2 River Cities’ Reader • Vol. 27 No. 969 • January 2020 Know More, Do More • RiverCitiesReader.

com

ILLINOIS POLITICS By Rich Miller

CapitolFax.com

Raising Funds and Attracting Allies in Senate

Presidential Intramurals
S
enator Steve Landek (D-Bridgeview) are, for the most part, not Madigan-haters, somebody who basically just got there for Senate raising in the same time period. But that total is
and other Senate Democrats have been either. Just saying, but Madigan has never seen President will be a big ask, no matter how tal- inflated because it includes a $100K loan from
meeting since the 2018 session as part of an Illinois political situation he didn’t want to ented Sims may be (and he most certainly is Harmon to his personal campaign committee
a loosely affiliated group that calls itself the “X influence. talented). (Harmon has not created a leadership commit-
Caucus.” They apparently didn’t know what to Senator Elgie Sims (D-Chicago) began Meanwhile, some members with primaries tee). Harmon also nearly emptied out three party
call themselves, so “X” filled in the blank. expressing interest in becoming the next Senate and general elections are likely becoming antsy committees he controls to the t une of $285,000.
The X Caucus is comprised of some of the President not long after Cullerton announced his as the president election process enters its second Harmon reported 44 individual contributions
more conservative Senate Democrats. Some are pending retirement in mid-November. month this week and their own reelections draw (including the personal loan), which is just a fifth
not 100-percent pro-choice, some are hesitant Sims’ name hasn’t been mentioned very often near. One way of calming those nerves is to dem- of Lightford’s donor base of 213. He’s supposed to
or even unwilling to vote for tax increases, most lately in news accounts, but he’s still campaign- onstrate fundraising abilities. Sims, however, has be reporting more money soon.
think the party has veered a bit too far to the left. ing. It’s possible that at least some members of reported no contributions in the past month. The biggest outside contribution Harmon
It’s possible the group could have enough votes a loosely aligned group of a half-dozen or so Senator Lightford (D-Maywood) held five received was $100,000 from a journeyman
to team up with a current Senate president can- independent-minded, younger liberal Senators fundraisers in the month following Culler- plumber’s union. Lightford raised a bit of money
didate and elect the successor to retiring Senate may wind up backing him. ton’s retirement announcement and reported from the Illinois Education Association for her
President John Cullerton, or prevent an election Six votes is far from the number required to $649,000 in contributions last week. About personal fund. Otherwise, unions appear to be
until their demands are met. There are a whole win the election, of course. It will take 30 votes $215K of that was from the personal campaign taking a wait-and-see approach.
lot of officially undecided Senate Democrats still when all is said and done. But combine that with funds of herself and Senators Andy Manar and One knock on Lightford has been that she
out there, even though the three top candidates, the “X Caucus” votes and it might be enough to Heather Steans (plus a contribution out of Steans’ doesn’t have a history of raising big money, so
Senators Kimberly Lightford, Don Harmon, and slow down or even stop the process. Whether the own pocket), her top supporters. She’ll report doubts naturally arose about whether she could
Elgie Sims, have been working members. caucus’ two wings can learn to fly together is a another $36K in contributions under the imme- do it. But she and her team have proved other-
But there’s also a long time to go until Senators whole other story. diate reporting threshold next month, I’m told. wise during this first month.
vote to elect their new President near the end of Sims has only been a Senator since January About 80 percent of the money she and her
January, so that loosely affiliated caucus could be of 2018, but he was on Senate staff for a decade, team raised was for the Senate Democratic Lead- Rich Miller also publishes Capitol Fax, a daily
picked apart by the time the voting starts. We’ll rising to the top of the appropriations staff before ership Fund, which is designed to support Senate political newsletter, and CapitolFax.com.
see. serving in the House for almost six years. He’s a Democratic campaigns. The rest is for her per-
It should also be pointed out that Senator budget expert and knows the process back and sonal fund. New Column Published
Landek is very close to House Speaker Michael forth. Even so, convincing Senators who have Lightford’s haul is less than the $755K Assis-
Madigan. The other members of that caucus “paid their dues” for many years to support tant Majority Leader Don Harmon has reported Weekly at RCReader.com

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Winter session
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Know More, Do More • RiverCitiesReader.com River Cities’ Reader • Vol. 27 No. 969 • January 2020 3
WORDS FROM THE EDITOR By Kathleen McCarthy

Where Did All the Stories Go?

Two Stories Neglected Since 2016

C
orporate media distributed content dis- it vilifies parents like Kennedy who are legiti- scientific parameters, avoid these vaccinations take more than they give, and to hide ill-gotten
guised as news has devolved into 1) A mately sounding the alarm. Kennedy filed a like the plague because they have caused seri- proceeds via a far more lucrative form of Klep-
perpetual call of winners and losers in Freedom of Information Act (FOIA) request ous harm for too many children. The link below tocracy known as Corruption by Proxy, where
the fabricated binary national selection of so- for records responsive to the government’s shares stories of families affected adversely by government leaders funnel tax dollars to their
called US presidential options, and 2) Tightly self-proclaimed safety assurances of the vac- vaccinations. If 70 plus shots are so beneficial children, family, and friends instead of receiv-
scripted propaganda across all platforms and cines they proscribe. It took a multi-year legal and healthy for our children, why would the ing the quid-est of pro quos directly.
channels masquerading as (no, not even fact- battle to ultimately compel the Health and coercive force of government be required to Interestingly, the US Foreign Corruption
driven news anymore) misguided speculation Human Services (HHS) to admit they have no ensure all children get them? Practices Act makes it illegal to hire a foreign
based on contrived narratives specifically for- data good or bad from over 30 years of testing Concurrently, Senate Bill SF 239 would add leader’s children or family members to curry
mulated to elicit conditioned responses from as required by law since 1986 (rcreader.com/y/ a conscientious exemption and deserves sup- favor, but this regulation is a uni-directional
you, the viewer, listener, and reader. rfkjr1). Either the government neglected to do port in the spirit of making our own decisions rule. It is perfectly legal for America’s gov-
I know you know this. What I don’t know the testing, or it refuses to release the results, about what will and won’t be released into our ernment leaders to farm out their own sons,
is if you care? You should care because we all making Kennedy’s case all the more compel- children’s bodies. Opposing HF 206 and sup- daughters, etc to foreign businesses to curry
have personal civic responsibilities that, if left ling. The information he presents deserves our porting SF 239 are consistent with safeguard- favor in the form of billions to their children,
unattended, will leave us and ours bereft of the consideration at a minimum (rcreader.com/y/ ing our Bill of Rights. family, and friends. Otherwise there is always
personal liberties we claim to cherish but have rfkjr1). the convenient foundations’ accounts belong-
neglected to protect. These mandatory vaccination laws have ing to a wide range of unusually well-heeled
By adapting simple, tried-and-true nudg- passed amid significant opposition by the Sources and Resources: politicians and executive level bureaucrats as
ing principles to sophisticated behavioral sci- people, but our wishes are ignored by our VaccineImpact.com: rcreader.com/y/vaxx1 a matter of best practices for enriching one’s
ence techniques with effective high-tech mass representatives in favor of big pharma’s cam- Vaxxed.com: rcreader.com/y/vaxx2 self. History will someday show just how many
communication (conditioning), predictable paign largess. Once these legislative acts take National Vaccine Information Center unscrupulous deals were concocted using
responses en masse are assured. In the spirit hold in the code, special immunities kick in to Advocacy Portal: rcreader.com/y/vaxx3 charitable foundations.
of nudging our collective consciousness back protect the makers of vaccines from lawsuits To catch up on this financial malfeasance,
to reality, here are two critical topics ignored, that arise from harm to children who receive read the history of the “Panama Papers.” At
underreported, or misreported by corporate arguably toxic jabs. 30 years ago, children were Secret Empires & Jurisdictions least 360 journalists world-wide from the
media since 2016. given three vaccinations for measles, mumps In 2013, an anonymous whistleblower International Consortium of Investigative
and rubella. Today, beginning with toddlers, a released millions of documents known as the Journalists (ICIJ) have been vetting millions
State Forced Vaccinations suite of over 74 vaccinations are unloaded into Panama Papers, exposing shadow banking and of documents hacked from the computers of
our kids. the trillions believed to be held in off-shore the largest Panamanian facilitator, Mossack
& the CDC’s Coverup However this is not 30 years ago; today accounts world-wide. There have always been Fonseca, of off-shore shadow banking, slowly
Mandatory vaccination laws have passed in there is much more conclusive science that whispers about these sketchy accounts lurking releasing the data in large compilations to the
California and New York, and New Jersey will vaccinations do harm a percentage of children in places like the Cayman Islands, but hiding public at large. It is an impressive collabora-
vote this month. These are just the first states who receive them. We don’t know how many money and avoiding taxes, assuming we had tion and has forever unearthed how political,
to strip a portion of our First Amendment pro- because Congress has broken the law again by something to hide, was seemingly too rickety bureaucratic, and corporate organized crime
tected rights by removing the religious exemp- not conducting the studies they were tasked by a risk for the B teams. become excessively rich stashing away obscene
tions to decline the jabs. More states will follow law to do beginning in 1986! This means no Well we heard right about the Cayman amounts of money—$56 trillion currently esti-
quickly if there are no constitutional chal- one knows what the long term consequences Islands being a tax haven, but it is only one of mated to be stolen and/or sheltering in place in
lenges. The new wrinkle eliminating religious are after repeated jabs before age 10. The CDC more than 80 legal secret jurisdictions world- off-shore accounts that abound in these secret
exemptions means school personnel or heath enjoys over $2 billion in revenues each year wide where the big bucks go to grow and jurisdictions.
department personnel or law enforcement can selling millions of these suspect vaccines to multiply.
take your children and vaccinate them against the public. Having no wish to interrupt that The City of London—a mile square in the Once you understand where the money goes
your parental will. gravy train, such data isn’t even collected reli- middle of London proper and considered to be to hide, the rest of the corruption easily falls
There is no authority granted by the people ably enough to measure meaningfully. the world’s financial hub where every mean- into place. “The Spider Web: Britain’s Second
in the state or federal constitutions for this As it happens, there are currently eleven (11) ingful financial institute has a presence—is the Empire” is an online documentary explain-
unlawful legislation. Forced vaccinations vio- bills pending at the Iowa State Legislature deal- genesis for these legal off-shore secret jurisdic- ing the genesis of shadow banking and secret
lates not only the First Amendment religious ing with vaccinations, including House Bill tions as far back as the 1600s. Today, the City jurisdictions, providing a companion to the
freedom protections, but also the right to be HF 206 to eliminate the religious exemption of London oversees seven secret jurisdictions “Panama Papers.” From there you can gradu-
secure in our person and possessions secured for vaccinations for Iowans. Only one Illinois that comprise an estimated 40 percent of global ate to the widely available “Peter Schweizer
by the Fourth Amendment. House Bill is pending, HB 342, regarding noti- finance, keeping track via a Financial Secrecy Secret Empires Audiobook,” a bipartisan
While states are administratively tasked fication of vaccines derived from fetal tissue Index. It is said that even the Queen of Eng- compilation of the most egregious “Corrup-
with the education of our children, health The other alarming Iowa House Bills are HF land is subservient to the City of London’s Lord tion by Proxy” by career politicians that is
care is a different rubric altogether. Vaccina- 100 & 272, requiring school districts to con- Mayor. Meanwhile these jurisdictions give nothing short of stunning, especially since this
tion policy has a Goliath of government sup- duct health and safety visits for children under sanctuary to billions in assets, and revenues book has been out since January 2018. Yet not a
port for its policy goals and implementation. private instruction. Below is a link to watch from both legal and illegal enterprises. single indictment, or charge has been brought
The extreme aggressiveness attached to the your state to see what legislation is in play for More importantly these legal secret juris- to the parasitical public figures Schweizer
Center for Disease Controls’s all-in program- vaccinations. dictions are also sanctuaries for illegal activi- chronicles in great detail.
ming, with open disdain for skeptics no matter Iowa HF 206 deserves opposition for rea- ties that include massive money laundering,
how rational the objections, is a curious thing, sons deeper than just vaccinations. This bill human and drug trafficking, arms sales, real
really. It begs the question why? undermines parental authority, ceding it to the estate transfers, and underground art and Sources and Resources:
I urge you to read Robert Kennedy Jr.’s administrative authority of the state. This is a gems trading. While these jurisdictions mostly The Guardian on Panama Papers:
speech linked below, or watch the video of it. slippery slope and not a centimeter of ground provide tax-avoiding havens for the world’s rcreader.com/y/empire1
Kennedy is not anti-vaxx, he is pro robust sci- should be given up in this instance. Regarding biggest corporations, typical participants often The Spider’s Web: Britain’s Second Empire:
ence and safe ingredients. It seems a perfectly vaccinations, until the CDC can reliably dem- include government leaders hiding what they rcreader.com/y/empire2
reasonable request of the pharmaceutical onstrate reasonable safety guarantees based steal from their countries’ coffers, foundations Peter Schweizer’s Secret Empires:
industry, but apparently it disagrees because on independent studies that conform to sound and charitable organizations determined to rcreader.com/y/empire3
4 River Cities’ Reader • Vol. 27 No. 969 • January 2020 Know More, Do More • RiverCitiesReader.com

THEATRE By Rochelle Arnold, Pamela Briggs, and Madeline Dudziak

Picks o’ Six 2019

Highlights from the Year in Area Theatre

A
Vol. 27 · No. 969 hearty welcome to the theatre fans
JANUARY 2020 and theatre-curious among you
– it’s time for the Fourth-Annual
Reader Tony Awards!
RIVER CITIES’ READER “Tony,” of course, refers to my collegiate
532 W. 3rd St. housemate Tony, and not – repeat, not – the
Davenport IA 52801 legendary Antoinette Perry whose nick-
RiverCitiesReader.com name is synonymous with theatrical excel-
(563)324-0049 (phone)
(563)323-3101 (fax)
lence. But coincidentally enough, just like
[email protected] the shiny metal-plated objects named after
that more famous stage icon, the figurative
PUBLISHING SINCE 1993 trophies bestowed in the Reader Tonys are
The River Cities’Reader is an independently owned publication and
website, dedicated to providing readers and members the “keys to the meant to celebrate yet another phenomenal
Quad Cities’culture.” year in theatre – and with 2019’s area lineup
boasting 10 more mentions than usual!
PRINTED MONTHLY In past years, with the voting contingent
Newly printed complimentary editions are available monthly
at select locations in the region. For a complete list, visit including four active Reader reviewers and
www.rcreader.com/distribution. myself, it was easy to come up with awards-
Kevin Babbitt, Jessica White, Michael Kelly, and Jonathan Grafft
show-friendly quintets of inclusions, with
PRINT & DIGITAL ADVERTISING: in the Richmond Hill Barn Theatre’s The 39 Steps
PRINT ADVERTISING SPACE RESERVATION DEADLINE IS THE 15TH the five of us all contributing one mention
OF EACH MONTH FOR THE FOLLOWING MONTH’S EDITION. per category. In 2019, we had the great for-
tune of having a trio of reviewers – Rochelle
Production Macbeth, Prenzie Players (Madeline).
WEBSITE & WEEKLY E-NEWSLETTER ADVERTISING DEADLINE IS Nearly a full year later, I’m still in awe of
EVERY MONDAY FOR THURSDAY PLACEMENTS.
Arnold, Pamela Briggs, and Madeline Dud- The 39 Steps, Richmond Hill Barn The- this show that not only had me sympathiz-
Visit QCAdvertising.com for full ziak – cover the area-theatre landscape, atre (Pamela Briggs). Jonathan Grafft was ing with the Macbeths but kept me glued
publishing calendar, sponsorship with each of them covering at least 25 local the quintessential befuddled bloke, Jessica to my seat for fear of getting caught in one
opportunities, ad sizes, and pricing. (or local-ish) productions for a grand total White played three very different women, of the many epic battles. Catherine Boden-
of 79 reviews. Meanwhile, my own busier- and two men portrayed everyone else. Mul- bender’s clever direction made this classic
PUBLISHER than-usual theatre schedule forced me to tiple locations created with the same basic fresh and exhilarating.
Todd McGreevy • [email protected] items, and absurd bits exploiting the set’s
miss more area shows than I have since She Kills Monsters, Playcrafters Barn
2004, and I didn’t feel comfortable about limitations, added to the fun. Director Jen- Theatre (Pamela). This production of a
EDITOR & BUSINESS MANAGER
Kathleen McCarthy • [email protected] contributing my own mentions. nifer Kingry staged the play ingeniously for quirky script included many amazingly
So, a dilemma: What to do for the 2019 her in-the-round venue. realistic, complex fights between several
ARTS & CALENDAR EDITOR Reader Tonys? Switch to only three inclu- A Green River, Mississippi Bend Play- actors with wicked-looking weapons, and
Mike Schulz • [email protected] sions per category? ers (Madeline Dudziak). What can I say intermingled real and fantasy realms, yet
Hellz no. about this production that I didn’t say in made clear distinctions. The skilled come-
ART DIRECTOR July? It had everything accounted for: It
Nathan Klaus • [email protected] What follows are six raves in 10 catego- dic and authentic acting of its very young
ries by three tireless and talented writers was visually stunning; the talent pool was cast directed by Jaclyn Marta left me laugh-
DISTRIBUTION & OFFICE MANAGER and theatre fans – samplings of excellence deep; the staging was fantastic; the sub- ing – and crying.
Michael Locander • [email protected] within the thrilling diversity of options ject matter was emotionally gripping and
thought-provoking. Director Philip Wm.
IT-SYSMIN
available to us. And because no awards cer-
McKinley’s drama was everything theatre
Director
William Reveal emony would be complete without a place
for us to take a bathroom break, it’s time hopes to be. Lora Adams, The Man with Bogart’s
ADVERTISING SALES now for a reading of the rules! Holiday Inn, Circa ‘21 Dinner Play- Face, Black Box Theatre (Madeline). It
Michael Locander • [email protected] Rochelle, Pamela, and Madeline were house (Rochelle Arnold). I was shaking takes a great deal of directorial talent to
asked to write about two area shows, and/or the blues away with this fast-paced, ener- transform a radio play into a full night of
CONTRIBUTING WRITERS the talents within, for each of the 10 catego- getic musical, choreographed by director theatre, and beyond keeping the pacing
Amy Alkon, Max Allison, Rochelle Arnold, quick and the stage business interesting,
Rob Brezsny, Pamela Briggs, Max Cannon, ries, citing no production more than three Shane Hall, that simply knocked my socks
Madeline Dudziak, Rich Miller times overall and no venue in the same cat- off. The scenic artistry by Jeff Weber and Adams delivered enough silent background
egory twice. All shows had to be locally pro- Morgan Griffin was extravagant and helped antics, well-timed comedy, and reining in
PRINT COPY DISTRIBUTORS duced – no tour stops allowed – and no one pull every element of the show together. The of technical elements to send us back in
Cheri Delay, Greg Fitzpatrick, Marie Mack,
could name a spouse or a family member cast even tap-danced while jumping rope. time.
Jay Strickland
or an editor, though the productions they Into the Woods, Timber Lake Playhouse Gaye Shannon Burnett, Marie &
were involved with were open for inclusion. (Rochelle). Directed and choreographed by Rosetta, Playcrafters Barn Theatre
KNOW MORE. And yet again, for the sake of our collective
patience, everyone was restricted to write-
Paul Stancato, this charming, lyrical musi-
cal was a journey of make-believe through
(Rochelle). Burnett’s passion for gospel
music was evident in this production,
DO MORE. ups of no more than 50 words. No need to
send gifts. Your silent thanks is enough.
an enchanted forest with incredible char-
acters and classic storybook tales. A clev-
and her simple staging was refreshing.
Featuring only two characters, this show
© 2020 River Cities’ Reader Enjoy the 2019 Reader Tonys! erly designed set was the perfect canvas for was amazingly encouraging, and I felt the
Little Red Riding Hood, the beanstalk’s director’s heart exemplifying the strength
–Mike Schulz Jack, et cetera. Reliving my childhood never of a pair of African-American women
felt better. Continued On Page 14
Know More, Do More • RiverCitiesReader.com River Cities’ Reader • Vol. 27 No. 969 • January 2020 5

JANUARY 2020
CALENDAR OF EVENTS
Covering January 9–February 5, 2020

Your event listing in print and online has been complimentary since 1993!

Send your events to [email protected]

VISUAL ARTS Rose Frantzen: Portrait of Maquoketa and the Regional Tattoo Artists, exhibition of new tattoo art; community members an opportunity to… Davenport
Storytelling Tree, Frantzen’s multi-panel artwork Tue.-Fri. 10am-5pm,… Quad City Arts Center, Thu Jan 30 Public Library - Main Branch, 5:30pm Thu Jan 16
includes 180 portraits of Maquoketa citizens and a thru Thu Feb 6
Openings & Gallery Events 315-square-foot landscape view on 34 suspended Creation Studio Drop-In: Strawbees, a chance to
vertical panels; “The Storytelling Tree” tells of a girl’s Young Artists at the Figge: Bettendorf Schools, experiment, play, and create with art and… Bettendorf
Thursdays at the Figge, art-themed activities, special bond with her father; Tue.-Sat. 10am-5pm, exhibition of works by elementary art students; Public Library, 3pm Mon Jan 20
discussions, tours, refreshments, and more; guests Thu. 10am-9pm, Sun. noon-5pm; free with $4-10 sponsored in part by the Brand Boeshaar Foundation
are invited to experience the current exhibitions museum admission; for information, call 563-326- Fund and the Hubbell-Waterman Foundation; Mandala Rock Painting, we’ll teach you how to paint
and permanent collection gallery as well as shop the 7804, Figge Art Museum, 225 W. 2nd St., Davenport IA, Tue.-Fri. 10am-5pm, Sat. 11am-5pm; free with $4-10 a simple mandala rock… Davenport Public Library -
Museum Store; free; for information, call 563-326- FiggeArtMuseum.org, thru Sun Feb 2 museum admission; for information, call 563-326- Fairmount Street Branch, 6pm Tue Jan 21
7804, Figge Art Museum, 225 W. 2nd St., Davenport IA, 7804, Figge Art Museum, 225 W. 2nd St., Davenport IA,
FiggeArtMuseum.org, 5pm Thu Jan 9 thru Thu Jan 30 Craig Miller, painting exhibtiion; Sat. 8am-5:30pm, Sun. FiggeArtMuseum.org, Sat Feb 1 thru Thu Feb 6 Creation Studio Drop-In: Paper Footballs & Straw
9am-5pm; free; for… MidCoast Centre Station Gallery, Goalposts, a chance to experiment, play, and create
Closing Reception: Teresa Mesich and Jeanne thru Thu Feb 6 with art and… Bettendorf Public Library, 3pm Mon Jan
O’Melia, held in conjunction with the exhibit of 27
paintings and mixed-media… MidCoast Gallery West / Emily Fitzpatrick - Colleen Curry - Kelly Schnell, Classes
The ARTery, 6pm Fri Jan 10 exhibit of landscape paintings by Fitzpatrick, mixed- Adult Coloring, discover the therapeutic benefits of
media… Quad City Arts Art @ the Airport, thru Thu Intro to Clay Studio, on Fridays, with instructors Claire coloring at the library; color… Davenport Public Library -
Recognition Day for Young Artists at the Figge: Feb 6 Waterman and Karen Brinson; learn… Bereskin Gallery & Fairmount Street Branch, 2pm Tue Jan 28
Geneseo Schools, held in conjunction with the Art Academy, 5:30pm Fri Jan 10 thru Fri Jan 31
exhibition of works by elementary art students; George Olson: The Found Object, this exhibition will Card Making with Donna Banta, learn how to craft
sponsored in part by the Brand Boeshaar Foundation focus on Olson’s earlier works which use found objects Open Clay Studio Membership, with instructors cards with a personal touch; the… Silvis Public Library,
Fund and the Hubbell-Waterman Foundation; free with as inspiration; Tue.-Sat. 10am-5pm, Thu. 10am-9pm, Claire Waterman by appointment: Monday & Wednesday 1pm Sat Feb 1
$4-10 museum admission; for information, call 563-326- Sun. noon-5pm; free with $4-10 museum admission; for (9… Bereskin Gallery & Art Academy, Fri Jan 10 thru Fri
7804, Figge Art Museum, 225 W. 2nd St., Davenport IA, information, call 563-326-7804, Figge Art Museum, 225 Jan 31 Open Clay Studio Membership, with instructors
FiggeArtMuseum.org, Sun Jan 26 W. 2nd St., Davenport IA, FiggeArtMuseum.org, Sat Jan Claire Waterman by appointment: Monday & Wednesday
11 thru Thu Feb 6 Craft Cafe, whether you are an amateur or professional (9… Bereskin Gallery & Art Academy, Sat Feb 1 thru
Closing Reception: Ben Ryan and Tony Seabolt, crafter, come and… Davenport Public Library - Wed Feb 5
held in conjunction with the exhibit of mixed media Annie Oldenburg, photography exhibit by the BHC art Fairmount Street Branch, 3pm Sat Jan 11
and paintings;… Midcoast at Bucktown Gallery, 6pm instructor;… Black Hawk College ArtSpace Gallery, Mon How to Make Book Page Flowers, this fun and
Fri Jan 31 Jan 13 thru Thu Feb 6 Introduction to Drawing, free; for information, call free event allows our crafty patrons to try on a new
563-344-4175 or e-mail [email protected]… skill and feel good about it; using up-cycled materials,
Final Friday: Ring in the Roaring Twenties, for Finding God in the Dark: A Retrospective Bettendorf Public Library, 3pm Sat Jan 11 participants will make their own book page flower; for
information, call 563-424-1210… Bucktown Center for Exhibition, a Rosalind Wilcox exhibition in both the information and to register, call 309-732-7341, Rock
the Arts, 6pm Fri Jan 31 Catich and Morrissey… Catich Gallery - St. Ambrose Painting with Watercolor: An Instructive Island Public Library - Downtown Library, 401 19th St.,
University, Mon.-Fri. 9am-5pm, Sat. 10am-4pm, Mon Jan Workshop w/ Erica Parrott, join us on the second Rock Island, IL, RockIslandLibrary.org, 6pm Wed Feb 5
Senior Day at the Figge, meet in the lobby for a 13 thru Thu Feb 6 floor, where we will have… Rozz-Tox, 5pm Sat Jan 11
tour at 1:30pm, with a 2:30pm film in the auditorium; Craft-Tea!, community members are encouraged to
seniors get 10% off in the Museum Store and Cafe; for Finding God in the Dark: A Retrospective Creation Studio Drop-In: Balloon Animals, a bring arts and crafts they… Bettendorf Public Library,
information, call 563-326-7804, Figge Art Museum, 225 Exhibition, a Rosalind Wilcox exhibition in both the chance to experiment, play, and create with art and… 7pm Thu Feb 6
W. 2nd St., Davenport IA, FiggeArtMuseum.org, 1:30pm Catich… Morrissey Gallery, Galvin Fine Arts Center - St. Bettendorf Public Library, 3pm Mon Jan 13
Thu Feb 6 Ambrose University, Mon Jan 13 thru Thu Feb 6
Snowflake “Suncatcher”, an event in the Southwest
Thursdays at the Figge, art-themed activities, 41st Rock Island Art Guild Fine Arts Exhibition, Craft Night series with materials provided; free; for Call for Entry
discussions, tours, refreshments, and more; guests this exhibition will display works by artists living with 150 information, call 309-732-7323, Rock Island Public Library
are invited to experience the current exhibitions miles of Rock Island, working in a variety of mediums; - Southwest Branch, 9010 Ridgewood Rd., Rock Island, IL, Seeking Applicants: Quad City Arts Dollars,
and permanent collection gallery as well as shop the Tue.-Fri. 10am-5pm, Sat. 11am-5pm; free with $4-10 RockIslandLibrary.org, 6pm Tue Jan 14 seeking applicants for Project, Education, and Capacity-
Museum Store; free; for information, call 563-326- museum admission; for information, call 563-326- Building Grants… Quad City Arts Center, thru Fri Jan 31
7804, Figge Art Museum, 225 W. 2nd St., Davenport IA, 7804, Figge Art Museum, 225 W. 2nd St., Davenport IA, Winter Book Arts Academy: Intermediate
FiggeArtMuseum.org, 5pm Thu Feb 6 FiggeArtMuseum.org, Sat Jan 18 thru Thu Feb 6 Bookbinding, a hands-on workshop series offering

