Event
River Roots Live
Downtown Davenport
Friday, August 21, and Saturday, August 22
Yes, there will be live music. Yes, there will be ribs. On August 21 and 22, you won't need to ask for much else at the fifth annual River Roots Live festival in downtown Davenport. And here's the kicker: It's free! No gate admission will be charged for the Second Street street fest, thanks to the support of area sponsors.
This year's lineup includes nearly 20 musical acts, with Blue Oyster Cult, the Nadas, the Ellis Kell Band, the Fabulous Thunderbirds, the Hue, Rude Punch, and Joe Bonamassa, among other talents, performing on two downtown stages.
While you watch the performances of the aforementioned bands, you can munch on a rack of ribs - or two. Or three. This year, the Quad Cities' Ribfest will again be held in conjunction with River Roots Live, so if the prospect of free live music doesn't grab your attention, then maybe the smell of barbecue ribs will. Vegetarians, be warned: On Friday and Saturday, award-winning vendors from across the country will be selling their delicious ribs all day.
For motorcycling enthusiasts, there will be a river ride on Saturday that will take you along the Mississippi River and through several of the Quad Cities' river towns before returning you to the festival just in time for dinner and the evening's performers.
The River Roots Live festival will benefit three local not-for-profits, as the Downtown Partnership, River Music Experience, and Living Lands & Waters will all receive proceeds generated from the festival, and more information is available by visiting RiverRootsLive.com. - Emily Heninger
Event
Summer's Last Bash with Jimi Jamison
Freight House
Friday, August 28, 5 p.m.
End the summer in style at the Freight House on August 28, as the Davenport venue celebrates the season's end with Summer's Last Bash. Before the frost sets in, you can revel in the lazy days of summer with an outdoor concert featuring Jimi Jamison - former lead singer of the band Survivor - and opening acts the Lynn Allen Band and the Funktastic 5.
Survivor had seven Top 40 hits with Jamison as lead singer, including "The Search Is Over," "Is This Love," "Burning Heart," and, of course, "Eye of the Tiger," the theme song for the film Rocky III. "Eye of the Tiger" reached number one on the Billboard charts (remaining there for six weeks), and also topped the British pop charts, won a Grammy Award, and was nominated for an Academy Award.
The pop-rock band got its start in 1978, achieving its greatest fame during the '80s. After Survivor enjoyed nearly a decade of success, the lukewarm reception to 1988's Too Hot to Sleep led to the band's musical hiatus, although Jamison himself continued touring as headliner for "Jimi Jamison's Survivor," and he released a solo album in 1991.
Survivor itself bounced around during the '90s, occasionally reuniting for a tour, but disputes over the use of the "Survivor" name kept Jamison from returning to the group until 2000. In 2006, Survivor released a new album titled Reach, with Jamison as lead vocalist once again. Now, however, Jamison is touring solo - and this time, simply as Jimi Jamison.
Tickets to Summer's Last Bash are $7 in advance and $10 the day of the show. To purchase tickets or to receive more information, call (563)324-5233 or visit QCFreightHouse.com. - Emily Heninger
Music
Dave Barnes and Jon McLaughlin
Augustana College's Centennial Hall
Saturday, August 29, 8 p.m.
Pop/rock singer-songwriters Dave Barnes and Jon McLaughlin will team up for a concert in Augustana College's Centennial Hall on Saturday, August 29. And hundreds of students have now come up with one more reason not to visit their parents over the weekend.
But don't take it personally, parents. The 31-year-old Barnes' infectious energy and mad guitar skills have earned him acclaim from fans and critics alike; the online periodical Suite101.com wrote that the 11 songs on his Chasing Mississippi CD "overflow with wily humor, funky beats, impressive playing, and a charming vulnerability." The 27-year-old McLaughlin, meanwhile, has taken his guitar, piano, and vocal gifts on tour with the likes of O.A.R. and Sister Hazel, and his talents led Billboard editor Chuck Taylor to say of the 2008 album OK Now, "It's high time for singer-songwriter Jon McLaughlin to earn his due." Plus, according to reliable sources, both Barnes and McLaughlin are major hotties. So there's that, too.
If, though, you want to impress your kids by proving that you do understand why they're staying on campus on the 29th, here's your chance: Which informational tidbit can be assigned to Barnes, and which to McLaughlin?
