River Cities' Reader - Issue 891 - September 17, 2015

2
River Cities Reader Vol. 22 No. 891 September 17 - 30, 2015
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GUEST COMMENTARY
by Daniel Bier
How Dangerous Is It to Be a Cop?
ts war on cops season again,

in which politicians and pundits toss around the political
football of officer safety. So now is
an opportune time to look at the
dangers of police work.
First, the big headline numbers:
fatalities and homicides.
The National Law Enforcement
Officers Memorial Fund (NLEOMF)
keeps track of all the officers who
have died on the job, from any cause,
going back to the 19th Century.
Looking at officer fatalities per
million residents since 1900, the
broad sweep of history shows that
police work has been getting a lot
safer since Prohibition ended (with a
temporary reversal during the 1960s
and 1970s).
But, of course, not all fatalities
are homicides. In fact, in recent
years, only about a third of workrelated police deaths have been from
murder.
NLEOMF doesnt separately track
homicides, but the FBI has its own database
for felony killings of police in the past few
decades. The Bureau of Justice Statistics

has also conducted a national police census
every four years since 1992, giving us some
reliable estimates for the total number of

sworn officers up through 2008.
And no matter how you slice it, police
work has been getting a lot safer. Fatalities

and murders of police have been falling for
Continued On Page 16
ILLINOIS POLITICS

by Rich Miller
CapitolFax.com
Cycle of Futility Continues

with State Budget
have plenty of checks.

llinois Comptroller Leslie Munger said
All the Senates legislation would do is
last week that state governments backhasten the point at which the state runs
log of unpaid bills will hit $8.5 billion
by the end of December, up from about $6 out of money to pay any of its obligations.
There are already billions of dollars less
billion right now.
coming into state coffers because of the
Thats a headline-grabbing number,
January tax-hike expiration, but the Senate
since the end of December is not
bill would spend billions of dollars more.
exactly the greatest time for people and
The governors
companies that are owed
overall record on veto
money by the state. The
The Senates spending bill overrides so far this
states bill backlog was
has been 60 wins
about $8 billion this past
is kinda like thinking you year
and 1 loss, with that
January, right after most
of the 2011 state-income- have money in your bank one loss being a veto
of Medicaid funding
tax hike expired. But the
backlog fell to $3.5 billion account because you still for heroin treatment,
which was overridden
by the end of July, and
have plenty of checks. by both chambers and is
just $2.3 billion of those
therefore now law. But
bills were more than 30
the governor agreed to
days overdue.
Republican legislators demands to not
But lets take a look at another estimate
oppose the override, and there are those
Comptroller Munger released last week.
who believe he only vetoed it so he could
The comptroller totaled state spending
look like he was opposed to spending
from last fiscal year that isnt currently
being mandated by federal and state court money on heroin-addiction treatment, so
it wasnt really a loss.
decrees (Medicaid bills, state employee
Its therefore more than reasonable to
and judicial salaries, etc.), continuing
assume that even if the House Democrats
appropriations (bond and pension
do manage to get all 71 of their members
payments, legislative salaries), signed
to town later this month and pass the
appropriations bills (K-12 education),
Senates spending legislation (probably
and other things, and came up with $4.3
a big if considering that one of those
billion.
The $4.3 billion is the total amount that Democrats has tickets to see Pope Francis
that very day), the governor will likely
was paid out last year but is not currently
veto the thing, and then the House
being sent to colleges and universities,
Democrats will struggle in vain yet again
state-employee health-care providers,
to override. So last weeks floor action
non-Medicaid social-service providers,
MAP Grant college-student-aid recipients, could very well turn out to be futile. And
even if they do override him, the governor
and lottery winners over $25,000, plus
doesnt have to spend the money without a
various transfers out, including to local
court order.
governments for things such as motorIn an open letter to members last week,
fuel-tax distributions.
the governors chief legislative liaison
Eventually, that money will have to
urged the Senate Democrats to come
be paid in full or in part, or significant
back to the negotiating table to pursue
portions of the state are gonna be in a big
compromise, reform, and a balanced
world of hurt.
So the Senate Democrats stepped in last budget, to which the Senate Dems
responded: What is this negotiating table
week and passed an appropriations bill
that they speak of?
that covers most of those state payments
According to the Senate Democrats, the
that arent already going out the door. The
four legislative leaders and the governor
problem, of course, is that just because
have not met with each other since late
they passed a spending bill doesnt mean
May. And the governor refuses to even
there is any money to pay those bills.
discuss the budget until the Democrats
And there are indeed no available
agree to address his Turnaround
state revenues to pay for most of those
Agenda.
appropriations (with an exception for
I just dont know what to say any
money that comes out of special funds
more.
such as the $582 million appropriated
from the Motor Fuel Tax Fund).
Rich Miller also publishes Capitol Fax (a daily
Its kinda like thinking you have money
political newsletter) and CapitolFax.com.
in your bank account because you still
IT'S A
FOR
YOUR
Satu rday, september 19

LECLAIRE PARK, DAVENPORT
1-5 PM
TICKETS
$30 ONLINE AT
JAYCEESQC.COM
$32 HYVEE &
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$35 AT THE DOOR
Vol. 22 No. 891

Sep. 17 - 30, 2015
River Cities Reader
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The most comprehensive events calendar in the QC
RiverCitiesReader.com
MUSIC
Off the Main Road
by Jeff Ignatius
jeff@rcreader.com
MoZo, September 18 at Rozz-Tox
he Seattle duo
MoZo will be
releasing its new
album at a September 18
show at Rozz-Tox, and in
its home base at a show in
... November.
That sentence has
several layers of oddness,
especially considering
that guitarist/singer/
songwriter Moe
Provencher and drummer
Aimee Zoe Tubbs have no
MoZo shows scheduled in
between.
Lets start with the
band releasing its record
here, despite never having
played the Quad Cities area previously.
Tubbs is from Eldridge, Iowa, and this will
be her first hometown show and her
first show in eastern Iowa in six years. I
have played for family and friends before
in other bands, Tubbs said. Im more
excited than anything else to share our
material and have them listen to what we
sound like now. The Rozz-Tox concert
will also feature the debut of Sheridan
Drive a duo that features the daughter
of Tubbs childhood best friend.
And having two months between
record-release shows and two months
between shows, period is part of
MoZos unusual character. The pair began
busking together in Seattle roughly a
decade ago, and although Tubbs and
Provencher are full-time musicians,
MoZo is more of an occasional outlet for
their original music.
They spent the summer as the rhythm
section for another band, playing roughly
40 shows, and MoZo itself might only
play a dozen gigs this year a reflection
of the difficulty making money as a band.
But thats no reflection of the quality of
MoZo. The new album, The Neighborhood
Has Changed, kicks off with three
spectacularly catchy bits of songcraft in
the vein of Jenny Lewis, with Making Me
Beg adding a raucous New Orleans vibe
courtesy of horns and woodwinds.
The remainder of the album largely
slows the tempo and peels away the pop,

but it remains compelling from singer/
songwriter storytelling to the gentlest
of blues to harmonica-fueled protest to
the subtle builds and releases of A Little
Love.
These records just feel like passion
projects, Provencher said. We are
making our living in music, but its
spread out over many different bands and
vehicles.
So MoZo carves out time every few
years for a new record and a bicycle tour.
(Those tours have included western
Europe and Australia/New Zealand.)
Lets go see some places weve never
seen and travel by bike, Provencher said.
Its such a different experience when
youre moving slowly like that. ... It came
from not wanting to sit in cars all day. We
both spent many years doing band tours.
In some ways it feels like a cubicle job. ...
We kind of wanted to get out of that van/
driving mentality and get off the main
road. ... It really connects you more to
where you are when youre on a bike. ...
You just meet more people, and youre
more connected to your surroundings.
... Theres more food for thought when
youre off the interstate and youre seeing
new things.
But they mostly play with other people.
Tubbs, for instance, plays drums with
several members of Seattles Bushwick
Book Club a group of songwriters
(including Provencher) who

use literature as the starting
point for writing exercises.
That club, Provencher
said, generated six of The
Neighborhood Has Changeds
10 tracks: The rules are
pretty simple: Just read the
book and write new music. ...
You can draw from anything
you feel.
So Cheryl Strayeds selfdiscovery memoir Wild
about a 1,100-mile hike
along the Pacific Crest Trail
begat the new albums No
Use Waiting, Provencher
said: Back in the 90s, after
I turned 18, I went to college
for a year and wasnt really happy. And I
decided to buy a bicycle and just head off
down the East Coast. ... So reading this
memoir, I didnt have the same impetus
she did with grief, but I just thought a lot
about solo travel and that kind of journey.
I thought about my mother, because
she had driven me to my starting point
outside of Boston. And I was just thinking
about letting go and family.
The records arrangements are
thoughtfully robust, but on the road
theyre pared back. On bicycle tours,
obviously, MoZo plays as an acoustic duo.
In Rock Island, though, Tubbs promised
that MoZo will offer its plugged-in side:
When its just Moe on the guitar and
me on the drums, theres something
thats more raw about it anyway ... that
automatically makes it a little bit sparser
and grungier. Its fun to play with what
were going to do with the low end.
The arrangements come from ideas
surrounding that how we can make our
sound as full as possible with just the two
of us.
MoZo will perform on Friday, September
18, at Rozz-Tox (2108 Third Avenue, Rock
Island; RozzTox.com). Cover for the 8 p.m.
all-ages show is $5 to $10.
For more information on MoZo, visit
GoMoZo.com.
COVER STORY
From Wasteland to Treasure

Nahant Marsh Marks 15 Years as a Nature Preserve
ven a brief visit to Davenports Nahant

Marsh will show something unusual: a
wetland habitat nestled in an area that
includes an interstate highway, a railroad,
and various agricultural and industrial uses.
Youll likely see plants and animals that you
wont find anywhere else in the Quad Cities area, just a few minutes drive from the
Rockingham Road exit of Interstate 280 in
the southwestern part of the city.
We know its the largest urban wetland
between St. Paul and St. Louis along the
Mississippi River, said Executive Director
Brian Ritter. We think its one of the largest
urban wetlands in the United States.
Yet getting a fuller sense of the marsh
requires patience. As Nahant Marsh Board
President Tim Murphy noted: The marsh
does not usually reveal itself easily but will
come to those that sit and take the time to
observe.
In an e-mail, he said that I really like
the beaver complex in the northern part of
Nahant proper. ... I never cease to be amazed
at how beavers have created a substantial
pond on ground that has almost no flow
of water. I am very curious to see how this
pond will be colonized and used by plants
and other animals, as well. This seems to
me to be an example of how nature works ...
largely outside of human influence. ...
There are also other fish-free shallowwater excavations that hopefully will
become areas that hold and nurture a
variety of amphibians, including newts
and salamanders. The number of little
critters that can be found in the marsh
proper is really amazing. ... There are
almost always some ducks, geese, herons,
or other waterfowl using the marsh. To see
a muskrat, beaver, or otter takes quite a bit
more luck ... .
Julie Malake a photographer, artist, and
member of the Friends of Nahant Marsh
offered several examples of repeated,
leisurely visits showing different facets of the
wetland: A particularly magical change has
been the return of the sandhill cranes, she
wrote. During the first years of going to the
marsh [starting in 2006], I saw no cranes.
In the spring of 2011, I first saw a crane at
Nahant Marsh, and since then, cranes have
been regular visitors. This year, sandhill
cranes have been seen frequently, and Ive
been able to observe them often.
She continued by calling Nahant Marsh
a wild, ever-changing garden full of
once-widespread native plants, and [it]
is extremely popular with many kinds of
birds. ... What they [visitors] might see will
vary widely from day to day, even moment
A sunset at Nahant Marsh

to moment. I would also recommend to
those who do visit to take their time and
be still a while. Chances are good that the
marshs residents will forget your presence
and simply go about their business. Theres
always much more going on there than is
readily apparent.
The marsh will be celebrating its 15th
anniversary as a nature preserve and
education center on October 20 with a 5
to 8 p.m. family event featuring river rat
Kenny Salwey, musicians Ellis Kell and
Kendra Swanson, food, and (hopefully) a
classic Nahant Sunset. The celebration will
provide a taste of what Malake called a piece
of heaven on earth. I love to walk outdoors
before dawn, going down to the waters
edge to sit quietly as all the colors of sunrise
slowly paint their way down the bluff and
across the water. I have been going there
for almost 10 years now, and no two days
have ever been the same. In every season, in
every weather, in all the different times, there
have been images of beauty, and sometimes
surprises.
Nature Is Still Trying to

