Music
Clay Cook Vs. Levi Lowrey
The Redstone Room
Thursday, January 13, 8 p.m.
Now that the warm-hearted spirit of the holidays is over, we can finally get back to some good, old-fashioned, American brawling. With that, I present what is sure to be the acoustic grudge match of 2011: January 13's Clay Cook Vs. Levi Lowrey concert at the Redstone Room! Prepare for a nasty, no-holds-barred, folk-rock battle royale in this presentation by Dirty Water Events - hell, even the presenters' name is nasty!
In this corner, we have multi-instrumentalist and Georgia native Clay Cook, who co-wrote several songs with Grammy Award-winner John Mayer; toured with Sugarland, Shawn Mullins, and The Marshall Tucker Band; and, in 2009, became a new member of the Grammy-winning Zac Brown Band.
And in this corner, we have fellow Georgia native and singer/songwriter Levi Lowrey, who has toured the South as both a solo artist and with the bluegrass musicians of Cadillac Sky, and is best-known for such tunes as "I've Held the Devil's Hand" and "Kiss My Ass." So it's on, baby!
Like Clay, Lowrey has also performed with the Zac Brown Band, so it's obvious that his musical rivalry with Cook has been percolating for some time! And fans will thrill when their envy and animosity finally reach their boiling points in Davenp -
Wait a minute.
I just read that the musicians have been on the Clay Cook Vs. Levi Lowrey tour for weeks. And that Lowrey is quoted as saying, "This is something that Clay and I have been talking about doing for a very long time." And that the two guys are actually friends. What the ... ? Is Dirty Water Events aware of this?!?
Tickets to the Clay Cook Vs. Levi Lowrey concert are $7 in advance and $10 on the day of the show, and information and reservations are available by calling (563)326-1333 or visiting RedstoneRoom.com.
Exhibit
Tracks: The Railroad in Photographs from the George Eastman House Collection
Figge Art Museum
Saturday, January 15, through Sunday April 24
You know, the Rock Island line is a mighty good road. The Rock Island line is the road to ride. Yes, the Rock Island line is a mighty good road, and if you want to ride, you gotta ride it like you find it, get your ticket at the station ... .
Hmm. Feels like there's a song in there somewhere.
Anyway, while Rock Island's rails are nationally renowned, it's actually Davenport that will soon have you singing about the joys of train travel, with the Figge Art Museum's touring exhibit Tracks: The Railroad in Photographs from the George Eastman House Collection. On display from January 15 through April 24, this artistic assemblage explores more than 160 years of American life, revealing how both trains and photographs - which emerged at roughly the same time in our nation's history - effectively changed the ways we perceive the world.
Including works by such noted period photographers as Bisson Frères, William Henry Jackson, Alvin Langdon Coburn, Lewis H. Hine, Robert Misrach, and Aaron Siskind, Tracks features dozens of rarely viewed photos of the American landscape and early railway travel. Jackson's works show trains rumbling through majestic mountains, while Misrach's capture trains traveling through less scenic, and less hospitable, environments. Hine's images focus on the railroad workers of the Machine Age, while photographers L. Wright and Lori Nix deliver scenes of train wrecks that serve as cautionary statements about technology's effects on nature.
Yet all throughout the Tracks collection, you'll be treated to fascinating and stunningly beautiful sights, in an exhibition that (according to the George Eastman House Web site) presents the locomotive as "symbol, myth, and nostalgic evocation of a better, nobler past." Which is exactly how I describe my publisher, Todd. But don't tell him that; it'll just go to his head.
For information on Tracks: The Railroad in Photographs from the George Eastman House Collection, call (563)326-7804, or visit FiggeArt.org.
Event
The Power of One
Saturday, January 15
Augustana College's Centennial Hall, 6 p.m.
Trivia question: Which noted American orator delivered the 17-minute "I Have a Dream" speech from the steps of the Lincoln Memorial in 1963: (A) Lyndon Johnson, (B) Neil Armstrong, or (C) Martin Luther King Jr.?
The answer is (C), Martin Luther King Jr. And yes, my trivia questions are getting almost laughably easy.
But the fact that even grade-schoolers can answer this question correctly is a testament to the continuing power of King's words, and the enduring accomplishments of this prominent leader of the African-American civil-rights movement will be duly acknowledged in the Augustana College event The Power of One.
Taking place on January 15 - the date that, had he lived, would have marked King's 82nd birthday - this community-wide celebration will feature a dance presentation by the hoofers of the Imani! Dance Studio, and musical performances by the Westbrook Singers, the Community Gospel Chorus, the Augustana Gospel Choir, and singers from Davenport's Mt. Sinai Fellowship and Rock Island's Olivet Baptist Church. And several guest speakers will be on-hand to share King's messages of civility and peace, delivering his timeless sentiments through both their words and his.
