River Cities' Reader #926

Peace, Love, Joy of Music
and
the
Remembering Ellis Kell Page 5

Ellis Kell in early 2015. Photo by Joshua Ford (Ford-Photo.com).
Mikes 2016 Movie Favorites from

A(rrival) to Z(ootopia) Page 13
Trading the Computer
for Real Life: Karen Meat
at Rozz-Tox Page 4
Art in Plain
Sight: Neon
Signs Page 8
Unchained Melodies:
Circas Ghost: The
Musical Page 9
Whats Happenin: Figge Exhibits,

Twenty One Pilots, Water by the
Spoonful Page 10
#926
January 19 - February 1, 2017
River Cities Reader Vol. 24 No. 926 January 19 - February 1, 2017
ILLINOIS POLITICS
Business Politics Arts Culture Now You Know RiverCitiesReader.com

By Rich Miller
CapitolFax.com
Madigans Re-election
a Joyless Affair
f I had to choose a word to describe

the Democrats nominating speeches
for House Speaker Michael Madigans
re-election last week, it would be either
defensive or joyless.
The speeches seemed directly aimed at
Madigans toughest critics and there are
plenty of those out there. The nominators
at times angrily justified their own votes
for Madigan and their continued willingness to support him while under siege by a
hostile kabillionaire governor and much of
the states media. They literally cannot go
anywhere without being asked about why
they continue to back Madigan.
For the most part, these were speeches
from an all-too-real bunker.
Representative Dan Beiser (D-Alton)
told a touching story about how Madigan
dotes over Beisers grandchild, but he
began his speech with an anecdote about
how he figured the child would get him in
trouble by playing with a toy car in Madigans office a clear acknowledgment of
his leaders fearsome reputation. It was an
attempt to humanize a man who has been
turned into a cartoon caricature. But it was
too little, too late.
Beiser, by the way, was a tier-one campaign target last year who was repeatedly
forced to distance himself from Madigan.
His nominating speech was the clearest
indication yet that he wont be running for
re-election next year. Former Representative John Bradley lost his House race last
year partly because the Republicans aired
an ad that used video from one of his own
Madigan nominating speeches. Beisers
speech was likely not so much an act of
courage in the face of overwhelming retribution, but a way to show his thanks to the
top dog on his way out the door.
While House Democrats repeatedly
lashed out at the opposition to Madigan,
Senate Democrats were heaping praise on
Senate President John Cullerton for being,
in the words of Senator Toi Hutchinson
(D-Olympia Fields), uniquely qualified at
building bipartisan bridges because, above
everything else, he has demonstrated a love
for this state.
Contrast that with the speech by Representative Elgie Sims (D-Chicago), which
began with a story about how a friend
warned him against seconding Madigans
nomination because the Republicans
would bash him with tons of negative ads.
The strong sense of political danger
about the vote was widely shared by Sims
fellow Democratic House members. But, in
the end, the members did their grim best to
power their way forward.

Madigan began his own speech by
asking for bipartisanship, but then he
defiantly refused yet again to participate
in any race to the bottom with Governor
Bruce Rauner and appeared to dismiss outof-hand any attempt to reform workers
compensation insurance, a key component
of the compromise brewing in the Senate.
Madigans speech was nothing like the
one by Cullerton, who mildly complained
that the Senate is often ignored by reporters
because if theres no conflict theres no
coverage.
Cullerton talked about the advances he
and Senate Republican Leader Christine
Radogno have made together. The two
were elected to their leadership roles as
the Rod Blagojevich era was coming to an
end. Weve seen some pretty bad times,
and weve gotten through them by working
together, he said.
How about we just try governing for a
little bit? Cullerton gently asked near the end
of his speech, after saying the nonstop campaign-style messaging needs to stop. Thats
what the people have sent us here to do.
That same sentiment was expressed
much more forcefully in the House, where
Republican Leader Jim Durkin angrily
demanded an end to the Democrats
gotcha games of holding endless roll calls
purely designed to be used in campaign ads.
Watching the two ceremonies was truly
a study in contrasts. The Senate was brimming with hope that it can finally lead the
way out of this horrific two-year impasse.
The House, meanwhile, is still mired in the
stalemate with no clear way forward.
And then there was the lone present vote by Representative Scott Drury
(D-Highwood), who issued a long and
rambling press release afterward predicting
that he will likely face repercussions for
his (mostly meaningless) act, and claiming
that Illinois is in a free-fall into the abyss.
Despite his usual melodramatics and
penchant for self-aggrandizement, Drurys
statement was almost the perfect cap for
a joyless and grim afternoon. It is clear,
he wrote, that a majority of the General
Assembly is not ready for a new speaker.
That is very true. Last week, the House
Democrats continued the age-old political practice of dancing with the one who
brung them. But there were few smiles to
be seen.
Rich Miller also publishes Capitol
Fax (a daily political newsletter) and
CapitolFax.com.
GUEST COMMENTARY
When It Comes to Fake News,

the U.S. Government Is the Biggest Culprit
We Americans are the ultimate innocents.

We are forever desperate to believe that
this time the government is telling us the
truth. Former New York Times reporter
Sydney Schanberg
ets talk about fake news stories.

Theres the garden-variety fake news
that is not really news so much as
it is titillating, tabloid-worthy material
peddled by anyone with a Twitter account,
a Facebook page, and an active imagination. These stories run the gamut from the
ridiculous and the obviously click-baity to
the satirical and politically manipulative.
Anyone with an ounce of sense and
access to the Internet should be able to
ferret out the truth and lies in these stories
with some basic research.
Then theres the more-devious kind
of news stories circulated by one of the
biggest propagators of fake news: the
U.S. government.
In the midst of the medias sudden headline-blaring apoplexy over fake news, you
wont hear much about the governments
role in producing, planting, and peddling
propaganda-driven fake news often with
the help of the corporate news media
because thats not how the game works.
Why?
Because the powers-that-be dont want
us skeptical of the governments message or its corporate accomplices in the
mainstream media. They dont want us
to be more discerning when it comes to
what information we digest online. They
just want us to be leery of independent or
alternative news sources while trusting
them and their corporate colleagues to
vet the news for us.
Indeed, the New York Times has suggested that Facebook and Google appoint
themselves the arbiters of truth on the
Internet to screen out what is blatantly
false, spam, or click-baity.
Not only would this establish a dangerous precedent for all-out censorship by
corporate entities known for colluding
with the government, but its also a slick
sleight-of-hand maneuver that diverts
attention from what we should really be
talking about: the fact that the government
has grown dangerously out-of-control,
all the while the so-called mainstream
news media, which is supposed to act as a
bulwark against government propaganda,
has instead become the mouthpiece of
the worlds largest corporation the
U.S. government.
As veteran journalist Carl Bernstein,

who along with Bob Woodward blew the
lid off the Watergate scandal, reported
in his expansive 1977 Rolling Stone piece
The CIA & the Media: More than 400
American journalists ... in the past 25
years have secretly carried out assignments
for the Central Intelligence Agency. ...
Reporters shared their notebooks with the
CIA. Editors shared their staffs. Some of
the journalists were Pulitzer Prize winners, distinguished reporters. ... In many
instances, CIA documents show, journalists were engaged to perform tasks for the
CIA with the consent of the managements
of Americas leading news organizations.
Bernstein is referring to Operation
Mockingbird, a CIA campaign started
in the 1950s to plant intelligence reports
among reporters at more than 25 major
newspapers and wire agencies, who would
then regurgitate them for a public oblivious
to the fact that they were being fed government propaganda.
For example, in August 1964, the
nations leading newspapers including
the Washington Post and New York Times
echoed Lyndon Johnsons claim that North
Vietnam had launched a second round of
attacks against American destroyers in the
Gulf of Tonkin. No such attacks had taken
place, and yet the damage was done. As
Jeff Cohen and Norman Solomon report
for Fairness & Accuracy in Reporting: By
reporting official claims as absolute truths,
American journalism opened the floodgates for the bloody Vietnam War.
Fast forward to the early post-9/11 years,
when, despite a lack of any credible data
supporting the existence of weapons of
mass destruction, the mainstream media
jumped on the bandwagon to sound the
war drums against Iraq. As Los Angeles
Times columnist Robin Abcarian put it:
Our government ... used its immense bully
pulpit to steamroll the watchdogs. ... Many
were gulled by access to administration
insiders, or susceptible to the drumbeat of
the governments coordinated rhetoric.
If it was happening then, you can bet
its still happening today, only its been
reclassified, renamed, and hidden behind
layers of government secrecy, obfuscation,
and spin.
In its article How the American
Government Is Trying to Control What
You Think, the Washington Post points
out: Government agencies historically have made a habit of crossing the
blurry line between informing the public
and propagandizing.
Thus, whether youre talking about the
Cold War, the Vietnam War, the Gulf War,
the governments invasion of Iraq based
upon absolute fabrications, or the governments wars on terror, privacy, and whistleblowers, its being driven by propaganda
churned out by one corporate machine
(the corporate-controlled government) and
fed to the American people by way of yet
another corporate machine (the corporatecontrolled media).
For the first time in human history,
there is a concerted strategy to manipulate
global perception. And the mass media are
operating as its compliant assistants, failing both to resist it and to expose it, writes
investigative journalist Nick Davies. The
sheer ease with which this machinery has
been able to do its work reflects a creeping
structural weakness which now afflicts the
production of our news.
Davies explains: The Pentagon has now
designated information operations as
its fifth core competency alongside land,
sea, air, and special forces. Since October
2006, every brigade, division, and corps in
the U.S. military has had its own psyop
element producing output for local media.
This military activity is linked to the
State Departments campaign of public
diplomacy, which includes funding radio
stations and news Web sites.
This use of propaganda disguised as
journalism is what journalist John Pilger
refers to as invisible government, ... the
true ruling power of our country.
In other words, we no longer have a
Fourth Estate.
Not when the news we receive is
routinely manufactured, manipulated, and
made-to-order by government agents. Not
when six corporations control 90 percent
of the media in America. And not when, as
Davies laments, news organizations which
might otherwise have exposed the truth
were themselves part of the abuse ... .
So lets have no more of this morally
offended talk about fake news from the
very media outlets that have become propagandists for the false reality created by
the American government.
After all, as Glenn Greenwald points out:
The term propaganda rings melodramatic and exaggerated, but a press that
whether from fear, careerism, or conviction uncritically recites false government
claims and reports them as fact, or treats
elected officials with a reverence reserved
for royalty, cannot be accurately described
By John W. Whitehead
johnw@rutherford.org
as engaged in any other function.

So what should or can we do?
Ill close with John Pilgers words of
warning and advice: Real information,
subversive information, remains the most
potent power of all and I believe that
we must not fall into the trap of believing
that the media speaks for the public. That
wasnt true in Stalinist Czechoslovakia,
and it isnt true of the United States. In all
the years Ive been a journalist, Ive never
known public consciousness to have risen
as fast as its rising today ... yet this growing
critical public awareness is all the more
remarkable when you consider the sheer
scale of indoctrination, the mythology of a
superior way of life, and the current manufactured state of fear.
[The public] need[s] truth, and journalists ought to be agents of truth, not the
courtiers of power. I believe a fifth estate is
possible, the product of a peoples movement, that monitors, deconstructs, and
counters the corporate media. In every
university, in every media college, in every
newsroom, teachers of journalism [and]
journalists themselves need to ask themselves about the part they now play in the
bloodshed in the name of a bogus objectivity. Such a movement within the media
could herald a perestroika of a kind that
we have never known. This is all possible.
Silences can be broken. ... In the United
States, wonderfully free rebellious spirits
populate the Web. ... The best reporting ... appears on the Web ... and [from]
citizen reporters.
The challenge for the rest of us is to lift
this subjugated knowledge from out of
the underground and take it to ordinary
people. We need to make haste. Liberal
democracy is moving toward a form of
corporate dictatorship. This is an historic
shift, and the media must not be allowed to
be its faade, but itself made into a popular,
burning issue, and subjected to direct
action. That great whistleblower Tom Paine
warned that if the majority of the people
were denied the truth and the ideas of
truth, it was time to storm what he called
the Bastille of words. That time is now.
Constitutional attorney and author John W.
Whitehead is founder and president of The
Rutherford Institute (Rutherford.org, where
this commentary originally appeared).
His book Battlefield America: The War
on the American People is available at
Amazon.com.
MUSIC

By Hannah Bates
bateshannaha@gmail.com
Trading the Computer for Real Life

Karen Meat, February 2 at Rozz-Tox
Karen Meats Arin Eaton
want to barf on you, sings Arin

Eaton on Sad, the most strippeddown song on the 2016 Karen Meat
EP Shes Drunk Like the Rest of Us. I hate
what youve put me through.
While vomit is nowhere near unexpected from a Karen Meat & the Computer
track (see puking references in songs
such as I Wrote You a Card and Pizza
& Beer), Eaton is coming from a morepersonal place on this solo EP.
The Des Moines-based Eaton will perform at Rozz-Tox on February 2 as Karen
Meat, the solo moniker distinct from her
four-piece pop band Karen Meat & the
Computer. Shell be joined by Dana T, the
Iowa City-based musician who produced
and arranged Shes Drunk Like the Rest
of Us.
After the members of Karen Meat & the
Computer burnt out touring behind the
2016 EP On the Couch, Eaton spent a few
summer days writing about what she called
a weird year personally.
I lived in a basement, and I locked
myself in there for three days and wrote
some songs on a synthesizer about personal
things going on, Eaton said in a phone
interview.
While she wrote all of the songs herself
instead of collaborating with her Computer
bandmates, the songs retain the outfits
lyrical simplicity. The bluntness of Eatons
words dont take away from the story shes
telling, expressing the shock of humiliation
especially in the EPs lead track, Drone.
Remember a few hours ago when you
broke up with me in your sisters front
yard in front of family? chants Eaton in a
sing-songy fashion. Oh my god. That was
embarrassing.
Dana Ts production embellishes
Drone with Gameboy-esque noises,
with electronic notes bouncing all over the
place in the background, dissolving into
unaltered piano.
This story of the dissolution
of a relationship is often filled
with unhappiness, whether
Eaton sings about trying to
destroy her hair or about not
eating or about drinking every
day. In the EPs standout track
A Is for Asshole, Eatons insecurity extends to her music.
Im tired of using, she sings.
Im tired of abusing this f---ing
A chord that I cannot stop
playing. Oh my God. Is this the
same Karen Meat song again?
But the song sounds anything but dark,
with a peppy electronic backing track
that could be soundtracking the intro to a
movie from the 80s.
The albums style is all over the place,
ranging from synth pop to early rock-androll in Doowop to country-folk vibes in
closing track Sad. But it always effectively
expresses what Eaton was feeling. Its
solely me and my thoughts, and sometimes
those are chaotic, she said.
Dana Ts production and arrangement create a crystal-clear sound, unlike
the tinny lo-fi aesthetic of Karen Meat
& the Computer. The bands signature
omnichord is traded for a wider range of
instrumentation.
But the groups spirit is still very much
alive on Shes Drunk Like the Rest of Us.
Eaton said the band tries to let people
know that were serious, but also it doesnt
matter. Lifes short. You gotta have fun.
Shes Drunk Like the Rest of Us excels in
applying that philosophy to more-serious
subject matter. The sounds and attitude on
most of the EP keep it deceptively light, but
the emotional impact isnt lost, especially
in the final moments.
Ill admit Im sad, sings Eaton in its
last line.
Karen Meat will perform on Thursday,
February 2, at Rozz-Tox (2108 Third
Avenue, Rock Island; RozzTox.com).
The 8 p.m. all-ages show also includes
Tambourine. Cover is $5 to $10.
For more information on Karen Meat, visit
KarenMeat.com.
Hannah Bates is a St. Ambrose University
graduate who likes music more than she
likes most other things. She can be reached
at bateshannaha@gmail.com.
COVER STORY
Peace, Love, and the Joy of Music

