Touring nationally after the March release of his Netflix special Hot Cross Buns, an hour of comedy that inspired Decider to rave that "there’s nobody quite as talented, as proficient, or as funny," Dave Attell headlines an October 12 engagement at Davenport's Rhythm City Casino Resort Event Center, the performer/writer's credits running the gamut from appearances on Arrested Development to a voice-over stint on The Simpsons to a guest turn in this year's Emmy-winning hit Mr. & Mrs. Smith.
Last February, in the 50th-anniversary season of Quad City Arts’ Visiting Artist Series, hip-hop dancing and beatboxing illustrated how elusive world peace may be possible.
Appearing locally in his wildly successful “Return of the Rat Tour,” comedian, podcaster, and actor Theo Von will play Moline's Vibrant Arena at the MARK on October 13, the multi-hyphenate funnyman beloved for his podcast This Past Weekend and Netflix specials including 2016's No Offense and 2021's Regular People.
Arriving right on time for Illinois Governor J.B. Pritzker’s announced transportation plan, which includes $225 million to re-establish passenger train service between Moline and Chicago, the Putnam Museum & Science Center's exhibition All Aboard: Our Quad City Locomotive Legacy will, through October 13, provide an expansive look into railways while centering the conversation around our area's unique history.
The funny bone of one of the United States' most revered presidents will be explored at the Moline Public Library on October 14 when historian and former professor Dr. William Hampes presents The Humor of American Lincoln, a program focusing on the types of humor that Lincoln used, how he used them in politics and his personal life to achieve his goals, and what his sense of humor demonstrated about his personality.
Last year, the Democratic Party of Illinois and Governor JB Pritzker targeted local school-board races to defeat candidates who wanted to ban books and/or were receiving support from right-wing political organizations. The governor ended up claiming victory in more than seventy percent of those campaigns.
For months now, Statehouse types have been talking about whether there’s a need for a fall veto session this year. The session is scheduled to run the two weeks after the November election. As one person put it, veto sessions are for things that the governor and legislators “have to do.” But with no gubernatorial vetoes to deal with, is there anything that absolutely has to be done before the end of the year?
Scott County has purchased all-new election equipment and software for the upcoming, highly contentious 2024 election. It is fair to say that the purchase was fast-tracked in 2023 with approval by the Scott County Board of Supervisors, even though relevant concerns and questions from the public were not addressed, let alone satisfied.
As I’ve been telling Statehouse types for a long while, lobbyists and legislators need to be paying very close attention to what’s happening in the corruption trials relating to and involving former House Speaker Michael Madigan.
The mainstream media was once the guardian of the First Amendment and democratic principles, but has since joined this systemic attack on democracy. Also, the media justifies their censorship on the grounds of combating misinformation, but governments and oppressors don’t censor lies, they don’t fear lies. They fear the truth, and that’s what they censor.
Boasting a cast of 24 students ages 10–18, and led by the company's artistic director Ashley Becher, The Odyssey Experience serves as the first mainstage production of Davenport Junior Theatre's 2024-25 season, its October 12 through 20 run treating audiences of all ages to an interactive, 60-minute delight adapted from Homer’s epic The Odyssey.
Boasting a company name that suggests mysteries of its own, Ben Gougeon, Alexander Richardson, and the Sound Conservatory are back with Rock Island Tunnel Co.'s The Tapes: An Immersive Revolution. Running October 11 through 26, the production is both similar to and quite different from last winter's The Stacks – partly because, not long after that show closed, the library stacks themselves vanished.
Kitty: This show definitely made an impact because we’ve both been singing the songs since Friday night.
Mischa: Curse you, Andrew Lloyd Webber!
The Richmond Hill Barn Theatre's Of Mice & Men is a skillful incarnation of this story, and director Justin Raver, alongside his cast and crew, brought it to vivid life in this production – one that's as stark and realistic as Steinbeck's words themselves.
A three-time Tony Award nominee that stands as one of the most popular, enduring, and beloved comedies on the résumé of playwright Neil Simon, the vaudeville salute The Sunshine Boys enjoys an October 18 through 27 engagement at Moline's Playcrafters Barn Theatre, this 1972 Broadway smash inspiring a run of 538 performances and an Oscar-winning movie adaptation.
Globally touring sensations who have routinely sold out international theatres and concert halls since their 1999 debut, the talents of MANIA: The ABBA Tribute bring their stage spectacle back to Davenport's Adler Theatre on October 12, thrilling patrons with such iconic pop anthems and familiar Mamma Mia! tunes as “Dancing Queen,” “Waterloo,” “The Winner Takes It All,” and “Take a Chance on Me.”
A thrilling night of high-energy blues is guaranteed at the Davenport RiverCenter on October 12 when the venue hosts a shared headlining event with two masterful blues outfits: the Madison, Wisconsin-based touring artists of The Jimmys, and the homegrown talents of the Avey Grouws Band.
