WIUS sends out good vibes

Friday nights in Bloomington are about to get a different vibe, and it's coming from WIUS. On Sept. 20, the student-operated radio will kick off this year's series of Bloomington Vibes from the station house located at 815 E. 8th St. \n"It's the only place in Bloomington where you can see free, all-ages shows with good bands," says Nick Blandford, station manager of WIUS. \nNate Hileman, special events director and coordinator of the shows, says Vibes gives people free space to see music and is directed toward kids who can't go to bars to see bands play. Hileman, being over 21, can go to bars and see local bands that frequently play there and then approach them about playing an all-ages show at the station. \nWIUS has been hosting concerts at the station for about 20 years. They evolved from weekly, weeknight shows in the 1980s to the Friday night shows in 1995, Blandford says. \nConcertgoers who have never been to a Vibes show might be in for a surprise when they get to the station. The concert happens in a room about the size of a large living room. The band plays at one end of the room and the crowd stands eye level to the musicians just a few feet away. \n"It feels like a basement show sometimes," Blandford says. "It has a very homey feel to it." \nAverage attendance for the shows runs about 40 people, but it depends on the show. Hileman says the room can hold more than 100 people and can get very hot and cramped.\n"Some shows, we thought, structurally, (the station house) would break," Hileman says. \nThe shows start at 8 p.m. and go to 10 p.m., typically with two bands playing each show. An hour before Vibes begins, a DJ at the station spins local tracks in the studio on the second floor of the station house. Friday's show features local bands Mt. Gigantic and Turn Pale. \nMichael Anderson, lead singer in Turn Pale, says he and the other band members like to play at Vibes because they want to support college radio. Turn Pale, which Anderson describes as "death disco" music, has played Vibes twice. Anderson also played Vibes three times with Drekka, a band that played experimental folk music. \nWhen Turn Pale played Vibes last year, the musicians decided to use smoke machines and lights in the middle of their set, Anderson says. The smoke set off the smoke detectors and fire and ambulance crews came to the station to check out the situation. Most of the crowd and the band didn't even know the fire and ambulance crews came until after the show. He says the band thought it was amusing, but the emergency crews and some people at the station didn't find it so funny. \nMt. Gigantic, the other band playing Friday night, has been together with its current members for several months. \n"We decided to play (at Vibes) because they asked us very nicely to play and because our death disco brethren Turn Pale are playing as well," Jason Williams of Mt. Gigantic says.\nHileman says planning the shows is not much work at all. It's just a matter of contacting people and getting an opening band. WIUS often gives the headlining band the option of choosing whom they want to open for them at Vibes. \nThe shows are generally planned three weeks ahead, but it's not uncommon to plan a show one week before the concert happens. Right now, only one show is scheduled for September. Hileman got back to Bloomington the weekend before school started, which made it difficult to plan shows for this month. \n"Once we get to the beginning of October, you'll see shows on pretty much a weekly basis," Blandford says. \nThe other show that has been scheduled for Vibes so far is on Wednesday, Oct. 16, and features COCO and John Wilkes Booze. The two bands are playing at Bear's Place that night, and agreed to play at the station house as well to allow people who are under 21 to see the show. \nTo promote Vibes, Hileman says the public relations director posts flyers, chalks on the sidewalks and contacts various news outlets. \nBoth Blandford and Hileman say that the station is always looking for bands to play Vibes. It doesn't take much to get an opportunity to play Vibes. An artist or band just needs to send in a demo, and WIUS will give them a chance, Blandford says.