Remembering Ellis Kell (1955-2016)
llis Kell died suddenly in December

after an October cancer diagnosis and he was known to many as
a stalwart part of the Quad Cities music
scene and a longtime staff member of
the River Music Experience. But these
remembrances attest that Kell was loved
far beyond those roles.
Peace, Love & the Joy of Music, a benefit
concert for the Kell family, will be held on
Saturday, January 21, from 4 to 11 p.m.
at the RiverCenter (136 East Third Street,
Davenport). The suggested donation for
admission is $10. Scheduled performers
include the Ellis Kell Band, The Whoozdads?, The Way Down Wanderers, David
G. Smith, The Candymakers, Lojo Russo,
The Velies, Rude Punch, The Curtis
Hawkins Band with Ernie Peniston & Hal
Reed, Quad Cities Blues Mafia, and RME
Camp Kids Jam.
For a 2015 River Cities Reader cover
story on Kell, visit RCReader.com/y/kell.
For an expanded version of this article,
visit RCReader.com.
When I left the Quad Cities back in
1984, Ellis was a young, up-and-coming
blues musician. I played with him briefly
at a little studio in town. I dont remember the name or the track just that he
was proud of his new Les Paul Studio.
It was 20 years before I played with him
again. Through the years, he had become
an influential player and well-respected
fixture in the citys music scene, and
whenever Shenandoah was booked
around town, we always found time to
chat backstage about guitars and family.
I never really realized just how special
and influential Ellis had become until my
brother, Jack Seales, died in 2004. Ellis
put together a memorial benefit show for
him and took care of all the details the
auction, the personnel, and the volunteers
and entertainment. Shenandoah was still
in its heyday, and I was traveling nonstop
... but I came in off the road and drove to
my old hometown and was overwhelmed
at the event he had put together.
I dont remember how much money
was raised, but I do remember the caring
attitude and the tireless effort Ellis put
forth. He showed me the exhibit he had
put together for Jack and spoke about his
dreams for the RME. It was obvious that
he played a key role in the music community of the Quad Cities. His caring
attitude did not go unnoticed; everyone
I spoke with reiterated that Ellis was
Ellis was an easy man to love and

respect, and we were friends from day
one. Whenever wed see each other, there
was always a story to share. One of our
earliest conversations was about Ireland.
He spoke of his Celtic roots, and we
shared stories of the music, the people,
and the Irish countryside. A short time
later I went to live in Ireland briefly and
brought him back a stone from Co Galway
for his collection.
I admired Ellis deep love for music
the joy of music, spreading it around,
sharing its history, and teaching children
how to find their joy in music. Over the
years, I was fortunate enough to share
some of these experiences at Ellis side.
Ellis Kell introduced me to the music,
the music scene, and the musicians of the
Quad Cities, and I am thankful for all that
he shared with me. From his easy smile to
his signature salutation, Namaste, Ellis
was so much more than just a musician,
and I couldnt have asked for a better
adviser, mentor, role model, and, most
importantly, friend.
Lojo Russo
Ellis Kell in 1999, opening for Bo Diddley. (Photo by Kevin Schafer)

always the one who picked up the torch
when someone was in need. I was proud
to get to play with him that night ... and
I know he and Jack are now playing
together again.
All people dream of making a difference in the world, musicians maybe more
than most. Ellis made a difference where
it counts. He filled peoples hearts with
music and their lives with love and hope.
If there is a Hall of Fame for these attributes, I know who is going in first. Love
you, Ellis Kell. Peace, love, comfort, and
blessings to your friends and family.
Jim Seales, Shenandoah
I met Ellis Kell in 2005. Id just moved

to Iowa from Minnesota, and Ellis did
the booking for Mojos Caf. (Now Falbo
Bros. Pizza, Mojos was part of the RME
back then, and the Redstone Room was
just in its infancy.) I had no idea when I
made that cold call for the gig that Ellis
was so much more than just the talent
buyer for Mojos. We ended up talking
about everything: the music scene in
the QCA, blues, rock, mutual musical
acquaintances, and just music in general. I got the gig, and it wasnt until the
night of the show that I got to meet the
man himself.
I met Ellis in the late 80s. I was in a

band called the Mudcats, and he was
hanging around quite a bit. Eventually
we got him up to sit in. Actually, he was
the only person that we ever really got up
to sit in. Thats how we got to know each
other musically and become good friends.
I played with Ellis in the original Ellis
Kell Band (and will be coming from
Arizona to play with the band again at the
January 21 benefit concert at the RiverCenter), but I played a couple of shows
with just him and I him on guitar and
me on harmonica.
As a musician, he was always exceptional. He had a nice touch on the guitar,
and his voice was really smooth. I always
enjoyed listening to him.
Ill always remember Ellis as being
the gentle giant. A giant because of his
huge ability to show love and kindness to
everyone he met. He made everyone feel
like they were best friends. You couldnt
find a better human being the way he
respected others and the way he drew
people into his life.
It goes without saying that Ellis legacy
will live on in the hearts of those he has
touched for decades to come.
Dennis Hancq
Continued On Page 6
COVER STORY
Continued From Page 5
Peace, Love, and the Joy of Music

I met Ellis in late summer of 1968. Most
people dont know that Ellis started out as
a drummer. We were in a two-drummer
junior-high-school rock band. About a
month into it, Ellis asked to use my drum
kit, and I said no, so he quit.
A couple months later at school, he told
me he switched to guitar and was taking
lessons. I said, Come on over and well
jam. We played a couple of parties and
won a talent show, but we needed a bigger
sound. We both said at the same time:
Call Mike. So its been Ellis, Mike Frank,
and me for 45 years plus, in one band after
another in some combination of the three
of us, all the way to the present.
Weve been friends through life, not just
music. Ellis was best man in both my weddings, and I was best man in both of his,
and we played at Mikes wedding.
Ellis used to be a very shy person.
He didnt talk to very many people. He
changed after he quit drinking, and after
losing his dad, and losing his daughter,
of course. He changed to be more open,
understanding.
He got married to Kristi, and I think
Kristi kind of changed him in a lot of
ways. He got to be himself, and he got
really good at organizing, putting people
together. Not so much the music part of
it, but the humanitarian part of it. He was
always good at that; he would always play
the middle well.
What youve seen with him the last 15
years was who he was. He wanted to be
himself, and thats who he became.
Jeffrey Clark
I worked with Ellis a number of years
doing sound for the Ellis Kell Band. At an
outdoor gig at Americas Pub one night,
Ellis noticed I was really bummed out.
He asked me what was wrong, and I told
him I had to put my cat down because of a
lengthy illness. He patted me on the back
and reassured me that everything would
be okay. Early the next morning, Ellis
wife Kristi came over and dumped a box
full of kittens on the porch. She said Ellis
sent her over to see which kitten I wanted.
One of the kittens walks into my house
and checks out the place, and it looked
like the digs suited him just fine! So I said,
Ill take this one! Two weeks later, no
name for the kitty. So Im sitting in my
living room with my little buddy lying
next to me watching the movie Crossroads
and my wife is angry with me because I
took the kitten in the first place, and she
walks in and says, We need a name for
this cat. Just then Lightning Boy (Ralph
Macchio) walks into the hospital room

and says, Im looking for a man named
Willie Brown! That was it! We named
him Willie Brown, and the rest is history.
Of all the things Ellis gave to me, he gives
me a Blues Cat! Willie was a faithful
companion and always waited for me outside after every gig I did. Ellis got a kick
out of the fact that I named one of his kittens Willie Brown. He would chuckle and
ask, Hows my boy Willie Brown doing?
Mike Ortiz
Peace, love, and the joy of music, partner. Thats the common closing line Id
find from Ellis in 5,000 e-mails spanning
the time before, during, and well after
we worked together at the River Music
Experience, where I was the talent buyer
for the Redstone Room and River Roots
Live from 2006 to 2009.
This partner simply played the team
game. Ive had some amazing teammates
in this music industry, near and far, but
I can think of no one who had a more
team-oriented work ethic than Ellis, even
as I write this from the industry capital of
Nashville.
Ellis love of music made him a blues
historian, but he was always seeking new
musical discoveries because he could feel
it all. He had headphones at his desk for
when he needed to feel music with his
eyes closed. And what he loved he wanted
to share with everyone else to see it give
them energy, too.
Peace and love were all he wanted in his
community. That meant equality across
all races and genders, the less fortunate
and the privileged, the old and young ...
everyone. It deeply saddened him to see
someone else hurting, and hed give every
effort he could lift someone up.
I hope there is someone who steps up in
the Quad Cities who is as selfless as he was
in the music community. Just love what
you do and be willing to teach. Ellis would
share the blessings.
Santo Pullella, Talent Buyer for
the Third & Lindsley music venue in
Nashville, Tennessee
We did a ton of stuff together. The RME
was formed, and Ellis worked full-time
there, and I served on the board and had a
lot to do with the River Roots Live event.
He and his wife would come to a lot
of our special events outside the Quad
Cities. He would come down to Memphis;
Louisville, Kentucky; New Orleans;
Paducah, Kentucky. He loved those places.
Hed say: This is where my kind of music
was born. Especially New Orleans

and Memphis.
Hed do performances for special
events that we were having to make
the event even better.
We all need more Ellises in our
lives. The world needs more Ellises.
He was a very selfless man who had
a huge heart and did a lot for others
around him constantly.
Chad Pregracke, Living Lands
& Waters Founder and President
When I moved back to Iowa from
Nashville, I eventually ended up in
the Quad Cities. The RME was in
its first year. There was no Redstone Room, Community Stage, or
education component. There were
no outreach programs. That came
later, and that was all Ellis. He was
one of the first musicians I met here.
He extended his hand. It was a firm
and welcoming handshake. We had
coffee. A very unassuming man, he
told me about his trip to Nashville back
in the 80s to meet one of his songwriter
heroes, Kris Kristofferson. He found
him, or at least his publishing house and
publisher, but was told Kris had already
moved out to LA. What I remember most
about our meeting was that Ellis had an
easy way about him. A kind of calm,
if you will. And it radiated through his
handshake and presence. There was no
one-upmanship or power play to his
character. I had the pleasure of working
with Ellis from time to time over the next
dozen years. That sense of calm, even
under the most stressful situations, was
always present. A calm that told me he
knew what was important about life and
people taking care of people was right up
near the top. It was that simple for him.
And thats how he spent his life, extending
his hand ... and his heart, always welcoming ... always taking care of people. It was
the true music of his life.
David G. Smith
For Ellis it was always about the joy of
playing music.
During the eight years I worked alongside Ellis at the RME, there were plenty
of challenges to tackle, as is common at
any nonprofit organization. But no matter
what was going on, we were always able
to share songs and guitar licks with each
other, and I certainly learned a lot more
from Ellis than he did from me though
hed never say that.
Ellis playing was so natural, and he was
Ellis Kell in 2015. (Photo by Joshua Ford, Ford-Photo.com)

such an unassuming person, that it was
easy to forget what a tremendous musician he was. He could pick up just about
anything with strings on it and make it
sound like hed been playing it for years,
and he was a great piano player to boot
though hed never admit it.
Despite his significant gifts, he always
made other players feel like they were
doing a great job and never hesitated to
assume a backing role to let others shine.
We would often joke about how much
better the young musicians in RME
programs were than we were, but it wasnt
a joke at all. Those kids and young adults
are excellent musicians and better people
because of the life work of Ellis Kell.
Tom Swanson, former Executive
Director of the River Music Experience
My husband Mike Pestle and Ellis knew
each other from a very young age; they
grew up across the alley from each other.
When Mike was a sophomore, his mother
passed away from colon cancer.
Ellis had a big heart and compassion
for others even as a high-school student.
Ellis walked into the school office and
told them, You can give me detentions, a
suspension, or kick me out of school, but I
am leaving to be with my friend. He needs
me. Ellis was a junior at the time and
knew that his friend was devastated and
heartbroken and needed him. Amazing
that at such a young age he thought of
others before himself.
They remained close friends their entire
lives. In fact, when I met Mike and we

began dating, it was Ellis and Kristi Kell
that Mike introduced me to, and their
acceptance of me meant so much to him.
We became close friends, and Ellis and
Kristi stood up with us when we were
married in 1990. Mike so often referred to
Ellis as his brother.
I cannot think of anyone that has been
better friends, and always there when
someone needed them with a quick smile,
a hug, kind words, or just that silent
presence that gave you comfort without
judgment no matter the circumstance. We
have lost an amazing musician, for sure,
but even more an amazing human being.
Kim Pestle
Occasionally, we are fortunate to
meet individuals with whom we feel an
immediate connection that resonates
through our lives. I met Ellis after moving
to the Quad Cities to develop exhibits and
programs for the River Music Experience.
I knew immediately that I wanted to work
with him. As a stranger to a new community, his warmth, enthusiasm, and love for
music and community were genuine his
embrace of me as a friend and colleague
was heartfelt and real. Through the years,
I would periodically get a message from
Ellis thanking me for making him part of
the team that built the RME. He had a way
of making me feel included and appreciated, although it was his passion and drive
that created such a vital center for the
Quad Cities. The character and integrity
of the RME are tributes to Ellis

initiative and commitment.
When the B.B. King Museum
opened to the public in 2008, he
traveled to Mississippi and was
there to celebrate the opening of
that museum with me. His joy at
the success of others was authentic and unaffected.
Angels are not ethereal beings
with gossamer wings that hover
beyond our ken. And when
pressed to define them, our
conception almost always fails to
comprehend their true constitution. We should not be surprised
to learn that they move and
breathe among us, showering
their mercy upon us in the most
unassuming ways. Ellis Kell was
such a creature. His avocation
was grounded in a profound love
for the music he stewarded and
made. Always considerate and
kindhearted, he moved through
the world with grace and taught me that
generosity is its own reward.
Connie Gibbons, former Executive
Director of the River Music Experience
My role at the RME is to book the bands
for public performances. Every once in a
while Ellis would inquire about one band
or another more often than not theyd
be one of his musical heroes, like Randy
Newman or Kris Kristofferson. And more
often than not, Id reply with something
like Are you crazy? We cant afford
them! But hed still ask maybe once a
year or so and bring up the same names.
I can tell you that his persistence worked
more than a few times, because with his
persuasions I was able to make offers to
and host acts such as Johnny Winter, Leon
Russell, and Bill Payne of Little Feat at the
Redstone Room. I was even able to get a
few of them to agree to let Ellis provide the
opening set. EK was so happy; he couldnt
wipe that crooked smile off his face all
night! And I never would have asked some
of these musical giants to perform at our
tiny club had it not been for him. He had
the power to give confidence in people
with a simple note or word. If he believed
in you, he got you to believe in yourself.
Kate Dale, River Music Experience
Director of Entertainment
ART
Art in Plain Sight: Neon Signs
owntown Davenport was once