With Paste magazine raving that the ensemble's music delivers "the kind of toe-tapping rhythm that sometimes you just need to make it through a day," the touring artists of The Kris Lager Band headline an October 12 engagement at Davenport's Raccoon Motel, their Saturday-night set finding the musicians sharing the talents that led Bandwagon magazine to praise their “brilliant” sound “that few other modern-day bands can offer.”
It's easy to sing the praises of Nova Singers, a professional choir that has presented awe-inspiring, heartfelt concerts in the region since 1986.
A nominee for Germany's prestigious Preis der deutschen schallplattenkritik prize, awarded to an artist who embodies "the most rigorous standards for supreme achievement and quality" in the field of music recording, the New York City-based artist Maria Chávez headlines an intimate concert set at Rock Island venue Rozz-Tox on October 12, her accolades also including being the recipient of the Jerome Foundation’s Emerging Artist Grant by NYC's Roulette Intermedium in 2008.
If you thought the title and genre were initially baiting and galling to die-hard Joker acolytes, just wait'll you get a load of Folie à Deux itself, which is like a big, extended middle finger to everyone who adored the original movie – as well, perhaps, as a giant eff-you to Warner Bros. for making it, the motion-picture academy for awarding it, and the global marketplace for turning it into a billion-dollar smash.
Going to the cineplex or staying in and streaming this weekend? Every Thursday morning at 8:15 a.m. you can listen to Mike Schulz dish on recent movie releases & talk smack about Hollywood celebs on Planet 93.9 FM with the fabulous Dave & Darren in the Morning team of Dave Levora and Darren Pitra. The morning crew previews upcoming releases, too.
Or you can check the Reader Web site and listen to their latest conversation by the warm glow of your electronic device. Never miss a pithy comment from these three scintillating pundits again.
Thursday, October 10: Discussion of Joker: Folie à Deux, 'Salem's Lot, and White Bird; previws of Piece by Piece, Saturday Night, Super/Man: The Christopher Reeve Story, The Apprentice, Average Joe, and Terrifier 3; praise for Max's The Penguin (Cristin Milioti!); and a primer on all the different names for sequels and prequels these days. There are too many. Names, we mean. But also sequels and prequels.
Upon leaving our screening of The Wild Robot, I asked my favorite 10-year-old what she thought of the film, and she answered that it was one of the best movies she'd seen in her life. If I ever choose or am forced to retire from weekly reviewing, I hope this smart kid becomes my replacement, because as family-friendly adventures go, writer/director Chris Sanders' animated outing is one of the best I've seen in my life, too.
In celebration of the musical cult classic's 49th anniversary, the iconic entertainment The Rocky Horror Picture Show will enjoy a special screening at Davenport's Rhythm City Casino Resort Event Center on October 20, the event boasting a live shadow cast, audience participation, a costume contest, and the eagerly awaited guest host Nell Campbell, the Rocky Horror co-star who appeared opposite Meat Loaf as Eddie's eccentric love interest Columbia.
Now playing at area theaters.
A wide variety of artworks – thoughtful, arresting, disturbing, even hilarious – by nearly four dozen area artists will be on display at the Quad City Arts Center from October 11 through December 6, with the Rock Island venue presenting a series of fascinating takes on the prompt of the exhibit's title: “It's Fine. Everything Is Fine.”
With the event held in partnership with Hola America and LULAC and sponsored by MidAmerican Energy Company, Davenport's Figge Art Museum will house a delightful Day of the Dead celebration in the October 13 Día de los Muertos Family Day Fiesta, an afternoon-long tribute honoring the memories of passed loved ones through music, dance, food, and community.
Held in conjunction with the venue's current exhibition Revolutionary Artist: The Prison Fantasies of David Alfaro Siqueiros, Davenport's Figge Art Museum will host a special Artist Celebration in honor of the exhibit's creator, the October 18 event inviting guests to participate in mural-making activities while learning about Siqueiros from Figge curators.
Inspired by Carl Sandburg’s poem of the same name, Lisa Nelson Raabe's Prayers of Steel serves as the first art exhibition of the 2024-25 academic year at Galesburg's Carl Sandburg College, its display in the Lonnie Eugene Stewart Art Gallery treating patrons to the talents of the Peoria-based artist who has enjoyed solo exhibitions in locales including San Antonio, Chicago, Peoria, Decatur, and Quincy.
On October 24, Figge Art Museum patrons are invited on a journey through the Davenport venue's Lewis Collection in a guided Musical Tour with Wolfskin & The Wild, an evening with the renowned folk duo designed to bring art to life through the power of music.
You'll get both the current official narrative challenge and What's Happenin' in the Quad Cities.
(Did you know we publish a new Amy Alkon Advice Goddess, Real Astrology, Red Meat cartoon and RCR Crossword every week?)
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