So Much Live Music So Little Time

It was another whirlwind weekend in the Quad Cities live music scene. From a CD release party at a popular local venue to a benefit jam, from rock, to blues to country, the QC area has so much music to offer! Check it out...

A Whole Lot of Live Music

It was another busy week in the Quad-Cities music scene. So busy, in fact, that I’m once again publishing twice in one week. There’s just too much to write about to squeeze it into one blog post. You’ve probably already seen my post about Codfish Hollow on Sunday. But let’s back track to earlier in the week. It all began when I received a special message from Kate Benson at the River Music Experience, suggesting I check out a show on Tuesday night…

A Soiree, a Battle and a Concert - Live Music in the QC

Usually I give a rundown of the shows I attended over the weekend, but this week I’m going to start with a Tuesday evening soiree at the RME Café. I promise there is weekend action involved here too, but not the action you might expect… I completely skipped Street Fest this year. So what did I do instead? Read on…

Rainy Days and Quad City Music Venues

For a lot of years I spent my Memorial Day Weekend camping on the shores of the Cedar River.  Last year I gave up my trailer and sold all my camping equipment. My kids have grown, my friends all moved on to other activities, and I’ve been so wrapped up in the music scene that my summer weekends have been too full. I felt like I was wasting my money on the rented space that I hardly saw. The rainstorms this past weekend reminded me of that first Memorial Day on the Cedar, when we found ourselves floating out of our tent on Saturday morning. We spent the rest of the weekend camped out on the floor of my parents’ trailer – 4 adults and 4 kids in a 1977 Holiday Rambler. Rain on Memorial Day just seems like a tradition.

Benefits and Blues in the QC

I attend the occasional benefit – music for a good cause is always worth my money. This week, I attended two. One was a memorial, the other for one of my favorite causes. I also caught one of my favorite KC bands, and an Iowa City funk band for a whole lot of fun.

Blarney in the QC and 2 Busy Nights for Rascals

I guess the title gives it away, but I spent more time at Rascals Live this weekend than I spent there in the last month. But in between my visits to Rascals, I managed to catch a parade and one St. Pat’s party. But first there was Thursday night. And that means there’s a jam or two in the mix.

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.

A Recipe For Live Music

Friday – Lee Blackmon With a Dash of Harris Collection

 

Roger Carlson sings along with Lee Blackmon

If you were looking for me Friday night, you would have found me at Bleyart’s entertaining a rowdy crowd with Lee Blackmon. During a break, I made a mad dash down to the Mound Street Landing to catch a bit of the Harris Collection’s Toys for Tots Benefit. The band sounded great, and there were Marines in dress uniforms everywhere. Tom Zick was running sound, and during a Harris break he stopped by Bleyarts. Also in attendance at Bleyarts were Roger Carlson and Bill Spain who joined Lee for a few songs.

Sweet Blues and Christmas Cheese?

I started my night Friday at The Muddy Waters and enjoyed some Candy… Yes, the Candymakers were making sweet sounds at Muddy’s Friday. We were treated to some new original works, including a Christmas song,which, according to Bret Dale, was loaded with cheese…

A Birthday Bash and New Venues

A couple of weeks ago, Hal Reed celebrated his birthday. For those of you not in the know, Hal is the owner of The Muddy Waters in Bettendorf.  The Muddy Waters celebrates in grand style – with a weekend-long birthday bash!

I attended Saturday night’s party, as I spent Friday evening at 2 venues with 1^st Impression and Lee Blackmon. A few musicians from local bands got together and started out the evening with a jam.  With Hal on harmonica and vocals, and the likes of Jimmy VanHyfte and Curtis Hawkins, it was a memorable opening act. Afterwards the Kinsey Report took the stage for their set and made the evening complete.

I heard this week that a new bar has opened in Downtown Davenport. In the space that used to be the 811 Lockdown, meet… Zero to Sixty. Chuck Murphy posted on my timeline this week that he’ll be playing there tomorrow night from 10-2.  I also wanted to mention that I’ve been hearing rumors that The Firehouse on Hickory Grove Road is serving up live music every other Friday night – opposite the Fridays they have karaoke.  I’m going to be checking that out too – but I haven’t heard of any local bands that have played there.