So, beyond "I Have a Dream," how well-acquainted are you with those words? In honor of the King celebration, try matching the beginnings of some of his famed quotations with their conclusions. Get them all correct, and win a prize!
1) "A genuine leader is not a searcher for consensus, but ... "
2) "A man who won't die for something is ... "
3) "Everything that we see is ... "
4) "He who accepts evil without protesting it is ... "
5) "To be a Christian without prayer is no more possible than to be ... "
6) "We are not makers of history. We are ... "
A) " ... really cooperating with it."
B) " ... made by history."
C) " ... not fit to live."
D) " ... alive without breathing."
E) " ... a molder of consensus."
F) " ... a shadow cast by that which we do not see."
The Power of One will be presented in Augustana's Centennial Hall beginning at 6 p.m., and for more information on the event, e-mail officesofdiversityservices@
Answers: 1 - E, 2 - C, 3 - F, 4 - A, 5 - D, 6 - B. Did you get them all right? Congrats! You've won free admission to The Power of One! Did you miss a couple? Well ... Martin Luther King Jr. Day is coming up ... . In the spirit of the holiday, you can attend for free, too.
Theatre
All Shook Up
Circa '21 Dinner Playhouse
Wednesday, January 12, through Saturday, March 19
For its first production of 2011, the Circa '21 Dinner Playhouse is proud to present the venue debut of Broadway's musical comedy All Shook Up, running January 12 through March 19.
Directed by the wonderfully talented Circa '21 veteran Ann Nieman (Joseph & the Amazing Technicolor Dreamcoat, Grease, West Side Story), the production will reunite audiences with some of the theatre's most beloved and gifted performers, including Heather Beck, Bret Churchill, Liz J. Millea, Andrea Moore, Tristan Tapscott, and Tom and Rachelle Walljasper.
With a score composed entirely of Elvis Presley hits, the show features thrilling and funny arrangements of classics including "Jailhouse Rock," "Teddy Bear," "Hound Dog," "Love Me Tender," "Can't Help Falling in Love," and "Burning Love."
And because All Shook Up is based on such sweetly campy King movies as Roustabout, the storyline is as simple as could be, involving the romantic travails that surround a motorcycle-riding drifter named Chad and a spirited mechanic named Natalie.
Natalie's father, you see, is in love with Sylvia, who's the mother of Lorraine, who's in love with Dean, who's the son of Mayor Matilda, who wants to deprive the town of rock 'n' roll music.
Yet Natalie also has a best friend named Dennis, who's in love with Natalie, who's in love with Chad, who's in love with Sandra, who's in love with Chad's best friend, Ed.
And Ed is actually Natalie in disguise, who dresses up to get close to Chad, who does get close to Chad, which makes Chad think he might be ... .
Oh. Did I mention that Circa '21's latest is also based on Shakespeare's Twelfth Night? Grab your appetite, your character schematic, and enjoy!
All Shook Up reservations are available by calling (309)786-7733 extension 2 or visiting Circa21.com.
Theatre
Lend Me a Tenor
Playcrafters Barn Theatre
Friday, January 14, through Sunday, January 23
"MAX!!!"
"Yes, Mr. Saunders?"
"You have your instructions. You will accompany Tito Merelli to the Tony-winning comedy ... "
" ... Lend Me a Tenor ... "
" ... by ... "
" ... Ken Ludwig ... "
" ... at ... "
" ... the Playcrafters Barn Theatre."
"You will watch this fast-paced, mistaken-identity ... "
" ... farce ... "
" ... involving a drunken, womanizing ... "
" ... tenor ... "
" ... and an apoplectic producer and his beleaguered ... "
" ... assistant ... "
" ... that was called 'a lovely dose of pure, operatic idiocy' by the New ... "
" ... York Post ... "
" ... and stars area favorites Christopher ... "
" ... Tracy ... "
" ... and Diane ... "
" ... Greenwood ... "
" ... and John VanDe- ... "
" ... -Woestyne."
"After the show, you'll congratulate director Donna ... "
" ... Weeks ... "
" ... and guide Tito away from ... "
" ... liquor and women ... "
" ... at which point you'll return him here, keeping him ... "
" ... sober ... "
" ... with his hands ... "
" ... to himself ... "
" ... at which point he can ... "
" ... drop dead ... "
" ... for all we care. Good."
"Good."
Seriously, after seeing the show, you'll think that piece is a scream.
For tickets to Playcrafters' production of Lend Me a Tenor, call (309)762-0330 or visit Playcrafters.com.
What Else Is Happenin'...?
