River Cities' Reader - Issue 810 - August - 2 - 15

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River Cities Reader Vol. 19 No. 810 August 2 - 15, 2012
Business Politics Arts Culture Now You Know RiverCitiesReader.com
COMMENTARY
by John W. Whitehead johnw@rutherford.org
London 2012 Olympics: The Staging Ground for the Coming Police State?
s London prepares to throw the world a $14-billion party, it seems fair to ask the question: What does it get out of the bargain? asks the Christian Science Monitor in a recent story on the 2012 Summer Olympics. Salt Lake got to show that its Mormon community was open to the world, observes journalist Mark Sappenfield. Turin got to show that it was not the Detroit of Europe. China got to give the world a glimpse of the superpower-to-be. And Vancouver got to show the world that Canadians are not, in fact, Americans. And what is London showing the world? Sappenfield suggests that London is showing off its new ultramodern and efficient infrastructure, but if the security for the 2012 Olympics is anything to go by, it would seem that London is really showing the world how easy it is to make the move to a police state without much opposition from the populace. Its what the Romans used to refer to as bread and circuses the idea that the key to controlling the masses is satiating their carnal appetites and entertaining them with mindless distraction. Thus, while the world loses itself in the pomp and circumstance of a thoroughly British Olympics complete with Sir Paul McCartney rocking the opening ceremony, celebrity sightings galore, and a fair share of athletic feats and inspirational victories to keep us glued to our TV sets a more sinister drama will be unfolding. Welcome to the 2012 Summer Olympics, the staging ground for the coming police state. Under cover of the glitz and glamor of these time-honored games, a chilling military operation is underway, masterminded by a merger of the corporate, military, and security industrial complexes and staffed by thousands of civilian police and British military and security personnel, as well as FBI, CIA, and TSA agents and private security contractors. Appropriately enough, this years Olympic mascot, Wenlock a strange, futuristic blob with an all-seeing eye to record everything in the games is being sold in Olympic stores dressed in a policemans uniform. As a metaphor for the London Olympics, it could hardly be more stark, writes Stephen Graham for the Guardian. For 10.25 pounds, you, too, can own the ultimate symbol of the games: a member of by far the biggest and most expensive security operation in recent British history packaged as tourist commodity.
Theres even a security patrol tasked with making sure that local businesses observe the government ban on symbols and words relating to the Olympics lest they cause economic harm to the official corporate sponsors, including Adidas, McDonalds, Coca-Cola, and BP.
In addition to the usual tourist sights such as Buckingham Palace, the Tower of London, and Big Ben, visitors to London may find themselves goggling at the military aircraft carrier floating in the Thames; the Typhoon fighter jets taking to the skies, ready to shoot down unauthorized aircraft; aerial drones hovering overhead to track residents and tourists; snipers perched in helicopters; an 11-mile-long, 5,000-volt electric stun fence surrounding Olympic Park; and 55 dog teams patrolling the perimeter. Several locations throughout London will also feature surface-to-air missiles, including some residential areas in East London that will have them perched on top of apartment buildings. All these and more are supposedly part of the new apparatus required to maintain security in an age of terror. Roughly 13,000 private security guards provided by G4S, the worlds second-largest private employer, will be patrolling the streets of London under a $439-million contract with the British government. Due to some last-minute trouble recruiting and training guards, 3,500 additional British military troops will be called in, making a total of 17,000 troops scheduled to police the Olympics. More than 500 American federal agents, trained in the methods of security theatre, will be on hand to assist Britains security forces. In fact, the CIA, State Department, and FBI have all been working closely with British authorities for well over a year in preparation for the Olympic games. TSA agents infamous for, among other things, stealing large sums of money from passengers luggage, patting down children and the elderly and handicapped, and breaking diabetic passengers insulin pumps will also be on loan to the British to assist with airport-passenger screening during the games, including fast-track fingerprinting for Olympic athletes. Theres even a security patrol tasked with making sure that local businesses observe the government ban on symbols and words relating to the Olympics lest they cause economic harm to the official corporate sponsors, including Adidas, McDonalds, Coca-Cola, and BP. These purple-capped government officials are authorized to enter businesses to look for violations and can impose fines up to 20,000 pounds ($31,000). Included on the banned list are such words as games, 2012, gold, silver, bronze, summer, sponsors, and London. As Slate reports, So far a London caf has been forced to remove five offending bagels from its windows, as has a butcher who had the temerity to do the same with sausage links. Spectators have been warned that to risk wearing a garment adorned with the Pepsi logo may result in being banished from game venues and that nobody but McDonalds can sell French fries at any Olympic concession stand. An old lady got tagged for sewing the five rings onto a mini doll sweater. Unwilling to risk anything taking the shine off Londons Olympic games, government officials have also clamped down on protesters and journalists, two groups whose existence largely depends on their ability to exercise their free-speech rights, as well as anyone voicing an opinion about the games publicly. The British police have even gone so far as to ban certain graffiti artists from creating any graffiti (even sanctioned work) affiliated with the Olympics, traveling within a mile of any Olympic venue, associat[ing] with any individual also on bail, or using any train, subway, or other rail service for leisure purposes. And then theres the surveillance. With one government-operated outdoor surveillance camera for every 14 citizens in the UK, Great Britain is already widely recognized as a surveillance society. However, in preparation for the Olympics, London has also been wired up with
a new range of scanners, biometric ID cards, number-plate and facial-recognition CCTV systems, disease-tracking systems, new police control centers, and checkpoints. These will intensify the sense of lockdown in a city which is already a byword across the world for remarkably intensive surveillance, reports Graham. Even neighborhoods beyond the Olympic park have been embedded with biometric scanners and surveillance cameras with automatic facial- and behavior-recognition technologies. Keep in mind that these surveillance tools will remain in place long after the Olympic torch moves on. As Graham points out: Many such systems, deliberately installed to exploit unparalleled security budgets and relatively little scrutiny or protest, have been designed to linger long after the athletes and VIPs have left. Already, the Dorset police are proudly boasting that their new number-plate recognition cameras, built for sailing events, are allowing them to catch criminals more effectively. In Athens, the $300-million superpanopticon CCTV and information system built for the games following intense U.S. pressure remained after the event, along with the disused sports facilities. In fact, the system has been used by Greek police trying in vain to control the mass uprisings responding to the crash and savage austerity measures in the country. Unfortunately for the people of London and beyond, the UKs willingness to host the 2012 Summer Olympics has turned this event meant to foster solidarity, teamwork, and nationalism into a $14-billion exercise in militarism, corporatism, surveillance, and oppression. As Graham concludes: Looking at these various points together shows one thing: Contemporary Olympics are society on steroids. They exaggerate wider trends. Far removed from their notional or founding ideals, these events dramatically embody changes in the wider world: fast-increasing inequality, growing corporate power, the rise of the homeland-security complex, and the shift toward much more authoritarian styles of governance utterly obsessed by the global gaze and prestige of media spectacles. Constitutional attorney and author John W. Whitehead is founder and president of The Rutherford Institute (Rutherford.org). His new book The Freedom Wars is available at Amazon.com.
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ILLINOIS POLITICS
Republicans Find Themselves in a Campaign Hole
by Rich Miller CapitolFax.com
he House and Senate Democratic leaders have once again dominated the quarterly fundraising race. The Democrats are currently sitting on almost three times the amount of cash as the Republicans. House Speaker Michael Madigans three committees raised a combined $591,000 in the quarter that ended June 30. Madigan had more than $3.5 million cash on hand. Senate President John Cullertons two committees netted about $655,000 during the quarter. Cullerton finished with more than $2.7 million in cash and investments. House Republican Leader Tom Cross two committees raised $353,000 during the quarter. Cross ended the filing period with $789,000 on hand. Senate Republican Leader Christine Radogno raised just under $263,000 during the quarter but had more than $1.4 million on hand. The disparities become even more problematic for the Republican leaders when you look at some of their hottest races. For instance, Downstate Senate candidate Andy Manar (D-Bunker Hill) raised an impressive $127,000 in the second quarter and ended the filing period with $340,000. In contrast, Manars Republican opponent, Decatur Mayor Mike McElroy, raised just $26,000 and had less than $69,000 in the bank at the end of June. Manar is John Cullertons former chief of staff, so hed be expected to raise a lot of cash, but this is a must-win district for the Republicans, and they need a far better performance out of their candidate. Theyre going to have to dip into the reserves in a big way to help out McElroy if he doesnt kick himself into high gear. Mike Babcock, a Republican running against Senator Bill Haine (D-Alton), raised a mere $6,263 and ended the filing period with less than $20,000 on hand. Haine, on the other hand, raised more than $75,000 and had almost $430,000 in the bank. Babcock has since raised $5,000 from conservative businessman Richard Uihlein, who has helped bankroll former gubernatorial candidate and GOP operative Dan Proft. Uihlein contributed $72,500 to Republican candidates since the recently ended filing period began on April 1. The Uihlein list reads like a whos who of hot campaigns. Randy Frese, whos up against Senator John Sullivan (D-Rushville), received $5,000 from Uihlein. Freeze raised an impressive $111,000 during the quarter and had $127,000 in the bank. That almost matched
Democratic leadership committees had roughly $6.2 in the bank on June 30. Republicans had about $2.2 million.
Sullivans $131,000 raised in the latest filing period, but Sullivan had more than $435,000 in the bank. The House Republicans, meanwhile, have attempted to push their candidates to raise more money with a new Young Guns program modeled on the federal super-PAC affiliated with U.S. House Majority Leader Eric Cantor. And Uihlein played a role there, too. According to the House Republicans, U.S. Representative Aaron Schock approached Leader Cross last year about starting a program similar to the federal Young Guns effort. Cross agreed, and candidates were given fundraising and voter-contact goals for the second quarter to qualify for big bucks. Generally, the fundraising targets were $50,000. Jonathan Greenberg, a Republican running against Representative Elaine Nekritz (D-Northbrook), raised about $51,000 during the quarterly reporting period. That qualifies him for a $100,000 contribution from the states Young Guns network, which will pool money from Schock, Cross, U.S. Representative John Shimkus, and individual House Republican members. According to the House Republicans, about a half-dozen candidates out of 12 met their Young Guns goals and will receive the $100,000 in matching funds. Neil Anderson is one of them. Anderson, like Greenberg, received a late $5,000 contribution from Uihlein. Anderson is up against Representative Pat Verschoore (D-Milan). Uihleins money put Anderson over the $50,000 mark and qualified him for the Young Guns matching funds. John Lawson also received $5,000 from Uihlein to get him into the Young Guns program. Lawson is up against Representative Michelle Mussman (D-Schaumburg), who raised a mere $1,795 in the quarter and had only $27,000 in the bank. Another $5,000 Uihlein contribution went to Julie Bigham Eggers, who is running against Representative Jerry Costello II (D-Smithton). One other campaign finance story. Even though State Representative Mark Beaubien passed away last year, his campaign committee was still funding his widows independent House bid this spring. Dee Beaubien received more than $15,000 from her late husbands committee in April, when the account was finally closed out. This is not unusual. Representative Bernie Pedersen died in 1996, but his campaign account wasnt closed down until 2009. Rich Miller also publishes Capitol Fax (a daily political newsletter) and CapitolFax.com.
COVER STORY
Politics and Morals, Myths and Hope
Reading Christopher Nolans Batman Trilogy

