13 Jan 2004

City Opera Company Sparkles with "The Magic Flute"

By Jodie Shagrin Kavensky
The fat lady didn't sing, so I guess the opera isn't over. Instead, it's just beginning, with City Opera Company of the Quad Cities' first self-produced opera, Mozart's The Magic Flute. And if you think opera is stuffy, the production the organization staged this past weekend at the Galvin Fine Arts Center would have proved you wrong.
13 Jan 2004

Take This Advice for Soulful Grooves

By John Roman
• Big funk and big love are back on the map with the soulful vibes of Big Advice and its appropriately titled album Love Shines. Comprised of Juan Nelson, bassist of Ben Harper's Innocent Criminals, and vocalist Ahaguna Sun of Sunbear, Big Advice is a smooth house party and romantic after-hours gem wearing its heart on its sleeve for classic soul grooves.
06 Jan 2004

Metal and History Mix on New Release

By John James
• Hey! You've got history in my heavy metal! No, you've got heavy metal in my history! Former Judas Priest vocalist Tim Owens is now a part of Iced Earth, with a new album due this Tuesday that focuses on historical people, places, and events such as Attila the Hun, the Red Baron, Waterloo, Gettysburg, and Valley Forge.
23 Dec 2003

Interesting Projects Slated for 2004

By John James
• The Neverland Ranch burns like a scene out of Equus, and major record labels are diving for a warm seat in a game of musical chairs. Even Wal-Mart is taking a stab at the MP3 game as iPod devices, cell phones, and PDAs morph into the next killer application.
16 Dec 2003

The Art of a Limited Palette

By Tom Swanson
The Winter Blanket is one of those bands that the more you listen to them, the more you want to know. My first experience with the group, which originally hailed from the Quad Cities but is now based in Minneapolis, came when I stumbled across its sophomore effort, Actors & Actresses (see "Building a Better Sedative," River Cities' Reader Issue 358, January 23-29, 2002).
16 Dec 2003

Exploring the Power of The Messiah

By Abbie Dombrock
Two hundred sixty years after its composer set the words to music, The Messiah still draws hundreds of spectators to enjoy the tradition in the Quad Cities. What makes The Messiah different from hundreds of other masterpieces created through the years? Perhaps its history can give us a clue to why crowds flock to see performances.
16 Dec 2003

White Stripe Puts His Mark on Soundtrack

By John James
• Jack White of the White Stripes has his touch all over the soundtrack to Cold Mountain, released this week on DMX/Columbia Records. Alongside songs by Alison Krauss, Tim Eriksen, and the Sacred Harp Singers, White contributes two originals and covers of material written, or made famous, by Ralph Stanley and Howlin' Wolf.
09 Dec 2003

Stocking Stuffers Abound This Holiday Season

By John James
• Are we there yet? Are we in the festive mood? C'mon, set the road rage aside and give in to the twinkling lights and falling snow, even if only in your mind. Need a nudge? Ivan Pavlov and I suggest baking peanut-butter cookies and getting lost in the spell of new holiday music, from sentimental to silly, softly soulful to house-rocking.
02 Dec 2003

Bringing Life to Quad City Live

By Jeff Ignatius
The fledgling club Quad City Live got a big push in October, when the annual Pigstock metalfest was held in its parking lot (in the Freight House complex off River Drive in Davenport). But that boost wouldn't do much if the club didn't continue to bring in interesting acts.
02 Dec 2003

Song Poems Make a Swell Holiday Gift

By John James
• In the pre-digital culture, kitchen-table lyricists and pop-radio junkies devoured hokey magazines that flourished in the day, re-printing popular song lyrics and publicity photos to an information-starved audience.

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