Modern sensibility. It is delightfully
red-orange light. Other gases and
bathed in the bright glow of neon
enhanced by flashing lights within a
chemicals were soon used to produce
signs. In a photo taken from the
bright-yellow arrow.
additional colors: Hydrogen produces
intersection of Main and Second streets
While these signs are characteristically
red, helium yellow, carbon dioxide white,
in the 1940s, the Hansens Hardware
urban, the neon lighting across the ceiling and mercury blue. Since the development
neon sign in the foreground rises several
of the bus-terminal lobby at the Charles
of phosphors for color televisions in the
stories over the street below. So does a
J. Wright Ground Transportation Center
1950s, more than 100 new colors for neonnearby Kaybee sign. There are, seemingly,
taps into the romance of the highway
tube lighting have been developed.
a dozen or more smaller neon signs in
another association with neon signs. The
Although neon signs can last for
the block.
artwork, created by Stephen Antonakos in decades, their numbers began to fall with
Today from the same vantage point,
1985, is composed of long, gentle, arcing
the advent of less-expensive fluorescent
we see U.S. Bank, the Figge Art Museum
neon tubes that call to mind red taillights
lighting. This has only accelerated with
plaza, and the Charles J. Wright Ground
at night.
the introduction of and continuing
Transportation Center. The prominent
Neon lighting was first demonstrated in improvements in new materials, digital
Hansen neon sign? Long gone. So are all
public by its inventor, Georges Claude, at
technologies, and
of the other large neon signs in the photo:
the Paris Motor Show in 1910. Neon signs, LED lighting.
Kaybee, The Hub, Three Sisters, Bakers
however, werent introduced to America
Neon lightShoes. Also gone are the even-moreuntil after World War I. The brilliant
ing, however, has
impressive neon signs rising high above
red light fascinated the public and was
an aesthetic that
the downtown theatre marquees.
dubbed liquid fire. It quickly caught on
perhaps is only
Neon signs from this past era, fortuin outdoor advertising and signage. The
now being fully
nately, can still be found elsewhere in the
timing of its introduction perfectly fit the
appreciated, as we
Quad Cities.
youthful spirit of the Roaring 20s, which
become more aware
The 76-year-old BOWLING sign
embraced the new.
of its disappearthat rises vertically over the entrance
Neon gas itself only gives off a
ance. Enjoy these
to Bowlmor Lanes at 2953 Brady Street
in Davenport is the areas
most striking example of
an Art Deco neon sign. Its
curved, streamlined shape,
receding stepped base, and
sans-serif letters are characteristically Modern.
The sign dates back to
1940 before America
entered World War II
when the bowling alley
first opened. Bowlmor was
billed as Iowas Bowling
Palace the largest bowling alley between Chicago
and Denver (a 1,000-mile
journey on Route 6, which
passes through Davenport). The sign exudes this
confidence.
Other iconic neon signs
include those at Lagomarcinos (1422 Fifth Avenue
in Moline) and Macs
Tavern (316 West Third
Street in Davenport). They
are not as flamboyant as
Bowlmors, but that is not
their visual message; their
smaller size and moremodest designs give them a
neighborhood feel.
The Harris Pizza sign
at 1601 West Third Street
The neon signs at (clockwise from left) Harris Pizza, Bowlmor, and Macs Tavern
in Davenport has a tilted,
angular Mid-Century
Article and photos by Bruce Walters

BD-Walters@wiu.edu
broad-shouldered American poems written in glass and steel while they are still
vibrant pieces in the open-air museum of
our community.
Bruce Walters is a professor of art at
Western Illinois University.
This is part of an occasional series on
the history of public art in the Quad
Cities. If theres a piece of public art that
youd like to learn more about, e-mail
the location and a brief description to
BD-Walters@wiu.edu.
Since 1993
Vol. 24 No. 926
January 19 - February 1, 2017

River Cities Reader
532 W. 3rd St.
Davenport IA 52801
RiverCitiesReader.com
(563)324-0049 (phone)
(563)323-3101 (fax)
info@rcreader.com
Publishing since 1993
The River Cities Reader is an independent

newspaper published every other Thursday,
and available free throughout the Quad
Cities and surrounding areas.
2017 River Cities Reader
AD DEADLINE:
5 p.m. Wednesday prior to publication
PUBLISHER
Todd McGreevy
EDITOR
Kathleen McCarthy
EDITORIAL
Managing Editor:
Jeff Ignatius jeff@rcreader.com
Arts Editor, Calendar Editor:
Mike Schulz mike@rcreader.com
Contributing Writers: Amy Alkon, Jeff Ashcraft, Hannah
Bates, Rob Brezsny, Dee Canfield, Rich Miller, Frederick
Morden, Victoria Navarro, Brent Tubbs, Bruce Walters
ADVERTISING
Account Executive:
Lauren Wood sales@rcreader.com
Advertising Coordinator:
Nathan Klaus
Advertising rates, publishing schedule,
demographics, and more are available at
QCAdvertising.com
DESIGN/PRODUCTION
Art Director, Production Manager:
Spencer Rabe spencer@rcreader.com
Graphic Artist:
Nathan Klaus nathan@rcreader.com
ADMINISTRATION
Business Manager: Kathleen McCarthy
Office Administrator, Circulation Manager:
Rick Martin rick@rcreader.com
Distribution: Cheri DeLay,
Greg FitzPatrick, N. Ingalls, H. Keyser,
N. Rice, Jay Strickland
The most comprehensive events calendar in the QC
RiverCitiesReader.com/Calendar
THEATRE
By Brent Tubbs
Unchained Melodies
Ghost: The Musical, at the Circa 21 Dinner Playhouse through March 11
efore the lights went down on January 13s opening night of the Circa
21 Dinner Playhouses Ghost: The
Musical, producer Denny Hitchcock
informed the audience of the shows background, telling us that although it was
originally produced on Broadway with a
cast of 22, this version was scaled down to
a cast of 10. But even though this minimized presentation is the story of a ghost,
director Jerry Jay Cranfords show is anything but transparent and weightless.
Based on the 1990 film, Ghost tells
of Molly and Sam, a young couple very
much in love when Sam is mugged and
shot to death. His spirit, however, stays on
Earth, and with the help of a psychic who
can magically hear him, Sam discovers his death was not as random as he
originally thought. (Sam is portrayed here
by Andrew Keeler, who, with his strong
vocals, had perhaps one of the shows
more difficult roles, as he had to pretend
to be ignored.)
Director Cranford, with his creative
blocking and Kathy Voecks scenic design,
made this a very believable production.
He does ask the audience to suspend their
disbelief a bit by not having actual doors
or walls for the set. But this allowed for
the reality that Sam could walk through
walls as a ghost, which I really enjoyed,
completely respecting the lack of awkward fake-knocking on doors that werent
there. The backdrop, meanwhile, featured
beautiful pillars that made up a city skyline, and Voecks, technical director Clay
Becker, and lighting designer Ron Breedlove made those pillars come to life with
multi-hued effects that signified changes
of scenery. At one particular moment, the
lights even made the whole stage look as if
it were moving along with a subway car.
Sams girlfriend Molly is played by the
stunning Samantha Matthews, whose
acting abilities are only surpassed by her
beautiful singing voice. The chemistry
between Matthews and Keeler is palpable
from the beginning, particularly during
a spicy, iconic scene involving a pottery
wheel, and the honesty of their feelings
at the shows start carried through for
its duration. Matthews also resembles
1990 Demi Moore,

and, happily, has a
similarly naturalistic
presence.
Circa 21 veteran
Don Denton is designated bad guy Carl
Brunner, Sams slick,
smooth-talking
friend who moves
in on Molly after
Sams death. Denton
delivers just the right
amount of charm to
make us not immediately suspect Carl
of wrongdoing, and
his vocals are always
a pleasure to hear,
with Dentons rich
tones and ease of
range always making
Andrew Keeler and Samantha Matthews
his singing seem
effortless. (Dentons,
considered Ghost: The Musical a flop on
Matthews, and Keelers harmonies at the
Broadway, this reworking and adaptation
end of Act I gave me goosebumps.)
is a lovely show that focuses on the central
Ive seen few musical entrances quite
love story, and with only one number I
like that of Illy Kirvens Oda Mae Brown,
didnt particularly care for, theres plenty of
the psychic who can hear dead people.
beautiful music on hand.
Kirven is snarky and funny, has impecWith its book and music by Bruce Joel
cable timing and excellent facial expresRubin, Dave Stewart, and Glen Ballard,
sions, and boasts a stellar voice, to boot.
every song helps tell the story with a
Her first scene finds Kirven with the
contemporary-pop feel, and the famed
equally talented Paige Salter as a grievUnchained Melody even intertwines its
ing widow, and between Salters scripted
way in and out of the themes, only sung in
awkwardness and Kirvens hysterical
an acoustic, literally stripped-down verperformance, this scene is sure to leave
sion as Keeler plays guitar and sings in his
you laughing. (Greg Hiatt brings the over- boxers. Theres also a gut-wrenching song
the-top Oda Mae even more over-the-top
titled With You that will have you
in a good way with the characters
even you men reaching for your napkins
costume design.) Darrington Clark,
to dry your eyes. Ghost: The Musical is
meanwhile, makes his Circa 21 debut as
a production that Circa 21, director Cranan elderly ghost showing Sam the ropes of ford, and everyone involved should be
the afterlife, and although a young actor,
very proud of.
he delivers a great older-man characterization and warm, soulful voice.
Ghost: The Musical runs at the Circa 21
In truth, the only elements that brought
Dinner Playhouse (1828 Third Avenue,
me out of the performance were a couple
Rock Island) through March 11, and more
of dramatic scenes that involved gunshots,
information and tickets are available
which, here, were too-quiet recordings that by calling (309)786-7733 extension 2 or
really made the tension fizzle. But I have to
visiting Circa21,com.
say it was a pleasure to see a more contemporary piece at Circa 21. While some
10
Whats Happenin
Exhibits
Young Artists at the Figge, The Art

of Persuasion, and Scrimmage
Figge Art Museum
Saturday, January 21, through Sunday, May 14
e could all do with a little more art in

our lives. We Quad Citians could also
do with a few more respites from these January
temperatures (he typed, still shivering after
returning from his lunch break). Why not treat
ourselves to both, then, by getting out of the
cold and popping into Davenports Figge Art
Museum, which will open no fewer than three
new exhibitions between January 21 and 28?
An eagerly awaited museum tradition
starts up again on January 21 with the
displayed works in the 2017 Young Artists at
the Figge series, which will boast contributions from elementary art students from
seven school districts through mid-spring.

On display from the 21st through the 29th
are artistic creations by grade-schoolers
in Muscatine one of whom will receive a
scholarship to a Figge class during January
22s reception and recognition ceremony
with forthcoming exhibits in the series
showcasing the fledgling talents of students
in Moline (February 4 through 12), Pleasant
Valley (February 18 through 26), Geneseo
(March 4 through 12), North Scott (March 18
through 26), Bettendorf (April 1 through 9),
and Davenport (April 15 through 23).
Debuting on January 28 and on display
through May 14, The Art of Persuasion:
American Propoganda Posters & the Great
War will mark the centennial of the United
States declaration of war on Germany and its
entry into World War I. With such masters of
the form as Howard Chandler Christy, Harrison Fisher, Edward Penfield, Jessie Willcox
Smith, Ethel Betts Bains, and Frank Lloyd
Music
Twenty One Pilots
iWireless Center
Sunday, January 29, 7 p.m.
ne year ago this month, Rolling Stone published the

article 13 Things We Learned Hanging Out with
Twenty One Pilots a getting-to-know-you with the indiepop/alt-rock duo that included factoids such as They avoid
Twenty One Pilots fan fiction and Their mothers used to
go to the same hairdresser. If, however, youre a fan of Tyler
Josephs and Josh Duns chart-topping album Blurryface but
want more rudimentary info prior to January 29s concert
at Molines iWireless Center, we humbly present 13 Other
Things You Can Learn Without the Benefit of Hanging Out
with Twenty One Pilots.
1) Based in Columbus, Ohio, the duo was originally a trio
formed by Joseph, Nick Thomas, and Chris Smith, whose selftitled debut album was released in 2009.
Wrights sister
Maginel Wright
Enwright showcased, this poster
exhibition explores
how artists of the
day supported
the war effort
and encouraged a
reluctant nation to
do the same a fascinating slice of framed
history exploring patriotism, liberty, fear, and
the period necessity of buying war bonds.
And with the Super Bowl right around
the corner, the time seems ideal for the
Figges pigskin salute Scrimmage: Football in
American Art from the Civil War to the Present, on display January 21 through May 14.
Featuring 78 artworks dating from the 1850s
to a mere three years ago, Scrimmage not only
celebrates its highlighted game but, according
to the Figges Web site, raises questions about
2) Thomas and Smith left in group in 2011 and were replaced

by former House of Heroes drummer Dun, who accompanied
Joseph on Twenty One Pilots sophomore release Regional
at Best.
3) Twenty One Pilots third album 2013s Vessel went
platinum, and led to the bands first charting singles with
Holding on to You, House of Gold, and Car Radio.
4) Between 2013 and 2014, the duo toured with Fall Out
Boy, played Lollapalooza and Bonnaroo, appeared on Conan
and Late Night with Seth Myers, and performed Car Radio at
the MTV Movie Awards.
5) Released in 2015, Blurryface has sold roughly 1.3 copies
in the United States alone, and spawned three number-one
hits on Billboards Alternative chart.
6) Last year, Twenty One Pilots became only the third
musical act after The Beatles and Elvis Presley to have two
concurrent top-10 singles in the U.S.
7) Beyond the U.S., the groups current Emotional Roadshow Tour has found the artists performing for sold-out
crowds in Canada, Mexico, Europe, and Australia.
8) Trophies the duo has thus far won include two American
sports, art, and their roles in our history and

culture, revealing attitudes and transitions in
American life over the past 150 years.
Works by such noted artists as Andy
Warhol, Winslow Homer, J.C. Leyendecker,
Helen Post, and others will be showcased,
and I gotta say: Some of the inclusions sound
absolutely fascinating. Diego Romeros Never
Forget: Jim Thorpe All American (pictured),
for example, which honors Thorpes legend
through traditional Pueblo Indian pottery. And Geoff Winninghams Super Bowl
(Houston), with its images of Vikings and the
Goodyear blimp, which makes no sense to
me. Why would a blimp be hovering over 10th
Century Scandinavia?! That just seems .
Oh. I get it now. Guess some of us maybe
need this exhibit more than others.
For more information on Young Artists at
the Figge, The Art of Persuasion, Scrimmage,
and all other Figge exhibits and events, call
(563)326-7804 or visit FiggeArtMuseum.org.
Music Awards, two Billboard Music Awards, two Alternative