1) Raised in Anderson, Indiana
2) Raised in Kosciusko, Mississippi
3) Released his debut LP - Up Until Now - in 2003
4) Released his debut LP - Brother, Bring the Sun - in 2004
5) Opened for Kelly Clarkson's My December Tour in 2007
6) Opened for Hanson's The Walk Around the World Tour in 2008
7) Performed with Amy Grant on the song "I Have & I Always Will"
8) Performed on the 2008 Academy Awards telecast
9) Has a side career as a stand-up comedian
10) Has said of his high school years, "I wish I could get back all the money I spent on Abercrombie & Fitch back then"
A) Dave Barnes
B) Jon McLaughlin
Tickets to the Dave Barnes/Jon McLuaghlin concert are $12, and are available by calling the Augustana College ticket office at (309)794-7306 or visiting Augustana.edu. - Mike Schulz
Answers: 1 - B, 2 - A, 3 - B, 4 - A, 5 - B, 6 - A, 7 - A, 8 - B, 9 - A, 10 - B. (Side note on number 10: Don't we all, Jon. Don't we all.)
Theatre
Hate Mail
Village Theatre
Friday, August 21 through Saturday, August 29
You know how, on television's Mystery Science Theater 3000, we used to watch as three silhouetted figures made snarky and hilarious comments about the movie they were viewing? Well, you'll now have the chance to make your own comments about a play co-authored by a Mystery Science Theatre 3000 star! My guess, though, is that the show itself will be so snarky and hilarious that you won't find much reason to.
The Riverbend Theatre Collective's latest offering is the comedy Hate Mail, written by Kira Obolensky and Bill Corbett - the four-year MST3K writer who provided the voice of Crow T. Robot from 1997 to 1999. It's sort of like Love Letters, but, you know ... mean. In the show, a young man sends off a letter of complaint regarding his new (broken) snow globe, demanding a refund. A young woman, underlining store policy, refuses the refund. And so begins a vicious, hysterical, and occasionally even romantic correspondence, one filled with the signature brand of MST3K wit. ("I know when you live on top of Mount Selfish," writes one to the other, "it's hard to see the little people.")
Co-directed by, and starring, frequent Prenzie Players Jeff De Leon and (Reader employee) Stephanie Burrough, Hate Mail has received raves since its 1996 Minneapolis debut; the Twin Cities Reader wrote, "Corbett and Obolensky drip sardonic, hilarious acid from their pens, picking apart their characters with enviously articulate and explosively funny letter-grenades." And personally, I'm psyched about seeing it, because as a reviewer of movies and plays, I really have no acquaintance with the concept of hate mail.
Hmm. Got awful quiet in here all of a sudden ... .
Hate Mail runs at the Village of East Davenport's Village Theatre at 7:30 p.m. August 21 through 23 and August 27 through 29, and more information is available by calling (309)786-1633 or visiting RiverbendTheatreCollective.com. - Mike Schulz
Theatre
Long Day's Journey Into Night
Harrison Hilltop Theatre
Thursday, August 20 through Sunday, August 30
From August 20 through 30, Davenport's Harrison Hilltop Theatre will present Eugene O'Neill's Pulitzer Prize-winning family drama, Long Day's Journey Into Night.
O'Neill's saga of a financial successful yet artistically bankrupt actor, his morphine-addict wife, and their two troubled adult sons has, over the years, earned Tony Awards for actors Fredric March, Brian Dennehy, and Vanessa Redgrave, and nominations for Jack Lemmon, Peter Gallagher, Robert Sean Leonard, and Philip Seymour Hoffman. 1962's film version received a Best Actress nomination for star Katharine Hepburn.
Directed by guest artist Michal Chasen, Harrison Hilltop's production features a five-person cast of recognizable area talents: Ray Gabica (My Verona Productions' Tuesdays with Morrie), Jackie Madunic (Quad City Music Guild's All Shook Up), Jason Platt (the Village Theatre's The Boys Next Door), James Bleecker (the Green Room's Angels in America), and Maggie Woolley (Genesius Guild's Henry the Sixth: The Contention).
And Long Day's Journey Into Night is my favorite play ever written.
Race you there.
For tickets and information, call (309)235-1654 or visit HarrisonHilltop.com. - Mike Schulz
What Else Is Happenin'... ?
Quad-Cities Area
MUSIC
Thursday, August 20 - The Wood Brothers. Blues, funk, and soul performers in concert, with an opening set by pop/folk singer Tristen. The Redstone Room (129 Main Street). 8:30 p.m. $20. For tickets and information, call (563)326-1333 extension 107, or visit RedstoneRoom.com.