Survive Here
The biggest surprise is that Nahant

Marsh exists at all. In spite of all the abuse
this area has had along with the proximity
of industry, wrote Friends of Nahant
Marsh Secretary Lynn Abel, there are still
Blandings turtles here, and you can still see
a river otter sliding into the water. Nature is
still trying to survive here.
Photo by Julie Malake
This place was really almost lost, Ritter

said. It was on the verge of extinction
several times. ... Were beyond that. Were
growing, and were growing rapidly.
When Ritter started in 2007, the marsh
hosted 1,500 people for educational
programming, and he was the only staff
member. Last year, the marsh had 15,000
visitors, and it has a new marketing and
event coordinator, a full-time and a parttime educator, a natural-resources manager,
and 2.5 staffers from the AmeriCorps
program. Earlier this year it completed a
$250,000 expansion of its education center.
Nahant Marsh recently purchased a drone
for scientific research and this issues aerial
cover photo was taken from it.
Fifteen years ago, Ritter said, South
Concord Street and Wapello Avenue
were considered the dumping grounds of
Davenport. You would have been able to
find any piece of trash you can think of,
he said, with garbage including an ATM,
couches, TVs, and a truck. Thats the image
people had of southwest Davenport its a
place to get rid of your trash.
But, he added, weve severely curtailed
that. On cleanup days in 2007, wed have
100 people out here, and we still wouldnt
be able to get all the trash. This past year, we
only requested 50 volunteers, and we were
running out of things to do by noon.
The size of the City of Davenport-owned
Nahant Marsh has grown since it was a
115-acre Superfund site in the late 1990s,
and it now encompasses 265 acres, with land
acquired piece-by-piece over the past decade
and a half. Theres actually about 550 acres
of wetlands down here, Ritter said, and our

long-term vision is to maybe acquire those
or at least get those owners to put some type
of conservation easement on them.
Nahant Marsh includes 225 acres
northeast of Interstate 280, with the
additional acreage including Carp Lake
acquired in 2005 on the other side. Ritter
said the marsh recently secured seven small
parcels along the railroad from the county.
And within Nahant Marsh is an
impressive diversity of nature. Ritter said the
preserve has 410 species of plants, although
50 or 60 of those are invasive species. Rare
native species include the ear-leaved false
foxglove and the pink turtlehead.
The bird population includes 154 species,
75 of which nest at Nahant. Sandhill cranes
hadnt been observed until the past decade,
and a pair nests at the marsh. The northern
harrier is endangered in Iowa, as is the redshouldered hawk which occasionally nests
at Nahant.
There are 34 species of mammals, seven
species of frogs and toads, at least five
species of turtles, and five confirmed species
of snakes. Nahant has found and marked 22
Blandings turtles, and last year a hatchling
was found for the first time in at least a
decade.
Were hoping that what were doing is
making it possible for those animals to
reproduce here, Ritter said.
You can find monarch butterflies and rare
dragonflies at Nahant, but we have not done
extensive insect studies, Ritter said. Thats
kind of the next area we want to tackle.
Its an example of how, even after 15 years,
the work at Nahant is never done.
Undervalued Ecosystems
The loss of wetlands areas where the

soil is saturated for at least some portion of
the year has been a nationwide problem.
According to the U.S. Environmental
Protection Agency (EPA), In the 1600s, over
220 million acres of wetlands are thought
to have existed in the lower 48 states. Since
then, ... over half of our original wetlands
in the lower 48 have been drained and
converted to other uses. The years from the
mid-1950s to the mid-1970s were a time of
major wetland loss, but since then the rate of
loss has decreased.
Yet between 2004 and 2009, an estimated
62,300 acres of wetlands were lost in the
conterminous United States.
Loss has been particularly acute in the
Midwest. Between the 1780s and 1980s,
Iowa lost 89 percent of its wetland acreage,
by Jeff Ignatius
jeff@rcreader.com
and Illinois lost 85 percent. The numbers

are similar in Missouri, Indiana, Ohio, and
Kentucky and the region is only rivaled by
California in terms of wetland loss.
The reason for this destruction, Ritter
said, is rooted in the fact that wetlands
historically were viewed as wastelands.
... Wherever you had settlement near a
wetland, that wetland didnt last very long. ...
I dont think people realized the value
of what wetlands actually do the fact that
they filter water and they produce hundreds
of different species of animals. ... People
have the idea of a marsh being a swampy,
mosquito-infested area that you dont want
to go to. (Actually, Ritter said, marshes have
lots of animals that feed on mosquitoes.)
According to the WWF, Wetland
ecosystems are often undervalued. ...
These complex habitats act as giant
sponges, soaking up rainfall and slowly
releasing it over time. Wetlands are like
highly efficient sewage treatment works,
absorbing chemicals, filtering pollutants and
sediments, breaking down suspended solids,
and neutralizing harmful bacteria. They are
also the most biologically diverse ecosystems
on Earth.
The only thing thats more productive
[than wetlands in terms of plants and
wildlife] are tropical rainforests, Ritter said.
These are the tropical rainforests of the
north. ... Almost every animal that lives in
the Midwest spends at least part of its time
in some type of wetland. ... We dont allow
hunting here, but if youre a hunter or a
fisherman, you should be very appreciative
that we have places like this, because this
place is producing all kinds of wildlife that
migrate elsewhere eventually.
Nahant Marsh, he said, survived largely
undisturbed late into the 1960s most likely
a result of Davenport not having grown that
far southwest until the middle of the 20th
Century. Nobody was doing anything down
here, he said. You cant farm this; its too
wet. You cant build Walmart here unless you
fill it in. Its a great place for a gun club.
Poisoning but
Saving the Marsh
And so in 1969, the Scott County

Sportsmens Association Trap & Skeet
Shooting Club relocated its shooting site
from Bettendorf to Nahant Marsh and
remained active there until 1995.
According to the U.S. Fish & Wildlife
Services 2001 Final Natural Resource
Restoration Plan for Nahant Marsh, an
estimated 243 tons of lead shot were
deposited in a 70-acre portion

of the marsh based on gunclub shooting records.
By the 90s, Ritter said,
there are areas in here where
you could pull up a handful of
mud and get hundreds of lead
shot.
The effects on the marsh,
he said, were wide-ranging,
but most obviously the lead
shot affected waterfowl. You
can think of Nahant Marsh as
like a rest stop on the highway;
the highway is the Mississippi
River, Ritter said. Ducks and
geese would stop there to rest,
Nahant Marsh Executive Director Brian Ritter
feed, and occasionally breed.
Marsh being declared a Superfund site. The
Ducks and geese dont have
EPA completed a $2-million cleanup in
teeth, so in order to break down the food
they eat, they eat little bits of rock or grit, he 1999.
said. But instead of finding rock and grit,
theyre finding lead shot. ... It just takes one
lead BB to kill a duck or a goose.
The cleanup, however, was just the
Its also likely that lead was leaching into
the ecosystem. Cattails readily absorb toxins, beginning of the work at Nahant Marsh,
and it stemmed from the work of a variety
Ritter said, and some, instead of looking
of organizations, including the EPA, the
like a hot dog on a stick, looked like some
U.S. Fish & Wildlife Service, River Action,
deformed hand sticking out of the water.
That lead was getting in the cattails as well. ... the Quad City Audubon Society, and the
Iowa Department of Natural Resources. As
There were other animals that would
part of the Superfund process, the City of
feed on the cattails. Muskrats thats one
Davenport purchased Nahant Marsh from
of their favorite food sources they were
the shooting club.
probably getting poisoned.
After the cleanup, Ritter said, the Fish
And as ducks and geese get sick and die
&
Wildlife
Service worked with the Scott
from lead poisoning, lots of things like to
County
Conservation
Board to plant prairies
scavenge on them including bald eagles,
and
sedge
meadows,
and
the Putnam
coyotes, and raccoons. Its very possible
Museum
ran
education
programs.
Trail
that we were getting secondary and tertiary
maintenance
was
done
by
the
Friends
of
poisoning.
Nahant
Marsh.
Its easy to fault the shooting club for the
It remains a partnership among many
damage it did to the Davenport wetland, but
entities. The city does basic maintenance,
even though its activities poisoned Nahant
Marsh, the organizations presence likely also the site is overseen by the Nahant Marsh
board, and the Friends of Nahant Marsh
saved it.
Most of the wetlands that once existed in organization remains active. Eastern Iowa
Community Colleges runs education
Iowa are gone, Ritter said, and the fact that
this one survived especially the fact that its programs.
Including in-kind contributions from
in an urban area is absolutely incredible. ...
various
sources, Nahant Marsh has an
Had the gun club not been here, it probably
annual budget of roughly $300,000, but it
would have been filled in sometime in the
still needs to raise about $160,000 each year
70s. ... The stars aligned.
through memberships, grants, corporate
He added that pollution of the marsh
sponsorships, donations, and fees for
created an impetus for further action:
educational programs.
It really took this catastrophe to get the
Kent Turner, co-chair of the Friends
community involved and get enough
of
Nahant
Marsh, wrote that the biggest
pressure on the federal government to come
challenge
for
the wetland is the need to find
in and actually clean it up.
Complaints about sick and dead waterfowl a consistent and reliable funding source for
the ongoing financial commitments (salaries,
led to a U.S. Fish & Wildlife Service
maintenance, etc.) of the marsh.
investigation, which in turn led to Nahant
An Ongoing Process
He also said that while the

large increase in staff seems to
have created more, and better,
education opportunities for
the general public, the overall
organization seems to be a
bit jumbled at this time. ... I
would like to see the center
determine what the main
focus should be education
[or] preservation?
Abel, secretary of the
Friends group, said an
educational focus shouldnt
come at the expense of
conservation: I would like
to see us have a really highquality prairie restoration
on both sides of the marsh,
with much research being done to improve
habitat for sensitive species such as the
Blandings turtle. I believe we are close to
capacity for school groups, but research
should be a focus also. The more we learn,
the better able we will be to make this a safe,
healthy habitat for the creatures who were
here first.
Its crucial to understand that preservation
of Nahant Marsh is an ongoing project.
Friends of Nahant Marsh member Malake
noted that areas near the wetland are still a
dumping ground: On August 8, a staggering
amount of trash was picked up from near
the intersection of Wapello and Concord,
an area Nahant Marsh patrols for Xstream
Cleanup events. ... Yet today as I write
this, that same area is already full of more
dumped tires and more trash.
And it requires lots of human intervention
to maintain Nahant Marsh in its natural
state which is to say the way it was before
human settlement. Staff regularly conducts
controlled burns and seeds native plants, and
Nahant Marsh rents goats each year to clear
invasive brush. Nahant Marsh leadership,
Ritter said, is mulling whether it wants to get
rid of trees in the marsh, which arent native
to the wetland ecosystem.
We have these tiny little pockets of
nature, these preserves, ... surrounded by
a sea of humanity, he explained. The old
approach to preserves was that you just walk
away from them, and nature will take care
of it. Thats not the case at all. If you neglect
a small preserve, itll quickly get overrun by
invasive species. Itll quickly get degraded
and essentially become a monoculture.
Two key factors contribute to this
situation.
BOOKS
by Jeff Ignatius
jeff@rcreader.com
Now That the Magic Has Gone

Damned City, Quad Cities Author Matt Hentrichs Debut Novel
n Matthew Hentrichs novel Damned

City, the magic has gone literally.
The self-published debut novel from
the Quad Cities author takes place in a
world in which everybody has magical
skills but its hook is that the residents
of Spectra have been abruptly robbed
of those abilities. There are additional
complications for the city: Its highest
elected official has been found dead,
and it is enveloped in a spell that makes
time pass much more slowly than in the
rest of the world making daylight span
days. Spectras residents are certain that
an attack on the city is imminent, and
they need to figure out how to defend
themselves with their magic gone.
The premise, Hentrich said in a recent
phone interview, was a reversal of the
typical fantasy what-if of characters
having magic. The one twist I thought
I could put on the concept was to go the
opposite direction and say, What if you
had people who had magic, and now its
been removed from them?
That narrative starting point is plenty
clever, and Hentrich is also strong in
his pacing, in his management of story
rhythm with multiple main characters,
and especially in the way he melds
disparate elements into a compelling
hybrid. His world shares plenty with ours
(from coffee and booze to representative
government) while still being foreign.
(In one nice oddball touch, a city with no
need for mechanical transportation finds
itself using bears for travel when magic
disappears.) The plot brings together
fantasy and mystery, and Hentrich trusts
readers enough to leave out expository
background that would bog down
his quick-moving story; everything is
familiar enough to grease the path.
The choice to not fill in the blanks,
he said, was both an artistic choice and
a way to keep the book lean: From
the perspective of the characters, it
doesnt make sense to give a lengthy
explanation of why they do the things
that they always do. World-building, he
acknowledged, is useful to the reader. ...
It just would have added an awful lot of
length to the book, which still ended up
at 480 pages.
So he chose to err on the side of
omission. I struggled more with pacing
than I thought I would, he said. Its
hard to intuitively sense whether or
not your story is moving fast enough
for the reader ... . What was difficult
... was that nagging sensation that
maybe Im moving too fast, and Im not

paying enough attention to the reader
experience.
The book was written, Hentrich said,
nearly entirely on his lunch hours, and it
has unsurprising shortcomings for a new
novelist working under that constraint
and the self-doubt about pacing. The
three main characters all playing a
role solving the mystery/problem are
disappointingly stock and sketchy: an
alcoholic cop, a plucky female scientist,
and an escaped criminal trying to
reunite with his family. (Thats really all
you need to know about any of them.)
Details are largely provided to propel the
plot a storytelling style that feels too
economical.
And close calls come down to last-gasp
efforts at survival attempts at suspense
that rarely work. When the cop is trapped
in a sinking boat and thinks a box of
matches will save him, he inevitably fails
... until hes down to his final match.
Yet Hentrichs book works, in large part
because of the casual yet intricate way he
crafts the world, and also because of how
hes thought through the implications of
his ideas. Hentrich said hes most proud
of a section in the middle of the book
describing a particular spell essentially
one that makes cognitive dissonance a
powerful weapon.
I really wanted to have this ... magic
spell that someone might have that
would make you see things from another
persons perspective, he explained.
Not just mental manipulation ... [but] a
spell where you actually see things from
their perspective. You have your own
perspective, but you also have theirs. If
you disagree with them, having their
perspective shoved into your brain would
be very difficult and might even drive
you crazy.
The spell, he said, originated probably
from daily experience, particularly his
blog writing of political commentary;

he equates persuasive writing with his
imagined magic: Thats almost what
youre doing when youre making an
argument ... . Youre trying to get a
perspective into their brain not just an
argument, but all the things that lead to
that argument. ... It can be very difficult
or impossible, and if you do manage to
force your perspective into someone elses
mind, it can be very hard for them.
Another inspired idea is that the
scientist is charged with investigating
(and eventually building) the mechanical
tools of a long-dead race of nonmagical
people as a way to defend Spectra
although such inquiries are illegal. (She
and her team are handicapped by the fact
that they have no idea about the function
of anything theyre building.)
Damned City, Hentrich admits, started
with a simple goal of seeing something
with my name on it in print. He said he
was approaching his 30s, and if I was
going to do anything creatively, I had to
do it then, or I probably wasnt going to
do it all.
He attended a writers conference
and began working on the novel over
his lunch breaks at his job as a systems
administrator. (He has two children and a
full-time-student wife who attends classes
out-of-town, making writing at home
difficult.)
And aside from the (considerable)
investment of time and energy, the
process and costs of self-publishing these
days meant there was no reason not to

publish the book once it was finished.
It was virtually free, Hentrich said.
Its just the best time in history to do
it. The process is so seamless and so
painless.
He said he paid less than $100 for
artwork for the book, and there was
no cost to publish it via Amazon.coms
CreateSpace division. Paperbacks are
published on-demand meaning that
authors no longer need to buy 1,000
copies of their work that will sit in a
garage. Theres very little excuse not to
try it, he said.
Physical books cost $13, while
the Kindle version costs $2.99 and
the book is free to Kindle Unlimited
subscribers. I tried to take every
opportunity I could to screw myself out
of money, he said, laughing. Id much
rather have 1,000 people read it and
make no money off it than to make 100
bucks and have 10 people read it.
But the downside to self-publishing
is the difficulty in finding and building
an audience, and Hentrich concedes hes
nowhere near 1,000 readers four months
after the book was first made available.
Hoping someones going to stumble
across your book and think its great
is really just throwing a rock in a
pond, he said. The flip side of that
ease of publishing is that the market is
swamped. ...
Ive been extremely pleased with the
process of self-publishing. ... Ive been
fairly pleased with the handful of people
who have gotten it and read it ... .
Ultimately, he said, writing and
marketing the novel were experiments,
and he might choose a different path for
his next work which concerns a female
protagonist participating in underground
magic competitions not unlike sporting
events. As with Damned City, the core
concept has fascinating facets in
this case, the idea of crowd funding
transplanted to the magic competitions,
with the audiences investment of energy
crucial to success.
He hopes to finish writing the book in
a year, and hes also considering stepping
up into traditional publishing both
for what an editor might offer and the
possibility of marketing assistance. One
thing that Damned City lacked was an
editor the person who knows what sells
and what sounds good, he said.
THEATRE
By Thom White
thomasjasonwhite@gmail.com
Hare Today, Gone Tomorrow