Press Music Awards, and an MTV Video Music Award
9) Twenty One Pilots is currently up for three 2017
Grammys: Record of the Year and Best Pop Duo/Group
Performance for the song Stressed Out, and Best Rock
Performance for Heathens.
10) The band name comes from a reference to 21 World
War II pilots whose deaths haunt the leading character in
Arthur Millers Tony-winning play All My Sons.
11) Joseph and Dun may soon be Oscar nominees, as
theyre on the list of those eligible for Best Original Song for
co-writing the Suicide Squad number Heathens.
12) With numerous major labels hoping to sign the pair in
2011, Joseph and Dun finally went with the Atlantic Records
subsidiary Fueled by Ramen.
13) Id make an excellent third member of the group. Thats
not a fact just a hunch based on our shared fondness for
Arthur Miller, heathens, and Ramen.
Twenty One Pilots performs locally with special guests Jon
Bellion and Judah & the Lion, and tickets are available by calling (800)745-3000 or visiting iWirelessCenter.com.
11
By Mike Schulz
mike@rcreader.com
sadly faded from national consciousness in

recent years: community.
In Water by the Spoonful, Hudes who
also won a Tony Award as book writer for
Lin-Manuel Mirandas Broadway musical In
the Heights presents two distinct narratives.
One concerns Elliot Ortiz, a former Marine,
wounded in Iraq, who now cares for his dying
aunt with the occasional help of his older
cousin Yaz. The other focuses on an Internet chat room for recovering drug addicts,
in which a female administrator monitors
the progress of group members including
a wealthy businessman, a middle-class IRS
employee, and a recent transplant to Japan.
How and why these plotlines eventually
converge forms the thrust of Hudes drama,
resulting in a play of evocative ideas and oftentimes wrenching emotion.
According to the New York Times, what also
Cindy Ramos, Ana Ziegler Loes, Jordan Smith, Beau Gusaas, Kermit Thomas, Eric Reyes,
resulted was a work of shimmering, sustainand Kathryn Reyes
ing warmth, as well as empathy and vibrant
humor. The Los Angeles Times described the
play as a magnificent whole that is beautiful
not because it is lovely but because it is brokenheartedly tender
and true. And in praising Water by the Spoonful for its warm,
Water by the Spoonful
welcoming spirit and life-affirming message, Time magazines
Village Theatre
Richard Zoglin wrote, It inspired the Pulitzer folks, and it did
Friday, January 20, through Sunday, January 29
the same for me.
Chris Jansen, director of the New Ground presentation, no
anuary 20 is, of course, Inauguration Day. And what a treat
doubt hopes it will for local audiences, as well, and is bringing
it will be, after so many long and frequently contentious
the show to life with a cast that includes Cindy Ramos, Ana
months of electioneering, for our countrys radically opposed
Ziegler Loes, Kermit Thomas, Beau Gusaas, and Jordan Smith,
political parties and bitterly divided citizenry to finally let
the latter a co-star in the companys recent productions of Uncle
bygones be bygones and clasp hands in an inspiring demonand This Side Up. The characters of Elliot and Yaz, meanwhile,
stration of unity and peace!
are portrayed by Eric and Kathryn Reyes, meaning that the
Thats obviously a joke. Yet regardless of whether youll be
roles of cousins are being played by spouses. Thank Heaven the
celebrating or mourning on January 20, its hard to imagine a
show is being produced here rather than in Appalachia, or itd
more appropriate day for Davenports New Ground Theatre to
probably be the other way ar ... .
debut its first 2017 production: author Quiara Alegria Hudes
Nope. That jokes too crass even for me.
Pulitzer-winning Water by the Spoonful. Running through
Water by the Spoonful will be staged at the Village Theatre
January 29, this critically acclaimed drama would no doubt be
Fridays and Saturdays at 7:30 p.m. and Sundays at 2 p.m., and
worth catching at any time of year, but its arrival on Inauguramore information and tickets are available by calling (563)326tion Day feels especially poignant, given that the Los Angeles
7529 or visiting NewGroundTheatre.org.
Times describes the work as concerning a concept that has
Theatre
J
What Else
Is Happenin
The Body @ Daytrotter - January 27
MUSIC
Friday, January 20 Thompson

Square. Concert with the Grammynominated country-music duo
composed of spouses Keifer and
Shawna Thompson. Rhythm City
Casino Resort (7077 Elmore Avenue,
Davenport). 8 p.m. $27-47. For tickets
and information, call (563)328-8000 or
visit RhythmCityCasino.Showare.com.
Friday, January 20 David
Zollo & the Body Electric and
Ernie Hendrickson & the Citizens
of Love. Americana musicians and
their ensembles in concert, featuring
an opening set by Christopher the
Conquered. The Redstone Room
(129 Main Street, Davenport). 7:30
p.m. $11.50-14. For tickets and
information, call (563)326-1333 or visit
RiverMusicExperience.org.
Friday, January 20 Hairbangers
Ball. Hair-metal tribute musicians in
concert. Rock Island Brewing Company
(1815 Second Avenue, Rock Island). 9
p.m. For information, call (309)793-1999
or visit RIBCO.com.
Friday, January 20, through
Sunday, January 22 QC Jantopia.
Continued On Page 12
12
What Else Is Happenin

Annual celebration of independent
musicians, with dozens of bands
performing at area venues. Friday:
Daytrotter (324 Brady Street, Davenport), 6
p.m., $10. Saturday and Sunday: Rozz-Tox
(2108 Third Avenue, Rock Island), 2 p.m.,
$10-15. For information, visit Daytrotter.
com, RozzTox.com, and QCJantopia.com.
Saturday, January 21 Peace, Love,
& the Joy of Music: Ellis Kell Benefit
Concert. An evening of appreciation
for the late area musician, featuring live
music by the Way Down Wanderers
and 10 additional acts, live and silent
auctions, a 50/50 raffle, and more, with
proceeds benefiting the Kell family.
Davenport RiverCenter (136 East Third
Street, Davenport). 5 p.m. $10 suggested
donation. For information, call (563)3261333 or visit RiverMusicExperience.org.
Friday, January 27 RIBCO Battle of
the Bands. Round one of the competition
in which three local groups perform
45-minute sets of original music, with
the winners announced at the February
24 finals. Rock Island Brewing Company
(1815 Second Avenue, Rock Island). 9 p.m.
For information, call (309)793-1999 or visit
RIBCO.com.
Friday, January 27 Anthony Gomes.
Blues/rock singer and guitarist in concert.
The Redstone Room (129 Main Street,
Davenport). 8 p.m. $13.75-17. For tickets
and information, call (563)326-1333 or visit
Friday, January 27 The Body. Concert
with the metal/rock duo composed of Chip
King and Lee Buford. Daytrotter (324 Brady
Street, Davenport). 8 p.m. $8-10. For tickets
and information, visit Daytrotter.com.
Sunday, January 29 Naha Greenholtz.
The violinist and Quad City Symphony
Orchestra concertmaster in a WVIK/QCSO
Signature Series concert, accompanied by
QCSO Executive Director Benjamin Loeb.
Augustana Colleges Wallenberg Gall (3520
Seventh Avenue, Rock Island). 2 p.m. $10-25.
For tickets and information, call (563)3227276 or visit QCSO.org.
MOVIE
Saturday,
January 28 The
Barn Raisers. New
documentary by
area filmmakers
Kelly and Tammy
Rundle exploring
the architecture of
Midwestern barns.
Putnam Museum
& Science Center
(1717 West 12th
Street, Davenport).
6:30 p.m. Free with
museum admission.
For information, call
(563)324-1933 or
visit Putnam.org or
BarnMovie.com.
THEATRE
Tuesday, January 24 Paw Patrol

Live! Race to the Rescue. All-new stage
adventure with characters from the
Nickelodeon series. Adler Theatre (136 East
Third Street, Davenport). 2 and 6 p.m. $1833. For tickets, call (800)745-3000 or visit
AdlerTheatre.com.
Wednesday, January 25 Once. Eighttime Tony-winning musical romance in a
Broadway at the Adler presentation. Adler
Theatre (136 East Third Street, Davenport).
7:30 p.m. $38-58. For tickets, call (800)7453000 or visit AdlerTheatre.com.
Friday, January 27, through Sunday,
February 5 Crimes of the Heart. Beth
Henleys Pulitzer-winning comedy about
three Southern sisters, directed by Jennifer
Popple. Augustana Colleges Brunner
Theatre Center (3750 Seventh Avenue,
Rock Island). Friday and Saturday 7:30
p.m., Sunday 1:30 p.m. $9-11. For tickets
Augustana.edu/arts.
LITERATURE
Wednesday, January 25 John

Holman. A River Reading
evening with the novelist,
short-story writer, essayist,
and professor, featuring a
post-reading book-signing
and reception. Augustana
Colleges Wallenberg Hall
(3520 Seventh Avenue,
Rock Island). 7 p.m. Free. For
information, call (309)794-7384
or visit Augustana.edu/arts/
river-readings.
EVENTS
Once @ Adler Theatre - January 25
Friday, January 20,

through Sunday, January
22 Rod & Custom Show.
Thompson Square @ Rhythm City Casino Resort - January 20

The 34th-annual automotive celebration
featuring vendors, displays, presentations,
a Dwyer & Michaels calendar signing, and
more. QCCA Expo Center (2621 Fourth
Avenue, Rock Island). Friday 1-9 p.m.,
Saturday 10 a.m.-9 p.m., Sunday 10 a.m.-3
p.m. $8, ages six and under free; Friday free
admission for all military personnel with ID.
For information, call (563)326-2541 or visit
QCCAExpoCenter.com.
Friday, January 20, and Saturday,
January 21 Bottoms Up Quad City
Burlesque: Birthday Show. Celebrate five
years of local burlesque with the troupe
and area comedians. Circa 21 Speakeasy
(1818 Third Avenue, Rock Island). 8 p.m.
$18-20. For tickets and information,
call (309)786-7733 extension 2 or visit
TheCirca21Speakeasy.com.
Saturday, January 21 Ghost Crier:
Haunted Masonic Temple. Event
featuring presentations and lectures on
the paranormal, live attempts at spiritual
communication, demonstrations, food,
beverages, a Q&A, and more. Scottish Rite
Cathedral (1800 Seventh Avenue, Moline).
6:30 p.m. $75. For tickets and information,
visit GhostCrier.com.
Friday, January 27, and Saturday,
January 28 Cinch Worlds Toughest
Rodeo. Annual touring event featuring
cowboys, bulls, rope tricks, rodeo clowns,
and more. iWireless Center (1201 River
Drive, Moline). 7:30 p.m. $19.50-60.
For tickets, call (800)745-3000 or visit
iWirelessCenter.com.
Friday, January 27 Champagne on
the Rocks. The 16th-annual WQPT-TV
fundraiser featuring dinner, live music,
live and silent auctions, a Whodunit?!
theme, and more. Davenport Outing Club
(2109 North Brady Street, Davenport). 6
p.m. $100. For tickets and information, call
(309)764-2400 or visit WQPT.org.
Saturday, January 28 Winter Wine