Figuratively Drawn: Works from the Figge

Collection, using the human form as a jumping-off
Exhibits & Shows point, the artists explore the varied ways that the body
can be portrayed; featuring works by Edouard Duval-
Teresa Mesich - Jeanne O’Melia, exhibit of paintings Carrié, Larry Rivers, Leonardo Lasansky, Jim Nutt and
by Mesich and mixed-media… MidCoast Gallery West / many others; Tue.-Sat. 10am-5pm, Thu. 10am-9pm,
The ARTery, thru Fri Jan 10 Sun. noon-5pm; free with $4-10 museum admission; for
information, call 563-326-7804, Figge Art Museum, 225
Show Your Colors!, the exhibit provides a thought- W. 2nd St., Davenport IA, FiggeArtMuseum.org, Sat Jan
provoking take on… Bucktown Center for the Arts, thru 18 thru Thu Feb 6
Sat Jan 11
Young Artists at the Figge: Geneseo Schools,
Chris Rayburn - Tim Schiffer - John Miller, exhibition of works by elementary art students;
exhibition of photography by Rayburn, watercolors by… sponsored in part by the Brand Boeshaar Foundation
Quad City Arts Center, thru Fri Jan 24 Fund and the Hubbell-Waterman Foundation;
Tue.-Fri. 10am-5pm, Sat. 11am-5pm; free with $4-10
Ben Ryan - Tony Seabolt, exhibit of mixed media and museum admission; for information, call 563-326-
paintings; Wed.-Sat.… Midcoast at Bucktown Gallery, 7804, Figge Art Museum, 225 W. 2nd St., Davenport IA,
thru Fri Jan 31 FiggeArtMuseum.org, Sat Jan 18 thru Sun Jan 26

Icestravaganza 2019 @ Freight House – January 18

 6 River Cities’ Reader • Vol. 27 No. 969 • January 2020 Know More, Do More • RiverCitiesReader.com

Quad City Music Guild Youth Chorus Auditions,

under the direction of Valeree Pieper and accompanied
by Randin… Quad City Music Guild - Prospect Park
Auditorium, Sat Jan 18 thru Mon Jan 20

KIX Orchestra Rehearsal, the KIX Orchestra, directed

by Steve Little, plays music from… RME (River Music
Experience), 7pm Tue Jan 21

Inside the Music: QCSO Masterworks IV, join QCSO

Music Director Mark Russell Smith in an exploration…
Hotel Blackhawk, 4:45pm Thu Jan 30

Afterglow: QCSO Masterworks IV, held immediately

after the night’s concert at the Adler Theatre;… Hotel
Blackhawk, 10pm Sat Feb 1

Concert Conversations: QCSO Masterworks IV,

QCSO concert-goers are invited to attend informal pre-
concert conversations to… Adler Theatre, 7pm Sat Feb 1

Concert Conversations: QCSO Masterworks IV,

QCSO concert-goers are invited to attend informal pre-
concert conversations to… Centennial Hall, Augustana
College, 1pm Sun Feb 2
Quad City Arts Visiting Artsts The Rose Ensemble – January 15 through 18
4th-12th Grade Homeschool Choir, Tuesdays thru
May 19; directed by the Spotlight Theatre’s in-house…

MUSIC The Rose Ensemble, full-length concert featuring the Quad City Symphony Orchestra Masterworks IV: The Spotlight Theatre, 1pm Tue Feb 4
vocal ensemble and Quad City Arts… First Presbyterian Love, experience the highs and lows of love through
Church of Davenport, 7:30pm Fri Jan 17 works inspired… Centennial Hall, Augustana College, Dan Quinn: DJ’ing Workshop, a discussion with
Concerts 2pm Sun Feb 2 the Contemporary Book Discussion Group; free; for…
Tony Hoeppner, a concert in the Brown Bag Lunch Bettendorf Public Library, 6pm Tue Feb 4
Dada Trash Collage - Archeress, concert with the Series; free; for… Bettendorf Public Library, noon Fri Tuneful Tuesdays: Danelle Kvapil, performance
experimental indie musicians; $5-10; for information, Jan 17 by the alto saxophonist; bring your lunch; free; for RME Community Youth Band Rehearsal, on
call… Rozz-Tox, 8pm Thu Jan 9 information, call 309-732-7323, Rock Island Public Wednesdays; a concert band for students that may not
Bass Banger w/ Al Ross, a night of heavy bass music Library - Downtown Library, 401 19th St., Rock Island, IL, have… RME (River Music Experience), 5:15pm Wed Feb 5
The Matt Barber Experience, jazz standards and with headliner Al Ross and sets… The Rust Belt, 8pm RockIslandLibrary.org, Tue Feb 4
classics with the 2005 graduate of Rock… The Grape Life Sat Jan 18

LITERARY ARTS
Wine Store & Lounge, 7pm Thu Jan 9 Cody Jinks, concert with the country-music star,
Disney/Pixar’s Coco in Concert, the Quad City featuring special guests Nikki Lane &… Adler Theatre,
Anthony Gomes - Vinyl, touring blues musician in Symphony Orchestra plays live accompaniment to the… 7pm Thu Feb 6
concert, featuring an opening set by… The Redstone Adler Theatre, 2 & 7:30pm Sat Jan 18 Readings & Discussions
Room, 8pm Fri Jan 10
Golden Donna - Shen - Idpyramid - King Supr3m3, Winter Reading Challenge: Light Up Winter!, held
Head East, concert with the hard-rock band originally concert held in conjunction with the Midwest Electronic Special Events at both Rock Island libraries; light up your… thru Thu
from East Central Illinois; 7pm… The Rust Belt, 8pm Fri Creator’s Convergence;… Rozz-Tox, 8pm Sat Jan 18 Feb 6
Jan 10 Black Hawk College Community Symphonic
Phil Dodds, concert with the country singer/ Orchestra, Mondays thru May 4; local musicians are Silvis Public Library Winter Reading Challenge,
The Manny Lopez Big Band, Lopez and his 13 piece songwriter; for information, call 309-793-1999… RIBCO, invited to join… Black Hawk College - Quad City Campus, playing reading bingo, with each bingo you obtain an
big band will be playing… The Circa ‘21 Speakeasy, 6pm 9pm Sat Jan 18 6:30pm Mon Jan 13 entry to… Silvis Public Library, thru Thu Feb 6
Fri Jan 10
The Rose Ensemble, Informal performance, meet Black Hawk College Community Band, Tuesdays Hollywood Homicide, a discussion of Kellye Garrett’s
Troy Rangel & Friends, Rangel will perform a mix of & greet, and coffee and donuts with… Hauberg Civic thru May 5; local musicians are invited to join… Black book with the Mystery Book… Bettendorf Public Library,
jazz standards and music… Moline Public Library, noon Center Mansion, 10am Sat Jan 18 Hawk College - Quad City Campus, 6:30pm Tue Jan 14 9:30am Sat Jan 11
Fri Jan 10
Polyrhythms’ Third Sunday Jazz Workshop & RME Community Youth Band Rehearsal, on See YA, an adult book club with a teen book twist;
Cryptostatic, epic female-fronted symphonic metal Matinee Series: Mike Conrad & the Iowa Jazz Wednesdays; a concert band for students that may not see why… Davenport Public Library - Eastern Avenue
with a no holds light show,… RIBCO, 9pm Sat Jan 11 Composers Orchestra, concert featuring Mike Conrad have… RME (River Music Experience), 5:15pm Wed Jan Branch, 6:30pm Mon Jan 13
(UNI Jazz Professor), Chris Merz (Director… The Redstone 15 thru Wed Jan 29
LegalizeD It: Jon & Ren - The Mand - Jason Carl & Room, 3pm Sun Jan 19 Unmentionable, a discussion of Therese Oneill’s novel
the Whole Damned Band - Earth Ascending, cover Black Hawk College Community Chorale, with the Get Lit… Bettendorf Public Library, 7pm Tue
charge at the door; for information, call 309-283-4811… Jason Carl & the Whole Damn Band - Minus Six - Thursdays thru May 7; local musicians are invited to Jan 14
Bent River Brewing Company - Rock Island, 9pm Sat The Velies, rockers perform a benefit concert for the join… Black Hawk College - Quad City Campus, 6:30pm
Jan 11 RME; $16 adv /… The Redstone Room, 7:30pm Fri Jan 24 Thu Jan 16 Less, a discussion of Andrew Sean Greer’s book with the
Contemporary… Bettendorf Public Library, 7pm Wed
Guest List Series featuring Them Coulee Boys Sensei Of Syllables Project Release Show: Aubs., Midwest Electronic Creator’s Convergence Jan 15
& Fireside Collective, concert with the alt-folk known for his exemplary work as a spoken word artist… Workshop & Analog Studio Tour, featuring
musicians; free; for information, call 563-326-1333… The Rozz-Tox, 8pm Sat Jan 25 workshops by FBK from 1-1:45pm, Golden Donna from Pachinko, a discussion of Min Jin Lee’s book with the
Redstone Room, 7pm Tue Jan 14 2-2:45pm,… Rozz-Tox, noon Sat Jan 18 Contemporary Book… Bettendorf Public Library, 1pm
Squirrel Nut Zippers, concert with the touring jazz, Wed Jan 15
The Rose Ensemble, PASS-concert event with the swing, and klezmer musicians, featuring… The Redstone
vocal ensemble and Quad City Arts… Rogalski Center - Room, 7:30pm Wed Jan 29
St. Ambrose University, 6:30pm Wed Jan 15
Brantley Gilbert, concert with the chart-topping
Beer Choir w/ the Rose Ensemble, collaborative country singer on his “Fire’t Up… TaxSlayer Center, 7pm
performance with the beer choir and the vocal Thu Jan 30
ensemble… Galena Brewing Company / Moline Ale
House, 7pm Thu Jan 16 Addison Jordan, concert of original jazz compositions;
$5-10; for information, call 309-200-0978… Rozz-Tox,
Skid Row and Slaughter, concert with the punk, rock, 8pm Fri Jan 31
and metal icons of the ‘80s and ‘90s; $30-60; for tickets
and information, call 844-852-4FUN, Rhythm City Casino Fool House: The Ultimate ‘90s Dance Party,
Resort Event Center, 7077 Elmore Ave., Davenport IA, prepare to go back to the golden era of boy… The
RhythmCityCasino.com/index.html, 8pm Thu Jan 16 Redstone Room, 9pm Fri Jan 31

Bucktown Revue, a live music-and-humor variety Buckcherry, concert with the Los Angeles-based hard
show featuring various styles of folk… Nighswander rockers, featuring sets by… The Rust Belt, 8pm Sat Feb 1
Theatre, 7pm Fri Jan 17
Northern Parallels 041: Red Light All Night, five
Kris Lager Band, touring blues musicians in concert, hours of house, techno, and electro; no cover; for… Rozz-
with an opening set by… The Redstone Room, 8pm Fri Tox, 8pm Sat Feb 1
Jan 17
Quad City Symphony Orchestra Masterworks IV:
Northern Parallels 040: FBK, concert set with the Love, experience the highs and lows of love through
artist from Columbus, Ohio, featuring sets… Rozz-Tox, works inspired… Adler Theatre, 8pm Sat Feb 1
8pm Fri Jan 17 Them Coulee Boys @ the Redstone Room – January 14
Know More, Do More • RiverCitiesReader.com River Cities’ Reader • Vol. 27 No. 969 • January 2020 7
True Crime Book Club, whether you obsessively
watch Investigation Discovery, are a devout Ann…
Davenport Public Library - Fairmount Street Branch,
6:30pm Thu Jan 16

Light Up Winter Reading Event, join us for plenty

of penguin fun, including reading, crafts,… Quad City
Botanical Center, 11am Sat Jan 18

Book ‘Em Mystery Book Club Discussion, free; for

information, call 309-524-2470… Moline Public Library,
6:30pm Tue Jan 21

The 100 Year Old Man Who Climbed Out the

Window & Disappeared, a discussion of Jonas
Jonasson’s book with the Last Call… Icons Martini, 7pm
Tue Jan 21

West End Book Club, a fun discussion of popular-

fiction titles; free; for information, call… Davenport
Public Library - Fairmount Street Branch, 6:30pm Tue
Jan 21

Adult Book Club Discussion, in the Fireplace Room;

books are available to borrow at… LeClaire Community
Library, 6:30pm Wed Jan 22 Skid Row @ Rhythm City Casino Resort – January 16
Book to Film, new book club in which we’ll discuss
books that will… Davenport Public Library - Eastern 309-732-7323, Rock Island Public Library - Downtown Writer’s Studio, an informal writing critique group for
Avenue Branch, 6:30pm Wed Jan 22 Library, 401 19th St., Rock Island, IL, RockIslandLibrary. Workshops & Classes all genres and experience… Midwest Writing Center,
org, 1pm Mon Feb 3 11am Sat Feb 1
Winterkill, a discussion of C.J. Box’s book with the Young Emerging Writers Studio, an informal writing
Brown Bag Book… Davenport Public Library - Eastern Pageturners Book Discussion Group, a critique group for all genres and experience… Midwest Write Now! Writers Group, on the 1st & 3rd Mon. of
Avenue Branch, 1pm Wed Jan 22 contemporary fiction and nonfiction book discussion Writing Center, 6pm Thu Jan 16 the month; a… Moline Public Library, 6pm Mon Feb 3
group; free; for… Moline Public Library, 6:30pm Tue
Local Author Series: Mike Bayles, Bayles will be Feb 4 Writer’s Studio, an informal writing critique group for
discussing how Alzheimer’s disease affects the family… all genres and experience… Midwest Writing Center,
Davenport Public Library - Eastern Avenue Branch, 3pm Etiquette & Espionage, a discussion of Gail Carriger’s 11am Sat Jan 18 Call for Entry
Sat Jan 25 book with the Between the… Davenport Public Library -
Eastern Avenue Branch, 6:30pm Wed Feb 5 Online Beginning Writing Webinar, learn what you Registration Open: 12th Annual Iron Pen Contest,
Killers of the Flower Moon: the Osage Murders need to adopt a healthy mindset and… Midwest Writing MWC will supply a prompt to all writers on… Midwest
and the Birth of the FBI, a discussion of David Gunn’s Center, 7pm Mon Jan 20 Writing Center, thru Thu Feb 6
book with the Last Monday… Silvis Public Library,
6:30pm Mon Jan 27 Write Now! Writers Group, on the 1st & 3rd Mon. of
the month; a… Moline Public Library, 6pm Mon Jan 20
Smilla’s Sense of Snow, a discussion of Peter Hoeg's
book with the Alpha Book Club; free; for information, call
 8 River Cities’ Reader • Vol. 27 No. 969 • January 2020 Know More, Do More • RiverCitiesReader.com

MUSIC By Max Allison

Everything Is Everything
The 10 Best Albums of 2019

A
s time drags closer to the automatic praise, festival slots, and sonics of footwork, the overstuffed pal-
inevitable apocalypse and the enough streams on Spotify to actually ette of jungle/drum & bass, or the kick
modern world continues to make a living. All this goes on while drum fetishism of gabber. Tatizo Pesa is
develop in grisly and unforeseen ways, underground acts struggle to continue none of these things, really. Tracks over
we can find some comfort in the fact to find enough time and money to make 180 BPM blast into your skull with their
that there is now more music available their music while managing to stay syncopated basslines and endless click-
than ever before. alive. ing percussion, as drum patterns and
New music continues to explode My listening was deeply entrenched stuttering glitch voices seem to move
in wild directions while the infi nite in the electronic and noise underground fast enough to consume themselves
archive offers more options to sink this year, and has been for almost a before your ears.
into past works with each passing year. decade at this point, but few of those
To identify discrete trends in modern albums will appear on my list because
music is nearly impossible. With so I’m too close to the source of that music.
many genres proliferating and compli- But this doesn’t mean that the more
cating on their own timelines, any one “above-ground” albums I selected
person’s taste enables them to sketch out here lack experimentation, or noise, or
arcs in the chaos – arcs that only exem- the artistic impulses that also animate
plify individual strains of a massive glut underground creators. Everything is 8) Summer Walker – Over It
of sounds. In truth, only your own per- converging at this point. Everything is [LoveRenaissance]
spective dictates what you think “2019 everything, it turns out. All music has
The sudden rise of Summer Walker
music” looked like. something to offer. Some music just has
to widespread visibility in the last six
I want to say something like “guitar more to offer than others. Ha ha. Here
music is dead” to some extent, but this are ten albums I played the hell out of months or so is the kind of story that
is only because I no longer default to in 2019. might lead skeptics to shout “industry
guitar music when looking for some- plant,” as if her label decided that she
9) Garcia Peoples – One Step should be a star and we were forced
thing to listen to – and, in fact, three
of my top 10 picks of 2019 are firmly in Behind [Beyond Beyond is to listen. One play of her album Over
the realm of guitar music. So why am Beyond] It will instantly dispel this notion.
I predisposed to put guitar music on New York-based jam band slash One of the most immediately wel-
the back burner? Maybe because to me psych-prog maestros find room in the coming and pleasurable songwrit-
the mutating traditions of pop music, 30-minute title track of their newest LP ers of modern R&B, her voice has an
hip hop, and R&B contained some of One Step Behind for towering free-jazz effortless melodicism and gorgeous
the most affecting and unique music of saxophone workouts, hypnotic kraut texture that transforms each of her
the year. Albums that I kept returning rock-indebted riffage, and unfurling tracks a miniature world to live inside
to all shared the distinction of focus- minimalist melodies. The track man- for a while. She treats each verse like
ing on songwriting above all, while ages to encapsulate exactly what makes a chance to cram in a network of
deviating from the norm in terms of the band so special: a complete union momentary hooks, ad libs, and inter-
production and experimental presenta- of improvisation and acutely scripted twined phrases, while her actual cho-
tion. The music that I found most vital 10) Jay Mitta – Tatizo Pesa music that uses the template of the rock ruses are nothing but earworms. My
in 2019 made some gestures toward band as a starting point for deep-space favorite cuts on the album are the ones
“future sounds,” whether in its intricate [Nyege Nyege Tapes]
exploration. Twin guitar leads in the that plant her voice against only one
electronic arrangements or cascading The ascendant Uganda-based label vein of their namesake Jerry Garcia guitar, evoking a kind of midnight
melodic sensibilities. The idea of a pop Nyege Nyege Tapes continues to destroy share space with billowing synth lines vocal jazz session in the corner of a
song is too complex to confine within minds with each of their releases as they á la Terry Riley, or slip into passages of dimly lit bar. In this context, her lovely
the “pop” of the past, but we still don’t highlight African producers who treat almost country tonality. The moments voice gets a chance to shine in all of
have any better way to categorize it. commonly held notions of tempo, elec- in which the band locks into complex, its unconventional melody and yearn-
The music on my Best of 2019 list tronic arrangement, and texture/tone dialed-in riffs remind us that they’re not
tends to steer away from white-male as nothing but examples from which to ing emotional resonance. And then
just noodling into the abyss. When the we have “Come Thru,” maybe the pin-
art. This is no accident, as people from deviate – all while ensuring that their distortion pedals kick on for a moment
marginalized backgrounds or non-U.S. music will make you dance. Tanza- nacle of the record, which reinterpo-
here or there, they approach the gran-
origins made the best music of the year, nian producer Jay Mitta serves as one lates Usher’s “You Make Me Wanna”
deur of a metal band as seen through a
full stop. The glorification of the nth of the label’s flagship talents, and his as a jumping board for a whole new
fractal acid lens. Everything has its right
album by indie rock mainstays such as, style of warp-speed singeli production song. This would be great on its own,
place in their jams, and their conception
I don’t know, Vampire Weekend or The defines the burgeoning movement being of what constitutes “everything” encom- but when Usher himself shows up to
National, serves only to canonize their explored by fellow producers such as passes more than any underground rock re-reinterpolate his own song … fire-
middle-of-the-road swill more than it Duke and Sisso. Listeners might make band playing today, by my reckoning. works go off.
deserves, and ensures that these bands connections between his blistering,
and their copycats will continue to get conga-laden beats and the dance battle
Know More, Do More • RiverCitiesReader.com River Cities’ Reader • Vol. 27 No. 969 • January 2020 9
the sun, all compressed into bite-sized
songs weighted thick with the sing-
song melodies and raps of now iconic
singer KOM_I. Previous albums such
as Galapagos, Superman, and Zipangu
contained everything from mutant
glitch, orchestral beauty, Daft Punk-
style future funk, and festival EDM,
often all crammed into the same song.
With the release of Yakushima Trea-
sure, the group throws down an even
7) Bill Orcutt – Odds Against
more ridiculous gauntlet to their listen-
Tomorrow [Palilalia] ers: a 30-minute EP of often harrowing,
Bill Orcutt’s solo career after disband- always bizarre ritualistic noise col-
ing his highly influential Florida noise lage. It’s a true thrill to hear them fully
band Harry Pussy has explored the outer embrace musique concrète while never
limits of solo guitar performance. He shedding the sense of playfulness that
jackhammers away at a nearly broken makes them stand out. Tracks unfold
acoustic guitar, pounding out staccato over squealing synth lines, bursts of
phrases that hint at blues or Ameri- harsh static, and KOM_I’s most twisted
can Primitive tonalities but that really vocal performances yet. She channels
emphasize the raw texture of the guitar deep forest Japanese temple music,
more than any discrete notes or chords. funereal keening, and unhinged gib-
Odds Against Tomorrow, released on berish into her performances. By the
his own label Palilalia, flips the script time the lovely album closer “Yaku no
entirely, turning his playing toward the Jitsugetsubushi” hits, with its more
contemplative and frankly gorgeous. conventional acoustic guitar lines and
Not only does Orcutt flirt with conven- sparkling omni-pop production, it’s like
tional chords and melodies on the elec- a reassurance that the group hasn’t fully
tric guitar here, but for the first time in descended into hell.
his guitar catalog he accompanies him-
self with overdubbed performances. The
result is spellbinding, as Orcutt’s fleet-
fi ngered playing speckled with rapid
hammer-ons and winding improvised
fills serves the forces of beauty instead of
pure chaos. That’s not to say that chaos
isn’t lurking right beneath the surface
of his tracks. Every once in a while he’ll
shoehorn a discordant note choice, a
dissonant chord, or a moment of unease
into his playing, as if to remind us of
how he built his catalog up to this point. 5) Ecco2k – e [YEAR0001]
A satellite of the extended Yung Lean
family of Swedish rap pop provocateurs,
and a member of the increasingly influ-
ential Drain Gang (spearheaded by the
slightly more visible Bladee), Ecco2k
really brought the heat for his first full-
length album. The kind of release you
put on loop and just let wash over you
repeatedly, not caring where it begins
or ends, e is future pop at its most hazy
and drugged out, running on fumes
in a state of emotional overload. The
production throughout is big-budget
6) Wednesday Campanella – digital synth arrangement par excel-
Yakushima Treasure [Warner lence, with layers of angelic pads and
Music Japan] bright chiming tones wrapping together
into music box melodies planted over
The reigning champions of experi- high-definition drum patterns in the
mental Japanese pop, Wednesday Cam- post-trap/R&B tradition. Tracks uch
panella’s improbably prolific output as “Sugar & Diesel” showcase exactly
over the last seven years or so plays out
like a menu of every style of music under Continued On Page 10
10 River Cities’ Reader • Vol. 27 No. 969 • January 2020 Know More, Do More • RiverCitiesReader.com

