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Keep the Reader Alive and Free Since '93. RCReader.com/Support. FREE ASSANGE. River Cities’ Reader • Vol. 30 No. 1012 • August 2023 5
QUAD CITIES HISTORY By Bruce Walters

Buried Stories: Colonel George enemies, whom they had slain in battle,
Davenport’s servant in the Spirit Land.”
Davenport (1783-1845) As part of the ceremony, a cedar post was
painted with headless figures (the slain
enemy) and two warriors. Though not on
Vol. 30 · No. 1012 governor.
Davenport made a for-
display, this post is housed in the John
Hauberg Museum at the Black Hawk
AUGUST 2023 tune as a fur trader, allow- Historic Site in Rock Island.



ing him to purchase great Davenport’s son Bailey had his body
tracts of land. In 1833, he reinterred at Chippiannock Cemetery
built the first settler’s home on May 10, 1864. His grave is close to
RIVER CITIES’ READER in the region that wasn’t a imposing stone obelisk with the name
532 W. 3rd St. log cabin. There, he hosted
Davenport IA 52801
“Davenport” that commands attention.
RiverCitiesReader.com meetings where towns were But what holds your attention is the
(563)324-0049 (phone) planned, and businesses nearby stone marker in the form of a tree
(563)323-3101 (fax) created. He helped to plat stump. “Over the grave of Col Daven-
info@rcreader.com the city of Davenport, port” are among the few decipherable
which would be named Ste- words on it. The tree seems to refer to the
PUBLISHING SINCE 1993
The River Cities’ Reader is an independently owned phenson, and then renamed original grave’s placement under an oak
publication and website, dedicated to providing readers Rock Island. He again laid tree. Its broken limbs symbolize a life cut
and members the “keys to the Quad Cities’ culture.” out a city to be named short.
Davenport. This time, on
PRINTED MONTHLY
Newly printed complimentary editions are available
the western side of the Mis- Bruce Walters is a Professor Emeri-
monthly at select locations in the region. For a complete sissippi River. The city still tus in Art conferred by Western Illinois
list, visit www.rcreader.com/distribution. bears his name. He was one University.
of the early planners of the This is part of an occasional series on
PRINT & DIGITAL ADVERTISING
Visit QCAdvertising.com for full railroad that would cross famous (or infamous) people buried in
publishing calendar, sponsorship the Mississippi River from cemeteries in the Quad Cities, and their
opportunities, ad sizes, and pricing. Arsenal Island. history that is not so well-known today. If
On the Fourth of July, there’s a piece of history buried here that
PUBLISHER Portrait illustration by Bruce Walters 1845, Davenport was you’d like to learn more about, e-mail the
Todd McGreevy • todd@admospheres.com

