Held over eight days in venues across Iowa City, Mission Creek 2011 hosts bands local, national, and international, from solo artists to large collectives. And it’s not just about the music, with everything from readings to a ‘punk brunch’ to an acclaimed & infamous film director.
And here’s a map of the venues to help you on your way:
MONDAY, 3/28
British Sea Power and A Classic Education @ Blue Moose Taphouse, 211 Iowa Ave.
Doors at 6:00 PM/Show at 7:00 PM – $15/$12 advance
Mission Creek starts off on a high note thanks to British Sea Power (QRO spotlight on). This (yes) British act (QRO live review in the U.K.) are making one of their rare trips across the pond, this time in support of their latest, Valhalla Dancehall (QRO review). Not that they’re unfamiliar with festivals in Middle America, having participated in the inaugural Norman 
Music Festival in Oklahoma’s college town back in 2008 (QRO festival recap), when they last came to the U.S. (behind Do You Like Rock Music? – QRO review). So catch this epic act while you can!
Rubblebucket, Birds & Batteries, and The Wandering Bears @ Gabe’s, 330 E. Washington St.
Doors at 7:00 PM/Show at 8:00 PM – $12/$10 advance
For its birthday celebrations, local college radio station KRUI has recruited Brooklyn afrobeat-meets-indie-pop Rubblebucket, San Francisco Americana-meets-electro-pop, and Iowa City’s own heartache-meets-happiness Wandering Bears.
TUESDAY, 3/29
Deb Olin Unferth and Katie Crouch (reading) @ Prairie Lights, 14 S. Dubuque St.
7:00 PM – free
Mission Creek Festival also features a number of free readings, at Prairie Lights Bookstore and elsewhere.
Railroad Earth and Brighton, MA @ Englert, 221 E. Washington St.
Doors at 7:00 PM/Show at 8:00 PM – $22.50/$20 advance
It isn’t a festival without a roots-Americana jam band, and filling that slot at Mission Creek is Stillwater, New Jersey’s Railroad Earth. Taking in not just staple jam influences but also such farther styles from jazz to Celtic, expect live improvisation as well at Englert.
Colour Revolt, Ravens & Chimes, Caroline Smith & The Goodnight, and Sleeps @ The Mill, 120 E. Burlington St.
Doors at 7:00 PM/Show at 8:00 PM – free
Hailing from Mississippi’s college town, the appropriately-named Oxford, Colour Revolt (QRO photos) do add the Anglophile ‘u’ to their name, but their indie-rock (QRO live review) is still steeped in southern guitars. Out of the more/most typical of indie providing grounds, Brooklyn, comes the sunnier Ravens & Chimes (QRO photos at a festival), whose dual, dueling duets make for sweet sounds, such as on new piece "Past Lives" (QRO mp3 review).
Lipstick Homicide, Tit Patrol, and The Good Habits @ Public Space One, 129 E. Washington St.
Doors at 9:00 PM/Show at 9:30 PM – free
Mission Creek also has a number of free shows at various spaces.
Zomes, Skull Defekts with Daniel Higgs, Alex Body, and Joe Pavilion @ White Lightning Warehouse
Doors at 9:00 PM/Show at 10:00 PM – $6
Flight School, featuring Willy Joy @ Yacht Club, 13 S. Linn St.
Doors at 9:00 PM/Show at 10:00 PM
WEDNESDAY, 3/30
Sound Opinions, Greg Kot, and Jim DeRegotis @ The Mill, 120 E. Burlington St.
Doors at 5:00 PM/Show at 6:00 PM – free
Jeff Tweedy and Snowblink @ Englert, 221 E. Washington St.
Doors at 7:00 PM/Show at 8:00 PM – $35
One of the biggest & best names in alt-country thanks to his work fronting maybe the biggest & best bands in alt-country, Wilco (QRO live review), Jeff Tweedy’s done some fine work outside of the Wilco juggernaut as well, such as recently teaming up with Stax Records legend Mavis Staples (even playing The Daily Show/The Colbert Report‘s ‘Rally to Restore Sanity and/or Fear’). So look for Wilco, solo & more when the Chicago native crosses the Mississip’.