 

This week:

Friday night – Barrel House 211 is running a double feature this week, with MER at 5:30 and The Blackstones at 10. Funktastic Five is at Rascals, Cobalt Blue is playing 11^th street Precinct, and Brady Street Pub has The Lowdown. Simon Says Uncle can be found at the Rusty Nail, and Grand Larsony is playing Purgatorys. Jason Carl’s band is playing Generations, and The Edje Nightclub has Smooth Groove.

Saturday: Smokehouse is playing a benefit Saturday afternoon and early evening at Racers Edge, and 1^st Impression will be following them at 9:30. The Karry Outz are playing Rascals, The Candymakers are at 11^th Street Precinct, and the Odeon in Clinton has Pash n Brew.  Curtis Hawkins band is at The Muddy Waters and Cosmic is playing Mulligans. Justin Morrissey can be found at Bleyarts and you can find Machine Gun Willie at Ducky’s Lagoon.

There’s plenty of live music this weekend – so get out and enjoy some!

Live Music and Another Release Party

This week I attended yet another local band’s release party. This time it was an EP, and the band was one I had not yet seen. In fact, I was thrilled to see 3 great bands that night that were new to me.

The venue was RIBCO. The bands: Satellite Heart, The Lion In Rome, and The Last Glimpse. This was a big night for The Last Glimpse, as they were releasing a new EP. 

The QC Music Scene - Vibrant and Active

I’m a musician. I might not perform every weekend or even have a regular gig, but each of us has our own definition of what makes us a musician. Once upon a time, I actually played a couple of instruments. Who knows, I may start playing again one day. I’ve even written a song or three. I sing – every chance I get, sometimes there are actually people around to hear me. 

When someone talks about the bands “I follow”, I wonder what they mean by “follow”. As a musician, I believe it is important for me to support other local musicians. I go to a lot of gigs and take photos of a lot of bands. I write about local bands so that other people might be informed about the sort of bands that play locally. I want the public to know that we have a vibrant, active music scene right here in the Quad-cities. I want them to know they can find live music any day of the week in the area, and that they don’t have to wait for a band to come to the big venues to get great entertainment.  I’m not saying we should ignore the big shows and only support local music, but if we don’t support local bands, we lose the ability to have that entertainment any day of the week. And above all, musicians need to support other musicians, or our venues will dry up.

That said, I don’t see it so much as following (like a groupie) as I see what I do as supporting.  Yes, you will see me at nearly every 1^st Impression gig. That’s a different thing – I am part of the 1^st Impression family. I’m a team member, and work for the band. When I’m at a 1^st Impression gig, I’m generally working.  But when 1^st Impression is off, and I’m not singing elsewhere, you can bet I’m out supporting other musicians. 

Ron LaPuma and Johnny Pena at jam night

The outdoor concert season is drawing to a close. What a great summer of live music we had!  There are a few more afternoons at Creekside Vineyard, and at least one more Sunday Funday on the patio with Dave Ellis at The Muddy Waters, but otherwise, all of the outdoor venues seem to have finished up for the year. 

Thursday night I stayed later at John O’Meara’s jam session than I should have, but there was so much going on I just couldn’t drag myself away.  This week it looks like The Muddy Waters has a band scheduled – so I guess that means no jam night. I’m disappointed! 

The Karry Outz hit the Rascals Stage

Friday night I headed over to Rascals Live and hung out with the Karry Outz for a set.  The Karry Outz are nothing if they’re not enthusiastic. They say they sell more beer than any other QC band. They may be right. They have a really good time, that’s for sure.

After I left Rascals Live, I headed for the Redstone Room. I caught the very, very end of the Samantha Fish concert.  I only got to see her perform 3 songs, and that left me wishing I had gone there a bit earlier! And I got there so late, I didn't bother to take my camera with me. I'll never do that again! That young artist is definitely going places.

