Music
The Coathangers
Daytrotter
Saturday, July 29, 8 p.m.
Davenport’s Daytrotter venue hosts an evening with the indie-rock trio The Coathangers on July 29, which also happens to be my little sister’s birthday. So imagine how delighted I was to land on the perfect gift idea in a review at PopMatters.com, which called The Coathangers’ 2016 album Nosebleed Weekend “a great, fun, funny introduction to female-fronted garage punk, ... the sort of record you should give to your little sister.” And the fact that the band has had hits with songs such as “Watch Your Back,” “Don’t Touch My Sh--,” and “Shut the F--- Up”? My little sister, at various points, has said all those things to me!
Based in Atlanta, The Coathangers collective boasts Meredith Franco on bass, Stephanie Luke on drums, and Julia Kugel on guitar, with their stage noms de guerre Minnie, Rusty, and Crook Kid Coathanger. Like those monikers, much of the musicians’ repertoire is intentionally jokey, ranging from their 2007 debut album’s ode to Tonya Harding to Nosebleed Weekend’s “Squeeki Tiki,” in which one of the instruments employed is a dog’s squeaky toy.
But as fans and reviewers will attest, what isn’t a joke is the group’s ferocious talent, and their insistence that full-throttled punk rock needn’t be nihilistic. As ConsequenceOfSound.net attested, the trio’s latest album “exemplifies what The Coathangers have been doing better than pretty much everyone for the past decade: blowing off the rules in the name of fun, and making damn catchy records almost as an afterthought.”
Following the critical and commercial success of 2011’s Larceny & Old Lace, The Coathangers’ professional stock rose exponentially with the 2014 release of Suck My Shirt, which led to numerous festival bookings, nationwide concert sets, an appearance on Last Call with Carson Daly, and a touring tenure with the fellow Atlantans of The Black Lips. Ten years after their formation, however, The Coathangers are now more in-demand than ever, with the band’s Nosebleed Weekend debuting at number six on Billboard’s Top New Artist Albums chart and number four on its Alternative New Artist Albums chart.
Meanwhile, music critics have been fawning in their praise, with Paste magazine calling Nosebleed Weekend “a triumph” of “maniacally captivating tunes,” and Spin magazine insisting that “its excellence and momentum vastly outweigh one’s ability to describe it.” The Coathangers, by the way, recorded that album at North Hollywood’s legendary Valentine Recording Studios, which used to be a home base for the Beach Boys and Bing Crosby; it was the first recording session to take place there in more than 35 years. If Bing weren’t already deceased, learning that his beloved studio was now home to the artists behind “Nestle in My Boobies” might’ve done the trick.
The Coathangers perform locally with opening sets by Residuels and Archeress, and more information on the night is available by visiting Daytrotter.com.
Music
Liza Anne
Triple Crown Whiskey Bar & Raccoon Motel
Friday, July 28, 8 p.m.
On July 28, Moeller Nights presents a concert with alternative-folk singer/songwriter Liza Anne, an artist whose birth name is Elizabeth Anne Odachowski. Her Davenport set takes place at the Raccoon Motel, a venue whose full name is the Triple Crown Whiskey Bar & Raccoon Motel. In honor of the condensing, let’s just say that Anne’s career trajectory and reviews are impressive, a compliment whose full praise should read “so impressive for a 23-year-old that you want to weep at the memory of your own wasted youth.”
Born on St. Simons Island, Georgia, and currently residing in Nashville, Liza Anne started playing guitar at age 10, was writing songs by 14, and toward the end of high school performed a weekly Friday-night acoustic set at the coffee shop in which she worked. She entered Nashville’s Belmont University to study songwriting but was already booking coast-to-coast performances not long into her first year. And by her second, she and fellow student Zachary Dye recorded and produced her debut album: 2014’s The Colder Months.
That release made some noise, with WhenTheGramophoneRings.com calling it “a very strong, multi-layered, emotionally mature debut from Liza Anne,” and StereoSubversion.com raving that its artist “has a phenomenal voice and the songwriting skills to receive some national attention.” Let’s consequently hear it for those Stereo Subversion psychics, because in between sharing stages with the likes of Oh Hello and David Ramirez, and earning thunderous praise for her sophomore album Two, national attention is whatLiza Anne has deservedly received.