[Note: if he doesn’t play it himself, local fans should demand that he cover "Iowa City Adieu" by Wilco bandmates Pat Sansone & John Stirratt, a.k.a. The Autumn Defense – QRO interview]
Nathaniel Rateliff, Peter Wolf Crier, and Christopher the Conquered @ The Mill, 120 E. Burlington St.
Doors at 8:00 PM/Show at 9:00 PM – $10/$8 advance
A major favorite of alt-super blogger BrooklynVegan, Denver’s Nathaniel Rateliff (QRO photos at a BrooklynVegan showcase) brings sad indie-folks sounds. From the north comes the basement folk duo, Peter Wolf Crier.
Or, the Whale, New Bodies, Chamberlin, and Kerosene Circuit @ Yacht Club, 13 S. Linn St.
Doors at 8:00 PM/Show at 9:00 PM – $8/$6 advance
‘Whale’ may be the new ‘Wolf’ or ‘Bear’ in band names, but deserving that attention is San Francisco’s Or, the Whale (taken from the alternative title to the mother of all whale stories, Moby Dick; or, The Whale…), who hew to the indie-folk collective style that’s also getting big (and got them on Good Morning America).
Blizzard at Sea, Native, Mondo Drag, and The Freemasons @ Blue Moose Taphouse, 211 Iowa Ave.
Doors at 9:00 PM/Show at 9:30 PM – $6
Check out the psychedelic rock from Davenport’s Mondo Drag (QRO mp3 review).
Utopia Park, Binary Marketing Show, Ex Action Model, and Dugoutcanoe @ Gabe’s, 330 E. Washington St.
Doors at 9:00 PM/Show at 9:30 PM
Mountains, David Daniell, Lwa, and Cocoon @ White Lightning Wherehouse, 700 S. Dubuque St.
Doors at 9:00 PM/Show at 9:30 PM
THURSDAY, 3/31
Das Racist and Benjamin Hale @ Motley Cow Café, 160 N. Linn St.
7:00 PM – free
Make it to Motley Cow Café early for a free reading from alt-hip-hop act Das Racist at the Mission Creek Happy Hour.
Julie Hanson (reading) @ Prairie Lights, 14 S. Dubuque St.
7:00 PM – free
Iowa Press Poetry Award Reading
Thurston Moore & Kim Gordon – AKA Mirror/Dash, Chris Corsano, and Stare Case @ The Mill, 120 E. Burlington St.
Doors at 8:00 PM/Show at 9:00 PM – $25/$20 advance
There isn’t a greater, more iconic alt-punk band than the one-and-only Sonic Youth (QRO live review), and there isn’t a great, more iconic alt-rock couple than Thurston Moore (QRO solo live review) & Kim Gordon. Breaking all the rules on short life-span for punk acts and bands with a married couple in them, Sonic Youth (QRO live review) have been around – and been relevant – for longer than anyone (save maybe Bowie…), even getting the seminal Daydream Nation (QRO deluxe edition review) inducted into the Library of Congress, making them like The Simpsons of alternative music (and they played The Simpsons theme song over the credits of the ‘Homerpalooza’ episode…).
Playing Mission Creek as a duo (without the equally-capable Lee Renaldo, Steve Shelley, or new SY/old Pavement bassist Mark Ibold), expect the more experimental noise-rock side of the pair to take center stage when they come to Iowa City as ‘Mirror/Dash’.
Les Dames du Burlesque & IC Kings, HOTT, and Liberty Leg @ Blue Moose Taphouse, 211 Iowa Ave.
Doors at 9:00 PM/Show at 10:00 PM – $8
Das Racist, The Hood Internet, and RichRok @ Yacht Club, 13 S. Linn St.