Experience. Eighth-annual event featuring
a wine tasting, hors doeuvres, a 50/50
raffle, silent auction, live jazz music from
the Steve Grismore Quartet, and more.
River Music Experience (129 North Main
Street, Davenport). 6 p.m. $32.50-40, $200
for a four-person reserved table. For tickets
Saturday, January 28 Robert
Burns Dinner & Celebration. Fortiethannual event sponsored by the Scottish
American Society of the Quad Cities,
featuring Scottish food, the Blackhawk
Bagpipe Band, harpist Laural Almquist,
Scottish items and artwork for sale, and
more. Radisson Quad City Plaza Hotel
(111 East Second Street, Davenport). 5
p.m. social hour, 6 p.m. festivities, 7 p.m.
dinner. $18-45. For information and to
reserve, call (563)391-9971 or e-mail
thornbj67@gmail.com.
January 5 Crossword Answers
MOVIES
By Mike Schulz
mike@rcreader.com
ooking over my list of favorites from the

recently ended movie year, I was trying
to find something anything that connected them beyond my admittedly eclectic
tastes. I mean, seriously: low-budget drama
next to Disney animation next to indie
horror next to teen comedy next to musical
romance next to cops and robbers next to
sci-fi next to a woman being transformed
into a Shetland pony ... . What the hell kind
of cinematic Top 10 is this?
It turns out that the only thing connecting
them is their collective presence on a 10-favorites list in which, for the first time ever, I didnt
see a single favorite on the big screen more
than once; there wasnt a Brooklyn repeat or
Boyhood three-peat or No Country for Old
Men four-peat in the entire bunch. Consequently, regarding the six included titles that I
dont yet own on Blu-ray, Im currently revisiting them solely through memories.
But, oh, what memories, starting with
those of a certain title Im betting will prove
impossible to forget ... .
1 Manchester by the Sea. Everyone
familiar with this thunderously affecting

third feature by writer/director Kenneth
Lonergan will no doubt have instant recall
of The Michelle Williams Scene. Playing
Randi, the ex-wife of Casey Afflecks morose
custodian Lee Chandler, Williams actually
has several scenes in the film. But the scene
finds her running into Lee on a sidewalk on
a chilly Massachusetts morning, and what
starts out as pleasant if slightly strained
small talk turns into a miniature aria of
sorrow, regret, desperation, pain, and
many, many tears quite possibly the most
memorable five minutes of the movie year.
Whats truly astounding, though, is just
how many sequences in Manchester by the
Sea give that devastating encounter a run
for its money: Lees inability to stop the rush
of flashbacks when hes named guardian
to his 16-year-old nephew Patrick (Lucas
Hedges); Lee resting his head against the
shoulder of the beloved brother (Kyle Chandler) hes going to lose too soon; Patricks
unforeseen breakdown as he wrestles with
some frozen steaks. Then theres the Mack
Daddy of emotional killers perhaps even
topping The Michelle Williams Scene as
Lee suffers through a tortured explanation
and too-easy police inquiry, and performs
a sudden, horrifying action that stops your
heart right before shattering it. Youd think
Lonergans drama would be the apex of
misery. Yet while it was neck-and-neck
between this film and Moonlight for my
2016 favorite, I finally opted for Manchester
because it has the added benefit of also, at
times, being really funny. Bantering with the
relaxed wit of seasoned comedy pros (What
happened to your hand? I cut it. Oh,
13
2016
Movie
Favorites
A(rrival)
(ootopia)
Z
from
to
thanks. For a minute there I didnt know

what happened.), Lee and Patrick, for all of
their mutual suffering, share a hilariously
tetchy bond. And Lonergan, who incisively
communicates the role humor plays in
the grieving process, keeps finding laughs
in unexpected places, as when Lee cant
remember where he parked, or when Patrick
says theres no reason his fathers body needs
to be stored in a mortuary freezer they
could just plop him in the frigid backseat of
Lees crappy car. Given the peerless script,
elegant direction, desolate wintry beauty,
unimpeachable portrayals by Williams,
Hedges, Chandler, Gretchen Mol, and
others, and towering magnificence of Casey
Affleck, Manchester by the Sea is, for me, the
movie of the year. Just think: Lonergans You
Can Count on Me led to Margaret led to this.
I can barely wait for the guys next one.
2 Moonlight. My determining factor in
choosing Manchester over Barry Jenkins

ravishing character study might suggest that
Moonlight isnt at all funny, and it really isnt.
But if there was a warmer movie released
in 2016, I sure didnt see it. Part of that
warmth is geographic, as cinematographer
James Laxton captures the films Miami

milieu with such richness and specificity
that you can practically feel the sunlight on
your skin and smell the ocean air. But for
a work largely populated by drug dealers,
crack addicts, and public-school bullies,
this coming-of-age drama is so overflowing
with tenderness, curiosity, and empathy
that I left feeling I knew its central figure
Chiron in all three of his incarnations
and those close to him at least as well as
some members of my own family. Playing Jenkins black, gay, lower-middle-class
protagonist as he morphs from a skinny
and confused grade-schooler to a yearning
teen to a sad and lonely young man with a
bodybuilders physique and intimidating
gold fronts, Alex Hibbert, Ashton Sanders,
and Trevante Rhodes are fiercely present
performers whose collective reticence barely
disguises their startling emotionalism. And
while the majestic portrayals of Mahershala Ali and Naomie Harris have received
deserved acclaim and are in line to receive
more, praise should also be extended to
Andr Holland and Janelle Mone for filling
more-low-key roles with seemingly ceaseless
reserves of humanity and kindness. (With
her performances here and in Hidden

Figures, few film actors have enjoyed a more
arresting screen-debut year than Grammynominated chanteuse Mone.) Directing
only his second feature film, Jenkins proves
himself a master conductor, orchestrating
his casts beautiful portrayals to fit seamlessly into this world lovingly created alongside co-screenwriter Tarell Alvin McCraney.
We may be seeing life through a prism of
Moonlight, but rarely has it looked clearer,
brighter, or more beautiful.
3 The Lobster. Hands down, the years
most hysterical screen bummer. Unless its

the most agonizing laugh-riot. Either way,
with his first English-language feature,
Dogtooth director Yorgos Lanthimos delivers
a singularly surreal tale of thwarted love,
mutual compatibility, societal pressure, and
paralyzing fear of loneliness thats as shockingly appalling as it is delightfully absurd.
Colin Farrell, with his nearly unshakable
deadpan and admirably protruding gut, has
never been more moving or offhandedly
funny than he is portraying Lanthimos and
Continued On Page 14
14
MOVIES
2016 Movie Favorites from A(rrival) to Z(ootopia)

co-screenwriter Efthymis Filippous timid
sad-sack who agrees to become a crustacean
if he cant find his romantic ideal. Exquisite
support comes from Rachel Weisz, John C.
Reilly, Olivia Colman, Ashley Jensen, La
Seydoux, Ariane Labed, and Ben Whishaw,
the latter, during my Iowa City FilmScene
screening, eliciting 2016s biggest vocal yelp
when demonstrating the means by which he
snagged his new beloved. (For 2016s most
aghast vocal reaction, I would direct you to
that same screening, and the fate of Farrells
brother at the hands or, rather, feet of the
worst person on Earth.) And with the compositions impeccably crafted and the dialogue
practically leaking with quotables If you
encounter any problems you cannot resolve
yourselves, you will be assigned children
The Lobster is a tour de force of unforgettable
sights, sounds, and ideas to keep your brain
active for days, from the opening assassination of a donkey to the climactic image of a
solitary individual in a caf booth. That shot,
by the way, would answer our lingering questions if it lasted just one second longer than it
does. Damn that Lanthimos.
4 The Witch. Writer/director Robert
Eggers feature-film debut isnt just the

most effective, and scariest, horror movie
Ive seen in ages. Its also, by a considerable margin, the bravest. Who would have
thought that, in 2016, such prolonged, bonedeep fright could result from yet another
Crucible-esque exploration of the Salemwitch-trial era, to say nothing of a movie
whose intentionally stilted and potentially
off-putting dialogue is wholly free of
contractions? (I did not and could not see
that happening, I am here to say.) But up to
and including its jaw-dropping final image,
The Witch routinely delivers magic, if black
magic, in spades. As in the darkest fairytales
and Grimm-est fables, were plunged into
a family nightmare that questions whether
evil can, in fact, be a physical entity, and
deprived of any traditional ironic or comedic escape routes, I felt the claustrophobia,
madness, and terror of Eggers victimized
Puritans in every instant of their struggles
against nature, instinct, and God. Filled
with wrenching character work by Anya
Taylor-Joy, Ralph Ineson, Kate Dickie, and
the unbelievably committed teen Harvey
Scrimshaw, this slow-motion panic attack
spends nearly 90 minutes twisting your
stomach into knots before a fiendishly foul
billy goat named Black Phillip provides the
swallowed scream of the year. I praised the
creature in my original review, and after
posting a link to the article on Twitter, was
perked to see it re-tweeted until I noticed
that it was re-tweeted by @BlackPhillip. And

people wonder why Im so hesitant to tweet.
5 Fences. A stage adaptation so power-
ful and immediate that you can practically

feel the actors sweat and spit. I certainly
understand some reviewers complaints
that director/star Denzel Washingtons take
on August Wilsons most-popular achievement is too theatrical, considering its reams
of lyrically loquacious dialogue, its small
cast, and our rare moments of escape from
its Pittsburgh-backyard setting. But as a
lifelong cinephile who, four times out of five,
would still rather be at a play than a movie,
Im nothing but grateful that a film of Wilsons staggering family drama one of 20th
Century literatures crowning achievements
finally exists after almost three decades
of false starts. And Im floored that one
exists with performances this bloody good;
after the shows 2010 Broadway revival won
Tonys for Washington and co-star Viola
Davis, premium tickets skyrocketed to
$396.50 apiece, and that now seems like a
bargain. Regarding their movie portrayals
that will cost you some $385 less to witness,
Washington is at career-finest strength as
Wilsons larger-than-life patriarch, and
while Davis done-deal Oscar will be testament to her long-suffering-spouse perfection and general, unassailable awesomeness,
it also feels too puny for what she does here.
(Could we maybe name a school after Viola
Davis? Or that recently discovered planet?)
Yet lengthy essays could also be written
on the level-headed deference of Stephen
McKinley Henderson (who also pops up in
Manchester by the Sea), and the inscrutable
smoothness of Russell Hornsby, and the
damaged joviality of Mykelti Williamson,
and the understated angst of Jovan Adepo ...
and the whole glorious experience of Denzel
Washingtons Fences. Total standing O.
easily stand side-by-side with Emma Stones

performance in Easy A and coming
from me, theres no higher praise Hailee
Steinfeld emerges as the luminous leadinglady talent we True Grit fans always hoped
shed become, and shes surrounded by
a ceaselessly winning cast that includes
Kyra Sedgwick, Blake Jenner, Hayden
Szeto, a heartbreakingly sweet Haley Lu
Richardson, and the sandpaper-dry wit
Woody Harrelson. Fremon Craigs voice,
however, is the one that registers the loudest,
and with the most inspiring, expansive joy.
She clearly gets how, for a put-upon teen,
every major hindrance can feel like the end
of the world and even minor setbacks can
make you feel like the butt of an endless
cosmic joke, and she treats her characters
(and audience) accordingly with respect,
empathy, and self-effacing humor to spare.
Id have happily asked this movie to prom.
But it wouldve been too cool to go with me.
7 Zootopia. In the words of Flash, every-
ones new-favorite DMV employee: Ha

............... ha ............... ha ............... ! To be sure,
that genial sloth and his barely ambulatory
brethren delivered Zootopias hell, all of
2016s most brilliantly sustained scene of
anti-slapstick. Yet from beginning to end,
this animated Disney comedy by directors
Byron Howard and Rich Moore was more
hilarious, imaginative, touching, and satisfying than we had any right to expect. What
was amazing in March, especially considering how long it takes for animated features
to go from conception to screen, was how

timely the movie felt, landing exactly when
unreasonable fears about immigrants as The
Other were dominating certain political
rallies and press cycles. So many months
later, the film feels positively essential,
particularly for young viewers, in its vision
of a society in which fear and distrust can be
transformed into acceptance and respect,
and traditional notions of predator and prey
are vanquished through patience, compassion, and a kick-ass Shakira number. (A boy
can dream, anyway.) The stunningly wellanimated Zootopia is a treasure trove not
only of first-rate vocal performers (Ginnifer
Goodwin, Jason Bateman, Idris Elba, Jenny
Slate, J.K. Simmons ...) and inventive narrative spins, but comic gambits so uproarious
that I recently laughed harder on a third
viewing than I did on my first, and it wasnt
even Flash who wrecked me; it was crime
boss Mr. Big and his peerless Don Corleone
cadences. Someone please make that pintsized shrew a spin-off offer he cant refuse.
8 Arrival. It may only be ranked at
number eight, but if theres one 2016 release

I kick myself for not catching at the cineplex
at least twice, its director Denis Villeneuves
unusual, challenging, hugely gratifying
science-fiction drama that inspires all sorts
of oxymoronic descriptions gravely exciting, say, or thrillingly somber. Those of
you who saw the film likely understand why
a second viewing feels so essential, as its
one of the rare modern movies whose final
6 The Edge of Seventeen. Telling of a
sardonic high-school drama queen forced

to deal with all manner of personal, familial,
and romantic woes, The Edge of Seventeen
is Kelly Fremon Craigs writing/directing
debut. Is it possible that after close to three
decades, we finally, finally, have someone
to officially pick up John Hughes mantle?
I adore plenty of 2016 movies, but none
of them delivered the wholly unanticipated shock of Fremon Craigs comedy a
seemingly by-the-numbers teen flick so
wise, so clever, so honest, and so unfailingly funny that the only lines of dialogue
I didnt appreciate were the ones I couldnt
hear over my cackling. Giving a superb,
multi-dimensional portrayal that could
Moonlight

By Mike Schulz
mike@rcreader.com
The Edge of Seventeen

minutes actually do change the scope of
everything youve previously witnessed, and
with far more resonance than a typically
crowd-goosing Bruce Willis was dead the
whole time!!! wrap-up. But I also wouldve
gladly paid to see it again just for the sheer
enjoyment of the experience ... and were
talking about a film that opens with Amy
Adams grieving over the prolonged illness
and death of her daughter. (Solemnly
electrifying? Intoxicatingly gloomy?) As
Adams linguist and Jeremy Renners scientist attempt to communicate with a race of
outer-space drop-ins and glean the purpose
of their visit, Villeneuve and his sterling
production team provide seemingly no end
of incredible images and, especially, noises;
one viewing or not, I can still hear that juicy
thunk!!! as the aliens tentacles hit solid glass.
Arrival, though, is also a miracle of contrasting moods, one moment intense and serious, another giddy and awe-inspiring, and
always complemented by the disciplined
precision and emotional expressiveness of
Amy Adams. This movie is so good that I
totally forgave it, and him, for co-star Forest
Whitakers unfathomable accent. Besides,
Rogue One was just around the corner.
9 La La Land. There arent many characters.
The characters we get dont have much depth.