Nylon.com writes that Two “showcases Anne’s keen ability to turn even the smallest of feelings into a sweeping song.” The Chicago Tribune raves, “Liza Anne’s beautifully rendered music has evolved from folkish roots to an ethereal indie-pop sound anchored by thoughtful and poetic lyrics.” According to EarToTheGroundMusic.co, “Liza Anne has a beautiful, atmospheric sound that makes every song she sings seem like the most relaxing thing you’ve ever heard. ... She makes me want to melt into my chair and just become a puddle of existence ... .”
I was gonna include more plaudits, but I just listened to some of Anne’s songs online, and typing’s a bitch when you’re a puddle.
Liza Anne’s Davenport engagement will find her and her band performing from the artist’s repertoire and forthcoming third album Fine but Dying, and more information on the evening can be found at MoellerNights.com.
Theatre
Good People
Playcrafters Barn Theatre
Friday, July 28, through Sunday, July 30
The second production in the Playcrafters Barn Theatre’s Barn Owl Series – a new program dedicated to one-weekend presentations of new and challenging works – runs July 28 through 30, and featured among its cast are Chris Zayner and Pamela Briggs, both of whom are good people. For this show, they’ll be capitalized, italicized Good People. Don’t you just love it when actors stretch like that?
I kid, of course. But stretching is just what this duo – alongside co-stars Cynthia Safford, Liz Blackwell, Jada Brooks, and Phillip Cathoir – will be doing in director Nicholas Waldbusser’s take on David Lindsay-Abaire’s Good People, a 2011 comedy/drama that was a Tony nominee for Best Play and Tony winner for leading actress Frances McDormand.
Set in present-day South Boston, Lindsay-Abaire’s sensationally funny, incisive, and moving script centers on Margie Walsh, a middle-aged blue-collar worker struggling to catch a break in between rounds of bingo and long waits in the unemployment line. But Margie thinks she may have found one in the unexpected form of Mike Dillon, a former high-school beau who escaped the old neighborhood for a thriving career as a fertility doctor.
What results as Margie and Mike reconnect covers the thematic gamut from class anxiety to racial divides to hometown loyalty, and Lindsay-Abaire’s sharp, skillful handling of his material led the New York Times to call Good People’s debut production “one of the more subtly surprising treats of this theatre season,” with Time Out New York insisting, “Good People has a quality rarely seen on Broadway: It seems necessary.”
So, perhaps, is David Lindsay-Abaire, as least as far as 21st Century plays, musicals, and movies are concerned. In honor of Playcrafters’ new summertime offering, let’s honor its author with a guessing game: Which of the following did Lindsay-Abaire not write?
1) the script for the Pulitzer Prize-winning Rabbit Hole
2) the book for the Tony-winning Shrek: The Musical
3) the book for the Tony-nominated High Fidelity
4) the screenplay for the animated comedy Robots
5) the screenplay for the action adventure Inkheart
6) the screenplay for the 2015 Poltergeist
Good People runs at the Playcrafters Barn Theatre at 7:30 p.m. on Friday and Saturday and 3 p.m. on Sunday, and more information and tickets are available by calling (309)762-0330 or visiting Playcrafters.com.
Answer: Trick question, as David Lindsay-Abaire wrote all of ’em. From a Pulitzer to cartoon ’bots to “They’re ba-a-a-a-ack!” Talk about stretching.
What Else Is Happenin’ …?
FESTIVALS
Friday, July 28, and Saturday, July 29 – Street Fest. Forty-sixth annual outdoor party on Second Street, featuring live music, arts and crafts vendors, children’s activities, and more. Downtown Davenport between Brady and Ripley streets. Free. For information, call (563)823-2681 or visit DowntownDavenport.com.
Tuesday, August 1, through Sunday, August 6 – Mississippi Valley Fair. Annual outdoor event with contests, games, pageants, food and craft vendors, and grandstand concerts with Dustin Lynch, Tyler Farr, Vince Neil, Brett Eldredge, John Mellencamp, and Randy Houser. Mississippi Valley Fairgrounds (2815 West Locust Street, Davenport). $5-10 daily gate admission; $50-55 Fun Cards required for grandstand concerts. For information, call (563)326-5338 or visit MVFair.com.
