What does a live music blogger do the week after a three-day
blues festival? Go check out more live music, naturally! Those Blues Fest
photos were barely out of my camera when I once again headed out in search and support of
live music.
When I arrived at the Redstone Room Thursday night, the jam
was already on as The Curtis Hawkins Band was opening the show. I’ve always
thought of TCHB as a blues band, but tonight their mood was completely funk. And…
it was rumored that Curtis had slipped into the venue incognito to check out
the show as well.
I had a promise to keep Friday night, and true to my word, I
made a trip to the River House. Crossroads has been a Quad-City regular for 25
years. Twenty-five years! Friday’s show at the River House was a celebration of
that milestone. It is confession time here: this was my first Crossroads show.
How I’ve managed to miss them, I’ll never know, but there you have it. Crossroads plays a good mix of country and
rock covers, and had a full dance floor the entire time I was there. The celebration included some former members as well.
When I arrived at the Redstone Room Thursday night, the jam
was already on as The Curtis Hawkins Band was opening the show. I’ve always
thought of TCHB as a blues band, but tonight their mood was completely funk. And…
it was rumored that Curtis had slipped into the venue incognito to check out
the show as well.
The headline act Thursday night was Mingo Fishtrap, a band
out of Austin with a clearly New Orleans style funk (Say that “N’awlins” if you
want to be accurate). This was no small
band – there was a drummer and a percussionist, a full horn section and a
keyboard player, along with singer-guitarist Roger Blevins, Jr. and on bass, his “Pops”(really - Roger Blevins, Sr.). Mingo
definitely had the place hopping Thursday night.
I had a promise to keep Friday night, and true to my word, I
made a trip to the River House. Crossroads has been a Quad-City regular for 25
years. Twenty-five years! Friday’s show at the River House was a celebration of
that milestone. It is confession time here: this was my first Crossroads show.
How I’ve managed to miss them, I’ll never know, but there you have it. Crossroads plays a good mix of country and
rock covers, and had a full dance floor the entire time I was there. The celebration included some former members as well.
I cut my night short Friday, as I had a very long day
planned on Saturday and needed to store up a little energy. (Plus, I was still
tired from the Mingo show the night before!) Another first for me, I spent the
day at the Belshause family farm in Milan for a little annual event called the
Slip N Slide Music Festival.
What started out a few years ago as a family get-together
has grown into a full-blown festival, with a day full of bands, concessions,
camping and absolute fun! I’m planning to dedicate a full blog post to the
festival, so watch for it in the near future.
It’s another festival weekend in the QC – This week, it’s
the Heartland Jam – two days of country music. The Heartland has country acts
on the main stage with two tents for local acts between main stage acts.
Included in this year’s lineup: Friday – Charissa Mrowka, Danielle Peck, Phil
Vassar, Kellie Pickler, and Darius Rucker, with the Dirt Road Rockers and North
of 40 in the tents. Saturday – The Dani Lynn Howe band, Katie Armiger, Lauren
Alaina, Jerrod Niemann, Rodney Atkins with Dani Lynn Howe and the Cal Stage
Band in the tents.
This weekend is also Coal Valley Days! Musical acts:
Thursday – Dirt Road Rockers, Friday – The Funnies, Saturday – The Gray Wolf
Band.
Local Live Music doesn’t stop for festival season – if
anything, it increases. So here’s the rest of the schedule:
Thursday – The Grahams are on the Community Stage at the
RME, Tewanta Lopez is playing Fayes Field, and you’ll find the Candymakers at
Bass Street Landing. RIBCO has the Melvins, and Chuck Murphy is playing at The
Cooler.
Friday – The RME has the Karry Outz on courtyard for Friday
Live @ 5, and Brer Bucktown’s Traveling Tent show on the Community Stage, while
The Pines with Lewis Knudson and the Bandits are on the Redstone Room Stage.
Look for the Effie Afton and Janelle Just at Brewed Awakenings, Chuck Murphy at
The Doc’s Inn, and Powell at Rustic Ridge. RIBCO has Saliva, Eleven Fifty-two
and Three Years Hollow. The Bier Stube is hosting The Ex-Bombers, The Post
Mortems, and Hunter Station. Funktastic Five are playing Rascals, while Keep
Off the Grass is at the River House and Martini’s on the Rock has Flash Point.
Jason Carl and the Whole Damn Band will be playing at 11th Street
Precinct, the Night People are at the Rusty Nail, while The Mississippi Misfits
will be tearing it up at The Muddy Waters.
Saturday – Rozz-tox has The Railers, Outdoor Velour and
Jennifer Hall. The RME has The Holy Ghost Tent Revival on the Community Stage,
and another Rock Wars pair, Portrait of an Eagle and The Post Mortems, battle
it out in the Redstone Room. Smooth Groove is playing Martini’s on the Rock,
while The Funnies are at The River House and Purgatory’s has Simon Says Uncle.
Tronicity is playing at the 11th Street Precinct, while Just Chords
is at BarrelHouse 211 and Rascal’s has The Hooks. Machine Gun Willie will be at
Crabby’s, and The Muddy Waters has Fort Dodge band, Wheelhouse.
Watch my Flickr photostream for photos of bands mentioned
here. I’m still uploading photos from Blues Fest as well – so check back often!
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