Internet gaming celebrity and YouTube personality Jirard the Completionist takes the stage at the Rust Belt on November 19 to “share several stories from his childhood to the beginning of his career.” He will also be appearing in person at an after-party at Paradigm (320 East Second Street) in Davenport.
This feature collects articles published online by Quad Cities-area media outlets and by CapitolFax.com and the state-politics sections of the Des Moines Register and the State Journal-Register.
Patrons of Davenport's Putnam Museum & Science Center are invited to view fantastically ridiculous machines, and dream up some of their own, in the venue's Rube Goldberg: The World of Hilarious Invention!, the new traveling exhibition that opens on September 28 and showcases the legendary Rube Goldberg’s iconic contraptions, imaginative illustrations, and humorous storytelling.
In a brief break from its fall residencies with lauded musicians, Quad City Arts' Visiting Artists Series welcomes best-selling author, award winning documentarian, and longtime history enthusiast Rick Beyer for an area stay November 5 through 9, with the widely acclaimed creator of PBS' The Ghost Army a frequent guest on CBS News, MSNBC, CNN, the Discovery Channel, Fox News, and NPR.
One of the Quad Cities' most eagerly anticipated sales events returns to Rock Island's QCCA Expo Center November 1 through 3, as Melting Pot Productions presents the 25th Annual Fall Antique Spectacular Vintage Market, allowing hunters of vintage goods an all-weekend opportunity to shop for a wide range of quality antiques.
Much will change at the Statehouse when Senate President John Cullerton retires in January, a year before his term expires.
Unlike his House counterpart, House Speaker Michael Madigan, Cullerton always wanted to find ways to get things done — and he got a lot done.
Bribery is a Class 2 felony in Illinois. It's also a federal offense, punishable by up to ten years in prison. Neither of those laws stopped former State Representative Luis Arroyo (D-Chicago) from allegedly attempting to bribe a state Senator, who turned out to be an FBI mole.
Every thinking American knows on some level that his/her current political disposition is based almost entirely on emotions triggered by media manipulation like never before.
The day I began working at the first Happy Joe's Pizza & Ice Cream Parlor down in the East Village of Davenport, Joe Whitty sat me down in his office and imparted wisdom that affected the rest of my life.
The first day of the 2019 veto session on Monday, October 28, was unlike any other that most people have ever seen.
If you have a preconceived notion that William Shakespeare plays are uppity, pretentious, or hard to follow, then you need to get yourself over to the QC Theatre Workshop this weekend to see the Prenzie Players’ current production of The Merry Wives of Windsor. Friday’s opening night of this hilarious romp was just so much fun that it’s hard to properly articulate all that made it so. That’s not, however, going to stop me from trying.
The Black Box Theatre’s current show, Losers Bracket, isn’t exactly like the '80s sitcom Cheers, and Saturday’s theatrical barroom brawl was rife with profanity and strobe light effects that, for me, were painful. This tale of insurance fraud, dysfunctional relationships, and greed that all unfolds in a Chicago tavern known as Boo’s featured a few one-liners that I found funny – but other than that, I'd have to say, “Not my cup of tea.”
Described by the Bay Area Guardian as “inspired and stimulating,” and by the Des Moines Register as a work that “strikes deep into the bones,” author Frank Higgins' evocative Gunplay serves as the fall theatre production at Scott Community College November 21 through 24, its messages so impactful that portions of the play were read on Capitol Hill prior to Congress passing the handgun-violence prevention act known as the Brady Bill.
One of the funniest, most charming, and most popular operas of all time gets a thrilling makeover at Augustana College on November 22 and 23, as the talents of OperX stage their fall production of The Marriage of Figaro – the Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart classic being presented under the direction of Michelle Crouch and boasting a cast of 10 gifted student performers.
I attended the Wednesday preview performance of the Circa '21 Dinner Playhouse's Elf: The Musical, and director Jeremy Littlejohn and musical director Travis Smith have clearly concocted a sweet, fluffy treat. The songs may be standard fare, but they're given freshness by the performers, as well as the beautiful costuming by Greg Hiatt.
RIBCO is known for bringing fairly diverse acts to its stage, especially quality metal bands. The show on Friday, November 22 combines heaviness and diversity in a way seldom seen (or heard) at the venue. Igneous, Cervine, Dead Emperors, and Daykeeper are bringing together unique strains of rock, doom, and progressive metal to create one memorable night of heavy music.
