Music

The Split Livers

Rock Island Brewing Company

Wednesday, June 13, 8 p.m.

On June 13, the Rock Island Brewing Company presents a concert with the recently formed collaborative duo the Split Livers, which I like to think of as the Reese's Peanut Butter Cup of the acoustic-punk bluegrass scene. My reasons for this are twofold. (1) Like peanut butter and chocolate, the Split Livers blends two separate ingredients - Wayne Gottstine of Split Lip Rayfield and Danny Barnes of Bad Livers - to form one signature taste. (2) Have you ever had a Reese's Peanut Butter Cup? Those things are freakin' awesome.

FOR GREATER GLORY

To my considerable chagrin, before seeing For Greater Glory, I had no knowledge of the Cristero War that serves as the film's subject - a brutal conflict between devout Roman Catholics and the Mexican government that, in the late 1920s, claimed nearly 100,000 lives. Consequently, I thank director Dean Wright and screenwriter Michael Love for their two-and-a-half hour exploration of this years-long struggle, a movie that's intensely informative and sincere, and mostly engaging. If only it weren't also so sentimental, and so manipulative.

At last count, there were 74 plays and musicals set to open at area venues this summer. Although one of the productions is technically two separate productions. And four of them are technically one. And two of the plays are really readings of plays.

You know what? Let's just say 70-ish plays and musicals. That's still impressive, right?

DARK SHADOWS

Dark Shadows, director Tim Burton's take on the 1966-71 gothic soap opera that remains a cult favorite, is gently satirical and totally watchable, and filled with inventive fringe touches. Led by Johnny Depp, its cast features a bunch of terrific comedians - a number of whom don't often get the chance to be comedians - and the visuals are thoroughly impressive. All told, it's probably Burton's best film, and certainly his best live-action film, in more than a decade. So why, in the end, doesn't all of that mean more than it actually does?