August Zimbal
The Redstone Room
Saturday, August 9, 10 p.m.
If you've checked out the Reader's Live Music pages this year, you've probably noticed the frequent listing of rock band August Zimbal. And you can find the group - composed of guitarist Burnell Eckhardt, bassist Andrew Drayton, and drummer Nate Hoffman - on those pages again this week, in conjunction with their August 9 performance at the Redstone Room, where they'll play offerings from their new EP, Go On & Make a Change.
But beyond their ubiquity, what do you know about these Davenport musicians? Test your August Zimbal knowledge in this quiz, using information gleaned from an interview on the Web-based American Death Threat Magazine.
1) How old were the band's musicians when they first started playing their musical instruments?
A. 7
B. 10
C. 16
2) The band took its name from:
A. A South African flower
B. A porno movie
C. Eckhardt's great-great-great-grandfather
3) Which group is not listed as a band influence?
A. The Sex Pistols
B. White Zombie
C. The Beatles
4) The band considers its best gig to be one that took place in:
A. An elementary school
B. A cemetery
C. Hoffman's basement
5) Which is not a piece of advice the band has for up-and-coming rockers?
A. Learn to take advice from everyone in the group
B. Learn to always follow your instincts
C. Learn to hustle on the street and shoot pool
August Zimbal plays the Redstone Room alongside Upon the Awakening and Beneath the Villa Bella, and more information on the concert is available at (http://www.redstoneroom.com). - Mike Schulz
Answers: Your choice - You can find them at (http://www.myspace.com/augustzimbal), or you can find them hidden somewhere within the text of the What's Happenin' pages. Yeah, I'm a bastard.
Great River Tug Fest
LeClaire, Iowa, and Port Byron, Illinois
Thursday, August 7, through Saturday, August 9
In your usual game of tug-of-war, two teams pull a rope in opposite directions over a line or a patch of mud, and the team that crosses the line, or falls into the mud, loses. But 22 years ago, two of the area's neighboring cities decided to step it up a knot, and play the game across the Mississippi River.
From August 7 through 10, this inspiration will be celebrated in the annual Great River Tug Fest, which takes place at the span of river between Port Byron, Illinois, and LeClaire, Iowa, and on Saturday, teams from the two states will be tugging a 680-pound rope in hopes of claiming bragging rights and a prize: an alabaster statue of a bald eagle taking flight.
Before the tugging begins, though, each side will host a "tug the knot" wedding ceremony, in which two couples will get married and play their own game of tug-of-war, with the victors winning a honeymoon vacation. And throughout the weekend, the festival - on both sides of the river - will offer a carnival, kids' activities, and live music, with both sides taking a break on Friday to watch the summer's largest fireworks display over the Mississippi.
In Iowa, the festival will also feature a parade, a 5K run/walk, a bingo game, and the second-annual Amateur Rib Cook-Off, while the Illinois side provides a pancake breakfast, two pageants, a bike show, and a golf tournament. To find out more about Tug Fest, go to the event's Web site at (http://www.tugfest.com). - Marguerite Day
Brad Williams
Penguin's Comedy Club
Thursday, August 7, through Saturday, August 9
Brad Williams, who headlines Penguin's Comedy Club August 7 through 9, has appeared on The Tonight Show with Jay Leno and Comedy Central's sketch series Mind of Mencia, and has opened for Carlos Mencia on the comedian's recent Punisher Tour. Yet if you're not familiar with the performer's credits, and your first exposure to him comes through the accompanying photo, allow me to answer your question: Yes, Williams is a little person.
Born with achondroplastic dwarfism, the 24-year-old comedian from Fullerton, California, was a student at the University of Southern California before his show-biz career began quite by accident: During one of Mencia's concerts, the Comedy Central host launched into a routine on little people, noticed Williams in the crowd, invited him on stage, and was so impressed with the young man's sense of humor that he invited him to open for his forthcoming road tour.
As you might expect, Williams does discuss his stature in his act, but if you're expecting an evening of "aw-how-sweet!" comedy, allow me to direct you to the performer's MySpace blog - trust me, the guy's observations on scary-ass dogs, drunken elephants, the Verne Troyer sex tape, and "everyone's favorite midget ... Tom Cruise!" will knock the well-meaning sympathy right outta ya.
More information on Williams' weekend performances, including a link to his MySpace page, can be found at (http://www.penguinscomedyclub.com/qc_penguins.htm). - Mike Schulz
Evita
Prospect Park Auditorium
Friday, August 8, through Sunday, August 17
"Hey, Mike. I was wondering if you had any thoughts about our new intern candidate."
"Jeff, the lady's got potential! Granted, I only said hello and goodbye to her, and she only said goodnight and thank you to me, but she is a diamond! She makes you believe in the art of the possible! I pictured us attending a charity concert on the balcony of the Casa Rosada, above a cinema in Buenos Aires, and I felt myself high flying adored - on a rainbow high, if you will - and the money kept rolling in on this night of a thousand stars ... ! Oh, what a circus! Oh, what a show! I only lament that the dice are rolling, and to her I'm just another suitcase in another hall ... ! But don't cry for me, Argentina! I think she'd be surprisingly good for you!"
"Uh ... Mike? You just answered with, like, 18 song titles in a row. Are you a little excited about seeing Quad City Music Guild's Evita this weekend?"
"Just a little, yeah."
Andrew Lloyd Webber's Evita, the Tony-winning musical based on the life of Eva Peron, runs August 8 through 17 at the Prospect Park Auditorium, and more information and tickets are available by visiting (http://www.qcmusicguild.com). - Mike Schulz
Vaudeville
Circa '21 Dinner Playhouse
Thursday, August 7, through Thursday, August 28
You see that photo? The three people seated are Sarahjayne Snow, Adam Michael Lewis, and Liz J. Millea. The 10 people standing are Rodney Swain, Sunshine Ramsey, Jennifer Diab, Bryan Spies, Sara Nicks, Amanda McGill, Brad Hauskins, Jan Schmall, Tom Lawrence, and Andrea Moore.
And if you added bar stools, peanuts, and me, you'd have a photo of a typical Sunday night out with my performing-waitstaff pals, the Circa '21 Bootleggers. (As I've mentioned on one or two - or 102 - occasions, I used to be one myself.)
Beginning August 7, and running every subsequent Thursday in August, the Circa '21 Dinner Playhouse's talented singer-dancer-jokers will receive more than their nightly 15 minutes of fame with Vaudeville, a full-length, two-act revue featuring solo, duet, and group performances, including songs from such musicals as The Music Man, Chicago, Annie Get Your Gun, Crazy for You, Company, and You're a Good Man, Charlie Brown.
Oh, and if you'll permit me: The answers to the August Zimbal quiz are B, C, A, A, and B. (If this is the first What's Happenin' piece you're reading this week, I apologize for the confusion. If it's the last, I apologize for the delay.)
See now, my Bootlegger friends will think it's really funny that I devoted some of their space here to a completely unrelated event. Whether Circa '21 producer Denny Hitchcock will is another matter entirely.
Further information on Vaudeville, and the individual Bootleggers themselves, is available by visiting (http://www.circa21.com). - Mike Schulz