MUSIC Continued From Page 9 By Max Allison

Everything Is Everything
The 10 Best Albums of 2019
what makes Ecco2k, at the ripe old age rollicking shredfests in recent memory, singing of loves new and lost, taking
of 24, such a force among his contem- built on his hyper-speed guitar lines and photos of her partner, or wondering
poraries. The song maintains a sense the relentless stomp of his band. Moctar where their relationship fell off.
of complete claustrophobia while float- knows how to lay out a sonic narrative,
ing over luscious, tumbling melodies. as the gang vocals and pleasant chord
Overlaid vocal lines swirl through the progressions of his verses give way to an
mix with bittersweet lyrics presumably unbelievable guitar solo that causes his
about addiction and heartbreak (“oh band members to shout on the album
pretty please with sugar on top / I can take in disbelief as he pours notes from
stop whenever I want” -> “more, more, I his axe.
gotta have it”). Then you have the track 1) Charli XCX – Charli
“Calcium,” which plays out like a whis-
[Atlantic]
pered rave banger, as Ecco2k’s vocals
skirt closer to rapped verses and end- The beyond-pop future stylings of
lessly looped refrains (“double K crys- 2. Young Thug – So Much Charli XCX have become an emblem
tals kiss my nose”) as the production for the internet-addled, everything-at-
Fun [300 Entertainment]
balances between states of menacing once culture in which her fans live. Her
terror and tearjerking affect. No artist this decade redefined popu- music highlights the most advanced
lar musical forms more viscerally than electronic production of modern times
the god Young Thug. His signature blend (see: Sophie’s “Vroom Vroom” beat),
3) Erika de Casier – of smeared sing-song vocals, hyper- while her approach to songwriting max-
detailed battle raps, and manic ad libs has imizes the pure dopamine flow to your
Essentials [Independent Jeep become the template for a stable of MCs brain, animated by constant earworm
Music] that he personally represents (Gunna, Lil moments and more hooks per song than
The music of early 2000s R&B staples Baby, Lil Keed, SahBabii) and an untold virtually any of her contemporaries.
such as Aaliyah, TLC, and Destiny’s number of rappers both known and With its balance of laptop-on-fire pop
Child continues to find its way back into unknown who try to ape his style. After bangers and swooning ballads, Charli
the tunes of today’s luminaries, but Erika the more eclectic song cycles of Jeffery funnels every facet of her music into
de Casier’s debut album handles those and Beautiful Thugger Girls found him her most complete album to date (sorry
influences with such extreme command experimenting with pop forms and way- Pop 2 stans). Tracks “White Mercedes”
4) Mdou Moctar – Ilana (The
and poise that it becomes far more than out-there production ideas, So Much Fun and “Official,” which Charli claims she
Creator) [Sahel Sounds] was Thug’s attempt at making an album
a pastiche of past classics. Her songwrit- wrote under the direct influence of Ed
The venerable Sahel Sounds has served ing is at once razor-sharp in its diverse you could play at a barbecue, just vibing Sheeran (ha), tug at heartstrings with
as an international springboard for the melodic flows and effortless in its cloudy, and enjoying yourself. And the conceit their frank portrayal of relationships
music of Saharan/North African per- casual atmosphere, to the point that worked. Over an hour long, the album in all their little details, delivered in the
formers for a decade at this point, but it sounds like these songs have always maintains an insane momentum in its form of Charli’s god-tier melodies that
few acts have reached the Western world existed, at least since the turn of the constantly oscillating hooks, labyrin- tumble up and down between registers
with a bigger bang than Niger-based century. Essentials lives up to its name thine verses, and consistently S-class and distinct emotional palettes. Center-
Tuareg guitarist Mdou Moctar. From his with zero skippable tracks, as every song production from Thug mainstays such piece posse cuts “Click” and “Shake It”
origins as a wedding-band performer offers a buffet of beautiful cooed phrases as Wheezy and welcome collaborators stretch the limits of a pop song to the
and an enigmatic, nomadic guitar slinger and smoky atmospheres to sink into. including Pi’erre Bourne. The synthetic breaking point with their blasts of digi-
to a marquee jammer of the highest cali- Though her talent as a singer is on full horns of “Hot” caught viral fire, and tal noise, heavily effected vocals, and
ber, the arc of Moctar’s career attests to display here, the album wouldn’t succeed “What’s The Move” bounced over per- crumbling song structures. “Gone,” a
the raw power of his music and his his- without the incredible production of her fect bubbly production and an inspired duet with like-minded French future-
tory-in-a-blender approach to six string collaborator El Trick, whose intricate Lil Uzi Vert guest verse, but the album’s pop auteur Christine and the Queens,
performance. His playing channels the chord progressions come to life as a web best moments showcased Thug alone in is the most fully realized pop anthem
cyclical riffs and desert tonalities of such of pitch perfect MIDI preset voices and the booth, rattling off his fractal flows of the year – something that Cher or
forebears as Tinariwen, the crisp, clean lush synth pads. Nearly every track here like nothing could be easier for him. Mariah Carey could have sung, but
tone and precise fretwork of his acknowl- builds from a framework of MIDI guitar, Album opener “Just How It Is” gets the couldn’t have pulled off with the same
edged influence Mark Knopfler, and the and the synthetic instrument becomes closest to the elemental songwriting of unbridled energy and sugary sweet bile
two-handed tapping pyrotechnics of just as important of a voice in the grand his biggest influences Bob Marley and (“I feel so unstable / fucking hate these
Eddie Van Halen. Ilana (The Creator) scheme as de Casier’s vocals. Highlights Prince as Thug tongue-twists his way people”). More than just an attempt to
stands as his most fully formed album including “A Little Bit” and “Story of My through acutely melodic verses over one make pop in the glare of the personal
to date, and elevates his already idio- Life” wring pure beauty from a chintzy dry guitar line that sounds like it was computer, Charli succeeds so fully
syncratic style to new heights of electric tonal palette, while “Puppy Love” dou- recorded in a practice room. Here, we see because of the brilliance of the woman
ecstasy. Look no further than album cen- bles down on the preset voices with its his talents for what they are: an interna- at its center in all her imperfections and
terpiece “Tarhatazed,” which swells from tinny orchestral tones. All of this con- tional treasure to be pored over, to sink insecurities, all her joys and raw plea-
an ambient glow into one of the most trasts de Casier’s fluidity on the mic, into, to fully live within. sures.
Know More, Do More • RiverCitiesReader.com River Cities’ Reader • Vol. 27 No. 969 • January 2020 11
THEATRE
Performances
Jersey Boys, Tony-winning musical about the lives
and careers of Frankie Valli… Adler Theatre, 7:30pm Tue
Jan 14

Kinky Boots, Tony-winning musical comedy based

on the 2005 film; Fri., Sat.,… Circa ‘21 Dinner Playhouse,
Wed Jan 15 thru Wed Feb 5

The Lion King Jr., a one-act version of the Tony-

winning Disney musical performed by… Brunner
Theatre Center, Augustana College, Fri Jan 24 thru Sun
Feb 2

Auditions
Prelude to a Kiss, Seeking ages 30 and older for Craig
Lucas' Tony-nominated romantic comedy... QC Theatre
Workshop, 6pm Thu Jan 9 and Fri Jan 10

The Secret Garden, Sat. 10am, Sun. 1pm; seeking Quad City Arts Visiting Artists Chicago Dance Crash @ St. Ambrose University – January 25
performers for the Tony-winning musical adaptation…
Quad City Music Guild - Prospect Park Auditorium, Sat
Jan 11 and Sun Jan 12 Acting: Ages 5-6, Mondays thru Mar. 30; this Intermediate Acting: Ages 11+, Tuesdays thru Mar. Storytelling Spectacular: Ages 5-6, Wednesdays
imaginative, high energy environment provides… 31; building on skills learned in previous… Davenport thru Apr. 1; explore storytelling and creative expression
Davenport Junior Theatre, 3:45pm Mon Jan 13 Junior Theatre, 6:15pm Tue Jan 14 in… Davenport Junior Theatre, 4:30pm Wed Jan 15

Youth Classes Broadway: Ages 5-6, Mondays thru Mar. 30; the class Showtime Tots for Ages 3-4, Tuesdays thru Mar. 31; Acting: Ages 5-6, Thursdays thru Apr. 2; this
develops storytelling and communication… Davenport students explore creative role-play, mime, imaginary… imaginative, high-energy environment provides basic…
Acting: Ages 11-12, Saturdays thru Apr. 4; this Junior Theatre, 5:45pm Mon Jan 13 Davenport Junior Theatre, 4pm Tue Jan 14 Davenport Junior Theatre, 4pm Thu Jan 16
imaginative, high-energy environment provides basic…
Davenport Junior Theatre, 11:15am Sat Jan 11 Broadway: Ages 7-8, Mondays thru Mar. 30; the class Teen Acting, Tuesdays thru Mar. 31; a great way to get Acting: Ages 9-10, Thursdays thru Apr. 2; this
develops storytelling and communication… Davenport theatrical… Davenport Junior Theatre, 7pm Tue Jan 14 imaginative, high-energy environment provides basic…
Acting: Ages 5-6, Saturdays thru Apr. 4; this Junior Theatre, 4pm Mon Jan 13 Davenport Junior Theatre, 5:15pm Thu Jan 16
imaginative, high energy environment provides… Acting: Ages 11-12, Wednesdays thru Apr. 1; this
Davenport Junior Theatre, 10am Sat Jan 11 Intermediate Acting: Ages 8-10, Mondays thru Mar. imaginative, high-energy environment provides basic… Advanced Acting: Ages 10+, Thursdays thru Apr. 2;
30; building on skills learned in previous… Davenport Davenport Junior Theatre, 6:30pm Wed Jan 15 this class deepens the imagination and… Davenport
Acting: Ages 7-8, Saturdays thru Apr. 4; this Junior Theatre, 6:15pm Mon Jan 13 Junior Theatre, 6:45pm Thu Jan 16
imaginative, high-energy environment provides basic… Acting: Ages 7-8, Wednesdays thru Apr. 1; this
Davenport Junior Theatre, 11:30am Sat Jan 11 Intro to Tech Design: Ages 9-10, Mondays thru Mar. imaginative, high-energy environment provides basic… Broadway Babies: Ages 3-4, Thursdays thru Apr.
30; learn to design a theatrical production,… Davenport Davenport Junior Theatre, 3:45pm Wed Jan 15 2; explore storytelling through song and dance;…
Acting: Ages 9-10, Saturdays thru Apr. 4; this Junior Theatre, 6:30pm Mon Jan 13 Davenport Junior Theatre, 3:30pm Thu Jan 16
imaginative, high-energy environment provides basic… Advanced Broadway: Ages 10+, Wednesdays
Davenport Junior Theatre, noon Sat Jan 11 Magic Workshop Series: Ages 9+, Mondays thru thru Apr. 1; class focuses on more complicated Broadway: Ages 11-12, Thursdays thru Apr. 2; the class
Feb. 17; led by award-winning local magician David… choreography… Davenport Junior Theatre, 7pm Wed develops storytelling and communication… Davenport
Broadway Babies: Ages 3-4, Saturdays thru Apr. Davenport Junior Theatre, 7:10pm Mon Jan 13 Jan 15 Junior Theatre, 7:30pm Thu Jan 16
4; explore storytelling through song and dance;…
Davenport Junior Theatre, 9am Sat Jan 11 Showtime Tots for Ages 3-4, Mondays thru Mar. 30; Broadway Babies: Ages 3-4, Wednesdays thru Apr. Broadway: Ages 9-10, Thursdays thru Apr. 2; the class
students explore creative role-play, mime, imaginary… 1; explore storytelling through song and dance;… develops storytelling and communication… Davenport
Broadway: Ages 7-8, Saturdays thru Apr. 4; the class Davenport Junior Theatre, 5:15pm Mon Jan 13 Davenport Junior Theatre, 5:30pm Wed Jan 15 Junior Theatre, 6pm Thu Jan 16
develops storytelling and communication… Davenport
Junior Theatre, 9:15am Sat Jan 11 Acting: Ages 5-6, Tuesdays thru Mar. 31; this Improv: Ages 11-12, Wednesdays thru Apr. 1; through Homeschool Acting: Ages 10-12, Thursdays thru Apr.
imaginative, high energy environment provides… games and exercises, students develop… Davenport 2; this imaginative, high-energy environment provides
Professional Acting: Ages 11+, Saturdays thru Apr. Davenport Junior Theatre, 5:45pm Tue Jan 14 Junior Theatre, 7:20pm Wed Jan 15 basic… Davenport Junior Theatre, 10am Thu Jan 16
4; we will work audition techniques, prep… Davenport
Junior Theatre, 10:45am Sat Jan 11 Acting: Ages 7-8, Tuesdays thru Mar. 31; this Improv: Ages 7-8, Wednesdays thru Apr. 1; through Homeschool Acting: Ages 13+, Thursdays thru Apr.
imaginative, high-energy environment provides basic… games and exercises, students develop… Davenport 2; this imaginative, high-energy environment provides
Set Design: Ages 11+, Saturdays thru Apr. 4; come Davenport Junior Theatre, 5pm Tue Jan 14 Junior Theatre, 6:10pm Wed Jan 15 basic… Davenport Junior Theatre, 11:15am Thu Jan 16
get your hands dirty and… Davenport Junior Theatre,
9:30am Sat Jan 11 Acting: Ages 9-10, Tuesdays thru Mar. 31; this Improv: Ages 9-10, Wednesdays thru Apr. 1; through Homeschool Acting: Ages 5-6, Thursdays thru Apr.
imaginative, high-energy environment provides basic… games and exercises, students develop… Davenport 2; this imaginative, high-energy environment provides
Acting: Ages 11-12, Mondays thru Mar. 30; this Davenport Junior Theatre, Tue Jan 14 Junior Theatre, 5pm Wed Jan 15 basic… Davenport Junior Theatre, 9:30am Thu Jan 16
imaginative, high-energy environment provides basic…
Davenport Junior Theatre, 7pm Mon Jan 13 Broadway: Ages 5-6, Tuesdays thru Mar. 31; the class Intermediate Broadway: Ages 8+, Wednesdays thru Homeschool Acting: Ages 7-9, Thursdays thru Apr.
develops storytelling and communication… Davenport Apr. 1; building on skills learned in previous… Davenport 2; this imaginative, high-energy environment provides
Junior Theatre, 4:30pm Tue Jan 14 Junior Theatre, 5:45pm Wed Jan 15 basic… Davenport Junior Theatre, 10:45am Thu Jan 16
 12 River Cities’ Reader • Vol. 27 No. 969 • January 2020 Know More, Do More • RiverCitiesReader.com

DANCE
CONTINUED

Theatre / Youth Classes

Performances & Events
Improv: Ages 13+, Thursdays thru Apr. 2; through Polka Club of Iowa, Inc., Eastern Chapter Dance: The
games and exercises, students develop… Davenport Slow Draws, $10, 21 & under free; for information, call
Junior Theatre, 5:30pm Thu Jan 16 563-284-6340… Walcott Coliseum, 1:30pm Sun Jan 19

Intermediate Acting: Ages 8-10, Thursdays thru Apr. Chicago Dance Crash, PASS-event performance with
2; building on skills learned in previous… Davenport the fusion-style contemporary dance company and
Junior Theatre, 3:45pm Thu Jan 16 Quad… Quad-Cities Waterfront Convention Center,
6:30pm Thu Jan 23
Vocal Performance: Ages 10+, Thursdays thru Apr.
2; participants will work on breathing exercises,… Chicago Dance Crash, performance with the fusion-
Davenport Junior Theatre, 4:30pm Thu Jan 16 style contemporary dance company and Quad City…
Galvin Fine Arts Center - St. Ambrose University, 7:30pm
4th-8th Grade Homeschool Musical Theatre, Sat Jan 25
Tuesdays thru May 5; class will focus on jazz dance… The
Spotlight Theatre, 11:30am Tue Jan 21

High School Homeschool Musical Theatre, Youth Classes

Tuesdays thru May 5; class will focus on jazz dance… The
Spotlight Theatre, 2:30pm Tue Jan 21 Ballet Quad Cities School of Dance Classes,
offering classes in Ballet Pointe, Modern, Jazz, Tap,
K-3rd Grade Homeschool Musical Theatre, Conditioning, Creative… Ballet Quad Cities School of
Tuesdays thru May 5; class will focus on jazz dance… The Dance, thru Thu Feb 6
Spotlight Theatre, 10:30am Tue Jan 21
Ballet: Ages 7-9, Saturdays thru May 16; dancers learn
Spotlight Theatre Children’s Company Winter ballet fundamentals at the… Davenport Junior Theatre,
Session 2020: Seussical Jr., grades 4-8 will work 10:15am Sat Jan 11 Buckcherry @ The Rust Belt – February 1
together with theatre professionals to produce… The
Spotlight Theatre, 4:30pm Tue Jan 21 Beginning Ballet: Ages 5-6, Saturdays thru May
16; dancers learn ballet fundamentals and concepts… Ballet II: Teacher Recommended Only, Mondays Intermediate/Advanced Poms: Teacher
5th-8th Grade Improv, Thursdays thru Apr. 23, for Davenport Junior Theatre, 9am Sat Jan 11 thru May 11; dancers continue the formal training in… Recommended Only, Wednesdays thru May 13;
grades 5-8; improv is an… The Spotlight Theatre, 5pm Davenport Junior Theatre, 4:15pm Mon Jan 13 dancers will challenge themselves with intricate…
Thu Jan 23 Beginning Tap: Ages 5-6, Saturdays thru May 16; Davenport Junior Theatre, 7:15pm Wed Jan 15
dancers are sure to have fun… Davenport Junior Theatre, Ballet III: Teacher Recommended Only, Mondays
S.K.I.T. Winter 2020 Session, for grades K-3; a 10am Sat Jan 11 thru May 11; dancers continue training learned in Poms I: Teacher Recommended Only, Wednesdays
beginners class where students will learn… The previous… Davenport Junior Theatre, 5:30pm Mon thru May 13; dancers continue their practice in jazz…
Spotlight Theatre, 4:30pm Mon Jan 27 Budding Ballerinas: Ages 3-4, Saturdays thru May Jan 13 Davenport Junior Theatre, 6pm Wed Jan 15
16; our tiniest dancers learn ballet fundamentals…
Davenport Junior Theatre, 9:10am Sat Jan 11 Ballet III: Teacher Recommended Only, Mondays Poms: Ages 10+, Wednesdays thru May 13; class
thru May 11; dancers continue training learned in with focus on proper jazz… Davenport Junior Theatre,
Ballet I: Teacher Recommended Only, Mondays previous… Davenport Junior Theatre, 7pm Mon Jan 13 6:30pm Wed Jan 15
thru May 11; this class introduces the formal study…
Davenport Junior Theatre, 6pm Mon Jan 13 Ballet: Ages 10+, Mondays thru May 11; dancers learn Poms: Ages 7-9, Wednesdays thru May 13; class with
ballet fundamentals at the… Davenport Junior Theatre, focus on proper jazz… Davenport Junior Theatre,
7:15pm Mon Jan 13 4:15pm Wed Jan 15
CURRENT EXHIBITIONS Beginning Ballet: Ages 5-6, Mondays thru May 11; Beginning Hip Hop: Ages 5-6, Thursdays thru May
dancers learn ballet fundamentals and concepts… 14; this style is for dancers who… Davenport Junior
Davenport Junior Theatre, 5pm Mon Jan 13 Theatre, 5:30pm Thu Jan 16

Budding Ballerinas: Ages 3-4, Mondays thru May Beginning Hip Hop: Ages 7+, Thursdays thru May 14;
11; our tiniest dancers learn ballet fundamentals… this style is for dancers who… Davenport Junior Theatre,
Davenport Junior Theatre, 4pm Mon Jan 13 4:15pm Thu Jan 16

Advanced Tumble, Tuesdays thru May 12; ffor those Homeschool Ballet I/II: Age 7+, Thursdays thru May
who have mastered basic… Davenport Junior Theatre, 14; students continue the formal training in… Davenport
7:10pm Tue Jan 14 Junior Theatre, 9:15am Thu Jan 16

Tap/Jazz I: Ages 7+, Tuesdays thru May 12; students Homeschool Beginning Ballet: Ages 5-6, Thursdays
will use special shoes for… Davenport Junior Theatre, thru May 14; dancers learn ballet fundamentals and
4:15pm Tue Jan 14 concepts… Davenport Junior Theatre, 10am Thu Jan 16

Tap/Jazz II: Teacher Recommended Only, Tuesdays

thru May 12; students continue progressing in their tap…
Davenport Junior Theatre, 5:35pm Tue Jan 14

Portrait of Maquoketa Tap/Jazz III: Teacher Recommended Only,

Tuesdays thru May 12; for students who have mastered
the… Davenport Junior Theatre, 7pm Tue Jan 14

and The Storytelling Tree Tumble Tots: Ages 3-4, Tuesdays thru May 12; our
preschool floor gymnastic classes teach… Davenport
Junior Theatre, 5pm Tue Jan 14
CLOSING FEBRUARY 2
Tumble: Ages 5-7, Tuesdays thru May 12; floor
gymnastics for the beginning tumbler;… Davenport
Sponsored by: Cal and Jill Werner Junior Theatre, 4pm Tue Jan 14

