Quad City Live Music New Year

For my last 2012 blog post, I'm not going to give you a review of where I have been. It's time to talk about upcoming New Year's Eve parties in the QCA. I'm not going to say this is the most comprehensive list of upcoming parties, but I would like to think I've managed to come up with a good start anyway.

Music, Motorcycles and More

For 18 years the Quad Cities has been blessed to have its own motorcycle rally. But it has always been so much more than a motorcycle rally. With a humble beginning in the Village of East Davenport, musicians and motorcycle enthusiasts all got together for a whole lot of rumbling – that wasn’t entirely Harley engines. I’ll spare you all the history – as some reading this know far more about the history and the inner workings of this event that I can ever know. Eighteen years ago I walked to my first Sturgis on the River, as I lived just a few blocks from the Village at that time. What has now become the Mississippi River Motorcycle Rally is far larger than anything some of us ever imagined it would become.

Live Music - Weekend in the Quad-Cities

I’m going to have to start calling this blog the Weekend Review (or something like that). Only this week, I’m adding a little bit about a weekday.

One day last week, I made a special trip downtown Davenport to Barrelhouse 211. I was meeting my son for dinner anyway, and he had a class downtown. I had heard that Danika Holmes was going to be playing an acoustic gig that night, and though I’ve mentioned her before in the blog, I haven’t had the opportunity to see her play. Here was my chance.

I’d like to state for the record this was my first visit to Barrelhouse. Dinner was awesome, the place is really nice. For those who follow me on Twitter – I didn’t get my taste of Cody Road Bourbon that night, but picked up a bottle Friday night in Moline, after a tasting at the Mississippi River Distillery up in LeClaire.

Back to Danika – I discovered too late that she was sitting at the table across from me during dinner. I didn’t recognize her with her hair pulled back! I have her first CD, and the photos I’ve seen online just don’t look the same. I was expecting a purely country show, as some of my friends have told me Danika is a country performer. So I was delighted to hear her cover (read that as remake!) of Grand Funk’s “Some Kind of Wonderful”. It was a fun bluesy piece – with all the right twists. What made my night was just that morning I had heard the original on the radio, and I had been thinking all day of how I would rewrite the song to sing it myself – and Danika did just what I had been thinking! Danika Holmes was on my wavelength. So, in a nutshell, this old blues/rocker says go check out Danika when you get a chance. She definitely does not disappoint!

Friday night, after my trip upriver for the distillery tour and tasting, I drove over to Fargo in Moline for a birthday bash for a member of my Skynny Skynyrd family.  The band playing was one of the Quad-Cities’ best-kept rock secrets, House Arrest. Now you know you’ve heard that name before, and you may have caught them in the pavilion at the Mississippi Valley Fair. These guys are screamin’ rockers. I’ve been out to see them a few times, as Ray and Matt are part of Skynny, and their drummer Tom provided lights and sound for one of our gigs as well. Some of the times I’ve seen them, I’ve been disappointed in their turnout. Maybe it’s because I always seem to catch them at Fargo? Someone recently told me Fargo doesn’t have big crowds. I just think these guys are good enough to draw more than just their immediate group of friends.

And why is it that Fargo has gotten so quiet? Huge bar, nice stage… in the early days with 1^st Impression, that place used to rock! I remember they would have a DJ during the band’s breaks, and the dance floor would be full even when the band wasn’t playing.

Saturday night I started out at

11^th Street

Precinct. I thought it was time I checked out some bands that I had never seen, so my first stop was to see a group called Cosmic. What a pleasant surprise! Cosmic has a nice, refreshing set list (ok, so I was just there for one set, but it was a good set!). The band is 3 instruments and two female singers – and I just loved that the singers put forth the effort to choreograph some moves. It really gave their show some spark. And they sang really well too! Their set list included songs from the 50s, 60s and 70s. 

My final stop for the night was once again The Muddy Waters in Bettendorf. I stopped in to check out another band I hadn’t yet seen: The Cruisers. These guys put on a pretty good show, and it was obvious they drew a good crowd in. Apparently they have a motorcycle club following, as there was a lot of leather in Muddy’s Saturday night!  I snapped a few shots – I thought their keyboard/singer looked a bit like Elton John, and the guitarist could have pulled off a Drew Carey lookalike. I also noticed something fun about the group. Women from the audience would pick up maracas or tambourines and play them while they were dancing. Which leads me to wonder – was that a group of band wives, or just fans that loved to join in? Either way, it was pretty cool.

The upcoming weekend looks like a fun time for a lot of folks. Friday night, local band Dirt Road Rockers is playing at Martinis on the Rock (this is a band I’ve been meaning to check out). Danika Holmes will be playing at Refresh in Moline – check her out, seriously! Danika plays everywhere – Chicago, Nashville, Quad-Cities, and plenty of points in between. And Cobalt Blue will be playing Muddy’s – these guys do blues so well! And their keyboard player is one of the most energetic I’ve ever seen.

Saturday night the Candymakers will be at

11^th Street

Precinct. Get there early and have dinner if you want a good seat. The Precinct is always full, and a Candymakers show with no cover is bound to be a packed house! And if you’re a rocker’s rocker, love original stuff, and want to check out some local original music bands, Three Years Hollow, Action Blast, A.D.D. and Hello Ramona are putting on a show at the Redstone. This is a CD Release party!

And here’s a little advance notice of an upcoming show – House Arrest will be at ThePub Davenport on March 16. Rock on boys!