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.

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.

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!!