The 10,000 Hours Show's annual concert is a unique recognition of these volunteers, taking the best of "normal" concerts – great bands, great atmosphere, great times – and making them better – an all-volunteer audience, a community saying thanks, and performers who care.
TICKETING
Volunteers who successfully complete 10 or more hours of community service with a 10K qualifying nonprofit organization are eligible for a free ticket to our annual volunteer celebration concert. Hours are not "stackable" (i.e. 30 volunteer hours does not equal 3 tickets). Ticket distribution will take place at the Iowa Memorial Union Box Office beginning Monday, April 7. All volunteer hours must be logged by April 15 to count for this year's concert. Upon checking the status of your volunteer hours on Corridor Volunteers, ensure that at all your hours are approved (not pending). If after you submit your hours, and the respective agency is not verifying them, please call or email that organization and remind them to do so. Please note that they may be busy, as most agencies wait to verify their volunteer hours closer to the concert date.
PAST PEFORMANCES
Ben Folds – 10K1
Iowa City, IA, IMU Main Ballroom
May 2, 2004
"Singer/pianist Ben Folds is best-known as the leader of the power pop trio Ben Folds Five, but has also struck out on his own as a solo artist.
Despite playing in bands in high school, his musical career didn't really get off the ground until the late '80s, as a bassist for Majsha. Proving his multi-instrumental talents, Folds also played drums as a session musician in Nashville. After relocating to New York, Folds started acting again (he'd done some theater in high school previously), and signed a publishing deal with Sony Music.
Moving back to North Carolina, Folds formed Ben Folds Five in 1994. Whereas most alternative bands of the '90s specialized in distorted teen-angst rock, the guitarless trio was a refreshing break from the norm. In addition to Folds, the trio also included bassist Robert Sledge and drummer Darren Jesse, as their sound was more a kin to such past power popsters as Todd Rundgren, Jellyfish, early Joe Jackson, and such piano-driven artists as Billy Joel and early Elton John.
But like punk bands, Ben Folds Five put on a high energy, blistering live show -- which has turned them into a must-see live act. The band was signed to the independent Caroline Records shortly afterward, resulting in their self-titled debut one year later. Due to airings of their humorous anthem, "Underground" (which poked fun at the politics of the punk/alternative scene) on MTV's 120 Minutes and constant touring, quite a buzz was stirring for the band by the time of their second album -- which was issued through Epic.
Released in 1997, Whatever and Ever Amen was pure pop perfection -- easily one of the year's best releases (and perhaps the best power pop release of the '90s). The band's songwriting and sound had improved even further, as evidenced by such gems as "One Angry Dwarf and 200 Solemn Faces," "Fair," "Kate," and "Battle of Who Could Care Less," plus their whimsical tribute to breakups, "Song for the Dumped."
But it was the ballad "Brick" that broke the band commercially -- unlike the majority of their material that was upbeat, the song contained melancholic music and vocals, as the lyrics told the story of a teenaged couple who decides to get an abortion (it has been speculated that the tale was autobiographical for Folds). The single didn't hit until several months after the album was released, which meant that the band stayed on the road for well over a year, playing with such notables as Dave Matthews, Beck, and as part of the H.O.R.D.E. 1997 festival -- earning Whatever platinum status.
While 1998 didn't see a new studio album by the band, BF5's former label issued a 16-track rarities collection (Naked Baby Photos), as Folds released his first solo album, Volume 1, under the pseudonym Fear of Pop. Although the album went largely unnoticed, it included the song "In Love," which included overly dramatic vocals from none other than Captain Kirk himself, William Shatner (comparable in approach to Shatner's must-hear 1968 album, Transformed Man) -- which was performed on the Conan O'Brien show shortly after the album's release. Ben Folds Five regrouped with 1999' s The Unauthorized Biography of Reinhold Messner, which was a more mature work than its predecessors, although the energetic lead-off single, "Army," showed that Folds' humorous approach hadn't dulled at all." -- Greg Prato, All Music Guide
Guster – 10K2
Iowa City, IA, IMU Main Ballroom
April 17, 2005
"Guster became one of the most successful bands to hit the U.S. East Coast scene in the late 1990s. Through relentless touring and humorous stage banter with the crowd, the band developed a strong grass-roots fan base which spread rapidly with a strong presence on the Internet.
The Boston trio developed a unique sound with two acoustic guitars and a bongo set, successfully defying the typical industry pigeonholing. They wrote short, infectiously catchy tunes about love, suicide and absurdist rock star lifestyles. Through word of mouth alone, the band sold over 40,000 copies of independent debut Parachute and their second effort, Goldfly.
Ryan Miller (guitar, vocals), Adam Gardner (guitar, vocals) and Brian Rosenworcel (percussion) met in 1992 at Tufts University, and played around the Boston area during college. Originally named Gus, the band adopted the appended Guster moniker after discovering several other national touring acts playing under the same name.
In 1994 they recruited producer Mike Denneen for their debut album, Parachute, which the Boston Globe named Best Local Debut Album in 1995. Guster also appeared on the AWARE 3 Compilation the same year. Within a couple of years from its inception, Guster became one of the most popular bands in the area. Named the Best Live Act at the Boston Music Awards in 1997, Guster was hailed as one of the greatest independent successes of the 1990s, achieving a reputation as one of the most reputable unpromoted bands of the decade.
