By Quentin Yarolem
Big Eyes, the genre-bending East Coast outfit known for its punk/pop crossover style, will light up the Mill, 120 E. Burlington St., at 9 p.m. today. The show will feature two other bands, Dishwater Blonde and Starry Nights.
Big Eyes brings the feel of the ’90s back to the present. On tour for its latest album, Stake My Claim, the band is ready to assert itself as one of the most exciting up-and-coming rock bands in America.
The outfit’s founder and lead singer, Kait Eldridge, was raised on pop-punk and classic rock, and these early influences are visible in her music today. Pop-tinged chords played in the fast and hard style of rock & roll and punk help to give the band its unique sound.
With its third album, Big Eyes’s energy is sky high, and the group members seem to have found their stride. The name of the album also shows a newfound confidence as Eldridge and the gang appear ready to take what’s theirs.
The other two bands performing are smaller but by no means less talented. Starry Nights, the opener for the show, is a homegrown pop-punk band from Iowa City. While it may be a Midwestern band, Dishwater Blonde, a four-piece outfit from Cedar Falls, provides a fresh take on the typically coastal subgenre of beach rock.
Because of nights such as this, Iowa City is known across the region for its stellar music scene. The exciting mix of local and distant bands creates an environment second to none. As the lights go down and the people of Iowa City start to make their way home, Big Eyes and Company will light up the Mill as their night just gets started.