MUSIC
Friday, January 7 - Victor Trevino Jr.: A Tribute to the King. Elvis Presley tribute performer, and winner of last year's "The King Contest." Quad-Cities Waterfront Convention Center (1777 Isle Parkway, Bettendorf). 7:30 p.m. $5-10. For tickets, call (800)724-5825 or visit Bettendorf.IsleOfCapriCasinos.
Sunday, January 16 - The Manny Lopez Big Band. Jazz musicians perform and educate as part of Polyrhythms' Third Sunday Jazz Matinée & Workshop Series. The Redstone Room (129 Main Street, Davenport). 3 p.m. all-ages workshop - $5/adult, children free; 6 p.m. concert - $10-15. For tickets and information, call (309)373-0790 or visit Polyrhythms.org and RedstoneRoom.com.
Monday, January 17 - Grace Potter & the Nocturnals. Vermont-based pop rockers in concert. The Redstone Room (129 Main Street, Davenport). 8 p.m. $20-25. For tickets and information, call (563)326-1333 or visit RedstoneRoom.com.
Wednesday, January 19 - Lissie. Indie-pop musician and Rock Island native in concert. The Redstone Room (129 Main Street, Davenport). 8:30 p.m. $12-15. For tickets and information, call (563)326-1333 or visit RedstoneRoom.com.
THEATRE
Friday, January 7, and Saturday, January 8 - My Fair Lady: In Concert. A vocal performance of the Lerner & Loewe musical classic, presented by Iowa City Community Theatre. Englert Theatre (221 East Washington Street, Iowa City). 7:30 p.m. $12-20. For tickets and information, call (319)338-0443 or visit IowaCityCommunityTheatre.com or Englert.org.
Saturday, January 8 - The Prenzie Players' 2001 Twelfth Night Gala. Annual fundraiser for the classical-theatre troupe, featuring performances of scenes and poetry, live music, a silent auction, and more. Rivermont Collegiate (1821 Sunset Drive, Bettendorf). 7 p.m. $15. For information and to reserve, e-mail twelfthnightgala@
EXHIBIT
Tuesday, January 18, through Friday, February 25 - Social Commentaries. Exhibit featuring the works of nine book artists, and exploring such topics as race riots, natural disasters, political systems, the plight of the veteran, and the world of animé. St. Ambrose University's Catich Gallery (2101 Gaines Street, Davenport). Tuesdays through Fridays, noon-5 p.m. For information, call (563)333-6444 or visit http://web.SAU.edu/catich.
SPORTS
Saturday, January 8 - The Harlem Globetrotters. Basketball and comedy legends in their "4 Times the Fun" World Tour. i wireless Center (1201 River Drive, Moline). 7 p.m. $16-49. For tickets, call (800)745-3000 or visit iwirelessCenter.com.
EVENTS
Saturday, January 8 - Minute to Win It Fundraiser. DubStar presents a fundraiser for the Quad Cities Autism Center with host Brian Gale, modeled on the television game show. Uptown Neighborhood Bar & Grill (2340 Spruce Hills Drive, Bettendorf). 7 p.m. $10. For information, call (563)359-1015 or visit Facebook.com/DubStarQC.
Friday, January 14 - The Amazing Illusion Magic Show. A night of prestidigitation with master illusionist Timothy Stone. Quad-Cities Waterfront Convention Center (1777 Isle Parkway, Bettendorf). 7:30 p.m. $5-10. For tickets, call (800)724-5825 or visit Bettendorf.IsleOfCapriCasinos.
Saturday, January 15 - Fairmount Street Library Fifth-Anniversary Open House Party. Family event featuring birthday-card crafts, face-painting, refreshments, a 1 p.m. performance by the Davenport Chordbusters, and more. Davenport Public Library Fairmount Street Branch (3000 North Fairmount Street, Davenport). 10 a.m.-4 p.m. Free. For information, call (563)326-7832 or visit DavenportLibrary.com.
Saturday, January 15 - Third-Annual Winter Wine Experience. Featuring live music, hors d'oeuvres, and samples of wines from numerous wineries, with proceeds benefiting the River Music Experience's educational programming. River Music Experience (129 Main Street, Davenport). 5 p.m. $20-35. For information and to reserve, call (563)326-1333 or visit RiverMusicExperience.org.
Saturday, January 15 - 2011 Red Ribbon Dinner & Great Auction. Reserve by January 9 for January 15 fundraiser benefiting The Project Quad Cities, featuring guest entertainers Bêabá do Samba. Quad-Cities Waterfront Convention Center (1777 Isle Parkway, Bettendorf). 5 p.m. $58.50-65. For tickets and information, call (309)762-5433 or visit APQC4Life.org.