Those country club folks sure can party!

Saturday night I joined 1^st Impression on the road in Aledo. For Becky and the guys, Aledo isn’t much of a road trip, considering 1^st Impression traveled a much larger region in their early days. But for me, Aledo was just far enough! We learned the country club set really enjoys a good party. Becky said it best, “I never imagined I’d be singing ‘Crazy Bitch’ at the country club!”

Remember to check my Flickr page for the latest photos – and there’s a new video from jam night up on the Youtube channel.

This week:

Thursday

The Jason Carl band has a show at RIBCO and The Muddy Waters has Levee Town.

Friday

 There appears to be a new venue in Davenport - The Shop – at 53^rd and Brady by Dave and Sams . Dynoride, Six to the Chest, Archemedes Death Ray, and Shadow Stone are set to play there, starting at 6 PM.  The Curtis Hawkins Band is at The Muddy Waters, John Common is playing the Redstone Room, The Rusty Nail has Hitman and Tapped Out, while Chuck Murphy is doing his thing at DaVincis. Rascals Live has the Mercury Brothers, while Night Light is playing Barrelhouse 211, Smokehouse is playing at M.D. Greens, and Terry and the Loan Sharks can be found at the Mound Street Landing.

Saturday

Grand Larsony is playing Purgatory’s Pub, Vid James has a guest slot with Secret Squirrel at the El Pavito at 5 PM, Simon Says Uncle is at the Hawkeye, the Muddy Waters has Terry Quiett Band, Keep Off the Grass is in Coal Valley at Mulligans. Martinis has Smooth Groove, Danika Holmes is scheduled at the Grape Life, and the Movers and Shakers are playing Brady Street Pub. You’ll find me at Bleyart’s, singing with Lee Blackmon.

Quad City Roots

There were some new faces at the Thursday night jam session at The Muddy Waters – a funk trio with a cool sound and long-time local drummer Don O’Dette.  Powerful artist Joshua “Slim” Kane dropped by to play and sing a few songs. And Randall Ketelson rocked the stage with his own style. This Thursday, The Muddy Waters has a special feature show, so there will be no Jam. But be sure to jam with us again next week.

 

 

 

Live Music Street Fest Style!

Now that the Bix7 race and the Bix Biederbeck Memorial Jazz Festival have seemingly gone their separate ways – Quad citizens get two weekends of music and no longer have to choose between Jazz and the bands of the Street Fest. Along with the Wells Fargo Street Fest, several downtown Davenport bars have joined in the fun, adding their own outdoor parties to the mix. This year along with the Shenanigans/Macs/Kilkenny’s party, Barrel House 211 tossed in a bash, and newcomer Davinci’s joined the fray. There was live music everywhere! 

I Need a Clone For All This Live Music

Sometimes I wish I could be in two places at once. Or three or four even.  This weekend was one of those times.  Yes, that was pretty much the story for the entire weekend.  Of course, I started Thursday night at The Muddy Waters. Things started off slow, but were heating up really well about the time I needed to head for home.  Most of the usual characters were there – and we were dancing in the aisles by 11 PM.

Cool Blues on a Warm Night – live music in the QC

Hot is a relative term. I love warm summer nights – and I love cool blues. That is a good part of why I really enjoyed Blues Fest a couple of weeks ago.  But in the Quad-Cities, it isn’t necessary to limit your blues listening to one weekend a year.  Every Thursday night there’s a blues jam at The Muddy Waters.  Yes, sometimes musicians who don’t play blues get up and play too, but the majority of the Thursday night Johnny O. Jam is blues.  And the Muddy Waters provides us with blues entertainers on other nights too.  This week I checked out the Friday night show… more on that later.

Blues ... And A Little More Than Live Music

Yes, last weekend was Blues Fest… and yes, I was there most of the weekend. Except I attended musical at the District Theatre on Friday and left early on Saturday to hang out in Muscatine with 1^st Impression.