Tumble: Ages 8+, Tuesdays thru May 12; floor

gymnastics for the beginning tumbler;… Davenport
Junior Theatre, 6pm Tue Jan 14
Don A. and Connie Decker
Beginning Ballet: Ages 5-6, Wednesdays thru May
Rose Frantzen (artist), Charles Morris (engineering assis- 13; dancers learn ballet fundamentals and concepts…
tance), John Frantzen (audio composition), Portrait of Davenport Junior Theatre, 4pm Wed Jan 15
Maquoketa (detail), 2005-2012, oil on multiple panels
with audio composition, Museum purchase with funds Beginning Poms: Ages 5-6, Wednesdays thru May
Charles Morris, 7-As time passed, 2019, pencil on contributed by multiple donors and the Figge Art Museum 13; class with focus on proper jazz… Davenport Junior
paper, © image Courtesy of the Artist Friends of Art Acquisitions Fund, 2015.1 Theatre, 5:30pm Wed Jan 15

Budding Ballerinas: Ages 3-4, Wednesdays thru

Davenport, Iowa • 563.326.7804 May 13; our tiniest dancers learn ballet fundamentals…
www.figgeartmuseum.org Davenport Junior Theatre, 5pm Wed Jan 15
Brantley Gilbert @ TaxSlayer Center – January 30
Know More, Do More • RiverCitiesReader.com River Cities’ Reader • Vol. 27 No. 969 • January 2020 13
SPORTS Quad City Storm vs. Peoria, professional minor-
league hockey; for information and tickets, call 309-794-
2001, TaxSlayer Center, 1201 River Dr, Moline IL,
Quad City Storm vs. Peoria, professional minor- TaxSlayerCenter.com, 7:10pm Fri Jan 31
league hockey; for information and tickets, call 309-794-
2001, TaxSlayer Center, 1201 River Dr, Moline IL, Quad City Storm vs. Peoria: The Storm’s Hockey
TaxSlayerCenter.com, 7:10pm Fri Jan 10 Fights Cancer Game, professional minor-league
hockey; for information and tickets, call 309-794-2001,
Quad City Storm vs. Peoria, professional minor- TaxSlayer Center, 1201 River Dr, Moline IL,
league hockey; for information and tickets, call 309-794- TaxSlayerCenter.com, 7:10pm Sat Feb 1
2001, TaxSlayer Center, 1201 River Dr, Moline IL,
TaxSlayerCenter.com, 7:10pm Sat Jan 11

Quad City Storm vs. Knoxville, professional minor- OTHER EVENTS

league hockey; for information and tickets, call 309-794-
2001, TaxSlayer Center, 1201 River Dr, Moline IL, Seeking Nominations: 21th Annual Eddy Awards,
TaxSlayerCenter.com, 7:10pm Fri Jan 24 thru Sun Jan 26 thru Jan. 25; seeking nominations for the awards
presented in… River Action, thru Sat Jan 25
Quad City Storm vs. Knoxville, professional minor-
league hockey; for information and tickets, call 309-794- English Conversation Cafe, practice your English
2001, TaxSlayer Center, 1201 River Dr, Moline IL, with no pressure, and make new friends… Davenport
TaxSlayerCenter.com, 7:10pm Sat Jan 25 Public Library - Fairmount Street Branch, noon Thu Jan 9
Kyung Kim and Michael Kim in the QCSO’s Masterworks IV: Love
Quad City Storm vs. Knoxville, professional minor- Formal Wear Dropoff, donate clean and gently used
@ Adler Theatre and Augustana College – February 1 and 2 league hockey; for information and tickets, call 309-794- formal wear to help support… Davenport Public Library
2001, TaxSlayer Center, 1201 River Dr, Moline IL, - Fairmount Street Branch, 9am Fri Jan 10
TaxSlayerCenter.com, 1pm Sun Jan 26

MUSEUMS
Homeschool Beginning Tap: Ages 5-7, Thursdays Dungeons & Dragons Nights, on Wednesdays; for
thru May 14; using special tap shoes to make… information, call 309-788-8247… Big Swing Brewing
Davenport Junior Theatre, 9am Thu Jan 16 Company, 6pm Wed Jan 15 thru Wed Feb 5
Gold Coast Glass: Works from the German Home,
Homeschool Beginning Tap: Ages 8+, Thursdays exhibit eaturing selections of stained glass from the…
thru May 14; using special tap shoes to make… German American Heritage Center, thru Sun Jan 12
Davenport Junior Theatre, 10:45am Thu Jan 16
Witness to the Revolution: Accounts from
Homeschool Budding Ballerinas: Ages 3-4, Americans Who Were There, exhibit on what
Thursdays thru May 14; our tiniest dancers learn ballet happened when communism fell in Europe… German
fundamentals… Davenport Junior Theatre, 11:15am Thu American Heritage Center, thru Thu Feb 6
Jan 16
Putnam Museum Guild Monthly Tea, this month’s
Intermediate Tumble, Thursdays thru May 14; for program consists of “Museum Surprise” by Christina
students who have mastered the… Davenport Junior Kastell,… Putnam Museum & Science Center, 1pm Thu
Theatre, 6pm Thu Jan 16 Jan 30

Intermediate/Advanced Hip Hop: Teacher

Recommended Only, Thursdays thru May 14; for
dancers who have mastered the… Davenport Junior MOVIES
Theatre, 6:30pm Thu Jan 16
Recent Releases, movies fresh from the theater with
Teacher Recommended Lyrical Dance: Ages 10+, free popcorn and drinks;… Davenport Public Library -
Thursdays thru May 14; a combination of ballet, jazz, Eastern Avenue Branch, 2pm Fri Jan 10
and… Davenport Junior Theatre, 7:20pm Thu Jan 16
Monday Movie of the Month, free; for information,
Tumble Tots: Ages 3-4, Thursdays thru May 14; our call 563-344-4175 or e-mail info@bettendorflibrary.
preschool floor gymnastic classes teach… Davenport com… Bettendorf Public Library, 6pm Mon Jan 13
Junior Theatre, 4pm Thu Jan 16
The Public, movie screening followed one week later
Tumble: Ages 5-7, Thursdays thru May 14; floor by a community conversation on homelessness in
gymnastics for the beginning tumbler;… Davenport Rock Island; movie content may not be suitable for all
Junior Theatre, 5pm Thu Jan 16 audiences; free; for information, call 309-732-7323, Rock
Island Public Library - Downtown Library, 401 19th St.,
4th-8th Musical Theatre Dance, Wednesdays thru Rock Island, IL, RockIslandLibrary.org, 5:30pm Tue Jan 14
Apr. 15; class will focus on jazz dance… The Spotlight
Theatre, 5pm Wed Jan 22 Tuesday Cinema, join us for a popular movie recently
released to DVD;… Davenport Public Library - Main
K-3rd Musical Theatre Dance, Wednesdays thru Apr. Branch, 2:30pm Tue Jan 14
15; class will focus on jazz dance… The Spotlight Theatre,
4pm Wed Jan 22 Rear Window, a screening in the Afternoon Classics
series; free; for information,… Davenport Public Library -
Pre-K Musical Theatre Dance, Thursdays thru Apr. Eastern Avenue Branch, 2pm Wed Jan 15
23; class will focus on jazz dance… The Spotlight Theatre,
4pm Thu Jan 23 Cinema at Southwest, a free and fun movie series
showing movies just released on DVD; light refreshments
provided; for information, call 309-732-7323, Rock Island

COMEDY Public Library - Southwest Branch, 9010 Ridgewood Rd.,

Rock Island, IL, RockIslandLibrary.org, 10am Thu Jan 16

Holiday Ho Ho Hoedown, comedy-whodunit Hesburgh, two screenings of the feature-length

dinner theatre with the comedians of It’s a Mystery… documentary about America’s most well-known…
Skellington Manor Banquet & Event Center, 6:30pm Fri Galvin Fine Arts Center - St. Ambrose University, 3pm Sat
Jan 10 thru Sat Jan 11 Jan 18 thru Sun Jan 19

Broken Saddle Comedy Open Mic, if you’ve ever Modulations: Cinema for the Ear, documentary
been called “the funny guy” at work, try out your featuring a brief history of electronic music; free; for…
material … Broken Saddle, 8:30pm Tue Jan 14 thru Tue Rozz-Tox, 6pm Sun Jan 19
Feb 4
Sons & Daughters of Thunder, local filmmakers
Circa ‘21 Speakeasy Laugh Hard Comedy Tammy and Kelly Rundle will screen and discuss…
Show, event featuring some of the funniest stand-up Moline Public Library, 6pm Thu Feb 6
comedians from across… The Circa ‘21 Speakeasy, 8pm
Fri Jan 24

Tomfoolery on Tremont 46: Kevin Bozeman, an

evening with the standup comedian on his … Renwick
Mansion, 8pm Sun Jan 26
14 River Cities’ Reader • Vol. 27 No. 969 • January 2020 Know More, Do More • RiverCitiesReader.com

THEATRE Continued From Page 4 By Rochelle Arnold, Pamela Briggs, and Madeline Dudziak

Picks o’ Six 2019

Highlights from the Year in Area Theatre
establishing themselves as one of musical Lead Actress
history’s great duet teams.
Cory Johnson, Biloxi Blues, Mississippi Hillary Erb, Billy Elliot: The Musical,
Bend Players (Rochelle). Under Johnson’s Spotlight Theatre (Rochelle). Erb was
outstanding direction, Biloxi Blues was dazzling in her role as Billy’s hardcore,
brilliantly funny and inspiring. With the edgy dance coach Mrs. Wilkinson. With
Brunner Theatre transformed into the bar- a cigarette dangling from her mouth, the
racks of a diverse mix of soldiers, I felt like I performer was absolutely believable as she
was attending an off-Broadway production, instructed Billy in the art of movement, and
I laughed until I cried, and all the actors she drew me into her character with subtle,
made me truly feel their raw emotions. captivating body language.
David M. Miller, Assassins, Black Box Mattie Gelaude, Five Women Wearing
Theatre (Pamela). This isn’t a fun, feel-good the Same Dress, Playcrafters Barn Theatre
musical – it’s complex and sometimes ugly (Pamela). I felt like I was in the room with
– and the concepts and large cast would be this production’s women, and in a cast of
excellent naturalistic actors, Gelaude was Jazmin Mendez-Barradas, Elle Winchester, Emmalee Hilburn, Mattie Gelaude, Payton Brasher, and
difficult to manage even in a bigger venue. Stephanie Moeller in the Playcrafters Barn Theatre’s Five Women Wearing the Same Dress
Yet Miller pulled it all off, making it accept- outstandingly genuine. Her complex Mer-
able to laugh at killers’ dark emotions and edith sulked, but didn’t disappear; she
Chelsea Ward, Sister Act, Quad City and terrific stage presence, and there was
be touched by their tumult. shouted, but didn’t overdo. Gelaude’s envi-
Music Guild (Rochelle). Ward really never a dull moment in Odenkirk’s always-
Max Moline, Gruesome Playground able acting skills, evident in every role, were
brought the funk to this lively musical, and interesting, always-sharp performance.
Injuries, QC Theatre Workshop (Mad- in full bloom here.
I loved watching her saunter about the stage This guy definitely has the “it” factor.
eline). Moline took two actors and two Kitty Israel and Emma Regnier, The
while showing off her stellar vocals. She Ian Sodawasser, Big: The Musical, Spot-
benches and turned them into a story that Merry Wives of Windsor, Prenzie Players
has enormous charisma and is marvelous light Theatre (Rochelle). Sodawasser was
spanned 20 years and many different loca- (Madeline). On their own, both Israel and
in everything that I’ve seen her in – which, incredibly adorable and childlike in his
tions. He also pushed Tristan Odenkirk Rangier were great. But what made these
if you include local television commercials, role as the suddenly adult Josh, and his silly
and Joanna Mills to emotionally charged two brilliant was the way they worked
is quite a bit. grin, fancy dancing on an oversized key-
extremes that were as beautiful as they were together to bring down Shakespeare’s Fal-
Megan Warren, The Spitfire Grill, Spot- board, and all-around great acting were
balanced in comedy and tragedy. staff. Jake Walker’s direction made these
light Theatre (Madeline). The role of the delightful. Casting this actor as the lead in
Lara Tenckhoff, A Gentleman’s Guide two stars shine brightly, and the merry
redemption-seeking Percy is a huge under- Big was spot-on for the Spotlight.
to Love & Murder, Clinton Area Showboat wives, who well-played their titular roles,
taking, but in Warren’s hands, it felt like an Calvin Vo, Avenue Q, Playcrafters
Theatre (Pamela). Tenckhoff put together deserve many accolades.
easy one. Plus, the music perfectly suited Barn Theatre (Pamela). Playing changing
an energetic, fun-to-watch, near-flawless Cory Johnson, The Goat, or Who Is
her voice. From its opening notes to its final emotions throughout a show is challeng-
production of this new-ish musical. The Sylvia?, QC Theatre Workshop (Pamela).
bow, director Kelsey Walljasper’s show was ing enough. It’s next-level acting to do so
strong, Broadway-level acting, singing, Many actors are expert comedians; others
brilliant, thanks largely in part to Warren. with one hand encased in foam, portraying
and dancing of the young cast elevated the are masters of tragedy; some are both. Few,
everything with both puppet and face – and
though, can hit such highs and lows in one
farcical material to virtuoso territory, and
show as Johnson did. She was funny, furi- Lead Actor while singing and dancing, yet. Amidst a
while the script could easily have been over- heavily talented cast, Vo really shone. His
played, the performances were delightfully ous, and anguished over the unimaginable Adam Cerny, Silent Sky, Black Box
expressions alone could’ve carried the
nuanced and wholly entertaining. betrayal by her character’s husband, and Theatre (Pamela). Always terrific, Cerny
story.
made Johnson’s difficult role a real, raw floored me in this production, with his
Tom Walljasper, Shear Madness, Circa
woman. serious, dedicated scientist Peter becoming
‘21 Dinner Playhouse (Madeline). Walljas-
a hilariously clumsy schoolboy upon seeing
per’s been in everything and is always good,
his crush. After one particular entrance, he
but he took things to a whole different level
struggled to speak, but left after 15 seconds
in Warner Crocker’s interactive comedy.
of silent acting that was the funniest thing
With apparent ease, Walljasper, as Tony,
I’ve seen all year.
was personable, hilarious, and incredibly
Rob Keech, Beauty & the Beast, Quad
clever, and his pre-show antics were as won-
City Music Guild (Madeline). I know that
derful as the scripted production – it was
Gaston is the villain, but I’d 100-percent
“shear” genius.
watch a spin-off musical about this chau-
vinistic hunter … so long as it starred
Keech. With his swoon-worthy vocals, Featured Actress
no wonder there was a chorus of fawning Marissa Elliott, Jesus Christ Superstar,
females following his every move in Bob Quad City Music Guild (Rochelle). Boast-
Williams’ tale (as old as time). ing a dark, brooding countenance as the
Tristan Odenkirk, Biloxi Blues, Missis- evil Annas that was especially compelling,
sippi Bend Players (Rochelle). Odenkirk Elliott’s intensity blended with great stage
was brilliant as the lovable, aspiring Brook- presence and a creepy foreboding that I
lyn writer Eugene Morris Jerome. Clearly a found fascinating. She seems to be a very
consummate professional, he engaged the complex and diverse actress who thor-
Sherry Konjura and Tom Walljasper in the Circa ’21 Dinner Playhouse’s Shear Madness audience with a unique East Coast accent oughly enjoys performing.
Know More, Do More • RiverCitiesReader.com River Cities’ Reader • Vol. 27 No. 969 • January 2020 15
Matie Gelaude, The Crucible, Playcraft- Peggy Freeman, 42nd Street, Quad City
ers Barn Theatre (Rochelle). The way that Music Guild (Pamela). When a big musical
Gelaude contorted her face, stared out is about staging a big musical, the costumes
into the audience, and appeared to look must be spectacular, and Freeman’s were.
right through her co-stars was captivat- She ultra-glamorized stars for stunning
ing and eerie. She made her bewitching entrances, transformed chorus girls into
character Abigail riveting, fascinating, enormous glittery coins, made sure white
and frightening, and I was simply mes- tuxedos were dance-worthy, and handled
merized by Gelaude’s hauntingly beautiful dozens of other ensembles with flair.
performance. Gregory Hiatt, Holiday Inn, Circa
Emmalee Hilburn, Assassins, Black ‘21 Dinner Playhouse (Rochelle). Hiatt’s
Box Theatre (Pamela). There are several 1940s costume designs were smart and
comedic bits in this heavy musical, but sassy, and from the men’s suspenders to the
Hilburn brought both humor and human- women’s colorful and intricate bonnets, all
ity. While her Sara Jane Moore was onstage, of the fabrics were high-quality with a lot
I could breathe easier and enjoy the levity, of flair and consistency. This designer never
even if seeing this average woman plotting disappoints and always complements what-
to kill was a chilling reminder that murder- ever production he’s involved with.
ers are people, not monsters. Cory Johnson, A Doll’s House, Part 2,
Mind Punyanuch-Pornsakulpaisal, QC Theatre Workshop (Madeline). I don’t
Dames at Sea, Mississippi Bend Players think director David Bonde’s Ibsen contin-
(Pamela). A musical should have a cast Joseph Lasher and Quinnie Rodman in St. Ambrose University’s The Little Prince uation would have been nearly as success-
with amazing singing and dancing skills, ful without Johnson’s gorgeous costumes,
as this one did. All musicals should boast a
luminary like Punyanuch-Pornsakulpaisal.
Featured Actor the gravedigger in Alaina Pascarella’s open- something I didn’t give nearly enough
credit to in February: three dresses and a
air Shakespeare – it was hilarious. In a show
Her impressive voice, exceptional dancing, Kevin Babbitt and Michael Kelly, that puts a capital “T” on Tragedy, this was suit that perfectly set the stage for who these
and compelling presence made her excep- The 39 Steps, Richmond Hill Barn The- welcome, particularly noteworthy relief. characters were and what they represented
tionally delightful in her role as Joan. This atre (Pamela). This pair played multiple Brycen Witt, How to Succeed in Busi- to society. Brava!
young woman will no doubt continue to incidental roles, and some pivotal ones, ness Without Really Trying, Augustana Alexis Lotspeich, Miracle on 34th
astound. with numerous changes in costume and College (Pamela). A great comedian and Street, Spotlight Theatre (Rochelle). This
Elizabeth Shaffer, Blithe Spirit, Rich- demeanor. Kelly, a real-life model good guy, seriously adept dancer, Witt deployed both was the last show I reviewed this year – a
mond Hill Barn Theatre (Madeline). Every effectively played stern and evil (among skills as nepotism’s poster boy Bud, who has fi lm classic that wound up quite good
single time Shaffer came on stage, whether other things), and Babbitt is a master of it in for a fellow employee. His lines were on-stage – and Lotspeich’s costumes par-
at a dead sprint or an over-exaggerated slow regional British accents, giving credibility funny; his slick interpretations made them ticularly impressed me with their lovely
walk in director Tom Morrow’s escapade, to the main character’s journey. funnier. I grinned every time Witt stepped variety of color and creativity. The ward-
it brought an immediate smile to my face. Adam Beck, Jesus Christ Superstar, onstage, because I knew it was gonna be a robe included everything from animals to
Edith’s employers may not have appreciated Quad City Music Guild (Rochelle). Beck treat. angels to adorable, candy-striped stockings
her gait, but I sure did, and even when pos- had the look (a well-manicured goatee with with bright-green tutus.
sessed, Shaffer was hilarious. slicked-back hair), the voice (richly deep), Sara Wegener, The True Story of the
Jo Vasquez, The Wolves, Playcrafters and the dark countenance with attitude Three Little Pigs, Circa ‘21 Dinner Play-
Barn Theatre (Madeline). It hardly seems that made his role as Jesus Christ Superstar’s house (Madeline). Six months later, I still
fair to single out one player from Cynthia Caiaphas extraordinary. His bass voice appreciate how Wegener transformed
Taylor’s cohesive soccer team. But Vasquez resonated throughout the auditorium and most of the cast into pigs without exces-
stole my heart with her attempts to work straight through my soul. sively piggy details. Keeping it classy was
herself into conversations throughout this Ben Dow, Man of La Mancha, Timber the name of the game, and while all the cos-
tale, with her on-stage soccer skills earn- Lake Playhouse (Rochelle). Dow is one of tumes were fun, keeping the Big Bad Wolf
ing her a spot on a team overflowing with those extremely talented actors whom you in business-casual really elevated director
drama, love, and commitment. never forget. His melodic voice is one of the Ashley Mills Becher’s entire production.
best around, and as the Padre in Man of La
Mancha, he stole scenes with his simple but
intense expressions. With roaming eyes
Scenic/Lighting Design
and raised eyebrows, Dow always kept me Joe Cantalupo and David Goldstein,
engaged. The Little Mermaid, Timber Lake Play-
Josh Malone, One Flew Over the Cuck- house (Rochelle). Goldstein pulled off one
oo’s Nest, Richmond Hill Barn Theatre Adam Sanders and Adam Beck in Quad City of the year’s most creative scenic designs,
(Madeline). In director Dana Skiles’ show, Music Guild’s Jesus Christ Superstar utilizing recyclable-plastic milk jugs, water
Malone played naïve Billy Babbit with a bottles, and other odds and ends to repli-
perfect stutter and bashful quality that Costuming cate bubbles under the sea, making for a
made him incredibly endearing, as was his Ellen Dixon, She Kills Monsters, Augus- cool 3D effect. And Cantalupo’s lighting
goofy grin while clutching his stuffed-ani- tana College (Pamela). In the fantasy complemented the set with its blue and
mal friend. Malone’s extreme range of emo- world of Dungeons & Dragons, monsters purple hues shimmering like actual water.
tions delivered in a matter of minutes at the are sundry and plentiful. Dixon created Brittany Crist Robert Crist, and Bob
climax was profoundly heartbreaking. amazing, mobile amalgams of costumes Williams, Beauty & the Beast, Quad
Aaron Sullivan, Hamlet, Genesius and puppets for the Monster Melee Chorus, City Music Guild (Madeline). Williams
Guild (Madeline). Don’t get me wrong: some involving makeup effects. These huge, directed and designed a huge show in a
Sullivan’s larger role of Polonius was cer- bizarre creatures made the battles especially relatively modest space, and every location
tainly enjoyable. But when, after Polonius’ tense. The humanoids were also pleasingly was spot-on. (My favorite was Belle’s house,
Mind Punyanuch-Pornsakulpaisal and Rami Halabi death, Sullivan reappeared – this time as clad, particularly Tilly and Farrah.
in the Mississippi Bend Players’ Dames at Sea Continued On Page 16
16 River Cities’ Reader • Vol. 27 No. 969 • January 2020 Know More, Do More • RiverCitiesReader.com

THEATRE Continued From Page 15 By Rochelle Arnold, Pamela Briggs, and Madeline Dudziak