bviously, a lot of noise surrounded The Dark Knight Rises, starting with the hype and anticipation. Then came the extreme reactions to some early negative reviews. And then the midnight-screening mass shooting in Colorado appropriately redirected attention to important matters. The deaths of 12 people and the injuries to dozens more in that Colorado movie theatre on July 20 highlighted that neither a movie nor Batman is anywhere near as important as human lives. Yet the arts are still integral to our existence, and whatever you think of Christopher Nolans trilogy as films, these movies will stand as key markers in the lives of many millions of people and in the movie business, and they will be viewed as reflections of their cultural and political time. Like the original trio of Star Wars movies, we can already see them as significant pop-art artifacts. For those reasons alone, Nolans Batman movies deserve close scrutiny. They also reward inspection and consideration, as the writer/director has conceived and executed them with a rigor and density unusual to blockbusters. (Expect spoilers, although Ive tried to be circumspect about late developments in The Dark Knight Rises until the final section.) What might not be obvious to those only casually familiar with Batman is how thoroughly Nolan has bent the DC Comics universe to fit his ideas, respectful but not beholden. His choice of villains and how they interact are indications of the writer/directors thoughtful approach to the series. In 2005s Batman Begins, he turns Ras al Ghul into Batmans first mentor and a father figure (and combines him with another existing character, Ducard), and then makes Scarecrow a co-conspirator in the plot to destroy Gotham. In 2008s The Dark Knight, the Joker creates TwoFace both literally and, through a bedside conversation, psychologically. And in The Dark Knight Rises, Bane is an adherent of Ras al Ghuls corruption-purging have Rutger Hauers Wayne Enterprises CEO, more concerned about public relations than public safety. And we have the bought-andsold public servants, in the form of Mark Boone Jr.s cop and a judge, who ensure that all of the above can operate with relative impunity. In Nolans vision of Gotham, the wicked control everything, and it is in that context that Batman is born. (Or one could say that those who control become wicked a subtle distinction that might better align the statement with the series outlook.) Above those pedestrian evils which operate only for survival or profit are the more-traditional superhero foils. Theres the deranged, in the person of Scarecrow; hes the only villain in Batman Begins whose purpose appears wholly evil, because he doesnt have a core philosophy or a long-term profit motive. And lastly theres Ras al Ghul, an invading warrior who believes, perhaps correctly, that cities need to be torched every now and again to be healthy; that idea gains traction as it becomes increasingly clear that Batman is facing a depth and breadth of corruption in Gotham that no person, no matter how strong, can overcome. Outside of the street criminal, these types reappear in the remainder of the series. The mob boss is replaced. Wayne Enterprises, in The Dark Knight Rises, is the target of parallel plans that give new meaning to the phrase hostile takeover. The Dark Knight makes clear that Jim Gordon isnt merely a rarity; he might literally be the only honest cop in the city. The fall of Harvey Dent suggests that anybody can be corrupted. The Joker is Scarecrow taken to an extreme, a freelance terrorist instead of one employed in a larger mission. And, of course, Banes primary goal in the final movie is to finish the job that Ras al Ghul didnt in the first. This seemingly hopeless vision might be a reflection of Nolans world view, or it could merely a be a comic-book-style construct. Regardless, the effect is to make any thoughtful political reading of
absolutism. Spend some time exploring the comicbook histories of many people found in the movies not just the major villains, but everyone from Lucius Fox to Selina Kyle to the mob bosses to corrupt cop Flass to mugger Joe Chill and youll begin to appreciate the care with which Nolan has constructed the films and connected the characters, and the extra resonance hes able to generate as a result. In a way, Ras al Ghul begets Batman, who begets the Joker, who begets Two-Face. Bane and Batman are nearly brothers, yet they are visual negatives of each other light and dark, hulking and sleek; on their heads, Bane exposes what Batman covers, and vice versa. (And this repeats a contrasting-mask motif from the climax of Batman Begins.) Yet the series is also surprisingly rich in other ways, and The Dark Knight Rises recasts the trilogy in moral and mythic terms while (probably intentionally) undermining attempts to read it politically.
Corruption as Political Outlook
Nolan has said the movies references contemporary and historic terrorism,
mass surveillance as a response, and the French Revolution, to name just a few are merely references, not indicative of a larger political agenda or philosophy: We throw a lot of things against the wall to see if it sticks. We put a lot of interesting questions in the air, but thats simply a backdrop for the story. ... Its just telling a story. Some critics have still considered the series philosophy and world view and deemed them murky or vague, or alternatively found evidence that they support or critique some current policy or another. Ive done some of the latter, but with the benefit of perspective I now disagree on all counts. The politics aint pretty, but theyre pervasive, persistent, largely consistent, and deeply cynical: Citizens lack the will and power to change a rotten system, yet those with the will and power are rotten, too. Gotham features at least six distinct levels of corruption, each represented by characters in Batman Begins. Theres the street-level criminal at the bottom, personified by the man who kills Bruce Waynes parents, followed by mundane organized crime, in the form of Tom Wilkinsons powerful but very ordinary mob boss. On the corporate level, we
by Jeff Ignatius jeff@rcreader.com
his series both dystopian and elitist. There are precious few little people in these movies, and throughout its clear that ordinary citizens lack the tools to fix Gotham through peaceful democratic or economic channels. Even before the appearance of Batman or any of his foes in Batman Begins, organized crime rules the city, and the conventionally powerful are effectively powerless. The philanthropy and public works of Bruce Waynes billionaire father a healer by trade only go so far, and the great man and his wife are gunned down by Chill in an alley. On the political and justice-system fronts, the aggressive sweeps of Harvey Dent and Jim Gordon in The Dark Knight promise only temporary relief and are explicitly noted as abuses of lawenforcement power. In terms of public policy, the Dent Act actually clears Gotham (between the second and third movies) of organized crime, but its premised on a lie that a rogue, masked vigilante murdered the gleaming, upstanding district attorney. And just as Batmans surveillance techniques at the end of The Dark Knight are clear violations of privacy and civil liberties, the new law whose mechanics are never articulated presumably achieves security through the further erosion of rights. The basic philosophy at work is spun by Harvey Dent: When their enemies were at the gates, the Romans would suspend democracy and appoint one man to protect the city. Yet many of Gothams enemies come from within, and even its saviors are sullied or venal. If we view Batman, Gordon, and preTwo-Face Dent as heroes, were asked essentially to accept the well-intentioned but problematic actions of self-appointed, appointed, and elected guardians without question. Yes, Batman might have blown up your car and listened to your phone call, but hes looking out for your best interests. Your shoplifting cousin might have been locked up for 10 years in Dents name after an illegal search, but its for the public good. Which brings us to The Dark Knight Rises revolutionary references. As has been widely noted, the trilogys conclusion casts itself in Occupy and class-warfare terms. Selina Kyle whispers threateningly into Bruce Waynes ear about the coming storm that will wreak havoc on the rich, while Bane promises to
return Gotham to its citizens and points to the stuffed prisons as proof of the oppression by the ruling class. You could say they make some valid complaints. Yet even setting aside the issue of whether we should pay much attention to the political views of criminals who wear a unitard and a scary mask (respectively), this rhetoric of upheaval is almost prima facie self-serving and invalid in The Dark Knight Rises. As has often been the case throughout history, the populism here thinly disguises a grab for treasure and power. So the grassroots revolution is actually an armed coup, and when war does come, its one trained army against another in a street fight, Batmans cops charging Banes criminals in the winter sun and flitting snowflakes. This daylight battle highlights that Nolans Batman movies have primarily dealt with oligarchical and authoritarian structures and militant responses. There are regular references throughout the series to the people of Gotham (and their aggregate character), but its an abstraction to the arbiters of their fates be they forces largely for good (Batman) or evil (Ras al Ghul, the Joker, Bane). Key public officials conspire to evade the spirit of the law, working toward a common good without regard for individual rights. The movies promote a blithe collectivism, with the goals and means defined by those (evil, deeply flawed, corrupted, or corruptible) people with money, political power, or cool weapons. The bleakness of the series under Nolan flows directly from this. Batman Begins asks the audience to decide among crime-ridden streets, a safer community cleaned up by the unaccountable Batman, and destruction. The Dark Knight pits terrorism against a surveillance state. The Dark Knight Rises contrasts the status quo of strictly enforced peace with revolution followed by military occupation. These are easy calls, but theyre menus of extreme and false choices. If these movies have anything relevant to say in political terms, its a trite generalization about power and means and circumstances compromising ideals.
Portraits in Hypocrisy
This motif is the thread that connects the vast majority of the characters in Nolans trilogy, and its far more
compelling on an individual level than a societal one. The key here is to get past each persons stated justifications for behavior and instead focus on the actions themselves and through that process to see (most of) them as hypocrites. Two-Face wasnt merely a quickly and easily dispatched villain in The Dark Knight; hes the whole damned enterprise personified. So yes, the Joker verbally advocates anarchy and chaos (Do I look like a guy with a plan? ... I just do things), but he executes complicated strategies that nearly require predictable behavior. In public, Bane talks like a revolutionary for the downtrodden, but he is a political and corporate terrorist who, once he seizes power, functions as a totalitarian ruler. (Sadism is his true philosophy.) Selina Kyle steals from the rich, but its clear early and explicitly that shes more skilled opportunist than hardened redistribution-of-wealth ideologue. And then theres the Dark Knight himself, who says the right things about doing good and has two related rules (no deliberate killing, no handguns) that cant begin to disguise his disregard for life, limb, and property. That he restates those governing principles to Selina as they forge a bond of convenience is an expert illustration of self-delusion; Batman clings to these effectively arbitrary strictures to reassure himself that he is different from his enemies. Selina, like Ras al Ghul and the Joker before her, rightly sees this as a flaw as much as a virtue. So if youre looking at any of the words of the iconic heroes or villains for guidance on how to interpret these movies, yes, they will come off as politically vague, or more accurately contradictory. Arguably the sagest line in the entire trilogy warns against putting too much stock into speech or ideas or philosophy or motives: Some men just want to watch the world burn. Even the decent characters can be said to be phonies. Jim Gordon has himself become twofaced (if conflicted), praising Dent in the new movie while wanting to tell the truth about him. His hypocrisy, in the two Dark Knight movies, is couched in pragmatism: He works with crooked cops because thats all there are, and the lie does more good than harm. He is, in that sense, more weak that duplicitous, and he has plenty of
company. As the Dark Knights source for technology and arms, Lucius Fox is sly, charming, and fully likable, but hes a goalong-to-get-along guy. His objection to Batmans surveillance masks his assent and hell agree to it just this one time. The loyal butler Alfred speaks truth (actually, troof ) and sense and wisdom to his young charge, but his interest is personal rather than ethical, and like Fox his nature is fundamentally deferential. (The dignified portrayals of Gary Oldman, Morgan Freeman, and Michael Caine go a long way toward burying the reality that all three characters are, at core, sycophants, getting thrills on Batmans capetails.) Nolan has in the series offered a few contrasts but they come with major caveats. Ras al Ghul and the League of Shadows have a cogent, coherent philosophy, but it of course judges society as a whole and places no value on individual human life or action. Rachel Dawes came close to being a credible moral voice, but her relationships with Bruce and Harvey represented conflicts of interest. All of this suggests that the trilogy grew from a seed of misanthropy. But with the addition of one character, The Dark Knight Rises forcefully re-frames Nolans Batman movies in personal moral terms rather than socio-political ones. And therein lies tenuous hope. This conceptual construct was certainly suggested by The Dark Knight, filled with quandaries of situational ethics. The Joker can be seen as amoral he faults Batman for those pesky rules but he also seems genuinely curious about the choices people make. Will Batman let people die to protect his identity? Will he choose to save Harvey or Rachel? Will either set of boat people blow up the other? How many people will try to murder a nobody to save a hospital? Will anybody stop them? And the self-made luck of Dents two-headed coin in which he was clearly responsible for the outcome was with Two-Face replaced by genuine chance; does that somehow absolve him? But it was hard to feel confident in reading that movie, in large part because both the Joker and Two-Face were insane and savage. It also lacked shape, increasingly entropic as a reflection of its villains, neither with an endgame.
Continued On Page 16
Vol. 19 No. 810
Peaks Performance
MUSIC
by Mike Schulz mike@rcreader.com
August 2 -15, 2012

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Swedish Singer/Songwriter Sofia Talvik, August 3 at Cool Beanz Coffeehouse

just started putting my songs online. I had a little Web site and I put them online for download, and then started playing whatever venues I could. Her public performances, in turn, led to the release of the first of Talviks five albums to date: 2005s Blue Moon. I had played live for a few years, she says, and I really wanted to capture what I sounded like live. So me and my backing band just went into the studio and basically did one take of the songs, recording all the instruments at once. It was a very hectic process. I think we finished the whole album in 40 hours or something. One week. And actually, for The Owls, I did almost the same thing, Talvik continues. I wanted to go back to that organic feel that you get when you play live. So all of the songs the vocals and the main instruments like the guitar and the piano were recorded, like, one-take-live in my bedroom, and I just added other instruments afterwards, like the flute and cello and stuff like that. Unlike Blue Moon, however, Talviks latest CD, and the three that came before it, were released under the artists own label, Makai Music, which she formed with her husband in 2006. After my first album, she says with a laugh, I just felt, Hey! I can do this by myself! I had so many ideas and there was so much I wanted to do, and even though its a lot of work, the best thing about it is I get to decide everything for myself, you know? No one can say to me, Well, lets wait a couple months to do that or You should probably rework this song or whatever. I just do whatever I feel like doing. And what Talvik felt like doing last year was embarking on a tour of the United States, which the musician began in December, and which now finds her booked in the Quad Cities prior to upcoming stops in Minnesota, Nebraska, Colorado, Wyoming, and Utah all before Labor Day. Weve been on the road for seven months and have done over 100 shows so far, says Talvik, and were gonna play our way to California. So the plan is to tour for two years. Or, at least, until I or the RV breaks down. Sofia Talvik performs at Cool Beanz Coffeehouse (1325 30th Street, Rock Island) at 7 p.m. on August 3, and more information on the singer-songwriter is available at SofiaTalvik.com.
f youre a fellow fan of Twin Peaks David Lynchs 1990-91 cult favorite in which Special Agent Dale Cooper investigated the murder of high-schooler Laura Palmer you can listen to folk singer/songwriter Sofia Talviks latest CD thinking that the Swedish musician sounds, sometimes uncannily, like that TV series resident chanteuse, Julee Cruise. With her light, airy soprano and haunting, faraway melancholy, its easy to imagine Talvik herself hypnotizing crowds in a small-town biker bar, right before vanishing into the ether and being replaced by a cryptic bald giant. (It was that kind of show, bless its demented heart.) But if Talviks vocals werent enough to put you in a Twin Peaks frame of mind, you cant help but be in one when you learn that her new album is titled The Owls Are Not What They Seem, which, as any of the shows admirers will tell you, is less a famous phrase from that program than its mantra. So just how big of a Twin Peaks zealot is Talvik? Let me put it like this, says the 33-year-old during our recent phone interview. When I was a teenager, the first poster of a guy that I had on my bedroom wall was Agent Cooper. In an August 3 set at Rock Islands Cool Beanz Coffeehouse an area performance happening in conjunction with her Daytrotter. com recording session Talvik will treat her audience to numerous songs from The Owls Are Not What They Seem, an album praised by MusicalDiscoveries.com for its artists crystalline vocals and lovely backing harmonies and powerful acoustic-guitar-based arrangements. If any of her listeners are also Twin Peaks fans, theyll quickly realize that her CDs title isnt just a blithe nod to David Lynchs creation. I first had the idea for the album cover, Talvik says, which has me wearing, like, an owl mask. But when I was producing the songs, I felt like they could almost fit into the TV show somehow. Even though theyre love songs, they have a little bit of a mystic dark side to them. Its a little bit like the role that the owls play in the series you dont know if theyre bad or theyre good and so I kind of felt like there was a connection there. Plus, its just such a great expression: The owls are not what they seem. Its really beautiful. Ranging from the soothing catchiness of
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Delusional to the low-key yet up-tempo 7 Miles Wide to the wistful seascape dreaminess of Bitter Sweet Bliss (a song that I picture Twin Peaks Audrey Horne swooning to, alone, in the Double R Diner), the albums excellent tracks suggest why Talvik was, in 2008, the first Swedish female to play the Lollapalooza festival. They also suggest why Talvik says, with a good-natured laugh, Im very much an original artist. Born in Gothenburg, Sweden, and the child of two visual-artist parents, Talvik says of her beginnings in music, I played the piano since I was a kid, but when I turned 18, I just felt like I needed a change of interest. So I got a guitar, and I started writing songs just to learn how to play the guitar. From the start, she says, covers were not my thing, but I wanted something to sing and play, and it turned out I had a lot of stuff to write about. When I was younger, I could write several songs a day. In 2001, Talvik sent one of those songs, titled Ghosts, to a local radio show. And they actually picked it up, she says. It actually went straight to the top of the shows [request] list, and people started e-mailing me about it, and it was an eye-opener. I was like, Really? People want to hear my music? She laughs and adds, I never wanted to be, like, a pop star, and never had any thoughts about becoming a musician or an artist or anything like that, so it was all kind of a surprise to me. After the success of Ghosts, says Talvik, I
Sofia Talvik
photo by Gustav Waesterberg
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ADMINISTRATION
THEATRE
By Thom White
Rib It! Rib It!