Harvey, at the Playcrafters Barn Theatre through September 20
ve not seen the

Aaron Lord is also
Jimmy Stewart take
memorable, although
on playwright Mary
he has only one short
Chases Harvey, so I cannot
scene as the impatient
attest whether the movies
taxi driver E.J. (The
fans will appreciate the
effervescent Sarah
Playcrafters Barn Theatres
Ade Wallace also
production. However,
appears here, but her
in the absence of any
housekeeper Miss
Mike Kelly
comparison, I can say that
Johnson barely says a
I liked this presentation and now want to see
word during her brief moments on stage.)
the film though itll have to successfully
While Ive seen all these actors in previous
stand up against director James Fairchilds ver- productions, Pamela Briggs is new to me,
sion, rather than the other way around.
and, in this show, proves a bit of an acquired
Mike Kellys eternally happy-go-lucky
taste. After her entrance in which Briggs
approach to the main character Elwood, the
Betty Chumley first meets Elwood at her
man who sees and interacts with a six-foot
husbands psychiatric hospital Chumleys Rest,
white rabbit, is perfectly suited for an Elwood
I blanched at her seemingly overdone, aimless
whos both mad and lovable. Hes so nice that
performance. However, it didnt take long to
he couldnt possibly be sane, which gets to
warm to Briggs charm as a curious socialite
the point of Chases play: Its those living in
who takes a shine to Elwood. Like Lords and
the hustle and bustle of polite society who
Perrin-Sallaks, Briggs stage time is too short
should be rejected, not this ever-optimistic
given the delight she brings.
Chameleonic actor Brant Peitersen adds
loon.
Speaking of that society, I loved Patti
another color to his impressively shaded
Flahertys turn as Elwoods sister Veta. In
repertoire with his hysterically crass mentalher role as a woman longing to be accepted
institution orderly Duane Wilson. Peitersens
into the best of the social circles, Flaherty
Duane is wholly different from his boisterous,
almost overplays the part, but thats whats
show-stealing Herod in this summers Jesus
so enjoyable about her portrayal; Flahertys
Christ Superstar for Countryside Community
Veta is a bit of a clown, and had me in stitches
Theatre and his nuanced giant in the same
throughout Fridays performance. Whether
companys Big Fish. Stephanie Moeller,
employing a high-pitched giggle or shifting
meanwhile, returns to the comicality I
her vocal inflection mid-sentence from lilting
frequently adore from her after her impressive
to aggressive, I wanted more stage time from
dramatic performance as Gretchen in last
the performer than the script allows. (Theres
years Prenzie Players production of Doctor
actually a described scene in which the woman Faustus. Here, shes a somewhat underqualified
is bathed in a sanatorium that I wished were
Chumleys Rest nurse whos both enamored of
acted out instead, just for the sheer pleasure
and exasperated by Ethan Johnsons handsome
of seeing Flahertys comedic genius in it.) The
young facility psychiatrist Lyman Sanderson.
But Johnsons bland performance would
characterization suits Chases theme because
benefit, at the very least, by slower delivery,
while Veta is hilarious, her grand reactions are
also a bit much to stomach this sane one in stronger diction, and greater (or any)
projection. Mattie Gelaude is fine, though onethe family is even crazier than Elwood.
Thats exactly why I wish the rest of
note, as Vetas almost-always angrily flustered
Fairchilds cast matched Flahertys energy and
daughter Myrtle. And while Bill Peiffer, at
borderline-overacting, because it would have
one point, pulls off an impressive drunken
emphasized Elwoods calmness in the midst of state for his Dr. Chumley, his impossibly
chaos, contrasting the insane normal world
fast sobering up returns him to an uneven
with his more welcome gentility. Here, though, characterization that waffles between acerbic
only those playing Harveys more minor
and forgettable. But none of them derails
characters pull that off, inclduing Pat Flaherty
Playcrafters Harvey, which also looks great
as the elderly Judge Omar, the man in control
given Craig Cohoons set design, and Tristan
of Elwoods inherited estate. His aggressively
Tapscotts period costumes and lighting
astonished reactions had my partner and me
effects. I think Playcrafters is at its best when
in stitches so often that we frequently missed
producing a well-known classic, and this one
several lines that followed.
is no exception.
Similarly, playing well-to-do family friend
Harvey runs at the Playcrafters Barn Theatre
Ethel Chauvenet, Susan Perrin-Sallaks over(4950 35th Avenue, Moline) through September 20,
enunciated, hoity-toity delivery of the line I
thought you were dead is one Im now (over-) and more information and tickets are available by
calling (309)762-0330 or visiting Playcrafters.com.
using as much as possible in conversation.
10
Movie Reviews
11
by Mike
Mike Schulz
Schulz mike@rcreader.com
mike@rcreader.com
by
Stalking, Shocking, Screeching, Preaching
riday, September 11, 10:25 a.m.-ish:

This millennium has already delivered
18 screen hours of J.R.R. Tolkien, our
first female Oscar winner for Best Director, and, astoundingly, two Fantastic Four
reboots. Why, given such miracles, cant we
be treated to even one stalker thriller that
doesnt suck?
The late 20th Century was lousy with
em: Fatal Attraction, Single White Female,
Pacific Heights, Cape Fear. Nowadays, our
options are just lousy, and while The Perfect
Guy isnt as wretched as Januarys The Boy
Next Door, it, too, elicits more derisive
chuckles (roughly 20) than shivers (roughly
zero). Director David M. Rosenthals outing
finds Sanaa Lathan dumping commitmentphobe Morris Chestnut for the initially
sweet, secretly sociopathic Michael Ealy,
whose cheekbones alone could serve as
deadly weapons. The movie would also
seem tailor-made for a drinking game
in which you took a shot for every genre
clich Powerless cops! Missing cat! Empty
parking garage! if it wouldnt lead to every
participant dying of alcohol poisoning.
Its all blandly composed and terminally
unsurprising, but Lathan does well with
her dim role (and spits out her PG-13
releases allotted F bomb with gusto). Shes
also backed by first-rate support including
Holt McCallany, L. Scott Caldwell, Charles
S. Dutton, John Getz, Tess Harper, and
Rutina Wesley, the latter playing Lathans
BFF after having portrayed psycho magnets
on TVs True Blood and Hannibal. So for
our heroine, from the start, the writing was
clearly on the wall.
12:15 p.m.-ish: Thats when I started
watching writer/director M. Night
Shymalans horror comedy The Visit.
1:45 p.m.-ish is when I realized Id seen
my favorite
leave not at all
M. Night
dreading his
Shymalan
next one. Talk
movie yet.
about millennial
It may even
miracles.
be the only
1:50-ish:
Shymalan
Time for
movie Ive
Un Gallo
unreservedly
con Muchos
enjoyed, partly
Huevos, the
because its
first animated
Peter McRobbie in The Visit
creator so
Spanisheffectively stays out of his own way. He
language feature widely released in the
doesnt even cameo! An updated, sickU.S., and the first family film, to my
joke Hansel & Gretel in which two teen
knowledge, to celebrate the fine art of
documentarians (Olivia DeJonge and
Mexican cockfighting. Granted, the cocks
Ed Oxenbould, Australians navigating
here use boxing gloves instead of pecking
impressive American accents) spend
each other to death. But I still spend much
a week at the country home of creepy
of my viewing slack-jawed in amazement,
grandparents theyve never met (Deanna
be it at the ambulatory slice of bacon, or
Dunagan and Peter McRobbie), the film is
the full-cheeked egg doing a Don Corleone
presented surprise! in found footage
impression, or our rooster hero mooning
format. Under ordinary circumstances,
over a chicken with his egg pal opining, I
this incessantly irksome narrative device
think she wants to go all the way with you!
would be a recipe for disaster, or at least
(Like The Perfect Guy, this ones a PG-13,
criminal lack of invention. Yet deprived of
although no F bomb is dropped.) Not since
his traditionally melodramatic music cues
VeggieTales have I seen an animated work
and stagey dialogue, Shymalan delivers one
this hyperactive and bat-shit insane, and as
expert, giggly visual shock after another:
a fellow reviewer and I were the only ones
grandma rushing the camera during a game there, I cant gauge the reactions of kids
of hide-and-seek; grandpa calmly insisting
though tykes fluent in Spanish will clearly
he was just cleaning the rifle in his mouth; be better off, as the subtitles occasionally zip
the barely glimpsed shot of a friendly
off-screen faster than I can read them. Yet
neighbor hanging from a tree. You feel on
writers/directors Gabriel and Rudolfo Riva
edge throughout The Visit, but because its
Palacio Alatriste lend this lunatic endeavor
kids have been designed as self-sufficient
a fair amount of visual and (pun-heavy)
and funny, you dont feel brutalized, even
verbal wit, and I guess theres comfort in
when the magnificent Dunagan and
the knowledge that Hollywood hasnt a
McRobbie prove as harrowing as they
monopoly on family-flick fart jokes.
are dryly hilarious. With Kathryn Hahn
4:30-ish: The answer to the unasked
magically real as the youths Skype-ing
question So whats Hayden Christensen
mom, Shymalans latest is a blast, and I
been up to lately?, 90 Minutes in Heaven
is a pro-faith drama about a ministers

painful rehabilitation following a horrific
accident, and not, sadly, a super-size
version of the best middle-school game
ever. Numerous scenes are devoted
to how newly impaired minister Don
Piper (Christensen) and wife Eva (Kate
Bosworth) will pay off their crushing
hospital debts, and although its never
acknowledged in writer/director
Michael Polishs screenplay, the reallife Don writing a subsequent memoir
thats sold more than 7 million copies
does provide a clue. Yet this adaptation
doesnt feel at all like a cynical grab for
the faithfuls cash. It does, however, feel
simultaneously lethargic and pushy,
with the dour castmates forever trading
unmotivated bromides and Christensen
forced to suffer and suffer and then
explain all that suffering in maddeningly
repetitive, tedious voice-over. And
whats with the incessant, even scripted
plugs for McDonalds? Im in love with
these fries, says one character. I never
thought a cheeseburger could taste
so good, says another. Can I get you
anything? asks Fred Thompson to the
bed-ridden Christensen. A hamburger?
A milkshake? Are we sure this isnt 90
Minutes in Happy Madison?
7:15-ish: To remind myself of better
days for Hayden Christensen, I re-watch
Shattered Glass over dinner. From
McDonalds. Damn it.
For reviews of A Walk in the Woods, The
Transporter Refueled, and other current
releases, visit RiverCitiesReader.com.
Follow Mike on Twitter at Twitter.com/
MikeSchulzNow.
Whats Happenin
Literature
Bad Idea Book Tour
Village Theatre
Wednesday, September 30, 8 p.m.
n September 30, Davenports Midwest Writing Center

and Village Theatre will team up to host a trio of
exciting, innovative prose authors reading in their Bad Idea
Book Tour. Im sure there are perfectly legitimate reasons
for the tours title. But based on the reviews amassed by
participants Colin Winnette, Aaron Burch, and Amelia Gray
(pictured, in sequence), it seems, instead, like a very, very
good idea.
Born in Texas and now based in San Francisco, Colin
Winnette is the associate editor of PANK magazine whose
first novel, 2011s Revelation, was published while the author
was still a graduate student at the School of the Art Institute
of Chicago. His short stories, reviews, and poems have
appeared in such publications as The American Reader, Gulf
Coast Magazine, and The Believer. He was the winner of the
2012 Sonora Reviews Short Short Fiction Award and Les
Fugues Press 2013 Book Contest. And for his 2015 Western
novel Haints Stay, Winnette has earned perhaps the most
enthusiastic raves of his career to date, with the Los Angeles
Times calling the book an astonishing portrait of American
violence. ElectricLiterature.com, meanwhile, wrote, It is a
wonder that Colin Winnette still remains relatively obscure,
adding that indie editors would do well to get their hands on
a Winnette manuscript quickly before he inevitably gains the
critical momentum to land on the desk of somebody at one
of the bigger houses.
An Ann Arbor resident who teaches at both the University
of Michigan and Eastern Michigan University, Aaron Burch
is the founding editor of the literary journal Hobart, and
his acclaimed prose and poems have been published in
periodicals including New York Tyrant, Barrelhouse, ... and
Winnettes PANK magazine. The winner of PANKs first
chapbook competition for his short-fiction collection How to
Take Yourself
Apart, How to
Make Yourself
Anew, Burch
achieved a
new level of
literary fame
with the release of his 2014 publication Backswing. Described
by Publishers Weekly as an accomplished collecion of 14
short stories ... of young protagonists alienated, confused,
and searching for their identity, Backswing inspired
ElectricLiterature.com to call it provocative, melancholy,
and meditative, and HeavyFeatherReview.com to deem it a
damn good read, brilliant in places, the work of a writer who
thrives on taking risks.
And what of Amelia Gray, the Arizona-born, Los Angelesbased fiction author whose writing has appeared in The New
Yorker, the New York Times, and the Wall Street Journal?
Well, she holds degrees from Arizona State University
and Texas State University. In 2012, she was short-listed
for the prestigious PEN/Faulkner Award for Fiction. Shes
the author of a 2012 novel titled THREATS and a trio of
short-story collections: 2009s AM/PM, 2010s Museum of
the Weird, and this years Gutshot. And heres a sampling of
her plaudits: The Los Angeles Times describes her style as
akin to the alternately seething and absurd moods of David
Lynch and Cronenberg. NPR calls Grays writing by turns
horrifying, funny, sexy, and grotesque. And in praising her
brave excursions into the realms of the unreal, the New
York Times stated that the Gutshot experience is a little like
being blindfolded and pelted from all sides with fire, Jell-O,
and the occasional live animal. To be fair, the paper of record
explains that statement with Youll be messy at the end and
slightly beaten up, but surprised and certainly entertained,
yet that Bad Idea moniker is still making a bit more sense
now ... .
Theres a suggested donation of $5 for the Village
Theatre event, and more information on the Bad Idea
Book Tour is available by calling (563)324-1410 or visiting
MidwestWritingCenter.org.
Theatre
Timon of Athens
QC Theatre Workshop
Friday, September 18,
through Sunday, September 27
imon of Athens, which the verse-theatre