G
murdered in his home by men who location and a brief description to BD-
EDITOR & BUSINESS MANAGER eorge Davenport traveled with an thought he had $20,000 in his home. He Walters@wiu.edu.
Kathleen McCarthy • km@rcreader.com army expedition in 1816 to estab- didn’t. He lived long
lish a frontier military outpost on enough to identify
ARTS & CALENDAR EDITOR the Mississippi River. The outpost would the men. Three of his
Mike Schulz • mike@rcreader.com
be built on a wooded island within sev- assailants were hung
IT-SYSMIN eral miles of Native American villages. from gallows in Rock
William Reveal The military estimated that 10,000 people Island before a crowd
lived these villages. three-times the city’s
ADVERTISING SALES This island is known to us as the Rock population. Two others
sales@rcreader.com
Island Arsenal. Neither Illinois nor Iowa escaped.
CONTRIBUTING WRITERS were states when Davenport arrived. According to the
Max Blumenthal, Rob Brezsny, Max Cannon, Davenport was an adventurer. He had Davenport Gazette,
Rich Miller, Ed Newmann, Loren Thacher, already traveled to European seaports Davenport was buried
Bruce Walters, John and Nisha Whitehead as a merchant sailor, was imprisoned in on the island near his
Russia for a winter, and had served as a home “in a beautiful
PRINT COPY DISTRIBUTORS sergeant in the War of 1812. Along the spot, overshadowed by
Cheri Delay, Jay Strickland way, he changed his name from John a large oak tree.”
King to George Davenport for reason Mesquakie Indians
Email info@RCReader.com
to make your business unknown to us. later held a funeral
a Reader pick up spot. Traveling by foot, canoe, keel boat or ceremony for their
horseback, Davenport visited Indian murdered friend at
villages to trade provisions for furs. his grave. According
ALIVE AND FREE Described as a jovial, generous man to Regina Schantz’
who was fond of company, he developed biography, ‘The Trader
SINCE ’93 friendly relationships with the Native at Rock Island,’ the
Keep the free press free with Americans. In particular, Black Hawk ceremony was “an
your direct support at saw in him a sense of humanity and jus- acknowledgment of
tice that stood in contrast to the military the long friendship the
officers. The two men sometimes visited Mesquakie had with
RCReader.com/Support each other’s homes and maintained George Davenport.
Mail checks to:
532 W 3rd St - Davenport, IA 52801 cordial relations, even as tensions rose The braves asked the
Letters to Editor: letters@rcreader.com -culminating in the Indian Removal Great Spirit to make
Act of 1930 and the ensuing Black Hawk Davenport happy in
© 2023 River Cities’ Reader War in 1832. During the war, Davenport the Spirit Land, and
was given the rank of colonel by Illinois’ to make their Sioux Colonel George Davenport's gravesite
 6 River Cities’ Reader • Vol. 30 No. 1012 • August 2023
GUEST COMMENTARY
Mental Health Round-Ups: The Next
Phase of the Government’s War
on Thought Crimes
“There are no dangerous thoughts; think-
ing itself is a dangerous activity.” – Hannah
Arendt
Get ready for the next phase of the
government’s war on thought crimes:
mental health round-ups and involuntary
detentions.
Under the guise of public health and
safety, the government could use mental-
health care as a pretext for targeting and
locking up dissidents, activists and anyone
unfortunate enough to be placed on a gov-
ernment watch list.
If we don’t nip this in the bud, and soon,
this will become yet another pretext by
which government officials can violate the
First and Fourth Amendments at will.
This is how it begins.
In communities across the nation, police
are being empowered to forcibly detain indi-
viduals they believe might be mentally ill,
based solely on their own judgment, even if
those individuals pose no danger to others.
In New York City, for example, you
could find yourself forcibly hospitalized for
suspected mental illness if you carry “firmly
held beliefs not congruent with cultural
ideas,” exhibit a “willingness to engage in
meaningful discussion,” have “excessive
fears of specific stimuli,” or refuse “volun-
tary treatment recommendations.”
While these programs are ostensibly
aimed at getting the homeless off the streets,
when combined with advances in mass sur-
veillance technologies, artificial intelligence-
powered programs that can track people
by their biometrics and behavior, mental-
health sensor data (tracked by wearable data
and monitored by government agencies such
as HARPA), threat assessments, behavioral
sensing warnings, pre-crime initiatives, red
flag gun laws, and mental health first-aid
programs aimed at training gatekeepers to
identify who might pose a threat to public
safety, they could well signal a tipping point
in the government’s efforts to penalize those
engaging in so-called “thought crimes.”
As the AP reports, federal officials are
already looking into how to add “‘identifi-
able patient data,’ such as mental health,
substance use and behavioral health infor-
mation from group homes, shelters, jails,
detox facilities and schools,” to its surveil-
lance toolkit.
Make no mistake: These are the building
blocks for an American gulag no less sinister
than that of the gulags of the Cold War-era
Soviet Union.
The word “gulag” refers to a labor or
concentration camp where prisoners
(oftentimes political prisoners or so-called
“enemies of the state,” real or imagined)
FREE ASSANGE. Know More. Do More. RCReader.com/Calendar.
By John and Nisha Whitehead of their constitutional rights. was presented with a bill for $7,185 upon his
These developments are merely the release.
realization of various U.S. government
initiatives dating back to 2009, including
Marine Brandon Raub – a 9/11 truther –
was arrested and detained in a psychiatric
one dubbed Operation Vigilant Eagle, which
calls for surveillance of military veterans
ward under Virginia’s civil commitment law
based on posts he had made on his Facebook
returning from Iraq and Afghanistan, char-
acterizing them as extremists and potential
page that were critical of the government.
Each state has its own set of civil, or
domestic terrorist threats because they may involuntary, commitment laws. These laws
were imprisoned as punishment for their
be “disgruntled, disillusioned or suffering are extensions of two legal principles: parens
crimes against the state.
from the psychological effects of war.” patriae Parens patriae (Latin for “parent of
The gulag, according to historian Anne
Coupled with the report on “Righ- the country”), which allows the government
Applebaum, used as a form of “administra-
twing Extremism: Current Economic and to intervene on behalf of citizens who cannot
tive exile – which required no trial and no
Political Climate Fueling Resurgence in act in their own best interest, and police
sentencing procedure – was an ideal punish-
Radicalization and Recruitment” issued power, which requires a state to protect the
ment not only for troublemakers as such, but
by the Department of Homeland Security interests of its citizens.
also for political opponents of the regime.”
(curiously enough, a Soviet term), which The fusion of these two principles, coupled
Totalitarian regimes such as the Soviet
broadly defines right-wing extremists as with a shift towards a dangerousness stan-
Union also declared dissidents mentally ill
individuals and groups “that are mainly dard, has resulted in a Nanny State mindset
and consigned political prisoners to prisons
anti-government, rejecting federal authority carried out with the militant force of the
disguised as psychiatric hospitals, where
in favor of state or local authority, or reject- Police State.
they could be isolated from the rest of soci-
ing government authority entirely,” these The problem, of course, is that the diag-
ety, their ideas discredited, and subjected to
tactics bode ill for anyone seen as opposing nosis of mental illness, while a legitimate
electric shocks, drugs and various medical
the government. concern for some Americans, has over time
procedures to break them physically and
become a convenient means by which the
mentally.
Nanny and Police States Merger government and its corporate partners
In addition to declaring political dissi-
can penalize certain “unacceptable” social
dents mentally unsound, government offi-
Thus, what began as a blueprint under behaviors.
cials in the Cold War-era Soviet Union also
the Bush administration has since become In fact, in recent years, we have witnessed
made use of an administrative process for
an operation manual for exiling those who the pathologizing of individuals who resist
dealing with individuals who were consid-
challenge the government’s authority. authority as suffering from oppositional
ered a bad influence on others or trouble-
An important point to consider, however, defiant disorder (ODD), defined as “a pattern
makers. Author George Kennan describes
is that the government is not merely target- of disobedient, hostile, and defiant behavior
a process in which: “The obnoxious person
ing individuals who are voicing their discon- toward authority figures.” Under such a defi-
may not be guilty of any crime … but if,
tent so much as it is locking up individuals nition, every activist of note throughout our
in the opinion of the local authorities, his
trained in military warfare who are voicing history – from Mahatma Gandhi to Martin
presence in a particular place is ‘prejudicial
feelings of discontent. Luther King Jr. – could be classified as suf-
to public order’ or ‘incompatible with public
Under the guise of mental health treat- fering from an ODD mental disorder.
tranquility,’ he may be arrested without
ment and with the complicity of government Of course, this is all part of a larger trend
warrant, may be held from two weeks to two
psychiatrists and law enforcement offi- in American governance whereby dissent is
years in prison, and may then be removed
cials, these veterans are increasingly being criminalized and pathologized, and dissent-
by force to any other place within the limits
portrayed as ticking time bombs in need of ers are censored, silenced, declared unfit for
of the empire and there be put under police
intervention. society, labelled dangerous or extremist, or
surveillance for a period of from one to 10
For instance, the Justice Department turned into outcasts and exiled.
years.”
launched a pilot program aimed at training Red-flag gun laws (which authorize
Warrantless seizures, surveillance, indefi-
SWAT teams to deal with confrontations government officials to seize guns from indi-
nite detention, isolation, exile … . Sound
involving highly trained and often heavily viduals viewed as a danger to themselves or
familiar?
armed combat veterans. others), are a perfect example of this mindset
It should.
One tactic being used to deal with at work and the ramifications of where this
The age-old practice by which despotic
so-called “mentally ill suspects who also could lead.
regimes eliminate their critics or potential
happen to be trained in modern warfare” is As The Washington Post reports, these
adversaries by making them disappear – or
through the use of civil commitment laws, red flag gun laws “allow a family member,
forcing them to flee, or exiling them literally
found in all states and employed throughout roommate, beau, law enforcement officer
or figuratively or virtually from their fellow
American history to not only silence but or any type of medical professional to file a
citizens – is happening with increasing
cause dissidents to disappear. petition [with a court] asking that a person’s
frequency in America.
For example, NSA officials attempted to home be temporarily cleared of firearms. It
Now, through the use of red flag laws,
label former employee Russ Tice, who was doesn’t require a mental-health diagnosis or
behavioral threat assessments, and pre-
willing to testify in Congress about the an arrest.”
crime policing-prevention programs, the
NSA’s warrantless wiretapping program, as With these red flag gun laws, the stated
groundwork is being laid that would allow
“mentally unbalanced” based upon two psy- intention is to disarm individuals who are
the government to weaponize the label of
chiatric evaluations ordered by his superiors. potential threats.
mental illness as a means of exiling those
NYPD Officer Adrian Schoolcraft had While in theory it appears perfectly
whistleblowers, dissidents and freedom
his home raided, and he was handcuffed reasonable to want to disarm individu-
fighters who refuse to march in lockstep
to a gurney and taken into emergency als who are clearly suicidal and/or pose an
with its dictates.
custody for an alleged psychiatric episode. “immediate danger” to themselves or others,
That the government is using the charge
It was later discovered by way of an inter- where the problem arises is when you put
of mental illness as the means by which to
nal investigation that his superiors were the power to determine who is a potential
immobilize (and disarm) its critics is diabol-
retaliating against him for reporting police danger in the hands of government agencies,
ical. With one stroke of a magistrate’s pen,
misconduct. Schoolcraft spent six days in the the courts, and the police.
these individuals are declared mentally ill,
mental facility, and as a further indignity, Remember, this is the same government
locked away against their will, and stripped
Keep the Reader Alive and Free Since '93. RCReader.com/Support.
that uses the words “anti-government,”
“extremist,” and “terrorist” interchangeably.
This is the same government whose agents
are spinning a sticky spider-web of threat
assessments, behavioral sensing warnings,
flagged “words,” and “suspicious” activ-
ity reports using automated eyes and ears,
social media, behavior-sensing software, and
citizen spies to identify potential threats.
This is the same government that keeps
re-upping the National Defense Authoriza-
tion Act (NDAA), which allows the military
to detain American citizens with no access
to friends, family or the courts if the govern-
ment believes them to be a threat.
This is the same government that has a
growing list – shared with fusion centers and
law enforcement agencies – of ideologies,
behaviors, affiliations and other character-
istics that could flag someone as suspicious
and result in their being labeled potential
enemies of the state.
For instance, if you believe in and exercise
your rights under the Constitution (namely,
your right to speak freely, worship freely,
associate with like-minded individuals
who share your political views, criticize the
government, own a weapon, demand a war-
rant before being questioned or searched,
or any other activity viewed as potentially
anti-government, racist, bigoted, anarchic
or sovereign), you could be at the top of the
government’s terrorism watch list.
Moreover, as a New York Times edito-
rial warns, you may be an anti-government
extremist (a.k.a. domestic terrorist) in the
eyes of the police if you are afraid that the
government is plotting to confiscate your
firearms, if you believe the economy is about
to collapse and the government will soon
declare martial law, or if you display an
unusual number of political and/or ideologi-
cal bumper stickers on your car.
Let that sink in a moment.
Now consider the ramifications of giving
police that kind of authority in order to
preemptively neutralize a potential threat,
and you’ll understand why some might
view these mental-health round-ups with
trepidation.
No matter how well-meaning the
FREE ASSANGE.
politicians make these encroachments on
our rights appear, in the right (or wrong)
hands, benevolent plans can easily be put to
malevolent purposes.
Even the most well-intentioned govern-
ment law or program can be – and has been
– perverted, corrupted and used to advance
illegitimate purposes once profit and power
are added to the equation.
The war on terror, the war on drugs, the
war on illegal immigration, the war on
COVID-19: All of these programs started
out as legitimate responses to pressing
concerns and have since become weapons
of compliance and control in the govern-
ment’s hands. For instance, the very same
mass-surveillance technologies that were
supposedly so necessary to fight the spread
of COVID-19 are now being used to stifle
dissent, persecute activists, harass marginal-
ized communities, and link people’s health
information to other surveillance and law
enforcement tools.
As I make clear in my book Battlefield
America: The War on the American People
and in its fictional counterpart The Erik
Blair Diaries, we are moving fast down that
slippery slope to an authoritarian society in
which the only opinions, ideas and speech
expressed are the ones permitted by the
government and its corporate cohorts.
We stand at a crossroads.
As author Erich Fromm warned, “At
this point in history, the capacity to doubt,
to criticize and to disobey may be all that
stands between a future for mankind and
the end of civilization.”
Constitutional attorney and author John
W. Whitehead is founder and president of
The Rutherford Institute. His most recent
books are the best-selling Battlefield America:
The War on the American People, the
award-winning A Government of Wolves:
The Emerging American Police State, and
a debut dystopian fiction novel, The Erik
Blair Diaries. Whitehead can be contacted at
staff@rutherford.org. Nisha Whitehead is the
executive director of The Rutherford Institute.
Information about the Rutherford Institute is
available at Rutherford.org.
River Cities’ Reader • Vol. 30 No. 1012 • August 2023
ILLINOIS POLITICS
In Illinois’ Lab of Demos, Money Isn’t Necessarily
the Most Sufficient of Sureties
B
oth the majority and minority opin-
ions in the Illinois Supreme Court’s
landmark ruling on the SAFE-T Act
last week claimed the other side was ignor-
ing the “plain language” of the Illinois
Constitution. Each focused on a single, but
different, word.
As the all-Democrat majority noted,
the judiciary must look at the “plain
language used in its natural and popular
meaning when the constitutional provi-
sion was adopted.”
For the majority, the “plain language”
in question was from the Illinois Consti-
tution’s Bill of Rights: “All persons shall
be bailable by sufficient sureties, except
for the following offenses where the proof
is evident or the presumption great.”
The Illinois Supreme Court created
a Commission on Pretrial Practices in
2017, which eventually reported back
that “bailable” by “sufficient sureties” did
not necessarily mean cash bail. The word
“bail,” the commission reported, “liter-
ally” means “release,” and does not neces-
sarily mandate a cash component. Last
week’s majority opinion emphasizes that
the state’s Constitution never specifically
spells out that bail is monetary in nature.
Importantly, the majority opined that
cash bail “was all but unknown” when
the state’s original Constitution was first
approved in 1818, and the same basic
language from that document remains in
force today.
“The bail clause does not include the
term ‘monetary,’ so it did not cement the
practice of monetary bail, however long-
standing and prevalent across Illinois,
into our constitution. ‘Sufficient sure-
ties’ is not limited to sufficient mon-
etary sureties, and we cannot append or
supplement the constitutional text,” the
majority ruled.
The all-Republican minority opinion
relies on a different word in a different
part of the state’s Bill of Rights to argue
that the statute “is in direct violation of
the plain language of our constitution’s
bill of rights.” The section was written to
protect the rights of crime victims, partly
by allowing them to have their and their
families’ safety considered when courts
fix the “amount” of bail. But within the
statute, the minority argued, “the amount
of bail is effectively set at zero for all cases
under the Act,” which therefore “wholly
nullified” victims’ constitutional rights.
The majority opinion countered that
argument: “The crime victims’ rights
clause mentions the ‘amount of bail,’ not
the amount of monetary bail. The word
‘amount’ connotes quantity and does
not only mean a quantity of money but
7
By Rich Miller
rather, consonant with the bail clause,
a quantity of sufficient sureties.” The
majority went on to note that crime vic-
tims’ rights were specifically protected in
the statute within the confines of the Bill
of Rights and that “Nothing in the crime
victims’ rights clause’s plain language
indicates such an intent to upend sud-
denly, after 174 years, the constitutional
history of bail in Illinois.”
The opinions are a bit more compli-
cated than what I’ve laid out, but that’s
really the essence of the two arguments.
The claim made against the statute
brought by state’s attorneys and sher-
iffs that the law violates the Constitu-
tion’s separation of powers clause was
dismissed by the majority using recent
precedent and only mentioned by the
minority in its argument that the plain-
tiffs had standing to bring the case in
the first place. The rest of the plaintiffs’
arguments were already dismissed at the
trial level.
Former prosecutors have been actively
recruited by both political parties forever,
in all three branches of state government.
That tradition probably won’t change
much, except perhaps in Chicago, but
people throughout the political spectrum
have complained for a very long time
that decades, or even centuries, of “war
on crime” laws pushed by those former
prosecutors and their allies have resulted
in the targeting of poor people of color
for prosecution and imprisonment.
But the release of the Supreme Court’s
Commission on Pretrial Practices’ report
in April of 2020 which recommended
abolishing cash bail, followed by the mas-
sive George Floyd protests in the summer
of that year, along with insistence from
activists that the legislature needed to
take action, and then-House Speaker
Michael Madigan’s desperation to remain
in power by locking in a long-frustrated
Black Caucus’ support and a billionaire
governor sympathetic to their cause
during what was essentially a closed-off,
round-the-clock winter session held in
the midst of a deadly worldwide pan-
demic and a dysfunctional and unfeared
minority party all combined to pass this
highly-unusual bill.
States have long been called “labora-
tories of democracy.” Illinois’ laboratory
has managed to produce this law, which
is now confirmed as constitutional. We’ll
see how it goes.
Rich Miller also publishes Capitol Fax,
a daily political newsletter, and
CapitolFax.com.
 8 River Cities’ Reader • Vol. 30 No. 1012 • August 2023
GUEST COMMENTARY
Why Is the U.S. Government
Tempting Nuclear Annihilation?
[Publisher’s note: On June 28, 2023,
TheGrayzone.com’s Max Blumenthal
addressed the U.N. Security Council on
the role of U.S. military aid to Ukraine in
escalating the conflict with Russia and the
real motives behind Washington’s support
for Kiev’s proxy war. Below is the news
site’s transcript of Blumenthal’s incisive
remarks.]
Thank you to Wyatt Reed, Alex Rubin-
stein, and Anya Parampil for helping me
prepare this presentation. Wyatt has first
hand experience with the subject as a jour-
nalist whose hotel in Donetsk was targeted
with a U.S.-made howitzer by the Ukrai-
nian military in October 2022. He was 100
meters away when the strike hit, and was
nearly killed.
My friend, the civil-rights activist Randy
Credico, is also here with me today. He was
in Donetsk more recently, and was able to
witness regular HIMARS attacks by the
Ukrainian military on civilian targets.
I’m here not only as a journalist with
over 20 years of experience covering
politics and conflict on several continents,
but as an American dragooned by my own
government into funding a proxy war
that has become a threat to regional and
international stability at the expense of
the welfare of my fellow countrymen and
women.
This June 28, as emergency crews worked
to clean up yet another toxic train derail-
ment in the United States, this time on the
Montana River, that further exposed our
nation’s chronically underfunded infra-
structure and its threats to our health,
the Pentagon announced plans to send an
additional $500 million worth of military
aid to Ukraine.
The development came as Ukraine’s
army enters the third week of a vaunted
counter-offensive that CNN describes as
“not meeting expectations,” and which
even Volodymyr Zelensky says is “going
slower than desired.”
As Ukraine’s military failed to breach
Russia’s primary defense line, CNN
reported that by June 12, Kiev quote “lost”
16 U.S.-made armored vehicles sent to the
country.
So what did the Pentagon do? It simply
passed that bill down to average U.S.
taxpayers like myself, charging us another
$325 million to replace Ukraine’s squan-
dered military stock. There was zero effort
to consult the U.S. public’s position on the
matter; and the vast majority of Americans
likely did not even know the exchange took
place.
The U.S. policy I just described – which
sees Washington prioritize unrestrained
FREE ASSANGE.
By Max Blumenthal
funding for a proxy war with a nuclear
power in a foreign land while our own
domestic infrastructure falls apart before
our eyes – exposes a disturbing dynamic
at the heart of the Ukraine conflict: an
international Ponzi scheme that enables
Western elites to seize hard earned wealth
out of the hands of average U.S. citizens
and funnel it into the coffers of a foreign
government that even the Western-spon-
sored Transparency International ranks as
one of the most corrupt in Europe.
The U.S. government has yet to conduct
an official audit of its funding for Ukraine.
The American public has no idea where
their tax dollars have gone.
That is why this week, The Grayzone
published an independent audit of U.S.
tax-dollar allocation to Ukraine through-
out fiscal years 2022 and 2023. Our investi-
gation was led by Heather Kaiser, a former
military intelligence officer and veteran of
U.S. wars in Afghanistan and Iraq.
We found a $4.48 million payment from
the U.S. Social Security Admin to the Kiev
government.
We found $4.5 billion worth of payments
from the United States Agency for Inter-
national Development to pay off Ukraine’s
sovereign debt, much of which is owned by
the global investment firm BlackRock.
That alone amounts to $30 taken from
every single U.S. citizen at a time when
four in 10 Americans are unable to afford a
$400 emergency.
The U.S. government has
yet to conduct an official
audit of its funding for
Ukraine. The American
public has no idea where
their tax dollars have
gone. That is why this
week, The Grayzone
published an independent
audit of U.S. tax dollar
allocation to Ukraine.
We found tax dollars earmarked for
Ukraine padding the budgets of a televi-
sion station in Toronto, a pro-NATO think
tank in Poland, and, believe it or not, rural
farmers in Kenya.
We found tens of millions to private
equity firms, including one in the Repub-
lic of Georgia, as well as a million dollar
payment to a single private entrepreneur
in Kiev.
Know More. Do More.
Our audit also revealed the Pentagon’s
$4.5 million contract with a company
called “Atlantic Diving Supply” to pro-
vide Ukraine with unspecified explosives
equipment. This is a notoriously corrupt
company that Thom Tillis, the chairman
of the Senate Armed Services Committee,
previously lambasted for its “history of
fraud.”
Yet once again, Congress has failed to
ensure these shady payments and massive
arms deals are properly tracked.
In fact, much of the military and
humanitarian aid shipped to Ukraine has
simply vanished. Last year, CBS News
quoted the director of a pro-Zelensky non-
profit in Ukraine who reported that only
around 30 percent of aid was reaching the
front lines in Ukraine.
The embezzlement of funds and supplies
Max Blumenthal at the United Nations Security Council, June 28, 2023
is at least as troubling as the potential con-
sequences of the illicit transfer and sales
of military-grade weapons. Last June, the
head of Interpol warned that the massive
transfers of arms into Ukraine means “we
can expect an influx of weapons in Europe
and beyond,” and that “criminals are even
now, as we speak, focusing on them.”
This May, a group of anti-Kremlin Rus-
sian neo-Nazis outfitted with gear supplied
by the Ukrainian government, was hailed
by Western politicians for carrying out
terrorist attacks in Russian territory using
American-made Humvees. Although the
group, the so-called “Russian Volunteer
Corps,” is led by a man who calls himself
the “White King” and includes numerous
open admirers of Adolf Hitler, the Western
weaponization of this militia against Rus-
sian forces has not prompted any outcry
from Congress.
And while the Biden administration
has promised that it’s keeping tabs on
the weapons sent, a State Department
cable leaked last December conceded
that “kinetic activity and active combat
between Ukrainian and Russian forces
create an environment in which standard
RCReader.com/Calendar.
verification measures are sometimes
impracticable or impossible.”
The Biden administration not only
knows that it can not track the weapons
it is shipping to Ukraine, it knows it is
escalating a proxy war against the world’s
largest nuclear power, and is daring it to
respond in kind.
We know they know this because back
in 2014, President Barack Obama rejected
demands to send lethal offensive weaponry
to Kiev because, as the Wall Street Journal
put it, he had a “long-standing concern
that arming Ukraine would provoke
Moscow into a further escalation that
could drag Washington into a proxy war.”
When Donald Trump entered office
in 2017, he attempted to hold the line on
Obama’s policy, but was soon branded
a Russian puppeteer by the Washington
press corps and Democratic Party for
refusing to send Raytheon’s Javelin mis-
siles to the Ukrainian military. Trump’s
reluctance to send the Javelins became
part of the basis for his impeachment. He
unsurprisingly relented.
As the U.S.-made offensive weaponry
began to reach the front lines of the
Donbas, the collective West exploited the
Minsk Accords to “give Ukraine time”
to arm up, as former German Chancellor
Angela Merkel put it.
In January 2022, the U.S. announced a
$200 million arms package to Ukraine. By
the 18th of February, observers from the
Organization for Security and Cooperation
in Europe reported a doubling in ceasefire
violations, with OSCE maps showing the
overwhelming majority of targeted sites
on the side of the pro-Russian separatist
population in Donetsk and Lugansk. Five
days later, Russia invaded Ukraine.
And since then, the U.S. and its allies
have been scurrying up the escalation
ladder at every opportunity.
“Things we couldn’t give in January
because it was escalatory were given in
February,” a former State Department
Keep the Reader Alive and Free Since '93.
official complained after meeting with
Ukrainian counterparts. “And things we
couldn’t give in February we can in April.
That has been the distinct pattern, start-
ing with, for crying out loud, Stingers,”
they said, referring to shoulder mounted
missiles.
President Joe Biden himself said in
March 2022, “The idea that we’re gonna
send in offensive equipment and have
planes and tanks… don’t kid yourself, no
matter what you all say, that’s called World
War III.”
Just over a year later, Biden changed his
tune, backing a plan to provide F-16 fighter
jets to Ukraine, and after pressuring Ger-
many to send in the tanks he once feared
would provoke World War III.
It would only take two months from
receiving HIMARs systems from the U.S.
for the Ukrainian military to begin target-
ing critical infrastructure, using them
to strike the Antonovsky Bridge over the
Dnipro river, and again, two months later
in a test strike on the Kakhovka Dam “to
see if the Dnieper’s water could be raised
enough to stymie Russian crossings,” as
the Washington Post reported.
Three weeks ago, the Kakhovka Dam
was destroyed, triggering a major envi-
ronmental catastrophe that caused mass
flooding and contamination of the local
water supply. Ukraine, of course, blames
Russia for the attack, but has produced no
evidence.
Around this time, Ukraine also base-
lessly accused Russia of planning a provo-
cation at the Zaporizhzhia nuclear plant.
This triggered a resolution by Senators
Lindsey Graham and Richard Blumenthal
(no relation to me) calling for NATO to
intervene directly in Ukraine and attack
Russia if such an incident occurred.
The move by Blumenthal and Graham
thus established a de facto red line for initi-
ating U.S. military action, much like the
one set down in Syria which, as a former
U.S. diplomat commented to journalist
Charles Glass, “was an open invitation to a
false flag.”
Will we see another Douma deception,
but this time in Zaporizhzhia?
Why are we doing this? Why are we
tempting nuclear annihilation by flood-
ing Ukraine with advanced weapons and
sabotaging negotiations at every turn?
We have been told by people like Sena-
tor Dick Durbin that Ukraine is “literally
in a battle for freedom and democracy
themselves,” and we must therefore supply
it with weapons “for as long as it takes,”
as President Biden said. Anyone who
opposes military aid to Ukraine opposes
the defense of democracy, according to this
logic.
So where is the democracy in Volody-
myr Zelensky’s decision to ban opposition
parties, criminalize the media outlets of
his legitimate political opponents, to jail
his top political rival, round up his top
RCReader.com/Support. FREE ASSANGE. River Cities’ Reader • Vol. 30 No. 1012 • August 2023 9
deputies, raid Orthodox churches, and include Director of National Intelligence synonymous with unilateral coercive
arrest clergymen? Avril Haines, CIA deputy director David measures to “turn the ruble to rubble,” as
Where is the democracy in the Ukrai- Cohen, former White House press secre- Biden has pledged to do; whose leadership
nian government’s imprisonment of Gon- tary Jen Psaki, and almost a dozen current subverts negotiations in order to pursue
zalo Lira, a U.S. citizen, for questioning the and former members of Biden’s national profit while refusing to properly inform
official narrative of their war effort? security team. its own citizens what they are paying for,
Defense Secretary Lloyd Austin, for his and which pushes the sons and brothers
So where is the democracy in part, is a former and possibly future board of its supposed Ukrainian partners out
Volodymyr Zelensky’s decision member of Raytheon, and ex-partner of onto a killing field in order to bludgeon a
the Pine Island Capital investment firm geopolitical rival; when both Zelensky and
to ban opposition parties, crim-
that collaborates with WestExec and which members of the U.S. Congress are calling
inalize the media outlets of his
Blinken has advised. for preemptive strikes on Russia which
legitimate political opponents, Meanwhile, the current U.S. ambassador
contravene the spirit of Article 51 of the
to jail his top political rival, to the U.N., Linda Thomas Greenfield, is
U.N. charter, this council must take action
round up his top deputies, raid listed as a senior counsel at the Albright to enforce that charter. Articles 33-38 of
Orthodox Churches and arrest Stonebridge Group, a self-described “com- Chapter VI of that Charter are clear that
clergymen [...] imprisonment mercial diplomacy firm” that also finesses the security council must use its authority
of Gonzalo Lira, a U.S. citizen, contracts for the intelligence sector and to guarantee a pacific settlement of dispute,
for questioning the official arms industry. This firm was founded by particularly when it threatens interna-
narrative [...] and suspend(ing) the late Madeleine Albright, who infa- tional security. That should not only apply
elections in 2024? mously declared that the deaths of half- to Russia and Ukraine. This council has an
a-million Iraqi children under the U.S. obligation to strictly monitor and restrain
sanctions regime was “worth it.” the U.S. and the illegal military formation
And where is the democracy in Zelen- So while middle-aged Ukrainian men known as NATO. Thank you.
sky’s recent decision to suspend elections are ripped off streets by military police
in 2024 on the grounds that martial law and sent to the front lines, the financially The editor-in-chief of TheGrayzone.com,
has been declared? Well, it seems that and politically connected architects of this Max Blumenthal is an award-winning
Ukraine’s democracy is harder to find proxy war are planning to walk through journalist and the author of several books,
these days than its military’s suddenly the revolving door to reap unimaginable including best-selling Republican Gomor-
inconspicuous commander-in-chief, profits once their time in the Biden admin- rah, Goliath, The Fifty One Day War, and
Valeriy Zaluzhny. istration is over. The Management of Savagery. He has
Senator Graham has offered a much For them, a negotiated settlement to this produced print articles for an array of pub-
more grim – and on-the-mark – rationale territorial dispute means an end to the lications, many video reports, and several
for supplying Ukraine with billions in cash cow of close to $150 billion in U.S. aid documentaries, including Killing Gaza.
weapons. As the senator boasted during to Ukraine. Blumenthal founded The Grayzone in 2015
a recent visit with Zelensky in Kiev, “The When the United States, a permanent to shine a journalistic light on America’s
Russians are dying … it’s the best money member of this council, has fallen under state of perpetual war and its dangerous
we’ve ever spent.” the control of a government which seeks domestic repercussions.
Graham, we should remember, has also to perpetuate a proxy war for “as long
said that we, the U.S., must fight this war to as it takes,” which considers diplomacy
the last Ukrainian. While official casualty
numbers are strictly classified, we must
worry that Ukraine is well on its way to
fulfilling the senator’s ghoulish fantasies.
As a Ukrainian soldier complained this
month to Vice News, we don’t know what
Zelensky’s “plans are, but it looks like
extermination of its own population – like
of the combat-ready and working-age
population. That’s it.”
Indeed, military cemeteries in Ukraine
are expanding almost as rapidly as the
Northern Virginia McMansions and
beachfront estates of executives from
Lockheed Martin, Raytheon and assorted
Beltway contractors benefitting from the
second-highest level of military spending
since World War II.
These are the real winners of the
Ukraine proxy war. Not average Ukrai-
nians or Americans. Or Russians or even
Western Europeans.
The winners are people like Secretary
of State Tony Blinken, who spent his time
between the Obama and Biden administra-
tions launching a consulting firm called
WestExec advisors which secured lucra-
tive government contracts for intelligence
firms and the arms industry. Blinken’s
former partners at WestExec advisors
10 River Cities’ Reader • Vol. 30 No. 1012 • August 2023
WORDS FROM THE EDITOR
Language-Craft Disguises
a Hidden Agenda
W
hich of the three definitions below
best describes: (1) Progressivism,
(2) Classic Liberalism, and (3) Clas-
sic Conservatism? Answers on page 10 (don’t
peek).
A: The state is instituted to protect the
rights bestowed on individuals under natural
law. It exists to preserve life, liberty, and
