,” which is totally rad. I think that the previous Beauty Shop albums have been great also, but they can get a little bit sad for me. A few of the new ones are not peppy really, but more bouncy?fun?happy?danceable? I don’t really know what to call them, because “better” is inaccurate, plus not really my call to make. If you like them more, good for you; if you like older Beauty music more, good for you too. They are just a little different, in a completely kick ass way.
So (the following is a gratuitous pimp for local commerce), think about going to Exile on Main sometime next week and picking up “Just Some Demos.” Not too expensive and totally worth it. As of friday nov. 2 they are not there yet, but they should be in soon.