Sean Moeller’s parents have a summer house on West Okoboji Lake, near the Iowa Rock ‘n’ Roll Music Association Museum. When he visited in 2008, what struck him most about the museum’s collection were the 1960s concert posters—it amazed him to learn that bands like the Rolling Stones and the Dave Clark Five had toured his home state.
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In early 2006 Moeller cofounded the Web site Daytrotter, which brings bands to the relatively small town of Rock Island, Illinois. They record quick, informal live sessions in a studio he runs with a modest crew, and the site posts one performance a day for free download. Due in part to Daytrotter’s fortuitous location—Interstate 80, a common tour route, passes through the Quad Cities—it’s hosted a who’s who of indie rock. Among the site’s most popular downloads are sessions by Bonnie “Prince” Billy, Of Montreal, Andrew Bird, the Dirty Projectors, Bon Iver, Grizzly Bear, and Spoon.
The show in Monticello, about 20 miles west of Champaign, was on April 30 at the Kalyx Center for Sustainability, a red barn in the woods outside town. That afternoon members of Delta Spirit played a game of horse inside, around the barn’s raggedy basketball net. One of the guys from Free Energy lounged in a hammock. The first of what would eventually be around 240 fans—predominantly in their 20s and including a fair number of University of Illinois students—began driving up a short gravel road onto the grounds, parking wherever they could. Moeller stood outside, looking happy.
Rateliff and Pearly Gate Music started the Daytrotter show with quiet sets. Fans sat cross-legged on the floor, listening attentively. Others watched from the loft, feet dangling over the edge. During the changeover, Moeller marveled, “It was, like, dead quiet in here.”