troupe the Prenzie Players will perform
September 18 through 27 at Davenports
QC Theatre Workshop, is one of the lessfrequently produced works in the William
Shakespeare canon. But its title character is
hardly one thats gone unappreciated in the
press. The New York Times, for instance, has
raved about the bright, energetic appeal
of this clever and colorful wisecracking
meerkat, while Variety lauded Timons
vaudeville pairing with the lumbering
warthog Pumbaa, and ... .
Oh, wait. Wrong Timon.
Shakespeares Timon is actually a Greek
lord in the tragicomedy bearing his name,
and one of the most fascinating characters
in Elizabethan drama: a cheerful, beloved
citizen who invites his own misanthropic
ruin through his boundless generosity.
Boasting cutting wit, supreme tension,
impassioned arguments, and an eventual
corpse or a few, Timon of Athens may not
be universally familiar. But it most certainly
touches on universal themes, and some that
may particularly resonate in this millennium.
With Richard Thomas in the lead, Timon
of Athens was revived at New Yorks Public
Theater in 2011, where the program notes
cited its theme of moneys dark potential
companys Timo
Matt Moody in t
gifted ensemble
and debuting Pr
Payton Brasher,
Hooker, Andy K
Makula, and Kar
no doubt knows
do, right?), those
dont. Lets amen
Try your hand
word for the foll
quotes:
1) Like madness i
2) Every man has
3) O, the fierce __
4) Nothing embo
5) I wonder men
A) mercy
B) glory
C) honesty
D) wretchednes
E) men
For more inform

Timon of Athens
media preview on
PrenziePlayers.com
E. Regarding that last quote: Apparently, Kim Davis wonders, too. Sorry. Too soon?
12

by Mike Schulz
mike@rcreader.com
to corrupt every
human interaction
making the work
Shakespeares play
for the post-bailout
age.
Directed by
Prenzie veteran
Jake Walker, the
on of Athens will showcase
the demanding title role and a
composed of both returning
renzie Players including
Michael Carron, Mischa
Koski, Jeremy Mahr, Jeb
ara Widel. But while the cast
s their lines by now (you guys
e of you reading this probably
nd that!
d at filling in the missing
lowing five Timon of Athens
is the ____ of this life.

s his fault, and ____ is his.
___ that glory brings us.
oldens sin so much as ____.
dare trust themselves with ____.
ss
mation on the Prenzie Players

including the shows socialn Thursday, September 17 visit
m.
Music
Javier Colon
Galvin Fine Arts Center

Friday, September 18,
8 p.m.
ack in the day

by which I mean
a couple decades
ago friends and I would frequent karaoke nights and
challenge one another to perform randomly picked
songs. On one of those nights, I wound up faced with
the challenge of singing Cyndi Laupers Time After
Time, which I (and the pour souls listening) mercifully
survived. Consequently, I feel a true kinship with
performer Javier Colon, who, in April of 2011, crooned
the same Lauper hit on the debut episode of TVs The
Voice.
Of course, Colon sang it better than I did ... and for
a few million people as opposed to a few dozen ... and
I dont recall getting $100,000 and a recording contract
for my efforts ... .
The grand-prize winner of The Voices inaugural
season, Javier Colon is also the inaugural entertainer
in St. Ambrose Universitys 2015-16 Performing Arts
Series, as the man will share his musical artistry in a
September 18 concert at the Galvin Fine Arts Center.
Meanwhile, those who know Colon only from televised
renditions of pop hits including Coldplays Fix You
and Michael Jacksons Man in the Mirror should
know that his singer/songwriter is also an original,
having composed numerous rock, R&B, soul, and folk
singles over his 15-year professional career.
Born in Stratford, Connecticut, the 37-year-old
Colon earned a music-education degree from the
University of Hartfords Hartt School, and began his
years of public performance while still a student,
serving as vocalist/percussionist for the Stevie

Wonder tribute band EmcQ. His talents then caught
the eye of eventual Allman Brothers Band member
Derek Trucks, who recruited Colon for his Grammywinning outfit the Derek Trucks Band, for which he
performed for nearly two years.
Following his stint with Trucks, Colon
recording merely under his Christian name Javier
embarked on a solo career with a Capitol Records
contract, lending his clear, soulful tenor and facility
on piano and guitar to a pair of albums: 2003s Javier,
which reached the top 20 on Billboards R&B/HipHop Albums chart, and 2006s Left of Center, which
found SoulTracks.com calling him an extremely
talented vocalist. And then, after Colon left Capitol
and released a six-song EP in 2010s The Truth, came
The Voice.
Its impossible to say whether NBCs flagship
competition series would be the ratings smash it is if
its very first episode didnt find Colon blowing away
home and studio audiences to say nothing of judges
Christina Aguilera, Cee-Lo Green, Adam Levine,
and Blake Shelton with Time After Time. What
can be said is that Colon sealed his fame with that
televised debut, which led not only to his eventual
championship, but to musical collaborations with
artists as diverse as Joss Stone, Stevie Nicks, the Indigo
Girls, Darius Rucker, and Anthony Hamilton.
It also led to the 2011 album Come Through for
You described as thoroughly catchy by Rolling
Stone and uniformly enjoyable by SoulTracks.com
and a new contract with the Concord Music Group.
So plan on being wowed by Colons September 18
concert, whether hes singing an original number such
as the Billboard hit Stitch by Stitch or a classic such
as Stand by Me ... the latter also a mid-90s karaoke
number of mine. Im still waiting on that $100,000.
For more information on, and tickets to, Javier
Colons Galvin Fine Arts Center concert, call (563)3336251 or visit SAU.edu/galvin.
13
What Else
Is Happenin
MUSIC
Thursday, September 17 The

Tossers. Chicago-based Celtic-punk
rockers in concert, with an opening set
by Gallows Bound. Rock Island Brewing
Company (1815 Second Avenue, Rock
Island). 8 p.m. $12-15. For information, call
(309)793-1999 or visit RIBCO.com.
Friday, September 18 The Giving
Tree Band. Rock and folk musicians in
concert, with an opening set by Chicago
Farmer. The Redstone Room (129 Main
Street, Davenport). 9 p.m. $13.75-17. For
tickets and information, call (563)3261333 or visit RiverMusicExperience.org.
Saturday, September 19 Cash &
Cline: A Tribute to Johnny & Patsy.
Concert celebration of the country
and gospel legends featuring Terry Lee
Goffee and Josie Waverly. Quad-Cities
Waterfront Convention Center (2021 State
Street, Bettendorf). 7:30 p.m. $20. For
information, call (800)843-4753 or visit
QCWCC.com.
Sunday, September 20 Quad City
Symphony Orchestra Signature Series:
American Moderns. Aaron Coplands
Sonata for Violin & Piano, John Adams
Road Movies, William Bolcoms Second
Sonata for Violin & Piano, and Maurice
Ravels Sonata No. 2 for Violin & Piano
performed by violinist Naha Greenholtz
and pianist Benjamin Loeb. Figge Art
Museum (225 West Second Street,
Davenport). 2 p.m. $10-25. For tickets and
information, call (563)322-7276 or visit
QCSO.org.
Wednesday, September 23
Answers: 1 B, 2 C, 3 D, 4 A, 5
14
Continued From Page 13
What Else Is Happenin
Shemekia Copeland. Grammy-nominated

Artist Tom Dugan delivers a presentation
blues singer in concert, with an opening set
on theatre and offers excerpts from his
by Miller & the Other Sinners. The Redstone
one-man theatrical production about
Room (129 Main Street, Davenport). 7:30
Robert Lincoln. Butterworth Center (1105
p.m. $20-24. For tickets and information, call
Eighth Street, Moline). 7 p.m. Donations
(563)326-1333 or visit RiverMusicExperience. encouraged. For information, call (309)793org.
1213 or visit QuadCityArts.com.
Friday, September 25 Kool Keith.
Wednesday, September 23, through
Bronx-based rapper Keith Thornton in
Saturday, November 7 Route 66.
concert, with opening sets by Daggers &
Area premiere of a new musical-comedy
Gadema and Skeez & T. Stubbs. Rock Island
romance, directed by Dennis Hitchcock.
Brewing Company (1815 Second Avenue,
Circa 21 Dinner Playhouse (1828 Third
Rock Island). 9 p.m. $20-25. For information,
Avenue, Rock Island). Friday, Saturday, and
call (309)793-1999 or visit RIBCO.com.
Wednesday: 6-7 p.m. buffet, 7:15 pre-show,
Friday, September 25 Communion
7:45 p.m. show. Sunday: 4-5 p.m. buffet, 5:15
Daytrotter. All-ages show with the
p.m. pre-show, 5:45 p.m. show. Wednesday:
indie musicians of Fort Frances, Falls,
11:45 a.m.-12:45 p.m. plated lunch, 1 p.m.
and Albatross. Codfish Hollow Barn
pre-show, 1:30 p.m. show. $44.41-50.16. For
(5013 288th Avenue, Maquoketa). 7 p.m.
tickets and information, call (309)786-7733
$12.50-15. For tickets and information, visit
extension 2 or visit Circa21.com.
CodfishHollowBarnstormers.com.
Thursday, September 24, through
Sunday, September 27 Hot Buttered
Saturday, September 26 Big Rock Candy
Rum. Americana
Mountain. Revival of
musicians in concert,
the comedic bluegrass
with an opening set
revue written by
by Frank F. Sydneys
Tristan Tapscott and
Western Bandit
Danny White. District
Volunteers. The
Theatre (1724 Fourth
Redstone Room
Avenue, Rock Island).
(129 Main Street,
8 p.m. $20. For tickets
Davenport). 7:30 p.m.
and information, call
$13.75-17. For tickets
(309)235-1654 or visit
The Beggarmen @ Celtic Festival and
and information, call
DistrictTheatre.com.
Highland Games - September 19
(563)326-1333 or visit
Saturday,
RiverMusicExperience.org.
September 26, and Sunday, September
Monday, September 28 John Calvin
27 Pinocchio Commedia. Johnny Simons
Abney. A Moeller Mondays concert with
commedia dellarte production of the classic
the indie singer/songwriter, featuring an
childrens story, directed by Jacqueline
opening set by Levi Parham. Rozz-Tox (2108
Wynes McCall. Augustana Colleges Potter
Third Avenue, Rock Island). 8 p.m. $8-10.
Theatre (3520 Seventh Avenue, Rock Island).
For information, call (309)200-0978 or visit
1:30 p.m. $5-11. For tickets and information,
RozzTox.com.
call (309)794-7306 or visit Augustana.edu.
Monday, September 28 Banned Song
Fest. Local musicians perform banned
songs, musical styles, and instruments in
Saturday, September 26 Creative
honor of Banned Books Week. Bettendorf
Arts Academy Film Makers Workshop.
Public Library (2950 Learning Campus Drive,
Workshops for grades 5 through 12 on
Bettendorf). 6:30 p.m. Free. For information,
animated, documentary, and feature-film
call (563)344-4175 or visit BettendorfLibrary.
production led by Doug Miller, Kelly and
com.
Tammy Rundle, and Steve Jennings and
Wednesday, September 30 Jeff Austin Kathy Buxton, featuring public screenings of
Band. Concert with the mandolinist and
Sugar, The Wizard of Oz, Letters Home to Hero
singer from the Yonder Mountain String
Street, and short animated work. Creative
Band and his ensemble, featuring opening
Arts Academy at the Davenport Public
sets by Fruition and Horseshoes & Hand
Library (321 North Main Street, Davenport).
Grenades. The Redstone Room (129 Main
9:30 a.m.-4:30 p.m. Free. For information
Street, Davenport). 7:30 p.m. $27.25-27.50.
and to register, call (563)328-7201 or visit
For tickets and information, call (563)326DavenportSchools.org/caa.
1333 or visit RiverMusicExperience.org.
MOVIES
THEATRE
Friday, September 18 The Ghost

of Mary Lincoln. Quad City Arts Visiting
LITERARY ARTS
Friday, September 18 Gayle Harper.