Performing in support of the October release of their self-titled album – a work that, according to Sounds Like Nashville, “maintains their inspiring disposition while exploring deeper musicians” – the chart-topping country musicians of Old Dominion play Moline's TaxSlayer Center on November 23, performing from a repertoire that has thus far resulted in three Academy of Country Music Awards and eight top-10 Billboard singles over a mere five years.
Following hugely successful presentations of Harry Potter & the Sorcerer's Stone in 2017 and Harry Potter & the Chamber of Secrets in 2018, the Quad City Symphony Orchestra returns to Davenport's Adler Theatre on November 23 to perform live accompaniment for Oscar-winning director Alfonso Cuarón's Harry Potter & the Prisoner of Azkaban – the third movie smash adapted from J.K. Rowling's iconic fantasy/adventure novels.
Explosive and experimental hardcore punk unit Zeta visits Rozz-Tox on tour from its musicians' native Venezuela on November 23.
A special night of brilliant music and blistering horror transpires at the Rock Island Brewing Company on November 17 with the venue housing “The Beyond Composer's Cut Tour,” a night in which acclaimed Italian composer Fabio Frizzi will perform the live score to 1981's cult hit The Beyond plus a special Frizzi 2 Fulci tribute to the film's director Lucio Fulci, for whom Frizzi composed some of his most memorable scores.
Director James Mangold's new professional-racing drama Ford v Ferrari, however, feels like Ron Howard's 2013 Rush done right: similarly enthralling on the racetrack, but with the added benefits of a more involving narrative, first-rate star turns by Matt Damon and Christian Bale, and – something Rush really lacked – a bunch of topnotch supporting portrayals.
Taking place during Truth in Action's “24 Hours of Reality” program – a daylong global conversation on the climate crisis and how we might solve it – the 2018 documentary Paris to Pittsburgh will enjoy a screening and subsequent panel discussion at Davenport's Figge Art Museum on November 21, an event held as a companion program to the venue's current art exhibition Mia Feuer: Totems of Anthropocene.
In my apparently endless need to publicly prove I have no life, I caught eight films at four different venues between Thursday and Saturday. Some titles are worth more words than I've given them; a couple are undoubtedly worth less. Regardless, the following are listed in order of preference. If you're among those readers who enjoy my pans more than my praise, by all means work your way backward.
You can nearly always pinpoint the precise moment in which a formerly serious – or at least mildly rational – film franchise turns inexorably into camp.
Even if the movie itself was only half as good as it is, the bio-comedy Dolemite Is My Name would be worth a watch – several watches, actually – just for the pleasure of seeing Eddie Murphy happier on-screen than he's seemed in ages.
Colorful and expressive work by one of Iowa City's premier artistic talents will be on display at St. Ambrose University October 14 through November 23, as the Catich Gallery showcases evocative photographs by Sandra Louise Dyas in her new exhibition Truth & Beauty.
Drawings and photographs by a pair of gifted Midwestern artists will fill the Quad City Arts Center Gallery from October 18 through December 6, with the Rock Island venue housing the exhibits Sky Weave, featuring new works by Des Moines' Emily Newman, and The Set Table: Forks on the Left, Metaphors on the Right, boasting the talents of Muscatine-based photographer Randy Richmond.
From September 21 through December 8, a traditional Mexican holiday will be celebrated in high style at Davenport's Figge Art Museum through the exhibition Day of the Dead: The Art of Remembrance, an installation that will explore how we celebrate and remember the lives of our lost loved ones through the collective traditions, art-making, and storytelling that are among its integral elements.
A fascinating exhibition boasting installation work and even a synthetic indoor ice rink will be on display at the Figge Art Museum from September 21 through December 29 when the Davenport venue houses Mia Feuer: Totems of the Anthropocene, its widely acclaimed creator having enjoyed solo exhibitions worldwide from Washington D.C. to London to Calgary.
Works by a trio of gifted Midwestern artists will be on display in the Quad City Arts International Airport Gallery through January 1, with the venue boasting paintings by Juliet Stock and Julia Kulish and functional ceramic art by Natalya Sots.
You'll get a rundown of What's Happenin' along with your keys to the Quad Cities' culture.