After releasing a second album, Goldfly, in March 1997, Guster continued a relentless touring schedule and sold out small clubs across the country. In 1998, Guster signed the first contract under an agreement between Sire Records Group and Hybrid Recordings. The group re-released Goldfly in April 1998 under the major-label contract and returned the following year with Lost and Gone Forever, which positioned the band for greater exposure, especially on the college level.
Producer Roger Moutenot (Joseph Arthur, Sleater-Kinney, Yo La Tengo) assisted Guster in the studio for their fourth album, however Sire folded and Guster shopped for another label before signing with Reprise's Palm Pictures in early 2003. Keep It Together appeared in June. The band spent the next year touring America several times over. Their CD/DVD set Guster On Ice: Live From Portland, Maine appeared May 2004." --Clauson & MacKenzie Wilson, All Music Guide (Courtesy of Warner Bros.)
CAKE – 10K3
Des Moines, IA, Vets’ Auditorium
April 8, 2006
"In some kind of 10K Circle-of-Life, this year's artist shares a special connection with Ben Folds, the very first 10K headliner. Cake's singer John McCrea can be heard on Folds' "Rockin' the Suburbs" album, sharing a duet with the piano-rocker on fan-favorite "Fred Jones Pt. 2."
McCrea and the rest of the band, which includes Vince DiFiore on trumpet, Xan McCurdy on guitar, and Gabe Nelson on bass, have gone through big changes since hits like "The Distance" from the platinum-selling Fashion Nugget first drew them into the spotlight in the mid-90s. However, the core of the band's sound and style remains solid on their latest release, 2004's Pressure Chief. As Cake's only remaining original members, McCrea and DiFiore hold things confidently in check.
In lead singer John McCrea's 2005 interview with NPR's Terry Gross, the band is described as, "alt-rock, (combining) caustic lyrics with pulsing guitar music and influenced by many different styles: rock, funk, synth-pop, mariachi and cuban." All of these styles combine to make up one very unique and energetic live concert experience."
10K4 – Jack’s Mannequin
Iowa City, IA, IMU Main Lounge
April 11, 2007
Better known as the vocalist/songwriter/keyboardist for the West Coast punk-pop quintet Something Corporate, Andrew McMahon explores the dark side with his emo pop side project, Jack's Mannequin. Utilizing the talents of numerous friends and collaborators, McMahon began work on the collective's debut in 2004. The resulting Everything in Transit, a "concept album exploring his alienating return to the hometown he left to pursue his music," was released on Maverick Records in August of 2005 to a positive response from fans and critics alike. A supporting summer tour was cancelled after McMahon was subsequently diagnosed with Acute Lymphatic Leukemia that June; he underwent a successful bone marrow transplant (from his sister) in October. As he recovered, a video for the album's first single, "The Mixed Tape," was beginning to make waves on VH1 and MTV. Jack's Mannequin began playing sporadic shows in 2006, including a brief summer headlining tour before serving as openers for O.A.R. on nationwide dates. -- James Christopher Monger, All Music Guide
10K5 – Ok Go
Iowa City, IA, Englert Theater
April 22, 2008
It's winter in Malmö, the Swedish industrial town where OK Go has come to record their second album for Capitol Records. The band is excited but wary. They've just spent two exhausting years touring the globe, and another six months back home, writing and rejecting more than sixty new songs. The writing process was grueling, but fruitful: OK Go came up with a collection of demos so strong they grabbed the attention of super-producer Tore Johansson, the hugely sought-after man behind Franz Ferdinand's debut album and the Cardigans' hits.
The result is Oh No, an album that absolutely explodes out of the speakers. Where other bands bomb out or bloat up on their second albums, OK Go has tightened the screws and trimmed the fat, delivering a stripped-down, revved-up forty-two minutes of wild, propulsive rock and roll. It's a worthy follow-up to their 2002 debut, which established OK Go as expert craftsmen of intelligent, ultra-catchy rock songs. If that album was the mischievous class president-smart and popular and sexy, and not as innocent as he seems - then Oh No is the same kid after he's spent a lurid summer in bedrooms and bar fights all over town. There's a rougher grit to Oh No. From the chaotic torrent of crashing guitars that launches "Invincible," the anthemic lead track, to the acidic chorus of "The House Wins," the album's stinging final song ("You don't have to be alone to be lonely.. you might as well give in"), the album surges with electricity. It's in the center-stage cowbell and cocky classic-rock riff of "Do What You Want," and the feverish, new wave rush of "Here It Goes Again."
But that energy doesn't obscure the wit, melody, and unabashed joy that brought the band this far. "A Good Idea at the Time" delivers a swaggering, line-for-line response to the Stones classic, "Sympathy for the Devil," transforming those famous "ooh-oohs" into tortured little taunts. Right on its heels is "Oh Lately It's So Quiet," a beautifully delicate - and unstoppably sexy - ghost story. Just a few songs later, we're taken somewhere else, slinking across the dance floor to the sleazy disco-era Clash beat of "A Million Ways."
Anyone who has witnessed the exhilaration of the band's live show will recognize the frenetic drive at the heart of Oh No. "We wanted to make an album that sounds like our band, and not a heady, self-conscious studio project," says lead singer Damian Kulash. "Everyone tells us rock and roll is a shadow of itself - a sad old milk cow smiling at the farmer every morning. We still see a bucking bull smashing around the stable."