The Frogs, at Lincoln Park through August 5
ince first experiencing one of Genesius Guilds end-ofseason comedies two summers ago, Ive eagerly anticipated playwright Don Wootens witty work each subsequent year. His sharp, humorous, sometimes biting rewrites of Aristophanes comedies abound with political, pop-culture, and theatre references at the local and national levels. And while Ive not had the honor of being personAnna Tunnicliff, Neil Friberg, Bryan Woods, and ally referenced in one of his jokes Torey Baxa at least not while I was present this chance to display her cleverest costumes in years The Frogs features hilariously pointed the production: tunics in a 70s-style pattern jabs at almost every theatre company in the of green, white, and black squares and circles, Quad Cities area, with Saturdays performance the funniest of the three annual Guild and frog-head hats and webbed hands apparently made of poster-board. And once spoofs Ive yet seen. in Hell, Dionysos and Xanthias encounter If memory serves, Wootens The Frogs also the Initiates, a group of monsters that include incorporates more of its Greek inspirations a vampire, a mummy, and an attentionplot than past productions have of theirs. grabbing, laughter-inducing, post-lobotomy Bryan Woods assumes the lead as a haughty, sharp-tongued Dionysos, introducing himself Frankenstein played by Scott Tunnicliff. (Seriously, his hilarious characterization is in a song performed to the tune of Man of La worth keeping an eye on during the entire Manchas I, Don Quixote here changed scene, while Amanda Wales, as group leader to I, Dionysos during which the god Vampira, lends her role a beautiful solo voice asks, What am I doing out here in Rock during the Initiates number, set to the tune Island? (Adding that Somethings gone of The Munsters theme.) terribly wrong, he insists that he should be After proving themselves gods in a headlining the Mark.) Hes accompanied contest of pain tolerance, the two travelers by Xanthias, referred to in a nod to Circa enjoy a huge dinner and tussle in a large 21 as a Bootlegger reject, and played fight neither activity of which is staged, with gleeful humor by Neil Friberg (whose performances, in multiple roles, in Augustana but rather described by Earl Strupps Tragic Messenger, who explains that these scenes Colleges 2011 Metamorphoses I may never would be too expensive to depict. (Strupp forget). Together, they set out for Hades on presents his monologue with a humorous, a quest to retrieve Tyler Hennings overuppity-actor air, and on Saturday, earned confident Euripides, in order to return the tragedians unequaled writing skills to Athens. the evenings loudest applause.) In order for Euripides to be freed, the writer must then To get into Hades, the two first seek take part in a poetry contest vying for the advice from Michael Carrons long-absent chance to do Elvis Presley impersonations at Herakles (who, at first, they think is either ComedySportz alongside another tragic dead, or has shipped out on the Clinton poet, Aeschylus, played with a funny, sort of Showboat), and end up, at separate times, dumbfounded modesty by Pat Flaherty. disguising themselves as the strong man by As usual, Wootens comedy ends with borrowing the heros lion skin and his large, a chase in which the plays characters run red, plastic baseball bat. Advising Dionysos and Xanthias that the surest path to Hell is to after each other across the stage, frequently say something nice about Obama, Herakles stopping to jump in this weird way knees and elbows out, jazz hands up that makes then tells the duo that they must travel with me giggle every time I see it. Its an amusingly Charon across the river Styx; after arguing ridiculous end to an evening of sharp humor, over the pronunciation of the boatmans with The Frogs an excellent way to let loose name and whether the figure should be and have fun at the end of Genesius Guilds classified as a boatman or a boatperson summer season. Melanie Radkiewicz arrives in the role wearing a beard. (When asked if Charon is a man or a woman, Radkiewicz replies, I dont The Frogs runs at Lincoln Park (11th Avenue and 38th Street, Rock Island) through August know the difference. Im a Prenzie Player.) 5, and information is available by visiting While on the boat, an army of frogs sings Genesius.org. and dances, giving designer Ellen Dixon the
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Movie Reviews
Scraped Crusader
THE DARK KNIGHT RISES
The Dark Knight Rises, as youve perhaps heard, is the concluding chapter in Christopher Nolans series of grandly scaled, intensely serious-minded Batman adventures that began with 2005s fittingly titled Batman Begins and continued with 2008s The Dark Knight. It is also, as you perhaps hoped, a terrifically satisfying wrap-up to the trilogy flawed, at times distractingly flawed, but powerful and resonant and deeply emotional. After my lukewarm responses to The Avengers and The Amazing Spider-Man, I wouldve been relieved to exit this summers latest superhero blockbuster merely content. Instead, I left Nolans 165-minute comic-book epic simultaneously jazzed and sated, and more than ready to see it again. If the film, which its director cowrote with brother Jonathan, doesnt quite hit the intoxicating heights of The Dark Knight, thats only because Heath Ledgers Joker is no longer around, and because this climactic tales chief adversary (for understandable and, I think, intentional reason) proves a far less enticing foe. Known only as Bane, and enacted by Tom Hardy as the physical embodiment of a brick shithouse, this imposing nemesis would seem to possess all the requirements for Batmans ber-Villain Hall of Fame: a tortured past, unrelenting sadistic urges, a plan to blow Gotham Citys citizenry to smithereens. Yet what Bane
by Mike Schulz mike@rcreader.com by Mike Schulz mike@rcreader.com
Christian Bale in The Dark Knight Rises

also has here is a gunmetal mask with a mouthguard that resembles something that trappers lay out to cripple bears, complete with a voice-altering breathing apparatus that turns the act of speaking into pure torture ... for us. I really do like The Dark Knight Rises, but has any screen actor ever been more unfairly waylaid by a prop than Tom Hardy? On one level, I absolutely understand the Nolan brothers decision to make Bane who first battled DC Comics Batman in 1993 their movies resident psychopath, even beyond the promise of the characters megalomaniacal audacity. In the wake of Ledgers instantly legendary portrayal, to say nothing of the actors tragic passing, wouldnt any performer attempting a similarly bravura madman turn be viewed as the lesser of two evildoers? It consequently makes perfect sense for the Nolans to present us with a threatening lunatic who, with his mouth completely hidden, literally cant grin or sneer or deadpan in ways that could conceivably bring Ledger to mind. Against considerable expectation, you can watch this new Batman outing without spending inordinate time missing the Joker and wondering about what nasty fun he mightve provided. But while the eyes are generally an
actors most expressive tools, and Hardy does wonders with his here, our being robbed of most of his features denies us the full spectrum of crazy that the man couldve no doubt delivered. (The mind reels at the thought of Batman waging war against the devastatingly feral and funny Tom Hardy of Bronson.) And with Banes mask muddying his diction, and Hardys natural British accent already pretty thick, Id say we miss out on close to a quarter of the characters lines, which, when theyre decipherable at all, sound as though theyre being spoken by an annoyingly pretentious English professor through a roll of toilet paper. (Actually, the sound quality is uncharacteristically spotty during much of Nolans latest, with the blare of Hans Zimmers relentless score frequently drowning out the dialogue.) Simply put, Hardys Bane is intimidating in The Dark Knight Rises, but because so little of his malevolence has the chance to fully register, hes not nearly as scary as he needs to be. If pressed, and not terribly hard, I could compose a list of additionally problematic elements in the film, among them the confusingly staged aerial hijacking that opens the movie, Batmans and Banes brutal but visually uninteresting mano a mano fistfights why does Batman risk knuckle damage by continually punching Bane in the mask? and the presence of the eternally phlegmatic Matthew Modine. (And while the moment was lovely, did
Listen to Mike every Friday at 9am on ROCK 104-9 FM with Dave & Darren
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MUSIC
Christmas in August
osh Duffee admits that his Bix Beiderbecke Memorial Jazz Festival schedule is intense. The 32-year-old percussionist will be playing with three groups and performing more than a dozen times over five days, but he said its not exhausting. Usually, by Monday, Im feeling it a little bit, but ... its kind of like Christmas for me, he said in a phone interview last week. Im going to take advantage of every single second I can get, and if I can sleep on Tuesday, August 7, then Ill go ahead and do that. The Bix fest opens on Thursday, August 2, with a full slate of concerts the three days after that and an event on Monday, August 6: a show at one of Bixs old haunts Jims Knoxville Tap, formerly known as the Bluebird Inn on the 81st anniversary of his death at age 28. Most concerts will be held in the RiverCenter, the Adler Theatre, and LeClaire Park. (For a full schedule of events, visit BixSociety.org/festival.html.) Duffee will, of course, be leading his own 12-member orchestra, but hell also be playing with the Jimmy Valentine Quintet and Andy Schumm & His Flatland Gang. His packed itinerary is a reminder that traditional jazz and specifically the jazz of the 1920s is in good hands. Duffees clear enthusiasm and obvious dedication ensure that the music of Bixs time will be heard for a long time. Duffee said that he got his first exposure to traditional jazz at age 15, but he didnt attend the Bix fest until after high-school graduation in 1998 as member of the Bix Youth Jazz Band. Every time the Bix fest would be taking place, he said, thats when we would be taking a family vacation to Minnesota timed to coincide with a Deere & Company plant shutdown. But that first Bix, he said, was like heaven. ... I think I listened to almost every single band. I even forgot to eat my meals. He started Josh Duffee & His Orchestra in 2001, and even in his early 20s he showed an unexpected maturity. When he called musicians to be in the band, he said, he crossed people off his list whose first question was how much he was paying; he wanted people who were excited about playing the music. And a year later, Duffee said, his outfit was the first local band to play the main stage at the Bix fest in more than 30 years. Duffee said that when he first started his ensemble, he had 45 charts for arrangements of songs many from
by Jeff Ignatius jeff@rcreader.com
Josh Duffee Plays in Three Bands at the 2012 Bix Jazz Festival
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Cool new bands-in the Edje!

NEW! August 3 & 4 Night People
In addition to some of our popular regular bands, were excited to introduce two new bands in August! Every Friday and Saturday night 8pm-Midnight-no cover!
August 10 & 11 The Tailfins
NEW! August 17 & 18 Machine Gun Willie
August 24 & 25 Smooth Groove
I-280 and Hwy 92, Exit 11-A Rock Island, IL 309-756-4600 800-477-7747 Open 7am-5am daily
If you or someone you know has a gambling problem, crisis counseling and referral services can be accessed by calling 1-800-GAMBLER (1-800-426-2537).
FOR YOUR ENJOYMENT, ALWAYS SMOKE FREE!
Vince Giordano, known for his musical appearances on A Prairie Home Companion, Woody Allen films, and HBOs Boardwalk Empire. Now, he said, Im up to about 5,000. People from around the world offer him charts which is important because you cant find them in music stores. A widow in Oregon, for example, sent him her late husbands library. Outside of concert appearances, Duffee said, people learn about him from YouTube videos, which he said are the new calling card. ... You tell people, Go to YouTube; you can actually see what I do. Theyre attracted to his youth and his authenticity, from his playing style to how he styles his hair. (I kind of look the part, he said.) Duffee said hes preparing to record a new CD for release in 2013, with the goal of showcasing different styles and bands of his favorite era. Music from that period survives, he said, but its hard for many modern listeners to get past the sound quality of recordings from eight or nine decades ago. Hearing the music as part of an audience, he said, removes that barrier: Its better to have a group like mine that can reintroduce the music to the community, and you dont hear it in the form of a 78; you actually hear musicians playing it live. When I asked Duffee whether he thinks he was born at the wrong time, he admitted that we wouldve given our left arm to have been able to see those bands playing and been a part of that. ... But I also then turn it around and look at it like I was born at this time to keep the music going of the 20s kind of a torchbearer.
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Whats Happenin
Music
Bryan Tank and Tristan Tapscot
Out there, Theres a show performed in Moline, Music Guild will stage a great show, Barnaby A first-rate show, Barnaby! Out there, Full of shine and full of sparkle, Grab a friend and see it glisten, Barnaby Listen, Barnaby ... ! Put on your evening clothes and catch Hello, Dolly! The Tony-winning classic is the best! Youre gonna love the songs and the romance youll see! The sets are cool, and the actors rule ... And just wait and see how theyre dressed! Put on your evening clothes for Jerry Hermans score, With the lyrics that are just divine! Youll laugh and smile, tap your feet a while, And then beg the Guild for some more, Because Hello, Dolly! has great times in store!
Theatre
Hello, Dolly!
Prospect Park Auditorium Friday, August 3, through Sunday, August 12
(Sung to the opening of Put On Your Sunday Clothes from Hello, Dolly! ... and, of course, WALLE.)
The Blind Boys are the recipients of six Grammy Awards, winning for Best The Blind Boys of Alabama Traditional Soul Gospel The Redstone Room Album an impressive four Thursday, August 9, and Friday, August 10, 7:30 p.m. years running, from 2002 through 2005. Appearing locally for a special, extended concert One of those engagement, the Blind Boys of Alabama will display Grammys was the ensembles 2009 Lifetime Achievement their universally acclaimed gospel and blues talents at Award a recognition they also received from the Davenports Redstone Room on August 9 and 10. But National Endowment of the Arts and in 2007, the while the ensembles two-night area booking already musicians were inducted into the Gospel Music Hall of suggests that these soulful musicians are something truly Fame. special, there are a few other arguments for the Blind Boys In 2010, the Blind Boys performed at the White being the pinnacles of cool. Consider: House for President Obama and the First Lady, appearing With only minimal membership changes, the group on a musical guest list that included Bob Dylan, Natalie has been performing consistently since 1939, with Cole, and Smokey Robinson. founding member Clarence Fountain age 82 still The band has been showcased in its own PBS making occasional concert appearances.
h p L
t T
i m t a s w p a
w E t R
Music
The Zac Brown Band

i wireless Center Friday, August 3, 7 p.m.
Featuring such timeless numbers as Before the Parade Passes by, It Only Takes a Moment, and the unforgettable title tune, Quad City Music Guilds Hello, Dolly! is directed by Eric Lounsberry, and stars Charlene Engstrom, Mike Millar, Tristan Tapscott, Bryan Tank, Heidi Pedersen, and Harold Truitt. The show runs at the Prospect Park Auditorium August 3 through 12, and information and tickets are available by calling (309)762-6610.* *With apologies for my inability to make that information scan properly in the song. I blame Jerry Herman.
The country-music superstars of the Zac Brown Band will play the i wireless center on August 3, and among the groups output is the 2012 CD You Get What You Give. Considering what the band has been giving over the years, its no wonder theyve been getting so much! Based in Atlanta and formed in 2002, Brown and his ensemble enjoyed their first taste of smash success with the 2008 album Foundation. Four years later, the Zac Brown Band acclaimed for its spectacular musicianship, thrilling vocals, propulsive energy, and exhilarating live performances has yet to hit a professional speed
bump, with Billboard describing its latest CD, Julys Uncaged, as the best country release of 2012 so far. The bands acclaim has been more than matched by its professional recognition; among the laurels amassed by the Zac Brown Band over the past three years are two Grammy Awards, two CMT Music Awards, two Academy of Country Music Awards, and a Country Music Association Award, with those four organizations also bestowing on the group 29 additional nominations. And you want chart-topping hits? The Zac Brown Band will give you chart-topping hits! Of the nine songs on the right, which was the only one that did not hit number one on Billboards U.S. Country chart? Sonia Leigh and Nic Cowan perform opening sets for the
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holiday special, on a segment of 60 Minutes, and on such programs as The Late Show with David Letterman and Late Night with Conan OBrien The groups rendition of Tom Waits Way Down in the Hole was the theme song for the first season of HBOs The Wire, considered by many to be the coolest show ever. But heres how I know, beyond a doubt, that the group is as good as it gets: This past Easter, I was watching the movie Hop with my five-year-old niece Gwen, and when the Blind Boys of Alabama started jamming on-screen, and her mother and I mistakenly chose that moment to speak, Gwen spun on us, shot her finger to her lips, and went, Shhhh! You can think it was because of the rabbit playing drums. Im pretty sure its because Gwen has amazing taste in music. The Blind Boys of Alabama play the Redstone Room with opening sets by Clarence Bucaro on Thursday and Ed Anderson on Friday, and more information and tickets are available by calling (563)326-1333 or visiting RiverMusicExperience.org. Zac Brown Bands Moline concert, and tickets are available by calling (800)745-3000 or visiting iwirelessCenter.com. 1) As Shes Walking Away 2) Chicken Fried 3) Colder Weather 4) Free 5) Highway 20 Ride 6) Keep Me in Mind 7) Knee Deep 8) No Hurry 9) Toes
Theatre
The Dixie Swim Club
Circa 21 Dinner Playhouse Thursday, August 2, through Saturday, September 15
MUSIC
What Else Is Happenin
Hey, ladies,
Its a touching comedy called The Dixie Swim Club, and its running at the Circa 21 Dinner Playhouse from August 2 through September 15, and its all about five Southern women who meet for annual get-togethers at a lakeside beach house. The production follows these disparate characters through the years as they enjoy clever, insightful conversations about men and parenting and the humorous perils of aging, and critics have been wowed by the results, with Tampa Bay Weekly praising the shows delicious mix of eccentric characters and sweet Southern charm. Directing Circa 21s production is the gifted Jim Hesselman, who also helmed the theatres acclaimed productions of Legally Blonde: The Musical and Hairspray, and included in the cast are popular area performers Lora Adams, Autumn ORyan, and Shelley Walljasper, whose local credits include roles in Spreading It Around, Southern Crossroads, and the male-stripper comedy The Full Monty. So expect this new show to be full of cheek! Ha ha! For more information and tickets to The Dixie Swim Club, call (309)786-7733 extension 2 ... and be sure to bring your husband or boyfriend! Hell thank you for it!
have I got a play for you!
Hey, guys,
Its a riotous comedy called The Dixie Swim Club, and its running at the Circa 21 Dinner Playhouse from August 2 through September 15, and its all about five Southern pals who ditch their significant others for annual getaways at the beach. The production follows the friends through the years as they enjoy hysterical, sometimes argumentative conversations about life and relationships and sex, and critics have been wowed by the results, with CurtainUp.com raving that the thoroughly entertaining show moves along with swift abandon. Directing Circa 21s production is the gifted Jim Hesselman, who orchestrated the crazygood special effects and swashbuckling of the theatres Peter Pan, and included in the cast are popular area performers Lora Adams, Autumn ORyan, and Shelley Walljasper, whose local credits include roles in the comedic murder mysteries Catch Me If You Can and Whodunit? and the bloody musical Sweeney Todd. So expect this new show to positively kill! Ha ha! For more information and tickets to The Dixie Swim Club, visit Circa 21.com ... and be sure to bring your wife or girlfriend! Shell thank you for it!
have I got a play for you!
Thursday, August 2, through Sunday, August 5 Bix Beiderbecke Memorial Jazz Festival. Annual celebration of the jazz legend and Davenport native, featuring workshops, seminars, and performances by more than a dozen ensembles. Concerts held at venues including the Adler Theatre and RiverCenter (136 East Third Street, Davenport) and LeClaire Park (River Drive and Ripley Street, Davenport). For information and a schedule of events, call (563)324-7170 or visit BixSociety.org. Thursday, August 2 Banshee. Heavy-metal rockers and frequent touring artists in concert. The Redstone Room (129 Main Street, Davenport). 8 p.m. $10-12. For tickets and information, call (563)326-1333 or visit RiverMusicExperience.org. Friday, August 3 Sofia Talvik. Acclaimed Swedish folk singer in concert. Cool Beanz Coffeehouse (1325 30th Street, Rock Island). 7 p.m. Free admission. For information, call (309)558-0909 or visit CoolBeanzCoffeehouse.com. Sunday, August 5 The Israeli Scouts. Songs performed in Hebrew and English by 10 young touring musicians. Tri-City Jewish Center (2715 30th Street, Rock Island). 2 p.m. Free admission. For information, call (309)793-1300 or visit JFQC.org.
Answer: 8. That one made it to the number-two spot. Nothing number-two-y about that.
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River Cities Reader Vol. 19 No. 810 August 2 - 15, 2012 Continued From Page 7
Business Politics Arts Culture Now You Know RiverCitiesReader.com by Jeff Ignatius jeff@rcreader.com
COVER STORY
Politics and Morals, Myths and Hope

