After a rambunctious, sacred, fun-loving, somber Holiday Pops concert filled with elements that make the holidays special, the Christmas season has finally officially begun. The Quad Symphony Orchestra Association and the Quad City Arts Festival of Trees presented an enchanting kickoff at The Mark of the Quad Cities on Saturday night, complete with instrumentalists, vocalists of all ages, and vivacious figure skaters.
Like Michael Jordan's baseball career, the Grateful Dead's studio recordings were largely superfluous. The band gave the world legendary live performances, and that was more than enough. Those analogies might seem a little big for the Quad Cities' Strange Neighbors, which has been around since 1994 and is led by singer-songwriter-guitarist Dustin Cobb.
• This coming Tuesday the V2 imprint looks back at the early days of the Greenhornes with a compilation of 19 rarities and an all-new bonus track, "Lost Woman." Collecting hometown seven-inch singles from Cincinnati, Ohio, and selections from LP releases on the Prince and Telstar labels, Sewed Soles boasts an alternative version of "Can't Stand It" (as heard in HBO's The Sopranos) and "There Is an End," a track with guest Holly Golightly that was featured in the film Broken Flowers.
There was no logical reason for Bruce Katz to give up the life of a working musician. By the the late 1980s, Katz had toured with the likes of Bo Diddley, Chuck Berry, and soul singer Barrence Whitfield. Equally adept in jazz and blues, and with the piano and the soulful Hammond B3 organ, Katz had built a solid career as a sideman.
• An odd pick for breaking new ground in the ever-shifting digital-delivery paradigm, The Barenaked Ladies have led with their James Bond chins and asked Q to reach outside the CD, DVD, MP3 phone, and Oakley's Thump eyewear.
Damian Kulash is confused. The guitarist, lead singer, and chief songwriter of OK Go wants clarification. Is it true that the publication I write for is called the "Readery"? Like an "eatery?" he asks.
On Sunday, the Quad City Symphony Orchestra showed its ability to inspire its audience in collaboration with a guest artist and with its members’ own talent. The orchestra performed three enjoyable pieces, but for me only the finale made a lasting impression.
• Everything is sunny, warm, and bright when Mister Rogers comes strolling down your shady side of the street. This coming Tuesday, a star-studded tribute shows the love in song to the late PBS-TV icon with Songs from the Neighborhood.
• Call it librarian rock or simply smarter than the rest of the class, but two new releases this week get heady in the language-arts department. Goblin Market continues the side project of the Green Pajamas' Jeff Kelly and Laura Weller with the release of Haunted, on the Camera Obscura Records label, featuring songs based on the works of American author Joyce Carol Oates.
• A handful of benefit CDs are raising funds for worthwhile causes, including aid for the victims of Hurricane Katrina, all looking to find hope in your hearts and a few loose bucks in your wallet. This week Saddle Creek Records releases its own Red Cross/Katrina rescue CD, entitled Lagniappe, named for the little bonus surprise that is often given by old-school shopkeepers on the Gulf Coast.

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