Picks o’ Six 2019

Highlights from the Year in Area Theatre
which was loaded with detail.) When The Miracle, Matilda: The Musical,
paired up with the Crists’ lighting designs Spotlight Theatre (Madeline). Director
for the magical transformation at the end? Sara Tubbs, choreographer Steph DeLacy,
Absolutely fabulous. and music director Megan Warren gifted
Phil Cathoir and Jennifer Kingry, audiences with perhaps the most well-
The Crucible, Playcrafters Barn Theatre rounded nine-minute opening scene/song/
(Rochelle). Kingry’s lighting design was dance number I’ve ever witnessed. “The
subtle and ethereal in setting the tone for Miracle” had everything. Strollers. Clowns.
each scene, while the rustic-looking scen- Kids. Confusion. Cake. Mesh hospital
ery built by Cathoir was simple yet effective, underwear. Exuberant dancing. Brilliant
with its rich woodwork popping against the vocals. It was, frankly, miraculous.
black stage. The ambiance was amazing and The Tapping, 42nd Street, Quad City
really added so much to this show. Music Guild (Pamela). This showy tap
Whitney Lehn Meltz and Cameron L. routine was a classic, cheery, colossal wave
Strandin, Mamma Mia!, Timber Lake goodbye to the audience after an evening
Playhouse (Pamela). Th is breathtaking Maggie Woolley and Aaron Sullivan in the Prenzie Players’ Macbeth packed with fabulous songs and dances.
revolving set evoked Greece with its rustic The line of performers filled Music Guild’s
circular white walls and steps, blue doors, big stage with smiles and energetic, sophis-
flowers, and vines. Meltz crafted spaces for
general-store/bait-shop owner, visits a new Memorable Moment ticated steps. In gorgeous garb and backed
arrival – another kind soul. He returns and
scenes indoors (bedroom) and outdoors literally sings her praises in “An Angel,” The Farewell, The Little Prince, St. by a live orchestra, they were thrilling.
(tiki bar), while Strandin bathed it in hot and Payonk’s face seemed lit from within as Ambrose University (Pamela). Joseph The Uplift, Marie & Rosetta, Playcraft-
yellow sunlight, dappled it with gentle wonder, joy, and tenderness filled his voice. Lasher and Quinnie Rodman played their ers Barn Theatre (Rochelle). I was having
moonlight, and electrified it with flashing This unexpectedly transcendent operatic roles with puppets, their tones naïve and a particularly bad day when I saw this, but
disco pulses. number was astounding. straightforward, but still heartfelt. Rodman was completely uplifted, with tears of joy,
Aaron Randolph III, The Goat, or The Last Five Years, Black Box The- skillfully made her marionette Fox move singing along to its gospel songs with Sister
Who Is Sylvia?, QC Theatre Workshop atre (Madeline). You’ve got to appreciate like a real canid, and when she jumped into Rosetta Tharpe (Teresa A. Moore) and pro-
(Madeline). I imagine designing a set that the Black Box for using live musicians for Lasher’s Little Prince’s arms, it was heart- tégé Marie Knight (Chelsea Ward). The eve-
represents the house of an award-winning- their musicals, and director David Miller’s breaking, making me think of those I’ve ning was refreshing and encouraging – just
architect character would be daunting. But musical featured excellent accompaniment loved and lost. what the doctor ordered.
if Randolph was worried, it wasn’t evident thanks to music director Jonathan Tuner The Handsomeness, Into the Woods, The Walrus(es), The Little Prince, QC
in the show’s charming, modern-looking on keyboard, Josie Trenary on violin, and Timber Lake Playhouse (Rochelle). Theatre Workshop and St. Ambrose Uni-
living room. Catherine Bodenbender’s pre- Michael Wahlmann on cello. I can still hear What’s not to love? Underneath a beauti- versity (Madeline). It can be lonely when
sentation also required lots of (replaceable) “The Schmuel Song” like it was yesterday. ful glowing moon and perched atop the set your favorite animal is the oft-forgotten
details to make the set feel like home. Ran- Mamma Mia!, Timber Lake Play- looking over the audience, the charmingly walrus. Imagine my seven-year-old’s
dolph delivered. house (Pamela). The hyper-talented Lara handsome princes portrayed by Logan delight, then, when they were mentioned
RaeEllen Walker, How to Succeed in Hayhurst, as Tanya, was at the top of her Dolence and Conor Jordan were quite the in this QCTW production – twice! Months
Business Without Really Trying, Augus- comedy game. And when Logan Dolence’s pair. They were incredible together, bounc- later, we noticed that Daniel Rairdin-Hale’s
tana College (Pamela). Walker’s beautiful Pepper pursued her, Tanya took charge and ing one-liners off each other in the most SAU version trimmed walruses down to
set also looked as solid as a real building, told him energetically with voice, face, and comical of ways. one mention ... but comparing the perfor-
with the floor painted with multi-colored body to back off. The fantastic backing sing- mances was topnotch fun!
inlays and a black marble effect, curved ers and dancers helped make “Does Your
staircases to a second level, and columns Mother Know” a showstopper.
with gold trim. The changing light cues She Kills Monsters, Playcrafters Barn
softened the angular look. What a lovely Theatre (Madeline). Thank you, Eric
place in which to perform. Teeter, for a sound design that so perfectly
set the scene. His pre-show score featured
Music/Sound “Jump Around” by House of Pain, which
The Best of the Bootleggers, Circa ‘21 mentally placed me in the 1990s before I
Dinner Playhouse (Rochelle). Conceived realized that was exactly the time period we
and written by Brad Hauskins with musi- were going to in Jaclyn Marta’s production.
cal arrangement by Laura Hammes, this The Who’s Tommy, Clinton Area Show-
production was a stunning compilation of boat Theatre (Rochelle). With its powerful
oldies but goodies. Enjoying some of the Pete Townshend tunes and musical direc-
best pre-show material in the Bootleggers’ tion courtesy of Laurie Lewis, this rock
43-season history, I was blown away with opera cranked up the volume and deliv-
the high level of professionalism and fabu- ered memorable songs including “See Me,
lous choice of songs. Feel Me,” “Pinball Wizard,” “I’m Free,”
Grumpy Old Men: The Musical, and “We’re Not Gonna Take It.” The lyrics,
Circa ‘21 Dinner Playhouse (Pamela). meanwhile, tell the story in the most fan-
John Payonk’s Chuck, this show’s affable tastic way. Ensemble members in the Spotlight Theatre’s Miracle on 34th Street
 Know More, Do More • RiverCitiesReader.com River Cities’ Reader • Vol. 27 No. 969 • January 2020 17
Lawn Caretaker Focus Group Meeting, University
CONTINUED

OTHER EVENTS of Illinois Extension and Illinois-Indiana Sea Grant are

trying… Rock Island County Extension, 6pm Thu Jan 16

QCMUG (Quad Cities Macintosh Users Group)

Viva La Divas Drag Show, featuring award-winning Meeting, with a special program/presentation on
performers from across the Midwest; $10-12; for Macintosh Applications or hardware, and… Bettendorf
tickets… The Circa ‘21 Speakeasy, 8pm Fri Jan 17 Public Library, 6:30pm Tue Jan 21

CINCH World’s Toughest Rodeo, the nation’s best LeClaire Chamber of Commerce Annual Awards
bucking broncs and… TaxSlayer Center, 7:30pm Fri Jan Dinner, for information, call 563-289-9970 or e-mail
17 and Sat Jan 18 [email protected]… Davenport Country
Club, Sat Jan 25
2020 Martin Luther King Jr. Day Community
Celebration, themed “Rise,” the annual celebration Gettin’ Stitchy with It, a get-together for anyone
features art, poetry, dance, and music,… Centennial Hall, with an itch to stitch; bring your project and work on it
Augustana College, 6pm Sat Jan 18 in company with other crafters; share common interests
and connections; free; for information, call 309-732-7323,
Formal Wear Giveaway, local area high school Rock Island Public Library - Downtown Library, 401 19th
students can browse the donations and… Davenport St., Rock Island, IL, RockIslandLibrary.org, 2pm Thu Jan
Public Library - Fairmount Street Branch, 2pm Sat Jan 18 30

Icestravaganza, seventh-annual event featuring Ecumenical Fellowship Church Luncheon,

ice sculptures, live carving demonstrations, kids’ lunchtime discussions on the first Saturday of the month;
activities,… Freight House, 11am Sat Jan 18 for… Bad Boy’z RME, noon Sat Feb 1

Icestravaganza After-Party, featuring ice sculptures Quad Cities Social Action Committee, for
dramatically lit, craft beers from Front Street… Freight information, call 309-236-7113 or e-mail e-fellowship@
House, 6pm Sat Jan 18 hotmail.com; presented by Ecumenical Fellowship…
Bad Boy’z RME, noon Sat Feb 1
Taste of LeClaire, receive free food and beverage
samples from various shops, restaurants,… Downtown Victims of Animal Control, lunchtime discussions on
LeClaire, 1pm Sat Jan 18 the first Saturday of the month; show… Bad Boy’z RME,
Kelly Schnell artwork @ Quad City Arts International Airport Gallery – through March 3 noon Sat Feb 1
Trivia Night in LeClaire, tables of 8; $10 per person;
Mulligans and refreshments available… LeClaire Civic Victims of DHS, lunchtime discussions on the first
Center, 6:30pm Sat Jan 18 Engineering: Bridges, free; for information, call Living Lands & Waters, join us to learn more about Saturday of the month; show… Bad Boy’z RME, noon
563-344-4175 or e-mail [email protected]… the history of this… Davenport Public Library - Eastern Sat Feb 1
Bald Eagle Day, … Downtown LeClaire, Sun Jan 19 Bettendorf Public Library, 11:30am Tue Jan 14 Avenue Branch, 2pm Mon Feb 3
Goose Hollow Meditation Garden Open for
Taizé Prayer at Humility of Mary Center, led by Sr AMp Up Morning Networking: The Economic Outdoor Prayer, at 1006 Western Ave., Davenport; for
Margaret Linda Clewell & BJ Keegan; Taizé… Humility of
Mary Center, 6:30pm Sun Jan 19
Impact of Quad Cities Minor League Professional
Sports Teams, hear from representatives from all COURSES information, call 309-236-7113; free;… Goose Hollow, Sat
Feb 1 thru Thu Feb 6
teams on the economic impact… Jumer’s Casino &
Taizé Vigil Service, led by Sr Margaret Linda Clewell & Hotel, 7am Wed Jan 15 Clearing Out in the New Year, Thursdays thru Jan.
BJ Keegan; free-will… Humility of Mary Center, 6:30pm
Sun Jan 19 Caucus Coach, we’ve invited professionals from both
30; $35; for information and to register,… Black Hawk
College - Quad City Campus, 6pm Thu Jan 9 HEALTH
parties to help teach you… Davenport Public Library -
Dr. Martin Luther King Jr. Memorial Service & Eastern Avenue Branch, 5pm Wed Jan 15 Cooking with Catalina, at the McGehee Center; learn Adult Swim Class, Thursdays thru Feb. 20; learn to
Awards, for information, call 309-732-2999… Martin how to make Tamales and… Silvis Public Library, 1pm swim or perfect your… Black Hawk College - Community
Luther King Jr. Community Center, 10:30am Mon Jan 20 Community Connections: Around the World in Mon Jan 13 Aquatic Center, 7pm Thu Jan 9
One Hour, free; for information, call 563-344-4175 or
Robert Burns Celebration & Dinner, 43rd annual e-mail [email protected]… Bettendorf Public Planning your Garden for Seed Saving, an event Clearing Out in the New Year, Thursdays thru Jan.
event presented by the Scottish American Society of… Library, 1:30pm Thu Jan 16 in the Four Seasons Gardening Webinar Series; join 30; $35; for information and to register,… Black Hawk
Isle Casino Hotel Bettendorf, 5pm Sat Jan 25 Illinois… University of Illinois Extension - Milan, 1:30pm College Outreach Center, 6pm Thu Jan 9
Martin Luther King, Jr. Address, presented by author Tue Jan 14
Adult Chess Club, all of the materials needed for the and public theologian the Reverend Dwight Ford, the… Let’s Yoga with Jennifer Vondracek, on Saturdays;
game are available… Bettendorf Public Library, 6:25pm Gerber Center, Augustana College, 10:30am Mon Jan 20 Master Gardener Training, Fridays thru Apr. 17; for ages 12 & up; Jennifer has extensive training…
Mon Jan 27 Master Gardeners are members of the local… Rock LeClaire Community Library, 10:15am Sat Jan 11 thru
Community Conversation: Homelessness in Rock Island County Extension, 9am Fri Jan 24 Sat Jan 25
Trivia, teams can be the size of 2-8 players; prizes will… Island, a community roundtable discussion about
Davenport Public Library - Eastern Avenue Branch, 6pm homelessness and housing insecurity in Rock Island; Winter Sowing of Seeds, an event in the Four Seasons Yoga at the Figge, held in the Quad City Bank & Trust
Mon Jan 27 free; for information, call 309-732-7323, Rock Island Gardening Webinar Series; join Illinois… University of Grand Lobby; free; for information, call 563-326-7804,
Public Library - Downtown Library, 401 19th St., Rock Illinois Extension - Milan, 1:30pm Tue Jan 28 Figge Art Museum, 225 W. 2nd St., Davenport IA,
Geek Out!, meet fellow nerds and geek out over your Island, IL, RockIslandLibrary.org, 6pm Tue Jan 21 FiggeArtMuseum.org, 10:30am Sat Jan 18
favorite fandoms… Silvis Public Library, 6pm Mon Feb 3 CommUniversity, on Sundays; a series of seminars
Grain Market Outlook, Todd Hubbs, Clinical Assistant taught by local experts… Black Hawk College - Quad City Prevent T2 Diabetes Information Session, wellness
Professor, University of Illinois will discuss… University Campus, 2pm Sun Feb 2 educator Kristin Bogonas will lead this information

LECTURES of Illinois Extension - Milan, 1pm Tue Jan 21 session where… Rock Island County Extension, 5pm
Mon Jan 27

MEETINGS
Attacking Trafficking, with Ann Mohr; this local,
Census Employment Recruitment, an employment Quad Cities faith-based organization is… Davenport
recruiting assistant with the U.S. Census will be… Moline
Public Library, 10:30am Sat Jan 11
Public Library - Main Branch, 6:30pm Thu Jan 23
Moline Public Library Board Meeting, agendas are SENIORS
Chocoholic Paradise, learn about the art of chocolate available prior to the meetings; minutes are available…
A Southern Africa Odyssey: A Mosaic of making from local expert Randyl of Chocolate Manor Moline Public Library, noon Thu Jan 9 Apple iPad Clinic, on Thursdays; $3-5; for information,
Botswana, Namibia, South Africa, and Zimbabwe, in Davenport; learn how chocolate is made and explore call 563-386-7477… CASI (Center for Active Seniors),
learn more about the cultural and natural "tiles"' in this the breadth and intricacies of flavor combinations; along Goose Hollow Meditation Garden Open for 11am Thu Jan 9 thru Thu Feb 6
mosaic of southern Africa that give this region its sense with the talk and demonstration, attendees will be able Outdoor Prayer, at 1006 Western Ave., Davenport; for
of place; presented by Norman “Norm” Moline, professor to sample chocolate made by Chocolate Manor; free; information, call 309-236-7113; free;… Goose Hollow, Billiards, Mon.-Fri.; $2; for information, call 563-386-
emeritus of geography, Augustana College; Moline’s for information, call 309-732-7323, Rock Island Public Thu Jan 9 thru Fri Jan 31 7477… CASI (Center for Active Seniors), 8am Thu Jan 9
talk is based upon a special University of Chicago trip Library - Downtown Library, 401 19th St., Rock Island, IL, thru Thu Feb 6
to southern Africa he attended in March 2019; free; RockIslandLibrary.org, 1pm Sat Jan 25 Hub Huddle, David Ottavianelli, Director, Strategic
for information, call 309-732-7323, Rock Island Public Projects - Labor Relations at John… Quad Cities Euchre, on Thursdays & Fridays; $2-5; for information,
Library - Downtown Library, 401 19th St., Rock Island, IL, Engineering: Bridges, free; for information, call Chamber of Commerce, 9am Fri Jan 10 call 563-386-7477… CASI (Center for Active Seniors),
RockIslandLibrary.org, 6pm Mon Jan 13 563-344-4175 or e-mail [email protected]… 12:45pm Thu Jan 9 thru Thu Feb 6
Bettendorf Public Library, 11:30am Tue Jan 28 Knit/Crochet Circle, on Wednesdays; knit/crochet
How Not to Die: The Role of Diet in Preventing, blanket squares over the winter months; blanket… Line Dancing II, on Thursdays; $3-5; for information,
Arresting, & Reversing Our Top 15 Killers, a screening World Affairs Council of the Quad Cities: Panel Moline Public Library, 5:30pm Wed Jan 15 thru Wed call 563-386-7477… CASI (Center for Active Seniors),
of Dr. Michael Gregor’s presention, with free plant- on the 2020 Iowa Caucus, free; for information, call Feb 5 2:30pm Thu Jan 9 thru Thu Feb 6
based… Moline Public Library, 6pm Mon Jan 13 563-344-4175 or e-mail [email protected]…
Bettendorf Public Library, 7pm Tue Jan 28 Warm Up Wednesdays, get out of the cold and warm Low-Impact Exercise, Mon.-Fri.; $2-5; for information,
People’s Law School, free; for information, call up at the… Davenport Public Library - Main Branch, 3pm call 563-386-7477… CASI (Center for Active Seniors), 9am
563-344-4175 or e-mail [email protected]… 2020 Pond Clinic, in Riverfront Hall Room 103/104; Wed Jan 15 thru Wed Feb 5 Thu Jan 9 thru Thu Feb 6
Bettendorf Public Library, 5:30pm Tue Jan 14 presentations will include information on… Western
Illinois University - Quad Cities, Riverfront, 8am Sat Feb 1
 18 River Cities’ Reader • Vol. 27 No. 969 • January 2020 Know More, Do More • RiverCitiesReader.com

Preschool Storytime, Tue.-Fri. at 10am and Mon.

at 6:30pm; free; for information,… Bettendorf Public
Library, Thu Jan 9 thru Thu Feb 6

Play & Grow, structured play group for ages three and
under with caregiver; talk, sing, read, and play to early
literacy; free; for information, call 309-732-7323, Rock
Island Public Library - Downtown Library, 401 19th St.,
Rock Island, IL, RockIslandLibrary.org, 10:30am Fri Jan 10

Baby Storytime, on Fridays; start building your child’s

early literacy skills; featuring… Davenport Public Library
- Eastern Avenue Branch, 10am Fri Jan 10 thru Fri Jan 31

Drop-in STEAM Space, for ages 8-13 on Mon., Wed.,

& Fri. 4-5pm and Sat. 12:30-5:30pm… Davenport Public
Library - Fairmount Street Branch, Fri Jan 10 thru Wed
Feb 5

Sci Kids Storytime, on Fridays for ages 3 & up; a great

way… Davenport Public Library - Fairmount Street
Branch, 10am Fri Jan 10 thru Fri Jan 31

Kids Crafternoon: Create a Yarn Bowl with Paper

Plate Weaving, create your own yarn bowl with
materials provided; free; for… Silvis Public Library, 2pm
Sat Jan 11

Book Buddies, on Saturdays; your baby, toddler and/

Cinch World’s Toughest Rodeo @ TaxSlayer Center – January 17 and 18 or preschooler can spend some time with… Silvis Public
Library, 10am Sat Jan 11 and Sat Jan 18
CONTINUED

KIDS’ STUFF
Canasta, on Tuesdays; $2-5; for information, call 563- Child’s Play | Create : Explore : Experience, on
SENIORS 386-7477… CASI (Center for Active Seniors), 1pm Tue Jan Saturdays; free; for information, call 563-344-4175 or
14 thru Tue Feb 4 e-mail [email protected]… Bettendorf Public
Creativity Lab: Northern Lights Chalk Art, create Library, 10am Sat Jan 11 thru Sat Jan 25
Knitting & Crocheting, on Tuesdays; volunteer group; your own Aurora Borealis using chalk and pastels on…
New Horizons Band Practice, on Thursdays; $2-5; for free; for information, call 563-386-7477… CASI (Center Moline Public Library, 6pm Thu Jan 9 Lego Club, free; for information, call 563-344-4175 or
information, call 563-386-7477… CASI (Center for Active for Active Seniors), 12:30pm Tue Jan 14 thru Tue Feb 4 e-mail [email protected]… Bettendorf Public
Seniors), 12:30pm Thu Jan 9 thru Thu Feb 6 Environmental Engineering, Thursdays thru Feb. 13, Library, 11:30am Sat Jan 11
Line Dancing I, on Tuesdays; $3-5; for information, call for grades 6-8. with instructor Samuel… Bereskin Gallery
Reflexology Clinic, on Wed. & Thu.; for information, 563-386-7477… CASI (Center for Active Seniors), 9am & Art Academy, 5:30pm Thu Jan 9 Youth Chess Club, for elementary- thru high-school
call 563-386-7477… CASI (Center for Active Seniors), 1pm Tue Jan 14 thru Tue Feb 4 aged students; all of the materials… Bettendorf Public
Thu Jan 9 thru Thu Feb 6 Dance Party Storytime, on Thursdays; dance your Library, 2pm Sat Jan 11
Line Dancing Lesson, on Tuesdays; free; for wiggles out; all ages welcome, but… Davenport Public
Zumba Gold, on Wednesdays at 9am & Thursdays at information, call 563-386-7477… CASI (Center for Active Library - Eastern Avenue Branch, 6pm Thu Jan 9 thru Read to a Dog, QC CAN’s Reading Assistance Dogs are
9:30am; $3-5; for… CASI (Center for Active Seniors), Thu Seniors), 8:30am Tue Jan 14 thru Tue Feb 4 Thu Feb 6 specially trained, along with… Davenport Public Library
Jan 9 thru Thu Feb 6 - Eastern Avenue Branch, 5:30pm Mon Jan 13
Senior Technology Clinic, on Tuesdays; $5-7; for Family Storytime, on Thursdays; program includes
Bingo, on Fridays; no admission fee, card costs are $0.25 information, call 563-386-7477… CASI (Center for Active stories, a song or rhyme and a… Silvis Public Library, Computer Gaming, on Mondays; play Minecraft,
&… CASI (Center for Active Seniors), 12:30pm Fri Jan 10 Seniors), 1pm Tue Jan 14 thru Tue Feb 4 6pm Thu Jan 9 thru Thu Feb 6 Roblox, and other computer games on… Davenport
thru Fri Jan 31 Public Library - Main Branch, 3:30pm Mon Jan 13 thru
Spiritual Devotions, on Tuesdays; free; for Preschool Storytime, on Thursdays; ages 3-5 will Mon Feb 3
Ceramics I & II, on Fridays; $7-11; for information, call information, call 563-386-7477… CASI (Center for Active enjoy stories, rhymes, songs and… Moline Public Library,
563-386-7477… CASI (Center for Active Seniors), 9am Fri Seniors), 8am Tue Jan 14 thru Tue Feb 4 10am Thu Jan 9 thru Thu Feb 6 Homework Heroes, on Mondays; get help solving
Jan 10 thru Fri Jan 31 your homework conundrums; be a… Silvis Public Library,
Bunco, on Wednesdays; $2-5; for information, call 563- STEM Series: Science, on Thursdays; celebrate STEM 4pm Mon Jan 13 thru Mon Feb 3
Golden Tones Chorus Practice, on Fridays; $2-5; for 386-7477… CASI (Center for Active Seniors), 1pm Wed at the library; registration required; free;… Davenport
information, call 563-386-7477… CASI (Center for Active Jan 15 thru Wed Feb 5 Public Library - Eastern Avenue Branch, 3:30pm Thu Jan Make-Believe Monday, for ages 4-8; themed
Seniors), 9am Fri Jan 10 thru Fri Jan 31 9 thru Thu Feb 6 imaginative play that lets you work… Davenport Public
Cribbage, on Wednesdays; $2-5; for information, call Library - Fairmount Street Branch, 4pm Mon Jan 13
Senior Theatre: Second Avenue Players, on Fridays; 563-386-7477… CASI (Center for Active Seniors), 1pm Sewing for Kids, on Thursdays, for ages 8 & up; learn
$2-5; for information, call 563-386-7477… CASI (Center Wed Jan 15 thru Wed Feb 5 basic sewing… Davenport Public Library - Fairmount Preschool Storytime, on Mondays; songs, stories,
for Active Seniors), 10:30am Fri Jan 10 thru Fri Jan 31 Street Branch, 4pm Thu Jan 9 thru Thu Feb 6 and crafts created to introduce your… Davenport Public
Evening Bingo, on Wednesdays; $10 card pack Library - Fairmount Street Branch, 10am Mon Jan 13
Bridge, on Mondays & Fridays; $2-5; for information, minimum purchase; for information, call… CASI (Center Tales for Tots!, on Thursdays; for ages 0-3; Mon. 10am, thru Mon Feb 3
call 563-386-7477… CASI (Center for Active Seniors), for Active Seniors), 6pm Wed Jan 15 thru Wed Feb 5 Thu. 6:30pm; free;… Bettendorf Public Library, 6:30pm
12:30pm Fri Jan 10 thru Mon Feb 3 Thu Jan 9 thru Thu Feb 6 Storytime for Littles, Mondays at 9:30 & 10:45am, for
TOPS (Taking Off Pounds Sensibly), on ages 0-3; nurture your… Moline Public Library, Mon Jan
Ceramics I, on Mondays & Fridays; $7-11; for Wednesdays; 11:30am weigh-in, noon meeting; $1; for 13 thru Mon Feb 3
information, call 563-386-7477… CASI (Center for Active information, call… CASI (Center for Active Seniors),
Seniors), 9:30am Fri Jan 10 thru Mon Feb 3 11:30am Wed Jan 15 thru Wed Feb 5

Genesis Blood Pressure Checks, on Mondays; for T’ai Chi Ch’un, on Wednesdays; $24-36/6 weeks; for
information, call 563-386-7477… CASI (Center for Active information, call 563-386-7477… CASI (Center for Active
Seniors), 9am Mon Jan 13 thru Mon Feb 3 Seniors), 10:25am Wed Jan 15 thru Wed Feb 5