property, not only protecting the sanctity
of life but defending freedom of speech,
religion, the press, and assembly, and the
right of individuals to be treated equally and
justly under the law, and to enjoy the fruits of
their labor.
B: The state exists to improve human
societies through political action. The state is
empowered to advance the human condition
through reforms based on advancements in
science, technology, economic development,
and social organization.
C: The state advocates free market and
laissez-faire economics; and civil liberties
under the rule of law with special emphasis
on individual autonomy, limited govern-
ment, economic freedom, political freedom,
and freedom of speech.
One of the most insidious threats to
America’s Republic is the progressive abuse
of language in redefining and/or alterna-
tive uses of words in order to subtly redirect
collective thought for eventual acceptance
and absorption into the cultural ethos. By
changing languages’ meaning, thought can
be directed, attitudes controlled, and actions
inspired by strategically replacing traditional
norms in thought processing that would
otherwise be rejected.
A good example is the current subcon-
scious shift in thought when referring to
newborns as “designated” a girl or boy,
suggesting an assignation of gender rather
than naturally born as one or the other. This
distortion (genders are not assigned at birth)
can result in birth records being altered to
reflect something other than physiology.
Unintended consequences are legitimate
concerns in such circumstances.
While Misgendering May Qualify
as Rude Speech, It Is Not Hate
Speech
Claims of misgendering are being posi-
tioned to establish them as hate speech. Not
agreeing to compelled speech protected by
the First Amendment is not discrimination
or hate speech. No amount of language-craft,
administrative policy, judicial review, or leg-
islative action can make it so. It would violate
the First Amendment rights of every Ameri-
can, and is prohibited by law no matter how
much lawfare is tried. The only process under
the sun that can alter this bedrock protection
of our inalienable rights is if the American
people decide to amend the Constitution
specifically giving up this protection.
Yet the establishment persists with its
administrative workarounds, which are
FREE ASSANGE.
By Kathleen McCarthy
consistently arbitrary and capricious, ben-
efiting some groups while disadvantaging
many others in typical progressive fashion.
In instances of misgendering, the question
too often becomes: Whose rights are more
protected, and whose are less protected,
when government intervenes?
Johnathan Turley expressed concern over
raising a generation of censors, who are being
taught from an early age that misgendering
is considered hate speech because it incites
violence. However, he neglects to say violence
from and toward whom. A recent survey by
Redfield & Wilton Strategies revealed that
44 percent of millennials (between ages
25-34) support criminal charges for people
who use the wrong pronouns for others or
“misgendering.” The article notes misgender-
ing is now a crime in countries such as Great
Britain and Canada. And misgendering is
increasingly being referred to as an act of vio-
lence at some U.S. universities.
https://jonathanturley.org/2023/07/16/pro-
noun-lockdown-almost-half-of-millennials-
want-jail-time-for-misgendering/
Many believe gender transitions are
biologically incomplete; a trans woman who
still has a penis arguably remains biologi-
cally male, while a trans man who has breasts
and/or a vagina arguably remains biologi-
cally female. Which begs larger questions,
such as: What part of gender is portionable?
Despite how a transgender person identi-
fies, observing, acknowledging, affirming,
or even criticizing biological realities that
conflict does not remotely qualify as hate
speech, especially when factoring in science
fundamentals in microbiology and physiol-
ogy/anatomy, and more importantly intent.
Regardless, Progressives are doing their best
to redefine hate speech to include misgender-
ing, and succeeding in a growing number of
places.
Imagine a work environment, especially
with a medium to large staff, in which
personnel has an obligation to remember
each worker’s identification preferences and
pronouns. I struggle to remember names. It
is an unreasonable expectation on the part of
a segment of the population, whose identify-
ing preferences are highly personal choices
and should be respected as such, but should
not be imposed upon society to coercively
participate. Especially if it means complying
with a host of new policies, rules, and even
laws where refusal can be punitive.
Reasonable people can oppose using
identity preferences and pronouns for differ-
ent transgender statuses, while not holding
an ounce of animosity towards transgender
people. Some people object to using prefer-
ences and pronouns that affirm transpeople
because they do not accept the underlying
proposition that transgender individuals
have biologically transitioned in the first
place, perhaps in keeping with religious
beliefs.
In other words conscientious objectors,
without a scintilla of animus toward fellow
transgender people, are unwilling to have
Know More. Do More.
their own right to freedom of speech violated
by having their speech dictated. While frus-
trating, even disappointing to transgender
persons, objectors’ intent is to protect their
own speech first and foremost. All parties are
defending their own interests, and hate does
not enter into it.
Reversing taboos relative to cultural norms
is one thing. Legislating speech with penal-
ties that have real impact creates intensi-
fied conflict between groups with disparate
interests. This is the perfect political poison
from which utilitarian Progressive operatives
are born. These are the groups who can be
counted on to contribute disproportionately
to social chaos, amplifying divisiveness that
inspires emotional, irrational angst among
differing targeted groups. In other words:
manufactured hate.
Progressive operatives’ machinations start
out seemingly benevolent in some enlight-
ened sense, gradually devolving into regres-
sivism precisely because of group-centricism,
which ensures that for one group to ascend,
others must descend. Before long, the con-
struct is chalk full of open repressivism for
control, ultimately becoming entirely oppres-
sive to survive. It is the Progressive way.
Courts Wrangle with Their Own
Misgendering
Take a recent Canadian case involving
restaurant employee Jessie Nelson suing
his employer for allowing misgendering to
occur in the workplace. “In a 42-page ruling,
Tribunal representative Devyn Cousineau
found that the restaurant’s alleged misconduct
violated British Columbia’s Human Rights
Act. She went on to write that pronouns are ‘a
fundamental part of a person’s identity’ and
that their proper usage indicates ‘that we see
and respect a person for who they are.’
“‘Especially for trans, non-binary, or
other non-cisgender people, using the cor-
rect pronouns validates and affirms they are
a person equally deserving of respect and
dignity,’ Cousineau wrote in the decision.
‘When people use the right pronouns, they can
feel safe and enjoy the moment. When people
do not use the right pronouns, that safety is
undermined and they are forced to repeat to
the world: I exist.’”
The tribunal ordered Buono Osteria to
“implement a formal pronoun policy,” diver-
sity and inclusion training for all employees,
and Nelson was paid 30,000 pounds for
his suffering. Eventually, Buono Osteria
terminated Nelson’s employment for pushing
gender-neutral language for its restaurant
guests, and “policing language” in the work-
place. Conflict and confrontation between
Nelson and his managers created an overall
hostile work environment, according to one
supervisor.
In 2017, British Columbia’s Human
Rights Act was expanded to provide greater
protection to transgender people when the
Parliament of Canada passed bill C-16, which
added protections for both gender identity
and expression to its existing nondiscrimina-
tion and hate crime laws.
Several observations with Canada’s ruling
are as follows: First, while a comforting
signal when employees use the pronouns
associated with a transgender coworker’s pre-
ferred identity, doing so as a requirement by
RCReader.com/Calendar.
law does not necessarily translate as respect,
let alone safety. It is the slimmest of reeds
upon which to lean, versus coworkers volun-
tarily choosing to respect their transgender
coworkers by using their identity preferences.
A hostile work environment is already a
legal violation with remedy, without opening
another administrative door for govern-
ing speech, especially in pursuit of specific
compliance relative to controversial, often
ambiguous, new constructs that are evolving.
Second, if language-craft must be deployed
to reorder old definitions of words into
new ones that conform for future litigation
purposes, where is the equity in such contriv-
ances, let alone social justice? It becomes
another cultural bullying tactic, coercing
participation via speech that triggers more
division and chaos. It begs the question: Does
this deliberate turmoil really empower genu-
ine transgender people making their way?
Meanwhile, in defense of some of us old
bats and bears, have you seen the Diversity
& Inclusion Glossary of Terms that includes
gender identifications, associated pronouns,
and exhaustive vernacular? The imposi-
tion on society to familiarize itself with this
brand-new, ever-expanding, ever-changing
language, with identity preferences created
for the validation and self-esteem of a specific
segment of society (E.g.; “When people do not
use the right pronouns, that safety is under-
mined and they are forced to repeat to the
world: I exist.”), whose misuse can run afoul
of the law, is no small mandate. Never mind
the requirement is unconstitutional, and
hugely inequitable as such.
https://blog.ongig.com/
diversity-and-inclusion/diversity-terms/
In July of 2021, the U.S. Third District
Court of Appeals ruled that misgendering,
including dead-naming, patients is pro-
tected under free speech in a partial reversal
of California’s Senate Bill 219, which bars
discrimination against LGBTQ+ and HIV
patients in long-term facilities.
Judges Elena Duarte, Harry Hull, and
Ronald Robie concluded the penalty for
referring to patients inconsistent with their
preferred identities “restricts more speech
than is necessary to achieve the govern-
ment’s compelling interest in eliminating
discrimination.”
https://www.them.us/story/california-
court-case-misgendering-law-struck-down
In another 2019 case, the U.S. Eighth Dis-
trict Court of Appeals rejected a Minnesota
nonbinary defendant’s appeal that she was
misgendered in court, not being referred to
by her preferred pronouns they/them during
proceedings and throughout legal docu-
ments. Court documents revealed the defen-
dant originally objected to “all 134 instances
of purposeful and deliberate misgendering”
during a November 2019 hearing.
“Clarity suffers and confusion may follow
when legal writing refers to a single indi-
vidual as ‘they,’ especially when the materi-
als advert to other actors who are naturally
described as ‘they’ or ‘them’ in the traditional
plural,” Judge Steven M. Colloton.
https://www.them.us/story/canadian-
court-rules-misgendering-human-rights-
violation
https://ecf.ca8.uscourts.gov/
opndir/21/03/192537P.pdf
Colloton concluded that because they had
signed a plea agreement that “used masculine
Keep the Reader Alive and Free Since '93.
pronouns,” acknowledged the use of “mascu-
line pronouns for the sake of clarity” in their
sentencing letter, and did not object to the
prosecutor’s use of he/him pronouns at the
sentencing hearing, the defendant thereby
“waived any claim of misconduct by oppos-
ing counsel.”
https://www.them.us/story/judges-mis-
gender-say-using-nonbinary-defendants-
correct-pronouns-too-hard
Transgender Movement Is More
Political Than You Know
In keeping with Progressive policy, mis-
gendering is currently being trial-ballooned
as “an act of violence” against trans people,
evidenced in broadcast-media homogenous
scripts, social-media memes, and public-
discussion talking points, to acclimate the
public to the concept while making its way
into the legal system. Speaking words is not
an act of violence, except by Progressive
language-craft, and classifying it as such is
an insult to those who have experienced real
acts of violence.
Free speech does not guarantee freedom
from goatly rudeness, ridicule, meanness,
insensitivity, or hurt feelings, diminution,
even outrage. Speech invariably cannot pro-
tect us from the invocation of the vast range
of emotional responses, good bad or ugly,
therefore it is an unrealistic expectation that
anything less than coercion will abate it even
a little bit.
To date, cooperative voluntary compliance
is more widespread than not. This outcome
would be considered a win by most move-
ments, but not for Progressives. Harmony
is antithetical to their goals. Acceptance
and unity is not fertile ground for sowing
division, discord, and conflict, the real target
outcomes in Progressivism for more recep-
tive group control.
Transgender groups are no exception,
vulnerable to alienation, separation, and
disharmony therefore more malleable for
civil activation as a distinct activism group,
especially as transgender people increasingly
find themselves in the cultural limelight,
voicing their desire for recognition and vali-
dation amidst a tidal wave of opportunity to
advance their cause.
More than just validating, however, are
parties within the transgender movement
aggressively recruiting additional trans
applicants from a trove of troubled children,
minors with a whole range of emotional and
mental disorders that conveniently corre-
spond with inclusive definition(s) of gender
dysphoria, in some states without parental
knowledge, let alone consent.
I understand if you don’t believe this
information at first blush, so I encourage you
to read the history of the transgender move-
ment, Transgender Empire, by authors Judith
Butler, Gayle Rubin, Sandy Stone, and Susan
Striker.
According to the authors, the transgen-
der movement originated as an inherently
political movement versus a cultural means
of human transformation for its own merit.
Its ideological imperative is to annihilate
the “Heteronormative” that supports the
white heterosexual power structure by
deconstructing it using transgendering.
Man becomes woman and woman becomes
RCReader.com/Support. FREE ASSANGE.
man in a disruptive refigurative toppling of
creation. Transhumanism (merging/aug-
menting human functionality via machine
enhancements using advanced technologies)
is the natural complimentary counterpart to
the Progressive transgender movement.
At its core, however, the transgender
movement is a deeply convicted political
movement dedicated to abolishing dis-
tinctions of man and woman for eventual
revolution and the future of Transgender
Maomarxism.
WHO Coup Update
The Biden Administration is getting
in front of what it considers a done deal
– passage of the Pandemic Preparedness
& Response Treaty of 2024 (PPRT) at the
upcoming world health summit in March
of 2024. On July 21, 2023, the Biden White
House officially launched the Office of Pan-
demic Preparedness Response Policy (OPPR)
to compliment the looming international
Pandemic Preparedness & Response Treaty,
and to coordinate and implement the WHO’s
directives relative to globally managing
health emergencies. Retired Major General
Paul Friedrichs has been appointed the
Inaugural Director of OPPR and Principal
Advisor on Pandemic Preparedness and
Response.
https://www.whitehouse.gov/briefing-
room/statements-releases/2023/07/21/
fact-sheet-white-house-launches-office-
of-pandemic-preparedness-and-response-
policy/
There is growing internal opposition to
this usurpation of American sovereignty by
the United Nations via the World Health
Organization, which, if passed, would cede
full authority over its 196 member countries
for health emergencies that now include
humans, animals, plants, and the environ-
ment (climate).
Americans must stand in resolute solidar-
ity to reject the current amendments being
negotiated behind closed doors for the Inter-
national Health Regulations, another critical
effort under way (mostly in secret) that
would advance WHO’s recommendations
from ones of mere guidance to legally bind-
ing directives without legislative approval.
Three unelected bureaucrats from Health
& Human Services, Secretary Xavier Becerra
and his immediate deputies, are the exclusive
delegates on behalf of the entire American
population in deciding this systemic change
in governance. Three unelected bureaucrats,
who epically mismanaged the COVID-19
pandemic, are acting outside any fiduciary
representation of the American people for
arguably the most important domestic
government oversight impacting our lives
during health emergencies. These current
negotiations amount to more unaccount-
able process, unconstitutional to its core. Yet
the only thing that can stop this violative
international overreach is an official rejection
by the U.S., in writing, within 10 months of
its formal adoption by the cartel of select
delegates from select member countries.
("Ism's" definition quiz answers: 1 = B, 2
= C, 3 = A)
River Cities’ Reader • Vol. 30 No. 1012 • August 2023
MUSIC
A Pawn in a Corporate Game: Jason
Aldean’s Pop-Country Propaganda
I
had the best patty melt of my life last Satur-
day night in a noisy, badly lit bowling alley
in a dying Illinois town. It was possibly
the most hostile environment I’ve ever eaten
in outside of a high school cafeteria. Most of
the action was on the other side of the room,
in the bowling alley itself. As our bartender
turned to deal with the thirsty bowlers, her
pink T-shirt lit up like a beacon in the dismal
“cosmic” glow of the blacklights. Stenciled in
baby blue on the pink background was a cattle
skull inside a circle, with the words “Try that
in a small town” running its circumference
and “ALDEAN” in bold, unmistakable letters
across the middle.
The shirt, of course, referred to the newest
single by Jason Aldean, a generally unre-
markable song by an extremely unremark-
able pop-country singer. Musically, “Try That
in a Small Town” is as generic as pop-country
gets. A touch of a hip-hop beat introduces a
completely by-the-numbers arena-rock chord
sequence, topped by the utterly undistin-
guished twang of a man who sounds exactly
like every other “country” star of the past
15 years. The aggressive lyrics are a fantasy
about big-city criminals and/or left-wing
agitators bringing their lawless ways to Anyt-
own, USA; the implied result is a lead shower
from “a gun that my granddad gave me, they
say one day they’re gonna round up.”
You could hear these lyrics more or less
verbatim from any number of drunk and
divorced back-the-blue tough guys in any
number of bars on a given night. “Cuss out
a cop, spit in his face, stomp on the flag and
light it up, yeah, ya think you’re tough, well,
try that in a small town,” set to the same
lifeless pop cadence as dozens of other new
country songs. It took no less than four
“songwriters” to put these lines together,
none of whom are Jason Aldean, who, as a
son of Macon, Georgia (population 157,346),
is hardly qualified to remark on small-town
life. The whole thing is a cynical exercise in
pandering that’s about as authentic as a can
of Spam. It’s yet another half-assed piece of
provocation from a tightly-controlled, ultra-
corporate genre that at some point in the last
10 years decided that using pop music with
banjos to sell light beer and trucks was not
11
By Loren Thacher
enough, and started pumping its Franken-
stein creations with embarrassingly on-the-
nose right-wing rhetoric.
Released in May to zero fanfare outside its
target market, “Try That in a Small Town”
became inescapable after its video dropped
on July 14. The whole thing is a pathetic
sham from start to finish. Aldean and band
aren’t exactly dressed for the Opry: four or
five dudes clearly in the midst of a rock ‘n’
roll midlife crisis, replete fresh leather duds
and nighttime aviator shades, with their
Marshalls set up in front of a gleaming,
flag-draped courthouse. It’s basically a Great
Value Five Finger Death Punch as filmed by
Leni Riefenstahl, with a goony guy in a black
cowboy hat front and center, looking like an
attempt to clone Randy Quaid from a potato.
The three-minute video is densely packed
with clips of violent demonstrations and
burning flags, meant to draw associations
with the 2020 Black Lives Matter protests,
even though, as Rolling Stone reported, at
least three of the clips (including a shot of a
police car on fire) were taken from protests
in Toronto and Montreal, in 2010 and 2012,
respectively. It also uses what appears to
be security footage of masked men pulling
guns in convenience stores, which ends in at
least once instance with a visibly Caucasian
man jumping in and beating the hell out of
one of the visibly black assailants. All this
is contrasted with wholesome images of a
tractor in a field, grainy home-video footage
of backyard touch football, and duck hunters
at sundown.
Those responsible for “Try That in a Small
Town” have been accused of holding and
promoting racist views; to be racist requires
convictions, and it’s unlikely that these hacks
have any convictions at all beyond fatten-
ing their back accounts. Aldean is a partner
in a company that sells boutique hunting
gear, in addition to owning three restaurants
and bars. According to Marcus K. Dowl-
ing’s April 20, 2022 profile in the Nashville
Tennesseean, at the Nashville location one
can find “a half-million-dollar John Deere
tractor sitting behind the bar in the middle
of the main floor of his kitchen and rooftop
Continued On Page 17
12 River Cities’ Reader • Vol. 30 No. 1012 • August 2023
Your event listing in print and online has been complimentary since 1993!
Explore the full listings for all these and more events at www.rcreader.com/calendar
VISUAL ARTS
Openings & Gallery Events
Manierre Dawson: Cubist or Civil Engineer, hear from
Dr. Randy J. Ploog as he explores the… Figge Art Museum,
6:30pm Thu Jul 27
Quilting by the River, work on your quilting projects with
other quilters in the… River Valley District Library, 6pm Thu
Jul 27
Thursdays at the Figge, weekly programs featuring artists,
curators, scholars, and community partners to… Figge Art
Museum, 6:30pm Thu Jul 27 thru Thu Aug 31
Bead Swap & Shop, swap your beads for new ones;…
Beadology Iowa, Sat Jul 29 and Sun Jul 30
Stitching & More, every Wed. except the 2nd of the month;
work on… River Valley District Library, 5pm Wed Aug 2 thru
Wed Aug 30
Free Senior Day at the Figge Art Museum, all seniors age
60 and up receive free admission, as… Figge Art Museum,
10am Thu Aug 3
Free Family Day, celebrate the Figge’s birthday with this
event featuring our summer… Figge Art Museum, noon Sun
Aug 6
Quilting by the River, work on your quilting projects with
other quilters in the… River Valley District Library, Wed Aug 9
thru Thu Aug 24
Celebrating Haitian Art, join artist Edouard Duval-Carrie
and Haitian art scholars as they… Figge Art Museum, 6:30pm
Thu Aug 17
Enter the Park Art Show, an event in Alternating Currents
QC… Kaiserslautern Square, Fri Aug 18 thru Sun Aug 20
Enter the Park Art Show, presented by TBK Bank in the
Motor… Downtown Davenport, 10am Fri Aug 18 thru Sun
Aug 20
August Beaux Arts Fair, the 70th year for the fair, with…
Bechtel Plaza, 10am Sat Aug 19 and Sun Aug 20
Art Unleashes: Artificial Intelligence & Creativity, join
artist Bruce Walters as he discusses the exciting and… Figge
Art Museum, 6:30pm Thu Aug 24
Last Chance Exhibition Tour Night, see the popular
summer exhibitions before they leave; tours will… Figge Art
Museum, 5pm Thu Aug 24
Artful Conversations, guests will be invited to look closely
at two works… Figge Art Museum, 1pm Fri Aug 25
Exhibits & Shows
Cactus Exhibit, the cactus exhibit is on display in… Quad
City Botanical Center, thru Sun Jul 30
Bailey, Mars Wunderlich, & White, exhibit of oil painting
and ceramic sculpture by… Quad City Arts Center, thru Fri
Aug 11
Ansel Adams, the Sierra Club, & the Making of a
Landscape Icon, a suite of images by the renowned… Figge
Art Museum, thru Thu Aug 17
Iowa Night Skies: Photographs by Johnny Brian,
the exhibit features a dozen stunning pigment… Figge Art
Museum, thru Sun Aug 27
FREE ASSANGE.
Send your events to Calendar@RCReader.com
EVENTS CALENDAR
Through September 4, 2023
Chateauvert, Johnson, & Krol, exhibit of oil paintings by
Barbara Basia Krol of Galesburg, IL, landscape… Quad City
International Airport Gallery, thru Tue Aug 29
The Life & Art of Charles M. Schulz, the exhibit explores
Schulz’s personal history and… Figge Art Museum, thru Sat
Sep 2
Beyond the Classroom, exhibit of artwork created by
teachers holding… Figge Art Museum, thru Sun Sep 3
Choose Your Own Museum Adventure, interactives give
guests ideas on how to… Figge Art Museum, thru Sun Sep 3
Body Movin: Photography of the Body in Motion,
featuring 20th century photography from the museum…
Figge Art Museum, thru Mon Sep 4
Edouard Duval Carrie: Endless Flight, Duval-Carrié’s
impressive multi-part altarpiece, Endless Flight, contains…
Figge Art Museum, thru Mon Sep 4
Plants of the World: People Behind the Plants, this new,
unique exhibit honors the personal… Quad City Botanical
Center, thru Mon Sep 4
Classes
Oil Painting Saturdays, with instructor David Anderson;
learn to see, draw, and understand… Figge Art Museum,
9:30am Sat Jul 29
Plein Air Painting, Saturdays thru Aug. 26; with instructor
David Anderson; discover the joy of… Figge Art Museum,
2pm Sat Jul 29
Drawing with Dogs, with instructor Emma Hubner;
participants will learn how to draw… Figge Art Museum, 6pm
Mon Jul 31
Clay: Wheel 1 – Pottery Wheel Boot Camp, Tuesdays
thru Aug. 29, with instructor Laura Warner; whether you’re…
Figge Art Museum, 5:30pm Tue Aug 1
Clay: Shape, Form, and Function, Wednesdays thru Aug.
30, with instructor Laura Warner; come make… Figge Art
Museum, 5:30pm Wed Aug 2
Hummingbird String Art w/ High Strung by 3M,
participants will be guided through the process of creating
Barbara Basia Krol's Prairie Puddles @ Quad City Arts Airport Gallery -- through August 29
Know More. Do More.
a… Rock Island Public Library - Watts-Midtown Branch, 6pm
Thu Aug 3
Take Home Workshop: Leaf Stencil Canvas, make this
colorful, fun canvas complete with a leaf stencil… Bettendorf
Public Library, 10am Thu Aug 3
Watercolor: Textures with Tones – Smooth and Rough
Surfaces, Thursdays thru Aug. 24, with instructor Pat
Bereskin; we will… Figge Art Museum, 8:30am Thu Aug 3
Lantern Making Workshop, we’ll have cardboard, other
supplies, and instructional guidance, so drop… Rock Island
Public Library - Downtown Library, 10:30am Sat Aug 5
Lantern Making Workshop, we’ll have cardboard, other
supplies, and instructional guidance, so drop… Rock Island
Public Library - Southwest Branch, 10:30am Sat Aug 5
Lantern Making Workshop, we’ll have cardboard, other
supplies, and instructional guidance, so drop… Rock Island
Public Library - Watts-Midtown Branch, 10:30am Sat Aug 5
Oil Painting Saturdays, with instructor David Anderson;
learn to see, draw, and understand… Figge Art Museum,
9:30am Sat Aug 5 thru Sat Aug 26
DIY Quiet Book: Colors and Shapes, join us in
Makerspace 321 to start creating a Quiet… Davenport Public
Library - Main Branch, 6pm Mon Aug 7
August Southwest Craft: Sunflower Box!, sunflowers
say Autumn to so many, and this is cute… Rock Island Public
Library - Southwest Branch, 6pm Tue Aug 8
Make Your Own Sketchbook, Wednesdays thru Aug.
30, with instructor Annie Peters; students will… Figge Art
Museum, 6pm Wed Aug 9
Drawing 101, with instructor Annie Peters; learn the basics
of drawing in… Figge Art Museum, 6pm Thu Aug 10
Floral Arrangement Class, join Two Chicks and a Flower
Cart and Moline Public… Moline Public Library, 6pm Tue
Aug 15
Watercolor 101, with instructor Pat Bereskin; learn the
basics of drawing in a… Figge Art Museum, 6pm Thu Aug 17
RCReader.com/Calendar.
Creation Studio Workshop: Shrink Plastic Jewelry,
Learn how to make beautiful custom jewelry from shrink
plastic;… Bettendorf Public Library, 6:30pm Mon Aug 21
Creation Studio Tools Training: Cricut Maker, learn how
to use the Library’s Cricut Maker with an… Bettendorf Public
Library, 2pm Wed Aug 23
Acrylic Painting 101, with instructor Brad Bisbey; learn
the basics of acrylic painting… Figge Art Museum, 6pm Thu
Aug 24
DIY Adult: Felt Forest Friends, dults are invited to make
felt forest friends in the… Davenport Public Library - Main
Branch, 4pm Tue Aug 29
Oil Painting 101, with instructor David Anderson; learn the
basics of oil painting… Figge Art Museum, 6pm Thu Aug 31
Watercolor: Still Life, Aug. 31 and Sept. 7, with instructors
Pat Bereskin and… Figge Art Museum, 8:30am Thu Aug 31
Oil Painting Saturdays, with instructor David Anderson;
learn to see, draw, and understand… Figge Art Museum,
9:30am Sat Sep 2
MUSIC
Big Fun, outdoor event in the library’s Summer Concert
Series; attendees are… Bettendorf Public Library, 6:30pm
Thu Jul 27
For Those About to Yacht, an event in the Summer
Concert Series; for information, call 563-355-4116… The Ridge
Social Drinkery, Thu Jul 27
Funktastic 5, an event in the Summer Concert Series; bring
lawn chairs,… Bass Street Landing Plaza, 7pm Thu Jul 27
Joe Pug, concert with the folk singer/songwriter from
Greenbelt, Maryland; $25… Raccoon Motel, 7pm Thu Jul 27
Open Mic Nite w/ Jacob Hemenway, on the 2nd & 4th
Thursdays of the month; play… Zeke’s Island Cafe, 8pm Thu
Jul 27
Class of ’82, bringing the heat to ’80s music; cover fee is
$10… RIBCO, 8pm Fri Jul 28
Eli Wallace - Glurge - Chachka, $10 at the door; for
information, call 309-200-0978… Rozz-Tox, 8pm Fri Jul 28
Fair Warning, an event in the Summer Concert series; for
information, call 563-949-1000… The Tangled Wood, 7pm
Fri Jul 28
Jake Worthington, concert with the traditional country
singer/songwriter and La Porte, Texas native;… Raccoon
Motel, 8pm Fri Jul 28
Live at 5: Byobrass, an event in the Free Summer Concert
Series; with an… Common Chord Courtyard, 5pm Fri Jul 28
Tamborazo De Oro, outdoor concert with food trucks,
vendors, Latin music, and kids’ activities… Mercado on Fifth,
5pm Fri Jul 28
10 of Soul, an event in the Summer Concert series; for
information, call 563-949-1000… The Tangled Wood, 7pm
Sat Jul 29
Conquest Drum & Bugle Corps, a short standstill concert
in the parking lot; these talented… Moline Public Library,
2pm Sat Jul 29
Keep the Reader Alive and Free Since '93.
Flabborgastor, funk musicians in concert; cover fee is $5 at
the… RIBCO, 8pm Sat Jul 29
Semi-Charmed, concert in the Rail Side Music Series; ages
21+ with… Pour Bros. Craft Taproom Moline, 7:30pm Sat Jul
29
Surf’s Up Saturday, live music every Saturday; free; for
information, call 563-326-1333… Zeke’s Island Cafe, 11:30am
Sat Jul 29 thru Sat Sep 2
Pulgita Crooked Cactus, an event in the Summer Concert
Series; no outside coolers,… Runners Park, 5pm Sun Jul 30
Austin Snell - Tyler Farr, a Pre-Fair concert with the country
and rock musicians; free… Mississippi Valley Fairgrounds,
7pm Mon Jul 31
Gray Wolf Band, an event in the 2023 Summer Concerts in
the Park… Moline Township Activity Center, 6:30pm Mon
Jul 31
Sam Hunt, the multi-platinum-selling, award-winning
country superstar headlines the Mississippi Valley Fair’s…
Mississippi Valley Fairgrounds, 8pm Tue Aug 1
The Night People, event in the 67th Annual Starlight Revue
Concert Series; with 5pm… Lincoln Park, 7pm Tue Aug 1
Danielle Nicole Band - BTDT, concert with the touring
blues-rock musicians, featuring an opening set… The
Redstone Room, 8pm Wed Aug 2
Jordan Davis, the multi-platinum-selling country superstar
and current Billboard Award nominee headlines… Mississippi
Valley Fairgrounds, 8pm Wed Aug 2
Logan Springer & the Wonderfully Wild, outdoor event
in the library’s Summer Concert Series; attendees are…
Bettendorf Public Library, 6:30pm Thu Aug 3
Ludacris - Lil John, the multi-platinum-selling rap and hip-
hop artists headline the Mississippi Valley Fair’s… Mississippi
Valley Fairgrounds, 8pm Thu Aug 3
Reggae Night, experience the warm reggae vibes with your
favorite Island food and… Zeke’s Island Cafe, 7pm Thu Aug 3
The Knockoffs, an event in the Summer Concert Series;
bring lawn chairs,… Bass Street Landing Plaza, 7pm Thu
Aug 3
2023 Bix Beiderbecke Memorial Jazz Festival, the 52nd
year of concerts held in celebration of the late jazz great, with
performances by Andy Schumm’s Chicago Cellar Boys, Banu
Gibson & Hot Jazz, Dan Levinson’s Roof Garden Jass Band,
Hal Smith’s New Orleans Night Owls, Josh Duffee’s Graystone
Monarchs, and T.J. Muller’s Arcadia Dance Orchestra; August
3: 6-11pm; August 4: 11:30am-4:15pm, 6-11 pm; August 5:
11:30am-4:15pm, 6-11pm; $35-150; for information, call 563-
324-7120; Rhythm City Casino Resort, 7077 Elmore Avenue,
Davenport IA, RhythmCityCasino.com. Thu Aug 3 thru Sat
Aug 5
Hap Hazard, an event in the Summer Concert series; for
information, call 563-949-1000… The Tangled Wood, 7pm
Fri Aug 4
La Edicion, outdoor concert with food trucks, vendors, Latin
music, and kids’ activities… Mercado on Fifth, 5pm Fri Aug 4
Live at 5: Fair Warning, an event in the Free Summer
Concert Series; with an… Common Chord Courtyard, 5pm
Fri Aug 4
Have the credit
you deserve!
Apply for a DuTrac Platinum Rewards Mastercard today
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For your best rate, apply online at DuTrac.org.
RCReader.com/Support. FREE ASSANGE.
Body Movin: Photography of the Body in Motion @ Figge Art Museum -- through January 14
(Eadweard Muybridge, English 1830-1904, Woman Dancing,
Plate 187 from Animal Locomotion, 1887; photo credit: Wikimedia Commons)
Pat Travers Band - Jerm Theory, concert with the touring
blues-rock musicians, featuring an opening set… The
Redstone Room, 7:30pm Fri Aug 4
Three Days Grace, the chart-topping Canadian rockers
headline the Mississippi Valley Fair’s grandstand concert;…
Mississippi Valley Fairgrounds, 8pm Fri Aug 4
BK Davis’ Audacity Blues Tour, concert with BK Davis’s
Iowa American Blues Band; $15; for… The Redstone Room,
7pm Sat Aug 5
Finesse2tymes, concert with the rapper in support of his
recent release… The Rust Belt, 8pm Sat Aug 5
Limp Bizkit, the Grammy-nominated rappers and rockers
headline the Mississippi Valley Fair’s grandstand… Mississippi
Valley Fairgrounds, 8pm Sat Aug 5
The Generations Band, concert in the Rail Side Music
Series; ages 21+ with… Pour Bros. Craft Taproom Moline,
7:30pm Sat Aug 5
The Mamiltons, an event in the Summer Concert series; for
information, call 563-949-1000… The Tangled Wood, 7pm
Sat Aug 5
Far Out 283, an event in the Summer Concert Series; no
outside coolers,… Runners Park, 5pm Sun Aug 6
Hardy, the chart-topping country-pop musician headlines
the Mississippi Valley Fair’s grandstand concert;… Mississippi
Valley Fairgrounds, 8pm Sun Aug 6
Chepang - Bandit - Decultivate - The Hunting Grounds
- Death Cult - DieFirst, hosted by The Hunting Grounds
DeathCult and Raccoon Motel; an evening of grindcore
from… Raccoon Motel, 7pm Mon Aug 7
Arts Fishing Club, concert with alternative-indie rockers
Christopher Kessenich, Peter Eddins, Jimi Greene, Brian…
Raccoon Motel, 7pm Thu Aug 10
Blues Beatles, concert with the blues band that mixes the
melodies of the Beatles with traditional Blues arrangements,
a mix that has been winning in Brazil, USA, and Europe;
$20; for tickets and information, call 563-328-8000; Rhythm
River Cities’ Reader • Vol. 30 No. 1012 • August 2023
City Casino Resort Rhythm Room, 7077 Elmore Avenue,
Davenport IA, RhythmCityCasino.com.7pm Thu Aug 10
Crooked Cactus, an event in the Summer Concert Series;
bring lawn chairs,… Bass Street Landing Plaza, 7pm Thu Aug
10
Funktastic Five, outdoor event in the library’s Summer
Concert Series; attendees are… Bettendorf Public Library,
6:30pm Thu Aug 10
The Bootleggers in Concert, the theatre’s performing
wait staff star in their very own concert… Circa ’21 Dinner
Playhouse, 7:15pm Thu Aug 10 and Thu Aug 17
Open Mic Nite w/ Jacob Hemenway, on the 2nd & 4th
Thursdays of the month; play… Zeke’s Island Cafe, 8pm Thu
Aug 10 thru Thu Aug 24
Grupo Realidad, outdoor concert with food trucks,
vendors, Latin music, and kids’ activities… Mercado on Fifth,
5pm Fri Aug 11
Live at 5: Far Out 283, an event in the Free Summer Concert
Series; with an… Common Chord Courtyard, 5pm Fri Aug 11
Members Only, an event in the Summer Concert series; for
information, call 563-949-1000… The Tangled Wood, 7pm
Fri Aug 11
One Night of Queen, salute to Freddie Mercury and Queen
performed by Gary Mullen… Vibrant Arena at the MARK,
7:30pm Fri Aug 11
Dynoride, concert in the Rail Side Music Series; ages 21+
with… Pour Bros. Craft Taproom Moline, 7:30pm Sat Aug 12
The Shagadelics, an event in the Summer Concert series;
for information, call 563-949-1000… The Tangled Wood, 7pm
Sat Aug 12
Class of ’82, an event in the Summer Concert Series; no
outside coolers,… Runners Park, 5pm Sun Aug 13
Tesla, concert with the platinum-selling heavy-metal
musicians; $45-85; for tickets, call 563-328-8000; Rhythm City
13
Casino Resort Event Center, 7077 Elmore Avenue, Davenport
IA, RhuthmCity Casino.com, 8pm Sun Aug 13
Matthew Fowler, concert with the touring singer/
songwriter; $12… Raccoon Motel, 7pm Tue Aug 15
Pop Evil - Eva Under Fire, concert with the rock outfit
formed by Leigh Kakaty, featuring… The Rust Belt, 7pm Tue
Aug 15
Andrzej Kozłowski, pianist Andrzej Kozłowski of Rock
Island’s Sound Conservatory, joins us… Rock Island Public
Library - Watts-Midtown Branch, 6pm Thu Aug 17
Dani Lynn Howe, an event in the Summer Concert Series;
for information, call 563-355-4116… The Ridge Social
Drinkery, Thu Aug 17
Feature Artist Nite, free; for information, call 563-326-
1333… Zeke’s Island Cafe, 8pm Thu Aug 17
38 Special, after more than four decades, the band
continues to bring their signature blast of Southern Rock to
more than100 cities a yea; $45-85; for tickets and information,
call 563-328-8000; Rhythm City Casino Resort Event Center,
7077 Elmore Avenue, Davenport IA, RhythmCityResort.com,
8pm Fri Aug 18
Banda La Encantadora for Bob O’s Birthday
Celebration, outdoor concert with food trucks, vendors,
Latin music, and kids’ activities… Mercado on Fifth, 5pm Fri
Aug 18
Live at 5: The Breaker Brothers, an event in the
Free Summer Concert Series; with an… Common Chord
Courtyard, 5pm Fri Aug 18
Matt Fuller Band, an event in the Summer Concert series;
for information, call 563-949-1000… The Tangled Wood, 7pm
Fri Aug 18
Pam Tillis, concert with the country-music singer,
songwriter, record producer, and actress;… Codfish Hollow
Barn, 8pm Fri Aug 18
Casey Donahew, concert with the chart-topping country-
music singer/songwriter; $34.75 & up… The Rust Belt, 8pm
Sat Aug 19
Christina Eltrevoog, concert in the Rail Side Music Series;
ages 21+ with… Pour Bros. Craft Taproom Moline, 7:30pm
Sat Aug 19
Johnny Russler & the Beach Bum Band, an event in the
Summer Concert series; for information, call 563-949-1000…
The Tangled Wood, 7pm Sat Aug 19
Tracy Byrd, concert with the chart-topping county-music
superstar; $30-60; for tickets and information, call 563-328-