Doors at 9:00 PM/Show at 10:00 PM – $12/$10 advance
Check out mock-rap outfit Das Racist (QRO photos at a festival), especially their hilarious breakthrough single, "Combination Pizza Hut and Taco Bell". And just as Das Racist is one of the alt-world’s favorite rap acts, The Hood Internet (QRO photos) is one of its favorite DJ duos.
Slut River, Winters Ruby, and Horse or Cycle @ Public Space One, 129 E. Washington St.
Doors at 9:30 PM/Show at 10:00 PM – free
FRIDAY, 4/1
DJ Lady Espina @ Hotel Vetro/Formosa, 201 S. Linn St.
Show at 5:00 PM – free
UIMA First Friday
Golden Birds, Alexis Stevens, and Eugene Kelly @ Revival, 117 E. College St.
Show at 5:00 PM – free
Start your weekend early with the many early afternoon free events on Friday of Mission Creek.
Jeff Ray/Radius, Zodiac, Wind Far, and I Hear IC @ Studio 13, 13 S. Linn St.
Show at 5:00 PM – free
Tao Lin, Lindsay Hunter, and Ted Thompson (reading) @ Prairie Lights, 14 S. Dubuque St.
6:00 PM – free
John Waters @ Englert, 221 E. Washington St.
Doors at 6:00 PM/Show at 7:00 PM – $75/$25/$20
There really aren’t enough words in the world to describe the one-and-only John Waters. He rose to infamy creating infamous transgressive trash cult films in the seventies and eighties (casting cross-dressers, convicts, porn stars & more) before 1988’s Hairspray got him some mainstream success & notice [note that that’s the original Hairspray, not the musical based on it, or the 2002 movie based on the musical…] – as well as actual famous actors for his movies.
Waters is equally a signature personality, from his flamboyant persona (think Scott Thompson as his ‘Buddy Cole’ character in The Kids In the Hall, only much cleverer) to his pencil-thin moustache. What will the Baltimore-bred Waters do in the first state to recognize gay marriage? Whatever it is, it will be fabulous & scandalous!…
Here We Go Magic, Dark Dark Dark, Pillars & Tongues, and Skye Carrasco @ The Mill, 120 E. Burlington St.
Doors at 7:00 PM/Show at 8:00 PM – $12/$10 advance
No alternative music festival is complete without a Brooklyn indie success story, and Here We Go Magic (QRO photos at a festival) is that. Luke Temple’s outfit has enchanted crowds & critics with its mixture of alt-folk and hazy electronica, most recently with last year’s Pigeons (QRO review).
The Poison Control Center, Land of Blood and Sunshine, Mumfords, and Grand Tetons @ Blue Moose Taphouse, 211 Iowa Ave.
Doors at 8:00 PM/Show at 9:00 PM – $6
From nearby Ames comes The Poison Control Center, who are bringing back the nineties alt-slacker sounds of Pavement (QRO live reunion review) & Superchunk (QRO live reunion review).
The Olympics, Brass Bed, The Wheelers, and Smokestack & The Foothill Fury @ Public Space One, 129 E. Washington St.
Doors at 8:00 PM/Show at 9:00 PM
High & Lonesome and Shame Train @ Yacht Club, 13 S. Linn St.
Doors at 9:00 PM/Show at 9:30 PM – $18/$15 advance
Rave! Mission: Beat, Radiohiro, Leon J, and six more DJs @ White Lightning Wherehouse, 700 S. Dubuque St.
9:00 PM to 6:00 AM – $12/$10 w/ two canned goods (donated to Iowa City food pantry)
Mission Creek & The Code Present
SATURDAY. 4/2
Small Press and Literary Journal Book Fair @ The Mill, 120 E. Burlington St.
1:00 PM – free
Sam Lipsyte, Nami Mun, Ben Percy, and Dora Malech @ The Mill, 120 E. Burlington St.
3:00 PM – free
Amongst the authors at Mission Creek is Manhattan’s Sam Lipsyte, who’s been in everything from The Paris Review to Playboy, and who broke through in 2000 with debut Venus Drive on Open City Books.