Shuffleboard, on Mondays; $2-5; for information, call Walgreens Medication Review & Blood Pressure
563-386-7477… CASI (Center for Active Seniors), 2:15pm Check, free; for information, call 563-386-7477… CASI
Mon Jan 13 thru Mon Feb 3 (Center for Active Seniors), 10am Thu Jan 16

Ugly Quilts, on Mondays; volunteer group; no sewing Grief Support Group, on the 2nd & 4th Wed. of the
experience necessary; free; for… CASI (Center for Active month; donations… CASI (Center for Active Seniors),
Seniors), 8am Mon Jan 13 thru Mon Feb 3 9:30am Wed Jan 22

Zumba Gold Toning, on Mondays; $3-5; for Classic Movie, $2-5; for information, call 563-386-
information, call 563-386-7477… CASI (Center for Active 7477… CASI (Center for Active Seniors), 1pm Tue Jan 28
Seniors), 10:15am Mon Jan 13 thru Mon Feb 3
Red Hat Club Luncheon, locations vary monthly; for
Genesis Foot Clinic, on Mon. & Tue.; reservations information, call 563-386-7477… CASI (Center for Active
required; for information, call 563-320-3978… CASI Seniors), noon Tue Feb 4
(Center for Active Seniors), 8am Mon Jan 13 thru Tue
Feb 4 Genesis Foot Clinic, reservations required; for
information, call 563-320-3978… CASI (Center for Active
Movie Matinee, $2-5; for information, call 563-386- Seniors), noon Thu Feb 6
7477… CASI (Center for Active Seniors), 1pm Tue Jan 14
Squirrel Nut Zippers @ the Redstone Room – January 29
Know More, Do More • RiverCitiesReader.com River Cities’ Reader • Vol. 27 No. 969 • January 2020 19
Tales for Tots!, on Mondays, for ages 0-3; Mon. 10am, PJ Party Storytime!, come in your slippers and PJs
Thu. 6:30pm; free;… Bettendorf Public Library, 10am with your stuffed animal,… Moline Public Library, 6pm
Mon Jan 13 thru Mon Feb 3 Mon Jan 27

Teen Empowerment Round Table, join us for round Make-Believe Monday, for ages 4-8; themed
table discussions pertaining to current teen… Silvis imaginative play that lets you work… Davenport Public
Public Library, 4:30pm Tue Jan 14 Library - Fairmount Street Branch, 4pm Mon Jan 27

Teen Roblox Gaming, 90 minutes of uninterrupted PNG Dissection: Pig Brain, students in grades 4-10
Roblox gaming; use your own account or create a can learn about animal biology, diet,… Moline Public
new one and enjoy Roblox on library laptops; free; Library, 6pm Mon Jan 27
for information, call 309-732-7323, Rock Island Public
Library - Downtown Library, 401 19th St., Rock Island, IL, Family Caucus: Which Favorite Kids’ Character
RockIslandLibrary.org, 3:30pm Tue Jan 14 should be President?!, an exciting all-ages mock
caucus event where we will choose… Davenport Public
Circle Time, on Tuesdays; we will talk, sing, play, and Library - Fairmount Street Branch, 6pm Tue Jan 28
read during… Davenport Public Library - Eastern Avenue
Branch, 9:30am Tue Jan 14 thru Tue Feb 4 PNG Lego Space Challenge: Part 3, this advanced
series is for students in grades 4-10 who… Moline Public
Girls Love Code, on Tuesdays; an after-school club Library, 6pm Tue Jan 28
for girls in 3rd-5th grade… Davenport Public Library -
Fairmount Street Branch, 3:30pm Tue Jan 14 thru Tue Teen Advisory Board, join us for your chance to vote
Feb 4 on new YA… Silvis Public Library, 6:30pm Tue Jan 28

Library Playgroup, on Tuesdays; drop-in and meet PNG Lego Space Challenge: Part 4, this advanced
with other parents and caregivers… Davenport Public series is for students in grades 4-10 who… Moline Public
Library - Eastern Avenue Branch, 10am Tue Jan 14 thru Library, 6pm Thu Jan 30
Tue Feb 4
Petite Picassos, art project and story for little ones
Milk & Cookies Storytime, on Tuesdays; stop in after five and under with caregiver; free; for information, call
school for stories and a… Davenport Public Library - 309-732-7323, Rock Island Public Library - Downtown
Eastern Avenue Branch, 4pm Tue Jan 14 thru Tue Feb 4 Library, 401 19th St., Rock Island, IL, RockIslandLibrary.
The Quad City Symphony Orchestra’s Coco in Concert @ Adler Theatre – January 18 org, 10:30am Fri Jan 31
Petite Picassos, art project and story for little ones
five and under with caregiver; free; for information, call Craft Buddies: Heart Thumbprint Card, join us for
309-732-7323, Rock Island Public Library - Downtown Library - Downtown Library, 401 19th St., Rock Island, IL, Hug-A-Book Dance Party, movement, play, music, Pre-K Storytime; books, songs, a craft and… Silvis Public
Library, 401 19th St., Rock Island, IL, RockIslandLibrary. RockIslandLibrary.org, 10:30am Fri Jan 17 thru Fri Feb 1 literacy and family fun; dance to the beat with Ms. Ranell Library, 10am Sat Feb 1
org, 10:30am Tue Jan 14 and children’s library staff; for ages five and under and
Book + Prom Fashion Show, North High School their families; pick out a free book to take home, thanks Denim Demolition, original dazzling denim
A Novel Naptime, our popular materials book group Ambassadors and the Library’s Teen Advisory Board… to sponsorship from the Merrill Harris Hug-A-Book reconstruction projects using old jeans… Davenport
for parents where kids preschool… Moline Public Davenport Public Library - Fairmount Street Branch, 2pm fund of the Rock Island Public Library Foundation; free; Public Library - Eastern Avenue Branch, 6:30pm Sat Feb 1
Library, 10:30am Wed Jan 15 Sat Jan 18 for information, call 309-732-7323, Rock Island Public
Library - Downtown Library, 401 19th St., Rock Island, IL, Petite Picasso, we will start with storytime and end
Big/Little Bookclub, book club for Littles (kids in 3rd Full S.T.E.A.M. Ahead! CD Spinning Tops, make RockIslandLibrary.org, 6pm Wed Jan 22 with messy art;… Davenport Public Library - Eastern
through 5th grade)… Davenport Public Library - Eastern your own spinning tops with an old CD and a marble;… Avenue Branch, 10am Sat Feb 1
Avenue Branch, 6:30pm Wed Jan 15 Silvis Public Library, 2pm Sat Jan 18 Petite Picassos, art project and story for little ones five
and under with caregiver; free; for information, call 309- Sunday Funday, for information, call 309-794-0991…
Story Time for Littles, for ages 0-36 months; a chance Petite Picasso, for ages 2-10; we will start with 732-7323, Rock Island Public Library - Southwest Branch, Quad City Botanical Center, 1pm Sun Feb 2
for our youngest patrons… Moline Public Library, 6pm storytime and end… Davenport Public Library - 9010 Ridgewood Rd., Rock Island, IL, RockIslandLibrary.
Wed Jan 15 Fairmount Street Branch, 10am Sat Jan 18 org, 10:30am Wed Jan 22 Make-Believe Monday, for ages 4-8; themed
imaginative play that lets you work… Davenport Public
Tween Book Club, join us to speak about your favorite Willy Wonka’s Chocolate Factory, a celebration of PNG Lego Space Challenge: Part 2, this advanced Library - Fairmount Street Branch, 4pm Mon Feb 3
book; free; for… Silvis Public Library, 5pm Wed Jan 15 Roald Dahl’s beloved books, the classic films,… Moline series is for students in grades 4-10 who… Moline Public
Public Library, 2pm Sat Jan 18 Library, 6pm Thu Jan 23 Play & Grow, structured play group for ages three and
After School Kids Lab, on Wednesdays; free; under with caregiver; talk, sing, read, and play to early
for information, call 563-344-4175 or e-mail info@ Reading is Sweet Winter Reading Program, Jolly Rancher Readers: Game Night, free; for literacy; free; for information, call 309-732-7323, Rock
bettendorflibrary.com… Bettendorf Public Library, 3pm children in grades pre-K-6 can sign up… Moline Public information, e-mail [email protected] or call 309- Island Public Library - Downtown Library, 401 19th St.,
Wed Jan 15 thru Wed Feb 5 Library, Sat Jan 18 thru Thu Feb 6 755-3393… Silvis Public Library, 3:30pm Fri Jan 24 Rock Island, IL, RockIslandLibrary.org, 10:30am Tue Feb 4

Dungeons, Dragons, & More!, on Wednesdays; PNG Lego Space Challenge: Part 1, this advanced Cartoon Drawing, ages 8-12 learn the basics of Teen Volunteer Night, teens, fulfill needed service
experience is not necessary and all of the… Bettendorf series is for students in grades 4-10 who… Moline Public cartoon drawing with children’s… Moline Public Library, hours or use on job applications;… Silvis Public Library,
Public Library, 2:30pm Wed Jan 15 thru Wed Feb 5 Library, 6pm Tue Jan 21 10:30am Sat Jan 25 5:30pm Tue Feb 4

Little Makers, on Wednesdays; we’ll have plenty of Teen Advisory Board, ages 11-19 are invited to hang Lego Club, free; for information, call 563-344-4175 or Paint It!, on Thursdays; for ages 6+; each week we’ll use
craft supplies and a… Davenport Public Library - Eastern out, eat snacks, learn… Davenport Public Library - e-mail [email protected]… Bettendorf Public a… Davenport Public Library - Eastern Avenue Branch,
Avenue Branch, 3:30pm Wed Jan 15 thru Wed Feb 5 Fairmount Street Branch, 6:30pm Tue Jan 21 Library, 11:30am Sat Jan 25 6:30pm Thu Feb 6

Starter D&D: Lost Mine of Phandelver, on Teen CD Art, join us as we scratch CD’s into works of Youth Chess Club, for elementary- thru high-school Teen Advisory Group, an opportunity for teens and
Wednesdays; for those who have always wanted to art;… Silvis Public Library, 5pm Tue Jan 21 aged students; all of the materials… Bettendorf Public tweens to have input in… Moline Public Library, 3:30pm
learn… Davenport Public Library - Eastern Avenue Library, 2pm Sat Jan 25 Thu Feb 6ee
Branch, 5:30pm Wed Jan 15 thru Wed Feb 5 Toddler Tales, on Tuesdays; stories, songs, and an
activity for ages five and under with caregiver; free; Lego Club: Freestyle, ages 5-11 design and build their
Teen Gaming, on Wednesdays; hang out with friends for information, call 309-732-7323, Rock Island Public own masterpieces to display;… Silvis Public Library, 2pm
and try out new… Davenport Public Library - Fairmount Library - Downtown Library, 401 19th St., Rock Island, Sat Jan 25
Street Branch, 3pm Wed Jan 15 thru Wed Feb 5 IL, RockIslandLibrary.org, 10:30am Tue Jan 21 and Tue

Toddler Storytime, on Wednesdays; stories, music,

Jan 28 Sensory Sessions: Snowman Assembly Center,
your baby, toddler and/or preschooler can make their
December 10 Crossword Answers
movement and play; all ages welcome,… Davenport own mini… Silvis Public Library, 10am Sat Jan 25
Public Library - Fairmount Street Branch, 10am Wed Jan
15 thru Wed Feb 5

Toddler Tales, on Wednesdays; stories, songs, and

an activity for ages five and under with caregiver; free;
for information, call 309-732-7323, Rock Island Public
Library - Southwest Branch, 9010 Ridgewood Rd., Rock
Island, IL, RockIslandLibrary.org, 10:30am Wed Jan 15
thru Wed Feb 5

Yoga and Stories, on Wednesdays; free; for

information, call 563-344-4175 or e-mail info@
bettendorflibrary.com… Bettendorf Public Library,
6:30pm Wed Jan 15 thru Wed Feb 5

Toddler Tales, on Fridays; stories, songs, and an

activity for ages five and under with caregiver; free;
for information, call 309-732-7323, Rock Island Public
20 River Cities’ Reader • Vol. 27 No. 969 • January 2020 Know More, Do More • RiverCitiesReader.com

PREPOSITIONS MATTER • JANUARY 14, 2019

Crossword Dec. 10 Answers: Page 15

ACROSS 91. Reiner and Lowe 42. Yelps

1. First gospel: Abbr. 92. Outpouring 44. Eyed
5. Letters 93. Renewal target 45. Reckless act
10. Andretti or Puzo 94. Insipid 48. “Love Boat” bartender
15. Party 97. Kettle’s handle 49. _ Dame
19. First wife of Esau 98. The Genoese 50. Shakespeare tragedy
20. “It is _ _ told...” 102. Eyeing or improving?: 5 wds. 51. Ordeal
21. Caustic 107. _ meridiem 52. John _ Garner
22. Supporting structure 108. Sew loosely 58. Light pancakes
23. Departing or dating?: 5 wds. 109. British measure 59. Cut
27. Sour cherry 110. Pisa’s river 60. Diner fare
28. Pipe part 111. Drones 61. Lt. Ford in “Stargate Atlantis”
29. Minced oath 112. Noted racecourse 63. Produce
30. Too dainty 113. Some mollusks 64. Materials for potters
31. Judged 114. Endure 65. Name in fashion
33. Entrap 66. A synthetic
35. Right of entry DOWN 67. Crusoe’s creator
38. Like some pets 1. _ Hari 68. Impression
39. Campus club 2. Name in a palindrome 69. Mary Richards’ pal
43. Libertine 3. Money in Bangladesh 70. _ Arabia
44. Hodgepodge 4. “Ocean’s _” 71. “Gil _”
45. Seat of a kind 5. Birds 72. Surveys
46. New Deal org. 6. Scarf 73. Something viscous
47. Activating or appearing?: 5 wds. 7. Yegg’s target 75. Getz or Musial
53. Railways 8. Magical being 77. City in Italia
54. Alone on stage 9. Upperclassman: Abbr. 78. Smooth-spoken
55. Mr. Monk’s wife 10. Tangled 79. Stiff
56. Beers 11. Behaved 80. In early development
57. Argued 12. 500 sheets 86. Ducks and _
59. Like a chrome bumper 13. Annoy 87. Piano
60. Wicker artisan 14. _ -Wan Kenobi 88. French composer
62. Fat 15. Market employee 89. Satisfies, as thirst
63. Swindle 16. Celebes buffalo 90. Hungarian sheepdog
64. Modish 17. Scantling 92. _ Domingo
65. Concern of bargain hunters 18. Lids 93. Tempest
67. Whimsically funny 24. Tidings 94. Go on and on
68. Pint-size burgers 25. Bone: Prefix 95. Tops: Hyph.
71. Grain husk 26. Kind of essential oil 96. Observe
72. Something nacreous 31. Pours 97. Variety of pear
73. Hackneyed 32. Greek contest 98. Jot
74. Holds 33. Like a boggy region 99. Taj Mahal site
76. Stopping or specifying?: 5 wds. 34. Curling or climbing 100. Sisters
81. Pother 35. Commedia dell’_ 101. Spy
82. Apportion 36. If looks _ kill 103. Sports org.
83. Sets sights on 37. Malediction 104. Fuel
84. Old Norse poems 38. Make indistinct 105. Cable network
85. Place for playtime 39. Den 106. _ Abner
87. Downturn 40. Fire in a fireplace
89. Injure a certain way 41. More faithful
Know More, Do More • RiverCitiesReader.com River Cities’ Reader • Vol. 27 No. 969 • January 2020 21
MOVIES By Mike Schulz

“Hoo-boy!” for Hollywood

Reminiscences on the 2019 Movie Year

M
y favorites of 2019, you ask? Oh, And while the leads’ individual narra-
gosh, I have so many: the second tives are beguiling enough – Dalton does a
season of Amazon Prime’s Flea- TV guest spot, Booth visits Spahn Ranch,
bag, with the divine Phoebe Waller-Bridge Tate goes to the movies – Tarantino’s film-
and the imploding of the fourth wall and making is so hypnotically assured that the
Andrew Scott shaking things up as the film is transfi xing even when nothing of
definitive Hot Priest; HBO’s Chernobyl, particular significance is happening. I
with its docudrama delivered as the most would gratefully watch DiCaprio (deliver-
enraging of fright fi lms; Netflix’s John ing my all-time-favorite DiCaprio perfor-
Mulaney & the Sack Lunch Bunch, with mance) running lines while floating in his
its insanely catchy songs and simultane- Hollywood Hills pool, and Pitt speeding
ous salute to and parody of cherished chil- through Los Angeles streets fastidiously
dren’s programs … . designed to resemble 1969, and Robbie
Oh, wait – we’re talking movie favorites? shimmying to Paul Revere & the Raid-
Cool. ‘Cause I can talk about those, too. ers for hours, if not days, on end. And I
And I’m almost more stoked than ever practically have. Tarantino has publicly
to do so this year, because while I’m always declared his intention to retire from film-
delighted to spread the word on the movies making after his tenth movie, and this one
I saw that affected me most, it seems as is his ninth. I hope he’s lying. But even if he
though an especially plentiful 12 months chose to close shop early on this exquisite
have just concluded, with the top five grace note, we’d be hard-pressed to bitch.
choices on my annual list of 10 Favorites Worth re-viewing … for the black-
already feeling like classics-in-waiting, if and-white interview complete with hum-
not instant classics. Perhaps none more so blebrags and forced geniality (“What,
than the best offering yet from one of our carrying his load? Yeah, that sounds
absolute best … . about right”); for the cheeky interrup-
tions of narrator Kurt Russell; for Julia
1) Once Upon a Time … Butters’ eight-year-old prodigy schooling Brad Pitt and Leonardo DiCaprio in Once Upon a Time ... in Hollywood
in Hollywood DiCaprio in the ways of man-splaining
and unwanted nicknames; for Margaret
and so heart-rendingly tragic at the close 3) The Irishman
Does anyone wanna buy a Blu-ray that Bong’s precisely composed, dynami-
Qualley’s hippie ferocity and hairy arm- Let’s just get this out of the way: After
player? ‘Cause I’ve got one you can get for cally acted offering leaves you both wiped
pits; for Damian Lewis, as Steve McQueen, four viewings of director Martin Scors-
cheap … if you don’t mind that Quentin out and electrified. Bong has made several
concisely explaining the Sharon/Roman/ ese’s elegiac masterpiece – that’s 14 hours
Tarantino’s latest, after three weeks of outstanding movies over the past decade-
Jay triangle; for the ravaged comic inten- of mobster entertainment! – I find Robert
incessant replays, has pretty much sol- plus, but none of them suggested that the
sity of Dakota Fanning and the grouchy De Niro’s titular portrayal even less inter-
dered itself to the interior. I kid: I’m keep- South Korean writer/director (working
sadness of Bruce Dern; for the sight of esting than I did on a first look. It’s not that
ing the device and the fully intact movie. here with co-scribe Jin Won Han) could
Pitt taking off his shirt, which should be the much-discussed de-aging effects are
But wow have I found it difficult to not echo Stanley Kubrick and Michael Haneke
eligible for the Visual Effects Oscar; for distracting, though they kind of are; it’s
watch Once Upon a Time … in Hollywood and top them in the same breath, or that
Pitt throwing Mike Moh’s Bruce Lee into that De Niro’s entire soul appears de-aged,
over and over and over; it almost seems he could elicit performances as varied, yet
a parked car; for Pitt doing anything; and and consequently wiped of experience.
ridiculous that Tarantino’s most confident, as unified in their purpose, as the ones he
for the beautiful hopefulness and calm of He’s solid enough, and quite good when
controlled, mature, and impassioned work gets from Jang Hye-jin, Choi Woo-sik,
the climactic shot, proving that the only playing the octogenarian Frank Sheeran,
to date should also be so overwhelmingly Park So-dam, Lee Sun-kyun, Jo Yeo-jeong,
way to end a Once Upon a Time is with an but De Niro’s almost solely reactive per-
sweet. Okay, fine, the killing of the three Lee Jung-eun, Park Myung-hoon, and the
invented, yet real-for-the-moment, Hap- formance doesn’t have any levels, any hints
Manson cult members is anything but unimpeachable Song Kang-ho. If its inevi-
pily Ever After. of spontaneity; imagine this hitman role
sweet, even if they do deserve it for what table Oscar-nomination success leads to
instead played by co-star Harvey Keitel,
they inevitably did – and, in the writer/ 2) Parasite the area re-release I’m expecting it will,
or GoodFellas lead Ray Liotta, and you’ll
director’s imagining, no longer do – to plan on hearing a lot of excited “Have you
Sharon Tate, her housemate, and their two Back in November, leveled by attending seen Parasite?!” gushing from friends for get a sense of what we’re missing. That
guests. But there’s a glowing tenderness eight fi lms in three days, I named Bong days and weeks afterward. If you answer being said, I don’t care for Jack Nichol-
in this ninth Tarantino that we’ve never Joon Ho’s genre-demolishing sensation as no, you must immediately rectify that. son in Scorsese’s The Departed, either,
seen before and that suff uses nearly every my second-favorite movie of the weekend Worth re-viewing … for the Kim and that’s still one of my all-time favorite
sequence: Leonardo DiCaprio’s former behind the Nazi satire Jojo Rabbit. I still siblings’ bouncy sing-song designed to Marty flicks. And this one, happily, is, too
Western star Rick Dalton sobbing and love Jojo (see below), but Jesus – what was I commit a lie to memory; for the cigarette – a stupendously expansive, trenchant,
dropping his head on his buddy’s shoulder; thinking?! Another Parasite viewing over inhaled atop the exploding toilet; and for brutal, and frequently hilarious behe-
Brad Pitt’s devoted stuntman Cliff Booth the Christmas break convinced me that not the image of a human head slowly rising moth that earns every second of its con-
embracing his beloved pit bull on the floor only was this phenomenally clever home- from the blackness and ensuring that a siderable running length. De Niro (and Al
of his ramshackle mobile home; Margot invasion tale the superior entertainment, small child will never again sleep peace- Pacino’s too-recognizable braying) aside,
Robbie’s Tate unable to suppress her grins but just about as flawless an entertainment fully. I’m reasonably sure Bong lifted that a trio of additional viewings have only
when reveling in the gentle laughs of an as you could want: so funny in its early shot directly from my own nightmares. made me love The Irishman more, from its
audience that doesn’t know she’s there. scenes, so nerve-racking in its midsection,
Continued On Page 26
22 River Cities’ Reader • Vol. 27 No. 969 • January 2020 Know More, Do More • RiverCitiesReader.com

Talons Show those we can have some conflict with – may

be less competitive with us. At times, their
Women are so mean. I’m the new girl gains can be our gains. And very often, female
at work, having started my job two weeks friends protect one another” – sometimes
ago. Yesterday, I had a date after work, so from other women’s aggression. “In fact, we
I wore my date outfit to the office. It wasn’t might even dress a little more revealingly
scandalous, but it was a little sexier than my … when we’re with our female friends than
usual workwear. I was in a bathroom stall, when we’re heading out alone … perhaps
and I overheard two female co-workers talk- because our friends have our backs.”
ing about me: mean, nasty, catty talk. And As for you, knowing this, when you’re
really, my outfit was not terribly revealing. going to be around women you aren’t yet
Why are women so awful to one another? friends with, you might want to take it down
– Upset a notch in sexy or wait till you’re leaving work
to slinky it up. Remember, as Michelle Obama
Imagine if there’d been three women in the said, “There is no limit to what we, as women,
Garden of Eden – one wearing a fig leaf a little can accomplish” – for example, hacking into
on the small side and two to ostracize her for the new office hottie’s LinkedIn and promot-
flirting with the snake. ing her to “Vice President of Lap Dances.”
Welcome to Putdownapalooza! This sort of
catty little gossip fest is a female specialty –
an underhanded form of aggression against Loathe Actually
women who dare to commandeer male I’m a gay man, and I’ve developed a crush
eyeballs. on my best friend, despite his not being my
For women, competition for mates is a type at all. He’s very confident, and I kind
beauty contest. (Sorry, but Miss Congeni- of want to be him. I have many insecuri-
ality doesn’t cut it.) While it’s good to be a ties, and a mutual friend suggested what I
good-looking man, for men, appearance just really find attractive is how my best friend
doesn’t matter as much as it does for women. knows everything about me and accepts me
Because women get pregnant and left with anyway. The more I think about it, the more
mouths to feed, women evolved to prioritize I suspect our mutual friend is right.
finding a “provider” – a man who’s willing
– Wrong Reasons?
and able to commit resources – over landing
some Mr. Adonis. Men know this, having co- Ideally, the process of feeling good about
evolved with women. They’re more likely to yourself is not modeled on siphoning some-
dis each other and also trash each other to the body’s gas.
ladiesover how much money they make than, There’s a key word in “self-acceptance” – a
say, how tight their pants are. big how-to clue – and it’s “self.” Self-accep-
In short, if you’re an ugly millionaire, it’s tance involves your embracing your whole
best if you’re a man. However, if you’re a hot self – all of your qualities and characteristics,
barista or pizza delivery person, you’ll still get positive and negative. Psychologist Nathan-
plenty of dates – if you’re a woman. Because iel Branden explained, “‘Accepting’ does not
men evolved to prioritize physical appear- necessarily mean ‘liking’” or that there’s no
ance in mates, women will band together to need for improvement. It means recognizing
punish other women for wearing skimpy, you’re a package deal, and you can’t have the
revealing clothes or just for being physically good stuff about you (such as, say, your kind-
attractive. Women seem to recognize that ness) without the stuff that needs improve-
other women do this.Research by social psy- ment (such as how your housekeeping style
chologist Jaimie Arona Krems suggests that is right out of Better Landfills & Dumpsters).
women tend to dress defensively – wear less To crank up self-acceptance, recognize
revealing clothes and dampen their attrac- that it’s not just a feeling but an action –
tiveness – when they’ll be around other something you do: deciding to like yourself
women that they aren’t already friends with. (and even love yourself) as a human work in
Prior research (by psychologist Joyce progress. When you do the job of accepting
Benenson, among others) finds that girls and yourself, you no longer need to slot somebody
women tend to be vicious to newcomers in a in as a romantic partner simply because they
way boys and men are not. For women, there don’t find you repellant. (If the neighbors file
generally seem to be “costs from incorporat- a complaint about the noise from your bed-
ing a female newcomer,” Krems explained room, it ideally isn’t because you spend hours
to me. The women we already know – “even weeping inconsolably after sex.)