8000; Rhythm City Casino Resort Event Center, 7077 Elmore
Avenue, Davenport IA, RhythmCityCasino.com, 8pm Sat
Aug 19
Wild Oatz, an event in the Summer Concert Series; no
outside coolers,… Runners Park, 5pm Sun Aug 20
Songwriters Roundtable, join area songwriters for an
informal exchange of musical ideas… Common Chord, 6pm
Mon Aug 21
Wandering Patriots Harmonica Band, composed of
members from the Quad Cities, the group will… Davenport
Public Library - Fairmount Street Branch, 6:30pm Tue Aug 22
Continued On Page 18
14 River Cities’ Reader • Vol. 30 No. 1012 • August 2023
Movie Reviews
Lost and
Found: Sound
of Freedom
A
five- or six-year delay in a movie’s
release doesn’t generally imply
cinematic quality, and certainly
doesn’t suggest that the work in question
will be any sort of box-office hit. (Critics
may have swooned at Kenneth Lonergan’s
completed-in-2005/screened-in-2011 Mar-
garet, but sadly, no one bought tickets.)
Yet you’d be hard-pressed to argue that
the five-year dormancy period between its
2018 filming and its debut wasn’t perhaps
the best thing to happen to writer/director
Alejandro Monteverde’s Sound of Freedom,
a dramatic thriller about child trafficking
that made in excess of $40 million (off a
$14.5 million budget) during its first week
in theaters. “The movie that Hollywood
didn’t want you to see!”, after all, is an
awfully enticing marketing ploy. It might
also have been an obnoxious one if Monte-
verde’s film weren’t so unexpectedly good.
Here’s the heavily synopsized account
of how Sound of Freedom’s summer-of-’23
premiere came to be. Monteverde com-
pleted filming in 2018 and made a distri-
bution deal with 20th Century Fox. The
studio, however, was then bought by the
Walt Disney Company, which promptly
shelved the movie. (I’ve done zero research
on the potential “why”s behind this deci-
sion, but if you hunt online, I’m betting
you’ll find a theory or two.) The filmmak-
ers consequently spent years attempting
to procure the rights back from Disney,
and after succeeding, brought the film to
the independent Angel Studios, which,
in turn, acquired worldwide distribution
rights. Lacking sufficient funds to properly
advertise the release, Angel initiated a
crowdfunding campaign that raised some
five million for marketing, and also gar-
nered advance endorsements by significant
figures in conservative media. As all of
this likely suggests, with added arguments
regarding reliability and censorship tossed
in for good measure, the long-delayed
arrival of a film that seemingly had no
future was hardly met with disinterest. Do
a Google search on “Sound of Freedom”
and “controversy” and you’ll be reading
for hours – and that’s just in the reading of
FREE ASSANGE.
Jim Caviezel in Sound of Freedom
headlines.
But I am more than happy to leave ques-
tions of “based on a true story” veracity
and QAnon adjacency and liberal bul-
lying to others, because it turns out that
Sound of Freedom is absolutely worth
a look regardless of historical accuracy
and personal politics. Viewing the movie
as a movie, Monteverde and his creative
team have taken inarguably horrific
subject matter and transformed it, with
surprisingly minimal arm-twisting, into
a frequently gripping, moving feature
that only loses its footing when it dives
too deeply into Hollywood-action-flick
formula during the final act. While the
film is hardly entertaining in the tradi-
tional sense – and I wouldn’t want to see
any child-trafficking drama that someone
assured me was “fun” – it’s a deft, engross-
ing take on difficult material, and due to
a magical supporting performance by
character-actor legend Bill Camp, you
might find yourself smiling almost as often
as you wince.
Co-written by Rod Barr, and inspired by
the real-life exploits of former government
agent Tim Ballard, Monteverde’s movie
opens with a spectacular bait-and-switch
that invites us to wonder whether child-
predator hunter Ballard is a secret pedo-
phile. Because he’s played by the film’s star
Jim Caviezel, we know he probably isn’t,
and we’re proven right – Ballard is just
exceptionally adept at convincing actual
pedophiles that he might be one himself.
This specific gift winds up being incred-
ibly useful when Ballard takes it upon
himself to rescue a missing 11-year-old
(Cristal Aparicio’s Rocio) who was taken
from Honduras and forced into sex work,
her seven-year-old brother (Lucás Ávila’s
Know More. Do More.
By Mike Schulz • mike@rcreader.com
Miguel), stolen alongside his sister, having
recently been saved by Ballard. In order to
have any chance of locating Rocio, Ballard
must leave the U.S. and insinuate himself
among child traffickers, disguising himself
as a louche, drunken multi-millionaire
who wants to open a high-end “hotel”
whose residents are all minors. The odds
are astronomical, but Ballard hopes that
one of his repellent new contacts will
recruit Rocio into service.
Up to this point, Sound of Freedom has
been a grim, if effective, drama on the
apparent hopelessness behind the child-
trafficking enterprise. Although Ballard
states that he has helped capture 280 pred-
ators during his tenure with Homeland
Security, he has to admit that all of those
arrests led to the finding of zero abused
children; he’s been battling the symp-
toms but not the disease. So when Ballard
promises little Miguel that he’ll try to
rescue the boy’s sister, you understand the
mission as more than the familiar screen-
writing conceit of “cop making a solemn
vengeful oath” – the man’s obsession with
locating Rocio is about saving her and his
soul. Whether you consider Jim Caviezel
to be Christ-like, a loon, or, as some of us
do, a solid, intensely earnest actor occa-
sionally capable of greatness, his character
and material here play beautifully into his
performance strengths, and the U.S. sec-
tion of Monteverde’s film (along with the
subtly nightmarish Honduran scenes that
precede it) are suitably sincere, affecting,
and harrowing. But surely the movie will
fall utterly apart when it ventures into spy-
thriller terrain, yes?
Amazingly, no, and for this we largely
have Bill Camp to thank. Portraying the
absurdly named Vampiro, a reformed
RCReader.com/Calendar.
accountant for a Colombian drug cartel
now dedicated to protecting children from
sex trafficking, Camp enters the scene
with a loud Hawaiian-print shirt, a stubby
stogie that will almost never leave his
mouth, and, of all things, a joke, telling the
visibly out-of-place Ballard that he needs
to stop dressing like a Banana Republic ad.
Here were are at a movie about imperiled
children and there are laughs in it. Yet
Camp, whose magnificently debauched,
lived-in portrayal is one you can practi-
cally smell, isn’t just around to lighten the
load. Vampiro proves vastly knowledge-
able about finding the unfindable and
securing their trust, and with his arrival,
Sound of Freedom smoothly morphs into
a beat-the-clock thriller with the highest
of stakes. Blessedly, though, the plight of
victimized children is neither sidelined
nor – an even greater relief – employed as a
mere plot device. In a powerfully delivered
monologue, Camp explains Vampiro’s
change of moral compass expressly in
terms of eradicating child endangerment,
and although the film routinely flashes
back (in PG-13 manner) to the horrors
suffered by Rocio and others, these scenes
don’t feel exploitative; you don’t sense
Monteverde wallowing in their ugliness
for even well-intentioned shock value.
While there’s considerable excitement in
the ruse that will hopefully lead to Rocio’s
(and others’) release, the situation itself,
and the young performers who give it
meaning, are handled with dignity.
Unfortunately, after this arresting
segment of the movie runs its course
and leads to what feels like a fitting (if
downbeat) conclusion, it turns out there’s
another half-hour of movie to go, and
it proved a little too Rambo-esque for com-
fort. I also found it odd that, in a pre-end-
credits tag, we learn that Ballard credits
his wife Katherine for initiating the rescue
mission – a strange reveal given that Mira
Sorvino, who plays Ballard’s spouse, is in
only three early scenes with maybe four
lines of dialogue in total. Yet despite that
nitpick and some torturous overacting
from those enlisted to play sweaty, slaver-
ing, giggling predators, Sound of Freedom
is an impassioned, admirably taut explo-
ration into unquestionably important
subject matter whose depiction in films,
barring Hollywood outliers such as Gone
Baby Gone, has been nearly invisible. You
may not “enjoy” Sound of Freedom. That
shouldn’t prevent you from seeing it.
Keep the Reader Alive and Free Since '93.
Da Bomb: Oppenheimer
Cillian Murphy in Oppenheimer
W
alking into Oppenheimer, Chris-
topher Nolan’s three-hour bio-
graphical dramatic thriller on
the primary creator of the atomic bomb, we
know going in that the movie’s centerpiece
is going to be the first test of that weapon of
mass destruction, followed, most likely, by
the dropping of said bombs on Hiroshima
and Nagasaki. That initial test, with all of
its knuckle-whitening intensity, is indeed
accounted for, and ultimately leads to wide-
spread cheers and a Time magazine cover.
The bombings on Japan, however, are only
experienced through a static-filled radio
address. And when J. Robert Oppenheimer
himself is finally allowed to see the demoli-
tion and fatalities his invention led to, via
newsreel footage in a well-populated audito-
rium, Nolan’s camera stays resolutely fixed
on Oppenheimer’s down-turned face as other
witnesses react with aghast horror and gasps.
This dichotomy, I think, is key to under-
standing writer/director Nolan’s modus
operadi in this arresting and sobering film.
He gives us the sights and sounds that we,
as fans of Big Events on-screen and -off,
were hugely looking forward to, then asks
whether we should ever have been looking
forward to them in the first place.
Nolan being Nolan, Oppenheimer is
hardly your standard bio-pic, and with the
addition of random flashbacks and, for
wont of a better term, “dream sequences,”
its narrative is basically composed of three
separate time-line realities. One is a mostly
prototypical biography on its title character
(played by Cillian Murphy with traditional
intensity but more smiles than I antici-
pated), following him from his collegiate
years to his eventual role as “father of the
atom bomb.” Another concerns Oppen-
heimer’s interrogation in a cramped govern-
ment office as a series of antagonistic suits
threaten to take away his national-security
clearance. The third, shot largely in black-
and-white by exemplary cinematographer
Hoyte van Hoytema, involves the cabinet-
post confirmation hearings of Lewis Strauss
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(a thunderously fine Robert Downey Jr.),
whom, we learn, holds an intense grudge
against Oppenheimer. For more than an
hour of Nolan’s movie, you may be won-
dering how these disparate storylines are
possibly going to coalesce over the span of
180 minutes. Fear not. This is the guy who
made Memento happen in under two hours.
As evidenced by the creation of the A-bomb,
miracles are indeed possible.
For my money, and it feels a little goofy
to type this, the least-successful portion of
Nolan’s film is everything that transpires
until Matt Damon – who’s excellent here
– shows up about a half-hour into the
proceedings. Prior to the actor’s arrival
as Lieutenant General Leslie Groves,
who effectively handed control of the
Los Alamos-based Manhattan Project to
Oppenheimer, the excessive exposition was
speedily handled, but maybe too speedily
for those of us not well-versed in theo-
retical physics. It was also frustrating, if
in a compelling way, to glean how Nolan’s
chronological fast-forwards were going to
fit into the design as a whole, and the movie
wasn’t a half-hour old before I correctly
surmised that it wouldn’t leave much room
for its women. (Florence Pugh, whose scenes
could’ve been cut entirely with no noticeable
loss, is stuck playing the lost damaged goods
that Marion Cotillard previously played in
Inception, and Emily Blunt – despite giving
her role as Oppenheimer’s alcoholic wife
more fierceness than it deserves – is all
but wholly sidelined until the film’s last 20
minutes.)
Yet after Damon’s profoundly humor-
less Groves enters and offers Oppenheimer
(whom the Army man does not like) the
morally questionable opportunity of a life-
time, nearly everything about Oppenheimer
improves, and dramatically. Perhaps taking
a cue from Groves’ no-nonsense demeanor,
the film appears to take greater pains toward
ensuring that the non-theoretical-physicists
among us know and, more fundamentally,
understand the complexities involved in
River Cities’ Reader • Vol. 30 No. 1012 • August 2023
this potentially life-ending creation, and
understand the weight consequently carried
by Oppenheimer, whose initial visions of
seismic cataclysm now have the chance of
proving prophetic. And because Memento et
al have trained us to be patient with Nolan’s
gradual unspooling of information, it also
makes sense that the increased intensity of
the main narrative would have side effects
on its detours. I’m not 100-percent confi-
dent about why van Hoytema’s palette shifts
from black-and-white to color when it does.
But I’m reasonably sure it has something to
due with (full-color) knowledge being the
antithesis of (black-and-white) presump-
tion, and with almost a full hour of movie
to go after that A-bomb test, it’s not just the
screen that shifts between knowledge and
presumption – our attitudes about what
this new technology means, and certainly
Oppenhimer’s, do, too.
It would be easy to describe Nolan’s latest
as three hours of esoteric fun if, despite
its intellectual and even tragic leanings,
it weren’t also fun in so many other ways.
Although, in the manner of so many Nolan
offerings over the last decade-and-a-half,
the sound quality is still strangely muddled
(no other English-language director’s
movies are so keenly needing of subtitles),
it’s less problematic than of late, and the
beautifully quiet – and then really loud –
Los Alamos bomb test makes up for a lot of
prior offenses. As edited by that chronology
ace Jennifer Lame (who performed wonders
on Richard Linkalter’s Boyhood, the shifts
Toy de Force: Barbie
M
aybe the highest praise I can offer Greta
Gerwig’s Barbie – and despite a few
missteps, the writer/director’s latest is
worthy of massive praise – is that whatever you
think the movie is going to be, it isn’t going to
be that.
I mean, if you’ve seen the trailers, it’ll be that
at least a little. You will indeed be immersed in
a live-action Barbieland in which the unofficial
ruler – a doll-woman who appears to rank just
above Issa Rae’s president as the most influen-
tial non-human in the realm – is the proudly
self-proclaimed Stereotypical Barbie played by
Margot Robbie. Ryan Gosling is her adoring
afterthought Ken, and he’s surrounded by mul-
tiple Kens, none more personally vexing than
the one portrayed by the equally ripped hottie
Simu Liu. Thoughts of mortality do indeed enter
Stereotypical Barbie’s mind, leading to cold
showers (sans water), feet no longer engineered
to fit high heels, and a visit to the home of Weird
Barbie (Kate McKinnon, perfection). While
there, our fleshy plastic heroine is given the bad
news: Someone in the Real World is obviously
playing with Robbie’s Barbie to the blond ideal’s
detriment, and she has to confront that toy
owner – in the “real world” of Los Angeles, no
less – if she has any chance of her ultra-pink,
happy-go-lucky life reverting to normal.
When some of us first heard that indie
15
between past and present and future-present
are accomplished with magnificent care,
and build, in the film’s last hour, toward
making those cabinet hearings and back-
room interrogations just not comprehen-
sible, but dramatically essential.
And good God but the cast in this thing.
I felt mild twinges of guilt when it took me
longer than I would have wanted to recog-
nize David Krumholtz (heavier now but as
marvelous as ever), Jason Clarke, and James
Remar. But Nolan’s latest also treats us to
first-rate work, sometimes for only a scene
or two, by Josh Hartnett, Kenneth Branagh
(as Niels Bohr), Bennie Safdie, David Dast-
malchian, Tom Conti (as Albert Einstein),
Rami Malek, Olivia Thirlby, Dane DeHaan,
Alden Ehrenreich, Tony Goldwyn, Alex
Wolff, and an uncredited Gary Oldman,
whose cameo as Harry Truman was thrill-
ing even before he ushered Oppenheimer
out of the Oval Office and called him a
“crybaby.” This is like the guest list in Oliver
Stone’s JFK. But, with apologies to Cost-
ner, this is JFK with an astounding central
performance, Murphy’s blend of hubristic
ego and all-consuming guilt a complete,
real-world match for the Prometheus icon
he both vainly and detrimentally consid-
ers himself. As Nolan’s deeply thoughtful,
humane, exhilarating Oppenheimer reminds
us, the man’s invention may have ended a
war, but it led to the eradication of hundreds
of thousand of souls – our protagonist’s
among them.
stalwart Gerwig, whose only two previous
features as a solo director were 2017’s incandes-
cent Lady Bird and 2019’s brilliant re-imagining
of Little Women, it was hard to know what to
think. Scratch that: It was easy to know what
to think. We were appalled. “Why the eff is
Greta Gerwig, of all people, selling her soul
to Mattel?!” Even those of us who suspected
that she and her co-screenwriter partner Noah
Baumbach likely had a trick or two up their
sleeves couldn’t help but be bummed by the idea
of Gerwig serving as a vehicle to sell more dolls
and doll accessories, and while the previews
were amusing as all-get-out, they didn’t suggest
much in the way of legitimate invention. Amidst
the casting perfection of Robbie and Gosling
and the production perfection of its scenic
design (by Sarah Greenwood) and costumes
(by Jacqueline Durran), this Barbie, much as
I was looking forward to it, still suggested a
moderately high-minded take on 1995’s The
Brady Bunch Movie, and felt like a significant
downturn for Gerwig. And I really like The
Brady Bunch Movie.
To those of you similarly bewildered by
Gerwig’s participation and entertained but not
necessarily swayed by the zippy trailers, rest
assured: This is in every inch a Greta Gerwig
Continued On Page 16
16 River Cities’ Reader • Vol. 30 No. 1012 • August 2023
Barbie - Continued from page 15
movie. She’s certainly venturing beyond her
established comfort zone, and my favorite nine-
year-old who attended Saturday’s screening
with me (along with her parents) giggled inces-
santly at things we weren’t prone to expect from
Barbie’s director: cars comically flipping upside
down; a beachfront battle that my adult-male
pal correctly presumed was a spoof of Brad Pitt’s
swords-and-sandals epic Troy; a plastic dog that
poops plastic turds. (Blame that one on Mattel.)
My young friend, however, seemed unusually
fidgety during much of the rest of Barbie. That
felt fitting.
On its surface, Gerwig’s movie may seem
innocuous. But I also left with the sense that,
given the thematic weight of its next-to-last
sequence and many that land before, this
unexpectedly trenchant, deeply feminist film
could become a generational touchstone – one
that inherently changes in meaning and effect,
and one whose jokes become more pointed, if
you see the movie at age nine, and then again as
a tween, and then as a young adult, and then as
a parent, and then as a grandparent. Make no
mistake: Gerwig is serving a capitalist interest
here, even if she does finagle some giggles at
Mattel’s expense. (While product placement is
expectedly rampant, and sometimes annoy-
ingly so, one of the more hilarious script/sight
gags in this PG-13 comedy finds the Mattel logo
discreetly placed over Issa Rae’s mouth right as
she’s saying “motherf---er.”) But Gerwig is using
capitalism, and with it big-budget Hollywood
financing, to make necessary statements about
corporate greed without equivalent corporate
interest, and deep-rooted patriarchy in the
guise of PC-friendly “wokeness.” That she’s able
to do this while delivering ginormous laughs
and making you cry – and delivering full-scale
musical numbers besides – constitutes some-
thing of a miracle.
With Helen Mirren providing narration (and
eliciting perhaps the film’s biggest laugh with
a snarky comment about the casting of star/
producer Robbie), the Barbieland sequences are
consistently magical, overflowing with so many
giddy reference points and objects of deserving
satire – among them a number of wisely dis-
continued Mattel items – that a second viewing
feels immediately essential. It’s when the nar-
rative shifts to L.A. that some of the fun begins
Ryan Gosling and Margot Robbie in Barbie
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to drain out of the film. Casting Will Ferrell
as the incensed CEO of Mattel is one of those
ideas that may have looked smart on paper. In
Now playing on
practice, though, he’s too predictable a comic
buffoon, and his squadron of all-male Mattel
henchmen aren’t granted any individual per-
sonality; you register the jokes they’re involved
in, but awareness doesn’t make any of their rou-
tines funnier. Gerwig’s natural comic instincts
also seem to momentarily fail her when Ken,
embracing real-world patriarchy, tosses various SCHULZ’S REVIEWS OF THE LATEST MOVIES ON VOD
Barbie outfits out of her Dream House – a bit
that seems, for the first and only time in the
movie, solely designed to sell accessories, and
ASTEROID CITY
that momentarily kills the high tragicomedy
This visually staggering,
Robbie and Gosling otherwise pull off.
sublimely written and acted
Good Lord, though, do these stars ever pull it
comedy is oftentimes a riot, yet
off. Robbie succeeds at the theoretically impos-
for all of its ephemeral treats,
sible, crafting a flesh-and-blood plastic figure
Wes Anderson's achievement,
whose wide-eyed ingenuousness gradually,
like all of his finest ones, is a
unmistakably morphs into human conscious-
deceptively rich offering that
ness – and she’s unfailingly riotous and heart-
you'll linger on for days after,
tugging, to boot. Actors have won Academy
and for potential weeks
Awards for far less than what Robbie gives us
and years ahead
here. And Gosling doesn’t deserve an Oscar
(though he might actually get one) so much as BEAU IS AFRAID
a statue in his monument, delivering a pitch- I was simply, joyously
perfect rendition of every handsome, dumb, flabbergasted by the breadth
fragile straight dude you’ve ever met who knows and scope of Ari Aster's
the lyrics to every Matchbox Twenty song ever achievement, as well as the
written and would happily spend four hours, as writer/director's increasing
he does here, playing guitar at you. ability, previously demonstrated
Because Barbie just opened and deserves to in his superb horror films
be experienced with the same sort of delighted Hereditary and Midsommar, to
surprise I felt, I’m avoiding going into detail on successfully blend the hilarious
a number of potential Spoilers (and who woulda and the nightmarish.
thunk a Barbie flick would ever have Spoilers?):
the role played by the sublimely warm and THE BLACKENING
precise America Ferrara; the soundtrack and I laughed harder at this parody
of cabin-in-the-woods thrillers
film-clip callbacks ranging from the BoDeans
than I have at more than 90
to Grease to Colin Firth in 1995’s BBC Pride
percent of everything else I've
& Prejudice; the ‘90s-choreo dance numbers;
thus-far seen in 2023, and the
Rhea Perlman as Barbie inventor Ruth Handler; winning ensemble cast is com-
Michael Cera as the discontinued Allan. (A pany I'd have enjoyably kept
doll that, with Cera’s exact countenance, Mattel for far longer than the film's
should re-develop immediately.) Suffice it to say 97-minute running length.
that, at Barbie, I laughed harder than I expected,
I cried more than I wanted to, and I cannot wait
to see this weird, wonderful, surreptitiously
moving movie again. One time just wasn’t
Kenough.
Enjoy over 1,000 free movies
and shows every month.
Plus tons of pay-per-view options.
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Reviews are from previously published reviews in the River Cities’ Reader.
Keep the Reader Alive and Free Since '93.
Jason Aldean - Continued from page 11
bar establishment [a reference to his biggest
hit, 2009’s “Big Green Tractor.”].” This is to
say nothing of his overhead for stagewear.
Irish bluesman Rory Gallagher’s sweat was so
acidic that it ate the paint off his Stratocaster;
unconfirmed rumors claim that Aldean’s
catering-table meat sweats, combined with
a noxious miasma of Ed Hardy cologne,
can eat through three or four leather jackets
a month while he’s on tour. These things
require a lot of money to support.
Others have accused Aldean and company
of promoting lynching, due to the violent his-
tory of the Maury County courthouse, where
most of the video was filmed. Located in
Columbia, Tennessee, not far from Nashville,
the courthouse was the sight of the shoot-
ing of a black man in 1924 and a lynching in
1927. Given the laziness with which director
Shaun Silva chose his stock footage for the
video (as Rolling Stone discovered, at least
one of the Montreal riot clips can be rented
for $70 from an easily accessible online video
library), it’s likely that he’s indifferent to or
totally ignorant of the history of the site, and
probably chose the spot due to its proximity
to Nashville (46 miles south). The“small-
town” setting (Columbia was just shy of
42,000 people at the last census) is probably
the only “authentic” thing about the song or
video. As for Aldean, writer Betsy Phillips
of the Nashville Scene, speaking with NPR’s
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AUGUST 17-20, 2023
DOWNTOWN QUAD CITIES
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Amanda Marie Martinez, shared this chest-
nut from a past interview: “I haven’t read a
book since high school.”
As the music of the “common people,” it’s
normal for country music to express conser-
vative views. Merle Haggard’s 1969 warning
that the anti-Vietnam crowd was “Walkin’
on the Fightin’ Side of Me” was an organic
expression of working-class Okie sensibili-
ties (and also, hilariously, uses the phrase
“some squirrely guy” as an insult). Aldean is
hollowly twanging tired clichés warmed over
by no fewer than four “songwriters”: Neil
Thrasher, composer of a number of incon-
sequential songs for Kenny Chesney, Rascal
Flatts, Reba McEntire and others; Kelley
Lovelace (primarily known for work with
Brad Paisley); and the relative unknowns
Tully Kennedy and Kurt Allison. Lovelace’s
involvement with Paisley is notable given the
singer’s (or at least his publicist’s) participa-
tion in the Blackout Tuesday protest on June
2, 2020, joining many other entertainers,
public figures, and common Internet users
switching his Twitter icon to a black back-
ground and posting a pro-Black Lives Matter
tweet.
Mainstream country has never cared for
risk-taking or change, due to both its conser-
vative ethos and its rigid corporate structure.
Given that musical or political statements
don’t just come up on their own, at least
not on the major labels; nothing’s getting
released until it’s passed through marketing.
To put “Try That in a Small Town” in context,
ALTERNATINGCURRENTSQC.COM
FIND YOUR COOL.
River Cities’ Reader • Vol. 30 No. 1012 • August 2023
it’s worth looking at the corporate structure
that spawned it.
Jason Aldean is the highest-profile singer
currently signed to BBR Music Group.
Founded in 1999 as Broken Bow Records,
BBR and its subsidiary labels were bought
out in 2017 by German behemoth BMG, one
of the largest music publishers in the world.
BMG is reliant on Warner Music Group
(WMG) for the bulk of its worldwide distri-
bution. Since 2011, WMG has been owned by
Access Industries, a multinational owned by
billionaire investor Len Blavatnik, with an
86.3 percent equity stake in the company.
Blavatnik’s $33.4 billion fortune puts him
at number 42 in the ranking of the world’s
richest people according to a “real-time”
estimate by Forbes. Through Access, the
Ukrainian-born Blavatnik snapped up oil
and aluminum manufacturers as well as
other resources in the former Soviet Union
after the collapse of the Soviet regime.
Blavatnik’s connections with Russian
oligarchs (through his close decades-long
friendship and business dealings with
Kremlin ally Viktor Vekselberg) and his
“friendship” with authoritarian Israeli leader
Benjamin Netanyahu (detailed by Israeli
news outlet Haaretz in the midst of 2017
corruption allegations against Netanyahu)
are interesting but not entirely relevant to
this article. What is relevant is Blavatnik’s
status as a major Republican donor. Accord-
ing to a 2019 article by Dan Friedman of
Mother Jones: “Blavatnik, long a prolific
17
donor to both Democrats and Republicans,
veered sharply toward the GOP in 2016 and
2017, giving $3.5 million to a super PAC tied
to Senate Majority Leader Mitch McCon-
nell, among others. Through his holding
company, Access Industries, Blavatnik also
gave $1 million to President Donald Trump’s
Inaugural Committee.” Blavatnik has
also contributed to Trump’s defense fund,
attracting the attention of prosecutor Robert
Mueller.
I am not suggesting that Len Blavatnik
takes a personal interest in the “country”
music he distributes (he strikes me as more
of a Steely Dan guy). It’d be easy to say that
promoting inflammatory music such as
Aldean’s is an attempt to fuel the out-of-con-
trol fires of political discord; ultimately, I am
not qualified to make a definitive statement
on the matter. It probably just comes down
to the huge amount of money to be made
off of the people who not only enjoy main-
stream country music, but also feel (however
wrongly) that their lifestyle is under attack.
When an unusually aggressive bit of polemic
becomes a major hit for a company held in
thrall by its business connections to a bil-
lionaire Republican donor, further research
is merited.
Bob Dylan’s words are as relevant now
as they were 60 years ago, in ways that were
never intended. Regarding Aldean, his
minions, and this entire controversy: “... it
ain’t him to blame / He’s only a pawn in their
game.”
PRESENTING SPONSORS
MUSIC PARTNER
ART PARTNER
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 18 River Cities’ Reader • Vol. 30 No. 1012 • August 2023
CONTINUED
Music
Dirt Road Rockers, an event in the Summer Concert
Series; for information, call 563-355-4116… The Ridge Social
Drinkery, Thu Aug 24
Kara Grainger, the Mississippi Valley Blues Society presents
an event in the… Schwiebert Riverfront Park, 7pm Thu Aug
24
Travis Tritt, concert with the multi-platinum-selling
country-music superstar; $45-82; for tickets, call… Adler
Theatre, 7:30pm Thu Aug 24
Live at 5: Rude Punch, an event in the Free Summer
Concert Series; with an… Common Chord Courtyard, 5pm
Fri Aug 25
Mo.Live!, outdoor concert with food trucks, vendors, Latin
music, and kids’ activities… Mercado on Fifth, 5pm Fri Aug
25
The Velies, an event in the Summer Concert series; for
information, call 563-949-1000… The Tangled Wood, 7pm
Fri Aug 25
Clarlotte Blu - Leah Leah, concert in the Rail Side Music
Series; ages 21+ with… Pour Bros. Craft Taproom Moline,
7:30pm Sat Aug 26
For Those About to Yacht, an event in the Summer
Concert series; for information, call 563-949-1000… The
Tangled Wood, 7pm Sat Aug 26
Hand in Hand Music Fest: Wicked Liz & the Bellyswirls
- Danger Zone - Dani Lynn Howe Band - Moonshine
Run (4pm), a concert to empower children and adults of all
ages;… Isle Casino Hotel Bettendorf, 4pm Sat Aug 26
Quad Cities Ukulele Club, an event in the Find Your Voice
Cultural Series; classic… Davenport Public Library - Eastern
Avenue Branch, 3pm Sat Aug 26
The Nude Party, concert with the six-piece band from
North Carolina consisting of… Codfish Hollow Barn, 8pm Sat
Aug 26
FREE ASSANGE.
The Nude Party @ Codfish Hollow Barn -- August 25
Praise in the Park, a free concert promoting Christian unity
and family fun; churches… Veterans Memorial Park, 4pm Sun
Aug 27
Travis Reid Band, an event in the Summer Concert Series;
no outside coolers,… Runners Park, 5pm Sun Aug 27
Class of ’82, an event in the Summer Concert Series; for
information, call 563-355-4116… The Ridge Social Drinkery,
Thu Aug 31
Jane Leo, concert with the New Wave outfit composed of
Jane Ellen Bryant… Raccoon Motel, 7pm Thu Aug 31
Darsombra - The House Flies, concert with the trans-
apocalyptic galaxy rock duo from Baltimore, Maryland,…
Village Theatre, 8pm Fri Sep 1
Jelly Smack, an event in the Summer Concert series; for
information, call 563-949-1000… The Tangled Wood, 7pm
Fri Sep 1
Know More. Do More.
Live at 5: Matt Fuller Band, an event in the Free Summer
Concert Series; with an… Common Chord Courtyard, 5pm
Fri Sep 1
Nuevo Estillo, outdoor concert with food trucks, vendors,
Latin music, and kids’ activities… Mercado on Fifth, 5pm Fri
Sep 1
The Oak Ridge Boys, the legendary, multi-platinum-
selling, Grammy-winning country artists perform in their
“Front Porch Singin’ Tour”; $35-65; for tickets and information,
call 563-328-8000; Rhythm City Casino Resort Event Center,
7077 Elmore Avenue, Davenport IA, RhythmCityCasino.com,
8pm Fri Sep 1
Tropidelic - Rude Punch, concert with the funk, reggae,
and hip-hop six-piece band from… The Redstone Room, 8pm
Fri Sep 1
Americana Melodies: 1860s, actor/singer Dan Haughey
presents a special patriotic music program featuring songs…
Dead Poet’s Espresso, 10am Sat Sep 2
RCReader.com/Calendar.
The Jason & John Experience, concert in the Rail Side
Music Series; ages 21+ with… Pour Bros. Craft Taproom
Moline, 7:30pm Sat Sep 2
The King of Mars, an event in the Summer Concert series;
for information, call 563-949-1000… The Tangled Wood, 7pm
Sat Sep 2
BoDeans - Marques Morel - Diane Patterson, concert
with the roots rock and heartland rock musicians, featuring…
Codfish Hollow Barn, 8pm Sat Sep 2
Finger Eleven - 10 Years, concert with the alternative-
metal and modern-rock musicians; $29.99 & up… The Rust
Belt, 7pm Sun Sep 3
Threat Level Midnight – Hartwood, an event in the
Summer Concert series; for information, call 563-949-1000…
The Tangled Wood, 6pm Sun Sep 3
LITERARY ARTS
Dear Edward, a discussion of Ann Napolitano’s book with
the Pageturners discussion… Moline Public Library, 1pm Tue
Aug 1
Become a Published Author: Workshop Series, on
Tuesdays; during this eight-week workshop series, we will
be… River Valley District Library, 4pm Tue Aug 1
Heartstopper, a discussion of Alice Oseman’s book with the
See YA… Davenport Public Library - Eastern Avenue Branch,
6:30pm Wed Aug 2
Adult Book Club, join us for books, snacks, and
conversation on the first… LeClaire Community Library,
6:30pm Mon Aug 7
The Nest Book Club: Infant, we’ll not only take part
in a storytime and activity,… Davenport Public Library -
Fairmount Street Branch, 10am Mon Aug 7
Toastmasters Humorous Story Contest: Workshop,
learn how to make your funniest five-minute tale shine
with… Davenport Public Library - Main Branch, 6pm Mon
Aug 7
Keep the Reader Alive and Free Since '93.
Division Street: America, a discussion of Studs Terkel’s
book with the Get Lit… Bettendorf Public Library, 7pm Tue
Aug 8
Good Eggs, a discussion of Rebecca Hardiman’s book with
the West End… Davenport Public Library - Fairmount Street
Branch, 6:30pm Tue Aug 8
Klara & the Sun, a discussion of Kazuo Ishiguro’s book
with the Between The… Davenport Public Library - Eastern
Avenue Branch, 6:30pm Wed Aug 9
Cathedral, discussion of Raymond Carver’s short story with
the Shorts &… Davenport Public Library - Fairmount Street
Branch, 10am Mon Aug 14
The Nest Book Club: Toddler, we’ll not only take part
in a storytime and activity,… Davenport Public Library -
Fairmount Street Branch, 10am Mon Aug 14
Hamnet: A Novel of the Plague, a discussion of Maggie
O’Farrell’s book with the Midtown Readers… Rock Island
Public Library - Watts-Midtown Branch, 6:30pm Tue Aug 15
Yellow Bird, a discussion of Sierra Crane Murdoch’s book
with the Book… Moline Public Library, 1pm Tue Aug 15
RCReader.com/Support. FREE ASSANGE.
Escape to Margaritaville, musical comedy inspired by
the songs of Jimmy Buffett, directed… Circa ’21 Dinner
Playhouse, Fri Jul 28 thru Sun Sep 3
The Wasps, Genesius Guild’s outdoor production of
Aristophanes classic Greek comedy, directed… Lincoln Park,
7pm Sat Jul 29 thru Sun Jul 30
Much Ado About Nothing, the Prenzie Players’
rescheduled performances of William Shakespeare’s
romantic-comedy classic,… Village Theatre, Thu Aug 3 thru
Sun Aug 6
Bright Star, Tony-nominated musical of love and
redemption set in the 1920s… Timber Lake Playhouse, Thu
Aug 3 thru Sun Aug 13
Murder for Two, musical whodunit in which two actors play
numerous characters, sing,… Clinton Area Showboat Theatre,
Thu Aug 3 thru Sun Aug 13
Pippin, Bob Fosse’s Tony-winning musical comedy, directed
by Christina Myatt; Thu.-Sat. 7:30pm, Sun. 2pm; $15-20; for
tickets and information, call 309-762-6610; Quad City Music
Guild - Prospect Park Auditorium, 1584 34th Avenue, Moline
IL, QCMusicGuild.com, Fri Aug 4 thru Sun Aug 13
River Cities’ Reader • Vol. 30 No. 1012 • August 2023
Sudden Theatre, performances of short one-acts created in
less than a day… Village Theatre, 6pm Sat Aug 26
“Jacques”alope, deep in the American southwest lurks a
terrifying antlered rabbit… The Black Box Theatre, 7:34pm
Sat Aug 26 thru Sun Aug 27
Auditions & Camps
Circa ’21 Summer Intensive Camp: Ages 13-18, thru
Aug. 5; with instructors Bobby and Ashley Becher and
special… The Circa ’21 Speakeasy, noon Mon Jul 31
Disney Musical Theatre Camp: Grades K-3, thru Aug. 4;
each day of our K-3rd Disney camp… The Spotlight Theatre,
9:30am Mon Jul 31
Auditions: Skeleton Crew, seeking two POC females and
two POC males for Dominique Morisseau’s… Playcrafters
Barn Theatre, Sat Aug 5 thru Sun Aug 6
Auditions: A Christmas Carol, Sat. 10am & Sun. noon
auditions for the musical adaptation of Dickens' holiday
classic ... The Spotlight Theatre, Sat Aug 19 and Sun Aug 20
19
classes in Ballet Pointe, Modern, Jazz, Tap, Conditioning,
Creative Movement, and Adult Ballet, for ages 3 to adult; all
classes taught by the company’s professional dancers; for
information and to register, call 309-786-2677; Ballet Quad
Cities, 1611 Fifth Ave., Rock Island IL, BalletQuadCities.com,
thru Mon Sep 2
Ballet Quad Cities’ Ballet on the Lawn, at 3 & 6pm;
this performance features new choreography, guest
choreographers, lively music, plus all your favorite new and
returning BQC dancers; beverages and charcuterie picnic
boxes are available for purchase; don稚 forget your lawn chairs
and blankets; $15-30; for information, call 309-786-3779;
Davenport Outing Club, 2109 N. Brady Street, Davenport IA,
BalletQuadCities.com, Sun Aug 27
Children’s Day at the Ballet: Giraffes Can’t Dance, join
Ballet Quad Cities on the lawn; interact with the professional
dancers of BQC and enjoy face painting, treats, storytelling
and more followed by a 30-minute performance of 敵iraffes
Can稚 Dance designed especially for children; $10-20; for
information, call 309-786-3779; Davenport Outing Club, 2109
N. Brady Street, Davenport IA, BalletQuadCities.com, 11am
Sun Aug 27
Ballroom Dance w/ Lesson, hosted by USA Dance on the
third Friday of every… CASI (Center for Active Seniors), 7pm