Mission Creek Lit Crawl @ multiple venues
5:00 PM to 7:45 PM – free
Follow writers across Iowa City in the ‘Mission Creek Lit Crawl’.
Solid Attidue, Hollows, The Poison Control Center, and T’Bone @ Studio 13, 13 S. Linn St.
Show at 5:00 PM – free
If you didn’t catch them the night before (see above), see The Poison Control Center for free at Studio 13.
Guided By Voices and Times New Viking @ Blue Moose Taphouse, 211 Iowa Ave.
Doors at 6:30 PM/Show at 8:00 PM – $35/$30 advance
Among the influential alternative music acts of the nineties was Dayton, Ohio’s Guided By Voices. Centered on the ultra-prolific Robert Pollard (QRO album review), GBV drew on nearly every rock sound, as well as being one of the pioneers of today’s lo-fi and neo-garage sounds. Late last year, Pollard revived the retired GBV moniker and reunited with the original, 1993-1996 ‘classic’ line-up for label Matador Records’ 21st anniversary bash in Las Vegas – and have kept it going since then.
Recently departed from Matador, but signed to equally iconic indie label Merge, is Times New Viking (QRO photos at a festival). The trio employs much of the same lo-fi styles, but in a noise-pop way that is an acquired taste.
DeVotchKa and Scotland Yard Gospel Choir @ First Methodist, 214 E. Jefferson St.
Doors at 7:00 PM/Show at 8:00 PM – $20 (plus $1.50 service fee)
Somewhere between the eclectic folk emanating from Gypsy caravans and Latin salsa coming up from south of the border lays the unique DeVotchKa (QRO photos). 
Employing instruments like the tuba and the sousaphone in addition to your usual guitars & drums, this Denver band (QRO photos) has created a stable place for themselves since breaking through when they did the soundtrack to Little Miss Sunshine, following that up with A Mad & Faithful Telling (QRO review) and this year’s 100 Lovers (QRO review).
Dennis McMurrin and The Ragbirds @ Yacht Club, 13 S. Linn St.
Doors at 9:00 PM/Show at 9:30 PM – $8
Ana Sia @ Gabe’s, 330 E. Washington St.
Doors at 9:00 PM/Show at 10:00 PM – $15/$12 advance
Meth & Goats, Mayor Daley, and CaCaw @ White Lightning Wherehouse, 700 S. Dubuque St.
Doors at 9:00 PM/Show at 9:30 PM – $5
SUNDAY, 4/3
T’Bone, Solid Attitude, and TBA @ White Lightning Wherehouse, 700 S. Dubuque St.
12:00 PM to 4:00 PM – free (potluck is encouraged)
White Lightning Wherehouse hosts ‘Punk Brunch’, a kraft fair, record swap and potluck.
Kurt Vile & The Violators, Brooks Strause & The Gory Details, The Lonelyhearts, and Paleo @ The Mill, 120 E. Burlington St.
Doors at 7:00 PM/Show at 8:00 PM – $8/$6 advance
Even amongst all the lo-fi guitar-punks out there, Kurt Vile has made a name for himself. The former member of The War On Drugs (QRO photos), Kurt Vile has since formed his own ensemble with his Violators, and recently contributed to/opened for alt-punk guitar god J Mascis (of Dinosaur Jr. – QRO live review) on his new solo record, Several Shades of Why, and subsequent tour.
MONDAY, 4/4
Wye Oak, Callers, and Dewi Sant @ The Mill, 120 E. Burlington St.
Doors at 7:00 PM/Show at 8:00 PM – $10/$8 advance
From John Waters’ (see above) Baltimore is the duo of Andy Stack & Jenn Wasner, a.k.a. Wye Oak (QRO photos). While records like debut If Children (QRO review), follow-up The Knot (QRO review), and latest Civilian tackle the sweeter indie-folk side of things, live (QRO photos at a festival) the band rocks a lot harder, especially Wasner’s axe.
For festival website, go here: http://festival.missionfreak.com/