Got a problem? Write Amy Alkon, 171 Pier Ave, #280, Santa Monica, CA 90405. E-mail [email protected],
visit @amyalkon on Twitter, and listen to Amy’s weekly radio show at BlogTalkRadio.com/amyalkon. Order Amy
Alkon’s new book Unf_-ology: A Field Guide to Living with Guts and Confidence (St. Martin’s Griffin, 2018).
©2019, Amy Alkon, all rights reserved. New column published weekly at RCReader.com
Know More, Do More • RiverCitiesReader.com River Cities’ Reader • Vol. 27 No. 969 • January 2020 23

FREE WILL ASTROLOGY By Rob Brezsny

ARIES (March 21-April 19): When spiller, blood drinker, a heart of flame, who quar- LIBRA (September 23-October 22): serve you any more. (There may be others!)
comedian John Cleese was 61, his rels with the sky and fights with fate, who burns Renowned Greek sculptor Praxiteles Here’s an inspirational maxim, courtesy of poet
mother died. She was 101. Cleese testi- like fire on the rushing sea.” In response to that created some famous and beloved stat- Mary Oliver: “Said the river: imagine everything
fies, “Just towards the end, as she began testimony, I say, “Boo! Ugh! Yuck!” I say “To hell ues in the Fourth Century B.C. One of you can imagine, then keep on going.”
to run out of energy, she did actually stop trying with being in an intimate relationship with a his pieces, showing the gods Hermes and Diony-
to tell me what to do most of the time.” I bet you’ll trouble-maker who fights with fate and quarrels sus, was displayed inside the Temple of Hera in AQUARIUS (January 20-February
experience a similar phenomenon in 2020 – only with the sky.” I can’t imagine any bond that Olympia. But a few centuries later an earthquake 18): In a poem titled “The Mess-iah,”
bigger and better. Fewer people will try to tell you would be more unpleasant and serve me worse. demolished the Temple and buried the statue. spiritual teacher Jeff Foster counsels
what to do than at any previous time of your life. What about you, Cancerian? Do you find Rumi’s There it remained until 1877, when archaeolo- us, “Fall in love with the mess of your
As a result, you’ll be freer to be yourself exactly definition glamorous and romantic? I hope not. gists dug it out of the rubble. I foresee a meta- life … the wild, uncontrollable, unplanned,
as you want to be. You’ll have unprecedented If you do, I advise you to consider changing your phorically equivalent recovery in your life, Libra unexpected moments of existence. Dignify the
power to express your uniqueness. mind. 2020 will be an excellent time to be precise – especially if you’re willing to excavate an old mess with your loving attention, your gratitude.
in articulating the kinds of alliances that are mess or investigate a debris field or explore a Because if you love the mess enough, you will
TAURUS (April 20-May 20): healthy for you. They shouldn’t resemble Rumi’s faded ruin. become a Mess-iah.” I bring this to your atten-
Renowned Taurus philosopher Ber- description. (Rumi translation by Zara tion, Aquarius, because I suspect you’ll have a
trand Russell was sent to jail in 1918 Houshmand.) SCORPIO (October 23-November better chance to ascend to the role of Mess-iah in
because of his pacifism and anti-war 21): Over a period of 74 years, the Scor- the coming weeks and months than you have had
activism. He liked being there. “I found prison in LEO (July 23-August 22): The 18th- pio philosopher and author Voltaire in many years.
many ways quite agreeable,” he said. “I had no Century comic novel Tristram Shandy (1694–1778) wrote so many letters to so
engagements, no difficult decisions to make, no is still being translated, adapted, and many people that they were eventually published PISCES (February 19-March 20):
fear of callers, no interruptions to my work. I published today. Its popularity per- in a series of 98 books, plus nine additional vol- Comedian John Cleese believes that
read enormously; I wrote a book.” The book he sists. Likewise, the 18th-century novel Moll umes of appendixes and indexes. I would love to “sometimes we hang onto people or
produced, Introduction to Mathematical Philoso- Flanders, which features a rowdy, eccentric hero- see you communicate that abundantly and relationships long after they’ve ceased
phy, is today regarded as a classic. In 2020, I ine who was unusual for her era, has had modern meticulously in 2020, Scorpio. The cosmic to be of any use to either of you.” That’s why he
would love to see you Tauruses cave out an incarnations in TV, film, and radio. Then there’s rhythms will tend to bring you good fortune if has chosen to live in such a way that his web of
equally luxurious sabbatical without having to the 19th-Century satirical novel Vanity Fair. It’s you do. alliances is constantly evolving. “I’m always
go through the inconvenience of being incarcer- considered a classic even now, and appears on meeting new people,” he says, “and my list of
ated. I’m confident you can do this. lists of best-loved books. The authors of these SAGIT TA R IUS (November friends seems to change quite a bit.” According
three books had one thing in common: They had 22-December 21): Picasso was one of to my analysis of the astrological omens, Pisces,
GEMINI (May 21-June 20): It’s to pay to have their books published. No author- the most influential artists of the 20th 2020 will be a propitious year for you to experi-
common to feel attracted to people ity in the book business had any faith in them. Century. He was also the richest. At the ment with Cleese’s approach. You’ll have the
because of the way they look and dress You may have similar challenges in 2020, Leo – end of his life, experts estimate his worth was as chance to meet a greater number of interesting
and carry themselves. But here’s the and rise to the occasion with equally good much as $250 million, equivalent to $1.3 billion new people in the coming months than you have
problem: If you pursue an actual connection results. Believe in yourself! today. But in his earlier adulthood, while Picasso in a long time. (And don’t be afraid to phase out
with someone whose appearance you like, there’s was turning himself into a genius and creating connections that have become a drain.)
no guarantee it will turn out to be interesting and VIRGO (August 23-September 22): his early masterpieces, he lived and worked in a
meaningful. That’s because the most important I’ll present two possible scenarios that small, seedy, unheated room with no running Homework: Figure out how you might transform
factor in becoming close to someone is not their could unfold for you in 2020. Which water and a toilet he shared with twenty people. yourself in order for the world to give you what you
cute face or body or style, but rather their ability scenario actually occurs will depend If there will be ever in your life be a semblance of yearn for. Visit FreeWillAstrology.com.
to converse with you in ways you find interesting. on how willing you are to transform yourself. Picasso’s financial transformation, Sagittarius,
And that’s a relatively rare phenomenon. As phi- Scenario #1: Love is awake, and you’re asleep. I’m guessing it would begin this year.
losopher Mortimer Adler observed, “Love with- Love is ready for you but you’re not ready for love. New column published
out conversation is impossible.” I bring these
thoughts to your attention, Gemini, because I
Love is hard to recognize because you think it
still looks like it did in the past. Love changed its
CAPRICORN (December 22-January
19): Let’s get 2020 started with a proper
weekly at RCReader.com
believe that in 2020 you could have some of the name, and you didn’t notice. Scenario #2: Love is send-off. According to my reading of
best conversations you’ve ever had – and as a awake and you’re waking up. Love is ready for the astrological omens, the coming
result experience the richest intimacy. you and you’re making yourself ready for love. months will bring you opportunities to achieve Go to RealAstrology.com to check out Rob Brezsny’s
Love is older and wiser now, and you recognize a host of liberations. Among the things from EXPANDED WEEKLY AUDIO HOROSCOPES
CANCER (June 21-July 22): Mystic its new guise. Love changed its name, and you which you could be at least partially emanci- & DAILY TEXT MESSAGE HOROSCOPES
poet Rumi told us the kind of person he found out. (Thanks to Sarah and Phil Kaye for pated: stale old suffering; shrunken expecta-
The audio horoscopes are also available by phone at
was attracted to. “I want a trouble- the inspiration for this horoscope.) tions; people who don’t appreciate you for who
maker for a lover,” he wrote. “Blood you really are; and beliefs and theories that don’t 1-877-873-4888 or 1-900-950-7700
24 River Cities’ Reader • Vol. 27 No. 969 • January 2020 Know More, Do More • RiverCitiesReader.com

MUSIC JANUARY 9–FEBRUARY 5

THURSDAY
2020/01/09 (Thu)
9 The Carefree Highwaymen – The
Grape Life Wine Store & Lounge, THURSDAY
2020/01/16 (Thu)
16
Backroom Bass Sessions w/ 3402 Elmore Ave., Davenport IA Avey/Grouws Band – Rhythm City
Bruuuce – Gloom Trench – BEX – The Collective – The Mill, 120 E. Casino Resort Rhythm Room, 7077
The Mill, 120 E. Burlington St., Iowa Burlington St., Iowa City IA Elmore Ave., Davenport IA
City IA Cryptostatic – NonGrata – Natural Beer Choir w/ the Rose Ensemble –
Dada Trash Collage – Archeress – Oil – RIBCO, 1815 Second Ave., Galena Brewing Company / Moline
Rozz-Tox, 2108 Third Ave., Rock Rock Island IL Ale House, 1534 River Dr., Moline IL
Island IL Dave Zollo (8:30pm) – Boy Band Humbird – Andrew Nightingale
The Matt Barber Experience – The Review (9:45pm) – Riverside – Rozz-Tox, 2108 Third Ave., Rock
Grape Life Wine Store & Lounge, Casino & Golf Resort, 3184 Highway Island IL
3402 Elmore Ave., Davenport IA 22, Riverside IA Skid Row – Slaughter – Rhythm City
Richie Lee & the Fabulous 50’s – The Enchanted Forest (10:30am) – Casino Resort Event Center, 7077
Riverside Casino & Golf Resort, Cedar Rapids Public Library, 500 1st Elmore Ave., Davenport IA
3184 Highway 22, Riverside IA St SE, Cedar Rapids IA University of Dubuque High
The Enchanted Forest (1:30pm) School Honor Band Concert –

FRIDAY
2020/01/10 (Fri)
10 – Iowa Children’s Museum, 1451
Coral Ridge Ave, Coralville IA
John & Alice Butler Hall - University
of Dubuque Heritage Center, 2255
Anthony Gomes – Vinyl – The Haphazard – 11th Street Precinct, Bennett St., Dubuque IA
Redstone Room, 129 Main St, 1107 Mound St., Davenport IA
Davenport IA
B-Tho – Shakes – Mic Animosity
LegalizeD It: Jon & Ren – The
Mand – Jason Carl & the Whole FRIDAY
2020/01/17 (Fri)
17
– Drip James – Go’Diva Malika Damned Band – Earth Ascending Andy & the Decades – Riverside
– C Not3 Boss – Cimi Hendrix – – Bent River Brewing Company Casino & Golf Resort, 3184 Highway
Script – Mr. Chi 2 Da – Gabe’s, 330 - Rock Island, 512 24th St., Rock 22, Riverside IA
E. Washington St., Iowa City IA Island IL Blues Rock-It – Parkside Grill &
The Brat Pack – RIBCO, 1815 Second Lunar – Dueaux – Pooh H (5pm) – Lounge, 2307 5th Ave, Moline IL
Ave., Rock Island IL Gabe’s, 330 E. Washington St., Iowa Bucktown Revue – Nighswander
Country Traditions – Rhythm City City IA Theatre, 2822 Eastern Ave,
Casino Resort Rhythm Room, 7077 Mo’s Garage – Harley Corin’s, 1708 Davenport IA
Elmore Ave., Davenport IA State St., Bettendorf IA Freddy Allen 2&4 Swing Trio – The Fireside Collective @ The Redstone Room – January 14
Crooked Cactus – The Gypsy Mustang Sally – Rhythm City Casino Grape Life Wine Store & Lounge,
Highway Bar & Grill, 2606 W. Locust
St., Davenport IA
Resort Rhythm Room, 7077 Elmore
Ave., Davenport IA
3402 Elmore Ave., Davenport IA
Kris Lager Band – The Other SATURDAY
2020/01/18 (Sat)
18 SUNDAY
2020/01/19 (Sun)
19 FRIDAY
2020/01/24 (Fri)
24
Daniel Stratman (6pm) – The Pocket Change – The Gypsy Highway Brothers – The Redstone Room, 10 of Soul – Central DeWitt Julian Davis & the Situation – Chrystallion Dance Party (6:30pm)
Tangled Wood, 3636 Tanglewood Bar & Grill, 2606 W. Locust St., 129 Main St, Davenport IA Performing Arts Center, 519 E. 11th Flash in a Pan – Gabe’s, 330 E. – Hello Weekend (8:30pm) –
Rd., Bettendorf IA Davenport IA Larry Boyd (6pm) – Cool Beanz St., DeWitt IA Washington St., Iowa City IA Riverside Casino & Golf Resort,
David Cavanaugh (6:30pm) – Cool Russ Reyman Request Piano Bar – Coffeehouse, 1325 30th St., Rock Aaron Williams & the Hoodoo – Katie Dahl CD Release Concert 3184 Highway 22, Riverside IA
Beanz Coffeehouse, 1325 30th St., The Phoenix Restaurant & Martini Island IL Flatted Fifth Blues & BBQ, 300 (4pm) – Heritage Hall at Lisbon Dani Lynn Howe Band – The Gypsy
Rock Island IL Bar, 111 West 2nd St., Davenport IA Lewis Knudsen (6pm) – Davenport Potter Dr., Bellevue IA Library, 101 W. Main St., Lisbon IA Highway Bar & Grill, 2606 W. Locust
Gray Wolf Band – Parkside Grill & Tony Hoeppner & Friends – Green Country Club, 25500 Valley Drive, Abstract Forms – Chapter – Frontal Madama Butter fly (2pm) – St., Davenport IA
Lounge, 2307 5th Ave, Moline IL Tree Brewery, 309 N. Cody Rd., Pleasant Valley IA Assault – Brevity – Gabe’s, 330 E. Paramount Theatre, 123 3rd St. SE, Douglas & Tucker – The Grape Life
Greg & Rich Acoustic Duo (5:30pm) LeClaire IA Madama Butterfly – Paramount Washington St., Iowa City IA Cedar Rapids IA Wine Store & Lounge, 3402 Elmore
– Rock Island Hy-Vee Market Grille, Theatre, 123 3rd St. SE, Cedar The Acoustic Project (6pm) – Cool Polka Club of Iowa, Inc., Eastern Ave., Davenport IA
2930 18th Ave., Rock Island IL
Head East – Rolling Thunder – SUNDAY
2020/01/12 (Sun)
12 Rapids IA
New Primals – Dog Dave – Fickle
Beanz Coffeehouse, 1325 30th St.,
Rock Island IL
Chapter Dance: The Slow Draws
(1:30pm) – Walcott Coliseum, 116
The Host Country – Brother Trucker
– The Mill, 120 E. Burlington St.,
The Rust Belt, 533 12th Ave., East Dope Day II – The Mill, 120 E. Weather – Gabe’s, 330 E. Andy & the Decades – Rhythm City E Bryant St, Walcott IA Iowa City IA
Moline IL Burlington St., Iowa City IA Washington St., Iowa City IA Casino Resort Rhythm Room, 7077 Polyrhythms’ Third Sunday Jazz It Takes Two – Rhythm City Casino
Lee Blackmon – The Grape Life Wine John Resch & Doggin Out (2pm) Northern Parallels 040: FBK – Mike Elmore Ave., Davenport IA Workshop & Matinee Series: Resort Rhythm Room, 7077 Elmore
Store & Lounge, 3402 Elmore Ave., – The Gypsy Highway Bar & Grill, Derer – Higgy – Rozz-Tox, 2108 Bugeye Sprite – Harley Corin’s, 1708 Mike Conrad & the Iowa Jazz Ave., Davenport IA
Davenport IA 2606 W. Locust St., Davenport IA Third Ave., Rock Island IL State St., Bettendorf IA Composers Orchestra (6pm) – Ivory & Gold – Carl Sonny Leyland –
The Manny Lopez Big Band (6pm) – Orchestra Iowa Chamber Players: Playthangz – The Gypsy Highway Disney/Pixar’s Coco in Concert (2 The Redstone Room, 129 Main St, Steve Pikal – Dr. David Majchzak
The Circa ‘21 Speakeasy, 1818 Third M e t a l l i c Fr o s t (2 : 3 0 p m) Bar & Grill, 2606 W. Locust St., & 7:30pm) – Adler Theatre, 136 E. Davenport IA – Josh Duffee – Wesley United
Ave., Rock Island IL – Coralville Center for the Davenport IA Third St., Davenport IA Methodist Church, 400 Iowa Ave.,
Mustang Sally – Riverside Casino
& Golf Resort, 3184 Highway 22,
Performing Arts, 1301 5th St.,
Coralville IA
The Recliners – The Mill, 120 E.
Burlington St., Iowa City IA
Golden Donna – Shen – Idpyramid
– King Supr3m3 – Rozz-Tox, 2108 MONDAY
2020/01/20 (Mon)
20 Muscatine IA
Ivory & Gold w/ Jeff & Anne
Riverside IA Reverend Raven & the Chain Third Ave., Rock Island IL Augustana Jazz Combos (6pm) – Barnhart (9:30am) – Sunnybrook
Steep Canyon Rangers – John &
Alice Butler Hall - University of TUESDAY
2020/01/14 (Tue)
14 Smokin’ Altar Boys – Flatted
Fifth Blues & BBQ, 300 Potter Dr.,
Jim Ryan (6pm) – Tuggers Burger Bar
& Ale House, 201 N. Main St., Port
Cool Beanz Coffeehouse, 1325 30th
St., Rock Island IL
of Muscatine, 3515 Diana Queen
Dr., Muscatine IA
Dubuque Heritage Center, 2255 Guest List Series featuring Bellevue IA Byron IL Jason Carl & the Whole Damn
Bennett St., Dubuque IA
Troy Rangel & Friends (noon) –
Them Coulee Boys & Fireside
Collective – The Redstone Room,
The Rose Ensemble – First
Presbyterian Church of Davenport,
Lewis Knudsen – Green Tree
Brewery, 309 N. Cody Rd., LeClaire TUESDAY
2020/01/21 (Tue)
21 Band – Minus Six – The Velies –
The Redstone Room, 129 Main St,
Moline Public Library, 3210 41st St., 129 Main St, Davenport IA 1702 Iowa St., Davenport IA IA Convictions – Hollow Front Davenport IA
Moline IL Rosie & the Rivets – Rhythm City Lynn Allen – The Gypsy Highway (6:30pm) – Gabe’s, 330 E. Lynn Allen – Parkside Grill & Lounge,
WEDNESDAY 15
2020/01/15 (Wed) Casino Resort Rhythm Room, 7077 Bar & Grill, 2606 W. Locust St., Washington St., Iowa City IA 2307 5th Ave, Moline IL
SATURDAY
2020/01/11 (Sat)
11 Elmore Ave., Davenport IA Davenport IA Mad Creek Mudcats & Jim Radloff

Black Diamond – Knox College’s

The Rose Ensemble (2pm) – Wesley
United Methodist Church, 400
Tony Hoeppner (noon) – Bettendorf
Public Library, 2950 Learning
Moonshine Run – 11th Street
Precinc t, 1107 Mound St., WEDNESDAY 22
2020/01/22 (Wed) – The Merrill Hotel and Conference
Center, 119 W. Mississippi Dr.,
Kresge Recital Hall, 2 East South St., Iowa Ave., Muscatine IA Campus Dr., Bettendorf IA Davenport IA Brad’s Solo Acoustic Show Muscatine IA
Knox College, Galesburg IL The Rose Ensemble (6:30pm) – Phil Dodds – RIBCO, 1815 Second (6:30pm) – The Faithful Pilot Cafe Mad Creek Mudcats (5pm) – Wesley
Rogalski Center - St. Ambrose Ave., Rock Island IL & Spirits, 117 N Cody Rd, LeClaire IA United Methodist Church, 400
University, W. High St., Davenport Phyllis & a Shark – Len Brown’s North Burlington Street Bluegrass Band – Iowa Ave., Muscatine IA
IA Shore Inn, 700 N. Shore Dr., Moline The Mill, 120 E. Burlington St., Iowa POP 2000 Tour: Lance Bass –
IL City IA O-Town – Ryan Cabrera – LFO
Rockin’ the USA: A Tribute to Linda – Riverside Casino Event Center,
Ronstadt – Ohnward Fine Arts
Center, 1215 E Platt St., Maquoketa THURSDAY
2020/01/23 (Thu)
23 3184 Highway 22, Riverside IA
Party Time Excellent – The Channel
IA The Comancheros – Horse Theory – Cats – Movers + Shakers – RIBCO,
The Rose Ensemble (10am) – Gabe’s, 330 E. Washington St., Iowa 1815 Second Ave., Rock Island IL
Hauberg Civic Center Mansion, City IA Pollinators – Celeste Nelson & the
1300 24th St., Rock Island IL The Donovan Chronicles Jazz – The Humble Family – Tambourine
Rosie & the Rivets – Riverside Casino Grape Life Wine Store & Lounge, – Rozz-Tox, 2108 Third Ave., Rock
& Golf Resort, 3184 Highway 22, 3402 Elmore Ave., Davenport IA Island IL
Riverside IA Ivory & Gold w/ Jeff & Anne Quartermoon Tinsnips (6:30pm) –
Russ Reyman Request Piano Bar – Barnhar t and D r. David Cool Beanz Coffeehouse, 1325 30th
The Phoenix Restaurant & Martini Majchrzak – The Merrill Hotel St., Rock Island IL
Bar, 111 West 2nd St., Davenport IA and Conference Center, 119 W. Wild Oatz – Harley Corin’s, 1708 State
Whoozdads? – The Grape Life Wine Mississippi Dr., Muscatine IA St., Bettendorf IA
Store & Lounge, 3402 Elmore Ave., Rebirth Brass Band – Englert Zoofunkyou – The Grapevines –
Davenport IA Theatre, 221 East Washington St., Citrus Sunday – Gabe’s, 330 E.
Zach Power Birthday Show: Ignite Iowa City IA Washington St., Iowa City IA
the Will – Born of Hate – Rig
Time! – God War – The Tangled
Wood, 3636 Tanglewood Rd.,
Bettendorf IA
Avey/Grouws Band @ Rhythm City Casino Resort – January 16
Know More, Do More • RiverCitiesReader.com River Cities’ Reader • Vol. 27 No. 969 • January 2020 25

Hosting a live music event?