Friday evening I opted for the opening night of Xanadu. With the impending storm, I was glad I did that rather than try to attend the festival. Things got a bit soggy on the riverfront Friday night. Briefly – Xanadu was a fun, campy romp, and I would certainly see it again if my schedule permitted. My favorite song was ELO’s “Evil Woman”. Sara King and Tracy Pelzer-Timm knocked it out of the ballpark. I also enjoyed how some of the sappier songs were sung and choreographed over the top, keeping them from being just sappy and making the musical as a whole just that much more hilarious.

I thought my favorite line was “Isn’t falling in love just like banging your head into a brick wall?” – Danny to Sonny.

Then I heard this line: “Are the big hands and big feet trying to tell me a story I need to hear Clio?” - Aphrodite

There were some local references injected into the script as well as some cool 80’s humor. I really enjoyed how DT took liberties with the script here and there. The popcorn was a great touch!

 This was my first Blues Fest with a decent camera…and my first time back in a few years. I learned early in the weekend that it was better to have a VIP pass to get close to the stage for those up-shots I love to take, and for my Sony’s wimpy 18-55 lens. So to my friends who hate cropping, I cropped the heck out of most of my photos from Blues Fest. But standing behind the barrier gave me some interesting perspective, and angles all those folks with VIP passes didn’t have.

My main interest in attending Blues Fest this year was a return engagement by Trampled Under Foot. The Schneleben family trio played last summer’s River Roots Live festival. They dealt with non-existent monitors and still put on a great show. So I knew I wanted to hear them again, and this time they blew me away. I think Grace Potter might have to step aside, as I’ve discovered a new idol in bass-wielding singer Danielle. Not only is she great to hear, Danielle is great fun to photograph as well.

I caught a few other acts over the course of the two days I attended, including The Brooks Family and Lady Bianca on Sunday and Doug MacLeod, Preston Shannon and The Earnest Dawkins Quartet on Saturday. I’m looking forward to next year’s festival, and will remember to score a VIP pass in advance.

I left Blues Fest Saturday night and headed for Muscatine. 1^st Impression played an outdoor show at Missippi Brew, hosted by the Muscatine Young Professionals. It was pretty muggy down by the riverfront, but that didn’t slow down Becky or the guys.

Speaking of muggy weather, expect a little info about Fourth of July festivities in my next blog…

This week:

Tonight is Jam night at The Muddy Waters!!  Come on down – if you’re a musician, join in on the fun. If you’re not, come on out anyway for some great jams!! You won’t be disappointed.

Danika Holmes is playing Barrelhouse 211 tonight as well.

Tomorrow, Chuck Murphy is at Pearl City Station, Danika Holmes is playing Hero’s Pub, The Mississippi Misfits are at The Muddy Waters, and Rozz-Tox is hosting a 3 band lineup that includes the Candymakers. Ohh boy… Hope that little place is ready for the Candymakers’ following…

Saturday is the Party in the Street at Racer’s Edge, featuring 1^st Impression, Evolution and 4^th and 20. Alan Sweet’s Pieces of Candy will be at The Muddy Waters, and The J Spot will be at The Rusty Nail. 100 West is hosting Cosmic. For you early folks – Check out Chuck Murphy at the Creekside Vineyard in Coal Valley. Wine tasting and acoustic music!

More photos can be seen on my Flickr page here: Roberta's Flickr Page

Get out and enjoy some cool beverages and Local Live Music!!

Music and More: It’s Summer and That Means…

I wonder if anyone thought I might be skipping the live music blog this week. Absolutely NOT! On top of all my other activities, I hit a few live music shows too, and I absolutely have to remind everyone to attend a certain motorcycle rally…

Nervous Rex returns!

Let’s start with Thursday. I always seem to start with Thursday. But I’m going to do it again this week. Only, my week didn’t start out at a Jam session, it started at Bass Street Landing with the return of a local favorite band, “Nervous Rex”. I would like to state for the record that I never saw Nervous Rex before Thursday. I’m sorry about that – because I really got into their tunes Thursday evening. Rex definitely has a blues-influenced sound.  There is no doubt in my mind I’ll be seeing more of this band!