MUSIC
Thursday, July 20 – Marbin. Concert with the progressive jazz-rock band based in Chicago, featuring an opening set by Steady Flow. The Redstone Room (129 Main Street, Davenport). 8 p.m. $9.50-11.50. For tickets and information, call (563)326-1333 or visit RiverMusicExperience.org.
Friday, July 21 – The Western Den. Alt-folk musicians perform in an RME Member Appreciation Show, featuring an opening set by Honeysuckle. The Redstone Room (129 Main Street, Davenport). 8 p.m. $11.50, free for RME members. For tickets and information, call (563)326-1333 or visit RiverMusicExperience.org.
Saturday, July 22 – Unsane. Concert with the New York-based hard-rock trio, featuring opening sets by Fashion Week and Aseethe. Rock Island Brewing Company (1815 Second Avenue, Rock Island). 9 p.m. $13 advance tickets. For information, call (309)793-1999 or visit RIBCO.com.
Saturday, July 22 – Gaelynn Lea. Classically trained violinist and songwriter in concert, with opening sets by Ben De La Cour and Johnnie Cluney. Daytrotter (324 Brady Street, Davenport). 7 p.m. $8-12. For tickets and information, visit Daytrotter.com.
Wednesday, July 26 – The Goddamn Gallows. Punk-rock musicians in concert. Rock Island Brewing Company (1815 Second Avenue, Rock Island). 8 p.m. $10 advance tickets. For information, call (309)793-1999 or visit RIBCO.com.
Friday, July 28 – Mary Chapin Carpenter. Five-time Grammy-winning singer/songwriter and Nashville Songwriters Hall of Fame inductee in concert. Englert Theatre (221 East Washington Street, Iowa City). 8 p.m. $52.50. For tickets and information, call (319)688-2653 or visit Englert.org.
Saturday, July 29 – QC Metalfest. Annual outdoor celebration with performances by more than a dozen local, regional, and national rock and heavy-metal bands. Bier Stube Moline (415 15th Street, Moline). 2-11 p.m. $5. For information, call (309)797-3049 or visit the event’s Facebook page.
Wednesday, August 2 – Dawes. Los Angeles-based folk rockers in concert. Codfish Hollow Barn (5013 288th Avenue, Maquoketa). 7 p.m. $35-40. For tickets and information, visit CodfishHollowBarnstormers.com.
THEATRE
Friday, July 21, through Sunday, July 30 – Wait Until Dark. The Mississippi Bend Players’ production of Frederick Knott’s thriller about a terrorized blind woman, directed by Jeff Coussens. Augustana College’s Brunner Theatre Center (3750 Seventh Avenue, Rock Island). Friday and Saturday 7:30 p.m., Sunday 4 p.m. $12-15. For tickets and information, call (309)794-7306 or visit MississippiBendPlayers.com.
Friday, July 21, through Sunday, July 23 – Oklahoma! Rodgers & Hammerstein’s musical classic in a co-production with Prairie Players Civic Theatre, directed by Tim Holmes. Orpheum Theatre (57 South Kellogg Street, Galesburg). Friday and Saturday 7:30 p.m., Sunday 2 p.m. $15-20. For tickets and information, call (309)342-2299 or visit GalesburgOrpheum.org.
Saturday, July 22, through Sunday, July 30 – Henry V. Genesius Guild’s production of William Shakespeare’s dramatic history play, directed by Michael King. Lincoln Park (11th Avenue and 38th Street, Rock Island). Saturday and Sunday 8 p.m. Donations encouraged. For information, visit Genesius.org.
Thursday, July 27, through Sunday, August 6 – The Bridges of Madison County. Tony-winning stage musical based on the Robert James Waller novel. Clinton Area Showboat Theatre (311 Riverview Drive, Clinton). Thursday through Saturday 7:30 p.m., Sunday and Wednesday 3 p.m. For tickets and information, call (563)242-6760 or visit ClintonShowboat.org.