The muddy sound mix in the opener drowns
out some lyrics. The climaxs narrative design
is retrograde and mildly sexist. Neither lead is
an effortless singer or dancer. Ryan Gosling,
when dancing, keeps staring at his feet. And
while watching writer/director Damien Chazelles lavish salute to, and re-imagining of, the
golden age of big-screen musicals, it wouldve
taken a sandblaster to wipe the shit-eating grin
off my face. I think its safe to say Im not alone
in adoring La La Land the way I do; as of this
writing, the movies soundtrack is number
one on the iTunes chart, its box office has been
increasing week by week, and it just earned a
record-setting clean sweep of seven wins at the
Golden Globes. I also couldnt be more jazzed
that Chazelles Whiplash follow-up is heading
toward monster-hit status, given that one scene
after another inspires the sort of marrow-deep
pleasure you imagine was felt by Singin in the

Rains first audiences. Between cinematographer Linus Sandgrens dazzling color palette
and Justin Hurwitzs thrilling original songs
and score, this tale of Hollywood hopefuls is
such a breathtaking visual and aural marvel
that you feel as if both it and you might just
explode from happiness. Meanwhile, as
they radiate chemistry and affection by the
bucket-load, Gosling and the incandescent
Emma Stone ensure that Chazelles vision is as
emotionally acute as it is ballsy. This film is a
dream that only the grumpiest of souls would
ever want to wake from.
10 Hell or High Water. Having caught
Jackie in Chicagoland over the holidays, I

thought about using my number-10 spot to
promote the impending area release of director Pablo Larrans Jacqueline Bouvier Kennedy bio-pic considering its overall excellence
and star Natalie Portmans intelligent, empathetic, slightly terrifying titular portrayal.
(And promote it I shall: Coming January 27
to Iowa Citys FilmScene!) Instead, though,
Im opting for director David Mackenzies
and screenwriter Taylor Sheridans sleeper hit
about bitter cons and languorous cops partly
because the movie is so much fun, and partly
as apology for having totally underrated it
the first time around. Back in August, I called
Hell or High Water a work that suggests The
Fugitive performed at 16rpm and an action
thriller with heatstroke, perhaps because
I was suffering heatstroke of my own. But
having seen the movie several times since,
Ive fallen in love with how its sun-baked
deliberateness plays off the scruffy wit of
Sheridans conversation, and I more and
more admire Mackenzies staging of unexpected bursts of violence, from a surprise
sock in the jaw at a gas station to a bullet hitting its mark, tragically, at a time and screen
position in which were not remotely ready
for it. Jeff Bridges Texas Ranger, meanwhile,
only gets saltier and more moving on repeat
viewings, and while Chris Pine, Ben Foster,
and the especially wonderful Gil Birmingham seem to get better and better the more
I watch them, Margaret Bowman, as the
flintiest of dust-bowl waitresses, doesnt; she
was always perfect. Would that my ability to
immediately spot great movies was, too.
Visit RiverCitiesReader.com for more of Mike
Schulzs 2016 movie wrap-up, plus reviews
of Patriots Day, Hidden Figures, Underworld: Blood Wars, Live by Night, The Bye
Bye Man, Monster Trucks, Sleepless, Elle,
A Monster Calls, and other current releases
along with Mikes predictions for the 2017
Oscar nominations.
15
IT
H
C
T
A
W
Schulzs Review of
the Latest Movies On Demand
THE BIRTH OF
A NATION
There are beautifully shot tableaux

in writer/director Nate Parkers
visually poetic slave-revolt drama,
plus performance greatness
courtesy of Armie Hammer,
Colman Domingo, Jackie Earle
Haley, and the luminous Aja Naomi
King. (Same day as DVD.)
DENIAL
A grave, intelligent work thats

haunted by the Holocaust without
succumbing to the manipulative
dangers in literalizing it, director
Mick Jacksons courtroom drama is
a riveting experience impeccably
paced, craftily written, and
uniformly well-acted.
(Same day as DVD.)
OUIJA: ORIGIN OF EVIL
Its not just that this horror prequel

is good for its genre. Its really,
really good, period a cleverly
designed, surprisingly funny, truly
frightening freak-out with a rare
scare-flick finale boasting
legitimately breathless action and
true narrative shocks.
(Same day as DVD.)
Catch your favorite movies

and shows from ABC, NBC, CBS,
FOX, STARZ, ENCORE and more.
Plus, watch over 19,000 titles
at the press of a button!
WANT EVEN MORE? VISIT
mediacomtoday.com
& CLICK ON TV EVERYWHERE!
16
Ask
the
Is It Something I Wed?
Advice
Goddess
Two of my girlfriends just got divorced.

Both recently admitted to me that they knew
they shouldnt have gotten married at the time
but did anyway. Just this weekend, another
friend married for only a year and fighting
bitterly with her husband also said she knew
she was making a mistake before her wedding. Can you explain why anyone would go
through with something as serious and binding as marriage if they have reservations?
Confused
Consider that in most areas of life, when
youre making a colossal mistake, nobody is
all Hey, how about a coronation-style party, a
Caribbean cruise, and a brand-new blender?
But it isnt just the allure of the star treatment and wedding swag that leads somebody
to shove their doubts aside and proceed down
the aisle. Other influences include parental
pressure, having lots of married or marrying
friends, being sick of dating, and feeling really
bad about guests with nonrefundable airline
tickets. Theres also the notion that marriage
takes work meaning you can just put in a
little emotional elbow grease and youll stop
hating your spouse for being cheap, bad in bed,
and chewing like a squirrel.
However, it also helps to look at how we make
decisions and how much of our reasoning
would more accurately be called emotioning.
We have a powerful aversion to loss and to
admitting we were wrong, and this can cause
us to succumb to the sunk-cost effect. Sunk
costs are investments weve already made of
time, money, or effort. The sunk-cost effect
is decision researcher Hal Arkes term for our
tendency to irrationally, ego-servingly keep
throwing time, money, or effort into something
based on what weve already put in. Of course,
our original investment is gone. So the rational
approach would be deciding whether to keep
investing based on whether the things likely to
pay off in the future.
A way to avoid the sunk-cost trap is through
what psychologists call prefactual thinking
thinking out the possible outcomes before
you commit to some risky course of action.
Basically, you play the role of a pessimistic
accountant and imagine all the ways your plan
could drag you straight down the crapper.
But dont just imagine all the awful things
that could happen. Write out a list a detailed
list. So, for example, if you sense you could be
making a mistake by getting married, dont go
BY AMY ALKON
all shortcut-y, as in Get divorced! Parse out

the itty-bitties such as Figure out how the hell
to find a decent divorce lawyer; Get lost on the
way to the lawyers office and stand on the side
of the road weeping; and Start working as the
indentured servant of a bunch of sorority girls
to pay the lawyers retainer.
Making potential losses concrete like this
helps you weigh current costs against the future
ones. This, in turn, could help you admit that
you and your not-entirely-beloved might have a
real shot at Happily Ever After if only the one
of you in the big white dress would bolt out the
fire exit instead of walking down the aisle.
Expiration Dating
Im a 32-year-old guy using dating apps.

I was in a long-term relationship that ended
badly, and Im not ready for anything serious right now. I get that many women are
ultimately looking for a relationship. I dont
want to ghost them if they start getting
attached, but saying from the get-go that I just
want something casual seems rude and a bit
presumptuous.
Conflicted
Not everybody likes to spoon after sex.
You like to slip out of the house without being
noticed.
It isnt presumptuous to explain from
the get-go that you arent ready for anything
serious; its the right thing to do. Lay that out
in your online profile (or at least in your first
conversation) so women are clear that youre an
aspiring sex-friend, not an aspiring boyfriend.
Consider, however, that research by anthropologist John Marshall Townsend finds that even
women who are sure that casual sex is all theyre
looking for can get clingy afterward to their
great surprise. Townsend explains that womens
emotions evolved to act as an alarm system
that urges women to test and evaluate investment and remedy deficiencies even when they
try to be indifferent to investment.
Ghosting just disappearing on somebody
youre dating, with no explanation is dignityshredding. If a woman does end up wanting
more than you can give, you need to do the
adult thing and tell her youre ending it. Sure,
thatll be seriously uncomfortable for both of
you. But keep in mind that bad news is usually
the road to recovery, while no news is the road
to randomly running into a woman everywhere, including in your shower.
Got A Problem? Ask Amy Alkon.
171 Pier Ave, #280, Santa Monica, CA 90405

or e-mail AdviceAmy@aol.com (AdviceGoddess.com)
2017, Amy Alkon, all rights reserved.
THEATRE
By Jeff Ashcraft
Beauty Shop Drop-in
Steel Magnolias, at the Playcrafters Barn Theatre through January 22
hat really goes on in a beauty

salon? As someone follicly challenged, I have wondered what
happens behind all the glamour posters,
hair products, and Hollywood-scandal
magazines: Certainly theres more than
stereotypical gossip between the customers and their stylists right? Well,
the truth is out. The Playcrafters Barn
Theatre production of Steel Magnolias
lifts the veil and exposes the beauty-shop
mystique, and at least in this particular
shop, Southern ladies come to share their
fears, secrets, joys, and love with their very
best friends all while getting the perfect
shampoos, colorings, and styles.
Steel Magnolias follows the lives of six
women in Chinquapin, Louisiana, over
the course of nearly two years as their lives
intertwine with small-town gossip, charm,
and declarations of allegiance. Penned by
playwright Robert Harling, the story is
based on Harlings family and was written
to help him cope with the death of his
sister in 1985. Oftentimes comedic, with
moments of heartbreaking drama, the
entire plot takes place in Truvys Beauty
Salon where each character can literally
(and metaphorically) let down her hair.
In the role of Shelby, Leslie Munson is
well-cast as a young woman whose life is
really just beginning. We first meet Shelby
(and the others) as she arrives to get her
hair styled for her wedding, and Munson
looks the part, bringing a kind, hopeful
outlook to her role. As Shelbys mother
MLynn, Jackie Patterson appears as a
very stressed-out helicopter mom through
most of the story, and with good reason,
as Shelby suffers from diabetes and may
not always be able to handle the diseases
effects. But on January 14, Patterson and
Munson behaved as if irritated at each
other through much of the nights performance, and I wouldve appreciated more
intimacy between mother and daughter.
(Patterson also appeared as if she needed
a moment to think about her lines before
delivering them, but certainly made up for
it at the climax in which she exhibited real
anguish accompanied by real tears.)
Susan Perrin-Sallak is perfectly cast
as Steel Magnolias recently widowed
Clairee. She knows how to turn on that
dignified, Southern-belle charm that
harkens back to another era, and PerrinSallaks interpretation provides insight
into this smart woman with a biting wit
and huge heart. In the role of Ouiser
Beadreaux, Patti Flaherty pushes the
character to the brink of farce with her

Walmart-customer costuming complete
with oversize cane, glasses, and brash,
booming voice. The impeccable timing
and sardonic banter between Flaherty and
Perrin-Sallak provides many of the shows
biggest laughs.
As salon-owner Truvy, Chris SandersRing delivered some of the most naturalistic acting Ive recently seen; she was even
able to pull off a hoarse, authentic Southern drawl that makes me wonder if she has
kin down in northwest Louisiana. Jaclyn
Marta, meanwhile, plays the salon newbie
Annelle, and brought a sweetness to the
role that was a much-needed seasoning in
the shows recipe. Martas reactions while
listening to her fellow performers were, at
times, a bit broad, but her simple-natured
approach to the part was largely on-target.
Director Donna Weeks obviously has
real passion for the story and this production her directors notes in the program
and pre-show chat with the audience
shared how diabetes has impacted her
own life since she was 10 and she did
a solid job creating distinct and caring
characters. However, while I dont know
if the script has been updated by Harling,
this production sets the 1987 play in the
present, adding in references to Kate Middleton, iHeart Radio, cell phones, Bluetooth technology, and more. To me, these
choices seemed forced into a script that
may have been better left alone as what is
now a 1980s period piece. (The show also
features one of the roughest-looking sets
Ive seen on a local stage in quite some
time. Although the locale should provide
all the makings for fun, functional design,
this set with no designer credited in the
program couldve used a little time in
Truvys chair for a bit of a makeover.)
Steel Magnolias has become an iconic
piece of American theatre, and for good
reason, as there arent nearly enough
plays written that bring together a female
ensemble with such strong characters
in such an endearing story. This particular bouquet of magnolias may, on
Saturday, have still been in the process
of blossoming, but Im hopeful it will
be in full bloom as audiences attend its
closing weekend.
Steel Magnolias runs at the Playcrafters
Barn Theatre (4950 35th Avenue, Moline)
through January 22, and more information and tickets are available by calling
(309)762-0330 or visiting Playcrafters.com.
FREE WILL ASTROLOGY

ARIES (March 21-April 19): Are you
more attracted to honing group
dynamics or liberating group
dynamics? Do you have more aptitude as a
director who organizes people or as a spark-plug
who inspires people? Would you rather be a chief
executive officer or a chief imagination officer?
Questions such as these will be fertile for you to
meditate on in the coming weeks. The astrological omens suggest its time to explore and activate
more of your potential as a leader or catalyst.
manage to roll it around in your mouth without

having to endure the white-hot shock. Theres a
booze manufacturer that claims to provide this
sensation. The company known as Oddka has
created Electricity Vodka, hard liquor with
an extra fizzy jolt. But if any sign of the zodiac
could safely approximate eating a streak of
lightning without the help of Electricity Vodka,
it would be you Leos. These days you have a
special talent for absorbing and enjoying and
integrating fiery inspiration.
TAURUS (April 20-May 20): An

eccentric Frenchman named Laurent
Aigon grew up near an airport, and
always daydreamed of becoming a commercial
pilot. Sadly, he didnt do well enough in school
to fulfill his wish. Yet he was smart and
ambitious enough to accomplish the next best
thing: assembling a realistic version of a Boeing
737 cockpit in his home. With the help of
Google, he gathered the information he needed,
and ordered most of the necessary parts over
the Internet. The resulting masterpiece has
enabled him to replicate the experiences of
being a pilot. Its such a convincing copy that he
has been sought as a consultant by organizations that specialize in aircraft maintenance. I
suggest you attempt a comparable feat, Taurus:
creating a simulated version of what you want. I
bet it will eventually lead you to the real thing.
VIRGO (August 23-September 22):

Eighteenth Century painter Joshua
Reynolds said that a disposition to
abstractions, to generalizing and classification,
is the great glory of the human mind. To that
lofty sentiment, his fellow artist William Blake
responded, To generalize is to be an idiot; to
particularize is the alone distinction of merit.
So I may be an idiot when I make the following
generalization, but I think Im right: In the
coming weeks, it will be in your best interests to
rely on crafty generalizations to guide your
decisions. Getting bogged down in details at the
expense of the big picture missing the forest
for the trees is a potential pitfall that you can
and should avoid.
GEMINI (May 21-June 20): The

weather may be inclement where you
live, so you may be resistant to my
counsel. But I must tell you the meanings of the
planetary omens as I understand them, and not
fret about whether youll act on them. Heres my
prescription, lifted from Henry David Thoreaus
Walden: We need the tonic of wildness, to
wade sometimes in marshes where the bittern
and the meadow-hen lurk, and hear the
booming of the snipe; to smell the whispering
sedge where only some wilder and more solitary
fowl builds her nest, and the mink crawls with
its belly close to the ground. And why does
Thoreau say we need such experiences? We
must be refreshed by the sight of inexhaustible
vigor, to witness our own limits transgressed.
CANCER (June 21-July 22): Welcome
to the most deliciously enigmatic,
sensually mysterious phase of your
astrological cycle. To provide you with the proper
non-rational guidance, I have stolen scraps of
dusky advice from the poet Dansk Javlarna
(DanskJavlarna.tumblr.com). Please read
between the lines: (1) Navigate the ocean that
roars within the seashell. (2) Carry the key, even
if the lock has been temporarily lost. (3) Search
through the deepest shadows for the bright light
that cast them. (4) Delve into the unfathomable
in wordless awe of the inexplicable.
LEO (July 23-August 22): What
exactly would a bolt of lightning taste
like? I mean, if you could somehow
LIBRA (September 23-October 22):