With the whole trilogy in front of us, though, the task becomes a little easier. The Dark Knight Rises mimics Batman Begins in sinister plot, theme, and threeact structure; they are clear (and clearly intentional) contrasts to the disorder of the middle chapter. The Joker and TwoFace raise philosophical questions but cannot resolve them; the bookend movies provide some answers. In Batman Begins, Ras al Ghul was the voice of dubious moral certainty that Batman rejected but only with his line-item veto. The hero drew a line at killing, and the result was two distinct but equally troublesome codes, radically different in methods and aims but still substantially similar: one unclouded but evil, the other gray but good. In The Dark Knight Rises, Joseph Gordon-Levitts John Blake becomes the unambiguous, unencumbered, self-righteous, and righteous moral authority that the series had by design, I think lacked. He recalls the idealism of a younger Bruce Wayne without the revenge jones or self-loathing, and he has the elementary decency of a younger Jim Gordon. Like Bruce, hes an orphan; like Gordon, hes a cop. And he correctly sees both of them as moral failures; for all the good theyve done, theyve also caused great harm, and their hands are, as he says, plenty filthy. Unlike Alfred whos motivated more by love than virtue, and whose gentle Rises confrontation with Bruce is phrased hypothetically Blake speaks truth to power, and hes the most clear-eyed person in the series, a conscience nagging people who havent just crossed a line; theyre so far past the line that they can barely remember the other side. And he walks the talk. Late in the movie, he foolishly but bravely risks his life in an effort to clear a blockade of Gothams remaining bridge. He stands up for others, without compromising his ideals. The Dark Knight Rises indeed, Nolans whole trilogy cautiously casts its lot with Blake. Batman, while still capable of heroic deeds, is at core a lost cause and irredeemably damaged as is Bruce Wayne while Batman darkens his door. Blake, though, looks like he might be a white knight, the kind of hero Gotham needs rather than deserves. That probably sounds familiar. After all, Harvey Dent looked incorruptible, too. Youd be smart, then, to be skeptical that Blake represents an ultimate triumph of virtuous purity over evil (or equivocal goodness) in the series. These stories, after all, tend to repeat themselves.
Just as The Dark Knight Rises clarifies the whole in moral terms, it also makes evident its mythic ambitions beyond the obvious arc of the heros journey. Most tellingly, there are either three or four Batman resurrections in The Dark Knight Rises depending on how you choose to count. First is his return after an eight-year hiatus which in functional and public terms represented his death. Third (or third and fourth) are the separate resurrections of Bruce Wayne (the man) and Batman (the symbol, in the form of Blake) after their apparent demises. In between is the most physical and direct treatment of the idea, with Batman (nearly) killed, imprisoned and (psychologically) tortured in a belowground Hell, and finally rising to save Gotham. Aside from Batman taking his sweet time returning to the world of the living, the path is reminiscent of the Apostles Creed, in which Jesus was crucified, died, and was buried; he descended into Hell; on the third day he rose again from the dead ... . Superheroes and especially Superman have long been seen as Christ figures, and from its title to its returns from the dead, The Dark Knight Rises appears to impose that connection on Batman. Aside from the savior similarity, the comparison is knotty but worth exploring. Remember that theres never a pointfor-point match between Christ and Christ figures; artists appropriate aspects of the New Testament story that (consciously or not) interest or speak to them. Nolan and his co-writers arent equating Batman to Jesus; theyre stripping out central Christian ethos and messages (forgive, turn the other cheek, and the like) to leave elemental power struggles not just between (intertwined) good and evil, but between salvation and death and between Father and Son. Lets start with the problems. Batman is in no way a representation of goodness in a Christian sense. Rather than being sent down from the heavens, he was (figuratively) born at the bottom of a well the underworld in Batman Begins. He can be said to have horns. So the parallels are rough, and Batman might more closely resemble some other reborn god (a regular motif in mythology).
Born (and Re-Born) in Hell
But like the fully human and fully divine Jesus of The Last Temptation of Christ, the Dark Knight is full of internal conflict between his mortal, human self (Bruce Wayne) and his immortal, symbolic salvation role (Batman). Alfred tempts him early in Rises, suggesting that by keeping Batman (his sacred duty and true identity) in retirement permanently, he could create a life for Bruce Wayne (his earthly shell and mask) just as Jesus on the cross in Last Temptation dreamed of a simple life as husband and father, the rest of the world be damned. What Rises, Nolan, and his protagonist do, then, is create a third option. In the process of sparing Gotham from a nuclear blast and finally killing Bruce Waynes Batman, the two halves are separated and given new, divergent lives. (If the movies carefully telegraphed ending seems a cheat, it might be because it feels wrong to you that Jesus I mean Batman can have it both ways, particularly given the series penchant for binary, polar choices.) This interpretation is not based solely on The Dark Knight Rises. The movies from the start have encouraged biblical readings. Consider, for example, this passage from Genesis: And God saw that the wickedness of man was great in the earth, and that every imagination of the thoughts of his heart was only evil continually. ... And the Lord said, I will destroy man whom I have created from the face of the earth. Ras al Ghuls plan (in Batman Begins and, through a surrogate, The Dark Knight Rises) recalls Yahwehs destruction of Sodom and Gomorrah and, earlier, humanity except for Noah. Both the Old Testament God and the League of Shadows judge us collectively. Contrast this with Batmans idea of justice, which while similarly harsh is individual and in its formative stages at least included the word compassion. The wicked and, in theory, only the wicked are punished under Batman, the flip side to the righteous being promised salvation in the New Testament. In other words, these Batman movies exploit a tension similar to that between the Old and New Testaments of the Christian Bible vengeance versus kindness. If Batman is the (relatively) kind Christ in this reading, his spiritual father is Ras al Ghul, whose fortress not coincidentally sat on a mountain. (In a sense, Batman was then born both in Heaven and Hell, and if you prefer to see Batman more as a demon than akin to Jesus, recall that Lucifers story, in one aspect, recalls Christs: Both
were cast from above to the Earth by the Creator.) The parent-child relationships here are defined by rejection. Ras al Ghul, the God-figure teacher, says that killing is sometimes necessary for justice, a tenet that pupil/son Bruce Wayne rejects. (Yet Bruce also finds fault in the philanthropic philosophy of his biological father ineffectual and too kind.) In The Dark Knight Rises, Talia al Ghul is also shown to have been born in Hell and in two instances was abandoned by her biological father, Bruces mentor while Bane was forged there (the goodness pummeled out of him) and then rejected by God. Yet they, like Job and Christ, persevere in the Fathers work, even though they perceive that He had forsaken them. Batman, of course, spurns that mission, and theres a moment in Batman Begins when the very personal (rather than philosophical) animosity between Father and Son is hammered home, as the crooked cop claims to know nothing, swear to God. We might call that a very poor choice of words, as Batman is none too fond of God: Swear to me! And (speaking of the Joker), while the Christ figure is most clearly manifested in the first and third movies, some biblical allusions can be found in The Dark Knight. Two-Face, as duality made literal, is himself a fallen angel. You might, in the way Gotham finally turns against its savior and casts him out, hear echoes of Peters denial of Jesus. And recognizing that the chief adversaries in Begins and Rises are Father figures, its not hard to see the Joker as one, too. Like God, he just exists no backstory offered or needed and his schemes are designed to stress the moral mettle of both Batman and Gotham, as the Old Testament Lord foisted cruel trials on Job and Abraham. All of the series primary villains Scarecrow, Ras al Ghul, the Joker, TwoFace, and Bane act as (or aspire to be) God figures, testing people or executing final judgment on individuals or societies. This wasnt true for Scarecrow until, in The Dark Knight Rises, he presides over the citys post-revolution court system, offering exile or death. For all of its darkness, though, Nolans trilogy finally rejects those one-and-thesame options as Gothams only choices. By the end of Rises, through its resurrections, a freed Bruce Wayne, and a new, untainted incarnation of Batman, it offers a glimmer of hope for society and its people.
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Featured Images from the Quad Cities Photography Club
PHOTOGRAPHY
(Editors note: The River Cities Reader each month will feature an image or images from the Quad Cities Photography Club.) embers of the Quad Cities Photography Club recently judged its yearly contest, with the theme eyes. Members were asked to evaluate both how well the theme was represented and the photographic quality. Jay Brooks created the first-place image, of a burrowing owl. He photographed it while visiting relatives in Cape Coral, Florida, which is well known for its burrowing-owl population. Jay photographed this owl and its mate for several days, using a Canon 60D with a 400-millimeter lens set at f/8 and 1/500 of a second, with an ISO of 200. A tomato worm was the second-place image, created by Paul Riewerts. He said that the big tomato worm was eating his plants, so before pulling it off, he took its photo, in which it appears to have nine eyes on each side. Paul took it with a Nikon D700 with a 105-millimeter macro lens with fill flash. It was set at f/40 and 1/60 of a second, and an ISO of 200. A little girl fascinated with bubbles was the thirdplace image, created by JoAnne Brunsvold. JoAnne said that it was at her granddaughters fourthbirthday party, and she loves bubbles. She added a bit of saturation to her already pretty blue eyes,
then cropped it to show off her eyes for the theme. She used a Canon Rebel T3i with a 24-105-millimeter lens with a built-in flash. She had the camera set on f/6.3 and 1/125 of a second, with an ISO 400. The Quad Cities Photography Club welcomes visitors and new members. The club sponsors numerous activities encompassing many types and aspects of photography. It holds digital and print competitions most months. At its meetings, members discuss the images, help each other to improve, and socialize. The club also holds special learning workshops and small groups that meet on specific photography topics, and occasionally offers interesting shooting opportunities. The club meets at 6:30 p.m. the first Thursday of the month September through June at the Butterworth Center, 1105 Eighth Street in Moline. For more information on the club, visit QCPhotoClub.com.
Jay Brooks
Paul Riewerts
JoAnne Brunsvold
19
FREE WILL ASTROLOGY

