Venue Hopping in the QC

It was a weekend of venue-hopping and unusual combinations.  Friday saw events at the RME Redstone Room and RIBCO, while Saturday had us hopping between RIBCO and Rozz-tox.

Two Peace opened Friday's Redstone Room show

First up Friday evening was Reggae duo Two Peace. I’ve seen this pair before and have always enjoyed their music.  There’s just something about reggae that induces dancing. TwoPeace was part of a 3-band show including Rockabilly trio Fast Clydes and headlining reggae band Fire Sale. A member of the Fast Clydes referred to it as the Reggae Rockabilly Rollercoaster Ride.  But I’m getting ahead of myself…

Here’s where the venue-hopping began. At the same time as the RME show, there was a two-band party happening at RIBCO. I wanted to catch this show as well, so as Two Peace was winding down I dashed off to see Navy Bean at the Rock Island venue. Thank goodness it isn’t barge season, so it was just a short hop across the Arsenal Bridge. 

 

Navy Bean - Power Pop trio

Navy Bean looks strangely familiar – The set list is different, and Manuel has traded his keyboards for a drum kit, but the faces are familiar. Yes, Navy Bean is an off-shoot of the Curtis Hawkins band. Manuel Lopez 3 handled all the vocals with flair. The band is rounded out with Curtis Hawkins on bass (of course) and Ian Johnson on guitar.  Navy Bean is an all-original power pop trio. You can check out their music here.

The Fast Clydes - old school Rockabilly

Back across the river at the Redstone Room, the Fast Clydes were shifting their rockabilly show into high gear. So I temporarily took my leave of RIBCO and made another mad dash back to the Iowa side. The Fast Clydes’ music is real, old-school 1950’s style rockabilly. They rocked the house so hard the martinis on the next table over from me were sloshing back and forth over the sides of the glasses.  If you like good rockabilly music, you’ll have to check them out – because the Fast Clydes are rockabilly – in its purest form.

Minus Six

Another trip to RIBCO found Minus Six on stage. Minus Six has been around for a few years – and I’m amazed that I’ve never seen them before this. With several CD releases under their belts, they have a wide range of original music to choose from. They’ve built a big following, as was evident in the number of people yelling out song requests this night. This was another of those bands with entertaining keyboardists.  If you haven’t seen Minus Six, do so at your next opportunity. You won’t be disappointed.




 

Chuck Murphy at Roosters 

I approached Saturday night with an open mind – and got more than I bargained for. Rozz-Tox was hosting Human Aftertaste and Peach Pies Caburlesque. I had heard the Human Aftertaste experience could be pretty shocking – but I had no earthly clue what I was in for.  I’m getting ahead of myself again, though. Rozz-tox was so packed at the beginning of the evening that I couldn’t see past the crowd for the burlesque, so we slipped out for a bit and headed next door to Roosters, to drop in on Chuck Murphy.  I know I’ve written plenty about Chuck – but I would like to add this note. If you haven’t seen Chuck in a while, then you haven’t seen Chuck.  Chuck Murphy has been booking crazy numbers of gigs. And that has had a beneficial side-effect as Chuck has raised his performance to a new level.





 

Chrash rocked RIBCO

A quick run over to RIBCO was next on the agenda, as local band Chrash had taken the stage there. Chrash is a rock band, but not too hard, with solid vocal harmonies.  Their roots rock sound is very well put together, and I enjoyed their set. I hope to catch them again sometime.

As Chrash was closing their set, we headed back to Rozz-Tox to see if Human Aftertaste had taken the stage and maybe the crowd had thinned a bit. Yes, the crowd had thinned… some… Rozz-Tox was still pretty packed, but the show had begun. You’ll see that I haven’t posted any photos from Human Aftertaste – that’s because I couldn’t find any that were suitable for an all-ages blog. Human Aftertaste is not for the faint of heart – and maybe, just maybe I showed my age a bit when I stayed close to the outskirts of the crowd to avoid the melee and the flying sweat and beer. I love decadence – but this was even extreme for me.  If you’re into raw shock, then by all means check out Human Aftertaste.

Free Energy - Power Pop on tour

There was one last stop Saturday night back at RIBCO for Free Energy, the headlining act.  This power pop group has been touring the US in support of their new CD. They put on one heck of a show and rocked the house at RIBCO.

 

 

 


 

This week:

Friday – Phyllis and the Sharks are playing Martinis on the Rock, The Harris Collection is at Mound Street, while the Muddy Waters has Pieces of Candy. Tronicity is playing RIBCO while Cobalt Blue is at the 11th St. Precinct and The Rusty Nail has North of 40. Rascals has a 3 band show with The Last Glimpse, American Dust and 9th Street Memory.

Saturday - Chuck Murphy is playing Ducky’s, The Muddy Waters has O.S.G. and the Lovedogs are at the Hawkeye. 3 on the Tree is opening for Nikki Hill at RIBCO, the Mercury Brothers are at Rascals, and Mound Street has Crossroads. You’ll find the Dirt Road Rockers at Mulligans and North of 40 at the Greenbriar. The RME has two shows – Silly C and Slack Man on the Community Stage and the Avey Brothers in the Redstone Room.