Czech writer Bohumil Hrabal penned
the novel Dancing Lessons for the
Advanced in Age. It consists of one sentence. But its
a long, rambling sentence 117 pages worth. It
streams from the mouth of the narrator, who is an
older man bent on telling all the big stories of his
life. If there were ever to come a time when you, too,
would have cosmic permission and a poetic license
to deliver a one-sentence, 117-page soliloquy, Libra,
it would be in the coming weeks. Reveal your
truths! Break through your inhibitions! Celebrate
your epic tales! (P.S.: Show this horoscope to the
people youd like as your listeners.)
SCORPIO (October 23-November
21): When Pluto was discovered in
1930, astronomers called it the ninth
planet. But 76 years later, they changed their
minds. In accordance with shifting definitions,
they demoted Pluto to the status of a mere
dwarf planet. But in recent years, two
renowned astronomers at Caltech have found
convincing evidence for a new ninth planet.
Konstantin Batygin and Michael E. Brown are
tracking an object that is much larger than
Earth. Its orbit is so far beyond Neptunes that it
takes 15,000 years to circle the sun. As yet it
doesnt have an official name, but Batygin and
Brown informally refer to it as Phattie. I bring
this to your attention, Scorpio, because I suspect
that you, too, are on the verge of locating a
monumental new addition to your universe.
SAGITTARIUS (November
22-December 21): The tomato and
potato are both nightshades, a family
of flowering plants. Taking advantage of this
17
By Rob Brezsny
commonality, botanists have used the
technique of grafting to produce a pomato
plant. Its roots yield potatoes, while its vines
grow cherry tomatoes. Now would be a good
time for you to experiment with a metaphorically similar creation, Sagittarius. Can you
think of how you might generate two useful
influences from a single source?
CAPRICORN (December 22-January
19): Some guy I dont know keeps
sending me e-mails about great job
opportunities he thinks Id like to apply for: a
technical writer for a solar-energy company, for
example, and a social-media intern for a business
that offers travel programs. His messages are not
spam. The gigs are legitimate. And yet Im not in
the least interested. I already have several jobs I
enjoy, such as writing these horoscopes. I suspect
that you, too, may receive worthy but ultimately
irrelevant invitations in the coming days,
Capricorn. My advice: If you remain faithful to
your true needs and desires, more-apropos offers
will eventually flow your way.
AQUARIUS (January 20-February
18): The word naysayer describes a
person whos addicted to expressing
negativity. A yea-sayer, on the other hand, is a
person who is prone to expressing optimism.
According to my assessment of the astrological
omens, you can and should be a creative
yea-sayer in the coming days both for the sake
of your own well-being and that of everyone
whose lives you touch. For inspiration, study
Upton Sinclairs passage about Beethoven: He
was the defier of fate, the great yea-sayer. His
music is like the wind running over a meadow
of flowers, superlative happiness
infinitely multiplied.
PISCES (February 19-March 20): If
Im feeling prosaic, I might refer to a
group of flamingos as a flock. But one
of the more colorful and equally correct terms is
a flamboyance of flamingos. Similarly, a
bunch of pretty insects with clubbed antennae
and big fluttery wings may be called a
kaleidoscope of butterflies. The collective noun
for zebras can be a dazzle, for pheasants a
bouquet, for larks an exaltation, and for finches
a charm. In accordance with current astrological omens, Im borrowing these nouns to
describe members of your tribe. A flamboyance
or kaleidoscope of Pisceans? Yes! A dazzle or
bouquet or exaltation or charm of Pisceans?
Yes! All of the above.
Homework: What part of yourself are you scared
of? Is it time to give that part a peace offering?
Testify at FreeWillAstrology.com.
Go to RealAstrology.com to check out Rob Brezsnys
EXPANDED WEEKLY AUDIO HOROSCOPES

& DAILY TEXT MESSAGE HOROSCOPES
The audio horoscopes are also available by phone at
1-877-873-4888 or 1-900-950-7700
18
Live Music Live Music Live Music

Email all listings to calendar@rcreader.com Deadline 5 p.m. Thursday before publication
THURSDAY
19
Culpa RIBCO, 1815 Second Ave.,

Rock Island IL
Blues RockIt 11th Street Precinct,
1107 Mound St., Davenport IA
Bluzillion (7pm) Pastmasters
(8:30pm) Riverside Casino and
Golf Resort, 3184 Highway 22,
Riverside IA
The Body Daytrotter, 324 Brady St.,
Davenport IA
Jordan Danielsen 129 Coffee & Wine
Bar, 129 N. Cody Rd., LeClaire IA
Tony Hoeppner & Friends
Rivertown Grille & Bar, 2606 W.
Locust St., Davenport IA
Bandits Rozz-Tox, 2108 Third Ave.,

Rock Island IL
Doug Allen Nash & Jewel Kisses
Riverside Casino and Golf Resort,
3184 Highway 22, Riverside IA
Ed James Harringtons Pub,
2321 Cumberland Square Dr.,
Bettendorf IA
FRIDAY
20
Bucktown Revue Nighswander Theatre,

2822 Eastern Ave, Davenport IA
Buddy Olson (noon) Bettendorf
Public Library, 2950 Learning
Campus Dr., Bettendorf IA
Cherry Gun Riverside Casino and
Riverside IA
The Cleveland Orchestra Hancher
Auditorium, 101 East Park Rd., Iowa
City IA
David Zollo & the Body Electric
Ernie Hendrickson & the
Citizens of Love Christopher
the Conquered The Redstone
Room, 129 Main St, Davenport IA
Fultons Underground Harley
Corins, 1708 State St., Bettendorf IA
Greg & Rich Acoustic Duo Green
Tree Brewery, 309 N. Cody Rd.,
LeClaire IA
Hairbangers Ball RIBCO, 1815
Second Ave., Rock Island IL
QC Jantopia: The Golden Jaybird
Harakiri SlumpGang777
World Map x Dead Hawk
UsMode Nu Gruv Society
(6pm) Daytrotter, 324 Brady St.,
Davenport IA
Soul Storm 11th Street Precinct,
Thompson Square Rhythm City
Casino Resort, 7077 Elmore Ave.,
Davenport IA
SATURDAY
21
10 of Soul RIBCO, 1815 Second Ave.,

Rock Island IL
The Acoustic Project (6pm) Cool
Beanz Coffeehouse, 1325 30th St.,
Rock Island IL
Bugeye Sprite Whitetails Saloon,
1711 165th St., Clarence IL
Cherry Gun Riverside Casino and
Riverside IA
Denny & the DC Drifters Ohnward
Fine Arts Center, 1215 E Platt St.,
Maquoketa IA
SATURDAY
Hairbangers Ball @ RIBCO - January 20

Greg & Rich Acoustic Duo Geneseo
Brewing Company, 102 S. State St.,
Geneseo IL
Hap Hazard 11th Street Precinct,
Peace, Love, & the Joy of Music
Ellis Kell Family Benefit Concert:
David G. Smith (4pm) The
Candymakers (4:20pm) Lojo
Russo (4:55pm) The Velies
(5:20pm) RME Camp Kids Jam
(5:45pm) The Whoozdads?
(6:40pm) The Way Down
Wanderers (7:30pm) The
Ellis Kell Band (8:20pm) Ernie
Peniston, Hal Reed, & the Curtis
Hawkins Band (9:10pm) Rude
Punch & Firesale (9:45pm) Quad
Cities Blues Mafia (10:20pm)
Davenport RiverCenter, 136 E. Third
St., Davenport IA
QC Jantopia: Bereft Guess
Prefontaine Coping Skills Dug
The Central Falling Good
Doom Mountain Swallower
Archeress Lewis Knudsen
Croatians BareBones Chill
Smith Upon the Death Horse K
Swank inasmuch VoidDweller
Pulsing (2pm) Rozz-Tox, 2108
Third Ave., Rock Island IL
QC Slim Band Cabanas Bar & Grille,
2120 4th Ave., Rock Island IL
Two Mile Crew Harley Corins, 1708
State St., Bettendorf IA
SUNDAY
22
Clarinets for Conservation Benefit

Concert (2pm) Wallenberg Hall,
Augustana College, 3520 7th Ave.,
Rock Island IL
QC Jantopia: CRASHprez
prettygirlhatemachine Dr. Ew
Anzio Elder Light Closet Witch
Harsh Times Music E. Jayne
DeMarco Baby Jayne Comfort
Crater Tambourine Ivan Jacob
A Gang of Trees (2pm) Rozz-Tox,
2108 Third Ave., Rock Island IL
MONDAY
23
Jordan Feliz Dan Bremnes

Grayson/Reed (6:30pm) Thrive
Ministries Bethel Campus, 1208
Third Ave., Fulton IA
WEDNESDAY 25
Bobby Ray Bunch Brad Brenny

Cru Bottle Shoppe, 221 Brady St.,
Davenport IA
Johnny Ouijas (6:30pm) The
Faithful Pilot Cafe & Spirits, 117 N
Cody Rd, LeClaire IA
Scott Bradlees Postmodern
Jukebox Englert Theatre, 221
East Washington St., Iowa City IA
THURSDAY
26
FRIDAY
27
Senior Day: Peter Fletcher (1:30pm)

Bettendorf Public Library, 2950
Learning Campus Dr., Bettendorf IA
Anthony Gomes The Redstone

Battle of the Bands Round One:
Sold Out War Devils Heat Mea
28
Black Marble You Ronin

Daytrotter, 324 Brady St.,
Davenport IA
Bobby Ray Bunch (6pm)
Steventons, 1399 Eagle Ridge Rd,
LeClaire IA
Brandon Gibbs & Anna Taylor
(6pm) Pastmasters (8:30pm)
Riverside Casino and Golf Resort,
3184 Highway 22, Riverside IA
Code 415 Harley Corins, 1708 State
St., Bettendorf IA
Collective Soul Riverside Casino
Event Center, 3184 Highway 22,
Riverside IA
Daylight Over RIBCO, 1815 Second
Ave., Rock Island IL
Ed James Harringtons Pub - Port
Byron, 102 S. Main St., Port Byron IL
Greg & Rich Acoustic Duo Jims
Knoxville Tap, 8716 Knoxville Rd.,
Milan IL
The Jason Carl Band 11th Street
Precinc t, 1107 Mound St.,
Davenport IA
yMusic Englert Theatre, 221 East
Washington St., Iowa City IA
SUNDAY
MONDAY
30
TUESDAY
31
Chris Vallillo: Oh Freedom! Songs

of the Civil Rights Movement
(6:30pm) Silvis Public Library,
105 8th St., Silvis IL
Slam Allen Band (6pm) Harley

Corins, 1708 State St., Bettendorf
IA
WEDNESDAY 1
Tommy Pickett & Friends (5:30pm)

Rivertown Grille & Bar, 2606 W.
Locust St., Davenport IA
THURSDAY
FRIDAY
Bob Marley Birthday Bash: Natty

Nation Fire Sale The Redstone
Florida Georgia Line Dustin Lynch
Chris Lane iWireless Center,
1201 River Dr, Moline IL
Karen Meat & the Computer
Tambourine Rozz-Tox, 2108
Third Ave., Rock Island IL
Battle of the Bands Round Two:

Natural Oil High Five Sinners
Bigger on the Inside RIBCO, 1815
Second Ave., Rock Island IL
Corey Wallace The Faithful Pilot
Cafe & Spirits, 117 N Cody Rd,
LeClaire IA
Dirt Road Rockers Rookies Sports
Bar, 2818 Brady St., Davenport IA
Maria Minerva Aru Terrae RozzTox, 2108 Third Ave., Rock Island IL
Paragon Ragtime Orchestra
Orpheum Theatre, 57 S. Kellogg
St., Galesburg IL
Playlist 11th Street Precinct, 1107
Mound St., Davenport IA
Topper Riverside Casino and Golf
Resort, 3184 Highway 22, Riverside
IA
Whiskeys Gone: A Zac Brown
Tribute Band The Redstone
Wicked Liz & the Bellyswirls K & Ts
Bike Rack Sports Bar & Grill, 3303
Brady St., Davenport IA
SATURDAY
Bobby Ray Bunch (6pm) Go Fish

Marina Bar & Grill, 411 River Dr.,
Princeton IA
Chrash The Velies Mountain
Swallower The Redstone Room,
129 Main St, Davenport IA
Cobalt Blue 11th Street Precinct,
Code 415 Generations Bar & Grill,
4100 4th Ave., Moline IL
Greg & Rich Acoustic Duo Green
Tree Brewery, 309 N. Cody Rd.,
LeClaire IA
QCSO Masterworks IV: Joined by a
River Adler Theatre, 136 E. Third
St., Davenport IA
Sara Evans Rhythm City Casino
Resor t, 7077 Elmore Ave.,
Davenport IA
Topper Riverside Casino and Golf
Resort, 3184 Highway 22, Riverside IA
Wild Oatz Band Sidetracked
Saloon, 906 3rd St., Orion IL
29
DriveBy Truckers Kyle Craft

Englert Theatre, 221 East
Greg & Rich Acoustic Duo (2pm)
Len Browns North Shore Inn, 700
N. Shore Dr., Moline IL
Twenty One Pilots Jon Bellion
Judah & the Lion iWireless
Center, 1201 River Dr, Moline IL
WVIK/QCSO Signature Series II:
Naha Greenholtz in Concert
(2pm) Wallenberg Hall,
Augustana College, 3520 7th Ave.,
Rock Island IL
Anthony Gomes @ The Redstone Room - January 27
DJs/Karaoke/Jams/Open Mics
THURSDAYS
Cross Creek Karaoke Hey Bryans,

1140 15th Ave., Moline IL
Cross Creek Karaoke (Jan. 26)
Jims Knoxville Tap, 8716 Knoxville
Rd., Milan IL
DJ Night w/ 90s Music Thirstys on
Third, 2202 W. Third St., Davenport
IA
Karaoke Night Bier Stube Moline,
415 15th St., Moline IL
Karaoke w/ Double Dz Purgatorys
Pub, 2104 State St., Bettendorf IA
Open Jam Session My Place the
Pub, 4405 State St., Bettendorf IA
Open Mic Night Uptown Bills
Coffee House, 730 S. Dubuque St.,
Iowa City IA
Open Mic w/ H.C. Wallace (Jan. 19)
Geneseo Brewing Company, 102 S.
State St., Geneseo IL
Rock the House Karaoke Bottoms
Up on 7th, 1814 Seventh St., Moline
IL
Thumpin Thursdays DJ Night

