Goodbye Iota

Such a sad day to acknowledge that my favorite live music venue of all time Iota Club and Café will be closing for good on Sept 30 2017. As reported in detail by ArlNow, the owners have decided to pack it up after their lease ends as the building is being remodeled and ending Iota's unique place in Arlington culture for 23 years. Their final lineup so far is Last Train Home on the 28th and 29th.

While nothing can replace Iota, similar spots like Galaxy Hut down the street and Gypsy Sally's in Georgetown will continue to host bands that would have played here.

I have such fond memories of this place and all the wonderful people I've met there, like Justin Trawick, Derek Evry, Alex Parez, Margot MacDonald and Rae Williamson just to name a few. ArlNow has an extensive list of performances that have graced Iota's small stage. Here is a quick list of my favorite shows at the quirky place that kept Clarendon strange:

My first recorded Iota night almost 10 years ago with the fun local band Boxcar Collision.

Matthew Good's oddly quiet show in 2008

The super catchy pop punk Exit Clov bursting with style and cow bells







My first show with Juniper Lane and witnessing Vivion Smith's killer vocals

Ending 2008 on an amazing festive night with Ten Out of Tenn. Might have been the best concert experience ever.

That time Tristan Prettyman sold out her show and the first time I saw a line down the block for Iota. Luckily she came back in 2011.

Reni Lane!!!

Katie Herzig's Hologram song live along with Butterfly Boucher in the same night.

Juniper Lane and Margot MacDonald on the same night in 2012!

The week everything was free at Iota in 2014

Luckily for us the Nine Songwriter Series frequently visited Iota

Derek Evry is awesome. Middle Distance Runner is awesome. And both in the same night!

The unforgettable night with Invisible Witches debuting in summer of 2014.

When Boston based Air Traffic Controller dropped by and forever got their song Hurry Hurry stuck in my head.

Justin Trawick's birthday show in 2015. This is the most musically talented and active guy here.

Upcoming Iota shows: Ten Out of Tenn and Tristan Prettyman

Ten Out of Tenn members. Photo via ExpressNightOut

The upcoming week is an exciting one for the music scene in Clarendon! The first of the not-to-miss shows will be at Iota on Friday Sept 16 as the amazing super-band Ten Out Of Tenn return to Arlington. The tiny stage will be literally overflowing with exceptional rock/folk/indie talent, including accomplished musicians like Butterfly Boucher, Katie Herzig, K. S. Rhoads, and Jeremy Lister!

More fantastic live music continues on Tuesday Sept 20 with Tristan Prettyman gracing the stage of Iota again. I'm sure the show will be completely sold out before Tristan takes the stage and graces us with her beauty and talent!

Then a week later, Iota is hosting their 9 Songwriters Series on Monday Sept 26. This jam packed show of talent will include locals like Justin Trawick and Andy Zipf. This is a great value, as the cover charge is $10 so you basically get to see each artist for only $1 each!

Upcoming Can't Miss Bands

I'm upset at not being able to make it to the Ten Out of Tenn show at Iota last Saturday. Here are some other must see bands playing soon:

• Middle Distance Runner
  Iota
  Saturday October 3 9pm
  
  
• The Bravery
  9:30 Club
  Sunday October 11 7pm
  
  
• True Womanhood
  Black Cat
  Monday October 19 8pm
  
  
• Juniper Lane
  Iota
  Saturday October 24 9pm
  
  
• Breast Cancer Benefit Concert with Memphis 29
  Clarendon Ballroom
  Wednesday November 18 7pm
  

Katie Herzig @ Iota

Talented and personable Katie Herzig opened for Hoots And Helmouth tonight at Iota. I arrived to late to see Katie perform, but was still lucky enough to chat with her and grab a copy of her new album Apple Tree.

The last time I caught her performance was when she sang and in the super-talented Ten Out Of Tenn in December. That Christmas themed show was awesome, especially with Katie's rendition of her hit Hologram. She will be back in town on Oct 7 at the 9:30 club.

Ten Out Of Tenn @ Iota

I've been looking forward to Ten Out Of Tenn returning to Iota all week and they exceeded my expectations. They are in the middle of their Christmas tour, with half of their songs being their takes of holiday tunes ("Santa's Lost his Mojo" to "Silent Night") mixed in with their usual songs.

I'm almost speechless at how talented and enthusiastic the group is on stage. This is to date the best live show I've ever attended. Plus I was able to gush to K. S. Rhoads and Andy Davis about how awesome they are afterwords!

Buying their CD's afterwords involved getting a deal on all their current albums, as well as a free CD by Erin McCarley. They were also in the Christmas spirit with their shoes for sale. For each pair of Ten Out Of Tenn decorated shoes you buy, a pair of shoes is donated to a child in Ethiopia.

Ten Out Of Tenn @ Iota

I'm really glad I got to see Ten Out Of Tenn perform tonight, it one of the biggest shows ever at the smallest venue in Clarendon. Talk about getting alot for your money, this band combines ten outstanding musical talents into one phenomenal show. They even managed to squeeze as many as nine performers on Iota's minimalist stage at once!

Calling them a "band" is a gross understatement, like calling Batman "a guy in a cape." This is a group of 10 friends who share some great charisma and musical abilities with each other. I love watching them perform and enjoyed how easily they changed their lineup with every song. It seemed as if every member of the group was comfortable with every instrument, giving a very fluid and flowing feeling to the night.

Each one of the ten could have easily had their own solo performance that would have been worth seeing. Here's a quick synopsis of my favorite members:


This British Australian bombshell impressed me with both her vocal and guitar skills, but then she picked up the bass just as easily! Every part of her oozed with coolness, from her red heels to that great accent.









Erin's soft spoken demeanor was completely contradicted by her incredible stage presence, as her vocal talents match her beauty.










This guy was one of the funnest to watch, as his talent varied from bass to keyboards to "swamp" style guitar to politically charged rap.










Katie was ducking back in forth between selling CDs at the door and performing vocals and guitar for us. She did not disappoint the audience with her awesome rendition of "Hologram".

I'm kicking myself that I missed a chance to talk to her before the show started, but I didn't recognize her with that hat on.






Andy' finesse with the keyboard was impressive enough, but then I was even more amazed by both his voice and his ability to get the audience involved in his music.

Ten out of Tenn on July 24

A very large indie band (10 members!) is coming to Iota this Thursday night. Their music sounds promising, as it sounds heavy on progressive/rock influences and very light on any country sounds.

I'm not a fan of country music if you haven't noticed, but I'm definately looking forward to seeing Ten Out of Tenn on the 24th!

Listen to their music on the band's MySpace here.