Book signing with the author of Roadtrip
with a Raindrop: 90 Days Along the Mississippi
Saturday 9 a.m.
River. River Music
Experience (129
gates. Free. For
information,
North Main Street,
visit QCCeltic.
Davenport). 6
org.
p.m. Free. For
Saturday,
information, call
September
(563)326-1333 or visit
19 Brew Ha
RiverMusicExperience.
org.
Ha. Jaycees of
the Quad Cities
Tuesday,
September 29
host the annual
Kool Keith @ RIBCO - September 25
event featuring
Banned Books
hundreds of
Reading. Annual
national and international beer samples plus
readings from challenged or banned
additional refreshments, comedy, live music
reading material co-hosted by the Midwest
with the Stone Flowers, and more. LeClaire
Writing Center. Rock Island Public Library
Park (400 Beiderbecke Drive, Davenport). 1-5
(401 19th Street, Rock Island). 6 p.m. Free.
p.m. $30-35. For tickets and information, visit
JayceesQC.org.
MWCQC.org.
Saturday, September 19 Taming of
the Slough. River Action hosts the annual
3.8-mile paddle around the island, followed
Saturday, September 19, and Sunday,
by a 4.5-mile bike trail, two-mile run, and
September 20 Riverssance Festival of
pizza party. Campbells Island Slough,
Fine Art. Twenty-eighth-annual outdoor
festival featuring dozens of vendors, artisans, Hampton, Illinois. 8 a.m. For information,
call (563)322-2969 or visit RiverAction.org/
craftspeople, a wine tasting, gourmet
taming.
food, a childrens activity tent, and more.
Wednesday, September 23 Eat What
Lindsay Park (River Drive and Mound Street).
You Love, Love What You Eat. Presentation
Saturday 9 a.m.-5 p.m., Sunday 9 a.m.-4 p.m.
on the tenets of mindful eating and a book$4, ages 12 and under free. For information,
signing with Dr. Michelle May. Quad-Cities
visit Midcoast.org.
Waterfront Convention Center (2021 State
Saturday, September 26, through
Street, Bettendorf). 6 and 8 p.m. book
Saturday, November 7 Day of the Dead:
signings, 7 p.m. presentation. $20. For
Art, Culture, Spirit. Exhibition celebrating
information, e-mail info@amysgift.com or
the Mexican holiday will feature handmade
call (309)779-3077.
folk art and interactive displays. Figge
Friday, September 25, and Saturday,
Art Museum (225 West Second Street,
September 26 Quad Cities Fall Pride
Davenport). Tuesday through Saturday
Festival. Annual celebration of LGBT culture
10 a.m.-5 p.m., Thursday 10 a.m.-9 p.m.,
Sunday noon-5 p.m. Free with $4-7 museum featuring live music, the Mr. & Miss Quad
Cities Fall Pride Pageant, belly dancers, drag
admission. For information, call (563)326shows, Bottoms Up Quad City Burlesque, the
7804 or visit FiggeArtMuseum.org.
Blacklist comedians, and headliners Jade,
Tuesday, September 29 Living
Zander Mander, and Nic Hawk. LeClaire Park
Proof Opening Reception. Event held
(400 Beiderbecke Drive, Davenport). Friday 5
in conjunction with the new permanent
p.m. gates, Saturday 10 a.m. gates. $5-7 daily,
exhibit featuring artworks by area cancer
$10 weekend pass. For information, visit
survivors, with new works displayed
QuadCitiesFallPride.com.
every three months. Trinity Cancer Center
(500 John Deere Road, Moline). 5 p.m.
September 26 Hot Air Balloon Festival.
refreshments, 6 p.m. reception with artists.
Annual event featuring balloon launches,
food vendors, childrens activities, a bounce
UnityPoint.org.
house, balloon glows at dusk, and more.
Rock Island County Fairgrounds (4200 Archer
Drive, East Moline). 5 p.m. launches. Free. For
September 19 Celtic Festival & Highland information, visit QuadCitiesBalloonFestival.
com.
Games. Annual celebration of Celtic culture
Sunday, September 27 Quad Cities
with athletic and dance competitions,
vendors, arts and crafts, workshops, displays, Marathon. Annual fundraising event
involving seven races, two states, and one
and concert sets by Four Shillings Short,
(Arsenal) island. i wireless Center (1201 River
Wylde Nept, the Beggarmen, and others.
Drive, Moline). 8 a.m. $40-95 registration. For
Centennial Park (315 South Marquette
information, visit QCMarathon.org.
Street, Davenport). Friday 3 p.m. gates,
VISUAL ARTS
EVENTS
THEATRE
15
By Mike Schulz
mike@rcreader.com
Call for Entry: River Cities Reader

Theatre Reviewers
ave you ever read one of the Readers

theatre reviews and thought, I
could do that job? Well, nows your
chance!
After nearly six years spent writing for
the paper, Thom Whites and his familys
impending move to Kentucky means hell
be stepping down as the Readers chief
theatre reviewer. Thom will continue to
contribute reviews, as much as hes able,
for the next several months, and as Ive
been fortunate to this summer, Ill no
doubt be writing a few myself.
But that means were still seeking those
who love to write or who love theatre or,
preferably, who love to write about theatre
to take on the enjoyable challenge of
serving as a Reader theatre reviewer.
Ideally, wed like to divvy up the
reviewing duties among several writers,
in the hopes of introducing readers to
different voices and to make sure no
ones workload becomes overwhelming.
As Thom and I can attest, those random
weekends in which you catch three (or
more!) shows in a row can be fun, but
draining fun.
Those interested in the theatre-reviewer

opportunity, even on an extremely parttime basis, should send an introductory
e-mail and writing sample or several
samples to me at mike@rcreader.com.
Any review you may have written,
particularly of a theatrical production,
would be preferred, but Ill happily read
whatever youd care to send. Interviews
will be scheduled beginning in midSeptember, in the hopes of introducing
new reviewers by early November.
The deadline for submission is Friday,
September 25, at 5 p.m.
Although hes not leaving the area
quite yet, we at the Reader thank Thom
immensely for his hard and dedicated
work over the years. And on a personal
note, I thank him for loving theatre as
much as I do, and for wanting to share that
love, on a mostly weekly basis, with fellow
fans of the art. If youre a like-minded
writer, wed love to hear from you.
Send writing samples or questions to Mike
Schulz at mike@rcreader.com, or contact
Mike at the Reader office at (563)324-0049.
16
GUEST COMMENTARY

by Daniel Bier
COVER STORY
How Dangerous Is It to Be a Cop? From Wasteland to Treasure
decades per resident, per officer, and even

in absolute terms.
NLEOMF doesnt have the only database
of officer deaths, however, and some people
prefer the data from the Office Down
Memorial Page.
The American Enterprise Institutes Mark
Perry has crunched its numbers for firearmrelated deaths (a good proxy for homicides),
and his findings closely mirror my own.
Again, the data show that 2015 is one of
the safest years for American policing in
history, both in absolute terms and adjusted
for population.
One explanation for these trends is that
fatality and homicide rates are only going
down because of technology: Bulletproof vests
and better medical care are saving officers
who would have been killed in the past.
But the FBI collects statistics on the
number of police assaulted and injured each
year, and they also show dramatic declines in
violence against police.
In other words, cops are not just being
saved more often; they are also being
attacked and injured less frequently.
Another way to measure how dangerous
it is to be a cop is to compare it to other jobs.
So how does police work stack up against
other professions?
The Washington Posts Wonkblog took
a look at that using Bureau of Labor
Statistics (BLS) data on fatal work injuries.
Unfortunately, the BLS only collects data
on patrol officers, not all police, but even
so, policing isnt even in the top-10 most
dangerous professions.
Perhaps even more surprisingly, police
arent even the most likely workers to be
murdered. Taxi drivers and chauffeurs
are more than twice as likely as cops to be
murdered on the job.
Another way to look at it is to compare
homicide rates from around country to the
rate for police. Here the comparison is even
more striking: Its safer to be a cop than it is
to simply live in many U.S. cities.
Its hard to estimate the current murder
rate for police, but in 2008 (the last time
we had good data on the total number of
officers), there were 5.2 murders per 100,000
full-time-equivalent sworn officers below
the national average at the time of 5.4
murders per 100,000.
In 2008, you were 12 times more likely to
be killed living in New Orleans than wearing
a badge. Since then, the number of police
has increased, so the rate is almost certainly
lower today.
The bottom line is that cops are safer than
many workers, safer than residents of many
cities, and indeed safer than theyve been in
decades.
Its safer to be a cop than it is to live in

Baltimore. Its safer to be a cop than it is to be
a fisher, logger, pilot, roofer, miner, trucker,
or taxi driver. Its safer to be a cop today than
its been in years, decades, or even a century
by some measures.
There are real liabilities to inflating
the threats to police. If you tell cops over
and over that theyre in a war, that theyre
under siege, and that citizens are the enemy
instead of the people theyre supposed
to protect youre going to create an
atmosphere of fear, tension, and hostility
that can only end badly, as it has for so many
people.
There is no war on cops. Not now, not last
year, not any of the times that ideologues and
media hacks have tried to invent one.
Cops need to know this. And so do we.
As I wrote last year, Disproportionate
fears about officer safety are leading
inexorably to the disproportionate use of
force as well as leading many people
(especially those who have never witnessed
police misconduct) to excuse obvious
brutality in the name of officer safety.
Meanwhile, those who see such behavior
every day will have their trust in law
enforcement steadily eroded.
Almost as bad as the headline stories is
this long-run deterioration of relations with
the police. More than anything else, cops
need the cooperation and support of their
communities to catch criminals. When cops
start to treat citizens like their enemy, its not
surprising when the public stops viewing
police as their allies.
To be clear, none of this suggests that cops
have an easy job. They dont. Dealing with
rowdy, drunk, and sometimes violent people
every day is an incredibly hard job, whether
or not its very likely to kill you. Nor is this to
deny or downplay the tragedy of murdered
police officers; their families surely deserve
our sympathy and our support. And nor am
I saying that all cops are bad.
But none of these things and certainly
not a mythical war on cops should stop
us from having a hard conversation about
law-enforcement and criminal-justice
reform in America.
Exaggerating the dangers of being
a cop does no one any good. A clear
understanding of the risks officers face will
not only help them make better decisions;
it will help us make better ones as voters,
jurors, and taxpayers.
Daniel Bier is the editor of Anything Peaceful,
a blog at the Foundation for Economic
Education (FEE.org) and the original source
of this article. He writes on issues relating to
science, civil liberties, and economic freedom.
by Jeff Ignatius
jeff@rcreader.com
Photo by Connor Woollums
An aerial view of Nahant Marsh and its education center

First, hydrology has been altered here,
Ritter said. Farmers dug drainage ditches
in the 1930s and 40s, for example, and that
combined with the Interstate 280 culvert
means Nahant Marsh is much wetter than
it once was. So the marsh has a control
structure with which staff can adjust water
levels. We try to mimic what nature would
be doing, Ritter said which means drying
out the marsh in the summer and letting
water levels rise in the fall.
Second, invasive species easily make their
way into Nahant. Its a constant struggle to
maintain biodiversity in a place that is so
surrounded by industrialization, Ritter said.
The highway and railroad are key sources.
Its because those areas are disturbed,
he said. Theyre mowed or sprayed with
chemicals frequently. The things that pop
up if you dont continue the mowing usually
are the plants that are the most adaptable,
which in this area happens to be a lot of the
invasive species. With trains and vehicles
traveling at high speeds, the seeds get spread
more widely.
The Mississippi River, too, is a source
of invasive species, which has been
problematic as floods have become more
common. Any seeds that the river is picking
up or it could be insects are going to
wash in here [during floods]. We have to
remain vigilant.
After the 2008 flood, he noted, we
werent proactive enough about replanting
prairie, and those areas that were most
affected just became full of invasive species.
That challenge persists regardless of
floods. In the marsh last week, Ritter pointed
to dense pockets of reed canary grass an
invasive species that cant be eradicated

with controlled burns. Nahant Marsh is
considering spraying chemicals to get rid of
the species clearly a tool of last resort.
Yet the fight against invasive species
illustrates one of the great appeals of Nahant
Marsh: Its a natural treasure hidden in an
industrial section of an urban area. Ritter
told of having a booth at events such as Bald
Eagle Days and talking to people who had
no idea that Nahant Marsh even existed so
close to home.
The biggest surprise is finding out
that were here, he said. People would ask:
Where is this? Is this in Missouri? And
hed respond: No, its right here in your
backyard. ... This ... is so accessible. Were
right next to an interstate.
As longtime Nahant Marsh board member
and volunteer Curtis Lundy wrote: Five
miles from downtown Davenport, our
community has an extraordinary natural
habitat that features wetland pond, mesic and
sand prairies, and woodland bottoms. Nahant
Marsh is close and extremely valuable to our
community. And it is fragile. Fighting for its
health, which will greatly enhance the QCA
community, is my favorite battle.
And how does he get people to visit for
the first time? I tell them Ill give them
$50 if they visit Nahant and dont have an
experience that far exceeds $50.
Registration for the October 20 anniversary
event is required, and tickets are $5 for
Nahant Marsh members 14 and older and $10
for nonmembers. Children are free. Tickets
and more information about Nahant Marsh
are available at NahantMarsh.org.
2015RiverssanceREADERad_Layout 1 9/14/15 12:02 PM Page 1
MidCoast Fine Arts
Festival of Fine Art
Sept. 19 & 20, 2015
Saturday: 10 - 5 & Sunday: 10 - 4