Rascals Live, 1414 15th St., Moline IL
FRIDAYS
Cabana Karaoke Night Cabanas,

2120 Fourth Ave., Rock Island IL
Cross Creek Karaoke Firehouse
Bar & Grill, 2006 Hickory Grove Rd.,
Davenport IA
DJ K Yung Barrel House Moline,
1321 Fifth Ave., Moline IL
DJ Lacey Hawkeye Tap Sports
Bar N Grill, 4646 Cheyenne Ave.,
Davenport IA
Karaoke Night Circle Tap, 1345
West Locust St., Davenport IA
Karaoke Night The Grove Tap, 108
S. First St., Long Grove IA
Karaoke Night K & Ts Bike Rack
Sports Bar & Grill, 3303 Brady St.,
Davenport IA
Karaoke Night Miller Time Bowling,
2902 E. Kimberly Rd., Davenport IA
Karaoke Night Roadrunners
Roadhouse, 3803 Rockingham Rd.,

Davenport IA
Karaoke Night Thirstys on Third,
2202 W. Third St., Davenport IA
Karaoke Night w/ Mike Matthews
Hollars Bar & Grill, 4050 27th St.,
Moline IL
Soulshake (Jan. 20) Gabes, 330 E.
SATURDAYS
Community Drum Circle (Jan. 28,

noon) RME Community Stage,
131 W. Second St., Davenport IA
Cross Creek Karaoke Jims
Knoxville Tap, 8716 Knoxville Rd.,
Milan IL
DJ Freeze DJ 007 (Jan. 21) Gabes,
330 E. Washington St., Iowa City IA
Karaoke Night The Grove Tap, 108
S. First St., Long Grove IA
Karaoke Night K & Ts Bike Rack
Sports Bar & Grill, 3303 Brady St.,
Davenport IA
Karaoke Night Miller Time Bowling,

2902 E. Kimberly Rd., Davenport IA
Karaoke Night Roadrunners
Roadhouse, 3803 Rockingham Rd.,
Davenport IA
Karaoke Night w/ Jim Harker
Hollars Bar & Grill, 4050 27th St.,
Moline IL
Tw i s t e d
Mics
Music
&
Entertainment Barrel House
Moline, 1321 Fifth Ave., Moline IL
Ukulele Music Session (Jan. 21,
4pm) Uptown Bills Coffee House,
730 S. Dubuque St., Iowa City IA
SUNDAYS
Karaoke Night 11th Street Precinct,

Open Mic Night (5pm) Lynns BBQ
& Saloon, 1151 E. Iowa St., Eldridge
IA
MONDAYS
Open Mic w/ J. Knight The Mill, 120

E. Burlington St., Iowa City IA
TUESDAYS
Acoustic Music Club (4:30pm)

River Music Experience, 129 N.
Main St., Davenport IA
Karaoke Night My Place the Pub,
4405 State St., Bettendorf IA
Open Mic Night Broken Saddle,
1417 Fifth Ave., Moline IL
Open Mic Night Cool Beanz
Coffeehouse, 1325 330th St., Rock
Island IL
Tuesday Blues Jam w/ Mark Avey
& Detroit Larry Davison
Cabanas, 2120 Fourth Ave., Rock
Island IL
Underground Open Mic w/ Kate
Kane Iowa City Yacht Club, 13 S.
Linn St., Iowa City IA
WEDNESDAYS
Acoustic Jam Night w/ Steve

McFate McManus Pub, 1401
Seventh Ave., Moline IL
Hump Day Wing & Sing w/
Marybeth Hawkeye Tap Sports
Bar N Grill, 4646 Cheyenne Ave.,
Davenport IA
Karaoke Night 11th Street Precinct,
Karaoke Night Circle Tap, 1345
West Locust St., Davenport IA
Karaoke Night RIBCO, 1815 Second
Ave., Rock Island IL
Open Jam w/ The Channel Cats
Bent River Brewing Company, 512
24th St. Rock Island IL
Open Mic Night Boozies Bar
& Grille, 114 1/2 W. Third St.,
Davenport IA
Crossword
Comedy
SHOP TALK January 19, 2017

THURSDAY
19
FRIDAY
20
ACLU of Iowa Fundraiser: The Last

Night in America (7:30pm) The
Mill, 120 E. Burlington St., Iowa
City IA
The After Hour w/ Andrew King
(7pm) Daytrotter, 324 Brady St.,
Davenport IA
Annual Choice Event: Lindy West &

Megan Gogerty (7pm) Englert
Theatre, 221 E. Washington St.,
Iowa City IA
Bix Beiderbomb Presents (8pm)
Boozies Bar & Grille, 114 W. Third
St., Davenport IA
Bobby Ray Bunch Chris
Schlichting (8:30pm) The Grape
Life Wine Store & Lounge, 3402
Elmore Ave., Davenport IA
Chinaman (8pm) Penguins
Comedy Club, 208 Second Ave. SE,
Cedar Rapids IA
ComedySportz (7pm) The
Establishment, 220 19th St., Rock
Island IL
Murder in Paradise (6pm)
Skellington Manor Banquet &
Event Center, 420 18th St., Rock
Island IL
Stand-up Open Mic (9pm) Boozies
Bar & Grille, 114 W. Third St.,
Davenport IA
Studio Series: MFK (9:30pm) The
Island IL
SATURDAY
21
Chinaman (8pm) Penguins

Cedar Rapids IA
Island IL
Studio Series: Nocturne Falls
(9:30pm) The Establishment, 220
19th St., Rock Island IL
SUNDAY
22
MONDAY
23
Circumstantial Comedy Show

(10pm) BREW, 1104 Jersey Ridge
Rd., Davenport IA
Honeycombs of Comedy (9pm)

Iowa City Yacht Club, 13 S. Linn St.,
Iowa City IA
WEDNESDAY 25
Comedy Open Mic (7:30pm)

Penguins Comedy Club, 208
Second Ave. SE, Cedar Rapids IA
FRIDAY
27
Bix Beiderbomb Presents (8pm)

Boozies Bar & Grille, 114 W. Third
St., Davenport IA
Island IL
Stand-up Open Mic (9pm) Boozies
Bar & Grille, 114 W. Third St.,
Davenport IA
January 5 Answers: Page 12
Studio Series: Paddy Murphy

Is Dead (9:30pm) The
Island IL
Willie Farrell (8pm) Penguins
Cedar Rapids IA
SATURDAY
28
SUNDAY
29
MONDAY
30

Island IL
Studio Series: Stand Up Showcase
(9:30pm) The Establishment, 220
19th St., Rock Island IL
Willie Farrell (8pm) Penguins
Cedar Rapids IA
Brian Regan (7pm) Paramount

Theatre, 123 Third St. SE, Cedar
Rapids IA
Circumstantial Comedy Show
(10pm) BREW, 1104 Jersey Ridge
Rd., Davenport IA
Honeycombs of Comedy (9pm)

Iowa City Yacht Club, 13 S. Linn St.,
Iowa City IA
WEDNESDAY 1
Comedy Open Mic (7:30pm)

Penguins Comedy Club, 208
Second Ave. SE, Cedar Rapids IA
ACROSS
1. Part of Homeland Security
5. Tablets
9. Of bone
15. Commoner
19. Bedouin
20. OT book
21. Scold angrily
22. Dalai _
23. Five-and-ten: 2 wds.
25. Merchant
27. Only just
28. Overcharge for tickets
29. Printer part
30. Scandinavian
31. Harden
32. Expertise
34. Like a no-show
37. Bridge
38. Social conventions
39. Old vocal composition
40. Depot
43. Blubber
46. Old Greek contest
47. Porbeagle
48. Value
50. The goddess Parvati, alternatively
51. _ Galahad
52. Sedimentary rock
53. Tests
54. Antic
56. Aromatic dessert
58. Put by
59. Moon goddess
60. Ethan _
61. Fraud
62. Greasy spoon
63. Sea rover
65. Blind or bowling
66. Italian noble
69. Brick
70. Egghead
71. Thats all _!
72. Container
73. Playing card
74. Sultana
76. Tiny openings
77. Tam-tam
78. Prop for a magician
79. Shoppers low-cost alternative: 2 wds.

81. Mrs. Simpson
82. City in Germany
84. Wriggling
85. Calling
86. Licenses
89. Bit parts
91. Steer clear of
92. Like a wheyface
93. A nut
94. Neighbor of Italy
98. Not homemade: Hyph.
101. Wine cellar, e.g.
102. Secret society
103. Respect
104. Daddy
105. Punta del _
106. Fencing item
107. Pestered in fun
108. OT name
109. Most senior one
DOWN
1. Rages
2. Stoltz the actor
3. _ Told Me (Not to Come)
4. City in Scotland
5. Obvious
6. Soap plant
7. Finding _
8. Dir. letters
9. Lewd
10. Plant bristles
11. Folklore creature
12. Wyatt the lawman
13. Broke a fast
14. Money in Albania
15. Folds
16. Retrogress
17. Arab VIP: Var.
18. Gibb or Manilow
24. Little
26. If not
28. Bleak
31. Common allergen
32. Hebrew patriarch
33. An Olympian
34. Collect
35. Score in golf
19
36. E-commerce site

37. Hackneyed
38. Pondered
40. Fast-food order
41. Keitel the actor
42. Willow rod
43. Big-box retailer
44. Portent
45. Lacking decoration
47. Disgrace
49. Perfumes
52. Diving duck
53. Pilfered
55. Toward the sheltered side
57. Dull
58. Like eye drops
59. Settles
61. Talent
62. Distributed (with out)
63. Way
64. Thought
65. Incendiarys crime
66. Trite
67. Burn a bit
68. Kind of management
70. Mouthfuls
71. Young equines
75. Aide: Abbr.
76. Primp
77. Acquired
80. Sent after the fact
81. Purple
82. Come into view
83. _ qua non
85. Sung by many voices
86. Stick
87. Bar legally
88. River in France
89. TVs Philbin
90. Yellow pigment
91. Incline
93. Catamount
94. Attempt
95. Go slowly and carefully
96. Jot
97. _ corner
99. Flittermouse
100. Pindaric
101. Hydro
20
CURRENT EXHIBITION
SCRIMMAGE
FOOTBALL IN AMERICAN ART FROM THE
CIVIL WAR TO THE PRESENT
JANUARY 21-MAY 14, 2017
Organized by Linny Frickman at the Gregory Allicar Museum of Art at
Colorado State University at Fort Collins in partnership with Danielle Knapp
at the Jordan Schnitzer Museum of Art at the University of Oregon, Eugene.
Presented at the Figge Art Museum with the support of the Thomas A. and
Mary Waterman Gildehaus Endowment, Tom Figge, and Jeff and Lynda Eirinberg.
Frederic Remington, Touchdown, Yale vs. Princeton, Thanksgiving Day, Nov. 27, 1890, Yale 32, Princeton 0, 1890,
oil on canvas, Yale University Art Gallery, Whitney Collections of Sporting Art, given in memory of Harry Payne Whitney
(B.A. 1894), and Payne Whitney (B.A. 1898) by Francis P. Garvan (B.A. 1897); M.A. (Hon) 1922, Courtesy of the
University Art Museum, Colorado State University, and the Jordan Schnitzer Museum of Art, University of Oregon.
Davenport, Iowa 563.326.7804

www.figgeartmuseum.org

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Peace, Love, Joy of Music

Remembering Ellis Kell Page 5

Mikes 2016 Movie Favorites from

Whats Happenin: Figge Exhibits,

January 19 - February 1, 2017

River Cities Reader Vol. 24 No. 926 January 19 - February 1, 2017

Business Politics Arts Culture Now You Know RiverCitiesReader.com

f I had to choose a word to describe

power their way forward.

Business Politics Arts Culture Now You Know RiverCitiesReader.com

River Cities Reader Vol. 24 No. 926 January 19 - February 1, 2017

When It Comes to Fake News,

We Americans are the ultimate innocents.

ets talk about fake news stories.

As veteran journalist Carl Bernstein,

as engaged in any other function.

River Cities Reader Vol. 24 No. 926 January 19 - February 1, 2017

Business Politics Arts Culture Now You Know RiverCitiesReader.com

Trading the Computer for Real Life

Karen Meats Arin Eaton

want to barf on you, sings Arin

River Cities Reader Vol. 24 No. 926 January 19 - February 1, 2017

Business Politics Arts Culture Now You Know RiverCitiesReader.com

Peace, Love, and the Joy of Music

llis Kell died suddenly in December

Ellis was an easy man to love and

Ellis Kell in 1999, opening for Bo Diddley. (Photo by Kevin Schafer)

I met Ellis Kell in 2005. Id just moved

I met Ellis in the late 80s. I was in a

River Cities Reader Vol. 24 No. 926 January 19 - February 1, 2017

Business Politics Arts Culture Now You Know RiverCitiesReader.com

Continued From Page 5

Peace, Love, and the Joy of Music

Macchio) walks into the hospital room

River Cities Reader Vol. 24 No. 926 January 19 - February 1, 2017

Business Politics Arts Culture Now You Know RiverCitiesReader.com

was born. Especially New Orleans

Ellis Kell in 2015. (Photo by Joshua Ford, Ford-Photo.com)

lives. In fact, when I met Mike and we

of the RME are tributes to Ellis

River Cities Reader Vol. 24 No. 926 January 19 - February 1, 2017

Business Politics Arts Culture Now You Know RiverCitiesReader.com

Art in Plain Sight: Neon Signs

owntown Davenport was once

Article and photos by Bruce Walters

River Cities Reader Vol. 24 No. 926 January 19 - February 1, 2017

Business Politics Arts Culture Now You Know RiverCitiesReader.com

Vol. 24 No. 926

January 19 - February 1, 2017

Publishing since 1993

The River Cities Reader is an independent

5 p.m. Wednesday prior to publication

The most comprehensive events calendar in the QC

Ghost: The Musical, at the Circa 21 Dinner Playhouse through March 11

1990 Demi Moore,

River Cities Reader Vol. 24 No. 926 January 19 - February 1, 2017

Young Artists at the Figge, The Art

e could all do with a little more art in

seven school districts through mid-spring.

Twenty One Pilots

ne year ago this month, Rolling Stone published the

Business Politics Arts Culture Now You Know RiverCitiesReader.com

2) Thomas and Smith left in group in 2011 and were replaced

sports, art, and their roles in our history and

River Cities' Reader #926

River Cities' Reader #926