I woke up to an email from Pitchfork detailing all the artists that were added to the already great lineup at the festival this year (Vampire Weekend, !!!, Animal Collective, etc.). Recently added:

Dinosaur Jr.
Jarvis Cocker
Ghostface & Raekwon
The Apples In Stereo
+ more

Why do I tell you this even though it’s not local? Because WPGU is giving away 3-day passes to the festival TODAY. So listen all day long for a chance to win a free trip to the Pitchfork Music Festival!

Monday night rage with Zmick was, for lack of a better word, raging on Monday. It was a particularly full crowd at the Canopy, and Zmick provided all the sweet tunes accompanied well by good people and good drink specials. My particular favorite of the evening was a cover of “Yoshimi Battles the Pink Robots”, in which they inserted the word “acid” for “vitamins”.

If you haven’t been to see Monday night rage with Zmick yet, it’s definitely worth your while. No matter how terrible the weather or how many midterms are floating around, there’s always a solid crowd there and Zmick is always tight.

Oh yes, and it’s free.

I apologize for the lack of quality. They were taken with my phone — I was caught off-guard at the awesomeness.

So I went to New Sound Sundays at the Canopy last night, and it was an exceptional one.

The night started off with local act Sunset Stallion, who are just getting started but are already showing their good songwriting and sheer musical talent. From Martin O’Donnell’s drum skills to Chad Warner and Hannah Newman’s impressive voices, the band has definite potential.

Next was an act that almost blew my face off, Astronautalis, from Florida. I’ll come back to that.

After Astronautalis was Jon Childers, another Chambanite who plays his own distinct brand of rock and roll. The crowd watched intently as Jon told stories about his Easter experience, and how he couldn’t play almost any of his songs for his grandparents because none of them were appropriate. As good as the stories were, so were the songs. Jon’s got soul, so hit up his myspace for some tunes.

Back to Astronautalis, this man (Andy) is a one man show, but don’t get too many vivid images of Dick Van Dyke just yet. He travels with his computer and plays excellent tracks, and then he raps/sings over them. Normally I’m not a fan of rap in general, but this guy was one of the most incredible acts I’ve ever seen. He was a mixture of genius, raw talent, and energy, and if you don’t check him out, you’re missing out.

Just another reminder of how fantastic Champaign-Urbana and its scene is, so don’t forget to go see great local shows in your own back yard. And if you ever need help as to where to find them, the217 has got you covered.

Now! They are fantastic.

Another Castle: A video game blog written by Nikki, a girl who really knows her stuff when it comes to gaming.

$5 Cover, Priceless Coverage: A music blog written by Chris, who goes to all the shows you want to know about. He even provides a neat poem at the end of each post.

Warrior Poet: A blog written about anything and everything, authored by Carl. Check out his random musings about life, shoes, dogs, and anything else he finds interesting.

Stay tuned for more blogs being added all the time! For now, you can see all the recently updated blogs here whenever you want.

I’m sitting in the Amtrak station right now, and I just remembered that downtown Champaign has free public wireless. Everywhere.

You just can’t find that too many places. On the downside, I hate Amtrak with a firey passion. You win some, you lose some.

Hi everyone-

Elle here, your trusty new producer of the217.com. I’ll be blogging about various happenings on the site, letting you know what’s new and what you should look at, as well as fixed bugs or honored requests so that you can use the site to its full potential.

I’ll also be around C-U, talking to those people in the community that make this place so great. I’m starting a weekly video series called “the217 sessions” where I’ll be interviewing people or groups around town, so check that out as well. Hilarity and/or exclusive live performances may ensue.

We’ll be doing a lot of exciting stuff on the site in the coming months, so rest assured that I’ll let you know about it. We want to be your number one place for all things Champaign-Urbana, as well as a one stop shop for entertainment, discussion, and more.

If you ever have any comments, questions, concerns, or something just plain isn’t right on the site, shoot me an email. I read everything I get and I’ll take it into consideration, because we want this to be your site.

I’m very excited about making this the best website it can be, so sit back, relax, and enjoy the217.com!