DANCE
The Red Palace, a discussion of June Hur’s book with the Puffs, adventure comedy about other students at a certain Fri Aug 18
Novel Naptime… Moline Public Library, 9:30am Wed Aug 16 school for… The Spotlight Theatre, Fri Aug 4 thru Sun Aug
13
Today’s Children, a discussion of Sholem Aleichem’s book Ballet Quad Cities School of Dance Classes, offering
with the Contemporary Books… Bettendorf Public Library, Circa ’21 Summer Continued On Page 20
6:30pm Wed Aug 16 Intensive Camp
Showcase, final
Destiny of the Republic: A Tale of Madness, Medicine, showcase for students
& the Murder of a President, discussion of Candice Millard’s who received valuable
book with the Overbooked Book Club; free; for… Davenport experience working
Public Library - Fairmount Street Branch, 6:30pm Thu Aug 17 one-on-one… The Circa
’21 Speakeasy, 1:30pm
Writing Your Personal Story, in this workshop with Sat Aug 5
teaching artist Delia Rainey, explore possibilities… Davenport
Public Library - Fairmount Street Branch, 6pm Mon Aug 14 Willy Wonka Jr.,
one-act version of
Toastmasters Humorous Story Contest: Competition, Roald Dahl’s storybook
learn how to make your funniest 5-minute tale shine with… adaptation, directed
Davenport Public Library - Eastern Avenue Branch, 2pm Sat by Richard… Ohnward
Aug 19 Fine Arts Center, Sat
Aug 5 thru Sun Aug 6
The Nest Book Club: Preschool, we’ll not only take part
in a storytime and activity,… Davenport Public Library - Pig Tales, a Magic
Fairmount Street Branch, 10am Mon Aug 21 Owl Children’s Theatre
production; with catchy
Make the Connection: A DEI Book Club, book club music and… Timber
boasting literature that will spark engaging, insightful and… Lake Playhouse, 2pm
Davenport Public Library - Main Branch, 6:30pm Tue Aug 22 Tue Aug 8 thru Sat
Aug 12
Seed Underground: A Growing Revolution to Save
Food, a discussion of Janisse Ray’s book with the 2023 Jenny Lind: The Real
Environmental Book… River Action, 7pm Tue Aug 22 P.T. Barnum, created
by and starring Shelley
This Chair Rocks, a discussion of Ashton Applewhite’s Cooper; this one-
book with the Brown Bag Book… Davenport Public Library - woman opera show,
Eastern Avenue Branch, 1pm Wed Aug 23 fact checks… The Black
Box Theatre, Fri Aug 11
Late Summer Weekend Writing Retreat, led by Jodie thru Sun Aug 13
Toohey; you need two full days to… Our Lady of the Prairie
Retreat, 3pm Fri Aug 25 Big Rock Candy
Mountain, a merry
Quad Cities Beer: A History, meet authors Michael band of misfits sneak
McCarty and Kristin DeMarr to welcome them… Rock Island into a theatre hoping…
Public Library - Watts-Midtown Branch, 1pm Sat Aug 26 The Black Box Theatre,
Thu Aug 17 thru Sun
Adult Book Club, join us for books, snacks, and Aug 20
conversation on the first… LeClaire Community Library,
6:30pm Mon Sep 4 Jersey Boys, Tony-
winning musical revue
about the origins