Jam sessions bring together musicians from all walks

On my way home from the Bass Street Landing show in Moline, I stopped by The Muddy Waters to check out Johnny O’s Jam. As usual, the crowd was good and the music better. I am absolutely a blues fan, and most of the folks who show up at Muddy’s have that blues feel. One of these weeks, I’m taking Friday off work so I can stay late at the jam. I suspect I’m missing out on some great musicians as the evening always runs later than I can stay.

Lee's Go-go dancers

Due to Saturday’s Race for the Cure, I decided not to stay out late Friday night – I had an early morning. And I’m no morning person! I did spend a little time at Cool Beanz with Lee Blackmon. I’m beginning to see Lee’s shows as an opportunity to keep my voice oiled up and my ear tuned. Friday night was no exception, though Cool Beanz is one of the locations where Lee gets plenty of takers for the sing-along. He had a couple of cute go-go dancers this week as well. 

More District Theatre here

Saturday night I attended the District Theatre’s show “We Are Young”. I had so much to write about the show that I gave it a separate blog post, which you can see here. Vid James, drummer and vocalist for Nervous Rex was involved with this show and sent me the invite. 

Sundays are usually reserved for family gatherings, church-type stuff and preparing myself for the upcoming workweek (which often includes recovering from a busy weekend!) However, I had scheduled my first portrait session for Sunday evening along Ben Butterworth Parkway, which yielded an opportunity for dinner and live music at The Captain’s Table. 

It turns out that the Dirt Road Rockers were playing Sunday evening on the outdoor stage. I’ve seen this bunch before, but they’ve had a personnel change since the last time I saw them. The band is sporting a new bass player. This was a good opportunity to hear them. The last time I saw the band they were inside at Martini’s, which is a very small venue. They’re well-suited to an outdoor venue.

What’s up for the weekend?

In case you haven’t heard the rumbling, there’s a motorcycle rally going on…

Just a quick rundown of the bands scheduled at the Mississippi River Motorcycle Rally:

Thursday – In the Scooters tent: Vigil Annie, High Drama, Dirt Road Rockers.

In the Choppers tent: Crossroads

On the Corona stage: Stuart Mathews, Keep Off The Grass

Friday – In the Scooters tent: Corporate Rock, Natty Scratch, Geneva

In the Choppers tent:  Modern Mythology, Bottoms Up Burlesque, Tronicity, Tailfins, Sugar Nipples

On the Corona Stage: Wes Weeber, BMT, House Arrest

Saturday – In the Scooters tent: Nervous Rex, Pash-n-brew, Hap Hazard, The Recliners, and Kings Kiss

In the Choppers tent: The Funnies, Spike, Night People, 1st Impression, Mercury Brothers, the Old 57s

On the Corona Stage: Wes Weeber, Johnny Outlaw, 2^nd Wind, BMT.

Thanks to MRMRally for the updated list.

I’ll be there for some of the bands – and most of Saturday. However I’ll be leaving after 1^st Impression is finished so I can sing with Lee Blackmon. Which means I’ll be missing out on the final Kings Kiss show…

There are other things going on besides the rally this weekend:

The Hillcrest Event center in Orion has a bit of a weekend music festival-

Friday’s lineup includes: Wild Oatz, Dirt Road Rockers, Slough Boys and Dani Lynn Howe

Saturday’s bands are: Sinners and Saints, Wicked Liz and the Bellyswirls, Meet the Press, Dani Lynn Howe (and headliner – Jimmie Van Zant)

Thursday the Karry Outz are playing on the Bass Street Landing Stage

Friday- Night People and Grazin District are at the New Rusty Nail, Justin Morrissey and Drunken Angels are playing the 11^th St. Precinct, and The Muddy Waters has The Mercury Brothers

Saturday – Dirt Road Rockers and Grazin District are playing the Daiquiri Factory, Blues Hounds are at The Muddy Waters, Jim the Mule is playing Bent River Brewery, 11^th Street Precinct has Cosmic, and I’ll be joining Lee Blackmon at Bleyarts in the Village.