Thursday, July 27, through Sunday, August 6 – Carousel. Rodgers & Hammerstein’s Tony-winning musical classic. Timber Lake Playhouse (8215 Black Oak Road, Mt. Carroll, Illinois). Tuesday through Saturday 7:30 p.m.; Sunday, Wednesday, and July 29 at 2 p.m. $17-25. For tickets and information, call (815)244-2035 or visit TimberLakePlayhouse.org.
Friday, July 28, through Saturday, July 29 – How to Succeed in Business Without Really Trying. Tony-winning musical comedy presented by debuting theatre company On the Edge Productions, directed by Chris Tracy. Central DeWitt Performing Arts Center (519 East 11th Street, DeWitt). 7 p.m. $15. For tickets and information, call (563)249-8541 or visit CD-PAC.org.
Friday, July 28, and Saturday, July 29 – Forgiven: A Fairytale. Brian D. Taylor’s inspirational family production presented by the Pearl City Players. Muscatine Center for the Performing Arts (901 Cedar Street, Muscatine). Friday 7:30 p.m., Saturday 1 and 7:30 p.m. $5-10, ages five and under free. For information, e-mail pearlcityplayers@yahoo.com.
Tuesday, August 1, through Saturday, August 5 – Cinderella ... After the Ball. Family musical comedy by Eddie Sugarman and Jihwan Kim. Timber Lake Playhouse (8215 Black Oak Road, Mt. Carroll). Tuesday through Saturday 2 p.m. (no performance Wednesday). $8. For tickets and information, call (815)244-2035 or visit TimberLakePlayhouse.org.
EXHIBIT
Tuesday, July 25, through Saturday, August 19 – Skylines & City Lights. Exhibition of new paintings by Jeff Allen and gallery owner Pat Beréskin. Beréskin Fine Art Gallery & Studio (225 East Second Street, suites 102 and 104, Davenport). Wednesday through Saturday 11 a.m.-6 p.m. Free. For information, call (563)508-4630 or visit BereskinGallery.com.
EVENTS
Saturday, July 22 – 10th-Annual Learn & Play Day. Annual event featuring interactive activities in which families learn about life on a farm, petting zoos, working on a construction site, and more. John Deere Pavilion (1400 River Drive, Moline). 9 a.m.-4 p.m. Free. For information, call (309)765-1000 or visit VisitJohnDeere.com.
Saturday, July 22 – 2017 National Miss You-Can-Do-It Pageant. Stage celebration of girls and women with special needs and challenges. Adler Theatre (136 East Third Street, Davenport). 5 p.m. $13-20. For tickets, call (800)745-3000 or visit AdlerTheatre.com.
Saturday, July 22 – Zombie Prom Quad Cities. Event hosted by the Factory of Fear and Terror at Skellington Manor, featuring DJ sets, dancing, refreshments, and more, with zombie attire required. Skellington Manor Banquet & Event Center (420 18th Street, Rock Island). 8 p.m. $20-25. For tickets and information, call (563)344-9187 or visit SkellingtonManor.com or the event’s Facebook page.
Monday, July 24 – Bix Beiderbecke Museum & Archive Opening. Public opening of the new museum honoring the life and career of the legendary jazz-cornet player, featuring family photographs and objects, historical material, videos, interactive displays, and more. River Music Experience (129 Main Street, Davenport). 10 a.m.-5 p.m. $3-5. For information, call (563)326-1333 or visit BixMuseum.org.
Friday, July 28, and Saturday, July 29 – Bottom’s Up Quad City Burlesque: Christmas in July. Holiday-themed burlesque and humor with the Quad Cities troupe and area comedians. Circa ’21 Speakeasy (1818 Third Avenue, Rock Island). 8 p.m. $18-20. For tickets and information, call (309)786-7733 extension 2 or visit TheCirca21Speakeasy.com.
Saturday, July 29 – Quad-City Times Bix 7. Davenport’s annual foot-race competition covering seven miles and featuring runners from around the world, with additional Quick Bix and Jr. Bix races. Races start at the bottom of the Brady Street hill. 8 a.m. $16-48 registration. For information, call (563)359-9197 or visit QCTimes.com/bix.