THEATRE of Frankie Valli &…

Timber Lake Playhouse,

Performances
Thu Aug 17 thru Sun
Aug 27

Little Women, Louisa May Alcott’s family-drama classic Over the River &
adapted by Marisha Chamberlain; Fri.… Playcrafters Barn Through the Woods,
Theatre, Fri Jul 28 thru Sun Jul 30 dysfunctional-family
comedy by Joe DiPietro,
9 to 5: The Musical, Tony-nominated workplace musical directed by Jennifer
based on the hit film comedy; scheduled… Timber Lake Kingry; Thu.-Sat.…
Playhouse, thru Sun Jul 30 Richmond Hill Barn
Theatre, Thu Aug 17
The SpongeBob Musical, Tony-winning musical comedy thru Sun Aug 27
adapted from TV’s “SpongeBob SquarePants”; Thu.-Sat.
7:30pm,… Clinton Area Showboat Theatre, thru Sun Jul 30 Circle Mirror www.RiverBandits.com
Transformation,
Into the Woods, Countryside Community Theatre presents community-center 563-324-3000
Stephen Sondheim’s Tony-winning storybook musical, drama by Annie
directed… North Scott High School Fine Arts Auditorium, Fri Baker, directed by QCRiverBandits
Jul 28 thru Sun Aug 6 Jesslyn Cohen; Fri.…
Playcrafters Barn
Theatre, Fri Aug 18
thru Sun Aug 27
20 River Cities’ Reader • Vol. 30 No. 1012 • August 2023
EVENTS
River Action’s Channel Cat Talks
and Riverine Walks
Channel Cat Talks: Tuesday, August 1, through Thursday, August 31
Riverbend Commons Dock, 2951 East River Drive, Moline IL
Riverine Walks: Wednesday, August 2,
through Saturday September 2
Various Quad Cities Locations
D
elivering a blend of local history, envi-
ronmental issues, education, entertain-
ment, and fresh air, Davenport’s River
Action will again present a series of outdoor
presentations in the third and final collection
of the annual Channel Cat Talks and Riverine
Walks: weekly programs that, from August 1
through September 2, will address such topics
as plastic pollution, commercial fishing, Nahant
Marsh, and the “creepiness” of the Quad Cities.
Channel Cat Talk participants tour the
Mississippi River aboard the Channel Cat
Water Taxi, with boarding taking place at
Moline’s Riverbend Commons Dock. Experts
will provide narration on the themed sur-
roundings, with the Channel Cat Talks for
August including: “River Landscape Mosaic”
(August 1 and 3), in which Dr. Reuben Heine
and Dr. Norm Moline discuss why the river
flows east to-west here, what river processes
are, and how humans have changed them;
“U.S. Coast Guard of the Mississippi River”
(August 8 and 10), with Evan Bledsoe of the
U.S. Coast Guard explaining how the guard
patrols the inland waterways and rivers in the
U.S., including the Mississippi River, and how
its inspections and investigations help ensure
the safety of everyone using the river; “Plastic
Pollution on the Mighty Mississippi” (August
15 and 17), featuring information, delivered
by Lori McCollum, PACG-EF, on how we can
help keep the QC waters clear of plastic waste;
“Lock and Dam 15 Improvements” (August
22 and 24), a locked-through voyage with civil
engineer Anthony Huddlesten discussing why
Lock & Dam 15, the first lock constructed for
the 9-foot channel system in the 193’0s, was
built; and “Commercial Fishing” (August
29 and 31), in which Mike Schafer of Schafer
Fisheries explains how he makes a living on the
Mississippi River, with a fresh-caught snack
FREE ASSANGE.
provided after the tour.
Riverine Walk participants explore the
Quad Cities through a series of guided strolls
through various area locales, with the August
and September Riverine Walks series fea-
turing: “Future Project Under the new I-74
Bridge” (August 2 and 5), with Jason Manfull
of Bettendorf Public Works explaining the
urban park being built under the new I-74
Bridge and how it will connect and beautify
the downtown area; “Mercado on 5th” (August
9 and 12), which finds Mercade on 5th presi-
dent Maria Ontiveros providing an overview
of how the non-profit serves as a resource for
many minority owned businesses in the Quad
Cities; “Expanding Nahant Marsh” (August 16
and 19), an opportunity to learn about Nahant
Marsh (pictured) and plans for its newly
acquired 60 acres of land from Education
Center Executive Director Brian Ritter; “Con-
necting Neighborhoods to History: Floreciente
to Sylvan” (August 23 and 26), with Augustana
College’s Dr. Norm Moline and River Action’s
Kathy Wine discussing the planned trail from
the Mississippi River to Moline’s Floreciente
neighborhood; and finally, “Creepy Quad
Cities” (August 30 and September 2), a spooky
treat in which Michael McCarty, co-author
of Eerie Quad Cities and Ghosts of the Quad
Cities, discusses all the creepy tales featured in
his books.
Channel Cat Talks take place on Tues-
days and Thursdays at 9 a.m. and are $20 per
person, while Riverine Walks are held on
Wednesdays at 6:30 p.m. and Saturdays at
9 a.m., with admission $10 per person. For
more information on these “Explore the River
Series” presentations, call (563)322-2969 and
visit RiverAction.org.
Know More. Do More.
CONTINUED
Dance
Auditions: Ballet Quad Cities’ The Nutcracker –
Ages 11 & Above, auditions for the annual Adler Theatre
presentation of Tchaikovsky’s holiday classic, running
December 9 and 10; pre-registration is required, possible
callbacks TBA; for information, call 309-786-3779; Ballet Quad
Cities, 1611 Fifth Ave., Rock Island IL, 5:30pm Wed Aug 30
Auditions: Ballet Quad Cities’ The Nutcracker – Ages
7-10, auditions for the annual Adler Theatre presentation
of Tchaikovsky’s holiday classic, running December 9 and
10; pre-registration is required, possible callbacks TBA; for
information, call 309-786-3779; Ballet Quad Cities, 1611 Fifth
Ave., Rock Island IL, Ballet Quad Cities Studio, 4:30pm Wed
Aug 30
COMEDY
Comedy Open Mic Night, hosted by Danny Franks; $5
admission; to sign up to perform, e-mail Johnathan Condit
at Johnathan.condit@rhythmcitycasino.com; Rhythm City
Casino Resort Event Center, 7077 Elmore Avenue, Davenport
IA, RhythmCityCasino.com, 7:30pm Thu Jul 27
Galaxy Glo Comedy Show, the audience will get glow in
dark necklace, banton, bracelet,… The Circa ’21 Speakeasy,
8pm Fri Jul 28
Holy Mackerel! The Moby Dong Musical, a fisherman-
themed, long form improv experience; ages 18+, $10…
Village Theatre, 7pm Fri Jul 28
ComedySportz Quad Cities, on Fridays and Saturdays; the
return of the Quad Cities’… The Spotlight Theatre, 7pm Fri Jul
28 thru Sat Sep 2
GIT Improv, the improv team began in Rock Island in 1997
and… The Black Box Theatre, 7:30pm Sat Jul 29
Mark Normand, Sat. & Sun. 7 & 9:30pm performances with
the standup… Raccoon Motel, Sat Jul 29 and Sun Jul 30
Big Room Open Mic, enjoy watching your favorite local
comics trying out new material… Village Theatre, 7pm Sun
Jul 30
Open Mic Night: Comedy, bring your best jokes and funny
stories as we open… LeClaire Community Library, 6pm Mon
Jul 31
Kelsey Cook, Cook’s stand-up special was recently released
on EPIX’s “Unprotected Sets,” she made her late-night
debut on “The Tonight Show with Jimmy Fallon”; $35; for
information and tickets, call 563-328-8000; Rhythm City
Casino Resort Event Center, 7077 Elmore Avenue, Davenport
IA, RhythmCityCasino.com, 7pm Fri Aug 4
Amusement & Music: Matthew Jacobsen & Dan Peart,
a night of hilarious comedy and incredible music on the…
Clinton Area Showboat Theatre, 7pm Tue Aug 8
Big Room Open Mic, enjoy watching your favorite local
comics trying out new material… Village Theatre, 7pm Sun
Aug 13
James Austin Johnson: The Age of JAJ, an evening with
the comedian, actor, and featured “Saturday Night Live”…
Codfish Hollow Barn, 8pm Thu Aug 17
The Little Detroit Comedy Show, an Alternating Currents
event featuring sets by AJ Grill, Bernard Bell, Bryan Miller,
Dante Powell, Richie Reese,, and others; Zeke’s Ialand Cafe,
1509 N. Harrison St., Davenport IA, AlternatingCurrentsQC.
com, 10:30pm Fri Aug 18
The Loose Meat Comedy Show, an Alternating Currents
event featuring sets by Tyler Walsh, Brittany Tilander;
Austin Black, Erica Nicole Clark, Joe Fernandez, and others;
Bootleg Hill Honey Meads, 321 E.. Second St., Davenport IA,
Alternating CurrentsQC.com, 10:30pm Fri Aug 18
The Rising Waters Comedy Show, an Alternating
Currents event featuring sets by Chris Schlichting, Tyler
Walsh, Bernard Bell, AJ Grill, Ryan Mason, and others;
Bootleg Hill Honey Meads, 321 E. Second St., Davenport IA,
AlternatingCurrentsQC.com, 7:30pm Fri Aug 18
The Truck Eating Bridge Comedy Show, an Alternating
Currents event featuring sets by James Draper, Gabe Kea,
Jeff Bailey, Dante Powell, Brittany Tilander, and others;
Zeke’s Ialand Cafe, 1509 N. Harrison St., Davenport IA,
AlternatingCurrentsQC.com, 8pm Fri Aug 18
A Night of Comedy, an Alternating Currents event
featuring sets by Tyler Walsh, Brittany Tilander, Austin Black,
RCReader.com/Calendar.
Erica Nicole Clark, Joe Fernandez, and others; German
American Heritage Center, 712 W. Second St., Davenport IA,
AlternatingCurrentsQC.com, 6pm Sat Aug 19
The Dam Comedy Show, an Alternating Currents event
featuring sets by Dana Ehrmann, Jeanie Doogan, Kyle
Scanlan, Chastity Washington, Dan Drees, and others;
Zeke’s Ialand Cafe, 1509 N. Harrison St., Davenport IA,
AlternatingCurrentsQC.com, 7:30pm Sat Aug 19
The Revenge of Walt Disney Comedy Show, an
Alternating Currents event featuring sets by Brittany Tilander,
Jen Kuhle, Tyler Walsh, Ryan Mason, Dante Powell, and
others; Zeke’s Ialand Cafe, 1509 N. Harrison St., Davenport IA,
AlternatingCurrentsQC.com, 10pm Sat Aug 19
The Taco Pizza Comedy Show, an Alternating Currents
event featuring sets by Austin Black, Chastity Washington;
Ryan Mason, Raegan Niemela, Jason Melton, and others;
Zeke’s Ialand Cafe, 1509 N. Harrison St., Davenport IA,
AlternatingCurrentsQC.com, 5pm Sat Aug 19
2nd Annual Fundraiser for Empower House Brain
Injury Organization, presented by Knock-Knock! Who’s
There? Comedy; with headliner Leslie Mitchell, host Brian
Lee… Buffalo Community Center, 7pm Fri Aug 25
GIT Improv, the improv team began in Rock Island in 1997
and… The Black Box Theatre, 7:30pm Sat Aug 26
Big Room Open Mic, enjoy watching your favorite local
comics trying out new material… Village Theatre, 7pm Sun
Aug 27
Comedy Open Mic Night, hosted by Danny Franks; $5
admission; to sign up to perform, e-mail Johnathan Condit
at Johnathan.condit@rhythmcitycasino.com; Rhythm City
Casino Resort Event Center, 7077 Elmore Avenue, Davenport
IA, RhythmCityCasino.com, 7:30pm Thu Aug 31
MUSEUMS
Neighbors to the North: German Influence in New
Ulm, MN, just like Davenport, Iowa, New Ulm Minnesota…
German American Heritage Center, thru Sun Jul 30
Los Desconocidos: The Migrant Quilt Project, the
exhibit memorializes the stories of migrants… German
American Heritage Center, thru Mon Sun Aug 27
Todos Somos Luchadores Inmigrantes: We Are All
Immigrant Warriors, the exhibit by photographer Miriam
Alarcón Avila… German American Heritage Center, thru Sun
Aug 27
Common Ground: Our Voice, Our Stories, the
permanent, regional-history exhibit highlights the past,…
Putnam Museum & Science Center, thru Mon Sep 4
JUNKraft: The Global Crisis of Plastic Pollution,
the exhibit examines the issue of global plastic… Putnam
Museum & Science Center, thru Mon Sep 4
My Immigration Story, join us for an evening of learning,
friendship, and discussion… German American Heritage
Center, 6pm Thu Jul 27
Historic Summer Walking Tours, on Saturdays; learn
about where German immigrants worked, lived, and…
German American Heritage Center, 10am Sat Jul 29 thru Dat
Aug 26
Klassiks for Kinder: German Toys with Joy, thru Jan. 7;
this exhibition celebrates and showcases the wide… German
American Heritage Center, Sun Aug 13 thru Thu Aug 31
History of Toy Making in Germany, presented by Ellen M.
Tsagaris, JD, PhD; this presentation will… German American
Heritage Center, 2pm Sun Aug 20
MOVIES
The Lion King: Sing Along, a screening of the family movie
in the Thursday Theater… Bettendorf Public Library, 2pm
Thu Jul 27
Lady Bird, a screening in the Find Your Voice - Summer
Reading… Bettendorf Public Library, 1:30pm Fri Jul 28
The Peanuts Movie, a Film at the Figge presentation; spend
your evening watching… Figge Art Museum, 6:30pm Thu
Aug 10
Quilts: Craft in America, learn about contemporary
quilters from diverse traditions as we celebrate… German
American Heritage Center, 2pm Sun Aug 13
Keep the Reader Alive and Free Since '93.
The Biggest Little Farm, in the High Meadows shelter; the
second screening in a… West Lake Park, 7pm Thu Aug 24
SPORTS
Quad Cities River Bandits vs. the Lansing Lugnuts,
professional minor-league baseball; for tickets, call 563-324-
3000; Modern Woodmen Park, 209 S. Gaines St., Davenport
IA, MILB.com/quad-cities, Thu Jul 27 thru Sun Jul 30
Roller Derby Boot Camp, this 7-week session will cover all
the basic skills of… Eldridge Community Center & Skatepark,
9am Sun Aug 6
Quad Cities River Bandits vs. the Cedar Rapids
Kernels, professional minor-league baseball; for tickets,
call 563-324-3000; Modern Woodmen Park, 209 S. Gaines St.,
Davenport IA, MILB.com/quad-cities, Tue Aug 8 thru Sun
Aug 13
Quad Cities River Bandits vs. the Beloit Sky Carp,
professional minor-league baseball; for tickets, call 563-324-
3000; Modern Woodmen Park, 209 S. Gaines St., Davenport
IA, MILB.com/quad-cities, Tue Aug 15 thru Sun Aug 20
Quad City Rollers vs. Como, an evening with the roller-
derby league and members of the… Eldridge Community
Center & Skatepark, 6pm Sat Aug 26
Quad Cities River Bandits vs. the Peoria Chiefs,
professional minor-league baseball; for tickets, call 563-324-
3000; Modern Woodmen Park, 209 S. Gaines St., Davenport
IA, MILB.com/quad-cities, Tue Aug 29 thru Sun Sep 3
OTHER EVENTS
Korean War Armistice 70th Anniversary Wreath
Laying Ceremony, the Korean War Veterans Association
Quad Cities Chapter 168 will hold… Rock Island National
Cemetery, 10am Thu Jul 27
2023 RAGBRAI, Register’s Annual Great Bicycle Ride Across
Iowa is… Thu Jul 27 thru Sat Jul 29
OWLT & About: Library at Annie Wittenmyer Aquatic
Center, cool off in the shade of our awning,… Annie
Wittenmyer Aquatic Center, 10am Thu Jul 27
OWLT & About: Library at Northwest Park, cool off in
the shade of our awning,… Northwest Park, 2pm Thu Jul 27
4th Friday Book Sale, monthly sale of books and other
donated items, now held… Rock Island Public Library -
Downtown Library, 10am Fri Jul 28
Food Truck Fridays, guests are welcome to bring their
Food Truck meal purchases… Downtown LeClaire, Fri Jul 28
thru Fri Sep 2
Magnificent Mansion Tour, on Fridays; a small-group
guided tour of the mansion; learn… Hauberg Civic Center
Mansion, 1pm Fri Jul 28 thru Fri Sep 1
Mechanical Tour, on Fridays; learn about the mechanicals
of the Hauberg Estate,… Hauberg Civic Center Mansion, 6pm
Fri Jul 28 thru Fri Sep 1
OWLT & About: Library at Sunderbruch Park, on
Fridays; cool off in the shade of our awning,… Sunderbruch
Park, 2pm Fri Jul 28
BixBRAI Weekend, the park will be full of… Downtown
Davenport, Fri Jul 28 and Sat Jul 29
Bettendorf Public Library Chess Club, an all-ages
and all-skill-levels chess club; free; for information, call…
Bettendorf Public Library, 1:30pm Sat Jul 29
BixBRAI Family Zone, presented by Downtown Davenport
Partnership and Mississippi Valley Blues Society;… LeClaire
Park, 10am Sat Jul 29
Quad-City Times Bix 7, the 49th running of this historic
out-and-back race through downtown… Downtown
Davenport, 8am Sat Jul 29
East Moline-Silvis Kiwanis Summer Flea Market, $3
gate donations benefit Children’s Therapy Center, QC Food
Pantries,… Rock Island County Fairgrounds, 8am Sun Jul 30
Southwest Book Sale, Children’s items and paperbacks are
25¢ each, hardbacks are 50¢;… Rock Island Public Library -
Southwest Branch, noon Tue Aug 1
2023 Mississippi Valley Fair, annual event featuring
grandstand concerts, rides, attractions,… Mississippi Valley
Fairgrounds, Tue Aug 1 thru Sun Aug 6
RCReader.com/Support. FREE ASSANGE. River Cities’ Reader • Vol. 30 No. 1012 • August 2023 21
OWLT & About: Library at Slattery Park, on Tuesdays;
cool off in the shade of our awning,… Slattery Park, 2pm Tue
Aug 1 and Tue Aug 8
OWLT & About: Library at Marquette Park, on
Wednesdays; cool off in the shade of our awning,…
Marquette Park, 2pm Wed Aug 2 and Wed Aug 9
Mass on the Prairie, for information and to register, e-mail
olpretreat@chmiowa.org and call 563-374-1092… Our Lady of
the Prairie Retreat, 10am Wed Aug 2
OWLT & About: Library at Annie Wittenmyer Aquatic
Center, on Thursdays; cool off in the shade of our awning,…
Annie Wittenmyer Aquatic Center, 10am Thu Aug 3 and Thu
Aug 10
OWLT & About: Library at Northwest Park, on
Thursdays; cool off in the shade of our awning,… Northwest
Park, 2pm Thu Aug 3 and Thu Aug 10
OWLT & About: Library at Sunderbruch Park, on
Fridays; cool off in the shade of our awning,… Sunderbruch
Park, 2pm Fri Aug 4 and Fri Aug 11
OWLT & About: Tales and Trails, on Fridays; attendees will
meet for a storytime near the… Sunderbruch Park, 10am Fri
Aug 4 thru Fri Aug 25
OWLT & About: Freight House Farmer’s Market, cool
off in the shade of our awning, check out… Freight House
Farmer’s Market, 7:30am Sat Aug 5
Friends of Hauberg Member Picnic, for information, call
309-373-5080… Hauberg Civic Center Mansion, Sun Aug 6
Bunco with Friends of River Valley District Library,
have some fun playing Bunco; for information, call 309-523-
3440… River Valley District Library, 1pm Wed Aug 9
OWLT & About: Party in the Park, attendees can enjoy
free food, entertainment, and a variety of… Garfield Park,
5:30pm Thu Aug 10
2023 Tug Fest, the annual tug-of-war over the Mississippi
River… LeClaire and Port Byron Levees, Thu Aug 10 thru Sat
Aug 12
Second Time Around Sale, Thu. 3-6pm, Fri. 8am-6pm,
Sat. 8am-3pm; for information, e-mail office@uucqc.org…
Unitarian Universalist Congregation of the Quad Cities, Thu
Aug 10 thru Sat Aug 12
Second Baptist Church of Rock Island 150th Church
Anniversary Celebration Banquet, themed “A 150
Years of Excellence, to God be the… Golden Leaf Banquet &
Convention Center, Fri Aug 11
Back to School: Empowering Potential Resource Fair,
a back-to-school giveaway event with free backpacks pre-
packed with essential… Davenport Public Library - Fairmount
Street Branch, 11am Sat Aug 12
Bingo, bring your family and friends for an hour of bingo…
Davenport Public Library - Eastern Avenue Branch, 4pm Sat
Aug 12
Quad Cities Area Family Fair, co-presented by Gigi’s
Playhouse; learn about resources for your children… Veterans
Memorial Park, 9am Sat Aug 12
Quad Cities Multi-Cultural Festival and QC World
Cup, hosted by the Quad Cities Alliance for Immigrants &
Refugees… Alan Campbell Sports Complex, 9am Sat Aug 12
Bettendorf Public Library Chess Club, an all-ages
and all-skill-levels chess club; free; for information, call…
Bettendorf Public Library, 1:30pm Sat Aug 12 thru Sat Aug
26
Altar and Rosary Society of St. Alphonsus Catholic
Church Retreat, retreat with Fr. Bob Miller and Dr. Mark
Nimo, nationally… St. Clements Center, 8:30am Mon Aug 14
Death Cafe, people, often strangers, gather to eat treats,
drink coffee, and… Davenport Public Library - Eastern
Avenue Branch, 5:30pm Wed Aug 16
Alternating Currents 2023, the return of the annual music,
film, art and comedy festival that celebrates and promotes
Quad Cities businesses, held in the cities’ downtown districts;
AlternatingCurrentsQC.com, Thu Aug 17 thru Sun Aug 20
OWLT & About: Party in the Park, attendees can enjoy
free food, entertainment, and a variety of… Emeis Park,
5:30pm Thu Aug 17
Continued On Page 24
22 River Cities’ Reader • Vol. 30 No. 1012 • August 2023 FREE ASSANGE. Know More. Do More. RCReader.com/Calendar.

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IT
N A L OXO N E I O WA . O R G
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risk of an overdose. Be prepared
with the nasal spray version of
naloxone. It’s easy to use and
could reverse the effects of
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BE PREPARED TO SAVE A LIFE.

05/2023
Keep the Reader Alive and Free Since '93. RCReader.com/Support.
THEATRE
Latitude Adjustment
Escape to Margaritaville,
at the Circa ‘21 Dinner Playhouse through September 9
A
re you in need of refreshment? The
Circa ‘21 Dinner Playhouse offers us
an Escape to Margaritaville – just the
sunny, tropical-fruit-garnished tonic for those
of us who’d love a Caribbean getaway, but can’t
get away.
This production, with its book by television
producer Greg Garcia and actor/scriptwriter
Mike O’Malley, premiered in 2017. The show’s
music and ambiance are courtesy of legend-
ary trop-rock pioneer Jimmy Buffett, who is
still performing at 76. Director/choreographer
Amy McCleary, music director Ron May, and
the cast and crew serve this delicious cocktail
in a tall, cool glass to put you in the best of
spirits.
Circa ‘21’s latest contains all or part of
some 23 Buffett tunes. Going into the July 13
preview night, I only knew six, and they’re all
here (“Margaritaville,” naturally, holds sway
over all.) Buffett guested on Alan Jackson’s
2003 “It’s Five O’Clock Somewhere,” and that’s
here, too. Another reason this is not strictly a
jukebox musical: Buffett wrote “Three Chords”
especially for it. I get irritated when the plots
of juke-style shows are awkwardly contorted
to fit the extant lyrics. Yet for this one, Buffett
tweaked some of his songs’ words to better fit
the story, which suits me. Also, several ele-
ments mentioned in the title tune fall deftly
into place during Act I, so props to co-writers
Garcia and O’Malley for that.
There are real-life Margaritaville resorts,
which I’m sure are lovely – this fictional one is
a shabby, tourist-overrun dive with a burnt-
out staff. It took me a while to warm up to the
material, as early on, the script is redolent with
bad ‘70s-era TV dialogue. (Garcia had a hand
in several sitcoms, so there ya go). But this
doesn’t reflect poorly on the marvelous cast.
Cameron Nies is tremendously appealing
as Tully, who’s not so much a beach bum as a
coastal Casanova – he works, but he’s a playa
off the clock. In truth, Tully is almost too
likable – I’d have preferred him to be more
of a scoundrel, so that later, we get that warm
mismatched-couple-falls-in-love gratification.
(You knew there had to be an antithesis love
interest, right? It’s in the formula.) Melissa
Campbell plays that opposing force, Rachel,
who comes to Margaritaville to further her
world-saving project. Campbell strikes the
perfect notes to make me empathize with
Rachel, who’s not a killjoy or a prude – just pre-
occupied with volcanic soil, alternative energy
sources … serious matters. Campbell hits
every note with her fine voice, too, showing
that she can handle loftier oeuvres than this.
Madison Stepnowski winningly portrays
Rachel’s best friend Tammy (though Rachel
would like to save Tammy’s world by getting
rid of her fiancé). Stepnowski’s Tammy is
goodhearted, with a rebellious gene or three,
which helps make her bubbly enthusiasm for
FREE ASSANGE.
By Pamela Briggs
partying sweetly wholesome, rather than “any
excuse to get sloshed.” Bobby Becher, always
a true pleasure onstage, plays Margaritaville’s
bartender Brick, who’s a bit unrefined, but
endearingly amiable. I’m glad Becher is fea-
tured in so many numbers. Also, I forgive the
writers for giving Brick a substance-abusing
past, because it facilitates an astounding tap-
dancing extravaganza with the ensemble – one
of the show’s highlights.
The wonderfully talented K. Bernice plays
Marley, who holds Margaritaville together,
denizens and visitors alike. Bernice enlivens
every scene she’s in; she’s an energetic catalyst
for her reluctant workforce and disappointed
tourists. J.D., played by Brad Hauskins, is the
resident barfly and part-time crab, usually
parked behind a beer. Actor, director, and
playwright Hauskins makes J.D. not just a
tipsy, jovial irritant, but a whole human being,
making this my favorite portrayal of his so far.
Joshua James Crawford is delightful as Mar-
ley’s employee Jamal, and sings the fun-to-the-
bone “Volcano.” Liam A. Fisher, as Tammy’s
fiancé Chadd, plays his irredeemable genuine
scoundrel role full-force. And Crawford and
Fisher also perform in the fantastic ensemble,
and while taking several fleeting roles with
many costume changes, they sing and dance
with joyous gusto. I’d call the exuberant finale
with the whole cast a showstopper if it weren’t
already at the end of the show.
On a technical level, this whole experi-
ence is outstanding, with a special shout-out
to lighting designer Ronnie Breedlove, who
provides yet another stunning, color-changing
Circa sky. As for content warnings, there’s
plenty of innuendo, as well as blunt references
to bodily pleasure, but no outright profanity.
As for the ubiquitous drinking, the activity
might resonate differently to folks like me who
don’t consider booze in (or out of) the blender
as celebration, consolation, or one of the four
basic food groups.
Serendipitously, six years ago this very
weekend, I was wandering around Chicago
and came upon Mr. Buffett outside Wrigley
Field, playing “Changes in Latitudes, Changes
in Attitudes” for sound check. (Chicago was
a welcome break, but more of a change in
longitude.) Technically, summer is a time for
fun in the sun. Here, though, with excess heat,
rain, and poor air quality threatening to keep
us indoors, I recommend the indoors of Circa
‘21’s Escape to Margaritaville.
Escape to Margaritaville runs at the Circa
‘21 Dinner Playhouse (1828 Third Avenue,
Rock Island IL) through September 9, and more
information and tickets are available by calling
(309)786-7733 extension 2 and visiting Circa21.
com.
River Cities’ Reader • Vol. 30 No. 1012 • August 2023
MUSIC
2023 Mississippi Valley Fair
Tuesday, August 1, through Sunday, August 6
Mississippi Valley Fairgrounds, 2815 West Locust Street, Davenport IA
R
eturning to the area for its incred-
ible 103rd year, an eagerly awaited
six-day festival boasting games,
competitions, vendors, and concert sets
by more than two dozen national and
local acts returns with the 2023 Missis-
sippi Valley Fair, its August 1 through 6
engagement at Davenport’s Mississippi
Valley Fairgrounds boasting, as always,
grandstand performances by chart-top-
pers, multi-platinum sellers, and multi-
ple-award winners.
This year’s grandstand acts open
on August 1 with singer/songwriter
Sam Hunt, a five-time Grammy nomi-
nee whose accolades also include two
Academy of Country Music Awards, a
CMT Music Awards, and even a Teen
Choice Award. Lauded for his albums
Montevallo and Southside, the artist’s
chart-topping hits include “Leave the
Night On,” “Take Your Time,” “House
Party,” and “Body Like a Back Road.”
August 2 brings with it headliner Jordan
Davis, whose chart-topping U.S. Coun-
try Airplay smashes include “Singles You
Up,” “What My World Spins Around,”
and, with Luke Kirby, 2021’s “Buy Dirt.”
Davis’ acclaimed career currently boasts
two top-10 albums on Billboard’s U.S.
Country chart in 2018’s Home State and
this past February’s Bluebird Days.
On August 3, the Mississippi Valley
Fair’s grandstand stage welcomes two
chart-topping, Grammy-winning,
multi-platinum-selling icons of hip-hop
and rap, with the co-headlining event
boasting performances by Ludacris,
well-known as a mainstay in the popular
Fast & the Furious screen franchise, and
Lil John, a music legend since his status
as frontman of Lil Jon & the East Side
Boyz. August 4, meanwhile, features a
grandstand performance by Three Days
Grace, the alt-rock and -metal artists
whose credits including a half-dozen
top-10 Billboard album smashes and
23
more than a dozen chart-topping singles.
With the group’s Explosions released in
2022, Cryptic Rock called the recording
“an intense album you can listen to over
and over and still find cathartic release of
heartbreak and pain with each spin.”
The August 5 grandstand headliners
are the rap-rock and nu-metal musi-
cians of Limp Bizkit (pictured), who
have been nominated for three Grammy
Awards and have sold in excess of 40
million records worldwide. Among the
group’s 26 singles, the most notable
include “Nookie,” “Re-Arranged,” “Break
Stuff,” “Take a Look Around,” “Rollin’
(Air Raid Vehicle),” “My Generation,”
and their cover of the Who’s 1971 single
“Behind Blue Eyes,” all of which have
charted within the top 20 of Billboard’s
U.S. Alternative Airplay Chart. And the
Mississippi Valley Fair’s grandstand acts
for 2023 wrap up with an August 6 set by
the country-rock sensation Hardy, who
has written a dozen number-one singles
since 2018, including his own chart-
topping, double platinum-certified “One
Beer” featuring Lauren Alaina + Devin
Dawson, as well as the chart-topping
Dierks Bentley + BRELAND collabora-
tion “Beers on Me.”
With the fair’s August 1 through 6
events including animal shows, arts-
and-crafts activities, games, parades,
displays, and much more, in excess of
three dozen additional area bands and
performers will entertain crowds at the
fairgrounds’ Pavilion, Farmer’s Tent,
Oldies Tent, Variety Tent, and Wine
Craft Beer Tent stages. Daily hours for
the 2022 Mississippi Valley Fair are 7
a.m. to midnight (buildings open at 9
a.m.), gate admission is $5-12 daily, and
$85-110 Fun Cards are required for entry
into the 8 p.m. grandstand concerts. For
more information on this year’s fair, call
(563)326-5338 and visit MVFair.com.
 24 River Cities’ Reader • Vol. 30 No. 1012 • August 2023
MUSIC
Travis Tritt
Thursday, August 24, 7:30 p.m.
Adler Theatre, 136 East Third Street, Davenport IA
C
urrently touring in support of his record-
ing Set in Stone, the artist’s first original
album release in 13 years, country, blues,
gospel, and Southern-rock icon Travis Tritt head-
lines an August 24 concert event at Davenport’s
Adler Theatre, the two-time Grammy winner’s
chart-topping smashes including “Help Me
Hold On,” “Anymore,” Can I Trust You with My
Heart,” “Foolish Pride,” and “Best of Intentions.”
Tritt’s professional timeline started when
the young native of Marietta, Georgia incor-
porated his lifelong influences of Southern
rock, blues, and gospel into his country music
during a honky-tonk apprenticeship that led
him to Warner Bros. In 1989. His 1990 debut
Country Club and its succession of hits put
him in the vanguard of the genre’s early ‘90s
boom, dubbing him as one of “The Class of
‘89,” which included country-music superstars
Garth Brooks, Clint Black, and Alan Jackson, all
whom, along with Tritt, dominated the charts
in the early ‘90s. Tritt’s singles “Country Club,”
“Help Me Hold On,” “I’m Gonna Be Somebody,”
and “Drift Off to Dream” peaked at numbers
two and three on Billboard’s Hot Country
Singles & Tracks chart, which led to the singer/
songwriter winning the Top New Male Artist
award from Billboard and the CMA Horizon
Award (now known as the Best New Artist
Award). Additionally, in 1991, the Record-
ing Industry Association of America marked
Country Club as a double-platinum-seller, and
as a result, the world-famous Grand Ole Opry
extended an invitation for Tritt to become a
member.
CONTINUED
Other Events
Polyrhythms 9th Annual Bill Bell Jazz & Heritage
Festival 2023: Drum Circle (5pm) - Polyrhythms
All-Stars Jam Party Pt. 1 (6pm) - WeFunk (8:45pm),
featuring a Black Authors Book Forum, a 5pm Drum Circle,…
Martin Luther King Jr. Community Center, 5pm Fri Aug 18
Floatzilla 2023, hop in your kayak and join the largest
paddling event… Sunset Park, 2:30pm Sat Aug 19
OWLT & About: Fejervary Family Fun, Davenport
Public Library staff will bring items to check out,… Fejervary
Learning Center, noon Sat Aug 19
Polyrhythms 9th Annual Bill Bell Jazz & Heritage
Festival 2023: Polyrhythms All-Stars Jam Party Pt.
2 (5pm) - CJ Parker (7pm) - The Matt Fuller Band
(8:45pm), featuring a 10am parade, 12:30pm opening
ceremonies, 1-4pm young musicians, artists,… Martin Luther
King Jr. Community Center, 10am Sat Aug 19
Polyrhythms Bill Bell Jazz & Heritage Festival Family
Fun Day & Parade, in collaboration with Polyrhythms
FREE ASSANGE.
To date, Tritt’s discography comprises 13
studio albums, six compilation albums, and 43
singles. Of his studio albums, the highest-cer-
tified is 1991’s triple-platinum-selling sopho-
more release It’s All About to Change, while,
like Country Club, the artist’s third and fourth
recordings (T-R-O-U-B-L-E and Ten Feet Tall
& Bulletproof) achieved double-platinum sales.
1996’s The Restless Kind, 2000’s Down the Road
I Go, and Tritt’s 1995 Greatest Hits: From the
Beginning are all certified platinum, and of the
singer/songwriter’s dozens of singles, all but two
charted on Billboard Hot Country Songs. This
total includes five number-ones on that chart:
1990’s “Help Me Hold On,” 1991’s “Anymore,”
1993’s “Can I Trust You with My Heart,” 1994’s
“Foolish Pride,” and 2000’s “Best of Intentions,”
the latter, at number 27, also his highest peak
on the Billboard Hot 100. Tritt has also been
featured as a guest on eight singles, including
two releases by his friend Marty Stuart: “This
One’s Gonna Hurt You (For a Long, Long
Time)” and “Honky Tonkin’s What I Do Best,”
from 1992 and 1996, respectively. He has also
sung guest vocals on singles for Patty Loveless,
Charlie Daniels, Mark O’Connor, and comedian
Bill Engvall, and his accolades include a quartet
of Country Music Association Awards, three of
them for Vocal Event of the Year.
Travis Tritt plays his Davenport engagement
on Ayugust 24, admission to the 7:30 p.m. con-
cert is $45-82, and tickets are available by calling
(800)745-3000 and visiting
AdlerTheatre.com.
Bill Bell Jazz & Heritage Festival,… Martin Luther King Jr.
Community Center, 10am Sat Aug 19
Polyrhythms 9th Annual Bill Bell Jazz & Heritage
Festival 2023: Crockett & Grismore Guitar & Trumpet
Duo (3:30pm) - Kuchina Trio (5pm) - Michael Wolff
Quartet (6:45pm), 3pm doors, 3:30-4:30pm Guitar &
Trumpet Duo with Dr. Edgar… Rivermont Collegiate, 3:30pm
Sun Aug 20
Adult Knitting Circle, whether you are in the middle of a
project or… Rock Island Public Library - Downtown Library,
2pm Mon Aug 21
4th Friday Book Sale, monthly sale of books and other
donated items, now held… Rock Island Public Library -
Downtown Library, 10am Fri Aug 25
Breakfast with the African Painted Dogs, join the pack
for a breakfast buffet then go on… Niabi Zoo, 8:30am Sat
Aug 26
Second Baptist Church of Rock Island 150th
Anniversary Service, Rev. Dr. Mark Allen McConnell, Pastor
of New Cornerstone Baptist… Second Baptist Church, 10am
Sun Aug 27
Know More. Do More.
Anime & Manga Trivia, if you love anime and manga,
test your knowledge against… Rock Island Public Library -
Southwest Branch, 5:30pm Tue Aug 29
Memory Circle, join us for crafts, games, activities,
conversation, and more at… Bettendorf Public Library,
10:30am Tue Aug 29
OWLT & About: Freight House Farmer’s Market, cool
off in the shade of our awning, check out… Freight House
Farmer’s Market, 7:30am Sat Sep 2
LECTURES
Ecology of the Mississippi River, a presentation in River
Action’s Channel Cat Talks series; Jon… Riverbend Commons
Dock, 9am Thu Jul 27
Illinois Department of Employment Security: Learn
How to Get a Job with Amazon, sponsored by Amazon,
IDES and the Moline Public Library; free;… Moline Public
Library, noon Thu Jul 27
Q-C History Hop: The Hauberg Museum at the Black
Hawk State Historic Site, join us in visiting local cultural
and historical institutions and… Black Hawk State Historic
Site, 6pm Thu Jul 27
God Does Extraordinary Things Through Ordinary
People, led by Colleen Burke; hear the amazing stories of
people… Our Lady of the Prairie Retreat, 6pm Thu Jul 27
The Butterworth Center and Deere-Wiman House, a
presentation in River Action’s… River Action, 9am Sat Jul 29
Beyond Bix: Researching Local Musicians in the Quad
Cities, Special Collections intern Harrison Phillis will give a
presentation featuring… Davenport Public Library - Main
Branch, 6:30pm Mon Jul 31
Spice Up Your Life, join us each month as we try a new
spice,… Davenport Public Library - Fairmount Street Branch,
6:30pm Tue Aug 1
River Landscape Mosaic, a presentation in River Action’s
Channel Cat Talks series; presented… Riverbend Commons
Dock, 9am Tue Aug 1 and Thu Aug 3
Drop-in Computer Skills & Job Search Assistance w/
Goodwill of the Heartland, on Tuesdays; if you’re looking
for assistance with computer skills… Rock Island Public
Library - Downtown Library, 4pm Tue Aug 1 thru Tue Aug 29
Future Project Under the New I-74 Bridge, Wed. 6:30pm
and Sat. 9am; a presentation in River Action’s… River Action,
Wed Aug 2 and Sat Aug 5
Become the Healthiest Version of You Through
Lifestyle Medicine, lifestyle medicine is a medical
approach that uses evidence-based behavioral… Davenport
Public Library - Fairmount Street Branch, 6:30pm Thu Aug 3
Getting Started with Genealogy: Finding Free Sites
Online, learn how to get started with a free series of… Rock
Island Public Library - Downtown Library, 11am Thu Aug 3
Big Steppers: Men Willing to Step Out for Their Own
Health, led by Robb McCoy; online option available; for men
willing… Our Lady of the Prairie Retreat, 5pm Fri Aug 4
QCMade: Army Corps of Engineers, the Rock Island
District of the U.S. Army Corps of… Mississippi River Visitor
Center, noon Sat Aug 5
What Is a Lineage Society?, the Scott County Iowa
Genealogical Society and the Richardson-Sloane Special…
Davenport Public Library - Main Branch, 1pm Sat Aug 5
The Heart of Downtown Davenport: Architectural
Styles and Stories, join architectural historian and guide
Ellen Shapley for this informative… Davenport Public Library
- Main Branch, 6pm Mon Aug 7
Self-Paced Citizenship Exam Preparation Resource,
lessons feature videos that allow participants to practice and
experience… Moline Public Library, Mon Aug 7
U.S. Coast Guard of the Mississippi River, a presentation
in River Action’s Channel Cat Talks series; Evan… Riverbend
Commons Dock, 9am Tue Aug 8 and Thu Aug 10
Art and Soul: Experience the Transformative Power
of Tao Calligraphy and Tao Song, Zoom program led
by Sara Baker, Certified Master Teacher of… Our Lady of the
Prairie Retreat, 1pm Wed Aug 9
Korea: Incheon to the DMZ, join the Army Sustainment
Command Historians as they explore the… Rock Island Public
Library - Downtown Library, 2pm Wed Aug 9
RCReader.com/Calendar.
Monarchs & Migration with Nahant Marsh, join us as
we welcome back Director of Education from… Moline Public
Library, 6:30pm Wed Aug 9
Rock Island Arsenal ASC Series: Korea – Incheon to the
DMZ, join Kevin Braafladt, the Army Sustainment Command
Historian at the Rock… Davenport Public Library - Eastern
Avenue Branch, 6pm Wed Aug 9
Mercado on 5th, Wed. 6:30pm and Sat. 9am; a presentation
in River Action’s… River Action, Wed Aug 9 and Sat Aug 12
I Want to Be Healthy but What Should I Eat?, lifestyle
medicine is a medical approach that uses evidence-based
behavioral… Davenport Public Library - Fairmount Street
Branch, 6:30pm Thu Aug 10
Parenting Class, join EveryChild and RIPL this summer for
topics that help… Rock Island Public Library - Downtown
Library, 5pm Thu Aug 10
Improvisational Spiritual Fabric Stories, participants
will discover pleasing textures and colors in the flow… Our
Lady of the Prairie Retreat, 5pm Fri Aug 11
Catching the Thread of Our Lives: Directed Retreat,
thru Aug. 22; led by Marie Thompson, Spiritual Director;
this… Our Lady of the Prairie Retreat, Mon Aug 14
Walking with Julian of Norwich: Her Lessons of Love
for a Modern World, led by Rev. Robert Miller and Dr. Mark
Nimo; learn more… Our Lady of the Prairie Retreat, 10am Tue
Aug 15
Plastic Pollution on the Mighty Mississippi, a
presentation in River Action’s Channel Cat Talks series; Lori…
Riverbend Commons Dock, 9am Tue Aug 15 and Thu Aug 17
Expanding Nahant Marsh, Wed. 6:30pm and Sat. 9am; a
presentation in River Action’s… River Action, Wed Aug 16
and Sat Aug 19
SCORE Business Program: Finding Your True
Customer, we’ll highlight the customer journey & tools you
can use… Bettendorf Public Library, 5:30pm Thu Aug 17
Spotlight on the Famous Flour Sacks, a virtual
presentation in the 3rd Thursday at Hoover’s Presidential…
Davenport Public Library - Main Branch, 6pm Thu Aug 17
Idea Factory – Cocktails in the QC, an event in
Alternating Currents QC… Devon’s Complaint Department,
4pm Sat Aug 19
Idea Factory – Why We Cycle: QC’s Kick-Ass Cycling
Community, an event in Alternating Currents QC… Daiquiri
Factory - Davenport, 1pm Sat Aug 19
Be Your Own Boss. Entrepreneur Tools, Tricks, & Tips
from SCORE & SBDC, we’ll highlight the customer journey
& tools you can use… Davenport Public Library - Eastern
Avenue Branch, 5pm Mon Aug 21
Pathways to the Divine: Sac and Fox Tribe of the
Mississippi in Iowa (Meskwaki Nation), explore the core
and depth of one of the world’s… Our Lady of the Prairie
Retreat, 6pm Mon Aug 21
Crash Course in Genealogy, learn how you can start
making your own genealogical discoveries in… Davenport
Public Library - Eastern Avenue Branch, 6pm Tue Aug 22
Lock and Dam 15 Improvements, a presentation in River
Action’s Channel Cat Talks series; as… Riverbend Commons
Dock, 9am Tue Aug 22 and Thu Aug 24
Guided Bird Walk with the Quad City Audubon
Society, the walk will begin with attendees gathering at
the Singing… Singing Bird Nature Center, Black Hawk State
Historic Site, 6pm Wed Aug 23
Connecting Neighborhoods to History: Floreciente to
Sylvan, Wed. 6:30pm and Sat. 9am; a presentation in River
Action’s… River Action, Wed Aug 23 and Sat Aug 26
Birds, Bees and Beebalm: A Day Exploring the Creatures
and Wildflowers of the Prairie, led by Nahant Marsh’s Brian
Ritter, Amy Loving, and Jimmy… Our Lady of the Prairie
Retreat, 8am Wed Aug 23
Sins of the Spirit, Blessing of the Flesh, led by Rev. Dr.
Matthew Fox; this presentation challenges traditional… Our
Lady of the Prairie Retreat, 6pm Thu Aug 24
Beekeeping, find out from a local beekeeper how many
bees are… Davenport Public Library - Fairmount Street
Branch, 6pm Thu Aug 24
Jewish Federation of the QC: End Times, a presentation
by Rabbi Moshe Rothchild; explore what the Hebrew… Rock
Keep the Reader Alive and Free Since '93.
Island Public Library - Watts-Midtown Branch, 6:30pm Mon
Aug 28
Q-C History Hop: Bix Beiderbecke Museum and
Archive, we will be visiting the Bix Beiderbecke Museum and
Archives,… Common Chord, 6:30pm Tue Aug 29
The 108th Colored Infantry Guards the Civil War
Prison Camp, speaker Virgil Mayberry is a local expert on
the Colored… Rock Island Public Library - Watts-Midtown
Branch, 6pm Tue Aug 29
RCReader.com/Support. FREE ASSANGE. River Cities’ Reader • Vol. 30 No. 1012 • August 2023 25
for the future; $60 individual member, $650 reserved table;
Rhythm City Casino Resort Event Center, 7077 Elmore Avenue,
VISUAL ARTS
Davenport IA, RhythmCityCasino.com, 11:30am Thu Aug 10
Rock Island City Council Meeting, Public Comment is The Life & Art of Charles M. Schulz
held at the beginning of City Council… Rock Island City Hall,
6:45pm Mon Aug 14 and Mon Aug 28 Through Saturday, September 2
Rock Island County Board Regular Meeting, all Figge Art Museum, 225 West Second Street, Davenport IA
meetings are open to the public, but may be… Rock Island
County Office Building, 5:30pm Tue Aug 15