ARIES (March 21-April 19): The astrological omens suggest that you now have a lot in common with the legendary Most Interesting Man in the World adventurous, unpredictable, interesting, lucky, one-of-a-kind. To create your horoscope, I have therefore borrowed a few selected details from his ad campaigns descriptions of him. Here we go: In the coming weeks, you will be the life of parties you dont even attend. Astronauts will be able to see your charisma from outer space. Up to one-third of your body weight will be gravitas. Your cell phone will always have good reception, even in a subway 100 feet underground. Panhandlers will give you money. You could challenge your reflection to a staring contest and win. Youll be able to keep one eye on the past while looking into the future. When you sneeze, God will say God bless you. TAURUS (April 20-May 20): Psychologist Bruno Bettelheim said the dreams we have at night are the result of inner pressures which have found no relief, of problems which beset a person to which he knows no solution and to which the dream finds none. That sounds bleak, doesnt it? If its true, why even bother to remember our dreams? Well, because we are often not consciously aware of the feelings they reveal to us. By portraying our buried psychic material in story form, dreams give us insight into what weve been missing. So even though they may not provide a solution, they educate us. Take heed, Taurus! Your upcoming dreams will provide useful information you can use to fix one of your longstanding dilemmas. GEMINI (May 21-June 20): When French composer Georges Auric scored the soundtrack for Jean Cocteaus movie Blood of a Poet, he produced love music for love scenes, game music for game scenes, and funeral music for funeral scenes. But Cocteau himself had a different idea about how to use Aurics work. For the love scenes he decided to use the funeral music, for the game scenes the love music, and for the funeral scenes the game music. In accordance with the current astrological omens, Gemini, I recommend that you experiment with that style of mixing and matching. Have fun! (Source: A Ned Rorem Reader, by Ned Rorem.) CANCER (June 21-July 22): Piglet was so excited at the idea of being useful that he forgot to be frightened any more, wrote A.A. Milne in his kids story Winnie-the-Pooh. Thats my prescription for how to evade the worrisome fantasies that are nipping at you, Cancerian. If no one has invited you to do some engaging and important labor of love, invite yourself. You need to be needed even more than usual. P.S. Heres what Rumi advises: Be a lamp, or a lifeboat, or a ladder. LEO (July 23-August 22): Youve been making pretty good progress in the School of Life. By my estimates, youre now the equivalent of a sophomore. Youve mastered enough lessons so that you can no longer be considered a freshman, and yet youve got a lot more to learn. Are you familiar with the etymology of the word sophomore? It comes from two Greek words meaning wise and fool. Thatll be a healthy way to think about yourself in the coming weeks. Be smart enough to know what you dont know. Cultivate the voracious curiosity necessary to lead you to the next rich teachings. VIRGO (August 23-September 22): A few years ago, a Malaysian man named Lim Boon Hwa arranged to have himself cooked. For 30 minutes, he sat on a board covering a pan full of simmering dumplings and corn. The fact that no harm came to him was proof, he said, that Taoist devotees like him are protected by their religions deities. I advise you not to try a stunt like that, Virgo including metaphorical versions. This is no time to stew in your own juices. Or boil in your tormented fantasies. Or broil in your nagging doubts. Or be grilled in your self-accusations. You need to be free from the parts of your mind that try to cook you. LIBRA (September 23-October 22): On a spring day in 1973, an engineer named Martin Cooper debuted the worlds first cell phone. He placed a call as he walked along a New York City street. The phone weighed two and half pounds and resembled a brick. Later he joked that no one would be able to talk very long on his invention, since it took a lot of strength to hold it against ones ear. Think of how far that amazing device has come since then, Libra. Now imagine some important aspect of your own life that is in a rather primitive state at this moment but could one day be as natural and fully developed as cell phones have become. Are you willing to work hard to make that happen? Nows a good time to intensify your commitment. SCORPIO (October 23-November 21): In the coming week, you will lose some clout and self-command if youre too hungry for power. Likewise, if you act too brazenly intelligent, you may alienate potential helpers who are not as mentally wellendowed as you. One other warning, Scorpio: Dont be so fiercely reasonable that you miss the emotional richness thats available. In saying these things, I dont mean to sound as if Im advising you to dumb yourself down and downplay your strengths. Not at all. Rather, Im trying to let you know that the best way to get what you really need is to tailor your selfexpression to the unique circumstances you find yourself in.
by Rob Brezsny
SAGITTARIUS (November 22-December 21): For a while, French writer Honor de Balzac (1799-1850) was very poor. He lived in a place that had no heat and almost no furniture. To enhance his environment, he resorted to the use of fantasy. On one of his bare walls, he wrote the words rosewood paneling with ornamental cabinet. On another, he wrote, Gobelin tapestry with Venetian mirror. Over the empty fireplace he declared, Picture by Raphael. Thats the level of imaginative power I encourage you to summon in the coming weeks, Sagittarius. So much of what youll need will come from that simple magic. CAPRICORN (December 22-January 19): Its an excellent time to overthrow false gods and topple small-minded authorities and expose fraudulent claims. Anyone and anything in your environment that does not fully deserve the power it claims should get the brunt of your exuberant skepticism. When youre done cleaning up those messes, turn your attention to your own inner realms. There might be some good work to be done there. Can you think of any hypocrisy that needs fixing? Any excessive self-importance that could use some tamping down? Any pretending that would benefit from a counter dose of authenticity? AQUARIUS (January 20-February 18): In old China, people used to cool themselves by sipping hot drinks. After taking a bath, they buffed the excess water from their skin by using a wet towel. When greeting a friend, they shook their own hand instead of the friends. To erect a new house, they built the roof first. Youre currently in a phase of your astrological cycle when this kind of behavior makes sense. In fact, I suspect youre most likely to have a successful week if youre ready to reverse your usual way of doing things on a regular basis. PISCES (February 19-March 20): Im really tired of you not getting all of the appreciation and acknowledgment and rewards you deserve. Is there even a small possibility that you might be harboring some resistance to that good stuff? Could you be giving off a vibe that subtly influences people to withhold the full blessings they might otherwise confer upon you? According to my analysis of the astrological omens, the coming weeks will be an excellent time for you to work on correcting this problem. Do everything you can to make it easy for people to offer you their love and gifts. Homework: Send news of your favorite mystery an enigma that is both maddening and delightful. Visit FreeWillAstrology.com.
Suds! Beer Tasting

Saturday, October 13th 5-8pm
Advance Tickets: $18 members $20 non-members
German American Heritage Center 563-322-8844 www.gahc.org
EXPANDED WEEKLY AUDIO HOROSCOPES & DAILY TEXT MESSAGE HOROSCOPES The audio horoscopes are also available by phone at
Go to RealAstrology.com to check out Rob Brezsny's
1-877-873-4888 or 1-900-950-7700
20
Ask
the
I met a woman, and we hit it off like wildfire. It seemed everything she said and did was perfect. In six months, we were engaged. She and her four kids moved in with me and my two kids. Shortly afterward, it turned sour. We parent quite differently. Her kids are bad-mannered, curse at her, respect no property or space, and constantly get kicked out of school. When I tried to correct them and improve their behavior, her ex-husband got a restraining order on my fiance to keep their children away from me. She and the kids moved out, but we kept dating. I soon became aware that she was also dating an old boyfriend. She said she was scared and wanted a backup plan in case we didn't work. I got sick of this and ended it. She claimed she wanted to be with me, yet she now seems very happy with the old boyfriend. How does a person move on so fast? How do I get past feeling totally dumped? Heavy Heart As a parent, youre supposed to be in the business of buzz-kill, not only setting boundaries for your kids but modeling the mature, adult thing to do. For example: Come on, kids I found this hot stranger we can live with! There are people who can act this impulsively; theyre called single, childless adults. Six months into a relationship, youre in a sex fog, meaning the windows of your judgment are steamed over, meaning its the perfect time to commit to nothing more longlasting than a weeks vacation. You defend your impulsivity by saying you two hit it off like wildfire, which, if you think about it, is like saying like one of the most dangerous and destructive natural disasters. (Not exactly the best basis for forming the new Brady Bunch.) This woman didnt change; you just saw more of her as time went by. As Ive written before, people dont break up because somebodys got a great laugh or theyre awesome in bed the stuff thats apparent at the start. Thats why, before you commit to somebody, you need to put in time and effort to dig up all the unpalatable things like mouthy delinquent children and an ex with an itchy court-filing finger and see if you can deal. Doing this takes wanting to see what a persons all about, as opposed to wanting to
Love Me Tinder
Advice Goddess
BY AMY ALKON
believe youve found true love and tightening your blindfold. When youre honest about who a woman is, you can predict what shell do instead of learning it through hindsight a term which pretty much spells out the problem. To put it delicately, you should re-read the directions on your contact lenses, because youve probably been putting them in the wrong area.
After mutually ending a 20-year marriage that was more friendship than passion/romance, I met a man I love. Were considering buying a home together. The complication is my 16-year-old daughter, whos downright frosty toward my boyfriend. Its hard to be spending weekdays with my daughter and weekends with him, like Im living in two camps. Shes got two years of high school left, and itd be okay with me if she wanted to live with her dad (if he were okay with that). Should I ask her if she would consider that? Im afraid shell feel really rejected. Divided
Mommy Disappearest
Youre essentially suggesting doing what some people do with their pets. The dog growls at the new boyfriend, so she gets re-homed: Shes really not working for us anymore. Heres her dish and her iPhone. Sorry, but Im just not that into you isnt something a mother gets to say to her daughter. Divorce is damaging enough to a kid. Sometimes its the best-case scenario like if theres constant high conflict. But its extremely indulgent of parents to break up a family simply because their romance waned and the sex got kinda yawny. This is of no interest to a kid nor should it be. And what are you thinking now? Whats a little more psychological damage on top of what youve inflicted? Honey, I know you wanted a car for your 17th birthday, but I thought Id give you abandonment issues instead. Youve got just two years until your complication leaves for college. You can either build a working time machine and go back and use birth control or act like a mom and treat your daughter like a priority instead of excess baggage keeping you from the life you want with your boyfriend: Wherever do we put her? I guess we could store her at her fathers for the next couple years ... .
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21
MOVIES
Continued From Page 10
Scraped Crusader
anyone else find it odd that the little kid hired to sing that a cappella rendition of our national anthem was actually British?) But I hope it suggests just how enraptured I was with The Dark Knight Rises that these problems, and even my significant disappointment with Bane, only mildly sullied my overall enjoyment. Nolan and his expert collaborators have crafted an impassioned, ambitious, splendidly paced entertainment featuring more than its share of major and minor pleasures and considering that the minor ones include the actors subtly rendered pain and sorrow and purpose that give the film its emotional breadth and depth, theyre hardly minor at all. Certainly, the movies show-stopper set pieces principally the horrific destruction of Gotham Citys pro-football field and the demolition of several bridges, the latter viewed in stomach-tightening long zzshots are take-your-breath-away stunning, and the arrival of Batmans new, artillery-laden hovercraft, nicknamed The Bat, merits the awed cheers it receives; visually, the movie is rather extraordinary. (Cinematographer Wally Pfister, who lensed the entire Batman series and won an Oscar for Nolans Inception, gives his sunlit images a gleaming vitality and again proves himself a master of evocative nighttime photography, suggesting that Gotham after-hours suffers from a nightly rotting of the soul.) And without leading this review into a spoiler zone, allow me to say that the films last 45 minutes are a nearly miraculous demonstration of speed, narrative clarity, and wondrously sharp editing (by Lee Smith) keeping suspense alive through a number of intertwined narratives even one that finds the clichd ticking red clock employed as a plot device. All throughout, overly familiar comic-book staples feel fresh here, but more importantly, they feel dramatically necessary, and Nolan and his production team are fortunate to have a wish-list cast on hand to provide the gravitas and humanity their obvious hard work merits. Viewers can, and likely will, debate which of The Dark Knight Rises superb performers walks off with best-in-show honors, and an argument could easily be made for Christian Bale, who not only plays (former) billionaire playboy Bruce Wayne with his usual, marvelously detailed complexity, but whose Batman is more expressive, and even a good deal funnier, than hes previously been allowed to be. (In one of the films niftier in-jokes, Batman briefly turns away from Anne Hathaways cat burglar Selina Kyle, and when he turns back and sees that shes vanished, he quietly growls, So thats what that feels like.) Yet this is a follow-up film in which every returning character (Michael Caines Alfred, Gary Oldmans Commissioner Gordon, Morgan Freemans Lucius Fox) is lent an almost startling depth of feeling by the sublime actors inhabiting the roles. Astonishingly for a second sequel, none of the returnees appears to be merely going through the motions, and Caine, in particular, comes through with some of his finest, most moving work in years. Yet how does one pick a legitimate favorite actor here when also confronted with Hathaway, whose delectably inscrutable vixen keeps you forever guessing about her motivations and whose sardonic wit routinely (and blessedly) lightens the movies spirit? Or Joseph Gordon-Levitt, whose beautifully modulated turn suggests the aching struggle in remaining a decent person in an indecent world? Or Marion Cotillard, whose soulful talents and incomparable screen charisma are quickly causing me, and most everyone I know, to run out of superlatives? It features its share of disappointments, but The Dark Knight Rises is, all in all, a triumphant closer for a trilogy that has definitely earned one. During a TV-news broadcast late in the film, an anchorman refers to Gotham as our greatest city, and it seems like the perfect moniker for the locale of our greatest comic-book-movie series.
devoid of nearly all narrative coherence and sense, its the sort of preposterously bad movie in which the only honest sound heard is that of your jaw hitting the floor. Boasting an unseemly obsession with witless scatological humor as if the mere repetition of dick, balls, and cum would make the uttering of those words hilarious yet never worse than when indulging in maudlin sentiment, the film continually humiliates leads Ben Stiller, Vince Vaughn, Jonah Hill, and Richard Ayoade, each of whose desperate, obvious ad libs provide only occasional moments of levity. (Early on, Vaughn has a nice bit when feigning amazement at a set of Russian nesting dolls.) When all is said and done, the only performer not thoroughly degraded by The Watchs relentless idiocy is Billy Crudup, whose readings as a potentially otherworldly creep are intensely witty, and who, like several of my fellow moviegoers, exited the picture long before it finished. Such a smart guy, that Billy.
STEP UP REVOLUTION
The Step Up movies seem to me the hip-hop equivalents of the Ice Age movies: Were now four entries into both series, and I dont know anyone who wanted either of them to continue past their first. Yet here we are with director Scott Speers Step Up Revolution, which finds a ragtag group of Miami flash-mob-ers trying save their imperiled neighborhood by winning a YouTube contest, a plot that, had the technology existed in the 30s, Mickey Rooney and Judy Garland mightve deemed a tad cornball for their tastes. The films sincerity-bordering-on-navet is actually rather charming, and Lord knows the dancers are impressive or would be, if we were allowed to witness their moves in shots lasting longer than three seconds. (Sadly, there are no scenes to rival the glorious, uninterrupted I Wont Dance pas de deux from Step Up 3D, though that numbers fabulously gifted Adam G. Sevani does make a welcome cameo here.) But for all of Step Up Revolutions eye-catching, candy-colored exuberance which really pops in its 3D presentation its still a blandly formulaic, forgettable outing, and one that actually turns rather grim in its final minutes, when characters who have steadfastly refused to sell out their talents instantly leap at the chance to sign with Nike. Oh, kids. Just dont do it. Follow Mike on Twitter at Twitter.com/ MikeSchulzNow.
THE WATCH
A buddy and I caught a Friday-morning screening of The Watch along with roughly a dozen others, and before the end credits rolled, only four of us were still in the auditorium. Professional obligations were keeping me at director Akiva Schaffers comedy and I was my friends ride, but for the life of me, I cant fathom what prevented those other two patrons from bolting. Lethargy? Politeness? Morbid curiosity? This tale of a suburban neighborhoodwatch foursome and the murderous aliens in their midst is so stupefyingly unfunny that it almost seems a practical joke perpetrated by screenwriters Jared Stern, Seth Rogen, and Evan Goldberg, the latter two of whom famously wrote a draft of their 2007 hit Superbad when they were 15. The Watch actually resembles something Rogen and Goldberg conceived, and completed, five years before that; childishly inept, pointlessly vulgar, and
22
What Else Is Happenin

