In the IMU Main Ballroom on Monday night, a small stage was set up with a flower-coated microphone stand and a canvas draped behind, painted with an elephant, dinosaur, and other animals. Among the wildlife, the name of the headlining band was emblazoned: MisterWives.
The indie-pop group was brought to Iowa City by the University of Iowa’s 10,000 Hours Show and SCOPE. 10,000 Hours is an organization that encourages young people to volunteer throughout the community. If, since May 2014, members of 10,000 Hours Show have volunteered at least 10 hours of their time with a local nonprofit, then they get a free concert.
SCOPE Finance Committee member Connor Vandersnick said the organization focuses on bringing fresh groups to campus — including Neutral Milk Hotel, Santah, and Real Estate this semester — and that’s exactly why the group picked MisterWives.
“We know not everyone likes country music, not everyone likes rap music, so we like to get a diverse group of musicians and artists to come in so everyone can find something they like,” Vandersnick said.
MisterWives is a musical group that originated in New York City in 2012. The six-member band combines alternative rock, pop, and folk to create a unique sound that has had it hailed as “the next golden children of pop” by MTV Buzzworthy. The band released its first album, Reflections,in January 2014.
MisterWives is made up of lead singer Mandy Lee, Etienne Bowler on percussion, William Hehir on bass, guitarist Marc Campbell, multi-instrumentalist Jesse Blum, and Mike Murphy on saxophone.
“We’re looking forward to a good concert and a good performance,” attendee John Ver Mulm said.
“I’m so excited because I love MisterWives,” said UI freshman Cole Johnson. “I love all of their songs that I know of.”
After the Olympics played a 12-song set, there was a 20-minute break before MisterWives took the stage. The crowd danced and sang along to the band’s hit songs, including “Reflections,” which reached No. 14 on the U.S. rock music charts. MisterWives also played covers of Cyndi Lauper’s “Girls Just Want to Have Fun” and Mark Ronson’s “Uptown Funk.”
Throughout the show, Lee kept up the energy by doing high kicks and pushups in between numbers. By 10:30 p.m., a weary but satisfied crowd filed out of the IMU Main Lounge to seek refuge in the rain.
“The concert was amazing,” said Johnson said. “All of the songs were fantastic; they were phenomenal performers. They really made this week of finals a little less stressful and really gave all of us some time to just have fun. I couldn’t have asked for a better experience.”