Commercial Fishing, a presentation in River Action’s
Channel Cat Talks series; commercial… Riverbend Commons
Dock, 9am Tue Aug 29 and Thu Aug 31
Creepy Quad Cities, Wed. 6:30pm and Sat. 9am; a
presentation in River Action’s… River Action, 6:30pm Wed
Aug 30 and Sat Sep 2
Rock Island Public Library Board of Trustees Meeting,
agendas and minutes are posted on our website in
accordance… Rock Island Public Library - Downtown Library,
5pm Tue Aug 15
Coal Valley City Council Meeting, held on the first and
third Wednesdays of each month;… Coal Valley Village Hall,
6pm Wed Aug 16

MEETINGS Quad City Flood Resiliency Meeting, River Action will

Midwest Corvettes Club Monthly Meeting, join us
to discuss Corvettes, friends, and community … Eriksen
Chevrolet - Milan, 6:30pm Tue Aug 1
Bettendorf City Council Meeting, recorded meetings can
be seen at Bettendorf.org or City’s Cable… Bettendorf City
Hall, 7pm Tue Aug 1 and Tue Aug 15
Silvis City Council Meeting, held on the 1st & 3rd Tuesday
of each month;… Silvis City Hall, 6:30pm Tue Aug 1 and Tue
Aug 15
present the third quarterly Quad City Flood… Riverdale City
Hall, 1pm Thu Aug 17
HEALTH
Yoga, on Tuesdays; for all levels of experience; the instructor
has… River Valley District Library, 5:30pm Tue Aug 1 thru
Tue Aug 29
Quad Cities Eating Disorders Support Group, on
Wednesdays; for people with eating disorders and their
family… Trinity Enrichment Center, 6pm Wed Aug 2 thru © 2023 Peanuts Worldwide LLC

Scott County Board of Supervisors Committee of the
Whole Meeting, the board will review legislative actions,
administrative items, and contracts; for… Scott County
Administrative Center, 8pm Tue Aug 1 and Tue Aug 29
Coal Valley City Hall Meeting, held on the first and third
Wednesdays of each month;… Coal Valley Village Hall, 6pm
Wed Aug 2
Davenport City Council Committee of the Whole
Meeting, the Davenport City Council meets on the first and
third… Davenport City Hall, 5:30pm Wed Aug 2 and Wed
Aug 16
Scott County Board of Supervisors Regular Meeting,
activities may include voting on actions and conducting
public hearings;… Scott County Administrative Center, 5pm
Thu Aug 3 and Thu Aug 31
Quad Cities Social Action Committee, for information,
e-mail e-fellowship@hotmail.com; help protest unfair
treatment of the elderly… Sippi’s Fine Food and Cocktails,
12:30pm Fri Aug 4
Bettendorf City Council Committee of the Whole
Meeting, recorded meetings can be seen at Bettendorf.org
or City’s Cable… Bettendorf City Hall, 5pm Mon Aug 7 and
Mon Aug 21
East Moline City Council Regular Meeting /
Committee of the Whole Meeting, meets on the 1st and
3rd Monday of every month;… East Moline Council Chambers
at City Hall, 6:30pm Mon Aug 7 and Mon Aug 21
Moline City Council Committee of the Whole Meeting
/ Regular Meeting, meets in Council Chambers; the formal
City Council meeting is… Moline City Hall, 6pm Tue Aug 8
and Tue Aug 22
Riverdale City Council Meeting, held on the 2nd and 4th
Tuesday of the month;… Riverdale City Hall, 7pm Tue Aug 8
and Tue Aug 22
Historical Society Meeting, meeting upstairs, all
welcome; free; for information, call 309-523-3440… River
Valley District Library, 7pm Wed Aug 9
Rock Island Committee of the Whole Meeting, held on
the 2nd Wednesday of the month (subject to… Rock Island
County Office Building, 5:30pm Wed Aug 9
Davenport City Council Meeting, the Davenport City
Council meets on the first and third… Davenport City Hall,
5:30pm Wed Aug 9 and Wed Aug 23
Library Board of Trustees Meeting, free; for information,
call 563-344-4175… Bettendorf Public Library, 5pm Thu Aug
10
Moline Public Library Board of Trustees Meeting,
agendas are available prior to the meetings; minutes are
available… Moline Public Library, noon Thu Aug 10
Quad Cities Chamber Annual Meeting, join us in
celebrating the past year’s accomplishments and our vision
Wed Aug 30
Parkinson’s Support Group, Augustana College’s
Department of Communication Sciences and Disorders
invites the… Betsey Brodahl Building, Augustana College,
2:30pm Tue Aug 15
ImpactLife Blood Drive, in the Gold Room; appointments
are required and masks are… Moline Public Library, 3pm Wed
Aug 30
SENIORS
Bob Gaston New Horizons Band Practice, on Thursdays;
membership is $160 a year or $15 every month;… CASI
(Center for Active Seniors), 12:30pm thru Thu Aug 31
Card Embroidery, on Thursdays; learn how to create fun
embroidery greeting cards; membership… CASI (Center for
Active Seniors), 9am thru Thu Aug 31
Hand and Foot, on Thursdays; membership is $160 a year
or $15 every month;… CASI (Center for Active Seniors), 1pm
thru Thu Aug 31
Line Dancing, on Thursdays; membership is $160 a year or
$15 every… CASI (Center for Active Seniors), 10am thru Thu
Aug 31
Zumba Gold, on Tuesdays and Thursdays; $3/person; for
information, call 563-386-7477… CASI (Center for Active
Seniors), 9am thru Thu Aug 31
Billiards, Mon.-Fri.; membership is $160 a year or $15 every
month;… CASI (Center for Active Seniors), 8am thru Mon
Sep 4
Milestones AAA Meal Site, Mon.-Fri; meals must be
reserved 24 to 48 hours in… CASI (Center for Active Seniors),
11:30am thru Mon Sep 4
Adult Coloring, on Fridays; membership is $160 a year or
$15 every… CASI (Center for Active Seniors), 10am Fri Jul 28
thru Fri Sep 1
Euchre, on Wed. & Fri.; membership is $160 a year or… CASI
(Center for Active Seniors), 12:45pm Fri Jul 28 thru Fri Sep 1
Friday Bingo, on Fridays; membership is $160 a year or $15
every month;… CASI (Center for Active Seniors), 1pm Fri Jul
28 thru Fri Sep 1
Golden Tones Chorus Practice, on Fridays; sing along to
some classical memories; membership is $160… CASI (Center
for Active Seniors), 9am Fri Jul 28 thru Fri Sep 1
Second Avenue Players Senior Theatre, on Fridays; bring
your theatrical side to CASI’s senior theater… CASI (Center for
Active Seniors), 10:30am Fri Jul 28 thru Fri Sep 1
Continued On Page 26
P
ossibly the most famed and beloved
artist in the history of comic strips
is being celebrated at the Figge
Art Museum through September 2 with
the Davenport venue’s The Life & Art of
Charles M. Schulz, a touring salute to the
talent who brightened the world for 50
years with the comedic, and sometimes
melancholic, adventures of Charlie Brown,
Lucy Van Pelt, Snoopy, and the rest of the
lovable Peanuts gang.
Charles Monroe Schulz (1922-2000)
is widely regarded as one of the most
influential cartoonists in history, and
cited by many cartoonists as a major
influence, including Jim Davis, Murray
Ball, Matt Groening, Dav Pilkey, and
Calvin & Hobbes creator Bill Watterson.
“Peanuts pretty much defines the modern
comic strip,” stated Watterson, “so even
now it’s hard to see it with fresh eyes. The
clean, minimalist drawings, the sarcastic
humor, the unflinching emotional hon-
esty, the inner thoughts of a household
pet, the serious treatment of children,
the wild fantasies, the merchandising on
an enormous scale ... . In countless ways,
Schulz blazed the wide trail that most
every cartoonist since has tried to follow.”
At its height, Peanuts was published daily
in 2,600 papers in 75 countries, in 21 lan-
guages. Over nearly 50 years, Schulz drew
17,897 published Peanuts strips, which,
along with their accompanying merchan-
dise and product endorsements, produced
revenues of more than $1 billion per year,
with Schulz earning an estimated $30
million to $40 million annually. During
the strip’s run, Schulz took only one
vacation: a five-week break in late 1997 to
celebrate his 75th birthday, with reruns
of the strip running during his vacation
-- the only time that occurred during
Schulz’s life.
The first collection of Peanuts strips was
published in July of 1952, and with his
beloved figures that included Linus, Sally,
Schroeder, Peppermint Patty, Marcie,
Pig Pen, and the yellow bird Woodstock,
Schulz explored the emotional territory
of friendship, disappointment, faith, and
tolerance. He was an artist and a story-
teller who transformed images of every-
day life into art that captured the humor,
vulnerability, and dignity of the human
spirit. Schulz once proclaimed, “It seems
beyond the comprehension of people
that someone can be born to draw comic
strips, but I think I was.”
Curated by the Charles M. Schulz
Museum and Research Center in Santa
Rosa, California, the touring exhibit The
Life & Art of Charles M. Schulz explores
the cartoonist’s personal history and his
role as the inspiration and artistic talent
behind Peanuts and its unique cast of
characters. The exhibition follows Schulz
from his Minnesota roots to his life in
California and tracks the development of
the characters that make up the unique
world of Peanuts. Fifty-two original Pea-
nuts comic strips, sketches, photographs,
and elements of Schulz’s studio illumi-
nate the story behind the popular and
influential cartoon strip, while a range of
ephemera including books, memorabilia,
and toys are also on display.
The Life & Art of Charles M. Schulz will
be on display through September 2, with
regular museum hours 10 a.m. to 5 p.m.
on Tuesdays through Saturdays (10 a.m.
to 9 p.m. on Thursdays) and noon to 5
p.m. on Sundays. Museum admission is
$4-10, and more information is available
by calling (563)326-7804 and visiting
FiggeArtMuseum.org.
 26 River Cities’ Reader • Vol. 30 No. 1012 • August 2023
MUSIC
Tracy Byrd
Saturday, August 19, 8 p.m.
Rhythm City Casio Resort Event Center, 7077 Elmore Avenue, Davenport IA
A
n Academy of Country Music Award
winner with more than a dozen top-10 Bill-
board hits to his credit, singer/songwriter
Tracy Bryd headlines an August 19 concert at Dav-
enport’s Rhythm City Casino Resort Event Center,
the multi-platinum-selling artist’s smash singles
including the chart-topping “Holdin’ Heaven,”
“I’m from the Country,” and “Ten Rounds with
Jose Cuervo.”
A native of Vidor, Texas, the 56-year-old Tracy
Lynn Byrd first attended Lamar University in
Beaumont, and then began studying business
at Texas State University. While pursuing his
academics, Byrd also sang with the Beaumont-
based band band Rimfire, and after he was heard
singing a cover of Hank Williams’ “Your Cheatin’
Heart” at a local mall’s recording studio, the
studio’s was so impressed with his version that
he entered Byrd into a local talent competition.
Byrd consequently signed with MCA Records
in 1992, and that same year, he released his first
single, “That’s the Thing About a Memory.” in
1992. The young artist officially broke through
with the number-one hit “Holdin’ Heaven’,” the
third release from Byrd’s self-titled debut album
released in April of 1993.
Debuting in 1994, No Ordinary Man was
Byrd’s second album, and also his highest-selling
one, earning a double-platinum certification for
U.S. sales of two million copies. All four singles
from the album reached Billboard’s top five on the
County chart: “Lifestyles of the Not So Rich and
Famous,” “Watermelon Crawl” (which was also
CONTINUED
Seniors
Zumba Gold, on Fridays; membership is $160 a year or $15
every… CASI (Center for Active Seniors), 10:15am Fri Jul 28
thru Fri Sep 1
Bridge, on Mondays & Fridays; membership is $160 a year
or… CASI (Center for Active Seniors), 11:30am Fri Jul 28 thru
Mon Sep 4
CASI Walking Club, on Mon., Wed., and Fri.; membership is
$160 a year… CASI (Center for Active Seniors), 8am Fri Jul 28
thru Mon Sep 4
Low Impact Exercise, Mon., Wed., & Fri. 9-10am, Tue. 11am-
2pm, Thu. 11am-noon; membership… CASI (Center for Active
Seniors), Fri Jul 28 thru Mon Sep 4
Bell Choir, on Mondays; membership is $160 a year or $15
every… CASI (Center for Active Seniors), 10am Mon Jul 31
thru Mon Sep 4
Shuffleboard, on Mondays; membership is $160 a year or
$15 every month;… CASI (Center for Active Seniors), 1pm Mon
Jul 31 thru Mon Sep 4
FREE ASSANGE.
Byrd’s first entry on the Billboard Hot 100), “The
First Step,” and “The Keeper of the Stars.” This
later song, a love ballad, became a popular choice
for fans to use at their weddings, and Byrd’s
number also won Song of the Year at the Academy
of Country Music in 1995. MCA had not origi-
nally planned to issue this song as a single, until
Byrd commented that it had been receiving favor-
able reactions whenever he sang it in concert.
Since then, Byrd has released eight additional
studio albums, among them the top-10 Billboard
sensations Love Lessons, I’m from the Country,
and The Truth About Men. Songs that have made
the top 10 of Billboard’s Country Singles chart,
meanwhile, include “Love Lessons,” “Big Love,”
“Don’t Take Her She’s All I Got,” “I Wanna Feel
That Way Again,” “Just Let Me Be in Love,” and
“Drinkin’ Bone.” And in addition to authoring
2003’s Eat Like a Byrd: The Tracy Byrd Cookbook
- a work published in tandem with Byrd’s launch
of a line of spices, rubs, and marinades to go along
with it - the country star has amassed consider-
able professional accolades, earning nominations
from the American Music Awards, the Country
Music Association Awards, the Academy of
Country Music Awards, and the TNN?Music City
News Awards.
Tracy Byrd plays his Event Center engagement
on August 19, admission to the 8 p.m. concert
event is $30-60, and more information and tickets
are available by calling (563)328-8000 and visiting
RhythmCityCasino.com.
Ugly Quilts, on Mondays; volunteer group; no sewing
experience necessary; membership is $160… CASI (Center for
Active Seniors), 9am Mon Jul 31 thru Mon Sep 4
Zumba Toning, on Mondays; membership is $160 a year or
$15 every month;… CASI (Center for Active Seniors), 10:15am
Mon Jul 31 thru Mon Sep 4
Red Hat Ladies Club, meeting locations vary; for
information, call 563-386-7477… CASI (Center for Active
Seniors), 11am Tue Aug 1
Canasta, on Tuesdays; membership is $160 a year or $15
every… CASI (Center for Active Seniors), 1pm Tue Aug 1 thru
Tue Aug 29
Chair-Based Exercise, on Tuesdays; membership is $160 a
year or $15 every… CASI (Center for Active Seniors), 9am Tue
Aug 1 thru Tue Aug 29
Knitting & Crocheting, on Tuesdays; volunteer group;
membership is $160 a year or… CASI (Center for Active
Seniors), 12:30pm Tue Aug 1 thru Tue Aug 29
Senior Technology Clinic, on Tuesdays; with expert Mike
Shinbori; bring your Apple and… CASI (Center for Active
Seniors), noon Tue Aug 1 thru Tue Aug 29
Know More. Do More.
Step into Balance: Balance & Strength, on Tuesdays; half-
hour exercise class with Logan Anderson, owner of… CASI
(Center for Active Seniors), 1pm Tue Aug 1 thru Tue Aug 29
Therapeutic Movement with Logan Anderson, on
Tuesdays; membership is $160 a year or $15 every… CASI
(Center for Active Seniors), 2pm Tue Aug 1 thru Tue Aug 29
Zumba Gold, on Tuesdays and Thursdays; membership is
$160 a year or… CASI (Center for Active Seniors), 9am Tue Aug
1 thru Tue Aug 29
Bunco, on Wednesdays; membership is $160 a year or $15
every… CASI (Center for Active Seniors), 2pm Wed Aug 2 thru
Wed Aug 30
TOPS (Taking Off Pounds Sensibly Weight-Loss
Support Group), on Wednesdays; membership is $160 a
year or $15 every month;… CASI (Center for Active Seniors),
11:30am Wed Aug 2 thru Wed Aug 30
T’ai Chi Ch’un, on Wednesdays; membership is $160 a year or
$15 every month;… CASI (Center for Active Seniors), 10:15am
Wed Aug 2 thru Wed Aug 30
Wednesday Bingo, on Wednesdays; 5pm doors, $10 card
pack minimum purchase; cash prizes… CASI (Center for Active
Seniors), 6pm Wed Aug 2 thru Wed Aug 30
Caregivers Support Group, on the 1st & 3rd Thu. of the
month; membership is… CASI (Center for Active Seniors),
4:30pm Thu Aug 3
Free Senior Day at the Figge Art Museum, for seniors
age 60 & up on the first Thursday… Figge Art Museum, 10am
Thu Aug 3
Coffee & Conversations, senior citizens of retirement ages
are invited to stop in… Bettendorf Public Library, 9am Wed
Aug 9
Caregivers Support Group, on the 1st & 3rd Thu. of the
month; $1/person;… CASI (Center for Active Seniors), 4:30pm
Thu Aug 17
Rules of the Road Class, Nancy Johnson, associated with
AARP and the Office of the… Moline Public Library, 1:30pm
Thu Aug 24
KIDS’ STUFF
Baby Storytime, on Thursdays; storytime for babies birth to
12 months and… Davenport Public Library - Eastern Avenue
Branch, 10am Thu Jul 27
Multiplayer Madness: Jackbox Party Games, we’ll be
playing the various games from the Jackbox Party… LeClaire
Community Library, 3pm Thu Jul 27
OWLT & About: Library at the Annie Wittenmeyer
Pool, Thursdays thru Aug, 10; families are welcome to attend
storytime… Fejervary Park, 10am Thu Jul 27
Tales for Tots, on Thursdays; an enriching activity time for
children ages birth… Bettendorf Public Library, 6:30pm Thu
Jul 27
Teen DIY: Fluid Nail Art, create mesmerizing swirls and cells
using a DIY silicone transforming… Davenport Public Library -
Eastern Avenue Branch, 2pm Thu Jul 27
Lily Blouin and JC Luxton in the Prenzie Players' Much Ado About Nothing
@ Village Theatre -- August 3 through 6
RCReader.com/Calendar.
Wiggle Time Story Hour, on Thursdays; join RVDL for our
all-ages Wiggle Time Story… River Valley District Library,
10:45am Thu Jul 27
Young Adult Role-Playing Club, on Thursdays; if you need
a place to play, just… Bettendorf Public Library, 1pm Thu Jul
27
Preschool Storytime, Tuesdays thru Fridays; ages 3-5 are
invited to attend these… Bettendorf Public Library, 10am thru
Fri Jul 28
Children’s Weekly Craft/Activity, thru July 29; visit the
Children’s Department at the Downtown… Rock Island Public
Library - Downtown Library, 10am thru Sat Jul 29
Story Times at RVDL, on Mondays and Thursdays; a fun and
educational Story Time with… River Valley District Library,
10:45am thru Mon Jul 31
Children’s Book Talk/Unboxing, join Miss Ranell on
Facebook for either a book talk… Rock Island Public Library -
Downtown Library, 2pm Fri Jul 28
Dungeons & Dragons, play the beloved fantasy tabletop
roleplaying game; free; for information,… River Valley District
Library, 4pm Fri Jul 28
Stories @ Main, on Fridays; plan on grooving down to Main
for dancing,… Davenport Public Library - Main Branch, 10am
Fri Jul 28
The Grout Museum Presents “Combustion”, the
Grout Museum will be visiting with a fun science… LeClaire
Community Library, 11am Fri Jul 28
Toddler Tales @ Watts-Midtown Branch, on Fridays; ages
0-5 and their caregivers are invited to enjoy… Rock Island
Public Library - Watts-Midtown Branch, 10:30am Fri Jul 28
Wapsi River Environmental Center Presents: Birds of
Prey, a program in the Friday Children’s Events series; free;
for… River Valley District Library, 1:30pm Fri Jul 28
Yoga and Stories in the Park, bring your yoga mat or a
towel and join us… Vander Veer Botanical Park, 10am Fri Jul
28
Child’s Play | Create : Explore : Experience, on Saturdays;
a 15-minute storytime complete with books rhymes and
songs… Bettendorf Public Library, 10am Sat Jul 29
End of Summer Reading Dance Party, celebrate the end
of Summer Reading with music, dancing, treats,… River Valley
District Library, 11am Sat Jul 29
Mini Makers: Shapes, stop into the Main, Eastern, or
Fairmount Library and pick-up… Davenport Public Library -
Main Branch, 9am Sat Jul 29
Stickerpalooza, we’ll have lots of stickers to choose from
and fun… Davenport Public Library - Eastern Avenue Branch,
2pm Sat Jul 29
OWLT & About: Library in Goose Creek Park, Mondays
thru Aug, 7; families are welcome to attend storytime… Goose
Creek Park, 10am Mon Jul 31
Zoo Camp: Animals and Me!, thru Aug. 4 for ages 4-5, from
9am-noon or 1-4pm;… Niabi Zoo, Mon Jul 31
OWLT & About: Library in Emeis Park, Tuesdays thru Aug,
8; families are welcome to attend storytime… Emeis Park,
10am Tue Aug 1 thru Tue Aug 8
Keep the Reader Alive and Free Since '93. RCReader.com/Support. FREE ASSANGE. River Cities’ Reader • Vol. 30 No. 1012 • August 2023 27

Crossword
Weekly Teen Book Talk, on Tuesdays; check out this week’s Read to a Dog, QC CAN’s Reading Assistance Dogs are
book talk from Emily,… Rock Island Public Library - Downtown specially trained, along with… Davenport Public Library -
Library, 3:45pm Tue Aug 1 thru Tue Aug 29 Fairmount Street Branch, 3pm Sat Aug 12

Art from the Figge with Kelsey, Kelsey from the Figge
Art Museum will be leading an… Rock Island Public Library -
Downtown Library, 10:30am Wed Aug 2
OWLT & About: Library at Fejervary Park, Wednesdays
thru Aug, 9; families are welcome to attend storytime…
Fejervary Park, 10am Wed Aug 2 thru Wed Aug 9
Une Programmation Bilingue Français/Anglais
French/English, Esperance Ciss will read stories, and lead
children in songs… Moline Public Library, 10:30am Sat Aug 12
HITTING THE SLOPES • August 8, 2023 July 4 Answers: See below
Teen DIY: Clay Pens, hang out with Miss Amber and learn
how to make… Davenport Public Library - Main Branch, 2pm
Mon Aug 14

Shonen Anime Club, join us as we celebrate Shonen Anime Family Storytime @ Watts-Midtown Branch, families are
and watch the… Davenport Public Library - Eastern Avenue invited to enjoy story time full of books,… Rock Island Public
Branch, 6:30pm Wed Aug 2 thru Wed Aug 16 Library - Watts-Midtown Branch, 6pm Wed Aug 16

Teen Gaming, on Wednesdays; pop in for gaming on the Pizza and Pages Teen Book Club, a lunchtime book
Switch, playing… Davenport Public Library - Fairmount Street club where we will enjoy pizza and… Moline Public Library,
Branch, 3pm Wed Aug 2 thru Wed Aug 30 12:30pm Wed Aug 16

Reading Assistance Dogs, children have the opportunity Read to a Dog, QC CAN’s Reading Assistance Dogs are
to read aloud to dogs from… Bettendorf Public Library, 6pm specially trained, along with… Davenport Public Library -
Thu Aug 3 Eastern Avenue Branch, 5:30pm Thu Aug 17

Baby Storytime, on Thursdays; storytime for babies birth to Teen DIY: Self Portrait Cake Pops, join Miss Amber and
12 months and… Davenport Public Library - Eastern Avenue make your face cake pop dreams… Davenport Public Library -
Branch, 10am Thu Aug 3 thru Thu Aug 10 Eastern Avenue Branch, 2pm Thu Aug 17

OWLT & About: Library at the Annie Wittenmeyer
Pool, Thursdays thru Aug, 10; families are welcome to attend
storytime… Fejervary Park, 10am Thu Aug 3 thru Thu Aug 10
Story Times at RVDL, on Mondays and Thursdays; a fun and
educational Story Time with… River Valley District Library,
10:45am Thu Aug 3 thru Thu Aug 31
Teen Library Council, students in grades 6-12 are needed to
give advice and… Moline Public Library, 3:30pm Thu Aug 17
LEAD Fridays @ Watts-Midtown Branch, our Youth
Services staff will be participating for students at… Rock
Island Public Library - Watts-Midtown Branch, 11:45am Fri
Aug 18

Stories @ Main, on Fridays; plan on grooving down to Main Tween/Teen Lock-In, open to readers who have completed
for dancing,… Davenport Public Library - Main Branch, 10am the 2023 Teen Summer… Moline Public Library, 4:30pm Fri
Fri Aug 4 thru Fri Aug 11 Aug 18

Don’t Let the Pigeon Plan a Party!, Mo Willem’s Pigeon
has taken over the Library and is… Davenport Public Library -
Eastern Avenue Branch, 2pm Sat Aug 5
Mini Makers: Mud Pies, stop into the Main, Eastern, or
Fairmount Library and pick-up… Davenport Public Library -
Eastern Avenue Branch, 9am Sat Aug 5
1000 Books Before Kindergarten Graduation
Ceremony, celebrate achievements a special photo op, chat
with other families,… Davenport Public Library - Fairmount
Street Branch, 10am Sat Aug 19
Discovery Fair, you can learn a few magic tricks, makes some
rock… Bettendorf Public Library, 10am Sat Aug 19