Sunday, August 5 Chris Beard. The Prince of Blues performs in a concert presented by the Mississippi Valley Blues Society. The Muddy Waters (1708 State Street, Bettendorf). 5 p.m. $8-10. For information, call (563)355-0655 or visit TheMuddyWaters.com. Tuesday, August 7 Steve Earle & the Dukes. Rock, folk, and country music with the popular singer/songwriter and his ensemble. Englert Theatre (221 East Washington Street, Iowa City). 8 p.m. $35. For tickets and information, call (319)6882653 or visit Englert.org. Wednesday, August 8 An Evening with Janiva Magness. Los Angelesbased blues singer/songwriter in concert. The Redstone Room (129 Main Street, Davenport). 8 p.m. $16. For tickets and information, call (563)326-1333 or visit RiverMusicExperience.org. Thursday, August 9 Taj Mahal Trio. Blues and roots music with the legendary vocalist/multi-instrumentalist and his ensemble. Englert Theatre (221 East Washington Street, Iowa City). 8 p.m. $35-50. For tickets and information, call (319)688-2653 or visit Englert.org. Friday, August 10 Hermans Hermits with Peter Noone. Concert featuring pop hits including Im Into Something Good and I Am Henry VIII, I Am. Quad-Cities Waterfront Convention Center (1777 Isle Parkway, Bettendorf). 7:30 p.m. $20-30. For information, call (800)724-5825 or visit Bettendorf.IsleOfCapriCasinos.com. Saturday, August 11 Warrant, Winger, and Firehouse. Platinum-selling rock and pop-metal musicians in concert. i wireless Center (1201 River Drive, Moline). 7 p.m. $22.50-39.50. For tickets, call (800)745-3000 or visit iwirelessCenter. com. Saturday, August 11 The Awful Purdies. All-female folk quintet in an Intimate at the Englert Series presentation. Englert Theatre (221 East Washington Street, Iowa City). 8 p.m. $10. For tickets and information, call (319)688-2653 or visit Englert. org. Tuesday, August 14 An Evening with Gaelic Storm. Acclaimed Celtic rockers in concert. The Redstone Room (129 Main Street, Davenport). 8 p.m. $28. For tickets and information, call (563)3261333 or visit RiverMusicExperience.org. Wednesday, August 15 The BoDeans. Famed roots-rock and pop performers in concert. The Redstone Room (129 Main Street, Davenport). 8:30 p.m. $40. For tickets and information, call (563)326-1333 or visit RiverMusicExperience.org.
THEATRE
Thursday, August 2, through Sunday, August 12 Hate Mail. The two-character, anti-Love Letters comedy, performed in repertory with Love Letters. Clinton Area Showboat Theatre (311 Riverview Drive, Clinton). Scheduled performances Wednesdays-Sundays at 3 and 7:30 p.m. $16-23. For tickets and information, call (563)242-6760 or visit ClintonShowboat.org. Thursday, August 2, through Sunday, August 12 Cabaret. Kander & Ebbs musical classic set in Nazi-era Berlin. Timber Lake Playhouse (8215 Black Oak Road, Mt. Carroll). Tuesday-Saturday at 7:30 p.m.; Sunday, Wednesday, and August 4 at 2 p.m. $15-23. For tickets and information, call (815)2442035 or visit TimberLakePlayhouse.org.
Thursday, August 2, through Sunday, August 5 2012 Mississippi Valley Fair. Annual carnival event featuring rides, games, and grandstand musicians Billy Currington and Brantley Gilbert (Thursay), REO Speedwagon (Friday), Hank Williams Jr. (Saturday), and Montgomery Gentry (Sunday). Mississippi Valley Fairgrounds (2815 West Locust Street, Davenport). $3-10 daily admission (not including grandstand acts); $40-45 Fun Cards for full admission and grandstand-act entry. For information, call (563)326-5338 or visit MVFair.com. Saturday, August 4 Second-Annual Wine Walk. A sampling of selected wines from around the world, with a glimpse into four premier houses in Rock Islands Broadway Historic District. 6 p.m. $25. For information and to reserve, call (309)7865562 or visit BroadwayDistrict.org Thursday, August 9, through Sunday, August 11 2012 TugFest. Annual tug-ofwar over the Mississippi River held at the town levees in LeClaire and Port Byron, featuring carnivals, live music, vendors, childrens activities, and more. Tug-of-war on Saturday at 1 p.m. Thursday free admission, Friday and Saturday $3-5. For information, call (309)314-0556 or (563)289-2799, or visit TugFest.com (LeClaire) or TugFest.org (Port Byron). Friday, August 10, and Saturday, August 11 Ya Maka My Weekend. Annual outdoor celebration of Caribbean culture, featuring a dozen bands performing on two stages, vendors, art activities, and more. The District of Rock Island. Friday 5 p.m., Saturday noon. $9 one-day entry, $14 two-day entry. For information, call (309)788-6311 or visit YaMakaMyWeekend.com.
EVENTS
23
THE COST OF LOVING - August 2, 2012
July 19 Answers: Right
July 19 Crossword Answers
ACROSS 1. Middle East garment 4. Player 9. Truffauts The 400 _ 14. B-G connection 18. Yeanling 20. Blue, in heraldry 21. Weird 22. Olympian queen 23. Supplication 24. Wild 25. Go-between 26. Ersatz: Abbr. 27. Start of a quip by Abigail Van Buren: 5 wds. 31. Gainsays 32. _ laureate 33. Part of NAFTA: Abbr. 34. Shadowy 36. Depot: Abbr. 37. Pair of mules 38. Kind of terra-cotta pet 40. Grimalkin 43. Darkness god 45. Tethered 46. Part 2 of quip: 2 wds. 48. Aloof one 49. Adhere 50. Links cry 51. Consumed 52. Cut of beef 54. Mine car 55. Resembling a wolf 56. Toothed, as a leaf 57. Marksman 58. Badly: Prefix 59. Unconscious 60. Welshman or Irishman 63. Part 3 of quip: 3 wds. 66. Banknotes 67. Mineral 68. Work at 69. Trace the shape of 70. Raines and Travolta 72. Escargots 74. Fashion 75. Certain ID: 2 wds. 79. Fish tank fish 80. Libertine
81. Place of shelter 82. Noted consumerist 83. Part 4 of quip: 3 wds. 85. Encore! 86. Event on Main Street 87. Itinerary: Abbr. 88. Fencing item 89. Terrible 90. Sweaty 91. Two peas place 92. Broccoli _ 94. Per. of time 95. Stanza 97. End of the quip: 4 wds. 102. Dismounted 103. Queen in the Odyssey 104. Digression 105. Not up 107. Escape from 108. Bottom 109. When pigs fly! 110. Marseille miss 111. Oven for glass 112. Wriggle 113. Actions 114. Building afterthought DOWN 1. The Matterhorn 2. _ Hai 3. Rider 4. Ploys 5. Ornamental shrub 6. Some bonds 7. Burdon or Idle 8. Summarized 9. Like some eggs 10. Bona fide 11. City in Utah 12. Shade of red 13. Start out: 2 wds. 14. On-the-hour sound 15. Boundary setting 16. Ireland 17. Pinguid 19. Innocent one 28. Underwriter 29. Cargo 30. Wolfgang _ Mozart 34. Mark for removal
35. Press 37. Trig function 38. Underground stem 39. _ and cry 41. Line of approach 42. Doctrines 44. Cap for Jean-Paul 45. Tribal emblem 46. Raccoon relative 47. Chance 49. Dictatorial 50. Glower 53. Smoldering fragments 54. Flavoring plant 55. Twisted thread 57. Dines anagram 58. Battle 60. Name on a marquee: Hyph. 61. Tubb or Borgnine 62. Tropical sea creature 64. Audibly 65. Pep 66. Odd Couple name 68. Sugar pill 71. Lipstick tree 73. Pique 74. Nevus 75. Triangular garment part 76. Accommodating 77. Change the decor 78. _ Scott 80. Regret 81. Variety of apple 84. Effective 85. Mojito ingredient 86. Badgers 89. Strand 90. Did a gardeners job 93. In the manner of 94. Skin layer 95. Pare, as leather 96. A cheese 97. _ vera 98. Pull 99. Star Wars knights 100. Understanding words 101. Holler 102. Totality 106. Punta _ Este
24
Live Music Live Music Live Music

Email all listings to calendar@rcreader.com Deadline 5 p.m. Thursday before publication
ABC Karaoke -The Rusty Nail, 2606 W Locust Davenport, IA
THURSDAY
Banshee -The Redstone Room, 129 Main St Davenport, IA
Bettendorf Bandshell -Barrel House 211, 211 E. 2nd St. Davenport, IA Billy Currington - Brantley Gilbert -Mississippi Valley Fairgrounds, 2815 W. Locust St Davenport, IA Bix Beiderbecke Memorial Jazz Festival: Bix Youth Jazz Band (6pm) - Manny Lopez Quartet (7:15pm) Andy Schumm & His Flatland Gang (8:30pm) - Wallys Warehouse Waifs (9:45pm) -Davenport RiverCenter, 136 E. 3rd St Davenport, IA Buddy Olson (noon) -Mississippi Valley Fairgrounds, 2815 W. Locust St Davenport, IA Caroline & Jesse -The Greenhouse Effect, 210 N. Gilbert St. Iowa City, IA Coupe De Ville -Bass Street Landing Plaza, Moline, IL Cross Creek Karaoke -Firehouse Bar & Grill, 2006 Hickor y Grove Rd. Davenport, IA Danika Holmes -Barrel House 211, 211 E. 2nd St. Davenport, IA Fat Dawgs Productions Karaoke & DJ -Parkers, 635 15th St Moline, IL Jam Sessions with John OMeara & Friends -The Muddy Waters, 1708 State St. Bettendorf, IA Live Lunch w/ Lojo Russo (noon) -RME Community Stage, 131 W. 2nd St. Davenport, IA
Open Mic Night -Uptown Bills Coffee House, 730 S. Dubuque St. Iowa City, IA Paa Kows By All Means -Iowa City Yacht Club, 13 S Linn St Iowa City, IA Russ Reyman w/ the Diamonds (7 & 9pm) -Mississippi Valley Fairgrounds, 2815 W. Locust St Davenport, IA Simon Says Uncle -Wells Fargo Pavilion - Mississippi Valley Fairgrounds, 2815 W. Locust St. Davenport, IA Tailfins (6 & 10pm) - Stevie J. (8pm) -Mississippi Valley Fairgrounds, 2815 W. Locust St Davenport, IA The Avey Brothers -Rascals Live, 1418 15th St. Moline, IL The Catalyst - Centaur Noir - Seth Knappen -Rozz-Tox, 2108 3rd Ave. Rock Island, IL The Daredevil Christopher Wright - Via Audio - Christopher the Conquered -The Mill, 120 E Burlington Iowa City, IA Thumping Thursday w/ DJ Hypnotic and Patrick Rifley -McManus Pub, 1401 7th Ave Moline, IL 2012/08/03 (Fri)
Dennis Florine @ Kilkennys August 10 & 11

Bix Beiderbecke Memorial Jazz Festival: RiverCity 6 (noon) - Andy Schumm & His Flatland Gang (1:15pm) Dave Bennett Quartet (2:30pm) - Wallys Warehouse Waifs (3:45pm) - Bill Allreds Classic Jazz Band (6pm) - Josh Duffee & His Orchestra (7:15pm) - Manny Lopez Big Band (8:30 & 9:45pm) -Davenport RiverCenter, 136 E. 3rd St Davenport, IA Bix Beiderbecke Memorial Jazz Festival: Jimmy Valentine Quartet (noon) - Bill Allreds Classic Jazz Band (1:15pm) - Jim Cullum Jazz Band (2:30pm) - Josh Duffee & His Orchestra (3:45pm) - Wallys Warehouse Waifs (6pm) - Dave Bennett Quartet (7:15pm) - Andy Schumm & His Flatland Gang (8:30pm) - Jim Cullum Jazz Band (9:45pm)-Adler Theatre, 136 E. 3rd St. Davenport, IA Bix B eiderbecke Memorial Jazz Festival: Jimmy Valentine Quartet (6pm) - Bix Youth Jazz Band (7:15pm) - RiverCity 6 (9:45pm) -LeClaire Park, River Dr & Ripley St Davenport, IA Cosmic -River House, 1510 River Dr. Moline, IL Cross Creek Karaoke -Firehouse Bar & Grill, 2006 Hickor y Grove Rd. Davenport, IA Danika Holmes -Heros Pub, 3811 N. Harrison St. Davenport, IA Dirt Road Rockers, Zac Brown Concert Party -Rascals Live, 1418 15th St., Moline, IL Dueling Pianos at The Establishment -The Establishment Theatre, 220 19th St. Rock Island, IL Eleni Mandell - Milk & Eggs -The Mill, 120 E Burlington Iowa City, IA Fat Dawgs Productions Karaoke & DJ -Parkers, 635 15th St Moline, IL Friday Live @ Five: L.T. Eckles Blues Band (5pm) -RME Courtyard, 131 W. 2nd St. Davenport, IA Funktastic Five -Martinis on the Rock,
FRIDAY
Mark Joseph & Deploi -RIBCO, 1815 2nd Ave. Rock Island, IL
North of 40 -Farmer Beer Tent - Mississippi Valley Fairgrounds, 2815 W. Locust St Davenport, IA
ABC Karaoke -Circle Tap, 1345 Locust St. Davenport, IA ABC Karaoke -Creekside Bar and Grill, 3303 Brady St. Davenport, IA ABC Members-Only Karaoke -Moose Lodge - Davenport, 2333 Rockingham Rd Davenport, IA Barlowe & James (6pm) -Skinny Legs BBQ, 2020 1st Street Milan, IL Bermuda Report - The Treats - American Honey -Gabes, 330 E. Washington St., Iowa City, IA Biscuit Miller and the Mix -The Muddy Waters, 1708 State St. Bettendorf, IA
4619 34th St Rock Island, IL Future of Rock Showcase: 3 Years Hollow - Eleven Fifty Two - My Pal Trigger - The Blushing Gun -RIBCO, 1815 2nd Ave. Rock Island, IL Grand Larsony -Generations Bar & Grill, 4100 4th Ave. Moline, IL House Arrest -Wells Fargo Pavilion Mississippi Valley Fairgrounds, 2815 W. Locust St. Davenport, IA Jeff Miller (6pm) - David Killinger & Friends (10pm) -Gs Riverfront Cafe, 102 S Main St Port Byron, IL Jim Ryan -McManus Pub, 1401 7th Ave Moline, IL Joan Soriano -CSPS/Legion Arts, 1103 3rd St SE Cedar Rapids, IA Justin Morrissey & Drunken Angels -11th Street Precinct, 2108 E 11th St Davenport, IA Karaoke Night -Chucks Tap, 1731 W. 6th St. Davenport, IA Karaoke Night -Hollars Bar and Grill, 4050 27th St Moline, IL Karaoke Night -Roadrunners Roadhouse, 3803 Rockingham Rd. Davenport, IA Kevin Presbrey -Kilkennys, 300 W. 3rd St. Davenport, IA Koobys Karaoke -Wide Open Bar & Grill, 425 15th St. Moline, IL Live Lunch w/ Lars Rehnberg (noon) -RME Community Stage, 131 W. 2nd St. Davenport, IA Lovedogs -Farmer Beer Tent - Mississippi Valley Fairgrounds, 2815 W. Locust St Davenport, IA Night People -Edje Nightclub at Jumers Casino and Hotel, I-280 & Hwy 92 Rock Island, IL OSG - The Purple - Lady Espina -Iowa City Yacht Club, 13 S Linn St Iowa City, IA Pinkerton Thugs - Captains! Vessels! - As You Were - Benedict Arnold -RME (River Music Experience), 131 W. 2nd St. Davenport, IA
Red Rock-it -4Play Sportsbar, 1704 2nd Ave. Rock Island, IL REO Speedwagon -Mississippi Valley Fairgrounds, 2815 W. Locust St Davenport, IA Richie Lee -Riverside Casino + Golf Resort, 3184 Highway 22, Riverside, IA Rootless Experience -RME Community Stage, 131 W. 2nd St. Davenport, IA Russ Reyman w/ the Diamonds (7 & 9pm) -Mississippi Valley Fairgrounds, 2815 W. Locust St Davenport, IA Slewgrass - Flannel (6:30pm) -Sheraton Hotel - Iowa City, 210 S. Dubuque St. Iowa City, IA
Sofia Talvik -Cool Beanz Coffeehouse, 1325 30th St. Rock Island, IL
Tailfins (6 & 10pm) - Stevie J. (8pm) -Mississippi Valley Fairgrounds, 2815 W. Locust St Davenport, IA The Music of Dr. Joe Seng -Joes Club, 1402 W. 7th St. Davenport, IA Wild Oatz -The Rusty Nail, 2606 W Locust Davenport, IA Zac Brown Band - Sonia Leigh - Nic Cowan -i wireless Center, 1201 River Dr Moline, IL 2012/08/04 (Sat)
SATURDAY
ABC Karaoke -Creekside Bar and Grill, 3303 Brady St. Davenport, IA Bix Beiderbecke Memorial Jazz Festival: Bix Youth Jazz Band (noon) - Bill Allreds Classic Jazz Band (1:15pm) - Jim Cullum Jazz Band (2:30pm) The Future of Jazz Set (3:45pm) - Dave Bennett Quartet (6pm) - Jim Cullum Jazz Band (7:15pm) - Josh Duffee & His Orchestra (8:30pm) Andy Schumm & His Flatland Gang (9:45pm) -Adler Theatre, 136 E. 3rd St. Davenport, IA

