New Music And A Benefit

I spent the better part of my weekend at the Redstone Room. When we think of Redstone Room shows, we often thing of visiting artists. But local musicians often perform on the Redstone stage. This weekend the RME gave us some local options. I also caught the tail end of a benefit show that drew a huge crowd.

Busted Chandeliers' Keyboard player Amy Falvey pours her soul into her work.

Friday night The Busted Chandeliers opened for Davina and the Vagabonds. The Chandeliers are the Quad-Cities only all-female band. I’ve written about them before – their brand of folk-rock has a Mumford-like sound that gives me shivers. These ladies of folk have been working hard in the studio, laying down tracks for their first CD. They stepped out of the studio to take an opening set Friday night for Davina, and showed us some of what we can expect in the recordings. I’m super-excited for these gals – they’ve come a long way and are going places!


 

Davina and the Vagabonds put on an unforgettable show

And then there was Davina and the Vagabonds. Honestly, I didn’t plan to stay for much of their set. I’ve always thought bands with a front person behind a keyboard didn’t have a lot of entertainment value. They are usually great listening, but don’t have much to offer in a live format. Davina disproved that theory in a huge way. She is quite the entertainer… expressive and funny… and she literally rocks that keyboard. I didn’t mean that figuratively, I meant literally. There was a point at which I thought the keyboard was going to rock right off its stand!




 

I did manage to drag myself away though, because I wanted to stop in and see my friends  Danika Holmes and Jeb Hart at Barrelhouse 211 before I headed across the river to catch a little of that benefit show I mentioned earlier. They've relocated to Nashville but still play here and there when they can come home for a visit. I think Nashville has been good for Danika. She’s becoming a more powerful singer every time I see her.










 

 

Rob Cimmarusti with Einstein's Sister at RIBCO

I've been to a lot of benefits before, but I have never seen one as well attended as the Bertual Reality Experience at RIBCO Friday night.  The benefit was for musician and sound engineer Rob Cimmarusti - and I arrived just in time to catch him on stage and singing "Message in a Bottle" with Einstein's Sister.  The way I hear it, this was a reunion show for Einstein's Sister and Tripmaster Monkey. The latter closed out the show.  Both bands impressed me - for reunions, they had it going on! The crowd was so thick, I had difficulty getting decent shots, but managed to sneak in for a few. My friend Tom Zick (who managed to keep up with me all night!) found a sweet spot for his tripod and camera and shot a bit of video - I'm looking forward to seeing some of his work from the shows we saw.






Friday night's activities took their toll... and I still had a Redstone Room show Saturday night!

Straight Up! Guitarists Derek (foreground) and Drake

[inserted disclaimer] I had a vested interest in Saturday night's show - My son is the bass player for the opening act. Straight Up! is a pop-punk band, and they were opening for three hardcore bands. I only stayed for the first act - the previous night had really sucked a lot out of me - and I want to make it clear that I fully intend to one day catch the other three bands, Kings, Hello Ramona, and Dividing the Masses. I have nothing against hardcore - I just didn't have a full night left in me. Anyway - if you enjoy bands like Blink182, watch for Straight Up! You won't be disappointed. Vocalist Andrew Grimes knows how to work a crowd. Guitarists Drake DeRegules and Derek Esp, as well as bassist Jeff White rarely stand still. Drummer Dylan Sipes is one of the fastest drummers I've seen. Their music is all original - and speaking as a musician (and not a Mom), I can honestly say they not only have a cohesive sound, but appear to be completely connected as they move together on the stage.

The Saturday night Redstone Room show was easily as full as the Friday night show for visiting act Davina... but with one big difference (aside from age, that is). The Friday night crowd mostly sat at their tables or stood in the aisles, but left the dance floor empty for the most part. Saturday night, everyone was jammed up as close as they could get to the stage. Oh yes - and there were those pesky security guards.

You can see more photos of the bands on my Flickr page HERE.

This weekend:

Friday – Wicked Porcelain is at Headquarters, Danielle Peck and Dani Lynn Howe are at Hero’s Pub, and Martinis has Buckshot.  There’s a Rockabilly/Reggae combo at the Redstone Room with 2Peace, Fire Sale, and the Fast Clydes. RIBCO has Minus Six and Navy Bean, while Chuck Murphy is at the Docs Inn and you can find the Harris Collection at Mound Street.

Saturday -  Crossroads is playing The Office, Funktastic 5 is at Mulligans, and Purgatory’s has the Wild Oatz. Rozz-tox has Human Aftertaste, Peach Pies and Caburlesque, while RIBCO hosts Free Energy, Multiple Cat and Chrash. Vodkaseven is at Gunchies, Chuck Murphy explores Roosters and The Rusty Nail has Simon Says Uncle.