Don’t wait to buy your Pygmalion passes for the fall — they’re on sale now at pygmalionmusicfestival.com. This is the easiest and cheapest way to see all your favorite acts from Champaign-Urbana, as well as great national acts, all in your own back yard!

Head over there now to buy your tickets.

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.