Sometimes My Plans Change

The ladies of Paper Bird on the Community Stage

Though I didn’t get my weekly dose of jam night, I did manage to find plenty to keep me busy.  Thursday night I headed down to the River Music Experience and checked out a visiting band, Paper Bird. With 3 female vocalists, this band has harmony written all over it. Add to that some male voices in backing vocals as well and the sound becomes well-rounded and very rich.  Paper Bird is a large band – there are 7 members total. Unfortunately, they were booked for the (tiny) Community Stage instead of the Redstone Room. Apparently there just isn’t enough interest in certain performances to warrant opening the Redstone Room. It’s a shame – because their sound would have been even more amazing there, although they ended their set with an unplugged number that brought total silence to the room as the audience hung on every single note.

I actually started my Friday with good intentions – and had a long list of venues that I wanted to try to visit. However, I stayed longer at the night glow for the balloon festival than I had planned, and my list slowly unraveled from there. By the time I got back to the Iowa side of the river, it was after 8 PM. The show at the RME had started already, the Bucktown Final Friday open house was just about done, and I had no idea which band would be up at The Shop by the time I drove all the way to north Davenport.  

I sat for a few minutes in Downtown Davenport, wondering how I should adjust my night when I looked in my rear-view mirror and saw the neon lights of the casino… oh… wait… Lee Blackmon was playing there.  I already planned on spending most of my evening Saturday singing with Lee, but thought I could drop by and say hello. I’ve done that casino gig before – it’s nice to see a friendly face among all the gamblers rushing in and out.  Lee was not only happy to see me. He also invited me to sing a few songs with him…

Night Light played in a very dark Barrel House 211

…an hour and a half later I took my leave and headed to Barrel House 211 to see Night Light. This duo is actually an abbreviated version of the Night People (or so I’ve been told).  Armed with only a guitar and a bass, they play a lot of oldies – 50’s and 60’s music.  I enjoyed their 2-voice harmonies.

I then wandered up to 3^rd Street and stopped by DaVinci’s to see Chuck Murphy.  I’m still keeping an eye on this guy – he’s been busier and busier every month, and has become very popular as an acoustic performer.  His music is fun and a little twisted, and he has a knack for interacting with an audience.  I hope to hear more Chuck Murphy originals though.



Secret Squirrel Horn Section

Late Saturday afternoon, you would have found me at an anniversary party for a long-time Moline restaurant, El Pavito .  Believe it or not, I’ve driven by this little, unassuming restaurant hundreds of times (it’s right on Avenue of the Cities, not far off I-74), and never eaten there.  Secret Squirrel was providing evening music for the party, and Vid James was sitting in on drums. A diverse horn section is what makes this band popular. The last time I saw them, they had a few more members, but I’ve gotten the impression that the band size fluctuates from show to show.  Oh yes… I had dinner, and the food is definitely worth stopping in for!

The rest of my Saturday night was spent singing with Lee Blackmon at Bleyart’s in the Village of East Davenport. Roger Carlson and Nina stopped in and sang a few songs as well.  

You can see more photos on my Flickr page.

 

This Week

Tonight: The John O’Meara Jam session is back at The Muddy Waters, The Avey Brothers are at Rascals.

Friday: The Karry Outz are at 11^th Street Precinct, The Dirt Road Rockers and Cal Stage Band are playing Rascals Live, Justin Morrissey can be found at Bleyarts, and the Rusty Nail has the Wild Oatz. Machine Gun Willie is at the Edje Nightclub in Jumers Casino,  Martinis has Crossroads, and you can find me at DaVinci’s with Lee Blackmon.

Saturday:  Lee Blackmon is at the Grape Life, Cosmic is playing the 11^th street Precinct, Rascals Live has 4 bands: Eleven Fifty-Two, Waiting for Koi, as big as a Mouse and Pilot Down. The Mississippi Misfits are at Brady Street Pub, Crossroads is playing Mound Street Landing, and Grand Larsony is at the Hawkeye. Danika Holmes is playing DaVinci’s

Cooler weather has moved in, but that doesn’t mean music has stopped – it’s just moved indoors. We have great venues and fantastic bands in the QC, so go someplace warm this weekend and enjoy some live music!