Hank Williams Jr. -Mississippi Valley Fairgrounds, 2815 W. Locust St Davenport, IA Jason Carl and the Whole Damn Band -The Muddy Waters, 1708 State St. Bettendorf, IA Jeff Miller (6pm) - David Killinger & Friends (10pm) -Gs Riverfront Cafe, 102 S Main St Port Byron, IL Karaoke Night -Chucks Tap, 1731 W. 6th St. Davenport, IA Karaoke Night -Hollars Bar and Grill, 4050 27th St Moline, IL Karaoke Night -Roadrunners Roadhouse, 3803 Rockingham Rd. Davenport, IA Kevin Presbrey -Kilkennys, 300 W. 3rd St. Davenport, IA Koobys Karaoke -Headquarters Bar & Grill, 119 E. 22nd Ave. Coal Valley, IL Live Lunch w/ Jake Donelson (noon) -RME Community Stage, 131 W. 2nd St. Davenport, IA Lovedogs -Farmer Beer Tent - Mississippi Valley Fairgrounds, 2815 W. Locust St Davenport, IA Mike Blumme Trio (6pm) -Skinny Legs BBQ, 2020 1st Street Milan, IL Night People -Edje Nightclub at Jumers Casino and Hotel, I-280 & Hwy 92 Rock Island, IL Open Mic Night -Downtown Central Perk, 226 W. 3rd St. Davenport, IA Opiate: The Tool Experience - Critical Mass: Rage Against the Machine Tribute -Gabes, 330 E. Washington St. Iowa City, IA Phineas Js -8th and Main Pub & Eatery, 900 S. Main St. Monmouth, IL Richie Lee -Riverside Casino & Golf Resort, 3184 Highway 22, Riverside, IA RME Guitar Circle (2pm) - River Prairie Minstrels (6pm) -RME Community Stage, 131 W. 2nd St. Davenport, IA Bix Beiderbecke Memorial Jazz Festival: Five Bridges Jazz Band (noon) - Bill Allreds Classic Jazz Band (1:15pm) - Andy Schumm & His Flatland Gang (2:30pm) Dave Bennett Quartet (3:45pm) -Davenport RiverCenter, 136 E. 3rd St Davenport, IA Buddy Olson -Duckys Lagoon, 13515 78th Ave Andalusia, IL Chris Beard (5pm) -The Muddy Waters, 1708 State St. Bettendorf, IA Cross Creek Karaoke -Bootleggers Sports Bar, 2228 E. 11th St. Davenport, IA Dani Lynn Howe Band -Wells Fargo Pavilion - Mississippi Valley Fairgrounds, 2815 W. Locust St. Davenport, IA Israeli Scouts (2pm) -Tri-City Jewish Center, 2715 30th St. Rock Island, IL J i m Cu l l u m J a z z B a n d ( 8 : 3 0 & 10:30am) -First Presbyterian Church of Davenport, 1702 Iowa St. Davenport, IA Karaoke for Kids (3-5pm) -Hollars Bar and Grill, 4050 27th St Moline, IL Manny Lopez Big Band -Davenport RiverCenter, 136 E. 3rd St Davenport, IA Montgomery Gentry -Mississippi Valley Fairgrounds, 2815 W. Locust St Davenport, IA Nervous Rex (5pm) -The Captains Table, 4801 River Dr. Moline, IL No Class Assassins - Miles from Exile - Nihil Seraph -Gabes, 330 E. Washington St., Iowa City, IA RiverCity 6 (2pm) -Riverside Casino and Golf Resort, 3184 Highway 22 Riverside, IA Russ Reyman, Pianist (10am-2pm brunch) -The Lodge Hotel, 900 Spruce Hills Dr. Bettendorf, IA 2012/08/06 (Mon)
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Bix Beiderbecke Memorial Jazz Festival: Wallys Warehouse Waifs (noon) - Dave Bennett Quartet (1:15pm) - Josh Duffee & His Orchestra (2:30pm) - Bill Allreds Classic Jazz Band (3:45pm) - Josh Duffee & His Orchestra (6pm) - Bill Allreds Classic Jazz Band (7:15pm) - Wallys Warehouse Waifs (8:30pm) - Jim Cullum Jazz Band (9:45pm) -Davenport RiverCenter, 136 E. 3rd St Davenport, IA Bix Beiderbecke Memorial Jazz Festival: Manny Lopez Quartet (6pm) - Five Bridges Jazz Band (7:15pm) Barehanded Wolfchokers (8:30pm) -LeClaire Park, River Dr & Ripley St Davenport, IA Cheese Pizza - Hair Metal Jacket - The Krank Daddies -RIBCO, 1815 2nd Ave. Rock Island, IL Chuck T. Murphy (2pm) -Creekside Vineyards Winery & Inn, 7505 120th Ave. Coal Valley, IL Cowboy Indian Bear - Noise FM Break-Up Art -Rozz-Tox, 2108 3rd Ave. Rock Island, IL Dennis McMurrin & the Demolition Band -Iowa City Yacht Club, 13 S Linn St Iowa City, IA Dueling Pianos at The Establishment -The Establishment Theatre, 220 19th St. Rock Island, IL E11eventh Hour -Poopys Pub & Grub, 1030 Viaduct Rd Savanna, IL Fat Dawgs Productions Karaoke & DJ -Parkers, 635 15th St Moline, IL Firesale CD Release Show - Bermuda Report -The Redstone Room, 129 Main St Davenport, IA Grand Larsony -Crabbys Bar & Grill, 826 W. 1st Ave. Coal Valley, IL Gwendolyn Countryman -Uptown Bills Coffee House, 730 S. Dubuque St. Iowa City, IA
Sunday Jazz Brunch at Bix Bistro (10:30am & 12:30pm) -Hotel Blackhawk, 200 E. 3rd St. Davenport, IA
MONDAY
Andy Schumm & His Flatland Gang -Jims Knoxville Tap, 8716 Knoxville Rd., Milan, IL One Night Stand Open Mic Night -Iowa City Yacht Club, 13 S Linn St Iowa City, IA Open Mic w/ J. Night -The Mill, 120 E Burlington Iowa City, IA 2012/08/07 (Tue)
TUESDAY
Janiva Magness @ The Redstone Room August 8

Russ Reyman w/ the Diamonds (7 & 9pm) -Mississippi Valley Fairgrounds, 2815 W. Locust St Davenport, IA Smooth Groove -River House, 1510 River Dr. Moline, IL Sofia Talvik - Milk & Eggs -CSPS/Legion Arts, 1103 3rd St SE Cedar Rapids, IA Tailfins (6 & 10pm) - Stevie J. (8pm) -Mississippi Valley Fairgrounds, 2815 W. Locust St Davenport, IA The Funnies -Martinis on the Rock, 4619 34th St Rock Island, IL Tonic Sol-fa (6:30pm) -Hoover Hometown Days, 302 Parkside Dr. West Branch, IA Vodkaseven -Wells Fargo Pavilion - Mississippi Valley Fairgrounds, 2815 W. Locust St. Davenport, IA Widetrack -Generations Bar & Grill, 4100 4th Ave. Moline, IL Wild Oatz -The Rusty Nail, 2606 W Locust Davenport, IA Zither Ensemble (10am) -German American Heritage Center, 712 W. 2nd St. Davenport, IA 2012/08/05 (Sun)
SUNDAY
ABC Karaoke -Creekside Bar and Grill, 3303 Brady St. Davenport, IA ABC Karaoke -The Rusty Nail, 2606 W Locust Davenport, IA Acoustic Music Club (4:30pm) -RME Community Stage, 131 W. 2nd St. Davenport, IA
Blues Cafe (6:30pm) -RME Community Stage, 131 W. 2nd St. Davenport, IA
ABC Karaoke -11th Street Precinct, 2108 E 11th St Davenport, IA ABC Karaoke -The Rusty Nail, 2606 W Locust Davenport, IA Bix Beiderbecke Memorial Jazz Festival Afterglow: Josh Duffee & His Orchestra (7pm) - Dave Bennett Quartet (8pm) - Andy Schumm & His Flatland Gang (9pm) -Davenport RiverCenter, 136 E. 3rd St Davenport, IA Bix Beiderbecke Memorial Jazz Festival Jazz Brunch: Manny Lopez Big Band (10am) - Wallys Warehouse Waifs (11am) - Andy Schumm & His Flatland Gang (noon) -Radisson Quad City Plaza Hotel, 421 W. River Dr. Davenport, IA
Glenn Hickson (5:30pm) -OMelias Supper Club, 2900 Blackhawk Rd. Rock Island, IL Jam Night w/ Jordan Danielsen -11th Street Precinct, 2108 E 11th St Davenport, IA Open Mic Night -Cool Beanz Coffeehouse, 1325 30th St. Rock Island, IL Open Mic Night -The Dam View Inn, 410 2nd St Davenport, IA Southern Thunder DJ Service (5pm) & Karaoke (9pm) -McManus Pub, 1401 7th Ave Moline, IL Steve Earle & the Dukes -Engler t Theatre, 221 East Washington St. Iowa City, IA
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The Stroehles (6pm) - Karaoke King (9:30pm) -The Rusty Nail, 2606 W Locust Davenport, IA Troy Harris, Pianist (10pm) -Red Crow Grille, 2504 53rd St. Bettendorf, IA 2012/08/09 (Thu)

Tuesday Night Dance Party -RIBCO, 1815 2nd Ave. Rock Island, IL
2012/08/08 (Wed)
WEDNESDAY
A Party to Go Karaoke Night -Stacks Bar, 525 14th St. Moline, IL ABC Karaoke -Abblebees Neighborhood Grill - Elmore Ave., 3838 Elmore Ave. Davenport, IA ABC Karaoke -Barrel House 211, 211 E. 2nd St. Davenport, IA Burlington Street Bluegrass Band -The Mill, 120 E Burlington Iowa City, IA Cross Creek Karaoke -Bootleggers Sports Bar, 2228 E. 11th St. Davenport, IA Jam Session -Iowa City Yacht Club, 13 S Linn St Iowa City, IA
THURSDAY
Janiva Magness -The Redstone Room, 129 Main St Davenport, IA

Jason Carl & Friends -Creekside Bar and Grill, 3303 Brady St. Davenport, IA Karaoke Night -Hollars Bar and Grill, 4050 27th St Moline, IL Keller Karaoke -Martinis on the Rock, 4619 34th St Rock Island, IL Live Lunch w/ Brent Feuerbach (noon) -RME Community Stage, 131 W. 2nd St. Davenport, IA Mirror Coat - Hotz & Geiger -Gabes, 330 E. Washington St., Iowa City, IA Open Mic Night -Boozies Bar & Grill, 114 1/2 W. 3rd St. Davenport, IA
Karaoke Night -RIBCO, 1815 2nd Ave. Rock Island, IL
Open Mic Night -RME Community Stage, 131 W. 2nd St. Davenport, IA
Rocktastic 4 -Rascals Live, 1418 15th Rude Punch -RIBCO, 1815 2nd Ave. Rock St. Moline, IL Island, IL The Chris & Wes Show -Mound Street Landing, 1029 Mound St. Daven- Taj Mahal Trio -Englert Theatre, 221 East Washington St. Iowa City, IA port, IA
ABC Karaoke -The Rusty Nail, 2606 W Locust Davenport, IA Barehanded Wolfchokers Association Old-Time Dixieland Jazz Band (6:30pm) -Kewanee Veterans Park Gazebo, E 2nd St Kewanee, IL Cross Creek Karaoke -Firehouse Bar & Grill, 2006 Hickor y Grove Rd. Davenport, IA Fat Dawgs Productions Karaoke & DJ -Parkers, 635 15th St Moline, IL Glenn Hickson (5:30pm) -OMelias Supper Club, 2900 Blackhawk Rd. Rock Island, IL Groove Theory -Iowa City Yacht Club, 13 S Linn St Iowa City, IA Jam Sessions with John OMeara & Friends -The Muddy Waters, 1708 State St. Bettendorf, IA LeClaire TugFest: Caught in the Act -LeClaire Levee, Downtown LeClaire LeClaire, IA Live Lunch w/Esme (noon) -RME Community Stage, 131 W. 2nd St. Davenport, IA Open Mic Night (7pm) - Yahoo Drummers (8pm) -Uptown Bills Coffee House, 730 S. Dubuque St. Iowa City, IA Open Mic Night -Uptown Bills Coffee House, 730 S. Dubuque St. Iowa City, IA
Winger @ i wireless Center August 11