Email [email protected] • Deadline 5 p.m. Thursday before publication
DJs/Karaoke/Jams/Open Mics
SATURDAY
2020/01/25 (Sat)
25 Anne Barnhart (2pm) – Muscatine
Art Center, 1314 Mulberry Ave., SATURDAY
2020/02/01 (Sat)
1 THURSDAYS
THURSDAYS
SATURDAYS
SATURDAYS
MONDAYS
MONDAYS

Avey/Grouws Band – Flatted Fifth Muscatine IA Backroom Bass Sessions w/ Karaoke Night – Bier Stube Moline, Community Sing (Jan. 11, 3pm) – Open Mic w/ J. Knight – The Mill, 120
Blues & BBQ, 300 Potter Dr., Bruuuce – The Mill, 120 E. 415 15th St, Moline IL Uptown Bill’s Coffee House, 730 S. E. Burlington St., Iowa City IA
Bellevue IA
Carl Sonny Leyland (2pm) – TUESDAY
2020/01/28 (Tue)
28 Burlington St., Iowa City IA
Buckcherry – Adelitas Way – Alborn
Karaoke Night – Purgatory’s Pub,
2104 State St, Bettendorf IA
Dubuque St., Iowa City IA
DJ Hi-Tech – The Key at Union Arcade,
Say Anthing Karaoke (Jan. 13) –
Gabe’s, 330 E. Washington St., Iowa
Muscatine Art Center, 1314 The Iceman Special – Gabe’s, 330 E. – The Rust Belt, 533 12th Ave., East Karaoke Night w/ Mike Matthews – 229 Brady St., Davenport IA City IA
Mulberry Ave., Muscatine IA Washington St., Iowa City IA Moline IL The Torchlight Lounge, 1800 18th DJ Sperry – Boots Western Saloon,
Frankie Joe & Kinfolk – Green Tree
Brewery, 309 N. Cody Rd., LeClaire
Mandolin Orange – Englert Theatre,
221 East Washington St., Iowa City
CJ Ryder & the Past Masters –
Riverside Casino & Golf Resort,
Ave., East Moline IL
Open Mic & More – Uptown Bill’s
2228 E 11th St., Davenport IA
Fresh Wax: Grievance w/ Kailey TUESDAYS
TUESDAYS

IA IA 3184 Highway 22, Riverside IA Coffee House, 730 S. Dubuque St., Doubleyou (Jan. 11) – Rozz-Tox, Open Jam Session – The Gypsy
Funktastic Five – RIBCO, 1815 Gina Chavez (2 & 5pm) – Hancher Iowa City IA 2108 Third Ave., Rock Island IL Highway Bar & Grill, 2606 W. Locust
Second Ave., Rock Island IL
Greg & Rich Acoustic Duo – Jim’s WEDNESDAY 29
2020/01/29 (Wed) Auditorium, 141 East Park Rd., Iowa
City IA
Sacred Night Sound System w/ DJ
Higgy (Jan. 30) – Rozz-Tox, 2108
Irish Music Session (Feb. 1, 3pm) –
Uptown Bill’s Coffee House, 730 S.
Dr., Davenport IA
Open Mic Night – Broken Saddle,
Knoxville Tap, 8716 Knoxville Rd., Miró Quartet and Kiera Duffy: Jordan Danielsen – Green Tree Third Ave., Rock Island IL Dubuque St., Iowa City IA 1417 Fifth Ave., Moline IL
Milan IL Personal Revolution – Hancher Brewery, 309 N. Cody Rd., LeClaire Karaoke Night – Boozie’s Bar & Grill, Open Mic Night – Cool Beanz
Hello Weekend – Rhythm City Casino
Resort Rhythm Room, 7077 Elmore
Auditorium, 141 East Park Rd., Iowa
City IA
IA
Miles Nielsen & the Rusted Hearts FRIDAYS
FRIDAYS 114 1/2 W. Third St., Davenport IA
Karaoke Night – Big River Bowling,
Coffeehouse, 1325 30th St., Rock
Island IL
Ave., Davenport IA Squirrel Nut Zippers – The – Codfish Hollow Barn, 5013 288th DJ Hi-Tech – The Key at Union Arcade, 2902 E. Kimberly Rd., Davenport IA
It Takes Two – Riverside Casino & Golf
Resort, 3184 Highway 22, Riverside
Gentlemen’s Anti–Temperance
League – The Redstone Room, 129
Ave., Maquoketa IA
Northern Parallels 041: Red Light
229 Brady St., Davenport IA
DJ Sperry – Boots Western Saloon,
Songwriters’ Round Table (Jan.
11, 11am) – RME (River Music WEDNESDAYS
WEDNESDAYS

IA Main St, Davenport IA All Night – Mike Derer – Rozz-Tox, 2228 E 11th St., Davenport IA Experience), 131 W. Second Dt., Karaoke Night – 11th Street Precinct,
Ivory &Gold w/ Jeff &Anne Barnhart 2108 Third Ave., Rock Island IL Fresh Wax: Grannysquare w/ Low Davenport IA 1107 Mound St., Davenport IA
– Steve Pikal – Benjamin Loeb
– Josh Duffee – Wesley United THURSDAY
2020/01/30 (Thu)
30 Orchestra Iowa Masterworks III:
Beethoven 250 – Paramount
Tide (Jan. 10) – Rozz-Tox, 2108
Third Ave., Rock Island IL
Ukulele Social Club (Jan. 18, 4pm) –
Uptown Bill’s Coffee House, 730 S.
Karaoke Night – Circle Tap, 1345 W.
Locust St., Davenport IA
Methodist Church, 400 Iowa Ave., Brantley Gilbert – Dylan Scott – Theatre, 123 3rd St. SE, Cedar Karaoke Night – Circle Tap, 1345 W. Dubuque St., Iowa City IA Karaoke Night – RIBCO, 1815 Second
Muscatine IA Brandon Lay – TaxSlayer Center, Rapids IA Locust St., Davenport IA Youth Songwriters’ Round Table Ave., Rock Island IL
The Locust Street Boys (5pm) – 1201 River Dr, Moline IL Patchy Fog Duo – The Grape Life Karaoke Night – Big River Bowling, (Jan. 18, noon) – RME (River Music Open Mic Night – Boozie’s Bar
Wesley United Methodist Church, GZA – Gabe’s, 330 E. Washington St., Wine Store & Lounge, 3402 Elmore 2902 E. Kimberly Rd., Davenport IA Experience), 131 W. Second Dt., & Grille, 114 1/2 W. Third St.,
400 Iowa Ave., Muscatine IA Iowa City IA Ave., Davenport IA Karaoke Night – V.F.W. Post 9128, Davenport IA Davenport IA
Mississippi Drive featuring Jim Quad City Symphony Orchestra 2814 State St., Bettendorf IA Open Mic Music Night (5:30pm) –
Radloff – The Merrill Hotel
and Conference Center, 119 W. FRIDAY
2020/01/31 (Fri)
31 Masterworks IV: Love – Adler
Theatre, 136 E. Third St., Davenport
Open Mic Coffeehouse (Jan. 10)
– First Lutheran Church of Rock SUNDAYS
SUNDAYS Milltown Coffee, 3800 River Dr. #2,
Moline IL
Mississippi Dr., Muscatine IA Addison Jordan – Rozz-Tox, 2108 IA Island Parish House, 1600 20th St., DJ Higgy (Jan. 19) – Rozz-Tox, 2108
Phyllis & the Sharks – The Gypsy Third Ave., Rock Island IL Russ Reyman Request Piano Bar – Rock Island IL Third Ave., Rock Island IL
Highway Bar & Grill, 2606 W. Locust Brian Johannesen – Ryan Joseph The Phoenix Restaurant & Martini DJ Sperry – Boots Western Saloon,
St., Davenport IA Anderson – The Mill, 120 E. Bar, 111 West 2nd St., Davenport IA 2228 E 11th St., Davenport IA
Robert Burns Celebration & Burlington St., Iowa City IA Shesh Besh, the Arab–Jewish Karaoke Night – 11th Street Precinct,
Dinner: Barley House Band – Isle CJ Ryder & the Past Masters Ensemble – John & Alice Butler 1107 Mound St., Davenport IA
Casino Hotel Bettendorf, 1777 Isle – Rhythm City Casino Resort Hall - University of Dubuque
Parkway, Bettendorf IA Rhythm Room, 7077 Elmore Ave., Heritage Center, 2255 Bennett St.,
Ron Wilson & Friends – The Grape Davenport IA Dubuque IA
Life Wine Store & Lounge, 3402 Fair Warning – The Gypsy Highway Soul Storm – The Gypsy Highway
Elmore Ave., Davenport IA Bar & Grill, 2606 W. Locust St., Bar & Grill, 2606 W. Locust St.,
Russ Reyman Request Piano Bar – Davenport IA Davenport IA
The Phoenix Restaurant & Martini Fool House: The Ultimate ‘90s
Bar, 111 West 2nd St., Davenport IA
Sensei Of Syllables Project Release
Dance Party – The Redstone
Room, 129 Main St, Davenport IA SUNDAY
2020/02/02 (Sun)
2
Show: Aubs. – Conscious Crew Jim Buennig & Damani Phillips Jazz Dope Day II – The Mill, 120 E.
– Rozz-Tox, 2108 Third Ave., Rock Quintet – The Grape Life Wine Burlington St., Iowa City IA
Island IL Store & Lounge, 3402 Elmore Ave., Quad City Symphony Orchestra
Tim Grimm & Ben Bedford – Davenport IA Masterworks IV: Love (2pm)
Princeton Coffeehouse, 25 E. Larry Boyd (6pm) – Cool Beanz – Centennial Hall, Augustana
Marion St., Princeton IL Coffeehouse, 1325 30th St., Rock College, 3703 7th Ave., Rock Island
Toxic Blonde – 11th Street Precinct, Island IL IL
1107 Mound St., Davenport IA Michael Moncada Duo – Harley
Why Not – Bain–Marie – TV Cop
– Megababes – Gabe’s, 330 E.
Corin’s, 1708 State St., Bettendorf
IA MONDAY
2020/02/03 (Mon)
3
Washington St., Iowa City IA Orchestra Iowa Masterworks III: Dan Quinn (5pm) – Colona Public
The Zone – Harley Corin’s, 1708 State Beethoven 250 – Coralville Center Library, 911 1st St., Colona IL
St., Bettendorf IA for the Performing Arts, 1301 5th
St., Coralville IA
TUESDAY
2020/02/04 (Tue)
4
SUNDAY
2020/01/26 (Sun)
26 Phyllis & the Sharks – Parkside Grill
& Lounge, 2307 5th Ave, Moline IL Tuneful Tuesdays: Danelle Kvapil
Blues Rock–It (2pm) – The Gypsy Rags & Riches – Iowa City Yacht Club, (noon) – Rock Island Public Library
Highway Bar & Grill, 2606 W. Locust 13 S Linn St, Iowa City IA - Downtown Library, 401 19th St.,
St., Davenport IA Top of the World – Riverside Casino Rock Island, IL
Greg & Rich Acoustic Duo (2pm) – & Golf Resort, 3184 Highway 22,
Len Brown’s North Shore Inn, 700
N. Shore Dr., Moline IL
Riverside IA
Zackreb – The Ea$tside Tribe – WEDNESDAY 5
2020/02/05 (Wed)

Mad Creek Mudcats (11am) – Wesley T-Griff – Gabe’s, 330 E. Washington Magic Beans – Gabe’s, 330 E.
United Methodist Church, 400 St., Iowa City IA Washington St., Iowa City IA
Iowa Ave., Muscatine IA stop.drop.rewind – RIBCO, 1815
Music That Made America Great: Second Ave., Rock Island IL
Ivory & Gold featuring Jeff &

Humbird @ Rozz-Tox – January 16

26 River Cities’ Reader • Vol. 27 No. 969 • January 2020 Know More, Do More • RiverCitiesReader.com

MOVIES Continued From Page 21 By Mike Schulz

“Hoo-boy!” for Hollywood

Reminiscences on the 2019 Movie Year
period-detail perfection to Jimmy Hoffa’s masks her escalating panic with approxi-
eerily drab, business-as-usual execution to mations of normalcy. Nyong’o’s Red, with
the haunting final image of a wheelchair- her strangled croak of a voice and cock-
bound man requesting the door be left roach quickness, is a frightening creation.
open even though Christmas visitors will It’s Adelaide, though – the actual Red –
surely not be forthcoming. And what can who’s the truly terrifying monster, and in
be said about the flabbergasting genius of a film teeming with genre pleasures and
Joe Pesci? How about, “Come back soon, improvements courtesy of Peele and dou-
Joe!” ble-cast magnificence courtesy of Winston
Worth re-viewing … for the bread Duke, Elisabeth Moss, Tim Heidecker, and
dipped in grape juice; for Anna Paquin the exceptional youths Shahadi Wright
quietly annihilating De Niro’s world with Joseph and Evan Alex, Nyong’o is the ulti-
seven carefully chosen words; and, over mate reason I’ve watched this bold, creepy,
210 glorious minutes, for the invigorat- witty, unsettling film more than a dozen
ing snap of screenwriter Steven Zaillian’s times. Because Get Out is just about per-
dialogue. (“You know who owns the other fect, it was inevitable that many (myself
part?” “No.” “I do.” “Who?” “No. I do. I included) would initially underrate Peele’s
own the other part.” Classic.) latest. Time, I think, will eventually prove
Lupita Nyong’o in Us
that they (and I) shouldn’t have.
4) Us Worth re-viewing … for Alexa’s hilari- of us know, or think we know, by heart. jumpsuits actually did cross from sea to
Writer/director Jordan Peele’s adventur- ous misunderstanding of the command If they’re concerned that memories of shining sea. But I don’t want so much as
ous, endlessly watchable freakout hit cin- “Call the police”; for the climax’s insidi- previous performers will overshadow the need a follow-up to writer/director Rian
eplexes nearly 10 months ago and landed ously edited dance of death; and for per- current cast’s work, that feels like a non- Johnson’s fiendishly entertaining mystery-
on home video nearly seven months ago. haps the wittiest Home Alone joke ever told starter, given that Saoirse Ronan, Emma comedy, as I’m not at all ready to bid adieu
Can I finally talk about the twist, please? on film. Watson, Eliza Scanlen, and the wondrous to Daniel Craig’s drawling detective Benoit
(If you’d rather I didn’t, kindly skip ahead
to the next write-up.) Lots of movies, espe- 5) Little Women Florence Pugh (as fine and funny an Amy
as we’ll likely ever get) all find delicate,
Blanc, and more than ready for Johnson
to assemble another top-tier cast for
cially those with surprise endings, are rec- I know this is, like, the kajillionth adap- distinct balances between 1800s accuracy another wildly complex, hugely satisfying
ommended with the imperative “You’ve tation of Louisa May Alcott’s classic, and and 2019 relevance, as do such top-form cinematic puzzle. Although Christopher
got to see it twice!” But while that’s true that, for many, the definitive Little Women character actors as Laura Dern, Chris Plummer’s character croaked, there was
of Us, as well, there’s honestly no way to will forever be the one with Katharine Cooper, and Meryl Streep. And if they’re no end of screen life provided by the uni-
properly appreciate, or even comprehend, Hepburn, or June Allyson, or Winona expecting the fi lm to be boring – a sen- formly sensational Ana de Armas, Jamie
Lupita Nyong’o’s extraordinary slow-burn Ryder, or whomever else. But why is it that timent I’ve heard several times now – it Lee Curtis, Chris Evans, LaKeith Stanfield,
performance as Adelaide without repeat writer/director Greta Gerwig’s thrillingly so isn’t, as nearly every scene percolates Toni Collette, Michael Shannon, and Don
exposure. In particular, before Red and realized version seems to be the one recent with the energy, anxiety, and delight that Johnson, and the décor of the Thrombey
her fellow doppelgängers show up, watch movie I’m having the toughest time con- the Marches are frequently reminded to estate – from the hidden doorways to the
Nyong’o’s facial expressions and body lan- vincing friends to see? If they’re worried repress, even if they’re temperamentally titular knives – should be immediately
guage as Adelaide almost screws up her about the familiarity, they shouldn’t be; unable to. We’ll no doubt get more Little eligible for a collective SAG card. I saw
snapping rhythm on “I Got 5 on It”; as she Gerwig cleverly and meaningfully plays Women down the line. They’ll be hard- this one over the Thanksgiving break. In
remembers herself as a child ballerina; as with Alcott’s chronology, intertwining pressed to top this one. truth, though, it felt more like Christmas,
she registers a homeless man’s corpse en the March sisters’ youthful and adult lives Worth re-viewing … for the giddy because Knives Out really is the gift that
route to Santa Cruz: This is a woman des- in ways that add new-found humor, heart- audaciousness of written correspondence keeps on giving.
perately afraid of being found out, and who break, and gravitas to scenes that many verbalized straight to the camera; for Amy Worth re-viewing … for Blanc’s hilari-
making a cast of her “little foot” and then ously blunt yet astute appraisals of his
hobbling around, stuck; and for the scene- many suspects, especially when referring
stealing national treasure that is Tracy to Jaeden Mitchell’s dead-eyed teen as
Letts. It sometimes feels like he’s in every “that Nazi child masturbatin’ in the bath-
movie these days. If only. room”; for the irrepressible geeking out
of Noah Segan’s Trooper Wagner, who’s
6) Knives Out enjoying Blanc’s Southern-fried Hercule
Part of me, a really selfish part, wants Poirot routine even more than we are;
a sequel to Once Upon a Time … in Hol- and for the sharpest visual punchline of
lywood, just to see what futures Tarantino the year, one made all the wittier for being
envisions for heroic protectors Rick Dalton spelled out on a coffee cup.
and Cliff Booth, beaming mother Sharon
Tate, and happy family man Roman 7) Marriage Story
Polanski. Part of me wants a continua- Even though I’ve publicly raved about
tion to Us, as I’m curious about whether how wonderfully convenient it’s been,
Adelaide/Red and clan ever found a truly thanks to streaming, to view releases such
Ana de Armas and Daniel Craig in Knives Out safe place, and whether that line of red as The Irishman, Dolemite Is My Name,
Know More, Do More • RiverCitiesReader.com River Cities’ Reader • Vol. 27 No. 969 • January 2020 27
and The Aeronauts from the comfort of my Waititi writing and directing, how on
living room, I’ll admit there is a downside: earth was this not going to be a stagger-
I’ve now whiled away wa-a-ay too much ing, potentially grossly offensive mess? I
time re-watching adored scenes from this don’t know, but then again, I don’t know
stunningly observed dramedy by writer/ how most magicians pull off their tricks.
director Noah Baumbach. Not all of the And Jojo Rabbit is less a trick than a mir-
film gets this kind of personal treatment; acle – the most riotous release of 2019
I stick to my initial opinion that too many on a minute-by-minute basis, yet a work
showy sequences come off as forced, and that also boasts the ability, on more than
as lovely, sad, and beautifully scored (by a few occasions, to turn you into a weepy
Randy Newman) as it is, I have no prob- wreck. Waititi was most certainly aided
lem skipping through the trick-or-treating by the sensational casting of newcomer
segment entirely. But I could spend hours Roman Griffin Davis as Jojo, a confident
watching Scarlett Johansson prep mom dramatic presence and ace comedian who
Julie Hagerty and sis Merritt Wever (a more than holds his own against his more
comic revelation) for the serving of divorce seasoned co-stars, be they the radiantly
papers, and Alan Alda confounding Adam real and moving Scarlett Johansson and
Driver about whether or not they plan to Thomas McKenzie, or the fearlessly funny
go to court, and Laura Dern kicking off her Sam Rockwell, Rebel Wilson, Stephen Emma Watson, Florence Pugh, Saoirse Ronan, and Eliza Scanlen in Little Women
heels and curling up on the sofa in order Merchant, and, as faux-Hitler, Waititi
to prove to her prospective client that she himself. But while the movie is based on deservedly received a lion’s share of Pain & 10) Rocketman
really, really cares. (On a couple of occa- a Christine Leunens novel that I haven’t Glory’s praise, delivering a performance as
a physically impaired, retirement-bound Granted, I was predisposed to enjoy
sions now, I’ve only watched Dern’s scenes, read (and now want to), the genius of the this one, considering that director
which, when viewed in sequence, turn fluid, shifting tones feels like pure Taika, fi lmmaker that’s more honest, lived-in,
and subtly devastating than anything the Dexter Fletcher’s tune-fi lled bio-pic
the movie into a brilliant short comedy who almost seems to be daring us to laugh was going to be flooded with Elton John
about the most nightmarish attorney of in the face of events that, as his impas- performer has done in decades, and maybe
ever. Yet with none of his choices emerging songs and was hopefully going to give
your dreams – or the dreamiest attorney sioned filmmaking makes clear, are most Taron Egerton the big-screen showcase
of your nightmares.) Marriage Story has assuredly not laughing matters. That we do as show-off y, a minute doesn’t pass in which
you’re not reminded that this is Almodóvar’s his easy charisma and charm have long
significant flaws, but there aren’t many of laugh, and cry, and grip our armrests with deserved but haven’t received beyond
them, and the parts I love heftily outweigh legitimate tension, is testament to Waititi’s triumph all the way; this nakedly confes-
sional tale, with Penélope Cruz as incan- Eddie the Eagle. (Yes, I saw the Kingsman
the ones I don’t. brilliance. movies and 2018’s Robin Hood. Your
Worth re-viewing … for Ray Liotta Worth re-viewing … for every moment descent as she’s ever been, is as thrillingly
strange as Talk to Her, as warm and earthy as point?) But what I got was even better
detailing the middle ground between with Archie Yates (also making his screen than what I’d anticipated – the most
reasonable and crazy; for the visit from debut) as the friendliest and most adorable Volver, and, at times, as madcap as Women
on the Verge of a Nervous Breakdown. From imaginative, exuberant, “Let’s throw it
Martha Kelly’s evaluator and the pocket- of wannabe Nazis; for Rockwell’s expres- at the wall and see if it sticks” musical
knife trick, both of which go hideously sion of resigned acceptance as the Allies the color-drenched José Luis Alcain cinema-
tography to the alternately playful and mel- since Baz Luhrmann’s Moulin Rouge!
wrong; and for Johansson gently tapping take over; and for Johansson’s shoes. Oh, almost 20 years ago. For all of its creativ-
Driver’s foot so she can tie his shoe, send- the shoes. ancholic Alberto Iglesias score, I can’t wait
to see it, hear it, and read it all again. ity, Rocketman is still too conventional
ing him on his way no happier, but maybe in its narrative approach, and anyone
a little safer. 9) Pain & Glory Worth re-viewing … for Banderas and
who’s seen even one screen biography on
estranged friend Asier Etxeandia attempt-
This past November 9, I caught a morn- a show-biz legend will have no trouble
8) Jojo Rabbit ing screening of Parasite at the Davenport
ing to get through a public Q&A via Skype
plotting Elton’s flashback course from
while high as kites; for the aching soul kiss
Good God, did this one sound excru- cineplex, and after it ended, with my mind hopeful upstart to drug-addled diva to
between Banderas and Leonardo Sbaraglia,
ciating: a deliberately anachronistic, sen- still reeling, I trekked to Iowa City to catch at-peace icon. I don’t care. The musical
whose lust and deep love is made all the
timental slapstick set in Nazi Germany, this autobiographical drama by legendary set pieces are so exhilarating and/or sin-
more poignant by both men being in late-
with our titular hero an apple-cheeked Spanish writer/director Pedro Almodóvar. cere that I’ve barely been able to wipe the
middle-age; and for the very last shot – a
10-year-old whose imaginary best friend I’d call it the greatest foreign-language grin off my face during the many, many
sublimely gorgeous image suggesting how
talks like a millennial grade-schooler and double-feature I’d ever seen if I wasn’t times I’ve now viewed them, and Egerton
life can be turned into art, and how art, at
looks like an adult Adolph Hitler. Even tempted to call it the greatest double-feature is simply extraordinary, not least for
least of this magnitude, can occasionally feel
with the inventive New Zealander Taika I’d ever seen period. Antonio Banderas has looking and sounding so comfortable,
even more real than life.
so right, in costumes suggesting entire
Mardi Gras parades shrink-wrapped
into gloriously gaudy outerwear. Hello,
yellow brick road!
Worth re-viewing … for Kit Connor’s
adolescent Elton morphing into Egerton’s
through the joyous frenzy of “Saturday
Night’s Alright for Fighting”; for Elton
facing a younger, less troubled version
of himself at the bottom of a swimming
pool; and for Jamie Bell’s heartbreaking
expression of unparalleled wonder and
happiness as he stares at his best friend
creating the “Your Song” melody on the
fly, the “your” in its title belonging first
to Elton, and then to Bernie Taupin, and
then, finally, to all of us.
Scarlett Johansson and Adam Driver in Marriage Story
28 River Cities’ Reader • Vol. 27 No. 969 • January 2020 Know More, Do More • RiverCitiesReader.com