Lindsay Park, Village of East Davenport
overlooking the scenic Mississippi River
wonderful ART, live MUSIC,

gourmet FOOD & WINE
$4 ADMISSION
September 3 Crossword Answers
OR
Thanks to our sponsors!
age 12 & over

for 2-day
pass
$6
Proceeds support
community
programming of
MidCoast Fine Arts
F CUSED CREATIVE. MAGNIFIED RESULTS.
17
18
Ask
the
Advice
Goddess
Nappily Ever After
I just moved in with my fianc, whose

five-year-old daughter stays with us part of
the week. On the evenings shes at the house,
my fianc just goes to sleep, leaving me to
entertain her. (She likes to play endless games
such as Guess how many fingers Im holding
up!) Well, I work a full-time job, and Im
exhausted in the evenings. He and I got into
a big fight because I said he cant just clock
out like this. He told me that I need to set
boundaries with her. Is this really my job? Im
not her mother, and Im not even officially her
stepmother yet.
Dismayed
So what did he do before you moved in? Just
chain her to the radiator while he took a snooze?
When I was growing up, Id have to play
with toys by myself or go out and poke a worm
with a stick. These days, parents go way over
the top in how involved they think they should
be in playtime, and kids exploit this, extorting
constant adult attention. Developmental
psychologist Peter Gray explains that play
evolved to be the primary means for children
to learn to solve their own problems, overcome
their fears, and take control of their lives, and
this parents as playmates thing may stunt
kids self-reliance. Gray, like anthropologist
David Lancy, points out that parents being all
up in kids playtime business is a very recent
development. Throughout human history,
parents have been too busy doing the little
things you know, like trying to keep the family
from starving to death to read the hieroglyphic
version of The Very Hungry Caterpillar to their
kid 500 times in a row.
It isnt fair for your fianc to clock out and
make you Youth Activities Director. (Im
guessing your Match.com profile didnt have you
listed as BirthdayClown777.) Its also important
that you develop a nice, warm relationship
with this little girl before you start going all
Department of Corrections on her. Connection
first, discipline second is the order in which
the most successful stepparent-stepchild
relationships are formed, explains stepfamily
researcher Kay Pasley.
Of course, it is essential to set boundaries with
willful, ill-behaved brats, including those who
are, oh, 45. (Fatherhood is a journey, but not just
from the living room to the bed.) As for how
much of a role youll take in stepmommying,
deciding that is part of deciding how your
BY AMY ALKON
marriage will play out day to day, and that takes

discussion: what youre each comfortable with,
what you need, and what seems fair. (Who
knew? Theres more to marital planning than
cage fighting another bride for the hot caterer.)
Once you and he figure everything out, you
and your stepdaughter can play many fun
games starting with one of my favorites from
Camp Tamakwa: Lets draw a pee-pee on your
sleeping dads face with permanent marker!
Grisly Bare
Im a 32-year-old woman, and Im dating

this guy, but Im very insecure about my body.
The other morning, I needed to go to the
bathroom, but I didnt want to walk naked out
of the bedroom. I told him I felt self-conscious
about being naked. He didnt offer me a robe
or a shirt or anything, and I found that kind of
insensitive.
Modest
Theyll hand you a paper gown at the
doctors office, but thats because youre
probably speaking to the intake nurse for the
first or second time; you didnt stay up til 4
a.m. riding her like a pony.
This guys lack of sensitivity to your naked
plight may also come out of how men generally
dont have quite so much insecurity about their
appearance and for good reason. Though a
woman will go for a hunk-bucket if she can get
one, women evolved to prioritize mens status
and power over looks. (Think Henry Kissinger,
Sarkozy, Shrek.)
Mens attraction to women, however, is
largely visually driven. Women get this, so a
woman can feel anxious when her tummywrangling garment is dangling from the ceiling
fan and fret that her breasts no longer stand up
like two missiles about to be launched. But as
in this situation, when a guy keeps calling and
coming back for more, chances are hes feeling
appreciative of what you have and not worried
that seeing it naked will have him hurling in
the nightstand drawer.
Consider that a big part of sex appeal
is confidence. Strutting around like youre
hot is a big step toward feeling that way. Try
something for two weeks: Forget how insecure
you feel naked and act as secure as youd like
to feel tempting as it is to grab a pillow and
back out of the bedroom like a cop when he
knows the felons in the warehouse have him
outnumbered.
Got A Problem? Ask Amy Alkon.
171 Pier Ave, #280, Santa Monica, CA 90405

or e-mail AdviceAmy@aol.com (AdviceGoddess.com)
2015, Amy Alkon, all rights reserved.
FREE WILL ASTROLOGY
ARIES (March 21-April 19): I

wont go so far as to say that you are
surrounded by unhinged maniacs
whose incoherence is matched only
by their self-delusion. That would probably be
too extreme. But I do suspect that at least some
of the characters in the game youre playing are
not operating at their full potential. For now, its
best not to confront them and demand that they
act with more grace. The wiser strategy might
be to avoid being swept up in their agitation as
you take good care of yourself. If you are patient
and stay centered, I bet you will eventually get a
chance to work your magic.
TAURUS (April 20-May 20): Many

of the heroes in fairy tales survive and
thrive because of the magical gifts they
are given. Benefactors show up, often
unexpectedly, to provide them with marvels
a spinning wheel that can weave a cloak of
invisibility, perhaps, or winged shoes that give
them the power of flight, or a charmed cauldron
that brews a healing potion. But there is an
important caveat. The heroes rarely receive their
boons out of sheer luck. They have previously
performed kind deeds or unselfish acts to earn
the right to be blessed. According to my analysis,
Taurus, the coming weeks will be prime time
for you to make yourself worthy of gifts you will
need later on.
GEMINI (May 21-June 20): We
humans need nourishing stories almost
as much as we require healthy food,
clean air, pure water, and authentic love. And
yet many of us get far less than our minimum
daily requirement of nourishing stories. Instead,
we are barraged with nihilistic narratives that
wallow in misery and woe. If we want a break
from that onslaught, our main other choices are
sentimental fantasies and empty-hearted trivia.
Thats the bad news. But heres the good news:
Now is a favorable time for you to seek remedies
for this problem. Thats why Im urging you to
hunt down redemptive chronicles that furnish
your soul with gritty delight. Find parables
and sagas and tales that fire up your creative
imagination and embolden your lust for life.
CANCER (June 21-July 22): Now
is an excellent time to close the gap
between the Real You and the image
of yourself that you display to the world. I know
of two ways to accomplish this. You can tinker
with the Real You so that its more like the image
you display. Or else you can change the image
you display so that it is a more accurate rendition
of the Real You. Both strategies may be effective.
However you go about it, Cancerian, I suggest
you make it your goal to shrink the amount of
pretending you do.
LEO (July 23-August 22): Born under
the sign of Leo, Marcel Duchamp was
an influential artist whose early work
prefigured surrealism. In 1917, he submitted
an unusual piece to a group exhibition in New
York. It was a plain old porcelain urinal, but he

titled it Fountain, and insisted it was a genuine
work of art. In that spirit, I am putting my seal
of approval on the messy melodrama you are
in the process of managing. Henceforth, this
melodrama shall also be known as a work of
art, and its title will be Purification. (Or would
you prefer Expurgation or Redemption?) If you
finish the job with the panache you have at your
disposal, it will forevermore qualify as a souljiggling masterpiece.
VIRGO (August 23-September
22): Some people express pride in
gross ways. When you hear their
overbearing brags, you know its a sign that
they are not really confident in themselves.
They overdo the vanity because theyre trying
to compensate for their feelings of inadequacy.
In the coming weeks, I expect you to express a
more lovable kind of self-glorification. It wont be
inflated or arrogant, but will instead be measured
and reasonable. If you swagger a bit, you will
do it with humor and style, not narcissism and
superiority. Thank you in advance for your
service to humanity. The world needs more of
this benign kind of egotism.
LIBRA (September 23-October
22): The rooster is your power
animal. Be like him. Scrutinize the horizon for
the metaphorical dawn that is coming, and be
ready to herald its appearance with a triumphant
wake-up call. On the other hand, the rooster is
also your affliction animal. Dont be like him. I
would hate for you to imitate the way he handles
himself in a fight, which is to keep fussing and
squabbling far beyond the point when he should
let it all go. In conclusion, Libra, act like a rooster
but also dont act like a rooster. Give up the
protracted struggle so you can devote yourself to
the more pertinent task, which is to celebrate the
return of the primal heat and light.
SCORPIO (October 23-November
21): Since you seem to enjoy
making life so complicated and
intense for yourself, you may be glad to learn
that the current astrological omens favor that
development. My reading of the astrological
omens suggests that youre about to dive deep
into rich mysteries that could drive you halfcrazy. I suspect that you will be agitated and
animated by your encounters with ecstatic
torment and difficult bliss. Bon voyage! Have
fun! Soon I expect to see miniature violet
bonfires gleaming in your bedroom eyes, and
unnameable emotions rippling through your
unfathomable face, and unprecedented words of
wild wisdom spilling from your smart mouth.
SAGITTARIUS (November
22-December 21): The Adamites
were devotees of an ancient Christian
sect that practiced sacred nudism. One of their
central premises: How could anyone possibly
know God while wearing clothes? I am not
necessarily recommending that you make their
19
by Rob Brezsny
practice a permanent part of your spiritual
repertoire, but I think you might find value
in it during the coming weeks. Your erotic
and transcendent yearnings will be rising to a
crescendo at the same time. You will have the
chance to explore states where horniness and
holiness overlap. Lusty prayers? Reverent sex?
Ecstatic illumination?
CAPRICORN (December
22-January 19): One of your key
themes in the coming weeks is grace.
I suggest that you cultivate it, seek it out, expect
it, and treasure it. To prepare for this fun work,
study all of the meanings of grace below. At
least two of them, and possibly all, should and
can be an active part of your life. (1) Elegance
or beauty of form, movement, or proportion;
seemingly effortless charm or fluidity. (2) Favor
or goodwill; a disposition to be generous or
helpful. (3) Mercy, forgiveness, charity. (4) A
temporary exemption or immunity; a reprieve.
(5) A sense of fitness or propriety. (6) A prayer
of blessing or thanks said before a meal. (7) An
unmerited divine gift offered out of love.
AQUARIUS (January 20-February
18): Be good, but not necessarily
well-behaved. Be extra exuberant and free, but
not irresponsible. Be lavish and ardent and
even rowdy, but not decadent. Why? Whats the
occasion? Well, you have more-or-less finished
paying off one of your karmic debts. You have
conquered or at least outwitted a twist from
your past that had been sapping your mojo. As a
reward for doing your duty with such diligence,
you have earned a respite from some of the more
boring aspects of reality. And so now you have
a mandate to gather up the intelligent pleasure
you missed when you were acting like a beast of
burden.
PISCES (February 19-March 20):
I am the least difficult of men. All
I want is boundless love. Thats the
mantra that Frank OHara intoned in his poem
Meditations in an Emergency, and now Im
inviting you to adopt a modified version of it.
Heres how I would change it for your use in
the coming months: I am the least difficult of
passion artists. All I want is to give and receive
boundless, healthy, interesting love. To be frank,
I dont think OHaras simple and innocent
declaration will work for you. You really do
need to add my recommended nuances in order
to ripen your souls code and be aligned with
cosmic rhythms.
Homework: Whats your favorite method
for overcoming the inertia of the past? 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 1-900-950-7700
20
HIGH JINKS September 17, 2014
ACROSS
1. Doctrine
6. _ _ -mountain
10. Slips anagram
15. Purpose
19. Early computer
20. Cacholong
21. Sub: Hyph.
22. Inmates
23. Titivates: 2 wds.
25. Qualifies: 2 wds.
27. Range of vision
28. Press
29. Tasmanias capital
31. Submission
32. Pizza order
33. Seraglio
34. Trial
36. Proverbial sages
40. Bore
42. Take hold of
43. Old Dutch coin
44. Works hard
45. _ -mundi
46. Draft org.
49. White Cliffs site
51. Asian New Year
52. Franchise
54. Multifarious
57. Mr. Foxx
58. Semiconductor
59. Annul
60. Evans or Carnegie
61. Croquette
63. Weekly: Abbr.
65. Breakfast preference: 3 wds.
68. Spread to dry
69. Prevailed
72. Lepontine _
73. Squander
76. Saltpeter
77. Hee-haw
78. Quondam
80. Cave or grotto
83. Item for cricketers
85. Harden: Var.
87. Elec. unit
88. Beer brand
89. Presbyter
92. Genus of honeybees

93. Berkshire town
94. Greasy spoon item
95. _ She Lovely
96. Ocean bird
99. Augustas state
100. Insect
102. Budget
103. One-sided
105. Understanding words
106. Hotshot
109. Fell silent: 2 wds.
111. Stops moping: 2 wds.
114. The States: Abbr.
115. Ruffs mate
116. Gardner the writer
117. Weld
118. Withered
119. Like SWAT teams
120. _ ex machina
121. _ porridge...
DOWN
1. Escritoire
2. Dont Tread _ _
3. _ Carlo Menotti
4. Damage
5. Misbehave: 2 wds.
6. Solidify
7. Basilica part
8. Greek letter
9. Very early lesson
10. Go heavily
11. Girder: Hyph.
12. Rise
13. Of rural life
14. R-V connection
15. Public outburst
16. City in Italy
17. Small bead
18. Catch sight of
24. Burdon and Idle
26. Cardinals
30. Mines yield
33. Apiary item
35. Merit
36. Unmatched
37. Growth of trees and saplings
September 3 Answers: Page 17
38. Partying heartily: 3 wds.

39. Forbes or Carell
41. Triangular sail
42. Needle
45. Yielded by treaty
46. Westerns, oftentimes: Hyph.
47. Go furtively
48. Celerity
50. Rule: Abbr.
52. Fleur- _ - _
53. A sib, for short
55. Efface
56. Ornamental button
57. Grating
60. Celtic god
61. Downfall
62. _ dixit
63. Altar slab
64. Postulate
66. Nostril
67. Performed badly
70. Determine
71. Period in Italian art
74. Native American language
75. Biblical Mount
77. Cowhouse
79. _ Brockovich
81. Memorization
82. Bubbly drink: 2 wds.
83. Like a tabby
84. Assistant
86. Superlative suffix
89. _ -dieu
90. Reduces
91. Principle
94. Struggled for air
96. Bract
97. Modify
98. _ Dame
99. Purple shade
101. Prepare to drive: 2 wds.
102. Down with: Fr.
104. The same
105. Domed structure
106. Vast region
107. Budget considerations
108. Sword
110. New Deal org.
112. Wrath
113. Compass pt.
21
Live Music Live Music Live Music

Email all listings to calendar@rcreader.com Deadline 5 p.m. Thursday before publication
THURSDAY
2015/09/17 (Thu) -
00
17
4onthefloor - Gina Venier - The

Redstone Room, 129 Main St Davenport, IA
Aziz Sahmaoui & University of Gnawa
- CSPS/Legion Arts, 1103 3rd St SE
Cedar Rapids, IA
Dave Ellis & Guests - Grumpys Saloon,
2120 E 11th St Davenport, IA
Death Valley Welcome Center - Gabes,
330 E. Washington St. Iowa City, IA
Indigenous Robot - Fowler Brothers
- Blame Not the Bard - Iowa City
Yacht Club, 13 S Linn St Iowa City, IA
Jason Carl - 11th Street Precinct, 1107
Mound St. Davenport, IA
Karolina Cicha and Bar t Palyga
(6:30pm) - Cedar Rapids Public
Library, 500 1st St SE Cedar Rapids, IA
Kerry & Rich Acoustic Duo - Circle Tap,
1345 W. Locust St. Davenport, IA
Model Stranger - The Last Glimpse The Candymakers - Rozz-Tox, 2108
3rd Ave. Rock Island, IL
The Tossers - Gallows Bound - RIBCO,
1815 2nd Ave. Rock Island, IL
FRIDAY
2015/09/18 (Fri) -
00
18
3 on the Tree - The Surf Zombies RIBCO, 1815 2nd Ave. Rock Island, IL
Arch Allies - Riverside Casino and
Golf Resort, 3184 Highway 22 Riverside, IA
Bucktown Revue - Nighswander Theatre, 2822 Eastern Ave Davenport, IA
Celtic Festival: Four Shillings Short
(3pm) - Turas (5pm) - The Gothard
Sisters (7pm) - Centennial Park, 315
S. Marquette St. Davenport, IA
Corporate Rock - 11th Street Precinct,
1107 Mound St. Davenport, IA
Ester Rada - CSPS/Legion Arts, 1103 3rd