The Ambushed Band -Bass Street Landing Plaza, Moline, IL The Avey Brothers -Rascals Live, 1418 15th St. Moline, IL The Blind Boys of Alabama - Clarence Bucaro -The Redstone Room, 129 Main St Davenport, IA Thumping Thursday w/ DJ Hypnotic and Patrick Rifley -McManus Pub, 1401 7th Ave Moline, IL 2012/08/10 (Fri) Cosmic -11th Street Precinct, 2108 E 11th St Davenport, IA Cross Creek Karaoke -Firehouse Bar & Grill, 2006 Hickor y Grove Rd. Davenport, IA Dennis Florine -Kilkennys, 300 W. 3rd St. Davenport, IA Dueling Pianos at The Establishment -The Establishment Theatre, 220 19th St. Rock Island, IL Fat Dawgs Productions Karaoke & DJ -Parkers, 635 15th St Moline, IL Friday Live @ Five: Hi-Fi (5pm) -RME Courtyard, 131 W. 2nd St. Davenport, IA Great Barrier Reefs - -The Mill, 120 E Burlington Iowa City, IA Hermans Hermits w/ Peter Noone -Quad-Cities Waterfront Convention Center, 1777 Isle Parkway Bettendorf, IA Jeff Miller (6pm) - David Killinger & Friends (10pm) -Gs Riverfront Cafe, 102 S Main St Port Byron, IL Just 4 Fun (6pm) -Pearl Plaza, 208 W. 2nd St. Muscatine, IA Karaoke Night -Chucks Tap, 1731 W. 6th St. Davenport, IA
Karaoke Night -Hollars Bar and Grill, 4050 27th St Moline, IL Karaoke Night -Roadrunners Roadhouse, 3803 Rockingham Rd. Davenport, IA Koobys Karaoke -Wide Open Bar & Grill, 425 15th St. Moline, IL LeClaire TugFest: North of 40 -LeClaire Levee, Downtown LeClaire LeClaire, IA Live Lunch w/ Tony Hoeppner (noon) -RME Community Stage, 131 W. 2nd St. Davenport, IA MC Chris - Powerglover - Richie Branson -Gabes, 330 E. Washington St. Iowa City, IA
Mike Cochrane -RME Community Stage, 131 W. 2nd St. Davenport, IA
FRIDAY
00 10
ABC Karaoke -Circle Tap, 1345 Locust St. Davenport, IA ABC Karaoke -Creekside Bar and Grill, 3303 Brady St. Davenport, IA ABC Members-Only Karaoke -Moose Lodge - Davenport, 2333 Rockingham Rd Davenport, IA Beaker Brothers - Mad Monks -Iowa City Yacht Club, 13 S Linn St Iowa City, IA Candymakers -The Muddy Waters, 1708 State St. Bettendorf, IA Charley Hayes (6pm) -Skinny Legs BBQ, 2020 1st Street Milan, IL
Morning After -Riverside Casino & Golf Resort, 3814 Highway 22, Riverside, IA Night People (5:30pm) - Sugar Nipples (9:30pm) -The Rusty Nail, 2606 W Locust Davenport, IA Phyllis & the Sharks -Martinis on the Rock, 4619 34th St Rock Island, IL Port Byron TugFest: Dirt Road Rockers -Port Byron Levee, Downtown Port Byron Port Byron, IL Rude Punch: Post-Ya Maka My Weekend Performance -RIBCO, 1815 2nd Ave. Rock Island, IL Sand in the City (6:30pm) -Sheraton Hotel - Iowa City, 210 S. Dubuque St. Iowa City, IA Sin City -River House, 1510 River Dr. Moline, IL The Blind Boys of Alabama - Ed Anderson -The Redstone Room, 129 Main St Davenport, IA The Gratest Story Ever Told: Grateful Dead Tribute -4Play Sportsbar, 1704 2nd Ave. Rock Island, IL
The Manny Lopez Big Band (6pm) -The Circa 21 Speakeasy, 1818 3rd Ave. Rock Island, IL The Music of Dr. Joe Seng -Joes Club, 1402 W. 7th St. Davenport, IA The Pimps - As Big as a Mouse - Dynoride -Rascals Live, 1418 15th St., Moline, IL The Tailfins -Edje Nightclub at Jumers Casino and Hotel, I-280 & Hwy 92 Rock Island, IL Ya Maka My Weekend: Blue Riddem (6:30pm) - Gizzae (8:45pm) - Lazo & the Radikals (11pm) -District of Rock Island Jumers Casino & Hotel Stage, 2nd Ave., between 17th & 19th Sts. Rock Island, IL Ya Maka My Weekend: Great Barrier Reef Band (5:30pm) - Roots Vibration (7:45pm) - Chicagos Reggae All-Stars (10pm) -District of Rock Island Great River Plaza Stage, 2nd Ave., between 17th & 19th Sts. Rock Island, IL 2012/08/11 (Sat)
SATURDAY
11
A Party to Go Karaoke Night -Wooden Nickel Saloon, 2042 W 3rd St Davenport, IA ABC Karaoke -Creekside Bar and Grill, 3303 Brady St. Davenport, IA Awful Purdies -Englert Theatre, 221 East Washington St. Iowa City, IA Brett Newski & the Corruption - Gone South - Velcro Moxie -The Mill, 120 E Burlington Iowa City, IA Caught in the Act -11th Street Precinct, 2108 E 11th St Davenport, IA Charley Hayes Trio (6pm) -Skinny Legs BBQ, 2020 1st Street Milan, IL
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Maureen Carter (2pm) -Creekside Vineyards Winery & Inn, 7505 120th Ave. Coal Valley, IL Night People -Salute on 7th, 1814 7th St Moline, IL Open Mic Night -Downtown Central Perk, 226 W. 3rd St. Davenport, IA Port Byron TugFest: High Drama (6pm) - Corporate Rock (9pm) -Port Byron Levee, Downtown Port Byron Port Byron, IL Revenge in Mind - My Pal Trigger - Shadow Stone -RME (River Music Experience), 131 W. 2nd St. Davenport, IA Russ Reyman Request Piano Bar (7pm) -Phoenix, 111 West 2nd St. Davenport, IA Serious Business -The Muddy Waters, 1708 State St. Bettendorf, IA Smooth Groove -Martinis on the Rock, 4619 34th St Rock Island, IL Songwriters in the Round (2:30pm) -RME Community Stage, 131 W. 2nd St. Davenport, IA Strange Neighbors Reunion Show -The Redstone Room, 129 Main St Davenport, IA The Fiyah -Arts Alley, District of Rock Island, IL The Great Barrier Reefs: Post-Ya Maka My Weekend Performance -RIBCO, 1815 2nd Ave. Rock Island, IL The Tailfins -Edje Nightclub at Jumers Casino and Hotel, I-280 & Hwy 92 Rock Island, IL Them SomBitches - Chris Colson -Bier Stube Moline, 417 15th St Moline, IL Vibra Cats -Riverside Casino + Golf Resort, 3814 Highway 22, Riverside, IA Warrant - Winger - Firehouse -i wireless Center, 1201 River Dr Moline, IL 2012/08/13 (Mon) One Night Stand Open Mic Night -Iowa City Yacht Club, 13 S Linn St Iowa City, IA Open Mic w/ J. Night -The Mill, 120 E Burlington Iowa City, IA 2012/08/14 (Tue)
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Comfort - Alta - Arizona Wilder - Legs Like Tree Trunks - Suns - Captains! Vessels! -Rozz-Tox, 2108 3rd Ave. Rock Island, IL Crossroads -Mound Street Landing, 1029 Mound St. Davenport, IA Dennis Florine -Kilkennys, 300 W. 3rd St. Davenport, IA Dueling Pianos at The Establishment -The Establishment Theatre, 220 19th St. Rock Island, IL EmJay - Fast as a Cat -Barrel House 211, 211 E. 2nd St. Davenport, IA Fat Dawgs Productions Karaoke & DJ -Parkers, 635 15th St Moline, IL Funktastic Five -Rascals Live, 1418 15th St., Moline, IL Gray Wolf Band -River House, 1510 River Dr. Moline, IL Hi-Fi (5:30pm) - Simon Says Uncle (9:30pm) -The Rusty Nail, 2606 W Locust Davenport, IA Housenation - The Corduroy Mavericks - Mike All Night Long - DJ THC -4Play Sportsbar, 1704 2nd Ave. Rock Island, IL Jeff Miller (6pm) - David Killinger & Friends (10pm) -Gs Riverfront Cafe, 102 S Main St Port Byron, IL Jesse White Band - Porch Builder -Iowa City Yacht Club, 13 S Linn St Iowa City, IA Karaoke Night -Chucks Tap, 1731 W. 6th St. Davenport, IA Karaoke Night -Hollars Bar and Grill, 4050 27th St Moline, IL Karaoke Night -Roadrunners Roadhouse, 3803 Rockingham Rd. Davenport, IA Koobys Karaoke -Headquarters Bar & Grill, 119 E. 22nd Ave. Coal Valley, IL Koplant No -Uptown Bills Coffee House, 730 S. Dubuque St. Iowa City, IA LeClaire TugFest: North of 40 -LeClaire Levee, Downtown LeClaire LeClaire, IA
MONDAY
13
Steve Earle & the dukes @ englert theater - august 7

Ya Maka My Weekend: Rude Punch (2:30pm) - Roots Vibration (4:30pm) - Yard Squad (7:45pm) - Dynamq w/ Yard Squad (9:15pm) - Dubtonic Kru & Cool Johnny Cool (11pm) -District of Rock Island Jumers Casino & Hotel Stage, 2nd Ave., between 17th & 19th Sts. Rock Island, IL Ya Maka My Weekend: Two Peace (12:30pm) - Great Barrier Reef Band (3:30pm) - Ugochi & Afro Soul Effect (6:45pm) - Lazo & the Radikals (10pm) -District of Rock Island Great River Plaza Stage, 2nd Ave., between 17th & 19th Sts. Rock Island, IL Zither Ensemble (10am) -German American Heritage Center, 712 W. 2nd St. Davenport, IA 2012/08/12 (Sun) Cross Creek Karaoke -Bootleggers Sports Bar, 2228 E. 11th St. Davenport, IA Del Fox Band (4pm) - J-Spot (8pm) -The Rusty Nail, 2606 W Locust Davenport, IA Funday Sunday with Dave Ellis (6pm) -The Muddy Waters, 1708 State St. Bettendorf, IA Jim Ryan (2pm) -Len Browns North Shore Inn, 7th Street and the Rock River Moline, IL Karaoke for Kids (3-5pm) -Hollars Bar and Grill, 4050 27th St Moline, IL Polyester Blend -Riverside Casino + Golf Resort, 3814 Highway 22, Riverside, IA Russ Reyman, Pianist (10am-2pm brunch) -The Lodge Hotel, 900 Spruce Hills Dr. Bettendorf, IA Sunday Jazz Brunch at Bix Bistro (10:30am & 12:30pm) -Hotel Blackhawk, 200 E. 3rd St. Davenport, IA
ABC Karaoke -Creekside Bar and Grill, 3303 Brady St. Davenport, IA ABC Karaoke -The Rusty Nail, 2606 W Locust Davenport, IA Acoustic Music Club (4:30pm) -RME Community Stage, 131 W. 2nd St. Davenport, IA Ben Miller Band -Iowa City Yacht Club, 13 S Linn St Iowa City, IA Danika Holmes -The Clubhouse, 2501 53rd Ave. Bettendorf, IA
TUESDAY
14
Gaelic Storm -The Redstone Room, 129 Main St Davenport, IA
ABC Karaoke -Abblebees Neighborhood Grill - Elmore Ave., 3838 Elmore Ave. Davenport, IA ABC Karaoke -Barrel House 211, 211 E. 2nd St. Davenport, IA ABC Karaoke -Ganzos, 3923 N. Marquette St. Davenport, IA Central High School Jazz & Marching Bands -LeClaire Park, River Dr & Ripley St Davenport, IA Cross Creek Karaoke -Bootleggers Sports Bar, 2228 E. 11th St. Davenport, IA Hitman (6pm) - Karaoke King (9:30pm) -The Rusty Nail, 2606 W Locust Davenport, IA Jason Carl & Friends -Creekside Bar and Grill, 3303 Brady St. Davenport, IA Josh Duffee & His Orchestra -The Quarter Welcome Center, bottom of 7th Street, along the riverfront East Moline, IL Karaoke Night -Hollars Bar and Grill, 4050 27th St Moline, IL
Glenn Hickson (5:30pm) -OMelias Supper Club, 2900 Blackhawk Rd. Rock Island, IL Jam Night w/ Jordan Danielsen -11th Street Precinct, 2108 E 11th St Davenport, IA
Karaoke Night -RIBCO, 1815 2nd Ave. Rock Island, IL
Open Mic Night -Cool Beanz Coffeehouse, 1325 30th St. Rock Island, IL
Open Mic Night -The Dam View Inn, 410 2nd St Davenport, IA Southern Thunder DJ Service (5pm) & Karaoke (9pm) -McManus Pub, 1401 7th Ave Moline, IL
Keller Karaoke -Martinis on the Rock, 4619 34th St Rock Island, IL Live Lunch w/Jordan Danielsen (noon) -RME Community Stage, 131 W. 2nd St. Davenport, IA Naive Melodies -Iowa City Yacht Club, 13 S Linn St Iowa City, IA Open Mic Night -Boozies Bar & Grill, 114 1/2 W. 3rd St. Davenport, IA
Open Mic Night -RME Community Stage, 131 W. 2nd St. Davenport, IA
SUNDAY
12
Tuesday Night Dance Party -RIBCO, 1815 2nd Ave. Rock Island, IL
2012/08/15 (Wed)
Rocktastic 4 -Rascals Live, 1418 15th St. Moline, IL
ABC Karaoke -11th Street Precinct, 2108 E 11th St Davenport, IA Buddy Olson -Duckys Lagoon, 13515 78th Ave Andalusia, IL
A Party to Go Karaoke Night -Stacks Bar, 525 14th St. Moline, IL
WEDNESDAY
15
The BoDeans -The Redstone Room, 129 Main St Davenport, IA

The Chris & Wes Show -Mound Street Landing, 1029 Mound St. Davenport, IA Troy Harris, Pianist (10pm) -Red Crow Grille, 2504 53rd St. Bettendorf, IA
28

River Cities&#39; Reader - Issue 810 - August - 2 - 15

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River Cities&#39; Reader - Issue 810 - August - 2 - 15

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River Cities Reader Vol. 19 No. 810 August 2 - 15, 2012

Business Politics Arts Culture Now You Know RiverCitiesReader.com

Business Politics Arts Culture Now You Know RiverCitiesReader.com

River Cities Reader Vol. 19 No. 810 August 2 - 15, 2012

by John W. Whitehead johnw@rutherford.org

River Cities Reader Vol. 19 No. 810 August 2 - 15, 2012

Business Politics Arts Culture Now You Know RiverCitiesReader.com

Goodbye nonsense. Hello common sense.

Business Politics Arts Culture Now You Know RiverCitiesReader.com

River Cities Reader Vol. 19 No. 810 August 2 - 15, 2012

Republicans Find Themselves in a Campaign Hole

by Rich Miller CapitolFax.com

River Cities Reader Vol. 19 No. 810 August 2 - 15, 2012

Business Politics Arts Culture Now You Know RiverCitiesReader.com

Politics and Morals, Myths and Hope

Reading Christopher Nolans Batman Trilogy

Corruption as Political Outlook

Business Politics Arts Culture Now You Know RiverCitiesReader.com

River Cities Reader Vol. 19 No. 810 August 2 - 15, 2012

by Jeff Ignatius jeff@rcreader.com

River Cities Reader Vol. 19 No. 810 August 2 - 15, 2012

Business Politics Arts Culture Now You Know RiverCitiesReader.com

Vol. 19 No. 810

by Mike Schulz mike@rcreader.com

August 2 -15, 2012

Swedish Singer/Songwriter Sofia Talvik, August 3 at Cool Beanz Coffeehouse

Publishing since 1993

PUBLISHER Todd McGreevy EDITOR Kathleen McCarthy

photo by Gustav Waesterberg

Business Politics Arts Culture Now You Know RiverCitiesReader.com

River Cities Reader Vol. 19 No. 810 August 2 - 15, 2012

Rib It! Rib It!

River Cities Reader Vol. 19 No. 810 August 2 - 15, 2012

Business Politics Arts Culture Now You Know RiverCitiesReader.com

by Mike Schulz mike@rcreader.com by Mike Schulz mike@rcreader.com

Christian Bale in The Dark Knight Rises

Business Politics Arts Culture Now You Know RiverCitiesReader.com

River Cities Reader Vol. 19 No. 810 August 2 - 15, 2012

River Cities Reader Vol. 19 No. 810 August 2 - 15, 2012

Business Politics Arts Culture Now You Know RiverCitiesReader.com

Business Politics Arts Culture Now You Know RiverCitiesReader.com

River Cities Reader Vol. 19 No. 810 August 2 - 15, 2012

by Jeff Ignatius jeff@rcreader.com

*With IMAGE Players Club Card, $29.99 without card.

Buffet includes one GIANT 12 oz. lobster tail!

For a complete menu, go to jumerscasinohotel.com.

Cool new bands-in the Edje!

August 10 & 11 The Tailfins

NEW! August 17 & 18 Machine Gun Willie

August 24 & 25 Smooth Groove

FOR YOUR ENJOYMENT, ALWAYS SMOKE FREE!

River Cities Reader Vol. 19 No. 810 August 2 - 15, 2012

Business Politics Arts Culture Now You Know RiverCitiesReader.com

The Zac Brown Band

Business Politics Arts Culture Now You Know RiverCitiesReader.com

River Cities Reader Vol. 19 No. 810 August 2 - 15, 2012

by Mike Schulz mike@rcreader.com

The Dixie Swim Club

Circa 21 Dinner Playhouse Thursday, August 2, through Saturday, September 15

What Else Is Happenin

have I got a play for you!

have I got a play for you!

River Cities' Reader - Issue 810 - August - 2 - 15

River Cities' Reader - Issue 810 - August - 2 - 15