The Electric Cars: Cars Tribute at the Raccoon Motel -- February 15.
Saturday, February 15, 7 p.m.
Raccoon Motel, 315 East Second Street, Davenport IA
Their set list boasting classics such as "Just What I Needed," "My Best Friend's Girl," and the hit ballad "Drive," the Chicago musicians of The Electric Cars: Cars Tribute will faithfully recreate the pop-rock magic at Davenport's Raccoon Motel on February 15, the quintet devoted to taking audiences on a nostalgic journey through the band's greatest hits and deepest cuts.
Its five-man ensemble of vocalists featuring Jim on drums, Tom and Pete on guitar, Brett on keys, and Gary on bass, The Electric Cars evoke the magic of The Cars' influential music and bring the band's artistry in its fullest form to the stage, ensuring that the influential artists' legacy as New Wave trailblazers lives on in celebration of an unforgettable era in music history.
Formed in Boston in 1976, The Cars emerged from the New Wave scene in the late 1970s, the group composed of Ric Ocasek (rhythm guitar), Benjamin Orr (bass guitar), Elliot Easton (lead guitar), Greg Hawkes (keyboards), and David Robinson (drums). Ocasek and Orr shared lead vocals, and Ocasek was the band's principal songwriter and leader. The Cars were at the forefront of the merger of '70s guitar-oriented rock with the new synthesizer-oriented pop that became popular in the early 1980s. Music critic Robert Palmer, writer for The New York Times and Rolling Stone, described the Cars' musical style: "They have taken some important but disparate contemporary trends – punk minimalism, the labyrinthine synthesizer and guitar textures of art rock, the '50s rockabilly revival and the melodious terseness of power pop – and mixed them into a personal and appealing blend."
The Cars were named Best New Artist in the 1978 Rolling Stone Readers' Poll, and the band's eponymous debut album sold 6 million copies and appeared on the Billboard 200 album chart for 139 weeks. Among their most popular hits were four Billboard top-10 smashes – 1981's "Shake It Up," 1984's "You Might Think" and "Drive," and 1985's "Tonight She Comes" – and the auspicious guitar and synth sounds in "Moving in Stereo" provided the score to an unforgettable scene in the 1982 comedy classic Fast Times at Ridgemont High. The Cars also won Video of the Year for "You Might Think" at the first MTV Video Music Awards in 1984, and in April of 2018, the group's original members were inducted into the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame, where its living artists reunited to perform at the induction ceremony.
The Electric Cars: Cars Tribute performs their Davenport engagement on February 15, admission to the 7 p.m. concert is $15.88, and more information and tickets are available by visiting TheRaccoonMotel.com.