St SE Cedar Rapids, IA
Friday Live @ Five: North of 40 (5pm)
- RME Cour tyard, 131 W. 2nd St.
Davenport, IA
Greg & Rich Acoustic Duo (6pm) Mama Comptons, 1725 2nd Ave
Rock Island, IL
Javier Colon - Galvin Fine Arts Center,
2101 N. Gaines St. Davenport, IA
Jenny Lynn Stacy & the Dirty Roosters - George Matt Bowels - Randall
Hall - Dandy - Blue Movies (6pm)
- Downtown Central Perk, 226 W. 3rd
St. Davenport, IA
Jerry Beauchamp - Lyle Beaver Trio, 116
E Bryant St Walcott, IA
Jordan Danielsen & Jef Spradley
(5pm) - Wide River Winery - LeClaire,
106 N. Cody Rd. LeClaire, IA
Linn Street Bock Party: Black Uhuru Rude Punch - Fireman Stan - Small
Houses - Crystal City (6pm) - Iowa
City Yacht Club, 13 S Linn St Iowa
City, IA
Matuto (6:30pm) - NewBo City Market,
1100 3rd St. SE Cedar Rapids, IA
Modern Mythology - My Place the Pub,
4405 State St. Bettendorf, IA
MoZo - Sheridan Drive - Rozz-Tox, 2108
3rd Ave. Rock Island, IL
Powell - Bier Stube Moline Biergarten,
415 15th St. Moline, IL
The 100s - The Mill, 120 E. Burlington
St. Iowa City, IA
The Giving Tree Band - Chicago Farmer
- The Redstone Room, 129 Main St
Davenport, IA
The Stone Flowers - Grumpys Saloon,
2120 E 11th St Davenport, IA
Zach Harris - Harley Carrines, 1708
State St. Bettendorf, IA
Fort Frances @ Codfish Hollow Barn - Serptember 25

Festival: The Lads of Dubuque
30
19 Celtic(9am)
SATURDAY
- The Led Farmers (11am)
2015/09/19 (Sat) -
[su:m] (1pm) - Matuto (2:30pm) Maarja Nuut (4pm) - Otava Yo

(5:30pm) - McGrath Amphitheater,
475 1st St. SE Cedar Rapids, IA
Alyx Rush (1pm) - NorthPark Mall, 320
W. Kimberly Rd. Davenport, IA
Alyx Rush (7pm) - RME Community

Stage, 131 W. 2nd St. Davenport, IA
Arc Numbers - Rozz-Tox, 2108 3rd Ave.

Rock Island, IL
Brew Ha Ha: The Stone Flowers (1pm)
- LeClaire Park, 400 Beiderbecke Dr.
Davenport, IA
Bugeye Sprite - My Place the Pub, 4405
Cash & Cline: A Tribute to Johnny
& Patsy - Quad-Cities Waterfront
Convention Center, 2021 State St.
Bettendorf, IA
Goodtime Dutchmen (1:30pm) Lyle Beaver Trio, 116 E Bryant St

Walcott, IA
Music Is the Word - Englert Theatre,
221 East Washington St. Iowa City, IA
Quad City Showdown & River Rumble
After-Party: Skyscraper - DJ DJ
Tanner - Rozz-Tox, 2108 3rd Ave.
Rock Island, IL
Steve Grismore Jazz Trio (5pm) - Flatted Fifth Blues & BBQ, 300 Potter Dr.
Bellevue, IA
Steve McFate Acoustic - Mr. Eds Liquor
Store and Tap, 127 4th St. W. Milan, IL
Sunday Jazz Brunch w/ the Josh Duffee Jazz Quartet (9am) - Bix Bistro,
200 E. 3rd St. Davenport, IA
WVIK/QCSO Signature Series I: American Moderns - Figge Art Museum, 225
W 2nd St Davenport, IA
2015/09/20 (Sun) -
Chris Avey Live - My Place the Pub, 4405

Serious Business - Gabes, 330 E. Washington St. Iowa City, IA
Voice of the Legends & A Tom Jones
Tribute - Coralville Center for
the Performing Arts, 1301 5th St.
Coralville, IA
SUNDAY
20
Buddy Olson (3pm) - Duckys Lagoon,

13515 78th Ave W. Taylor Ridge, IL
Cold Blue Mountain - Aseethe - Obsidian Sword - Iowa City Yacht Club, 13
S Linn St Iowa City, IA
Fox & the Acres - Red Comet - Gabes,
330 E. Washington St. Iowa City, IA
MONDAY
2015/09/21 (Mon) -
21
Mississippi Valley Country & Western

Music Association Dance - East
Moline American Legion, 829 16th
Ave. East Moline, IL
Moeller Mondays Presents: Small
Houses - Mother - Little Racer - Rozz-Tox, 2108 3rd Ave. Rock Island, IL
TUESDAY
2015/09/22 (Tue) -
22
LAND AND EQUIPMENT
wqpt.org/military
AUCTION MUSCATINE CO., IA
ON TWO FRONTS
WED., SEPTEMBER 30TH @ 10:00 A.M.
Latinos & Vietnam
AT THE FARM: 1761 IRON CITY AVE., NICHOLS, IA
LAND IS LOCATED 5 MILES EAST OF NICHOLS, IA

NICE COUNTRY HOME & ACREAGE!
PRODUCTIVE TILLABLE FARMLAND!
EXCELLENT RECREATIONAL OPPORTUNITIES!
ALSO SELLING : Oliver 1855 & IH 656 tractors,
Bobcat skidloader, Link-Belt Speeder LS 68 dragline,
Kawasaki mule, tools & other farm itemsListing online!
FOR INFO.: Jim Huff 319-931-9292 Jeff Hoyer 319-759-4320
- The Beggarmen (1pm) - Exorna

(3pm) - The Langers Ball (5pm) Wylde Nept (5pm) - Centennial Park,
315 S. Marquette St. Davenport, IA
Cosmic - 11th Street Precinct, 1107
Dead Pigeons - Rivers Edge Gallery, 216
W 3rd St Muscatine, IA
Dinner at the Kids Table - Slops Neighborhood Bar & Grill, 1015 13th Ave.
N. Clinton, IA
Funktastic Five - Rascals Live, 1414 15th
St. Moline, IL
Greg & Rich Acoustic Duo - Jims Knoxville Tap, 8716 Knoxville Rd. Milan, IL
Groovement - Kick - Iowa City Yacht
Club, 13 S Linn St Iowa City, IA
Hold On Band - Riverside Casino
and Golf Resort, 3184 Highway 22
Riverside, IA
Identity Crisis - River House, 1510 River
Dr. Moline, IL
Kidz Days at the RME (noon) - RME

Community Stage, 131 W. 2nd St.
Davenport, IA
Minus Six - The Real Quaid - RIBCO,
1815 2nd Ave. Rock Island, IL
Neil Bergs 100 Years of Broadway John and Alice Butler Hall, University
of Dubuque Heritage Center, 2255
Bennett St. Dubuque, IA
Nic Arp - Uptown Bills Coffee House,
730 S. Dubuque St. Iowa City, IA
North of 40 - Desperados, 112 S. Main
St. Wheatland, IA
Platinum: The Music of Miranda Lambert - Ohnward Fine Arts Center,
1215 E Platt St. Maquoketa, IA
Russ Reyman Request Piano Bar - The
Phoenix Restaurant & Martini Bar,
111 West 2nd St. Davenport, IA
The Acoustic Project (6pm) - Cool
Beanz Coffeehouse, 1325 30th St.
Rock Island, IL
The Old 57s (4pm) - Wide River Winery
- Clinton, 1776 East Deer Creek Rd.
Clinton, IA
Who Cares - Fargo Dance & Sports, 4204
Avenue of the Cities Moline, IL
Wild Oatz - Harley Carrines, 1708 State
St. Bettendorf, IA
Zeta June - The Jauntee - Wolf Mixer
- Gabes, 330 E. Washington St. Iowa
City, IA
DETAILS
AVAILABLE
ONLINE!
KAREN DIANA RUSSELL ATTY - WILLIAM B. THARP LIBERTY, IA
COMPLETE LISTING, MAPS & PHOTOS, AVAILABLE ONLINE:
www.sullivanauctioneers.com
Sullivan Auctioneers, LLC www.sullivanauctioneers.com Toll Free (844) 847-2161
German American Heritage Center & MUGZ
Present
SAT. OCT. 3RD

6PM-8PM
Reserve your
tickets by calling:
324
324--8844
www.gahc.org
Tickets : $20 in advance & $25 at the door
Examine the Latino experience

during a war that placed
its heaviest burden on
working class youth.
AIRING
THURS | OCT 15 | 7PM
SCREENING &
DISCUSSION EVENT
TUES | OCT 13 | 6PM
Our Lady of Guadalupe

Church Hall
800 17th Street Silvis, Illinois
22
Live Music Live Music Live Music

Email all listings to calendar@rcreader.com Deadline 5 p.m. Thursday before publication
WEDNESDAY
2015/09/23 (Wed) -
23
Burlington Street Bluegrass Band

(7pm) - Darsombra - In the
Mouth of Radness - Porchburner
(10:30pm) - The Mill, 120 E. Burlington St. Iowa City, IA
Chris Avey Experience Acoustic Show
- Rascals Live, 1414 15th St. Moline, IL
Shemekia Copeland - Miller & the Other
Sinners - The Redstone Room, 129
Main St Davenport, IA
THURSDAY
2015/09/24 (Thu) -
00
24
Chuck Murphy - The JBar - Holiday

Inn & Suites, 4215 Elmore Ave.
Davenport, IA
Claude Bourbon (6pm) - Ca dZan, 411
South Rd. Cambridge, IL
Hooten Hallers - Burning Hands Otros Outros - Gabes, 330 E. Washington St. Iowa City, IA
Jordan Danielsen & Jef Spradley - 11th
Street Precinct, 1107 Mound St.
Davenport, IA
Kerry & Rich Acoustic Duo - Racers
Edge, 936 15th Ave East Moline, IL
FRIDAY
2015/09/25 (Fri) -
00
25
Aaron Kamm & the One Drops - Iowa City

Yacht Club, 13 S Linn St Iowa City, IA
A Damn Good Time Vol. 11 - RME (River
Music Experience), 129 N. Main St.
Davenport, IA
Avey Blues Trio - My Place the Pub, 4405
Bleach - Nirvana Band - Harley Carrines, 1708 State St. Bettendorf, IA
Cobalt Blue - 11th Street Precinct, 1107
Communion Daytrotter: Fort Frances

- Falls - Albatross - Codfish Hollow
Barn, 5013 288th Ave. Maquoketa, IA
Friday Live @ Five: The Candymakers
(5pm) - RME Courtyard, 131 W. 2nd
St. Davenport, IA
HeadBangin & BoobieShakin IV:
Liliths B.S. Burlesque w/ Calm Is
Key & BareBones - Rascals Live,
Katie & Paul (6:30pm) - Hello Weekend (8:30pm) - Riverside Casino
Riverside, IA
Kool Keith - Daggers & Gadema Skeez & T. Stubbs - RIBCO, 1815 2nd
Ave. Rock Island, IL
Las Cafeteras (7 & 9:30pm) - The Mill,
120 E. Burlington St. Iowa City, IA
Lost Country Dancers - Lyle Beaver
Trio, 116 E Bryant St Walcott, IA
Muddy Ruckus - Rozz-Tox, 2108 3rd
Oktoberfest Celebration: Reinischkogl Buam (6pm) - Bier Stube Moline
Biergarten, 415 15th St. Moline, IL
Pieces of Candy (5pm) - Wide River
Winery - LeClaire, 106 N. Cody Rd.
LeClaire, IA
Rob Dahms & the Night People (6pm)
- Mama Comptons, 1725 2nd Ave
Rock Island, IL
Thompson Square - Riverside Casino
Event Center, 3184 Highway 22 Riverside, IA
Tony Hoeppner (noon) - Bettendorf
Public Library, 2950 Learning Campus Dr. Bettendorf, IA
30
SATURDAY
2015/09/26 (Sat) -
26
Ben Schmidt & Larry Mossman Uptown Bills Coffee House, 730 S.
Dubuque St. Iowa City, IA
Tony & the Bloodshot Hippies - Bent

River Brewing Company - Rock
Island, 512 24th St. Rock Island, IL
Zappa Plays Zappa - Englert Theatre,
221 East Washington St. Iowa City, IA
Sunday Jazz Brunch w/ the Josh Duffee Jazz Quartet (9am) - Bix Bistro,
200 E. 3rd St. Davenport, IA
The Stone Flowers - Outside i wireless
Center, 1201 River Dr., Moline, IL
2015/09/27 (Sun) -
2015/09/28 (Mon) -
SUNDAY
JoHN Calvin Abney @ Rozz-Tox - September 28