Saturday, August 22 - The New Duncan Imperials. 20th-anniversary-tour concert with the genre-defying, Chicago-based rockers. Rascals (1414 15th Street, Moline). 9 p.m. $5. For information, call (309)797-9457 or visit MySpace.com/newduncanimperials.
ART & EXHIBITS
Saturday, August 22 - Unearthing Ancient Egypt Grand Re-Opening. A celebration of the gallery's renovation and re-naming, with an Egyptian-themed "Mummy Madness" party in the Grand Lobby, live Egyptian animals, hieroglyph writing, make-and-take projects, a bounce house, face-painting, and screenings of the IMAX films Mystery of the Nile and Mummies: Secrets of the Pharaohs. Putnam Museum & IMAX Theatre (1717 West 12th Street, Davenport). 10 a.m.-2 p.m. Party free with museum admission ($4-$6); IMAX films an additional $1.50 each. ($6.50-$8.50 without museum admission.) For information, call (563)324-1933 or visit Putnam.org.
Friday, August 28 - Bucktown Center for the Arts' Final Friday Event. Featuring artist demonstrations, live music, the doeGALLERY's exhibit of Charles Walzem works, and more. Bucktown Center for the Arts (225 East Second Street, Davenport). 6-9 p.m. Free. For information, call (309)737-2066 or visit BucktownArts.com.
EVENTS
Saturday, August 22 - Celtic Highland Games of the Quad Cities. Annual festival boasting Celtic athletics, bagpipe performances, Highland dance, family events, roaming musicians, food and craft vendors, children's activities, and more, with an evening Ceilidh celebration featuring performances by the New Grass Revue and the Mayflies. Mississippi Valley Fairgrounds (2815 West Locust Street, Davenport). Outdoor events 9 a.m.-5 p.m.; Ceilidh 6-11 p.m. $5-$10. (Additional $5 for admittance to the Ceilidh.) For information, call (309)794-0449 or visit CelticHighlandGames.org.
Saturday, August 22 - Xstream Cleanup. Annual beautification of sites on the Mississippi River, sponsored by Living Lands & Waters, with cleanups scheduled in Bettendorf, Davenport, Durant, and LeClaire, Iowa, and East Moline, Hampton, Milan, Moline, Rock Island, and Silvis, Illinois. 8:30 a.m.-11:30 a.m. For information and to register, call (563)468-4218 or visit XstreamCleanup.org.
Saturday, August 29 - 80th Anniversary of the Graf Zeppelin Airship Visit. Featuring performances by the Quad City Brass Quintet, Susan McPeters, and Jonathan Turner, poetry and story readings about the age of airships, refreshments, and more. Schuetzen Park Historic Site (3401 Schuetzen Lane, Davenport). 1 p.m. Free. For information, call (563)322-5489 or visit SchuetzenPark.info.
Outlying Areas
MUSIC
Tuesday, August 25 - The Robert Cray Band. Grammy Award-winning singer/songwriter in concert. Englert Theatre (221 East Washington Street, Iowa City). 8 p.m. $49-$55. For tickets and information, call (319)688-2653 or visit Englert.org.
Saturday, August 29 - Styx. Legendary '70s and '80s rockers perform an outdoor concert. Riverside Casino & Golf Resort (3184 Highway 22, Riverside). 8 p.m. $35-$65. For tickets and information, call (877)677-3456 or visit RiversideCasinoAndResort.com.
MOVIES
Thursday, August 27, through Sunday, August 30 - Landlocked Film Festival. Annual independent film festival featuring screenings of narrative and documentary features and shorts, animated films, and student works; film workshops; panel discussions; and more. Englert Theatre (221 East Washington Street, Iowa City), Iowa City Public Library (123 South Linn Street, Iowa City), and the Sheraton Iowa City Hotel (210 South Dubuque Street, Iowa City). Thursday 7 p.m.-midnight. Friday 1:15 p.m.-midnight. Saturday 11:45 a.m.- midnight. Sunday 12:15-9 p.m. Friday and Saturday evening Englert screenings $5; other events free. For information, call (319)331-0494 or visit LandlockedFilmFestival.org.
EVENT
Friday, August 28, and Saturday, August 29 - Princeton Days: Duck Days of Summer. Annual weekend celebration featuring river and boating activities, live music, street painting, an art exhibit, a parade, vendors, a car show, free activities for children, and more. Downtown Princeton, Iowa. Friday 3 p.m.-midnight. Saturday 7 a.m.-midnight. $2. For information, call (563)289-9030 or visit PrincetonIowa.us/schedule.htm.
