Groovin in the Quad Cities

This week I heard covers of some great classics as well as some brand-new music and an evening of blues. The music scene in the Quad-cities is brimming with variety. There truly is something for everyone here.

 

Thursday night I made an early evening trip to BarrelHouse 211 to check in with friends Danika Holmes and Jeb Hart.  I try to check in with them whenever they’re in town. As of this writing, they just completed a successful Kickstarter campaign to raise money for an upcoming acoustic album as well as a Christmas EP and a radio campaign. It is refreshing to see so many people willing to support our local artists. Thursday Danika and Jeb previewed some of the new music that is planned for their CD, and I’m looking forward to owning a copy later this summer.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Friday evening found me in the District of Rock Island for the Gallery Hop. My support of the arts goes beyond music, you know. I stuck around the District and grabbed a bite at RIBCO and visited with friends before the show started there.  Those friends included members of Rude Punch and Fresh Jive Revival, who were playing at RIBCO that night. The two bands were switching off sets through the evening.

Formerly of Squid’s Beard, Jon Moss embraced his rock persona as the bassist for Fresh Jive Revival. They strolled through some memorable classics, including The Mighty Quinn, which I haven’t heard in years as well as some more recent rock tunes.

 

 

 

 

 

 

Rude Punch invites your mind to a beach in Jamaica with their Reggae style.  In fact, I overheard a conversation in the audience, where one guy said to another, “I heard Bob Marley – only when I looked it was a white dude!”  Pina colada anyone?

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

The Mercury Brothers were joined by Bret Dale at The Muddy Waters Friday night. I hear there were some hijinks before I arrived – I got there just in time to catch the tail end of their final set. It looked like everyone who was there had a great time, and for the end of the night, the band sounded ready to do another set.  

 

 

 

 

 

My first stop of the night on Saturday was Barrel House 211. I thought I might grab a bite to eat and check out the Blackstones for a set. It was a bit of a birthday party for Tami Seitz. I enjoy the Blackstones’ set list. They cover some unusual (and really old) classic rock. Their rendition of Pinball Wizard was fun – and right on!  Oh – and if you go to the Barrel House, try the firecracker shrimp – it is spicy hot!

 

 

 

After I left the Barrel House, I checked out a place I’ve never been – the Daiquiri Factory in the District of Rock Island. Chuck Murphy was playing there for the first time, and I thought it was a good opportunity to see a new venue. As you see, there’s no photo of Chuck playing at DF – because it was super dark in there. When I arrived, Chuck was on break, and I told him I’d been to see the Blackstones and how I enjoyed their Pinball Wizard – so – Chuck played his acoustic version of the song. Nice touch Chuck.

My final (and the only planned) destination of the night was Rascals. I’ve been promising to go see Flash Point for a while, and Saturday night I made good on that promise.  Made up of Matt Sellers, Dee St. John, Bernie Davison, Jim DePoorter and Steve Burbridge , Flashpoint is a solid classic rock cover band. I was pleasantly surprised to hear Bernie take the lead on their cover of Alice Cooper's I'm Eighteen.

Sunday evening was the final preliminary round of the Mississippi Valley Blues Challenge. Only 3 bands returned for the double-elimination round. The judges had to choose between The Chris Avey Band, The Jared Hughes Band and The Mississippi Misfits. It was a tough choice, with three great bands on the stage. The Chris Avey Band was chosen as the 3^rd band to play in the finals on July 5 with previous preliminary winners The Rock Island Rollers and Serious Business.

This week:

Friday – Tangent is playing at 11^th St. Precinct, Martini’s has North of 40, and The 44’s are playing at The Muddy Waters. RIBCO has the Trapt concert, with local bands Eleven fifty-two and Shadow Stone opening.Rozz-Tox has Dan Hubbard and the Humadors, The Wild Oatz are at the Rusty Nail, and Funktastic Five are playing Rascals. Roger Carlson and Therese Guise will be playing Cool Beanz, Night Light is at Rustic Ridge, and The CandyMakers are playing BarrelHouse 211. You’ll find Gray Wolf at the Greenbriar and Smooth Groove at the Edje.

Saturday - There’s a special Fundraiser going on in the Redstone Room, starting at 5 PM, you can find a host of musicians raising money for the Jerry Wilkerson scholarship fund – this event includes Ellis Kell, John O’Meara, Members of theFunktastic 5, Emmanuel Lopez III (AKA M3) and Donna Wilkerson. The Funktastic five are at Mulligans, The River House has The Gray Wolf band, and North of 40 is at Purgatorys. RIBCO has the Deadstring Brothers with A Fifth of Country, Jason Carl and the Whole Damn Band are playing at The Muddy Waters, the Wild Oatz are at the Rusty Nail. Justin Morrissey and the Drunken Angels are at Martinis, Tronicity is playing 11^th st. Precinct, and Modern Mythology is at Barrel House 211. There’s another 3 band party at Brady Street Pub with The Mississippi Misfits, The Harris Collection, and QCSlim. You can find me at Creekside Vineyard with Lee Blackmon from 2-5 PM.

And if that’s not enough, there are open mics and jam nights every night of the week. There’s no good reason not to check out some live music in the QC!