Chuck Murphy - Riverside Grille, 1733
Code 415 - Purgatorys Pub, 2104 State
St Bettendorf, IA
Cody Road - Harley Carrines, 1708 State
St. Bettendorf, IA
Dave Weld & the Imperial Flames Flatted Fifth Blues & BBQ, 300 Potter
Dr. Bellevue, IA
Downtown Rockin Daddies - My Place
the Pub, 4405 State St. Bettendorf, IA
Garrett Hillary (3pm) - Creekside Vineyards Winery & Inn, 7505 120th Ave.
Coal Valley, IL
Greg & Rich Acoustic Duo - New Windsor Depot, 110 South 5th Ave. New
Windsor, IL
Have Your Cake - RIBCO, 1815 2nd Ave.
Rock Island, IL
Hello Weekend - Riverside Casino
Riverside, IA
Julianna & Friends (6pm) - Mama
Comptons, 1725 2nd Ave Rock
Island, IL
Just Chords - Battle Red - LeClaire Levee, Downtown LeClaire LeClaire, IA
FIGGE ART MUSEUM EXHIBITION
Da de los Muertos
de
los
SEPTEMBER 26-NOVEMBER 7, 2015
This traditional holiday, The Day of the Dead, highlights the strength of family,
community relationships and the continuance of life. It is celebrated with great
joy as the living reconnect with loved ones lost through death. The exhibition
will feature handmade folk art, interactive displays and bilingual labels.
5:30-8 p.m. Thursday, October 8 Opening Reception
Noon-5 p.m. Sunday, November 1 Free Family Fiesta
Davenport, Iowa 563.326.7804

www.figgeartmuseum.org
Kevin Carton - Songbird Bethann - The

White Tornado - Rozz-Tox, 2108 3rd
Oktoberfest Celebration: Reinischkogl Buam (2pm) - Downtown Colona,
Colona, IL
Powell - 11th Street Precinct, 1107
Quad Cities Fall Pride Festival: Sunshines Kids Concert (10am) Jordan Danielsen & Jef Spradley
(12:30pm) - Gina Venier (6:30pm)
- Nic Hawk (9pm) - LeClaire Park,
400 Beiderbecke Dr. Davenport, IA
Russ Reyman Request Piano Bar - The
Phoenix Restaurant & Martini Bar,
111 West 2nd St. Davenport, IA
Sarah Allner - Creekside Vineyards
Winery & Inn, 7505 120th Ave. Coal
Valley, IL
The Old 57s - Desperados, 112 S. Main
St. Wheatland, IA
The Zealots - Still Standing - Heavy
Weight - Moral Belief - Rascals Live,
27
Buddy Olson (3pm) - Duckys Lagoon,

13515 78th Ave W. Taylor Ridge, IL
Donnie Hottub Gustason & Friends
(5pm) - The Muddy Waters, 1708
Greg & Rich Acoustic Duo (11am) RiverBottom Chophouse, 102 S. Main
St. Port Byron, IL
Hot Buttered Rum - Frank F. Sydneys Western Bandit Volunteers
- The Redstone Room, 129 Main St
Davenport, IA
Jordan Danielsen & Jef Spradley
(6pm) - Fireside Winery, 1755 P Ave.
Marengo, IA
Pieces of Candy (2pm) - Wide River
Winery - Clinton, 1776 East Deer
Creek Rd. Clinton, IA
Pioneer Village Harvest Moon Song &
Dance Fest: Bob & Sheila Everhart
- The Banjoliers - The Vanishing
Countrysiders - Charlie & Holly
- Tonal Insanity - Marc & Brandi
Janssen - Walnut Grove Pioneer Village, 18817 290th St. Long Grove, IA
River Bend Bronze (3pm) - Bethel
Wesley United Methodist Church,
1201 13th St Moline, IL
Ron Tegeler Jazz Trio (5pm) - Flatted
Fifth Blues & BBQ, 300 Potter Dr.
Bellevue, IA
Steve McFate Acoustic (6pm) - McManus Pub, 1401 7th Ave Moline, IL
MONDAY
28
Banned Song Fest (6:30pm) - Bettendorf Public Library, 2950 Learning

Campus Dr. Bettendorf, IA
Moeller Mondays Presents: John Calvin Abney - Levi Parham - Rozz-Tox,
2108 3rd Ave. Rock Island, IL
Wanyama - Edison - Gabes, 330 E.
Washington St. Iowa City, IA
TUESDAY
2015/09/29 (Tue) -
29
Chris Avey Live - My Place the Pub, 4405

Goddamn Gallows - Gabes, 330 E.
Washington St. Iowa City, IA
WEDNESDAY
2015/09/30 (Wed) -
30
Celtic Music Jam Session w/ Joe Nobiling (6pm) - Moline Public Library,
3210 41st St. Moline, IL
Chris Avey Experience Acoustic Show
- Rascals Live, 1414 15th St. Moline, IL
Jeff Austin Band - Fruition - Horseshoes & Hand Grenades - The
Redstone Room, 129 Main St
Davenport, IA
The Besnard Lakes - The Mill, 120 E.
Burlington St. Iowa City, IA
Twins - Rozz-Tox, 2108 3rd Ave. Rock
Island, IL
Wood Chickens - Gabes, 330 E. Washington St. Iowa City, IA
DJs/Karaoke/
Jams/Open Mics
THURSDAYS
THURSDAYS
Cobra Kai Karaoke The Backroom

Comedy Theater, 1510 N. Harrison St.,
Davenport, IA.
DJ Night w/ 2-Tone Shenanigans Irish
Pub, 303 W. Third St., Davenport, IA.
DJ Night w/ 90s Music Thirstys on Third,
2202 W. Third St., Davenport, IA.
Jam Night My Place the Pub, 4405 State
St., Bettendorf, IA.
Jazz Jam (Sept. 17) Flatted Fifth Blues &
BBQ, 300 Potter Dr., Bellevue, IA.
Karaoke Night Bier Stube Moline, 415
15th Street, Moline, IL.
Open Jam Night Harley Corins, 1708 State
St., Bettendorf, IA.
Open Mic Night Uptown Bills Coffee
House, 730 S. Dubuque Street, Iowa
City, IA.
The TuckerAfterTen Happy Fun Time
Music Explosion! The Dark Horse
Hall, 1510 N. Harrison St., Davenport, IA.
Thumpin Thursdays DJs - Rascals Live,
1414 15th Street, Moline, IL.
Twisted Mics Music & Entertainment
Broken Saddle, 1417 5th Ave., Moline, IL.
FRIDAYS
FRIDAYS
Cross Creek Karaoke Firehouse Bar &

Grill, 2006 Hickory Grove Rd., Davenport, IA.
DJ Dolla The Smoking Dog Pub, 1800
Second Ave., Rock Island, IL.
DJ K Yung Barrel House Moline, 1321 Fifth
Ave., Moline, IL.
Pub, 303 W. Third St., Davenport, IA
Karaoke Night Circle Tap, 1345 West
Locust Street, Davenport, IA.
Karaoke Night The Grove Tap, 108 S. 1st
St., Long Grove, IA.
Karaoke Night Miller Time Bowling, 2902
E. Kimberly Rd., Davenport, IA.
Karaoke Night Roadrunners Roadhouse,

3803 Rockingham Rd., Davenport, IA.
Karaoke Night Thirstys on Third, 2202 W.
Third St., Davenport, IA.
Quad Cities Fall Pride Festival: Pyro & DJ
Wayne (Sept. 25) LeClaire Park, 400
Beiderbecke Dr., Davenport, IA.
SATURDAYS
SATURDAYS
Community Drum Circle (Sept. 26,

10:30am) RME Community Stage,
129 N. Main Street, Davenport, IA.
DJ Dolla The Smoking Dog Pub, 1800
Second Ave., Rock Island, IL.
Pub, 303 W. Third St., Davenport, IA.
Karaoke Night The Grove Tap, 108 S. 1st
St., Long Grove, IA.
Karaoke Night The Mill, 120 E. Burlington
St., Iowa City, IA.
Karaoke Night Miller Time Bowling, 2902
E. Kimberly Rd., Davenport, IA.
Karaoke Night Roadrunners Roadhouse,
3803 Rockingham Rd., Davenport, IA.
Open Mic Night Downtown Central Perk,
226 W. 3rd St., Davenport, IA.
Twisted Mics Music & Entertainment
Barrel House Moline, 1321 Fifth Ave.,
Moline, IL.
SUNDAYS
SUNDAYS
Karaoke Night 11th Street Precinct, 1107

Mound St., Davenport, IA.
Karaoke w/ JB Promotions The Rusty
Nail, 2606 W. Locust St., Davenport, IA.
MONDAYS
MONDAYS
Open Mic w/ J. Knight The Mill, 120 E.

Burlington St., Iowa City, IA.
Comedy
TUESDAYS
THURSDAY
17
TUESDAYS
THURSDAY 17
Acoustic Jam Night w/ Steve McFate Mr.

Eds Liquor Store & Tap, 127 Fourth St.
W., Milan, IL.
Acoustic Music Club (4:30pm) River
Music Experience, 129 N. Main Street,
Davenport, IA.
Open Mic Night (6:30pm) Cool Beanz
Coffeehouse, 1325 330th St., Rock
Island, IL.
Open Mic w/ Corey Wallace 11th Street
Precinct, 1107 Mound St., Davenport, IA.
Underground Open Mic w/ Kate Kane
Iowa City Yacht Club, 13 S. Linn St.,
Iowa City, IA.
Comedy Showcase w/ Daniel Frana The

Mill, 120 E. Burlington St., Iowa City, IA.
Jimmie J.J. Walker (7:30pm) Penguins
Comedy Club, 208 Second Ave. SE, Cedar
Rapids, IA.
Laughs on Tap (5:30pm) CASI: Center for
Active Seniors, 1035 W. Kimberly Rd.,
Davenport, IA.
The Only Comedy Show in Town (9pm)
Boozies Bar & Grill, 114 W. 3rd St.,
Davenport, IA.
WEDNESDAYS
WEDNESDAYS
Acoustic Jam Night w/ Steve McFate

McManus Pub, 1401 7th Ave., Moline, IL.
Jam Session w/ Ben Soltau Iowa City
Yacht Club, 13 S. Linn St., Iowa City, IA.
Karaoke Night 11th Street Precinct, 1107
Mound St., Davenport, IA.
Karaoke Night Circle Tap, 1345 West
Locust Street, Davenport, IA.
Karaoke Night My Place the Pub, 4405
State St., Bettendorf, IA.
Karaoke Night RIBCO, 1815 2nd Ave.,
Rock Island, IL.
Karaoke Night Sharkys Billiards, 2902 E.
Kimberly Rd., Davenport, IA.
Open Jam w/ Earth Ascending Bent
River Brewing Company, 512 24th St.
Rock Island, IL.
Open Mic w/ Frankie Joe Willderman
(6pm) Mama Comptons, 1725 Second
Ave. Arts Alley, Rock Island, IL.
RockN the House Karaoke Harley Corins,
1708 State St., Bettendorf, IA.\
FRIDAY
FRIDAY 18
00
18
ComedySportz: Comedy for a Cause (7pm)

The Establishment, 220 19th St., Rock
Island, IL.
Funny Under Fire w/ Travis Howze (7:30pm)
Penguins Comedy Club, 208 Second Ave.
SE, Cedar Rapids, IA.
Jay Harris: Human Being Extraordinaire
Tour (9pm) The Backroom Comedy Theater, 1510 N. Harrison St., Davenport, IA.
Studio Series: Nocturne Falls (9:30pm) The
Establishment, 220 19th St., Rock Island, IL.
30
SATURDAY
SATURDAY 19
19
ComedySportz (7pm) The Establishment,

220 19th St., Rock Island, IL.
Donzilla w/ Don Tjernagel (9:30pm) The
Funny Under Fire w/ Travis Howze (7:30pm)
Penguins Comedy Club, 208 Second Ave.
SE, Cedar Rapids, IA.
The Blacklist: Newlywed Game (9pm) The
Backroom Comedy Theater, 1510 N. Harrison St., Davenport, IA.
The Blacklist: Shots n Giggles (10pm) The
Backroom Comedy Theater, 1510 N. Harrison St., Davenport, IA.
SUNDAY
SUNDAY 20
30
26
20 SATURDAY
SATURDAY
The Circumstantial Comedy Show (9pm)

BREW, 1104 Jersey Ridge Rd., Davenport, IA.
Comedy Open Mic (9pm) The Mill, 120 E.
TUESDAY
TUESDAY 22
22
Comedy Open Mic (8:30pm) Harley Corins,

1708 State St., Bettendorf, IA.
WEDNESDAY
WEDNESDAY 23
23
Comedy Open Mic (7:30pm) Penguins

Rapids, IA.
The Backroom Comedy Open Mic Night
(7:30pm) The Backroom Comedy Theater, 1510 N. Harrison St., Davenport, IA.
THURSDAY
THURSDAY 24
24
The Only Comedy Show in Town (9pm)

Boozies Bar & Grill, 114 W. 3rd St.,
Davenport, IA.
FRIDAY
FRIDAY 25
25
Bobby Ray Bunch Standup Comedy Show

(8pm) Circa 21 Speakeasy, 1818 3rd Ave.,
Rock Island, IL.
John Hodgman: Vacationland (8pm)
Englert Theatre, 221 E. Washington St.,
Iowa City, IA.
Mikey Mason (7:30pm) Penguins Comedy
Club, 208 Second Ave. SE, Cedar Rapids, IA.
Studio Series: 309 (9:30pm) The Establishment, 220 19th St., Rock Island, IL.
23
26

Mikey Mason (7:30pm) Penguins Comedy
Club, 208 Second Ave. SE, Cedar Rapids, IA.
Quad Cities Fall Pride Festival: The Blacklist
(4:45pm) LeClaire Park, 400 Beiderbecke
Dr., Davenport, IA.
Studio Series: Critical Hit (9:30pm) The
The Blacklist: 100 Laughs (9pm) The Backroom Comedy Theater, 1510 N. Harrison
St., Davenport, IA.
The Stand Up Face Off 8pm) Circa 21
Speakeasy, 1818 3rd Ave., Rock Island, IL.
SUNDAY
27
TUESDAY
29
SUNDAY 27
The Circumstantial Comedy Show (9pm)

BREW, 1104 Jersey Ridge Rd., Davenport, IA.
Comedy Open Mic (9pm) The Mill, 120 E.
TUESDAY 29
Comedy Open Mic (8:30pm) Harley Corins,

1708 State St., Bettendorf, IA.
WEDNESDAY
WEDNESDAY 30
30
Comedy Open Mic (7:30pm) Penguins

Rapids, IA.
The Backroom Comedy Open Mic Night
(7:30pm) The Backroom Comedy Theater, 1510 N. Harrison St., Davenport, IA.
24

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River Cities Reader Vol. 22 No. 891 September 17 - 30, 2015

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River Cities' Reader - Issue 891 - September 17, 2015