OWLT & About: Library in Goose Creek Park, Mondays Lego Club, create your Lego masterpieces; whether you want
thru Aug, 7; families are welcome to attend storytime… Goose to take on… River Valley District Library, 11am Sat Aug 26
Creek Park, 10am Mon Aug 7
PJ Party Storytime: Aliens!, put on your PJ’s and join us in
Teen Advisory Board Meeting, ages 11-19 are invited to the Children’s… Moline Public Library, 6pm Mon Aug 28
join; TAB Members volunteer, organize,… Davenport Public
Library - Fairmount Street Branch, 6:30pm Tue Aug 8 Young Adult Role-Playing Club: Tabletop RPGs
and More!, if you need a place to play, just bring your… ACROSS 72. Altar constellation 11. Standard of 57. Lover of Tristan
Toddler Tales @ Watts-Midtown Branch, on Tuesdays; Bettendorf Public Library, 1pm Wed Aug 30 1. Acquire 73. Stoma perfection 58. "_ All Folks!"
ages 0-5 and their caregivers are invited to… Rock Island 5. Soprano Dame 74. NFL players 12. File 59. Grace or Gene
Public Library - Watts-Midtown Branch, 10:30am Tue Aug 8 LEAD Fridays @ Watts-Midtown Branch, our Youth Nellie _ 75. Conceals 13. Swellhead's 60. Headlands
thru Tue Aug 29 Services staff will be participating for students at… Rock 10. Stuck 76. Journey on foot problem 61. Tooth: Prefix
Island Public Library - Watts-Midtown Branch, 11:45am Fri 15. Height supreme 77. Some consonants 14. Subatomic particle 62. Concern of
Teen Anime Club, watch Japanese animation, eat snacks, Sep 1 19. As well 78. Makes a dull sound 15. Take unlawfully hotrodders
and socialize with others interested… Davenport Public 20. Love affair 79. Send by boat 16. Big shoe 65. Where Casablanca
Library - Fairmount Street Branch, 6pm Wed Aug 9 thru Wed Stories @ Main, on Fridays; dancing, shaking, and stories for 21. Saw 80. Call 17. Synthesizer name is: Fr.
Aug 23 children birth to… Davenport Public Library - Main Branch, 22. Soiling mark 81. Gradual 18. French 101 verb 66. _ Joliot-Curie
10am Fri Sep 1 23. Start of a quip by 83. Reach 24. Nostrils 67. Petit fours
Toddler Tales @ Southwest Branch, on Wednesdays; ages Dave Barry: 3 wds. 84. A certain group of 25. Unsuitable 69. Cad
0-5 and their caregivers are invited to… Rock Island Public Mini Makers: Bubbles!, stop into the Main, Eastern, or 27. Literary extracts three goddesses 26. Caravan 70. Glacial castoffs
Library - Southwest Branch, 11am Wed Aug 9 thru Wed Aug Fairmount Library and pick-up… Davenport Public Library - 28. Readily supplied: 85. Make ready 31. Stone that sparks 71. River in England
30 Eastern Avenue Branch, 9am Sat Sep 2 2 wds. 86. Milky comestible 32. Nigerian port 74. Vain dreams
29. Schlep 87. Pull-up exercise 33. Woodland 75. Feud
Big/Little Book Club: Better with Butter by Victoria Story Times at RVDL, on Mondays and Thursdays; a fun and 30. Pennsylvania port 88. Disney girl at 34. Haven 76. Appreciative
Piontek, a book club for Littles (kids in 3rd through 5th educational Story Time with… River Valley District Library, 31. Infirm the Plaza 35. Wild prank 78. Surprise ending
grade)… Davenport Public Library - Eastern Avenue Branch, 10:45am Mon Sep 4 32. Dissolve out 90. Ergo 36. _ Pet 79. Stuffed, in cookery
6:30pm Thu Aug 10 33. Cousin to a vandyke 91. Stream 37. Arm of the Atlantic 80. Anterior
36. Loud sounds 95. End of the quip: 38. Gullible 82. Fine fellow
Creativity Lab, grades K-5 will explore a different artistic 37. Certain opera singer 5 wds. 39. Lab compound 83. Stage of a kind
medium and project… Moline Public Library, 7pm Thu Aug 10 July 4 Crossword Answers 40. Harangues 98. Guinness or 41. Termagant 84. Monsters
41. Something Templeton 42. "Where's _?" book 86. Jai alai basket
I Can Only Draw Worms, join Mister Joe and draw the only sometimes stuffed 99. Loos or Baker series 87. Zagreb denizen
thing he can draw;… Davenport Public Library - Fairmount 42. Prairie schooner 100. Out-and-out 45. Used up 88. A cheese
Street Branch, 3pm Fri Aug 11 43. Faux _ 101. Japanese noodle 46. Childish jeer 89. "Blue Angel" name
44. Tributary of the Elbe 102. Horse 47. Put on 90. Successor
Children’s Book Talk/Unboxing, join Miss Ranell on 45. Bright 103. Homeless one 49. Reject 91. Data unit
Facebook for either a book talk… Rock Island Public Library - 46. Ogee molding 104. Furthers 50. Brings about 92. Load
Downtown Library, 2pm Fri Aug 11 thru Fri Aug 25 47. Skewer 105. Time of 51. Directs 93. Part of WEF: Abbr.
48. Clock numerals deprivation 53. Prior to 94. Bivvy
Dungeons & Dragons, play the beloved fantasy tabletop 49. Brisling, a fish 54. Outbuildings 96. Med. specialty
roleplaying game; free; for information,… River Valley District 50. Milkshakes DOWN 55. Dressed to the _ 97. Elf
Library, 4pm Fri Aug 11 thru Fri Aug 25 51. Martin or Buscemi 1. "OMG!"
52. One on the lam 2. _ -Seltzer
Toddler Tales @ Watts-Midtown Branch, on Fridays; ages 54. _ Arabia 3. Oxford's river
4. Small round of
0-5 and their caregivers are invited to enjoy… Rock Island
Public Library - Watts-Midtown Branch, 10:30am Fri Aug 11
55. Less distant
56. Part 2 of quip: lean lamb New Crossword Puzzles
thru Fri Aug 25 2 wds.
60. Colleague
5. Smith or Simpson
6. Host posted EVERY week at
Hug-a-Book CREATE!, part of our special memorial
program series for our young… Rock Island Public Library -
63. Baking pan
64. Native to a region
7. "Gentlemen Prefer
Blondes" author RCReader.com/lifestyle
Downtown Library, 10:30am Sat Aug 12 68. Decorate 8. Lowlife
69. Quite a lot 9. Of trees
70. Hay, packaged 10. "Praying" creature
28 River Cities’ Reader • Vol. 30 No. 1012 • August 2023
FREE WILL ASTROLOGY
ARIES (March 21-April 19): You are
about to read a thunderbolt of sublime
prophecies. It’s guaranteed to nurture
the genius in your soul’s underground
cave. Are you ready? (1) Your higher self will prod
you to compose a bold prayer in which you ask for
stuff you thought you weren’t supposed to ask for.
(2) Your higher self will know what to do to
enhance your love life by at least 20 percent, pos-
sibly more. (3) Your higher self will give you extra
access to creativity and imaginative powers,
enabling you to make two practical improvements
in your life.
TAURUS (April 20-May 20): In 1991,
John Kilcullen began publishing books
with “for Dummies” in the title: for
example, Sex for Dummies, Time Man-
agement for Dummies, Personal Finance for Dum-
mies, and my favorite, Stress Management for
Dummies. There are now more than 300 books in
this series. They aren’t truly for stupid people, of
course. They’re designed to be robust introduc-
tions to interesting and useful subjects. I invite
you to emulate Kilcullen’s mindset, Taurus. Be
innocent, curious, and eager to learn. Adopt a
beginner’s mind that’s receptive to being educated
and influenced. (If you want to know more, go
here: TinyURL.com/TruthForDummies.)
GEMINI (May 21-June 20): “I could be
converted to a religion of grass,” says
Indigenous author Louise Erdrich in her
book Heart of the Land. “Sink deep
roots. Conserve water. Respect and nourish your
neighbors. Such are the tenets. As for practice –
grow lush in order to be devoured or caressed,
stiffen in sweet elegance, invent startling seeds.
Connect underground. Provide. Provide. Be
lovely and do no harm.” I advocate a similar
approach to life for you Geminis in the coming
weeks. Be earthy, sensual, and lush. (P.S.: Erdrich
is a Gemini.)
CANCER (June 21-July 22): I hereby
appoint myself as your temporary social
director. My first action is to let you
know that from an astrological perspec-
tive, the next nine months will be an excellent
time to expand and deepen your network of
FREE ASSANGE.
New Columns Weekly at RCReader.com
connections and your web of allies. I invite you to
cultivate a vigorous grapevine that keeps you up-
to-date about the latest trends affecting your work
and play. Refine your gossip skills. Be friendlier
than you’ve ever been. Are you the best ally and
collaborator you could possibly be? If not, make
that one of your assignments.
LEO (July 23-August 22): There are two
kinds of holidays: those created by
humans and those arising from the rela-
tionship between the sun and earth. In
the former category are various independence
days: July 4 in the US, July 1 in Canada, July 14 in
France, and June 2 in Italy. Japan observes Foun-
dation Day on February 11. Among the second
kind of holiday is Lammas on August 1, a pagan
festival that in the Northern Hemisphere marks
the halfway point between the summer solstice
and autumn equinox. In pre-industrial cultures,
Lammas celebrated the grain harvest and fea-
tured outpourings of gratitude for the crops that
provide essential food. Modern revelers give
thanks for not only the grain, but all the nourish-
ing bounties provided by the sun’s and earth’s col-
laborations. I believe you Leos are smart to make
Lammas one of your main holidays. What’s ready
to be harvested in your world. What are your
prime sources of gratitude?
VIRGO (August 23-September 22): For
many of us, a disposal company regu-
larly comes to our homes to haul away
the garbage we have generated. Wouldn’t
it be great if there was also a reliable service that
purged our minds and hearts of the psychic gunk
that naturally accumulates? Psychotherapists pro-
vide this blessing for some of us, and I know
people who derive similar benefits from spiritual
rituals. Getting drunk or intoxicated may work,
too, although those states often generate their
own dreck. With these thoughts in mind, Virgo,
meditate on how you might cleanse your soul with
a steady, ennobling practice. Now is an excellent
time to establish or deepen this tradition.
LIBRA (September 23-October 22):
I’m wondering if there is a beloved
person to whom you could say these
words by Rumi: “You are the sky my
Know More. Do More.
spirit circles in, the love inside love, the resurrec-
tion-place.” If you have no such an ally, Libra, the
coming months will be a favorable time to attract
them into your life. If there is such a companion,
I hope you will share Rumi’s lyrics with them,
then go further. Say the words Leonard Cohen
spoke: “When I’m with you, I want to be the kind
of hero I wanted to be when I was seven years old.”
SCORPIO (October 23-November 21):
Your theme for the coming weeks is
“pleasurable gooseflesh.” I expect and
hope you’ll experience it in abundance.
You need it and deserve it! Editor Corrie Evanoff
describes “pleasurable gooseflesh” as “the primal
response we experience when something sud-
denly violates our expectations in a good way.” It
can also be called “frisson” – a French word
meaning “a sudden feeling or sensation of excite-
ment, emotion, or thrill.” One way this joy may
occur is when we listen to a playlist of songs
sequenced in unpredictable ways – say, Mozart
followed by Johnny Cash, then Edit Piaf, Led Zep-
pelin, Blondie, Queen, Luciano Pavarotti, and
Yellow Magic Orchestra. Here’s your homework:
Imagine three ways you can stimulate pleasurable
gooseflesh and frisson, then go out and make
them happen.
SAGITTARIUS (November 22-Decem-
ber 21): “Fire rests by changing,” wrote
ancient Greek philosopher Heraclitus.
In accordance with astrological omens,
I ask you to meditate on that riddle. Here are some
preliminary thoughts: The flames rising from a
burning substance are always moving, always
active, never the same shape. Yet they comprise
the same fire. As long as they keep shifting and
dancing, they are alive and vital. If they stop
changing, they die out and disappear. The fire
needs to keep changing to thrive! Dear Sagittar-
ius, here’s your assignment: Be like the fire; rest by
changing.
CAPRICORN (December 22-January
19): There’s ample scientific evidence
that smelling cucumbers can diminish
feelings of claustrophobia. For example,
some people become anxious when they are
crammed inside a narrow metal tube to get an
RCReader.com/Calendar.
By Rob Brezsny
MRI. But numerous imaging facilities have
reduced that discomfort with the help of cucum-
ber oil applied to cotton pads and brought into
proximity to patients’ noses. I would love it if
there were also natural ways to help you break free
of any and all claustrophobic situations, Capri-
corn. The coming weeks will be a favorable time
to hone and practice the arts of liberation.
AQUARIUS (January 20-February
18): “Silent gratitude isn’t very much use
to anyone,” said Aquarian author Ger-
trude B. Stein. She was often quirky and even
downright weird, but as you can see, she also had
a heartful attitude about her alliances. Stein deliv-
ered another pithy quote that revealed her tender
approach to relationships. She said that love
requires a skillful audacity about sharing one’s
inner world. I hope you will put these two gems of
advice at the center of your attention, Aquarius.
You are ready for a strong, sustained dose of
deeply expressive interpersonal action.
PISCES (February 19-March 20):
According to the International Center
for Academic Integrity, 95 percent of
high school students acknowledge they have par-
ticipated in academic cheating. We can conclude
that just one of 20 students have never cheated – a
percentage that probably matches how many non-
cheaters there are in every area of life. I mention
this because I believe it’s a favorable time to atone
for any deceptions you have engaged in, whether
in school or elsewhere. I’m not necessarily urging
you to confess, but I encourage you to make
amends and corrections to the extent you can.
Also: Have a long talk with yourself about what
you can learn from your past cons and swindles.
Homework: Find a way to sing as loudly and
passionately as possible sometime soon. Visit
FreeWillAstrology.com.
Go to RealAstrology.com to check out Rob Brezsny’s
EXPANDED WEEKLY AUDIO HOROSCOPES
& DAILY TEXT MESSAGE HOROSCOPES
The audio horoscopes are also available by phone at
1-877-873-4888 or 1-900-950-77
Keep the Reader Alive and Free Since '93.
LIVE MUSIC
THURSDAY
2020/09/04 (Fri)
(27)
Big Fun (6:30pm) – Bettendorf
Public Library, 2950 Learning
Campus Dr., Bettendorf IA
Chris Avey (6pm) – Twin Span
Brewing, 6776 Championship
Dr., Bettendorf IA
David Huckfelt – Fairfield Arts &
Convention Center, 200 N. Main
St., Fairfield IA
For Those About to Yacht – The
Ridge Social Drinkery, 4750 Utica
Ridge Rd #100, Davenport IA
Funktastic 5 – Bass Street Landing
Plaza, 17th St., Moline IL
Joe Pug – Raccoon Motel, 315 E.
Second St., Davenport IA
Open Jam Night – My Place the
Pub, 4405 State St., Bettendorf
IA
Open Mic & Karaoke – The Rusty
Fox Wine & Alehouse, 1 E 3rd St.,
Sterling IL
Open Mic Night w/ Antone
Burton – Bootleg Hill Honey
Meads, 321 E. 2nd St., Davenport
IA
Open Mic Nite w/ Jacob
Hemenway – Zeke’s Island Cafe,
1509 N Harrison St., Davenport
IA
Telethon – Plunkett – Gunk Lung
– Gabe’s, 330 E. Washington St.,
Iowa City IA
FRIDAY (28)
Bix Mix @ 3rd St.: 7 Roads
– Downtown Davenport, ,
Davenport IA
Class of ’82 – RIBCO, 1815 Second
Ave., Rock Island IL
D a n H u b b a r d (6 p m) –
Steventon’s, 1399 Eagle Ridge
Rd, LeClaire IA
Denku – Yung Potion – Gabe’s,
330 E. Washington St., Iowa City
IA
Donovan Gustofson – Hollar’s Bar
and Grill, 4050 27th St, Moline IL
Douglas & Tucker Duo – The
Grape Life Wine Store & Lounge,
3402 Elmore Ave., Davenport IA
Eli Wallace – Glurge – Chachka –
Rozz-Tox, 2108 Third Ave., Rock
Island IL
Fair Warning – The Tangled
Wood, 3636 Tanglewood Rd.,
Bettendorf IA
Jake Worthington – Raccoon
Motel, 315 E. Second St.,
Davenport IA
Levi Craft – Hawkeye Tap Sports
Bar N Grill, 4646 Cheyenne Ave.,
Davenport IA
Live at 5: Byobrass (5pm) –
Common Chord Courtyard, 129
Main St., Davenport IA
Rabbit Hole – The Pub - Milan, 426
1st Ave. West, Milan IL
Rob and Gary of the Night
People – Bootleg Hill Honey
Meads, 321 E. 2nd St., Davenport
IA
Rosie & the Rivets – Rhythm City
Casino Resort Rhythm Room,
7077 Elmore Ave., Davenport IA
Sophia Coyote – Savanna
Museum and Cultural Center,
406 Main St., Savanna IL
Stranded in the City – The Gypsy
Highway Bar & Grill, 2606 W.
Locust St., Davenport IA
Superstar Mafia – Riverside
Casino and Golf Resort, 3184
Highway 22, Riverside IA
Tamborazo De Oro (5pm) –
Mercado on Fifth, 1122 4th Ave.,
Moline IL
Winterland (6:30pm) – Iowa City
Ped Mall, 14 S. Clinton St, Iowa
City IA
RCReader.com/Support.
SATURDAY (29)
10 of Soul – The Tangled
Wood, 3636 Tanglewood Rd.,
Bettendorf IA
Bix Beiderbecke Momprey of
Sound – Bootleg Hill Honey
Meads, 321 E. 2nd St., Davenport
IA
Bix Mix @ 3rd St.: QC Rock
Academy – Wicked Liz &
the Bellyswirls – The Pork
Tornadoes – Downtown
Davenport, , Davenport IA
BixBRAI Family Zone: John
Resch & Doggin’ Out (noon) –
The Matt Fuller Band (1:45pm)
– The QC Santana Tribute
Band (3pm) – LeClaire Park, 400
Beiderbecke Dr., Davenport IA
Conquest Drum & Bugle Corps
(2pm) – Moline Public Library,
3210 41st St., Moline IL
Doug Brundies – Bally’s Quad
Cities, 777 Bally Blvd., Rock
Island IL
Flabborgastor – RIBCO, 1815
Second Ave., Rock Island IL
For Those About to Yacht (5pm)
– Kelso’s Corner, 1117 Mound St.,
Davenport IA
Funktastic 5 – Hawkeye Tap
Sports Bar N Grill, 4646
Cheyenne Ave., Davenport IA
The Get Down: Slumpgang 777
– Aubs. – Unique Vibrations –
King Supr3m3 – Rozz-Tox, 2108
Third Ave., Rock Island IL
Gray Wolf Band (5pm) – Swanny’s,
531 Maple St., Colona IL
Ian Bebon – The Edge Eatery &
Drinkatorium, 1802 2nd Ave.,
Rapids City IL
Identity Crisis – The Gypsy
Highway Bar & Grill, 2606 W.
Locust St., Davenport IA
Jim Perron (1pm) – Andrew Jacob
& Lisa Lyn (6pm) – Satan’s God
– Blue Movies – Mortimer
Mouse – Acoustic Guillotine –
Steve Couch (9pm) – Bootleg
Hill Honey Meads, 321 E. 2nd St.,
Davenport IA
Levi Craft – Kavanaugh’s Hilltop
Bar & Grill, 1228 30th St., Rock
Island IL
Michael Moncada (6:30pm) –
Tuggers Burger Bar & Ale House,
201 N. Main St., Port Byron IL
Rambunctious – 11th Street
Precinct, 1107 Mound St.,
Davenport IA
Rosie & the Rivets – Riverside
Casino and Golf Resort, 3184
Highway 22, Riverside IA
Semi-Charmed – Pour Bros.Craft
Taproom Moline, 1209 4th Ave.
Suite 2, Moline IL
Slim Chance & the Can’t Hardly
Playboys (6:30pm) – Iowa City
Ped Mall, 14 S. Clinton St, Iowa
City IA
Superstar Mafia – Rhythm City
Casino Resort Rhythm Room,
7077 Elmore Ave., Davenport IA
Surf’s Up Saturday (11:30am)
– Zeke’s Island Cafe, 1509 N
Harrison St., Davenport IA
Tony Hoeppner & Friends –
Green Tree Brewery, 309 N. Cody
Rd., LeClaire IA
Too Hype Crew – Dam View Inn,
410 E. 2nd St., Davenport IA
UV Sunrise – Soup Riot – The
Mannequins – Kobe Williams
& the Fantasy – Gabe’s, 330 E.
Washington St., Iowa City IA
SUNDAY (30)
Aoife Scott – Dwayne Dopsie &
the Zydeco Hellraisers (6pm)
– Wiley Park, SE 6th St., Galva IL
Bobbi White & Co.(5:30pm) –
Brink’s, 214 Locust St., Sterling IL
Buddy Olson (3pm) – Ducky’s
FREE ASSANGE.
Lagoon, 13515 78th Ave W.,
Taylor Ridge IL
The Elvis Expreience (4:30pm) –
The Gypsy Highway Bar & Grill,
2606 W. Locust St., Davenport IA
Good Morning Midnight – Hayes
Noble – Camp Regret – Gabe’s,
330 E. Washington St., Iowa City
IA
Phyllis & One Shark (3pm) – Len
Brown’s North Shore Inn, 700 N.
Shore Dr., Moline IL
Pulgita Crooked Cactus (5pm) –
Runners Park, 742 15th Ave., East
Moline IL
Soultru & Gunner (3pm) –
Contrary Brewing Co., 411 W
Mississippi Dr., Muscatine IA
MONDAY (31)
Austin Snell – Tyler Farr –
Mississippi Valley Fairgrounds,
2815 W. Locust St, Davenport IA
Dirt Road Rockers – Mississippi
Valley Fairgrounds Wine & Craft
Beer Tent, 2815 W. Locust St.,
Davenport IA
Gray Wolf Band (6:30pm) –
Moline Township Activit y
Center, 620 18th St., Moline IL
Indre – Gabe’s, 330 E. Washington
St., Iowa City IA
TUESDAY (1)
Casey Muessigmann – Mississippi
Valley Fairgrounds Farmer’s
Tent, 2815 W. Locust St,
Davenport IA
Corporate Rock (4pm) – Hap
Hazard (7:30pm) – Mississippi
Valley Fairgrounds Pavilion,
2815 W. Locust St., Davenport IA
Doug Brundies (1pm) – Angela
Meyer (3:30pm) – Eli Alger
(6pm) – The Michael Mikrut
Band (10pm) – Mississippi
Valley Fairgrounds Wine & Craft
Beer Tent, 2815 W. Locust St.,
Davenport IA
Hitman (6pm) – Lincoln Park -
DeWitt, , DeWitt IA
The Night People – Lincoln Park,
1120 40th St., Rock Island IL
Sam Hunt – Mississippi Valley
Fairgrounds, 2815 W. Locust St,
Davenport IA
Tommy Pickett (noon) – Sara
Simmons (3pm) – Hot Rods
(6 & 10pm) – Elvis Tibute (7
& 9pm) – Mississippi Valley
Fairgrounds Oldies Tent, 2815
Locust St., Davenport IA
WEDNESDAY (2)
3 Door Coupe (6:30pm) – The
Gypsy Highway Bar & Grill, 2606
W. Locust St., Davenport IA
Austin Meade – Gabe’s, 330 E.
Washington St., Iowa City IA
Danielle Nicole Band – BTDT
(formerly Been There Done
That) – The Redstone Room, 129
Main St, Davenport IA
Doug Brundies (1pm) – Eli Alger
(3:30pm) – Brad Morgan (6pm)
– Ariel McReynolds (10pm) –
Mississippi Valley Fairgrounds
Wine & Craft Beer Tent, 2815 W.
Locust St., Davenport IA
Jordan Davis – Mississippi Valley
Fairgrounds, 2815 W. Locust St,
Davenport IA
Karaoke Night – RIBCO, 1815
Second Ave., Rock Island IL
Open Jam Night (6pm) – Denny
O’s, 307 10th Ave, Fulton IL
Scott Stowe (4pm) – Far Out 283
(7:30pm) – Mississippi Valley
Fairgrounds Pavilion, 2815 W.
Locust St., Davenport IA
Tommy Pickett (noon) – Sara
Simmons (3pm) – Hot Rods
(6 & 10pm) – Elvis Tibute (7
Through September 3, 2023
September Print Edition Deadline:
August 27: calendar@rcreader.com
& 9pm) – Mississippi Valley
Fairgrounds Oldies Tent, 2815
Locust St., Davenport IA
Tyler Richton & the High Band
Boys – Mississippi Valley
Fairgrounds Farmer’s Tent, 2815
W. Locust St, Davenport IA
Wednesday Night Blues Jam
(6pm) – Kavanaugh’s Hilltop
Bar & Grill, 1228 30th St., Rock
Island IL
THURSDAY (3)
2023 Bix Beiderbecke Memorial
Jazz Festival – Rhythm City
Casino Resort, 7077 Elmore Ave.,
Davenport IA
Brad Morgan (4pm) – Michael
Moncada & Whiskey High
(7:30pm) – Mississippi Valley
Fairgrounds Pavilion, 2815 W.
Locust St., Davenport IA
Funktastic Five – Mississippi
Valley Fairgrounds Farmer’s
Tent, 2815 W. Locust St,
Davenport IA
Get the Led Out – Englert Theatre,
221 East Washington St., Iowa
City IA
Ginger Roots (6pm) – Twin Span
Brewing, 6776 Championship
Dr., Bettendorf IA
The Knockoffs – Bass Street
Landing Plaza, 17th St., Moline IL
Levi Craft (6pm) – The Gypsy
Highway Bar & Grill, 2606 W.
Locust St., Davenport IA
Little Mazarn – Advance Base
– Johnnie Cluney – Rozz-Tox,
2108 Third Ave., Rock Island IL
Logan Springer & the
Wonderfully Wild (6:30pm)
– Bettendorf Public Library,
2950 Learning Campus Dr.,
Bettendorf IA
Ludacris – Lil John – Mississippi
Valley Fairgrounds, 2815 W.
Locust St, Davenport IA
Open Jam Night – My Place the
Pub, 4405 State St., Bettendorf
IA
Open Mic Night (5:30pm) –
Tuggers Burger Bar & Ale House,
201 N. Main St., Port Byron IL
Open Mic Night w/ Antone
Burton – Bootleg Hill Honey
Meads, 321 E. 2nd St., Davenport
IA
Reggae Night – Zeke’s Island Cafe,
1509 N Harrison St., Davenport
IA
Scott Stowe (1pm) – Angela
Meyer (3:30pm) – Doug
Brundies (6pm) – Monica
Austin (10pm) – Mississippi
Valley Fairgrounds Wine & Craft
Beer Tent, 2815 W. Locust St.,
Davenport IA
Tommy Pickett (noon) – Sara
Simmons (3pm) – Hot Rods
(6 & 10pm) – Sting Rays (7
& 9pm) – Mississippi Valley
Fairgrounds Oldies Tent,
2815 Locust St., Davenport IA
FRIDAY (4)
2023 Bix Beiderbecke Memorial
Jazz Festival – Rhythm City
Casino Resort, 7077 Elmore Ave.,
Davenport IA
BTDT – The Gypsy Highway Bar
& Grill, 2606 W. Locust St.,
Davenport IA
The Beaker Brothers (6:30pm) –
Iowa City Ped Mall, 14 S. Clinton
St, Iowa City IA
Big Hair Mafia – Mississippi Valley
Fairgrounds Farmer’s Tent, 2815
W. Locust St, Davenport IA
Frank Trujillo Jr. – The Grape
Life Wine Store & Lounge, 3402
Elmore Ave., Davenport IA
Hap Hazard – The Tangled
Wood, 3636 Tanglewood Rd.,
River Cities’ Reader • Vol. 30 No. 1012 • August 2023
Get Your Local Licks On
Bettendorf IA
Jef Spradley (6pm) – Steventon’s,
1399 Eagle Ridge Rd, LeClaire IA
Jim Ryan – Hollar’s Bar and Grill,
4050 27th St, Moline IL
John Cole Born – Bootleg Hill
Honey Meads, 321 E. 2nd St.,
Davenport IA
Kurt Allen Band – Flatted Fifth
Blues & BBQ, 300 Potter Dr.,
Bellevue IA
La Edicion (5pm) – Mercado on
Fifth, 1122 4th Ave., Moline IL
Levi Craft (1pm) – Sara Simmons
(3:30pm) – Doug Brundies
(6pm) – Fair Warning (10pm)
– Mississippi Valley Fairgrounds
Wine & Craft Beer Tent, 2815 W.
Locust St., Davenport IA
Live at 5: Fair Warning (5pm) –
Common Chord Courtyard, 129
Main St., Davenport IA
Nicole Dean – Hawkeye Tap Sports
Bar N Grill, 4646 Cheyenne Ave.,
Davenport IA
Pat Travers Band – Jerm Theory
– The Redstone Room, 129 Main
St, Davenport IA
Sushi Roll – Rhythm City Casino
Resort Rhythm Room, 7077
Elmore Ave., Davenport IA
Three Days Grace – Mississippi
Valley Fairgrounds, 2815 W.
Locust St, Davenport IA
Threshold (4pm) – North of 40
(7:30pm) – Mississippi Valley
Fairgrounds Pavilion, 2815 W.
Locust St., Davenport IA
Tommy Pickett (noon) – Sara
Simmons (3pm) – Hot Rods (6
& 10pm) – Sting Rays (7 & 9pm)
– Mississippi Valley Fairgrounds
Oldies Tent, 2815 Locust St.,
Davenport IA
SATURDAY (5)
2023 Bix Beiderbecke Memorial
Jazz Festival – Rhythm City
Casino Resort, 7077 Elmore Ave.,
Davenport IA
Ariel McReynolds (8:30pm)
– Earth to Mars (10:30pm)
– Riverside Casino and Golf
Resort, 3184 Highway 22,
Riverside IA
BK Davis’ Audacity Blues Tour –
The Redstone Room, 129 Main
St, Davenport IA
Crooked Cac tus (4pm) –
Nuclear Plowboys (7:30pm)
– Mississippi Valley Fairgrounds
Pavilion, 2815 W. Locust St.,
Davenport IA
Dani Lynn Howe Band – Rhythm
City Casino Resort Rhythm
Room, 7077 Elmore Ave.,
Davenport IA
Finesse2tymes – The Rust Belt,
533 12th Ave., East Moline IL
The Generations Band – Pour
Bros.Craft Taproom Moline, 1209
4th Ave. Suite 2, Moline IL
Lewis Knudsen – Bootleg Hill
Honey Meads, 321 E. 2nd St.,
Davenport IA
Limp Bizkit – Mississippi Valley
Fairgrounds, 2815 W. Locust St,
Davenport IA
The Mamiltons – The Tangled
Wood, 3636 Tanglewood Rd.,
Bettendorf IA
Michael Moncada (1pm) – Levi
Craft (3:30pm) – Sara Simmons
(6pm) – Trophy Dads (10pm) –
Mississippi Valley Fairgrounds
Wine & Craft Beer Tent, 2815 W.
Locust St., Davenport IA
Roadside Circus – Mississippi
Valley Fairgrounds Farmer’s
Tent, 2815 W. Locust St,
Davenport IA
Slow Rollin’ – 11th Street Precinct,
1107 Mound St., Davenport IA
Smooth Groove – The Gypsy
Highway Bar & Grill, 2606 W.
29
Locust St., Davenport IA
Steve Grismore Jazz Trio – The
Grape Life Wine Store & Lounge,
3402 Elmore Ave., Davenport IA
Storm Da Stage ft. El Hitta –
King Youngin – Gabe’s, 330 E.
Washington St., Iowa City IA
Surf’s Up Saturday (11:30am)
– Zeke’s Island Cafe, 1509 N
Harrison St., Davenport IA
Suzy Bogguss – Morgan Myles
(1pm) – Village Park, Downtown,
Sherrard IL
Tommy Pickett (noon) – Angela
Meyer (3pm) – Hot Rods (6 &
10pm) – Sting Rays (7 & 9pm)
– Mississippi Valley Fairgrounds
Oldies Tent, 2815 Locust St.,
Davenport IA
SUNDAY (6)
Buddy Olson (3pm) – Ducky’s
Lagoon, 13515 78th Ave W.,
Taylor Ridge IL
Doug Brundies (1pm) – Michael
Moncada (6pm) – Mississippi
Valley Fairgrounds Wine & Craft
Beer Tent, 2815 W. Locust St.,
Davenport IA
Electric Shock: The AC/DC Show
– Mississippi Valley Fairgrounds
Farmer’s Tent, 2815 W. Locust St,
Davenport IA
Far Out 283 (5pm) – Runners Park,
742 15th Ave., East Moline IL
For Those About to Yacht (4pm)
– Dirt Road Rockers (7:30pm)
– Mississippi Valley Fairgrounds
Pavilion, 2815 W. Locust St.,
Davenport IA
Hardy – Mississippi Valley
Fairgrounds, 2815 W. Locust St,
Davenport IA
Joie Booth (3pm) – Wide River
Winery - Clinton, 1776 East Deer
Creek Rd., Clinton IA
Matt Fichter (5:30pm) – Brink’s,
214 Locust St., Sterling IL
Pearl Band (2pm) – Contrary
Brewing Co., 411 W Mississippi
Dr., Muscatine IA
Rachel Brooke – Rye Davis Music
(6pm) – Wiley Park, SE 6th St.,
Galva IL
Tommy Pickett (noon) – Angela
Meyer (3pm) – Hot Rods (6 &
10pm) – Sting Rays (7 & 9pm)
– Mississippi Valley Fairgrounds
Oldies Tent, 2815 Locust St.,
Davenport IA
MONDAY (7)
Chepang – Bandit – Decultivate –
The Hunting Grounds – Death
Cult – DieFirst – Raccoon Motel,
315 E. Second St., Davenport IA
TUESDAY (8)
Amusement & Music: Dan Peart
& Matthew Jacobsen – Clinton
Area Showboat Theatre, 311
Riverview Dr., Clinton IA
Chepang – Bandit – Decultivate
– The Hunting Grounds Death
Cult – DieFirst – Raccoon Motel,
315 E. Second St., Davenport IA
Montana Sunrise (6pm) – Lincoln
Park - DeWitt, , DeWitt IA
WEDNESDAY (9)
Karaoke Night – RIBCO, 1815
Second Ave., Rock Island IL
Open Jam Night (6pm) – Denny
O’s, 307 10th Ave, Fulton IL
Wednesday Night Blues Jam
(6pm) – Kavanaugh’s Hilltop
Bar & Grill, 1228 30th St., Rock
Island IL
THURSDAY (10)
Arts Fishing Club – Raccoon
Continued On Page 30
30 River Cities’ Reader • Vol. 30 No. 1012 • August 2023
LIVE MUSIC
Motel, 315 E. Second St.,
Davenport IA
Blues Beatles – Rhythm City
Casino Resort Rhythm Room,
7077 Elmore Ave., Davenport IA
The Bootleggers in Concert –
Circa ’21 Dinner Playhouse, 1828
Third Ave., Rock Island IL
Crooked Cactus – Bass Street
Landing Plaza, 17th St., Moline IL
The Feel Right Band – Fairfield
Arts & Convention Center, 200
N. Main St., Fairfield IA
Funktastic Five (6:30pm) –
Bettendorf Public Librar y,
2950 Learning Campus Dr.,
Bettendorf IA
The Jason & John Experience
featuring Sarena (6pm) – Koru
Aronia Berry Farm, 1681 U Ave.,
Homestead IA
Open Jam Night – My Place the
Pub, 4405 State St., Bettendorf
IA
Open Mic Night w/ Antone
Burton – Bootleg Hill Honey
Meads, 321 E. 2nd St., Davenport
IA
Open Mic Nite w/ Jacob
Hemenway – Zeke’s Island Cafe,
1509 N Harrison St., Davenport
IA
Randy Leasman (6:30pm) – The
Gypsy Highway Bar & Grill, 2606
W. Locust St., Davenport IA
Sleep Signals – The Failsafe –
Battle Red – Laughing Soul
– Gabe’s, 330 E. Washington St.,
Iowa City IA
Tug Fest LeClaire: Ky & Ty and
the Other Guy – LeClaire Levee,
117 S. Front St., LeClaire IA
FRIDAY (11)
Chad Gooch – Bootleg Hill Honey
Meads, 321 E. 2nd St., Davenport
IA
Class of ’82 – Rhythm City Casino
Resort Rhythm Room, 7077
Elmore Ave., Davenport IA
Freddy Allen 2&4 Swing Trio
– The Grape Life Wine Store
& Lounge, 3402 Elmore Ave.,
Davenport IA
Gary Pearson & Robert Dahms –
Hollar’s Bar and Grill, 4050 27th
St, Moline IL
Grupo Realidad (5pm) – Mercado
on Fifth, 1122 4th Ave., Moline IL
Iced Wrist – Crimson Clean
Sweep – Nyhilist – Gabe’s, 330
E. Washington St., Iowa City IA
Jason D. Williams (7pm) – Awed
Man Out (8:45pm) – Riverside
Casino and Golf Resort, 3184
Highway 22, Riverside IA
Joanne Shaw Taylor – Englert
Theatre, 221 East Washington
St., Iowa City IA
Live at 5: Far Out 283 (5pm) –
Common Chord Courtyard, 129
Main St., Davenport IA
Luke Abrahamsen – Collins
(6pm) – Steventon’s, 1399 Eagle
Ridge Rd, LeClaire IA
Mark Hestness (6pm) – Front
Street Brewery Tap Room,
Freight House, 421 W. River Dr.,
Davenport IA
Members Only – The Tangled
Wood, 3636 Tanglewood Rd.,
Bettendorf IA
Moonshine Run – Hawkeye
Tap Sports Bar N Grill, 4646
Cheyenne Ave., Davenport IA
One Night of Queen – Vibrant
Arena at the MARK, 1201 River
Dr, Moline IL
Sophie Mitchell – Jordan
Sellergren (6:30pm) – Iowa
City Ped Mall, 14 S. Clinton St,
Iowa City IA
Tug Fest LeClaire: Hap Hazard –
Lynn Allen – LeClaire Levee, 117
S. Front St., LeClaire IA
Tug Fest Port Byron: Mo’s
Garage – Port Byron Levee,
Downtown Port Byron, Port
Byron IL
Whiskey Business – The Gypsy
Highway Bar & Grill, 2606 W.
Locust St., Davenport IA
SATURDAY (12)
Ben Schmidt & Richard Wagor
– Bootleg Hill Honey Meads, 321
E. 2nd St., Davenport IA
Blue60 Band – Riverside Casino
and Golf Resort, 3184 Highway
22, Riverside IA
CJ Ryder & Past Masters –
Rhythm City Casino Resort
Rhythm Room, 7077 Elmore
Ave., Davenport IA
Class Field Trip – Route 30 Slots &
Cocktails, 2000 E Rock Falls Rd.,
Rock Falls IL
Crooked Cactus – 11th Street
Precinct, 1107 Mound St.,
Davenport IA
Doug Brundies – Hawkeye
Tap Sports Bar N Grill, 4646
Cheyenne Ave., Davenport IA
Dynoride – Pour Bros.Craft
Taproom Moline, 1209 4th Ave.
Suite 2, Moline IL
Last Minute Vibes 4 – Gabe’s, 330
E. Washington St., Iowa City IA
The Shagadelics – The Tangled
Wood, 3636 Tanglewood Rd.,
Bettendorf IA
Surf’s Up Saturday (11:30am)
– Zeke’s Island Cafe, 1509 N
Harrison St., Davenport IA
Tug Fest LeClaire: Got Your Six
(4pm) – Electric Shock: The
AC/DC Tribute (8pm) – LeClaire
Levee, 117 S. Front St., LeClaire IA
Tug Fest Port Byron: Monica
Austin (7:30pm) – Michael
Moncada & Whiskey High
(10pm) – Port Byron Levee,
Downtown Port Byron, Port
Byron IL
Wild Oatz – The Gypsy Highway
Bar & Grill, 2606 W. Locust St.,
Davenport IA
SUNDAY (13)
Angela Meyer (2pm) – Contrary
Brewing Co., 411 W Mississippi
Dr., Muscatine IA
Big Hair Mafia – Rhythm City
Casino Resort Rhythm Room,
7077 Elmore Ave., Davenport IA
Buddy Olson (3pm) – Ducky’s
Lagoon, 13515 78th Ave W.,
Taylor Ridge IL
Class of ’82 (5pm) – Runners Park,
742 15th Ave., East Moline IL
Kerry & Rich Acoustic Duo (2pm)
– Len Brown’s North Shore Inn,
700 N. Shore Dr., Moline IL
Rabbit Hole – LeClaire Park, 400
Beiderbecke Dr., Davenport IA
Tesla – Rhythm City Casino Resort
Event Center, 7077 Elmore Ave.,
Davenport IA
TUESDAY (15)
Jimmy Welty Band (6pm) –
Lincoln Park - DeWitt, , DeWitt IA
Matthew Fowler – Raccoon Motel,
315 E. Second St., Davenport IA
Pop Evil – Eva Under Fire – The
Rust Belt, 533 12th Ave., East
Moline IL
WEDNESDAY (16)
Karaoke Night – RIBCO, 1815
Second Ave., Rock Island IL
Open Jam Night (6pm) – Denny
O’s, 307 10th Ave, Fulton IL
The Wallflowers – Engler t
Theatre, 221 East Washington
St., Iowa City IA
FREE ASSANGE.
Wednesday Night Blues Jam
(6pm) – Kavanaugh’s Hilltop
Bar & Grill, 1228 30th St., Rock
Island IL
THURSDAY (17)
Andrzej Kozłowski (6pm) – Rock
Island Public Library - Watts-
Midtown Branch, 2715 30th St.,
Rock Island IL
Bleeding Through – Too Pure
To Die (5pm) – Gabe’s, 330 E.
Washington St., Iowa City IA
The Bootleggers in Concert –
Circa ’21 Dinner Playhouse, 1828
Third Ave., Rock Island IL
Dani Lynn Howe – The Ridge
Social Drinkery, 4750 Utica Ridge
Rd #100, Davenport IA
Feature Artist Nite – Zeke’s
Island Cafe, 1509 N Harrison St.,
Davenport IA
Jaik Willis (5pm) – Front Street
Brewery Tap Room, Freight
House, 421 W. River Dr.,
Davenport IA
Jef Spradley (6:30pm) – The
Gypsy Highway Bar & Grill, 2606
W. Locust St., Davenport IA
Lissie – Schwiebert Riverfront
Park, 101 17th St., Rock Island IL
Open Jam Night – My Place the
Pub, 4405 State St., Bettendorf
IA
Open Mic Night (5:30pm) –
Tuggers Burger Bar & Ale House,
201 N. Main St., Port Byron IL
Open Mic Night w/ Antone
Burton – Bootleg Hill Honey
Meads, 321 E. 2nd St., Davenport
IA
(18)
FRIDAY
38 Special – Rhythm City Casino
Resort Event Center, 7077
Elmore Ave., Davenport IA
Adeem the Artist – Trumpet
Blossom Cafe, 310 E. Prentiss St.,
Iowa City IA
Amateur Selectors: Rubadub
Computer w/ Zeb Brooks –
Rozz-Tox, 2108 Third Ave., Rock
Island IL
Banda La Encantadora for Bob
O’s Birthday Celebration
(5pm) – Mercado on Fifth, 1122
4th Ave., Moline IL
Bonelang (5:30pm)
Tambourine (8:30pm) – Silver
– Silver Cup (6pm) – Bonelang
Cup (11:30pm) – Armored
Gardens, 315 Pershing Ave.,
Davenport IA
CJ Parker (5pm) – Tim Stop
(7pm) – The Forty Twos (9pm)
– Kaiserslautern Square, ,
Davenport IA
Centaur Noir (7pm) – Subatlantic
(10pm) – Devon’s Complaint
Department, 304 E 3rd St,,
Davenport IA
The Daymakers (8:30pm) –
Shoot to Thrill (10:30pm)
– Rhythm City Casino Resort
Rhythm Room, 7077 Elmore
Ave., Davenport IA
Ed James (6pm) – Steventon’s,
1399 Eagle Ridge Rd, LeClaire IA
Frogpond (5pm) – Subatlantic
(7pm) – Steven M. Krug
Jr.(9pm) – High Five Simmers
(11pm) – Stompbox Brewing,
210 E. River Dr., Davenport IA
High Five Sinners (5:30pm) – The
Textures (7:30pm) – Frogpond
(10 p m) – Ru de Pu nc h
(12:30am) – Mac’s Tavern, 316
W. 3rd St., Davenport IA
Jaik Willis (5:30pm) – Bootleg
Hill Honey Meads, 321 E. 2nd St.,
Davenport IA
The Jason & John Experience –
Hollar’s Bar and Grill, 4050 27th
St, Moline IL
Through September 3, 2023
September Print Edition Deadline:
August 27: calendar@rcreader.com
Jeramy Cantrell (6pm) – Contrary
Brewing Co., 411 W Mississippi
Dr., Muscatine IA
Jordan Danielsen – The Grape
Life Wine Store & Lounge, 3402
Elmore Ave., Davenport IA
Jumbies – Funkatude (6:30pm) –
Iowa City Ped Mall, 14 S. Clinton
St, Iowa City IA
Kent Burnside (5:30pm) – CJ
Parker (7:30pm) – Front
Street Brewery, 208 E. River Dr.,
Davenport IA
Levi Craft – Hawkeye Tap Sports
Bar N Grill, 4646 Cheyenne Ave.,
Davenport IA
Live at 5: The Breaker Brothers
(5pm) – Common Chord
Cour t yard, 129 Main St.,
Davenport IA
Matt Fuller Band – The Tangled
Wood, 3636 Tanglewood Rd.,
Bettendorf IA
Pam Tillis – Codfish Hollow Barn,
5013 288th Ave., Maquoketa IA
Polyrhythms 9th Annual Bill
Bell Jazz & Heritage Festival
2023: Drum Circle (5pm) –
Polyrhythms All–Stars Jam
Party Pt. 1 (6pm) – WeFunk
(8:45pm) – Martin Luther King
Jr.Community Center, 630 7th
Ave., Rock Island IL
Radio Flyer Pilots Acoustic Trio
– The Quarry, 2202 W. 3rd St.,
Davenport IA
Raquel & the Wildflowers –
Riverside Casino and Golf
Resort, 3184 Highway 22,
Riverside IA
The Righteous Babes (7pm) –
Mike Clark & the Sugar Sounds
(8pm) – Hembree (9:30pm) –
Raccoon Motel, 315 E. Second
St., Davenport IA
Ron Tegeler Organ Trio (5pm)
– Rude Punch (7:30pm) – Tim
Stop (9:30pm) – Jaik Willis
(11:30pm) – Mississippi River
Distilling Company & Cody Road
Cocktail House, 229 N. Cody Rd.,
LeClaire IA
Ron Tegeler Organ Trio (7:30pm)
– Dan Hubbard (10:30pm) – UP
Skybar & Lounge, 215 N. Main St.,
Moline IL
Silent Disco – Davenpor t
Sk yBridge, Second Street
bet ween Brady & Main,
Davenport IA
(8pm) – Carriage Haus, 312 W
3rd St, Davenport IA
Smoking Popes – Common
Chord Courtyard, 129 Main St.,
Davenport IA
Steven M. Krug Jr.(5pm) – Dan
Hubbard (7pm) – Daiquiri
Factory - Davenport, 303 W. 3rd
St., Davenport IA
Tambourine (5pm) – The
Mamiltons (7pm) – Kent
Burnside (9pm) – Centaur Noir
(11pm) – Ruby’s Davenport, 429
E. 3rd St., Davenport IA
Toxic Blonde – The Gypsy
Highway Bar & Grill, 2606 W.
Locust St., Davenport IA
True Day (6pm) – Crawford Brew
Works, 3659 Devils Glen Rd.,
Bettendorf IA
SATURDAY (19)
3 on the Tree (1pm) – Phillip
Michael Scales (3:30pm)
– Dante Elephante (6pm) –
American Devil Sound (9pm)
– Kaiserslautern Square, ,
Davenport IA
Adeem the Artist – Devon’s
Complaint Department, 304 E
3rd St,, Davenport IA
Brooke Byam – Rhythm City
Casino Resort Rhythm Room,
7077 Elmore Ave., Davenport IA
Know More. Do More.
Get Your Local Licks On
Casey Donahew – The Rust Belt,
533 12th Ave., East Moline IL
Catfish Keith – The James Theater,
213 N. Gilbert St., Iowa City IA
Christina Eltrevoog – Pour Bros.
Craft Taproom Moline, 1209 4th
Ave. Suite 2, Moline IL
Crooked Cactus – The Gypsy
Highway Bar & Grill, 2606 W.
Locust St., Davenport IA
Dante Elephante (3:30pm)
– Logan Springer & the
Wonderfully Wild (7:30pm) –
Rare Element (10pm) – Ruby’s
Davenport, 429 E. 3rd St.,
Davenport IA
Eric Pedigo (noon) – Lewis
Knudsen (2pm) – Soultru
(4pm) – Mo Carter (6pm) –
Freight House, 421 W. River Dr.,
Davenport IA
For Those About to Yacht –
Riverside Grille, 1733 State St.,
Bettendorf IA
Got Your Six – 11th Street Precinct,
1107 Mound St., Davenport IA
Johnny Russler & the Beach Bum
Band – The Tangled Wood, 3636
Tanglewood Rd., Bettendorf IA
Lojo Russo (4:30pm) – Post Sex
Nachos (7:30pm) – Daiquiri
Factory - Davenport, 303 W. 3rd
St., Davenport IA
Lojo Russo (noon) – Logan
Springer & the Wonderfully
Wild (4:30pm) – Monica Austin
(7pm) – Front Street Brewery,
208 E. River Dr., Davenport IA
Mikaela Davis & the Southern
Star (7pm) – Sharon Silva
(8pm) – Paul Bergmann (9pm)
– Winona Fighter (10:30pm) –
Raccoon Motel, 315 E. Second
St., Davenport IA
Northern Parallels: Mike Derer –
Higgy – Kate Rowe – Rozz-Tox,
2108 Third Ave., Rock Island IL
ONTES (2pm) – Dickie (6pm)
– Running Man (10pm) –
Armored Gardens, 315 Pershing
Ave., Davenport IA
Polyrhythms 9th Annual Bill Bell
Jazz & Heritage Festival 2023:
Polyrhythms All–Stars Jam
Party Pt. 2 (5pm) – CJ Parker
(7pm) – The Matt Fuller Band
(8:45pm) – Martin Luther King
Jr.Community Center, 630 7th
Ave., Rock Island IL
Raquel & the Wildflowers
(8:30pm) – Shoot to Thrill
(10pm) – Riverside Casino and
Golf Resort, 3184 Highway 22,
Riverside IA
Rare Element (6pm) – Ax & the
Hatchetmen (9pm) – Common
Chord Courtyard, 129 Main St.,
Davenport IA
Rumble in Rocktown – Wake
Brewing Company, 2529 Fifth
Ave., Rock Island IL
Running Man (6pm) – Dendrons
(7pm) – Ragged Records, 418 E.
2nd St., Davenport IA
Silent Disco – Davenpor t
Sk yBridge, Second Street
bet ween Brady & Main,
Davenport IA
Surf’s Up Saturday (11:30am)
– Zeke’s Island Cafe, 1509 N
Harrison St., Davenport IA
Tedious & Brief (1pm) – Adeem
the Artist (5pm) – Eric Pedigo
(7:30pm) – UP Skybar & Lounge,
215 N. Main St., Moline IL
Tedious & Brief (4:30pm) –
ONTES (7:30pm) – Emma
Peridot (10pm) – Bootleg Hill
Honey Meads, 321 E. 2nd St.,
Davenport IA
Todd Partridge (2:30pm) – The
Mamiltons (5:30pm) – Monica
Austin (10pm) – Mississippi
River Distilling Company & Cody
Road Cocktail House, 229 N.
Cody Rd., LeClaire IA
RCReader.com/Calendar.
Todd Partridge (noon) – Post
Sex Nachos (4:30pm) – Phillip
Michael Scales (9pm) – King of
the Tramps (midnight) – Mac’s
Tavern, 316 W. 3rd St., Davenport
IA
Tony Hoeppner & Friends – The
Grape Life Wine Store & Lounge,
3402 Elmore Ave., Davenport IA
Tracy Byrd – Rhythm City Casino
Resort Event Center, 7077
Elmore Ave., Davenport IA
The Velies (12:30pm) – 3 on the
Tree (4pm) – Emma Peridot
(7pm) – Carriage Haus, 312 W
3rd St, Davenport IA
The Velies (2:30pm) – King of
the Traps (5:30pm) – Dickie
(9:30pm) – Stompbox Brewing,
210 E. River Dr., Davenport IA
SUNDAY (20)
Buddy Olson (3pm) – Ducky’s
Lagoon, 13515 78th Ave W.,
Taylor Ridge IL
HOODS (6pm) – Gabe’s, 330 E.
Washington St., Iowa City IA
Lee Blackmon (2pm) – Olathea
Creek Vineyard and Winery,
23456 Great River Rd., LeClaire
IA
Matt Barber (3pm) – Wide River
Winery - Clinton, 1776 East Deer
Creek Rd., Clinton IA
Polyrhythms 9th Annual Bill Bell
Jazz & Heritage Festival 2023:
Crockett & Grismore Guitar
& Trumpet Duo (3:30pm) –
Kuchina Trio (5pm) – Michael
Wolff Quartet (6:45pm) –
Rivermont Collegiate, 1821
Sunset Dr., Bettendorf IA
Rumble in Rocktown (3pm) –
Wake Brewing Company, 2529
Fifth Ave., Rock Island IL
T. Magee (2pm) – Contrary
Brewing Co., 411 W Mississippi
Dr., Muscatine IA
Veteran Live Music Festival:
Got Your Six – Robbie Holder
– Matt Williams – Justin
Touchette (2pm) – The Gypsy
Highway Bar & Grill, 2606 W.
Locust St., Davenport IA
Wetsuit – Subatlantic – Fox Den
Motel, 920 Main St., Dubuque IA
Wild Oatz (5pm) – Runners Park,
742 15th Ave., East Moline IL
MONDAY (21)
Songwriters Roundtable (6pm) –
Common Chord, 129 N. Main St.,
Davenport IA
TUESDAY (22)
Brian Skow (6pm) – Steventon’s,
1399 Eagle Ridge Rd, LeClaire IA
North of 40 (6pm) – Lincoln Park -
DeWitt, , DeWitt IA
Wandering Patriots Harmonica
Band (6:30pm) – Davenport
Public Library - Fairmount Street
Branch, 3000 N. Fairmount St.,
Davenport IA
WEDNESDAY (23)
Big Time Grain Co. – Riverside
Casino and Golf Resort, 3184
Highway 22, Riverside IA
Doug Brundies (6:30pm) – The
Gypsy Highway Bar & Grill, 2606
W. Locust St., Davenport IA
Karaoke Night – RIBCO, 1815
Second Ave., Rock Island IL
Open Jam Night (6pm) – Denny
O’s, 307 10th Ave, Fulton IL
THURSDAY (24)
Dirt Road Rockers – The Ridge
Social Drinkery, 4750 Utica Ridge
Rd #100, Davenport IA
Funktastic Five (6pm) – The
Keep the Reader Alive and Free Since '93.
LIVE MUSIC
Gypsy Highway Bar & Grill, 2606
W. Locust St., Davenport IA
Jen Craft Acoustic (6pm) –
Twin Span Brewing, 6776
Championship Dr., Bettendorf IA
Kara Grainger – Schwiebert
Riverfront Park, 101 17th St.,
Rock Island IL
Open Jam Night – My Place the
Pub, 4405 State St., Bettendorf
IA
Open Mic Night w/ Antone
Burton – Bootleg Hill Honey
Meads, 321 E. 2nd St., Davenport
IA
Open Mic Nite w/ Jacob
Hemenway – Zeke’s Island Cafe,
1509 N Harrison St., Davenport
IA
Travis Tritt – Adler Theatre, 136 E.
Third St., Davenport IA
FRIDAY (25)
Ben Orrin Coe – Hawkeye
Tap Sports Bar N Grill, 4646
Cheyenne Ave., Davenport IA
Crooked Cactus – Rhythm City
Casino Resort Rhythm Room,
7077 Elmore Ave., Davenport IA
Ed James – Hollar’s Bar and Grill,
4050 27th St, Moline IL
Live at 5: Rude Punch (5pm) –
Common Chord Courtyard, 129
Main St., Davenport IA
Mo.Live! (5pm) – Mercado on
Fifth, 1122 4th Ave., Moline IL
New Boston Fish Fry: Rabbit
Hole – New Boston, , Davenport
IA
Nuclear Plowboys – The Gypsy
Highway Bar & Grill, 2606 W.
Locust St., Davenport IA
The Recliners (6:30pm) – Iowa
City Ped Mall, 14 S. Clinton St,
Iowa City IA
Ron Tegeler Organ Trio – The
Grape Life Wine Store & Lounge,
3402 Elmore Ave., Davenport IA
Two Divas & a Piano (7:30pm)
– Brooke Byam (9:15pm)
– Riverside Casino and Golf
Resort, 3184 Highway 22,
Riverside IA
The Velies – The Tangled
Wood, 3636 Tanglewood Rd.,
Bettendorf IA
SATURDAY (26)
1st Impression – The Gypsy
Highway Bar & Grill, 2606 W.
Locust St., Davenport IA
Amateur Selectors: Feed Me
Weird Things – Rozz-Tox, 2108
Third Ave., Rock Island IL
Backyard Big Show: The Dip –
Alanna Royale – James Tutson
(5:30pm) – Big Grove Brewery,
1225 S. Gilbert St., Iowa City IA
Clarlotte Blu – Leah Leah – Pour
Bros.Craft Taproom Moline, 1209
4th Ave. Suite 2, Moline IL
Donovan Gustofson – Geneseo
Brewing Company, 102 S. State
St., Geneseo IL
Fair Warning – Missipi Brewing
Company, 107 Iowa Ave.,
Muscatine IA
For Those About to Yacht
– The Tangled Wood, 3636
Tanglewood Rd., Bettendorf IA
Hand in Hand Music Fest: Wicked
Liz & the Bellyswirls – Danger
Zone – Dani Lynn Howe Band
– Moonshine Run (4pm) – Isle
Casino Hotel Bettendorf, 1777
Isle Parkway, Bettendorf IA
Hannah Frey – Mars Hojilla –
Bella Moss – Gabe’s, 330 E.
Washington St., Iowa City IA
JP & the Blues Machine – 11th
Street Precinct, 1107 Mound St.,
Davenport IA
Natty Nation (6:30pm) – Iowa
City Ped Mall, 14 S. Clinton St,
RCReader.com/Support. FREE ASSANGE. River Cities’ Reader • Vol. 30 No. 1012 • August 2023 31
Get Your Local Licks On
Through September 3, 2023
September Print Edition Deadline:
August 27: calendar@rcreader.com
(10am) – Dead Poet’s Espresso,
Iowa City IA
The Nude Party – Codfish FRIDAY (1) Rd, LeClaire IA
Live at 5: Matt Fuller Band (5pm) 1525 3rd Ave, Moline IL
Harrison St., Davenport IA
Hollow Barn, 5013 288th Ave.,
Maquoketa IA
Andrew & Lisa Lyn – Bootleg Hill
Honey Meads, 321 E. 2nd St.,
– Common Chord Courtyard,
129 Main St., Davenport IA
BoDeans – Marques Morel –
Diane Patterson – Codfish
SUNDAY (3)
Quad Cities Ukulele Club (3pm) Davenport IA Nuevo Estillo (5pm) – Mercado on Hollow Barn, 5013 288th Ave., Finger Eleven – 10 Years – The
– Davenport Public Library - Brad & the Big Wave – Saint Fifth, 1122 4th Ave., Moline IL Maquoketa IA Rust Belt, 533 12th Ave., East
Eastern Avenue Branch, 6000 Silver (6:30pm) – Iowa City Ped The Oak Ridge Boys – Rhythm The Jason & John Experience – Moline IL
Eastern Ave., Davenport IA Mall, 14 S. Clinton St, Iowa City IA City Casino Resort Event Center, Pour Bros.Craft Taproom Moline, Funktastic 5 (3:30pm) – The
Rabbit Hole (5pm) – Olathea Code 415 – The Gypsy Highway 7077 Elmore Ave., Davenport IA 1209 4th Ave. Suite 2, Moline IL Gypsy Highway Bar & Grill, 2606
Creek Vineyard and Winery, Bar & Grill, 2606 W. Locust St., Tropidelic – Rude Punch – The The King of Mars – The Tangled W. Locust St., Davenport IA
23456 Great River Rd., LeClaire Davenport IA Redstone Room, 129 Main St, Wood, 3636 Tanglewood Rd., Jay Vonn (5:30pm) – Brink’s, 214
IA Darsombra – The House Flies – Davenport IA Bettendorf IA Locust St., Sterling IL
Rob and Gary of the Night Village Theatre, 2113 E 11th St, Michael Charles – Galena Brewing Lewis Knudsen (3pm) – Wide
People – Bootleg Hill Honey
Meads, 321 E. 2nd St., Davenport
Davenport IA
Emo Nite LA – Gabe’s, 330 E.
SATURDAY (2) Company, 227 N. Main St.,
Galena IL
River Winery - Clinton, 1776 East
Deer Creek Rd., Clinton IA
IA Washington St., Iowa City IA 3 Door Coupe – The Gypsy Rob and Gary of the Night Threat Level Midnight –
Surf’s Up Saturday (11:30am) Jelly Smack – The Tangled Highway Bar & Grill, 2606 W. People – Bootleg Hill Honey Hartwood (6pm) – The Tangled
– Zeke’s Island Cafe, 1509 N Wood, 3636 Tanglewood Rd., Locust St., Davenport IA Meads, 321 E. 2nd St., Davenport Wood, 3636 Tanglewood Rd.,
Harrison St., Davenport IA Bettendorf IA Amateur Selectors: Colorful IA Bettendorf IA
The Tailfins – Rhythm City Casino Jim Cook – Hollar’s Bar and Grill, Crates w/ DJ Obscurious – Royal Pop – 11th Street Precinct,
Resort Rhythm Room, 7077 4050 27th St, Moline IL Rozz-Tox, 2108 Third Ave., Rock 1107 Mound St., Davenport IA
Elmore Ave., Davenport IA Ke it h H e nt ric h (6 p m) – Island IL Surf’s Up Saturday (11:30am)
Toy Factory – Riverside Casino
and Golf Resort, 3184 Highway
Steventon’s, 1399 Eagle Ridge Americana Melodies: 1860s – Zeke’s Island Cafe, 1509 N
22, Riverside IA
SUNDAY (27)
Avey Grouws Band (3:30pm) –
The Gypsy Highway Bar & Grill,
2606 W. Locust St., Davenport IA
Buddy Olson (3pm) – Ducky’s
Lagoon, 13515 78th Ave W.,
Taylor Ridge IL
Elton John Tribute (5:30pm) –
Brink’s, 214 Locust St., Sterling IL
Praise in the Park – Veterans
Memorial Park, 1645 23rd St.,
Bettendorf IA
Sean Kistler (2pm) – Contrary
Brewing Co., 411 W Mississippi
Dr., Muscatine IA
Travis Reid Band (5pm) – Runners
Park, 742 15th Ave., East Moline
IL
MONDAY (28)
Devon Allman – Donavon
Frankenreiter – Matt Costa
– Englert Theatre, 221 East
Washington St., Iowa City IA
TUESDAY (29)
Gza – Englert Theatre, 221 East
Washington St., Iowa City IA
The Tailfins (6pm) – Lincoln Park -
DeWitt, , DeWitt IA
WEDNESDAY (30)
Karaoke Night – RIBCO, 1815
Second Ave., Rock Island IL
Open Jam Night (6pm) – Denny
O’s, 307 10th Ave, Fulton IL
Wednesday Night Blues Jam
(6pm) – Kavanaugh’s Hilltop
Bar & Grill, 1228 30th St., Rock
Island IL
THURSDAY (31)
Class of ’82 – The Ridge Social
Drinkery, 4750 Utica Ridge Rd
#100, Davenport IA
Jane Leo – Raccoon Motel, 315 E.
Second St., Davenport IA
Open Jam Night – My Place the
Pub, 4405 State St., Bettendorf
IA
Open Mic & Karaoke – The Rusty
Fox Wine & Alehouse, 1 E 3rd St.,
Sterling IL
Open Mic Night (5:30pm) –
Tuggers Burger Bar & Ale House,
201 N. Main St., Port Byron IL
Open Mic Night w/ Antone
Burton – Bootleg Hill Honey
Meads, 321 E. 2nd St., Davenport
IA
Ruby & Donovan (6:30pm) – The
Gypsy Highway Bar & Grill, 2606
W. Locust St., Davenport IA
32 River Cities’ Reader • Vol. 30 No. 1012 • August 2023 FREE ASSANGE. Know More. Do More. RCReader.com/Calendar.