Quadsville

My husband and I have been planning on waterproofing our basement since we bought our home. The block foundation walls leaked every time it rained, making for a very wet and moldy basement. Since we want to finish it to create more living space, we called in the professionals to get the job done last week.

Day 1

Monday was pure chaos.

It began with me bringing one of the dogs back from a first-thing-in-the-morning vet appointment with just enough time to get to work on schedule.

Instead of dropping the dog off and leaving, I found the workers getting started while my husband tried to figure out how to put together a crate large enough to fit two of the four dogs comfortably so they would stay out of the way.

Once I put the crate together and the dogs were put up, I wrote the second-biggest check of my life. (The biggest was for the down payment on the house.)

When I got home, I quickly learned that despite the contractor's assurance the jackhammer they would be using was quite quiet, I missed three telephone calls in half an hour because I couldn't hear it ring. But by the time the workers left, half of the basement perimeter had been cut out to make way for the waterproofing system.

Day 2

Tuesday began with my husband asking whether I would be angry if he drilled a hole in the kitchen floor.

Why would he want to drill a hole in the kitchen floor, you ask? Our Internet router is downstairs and had been unplugged for a day. Thinking he couldn't last all week without the web, my husband wanted to bring the cable up through the floor and relocate the router on top of the refrigerator.

I agreed to his plan, provided that the hole and the cable could be hidden behind the refrigerator.

At least he asked first. There is a famous tale in my family of the time my mother casually mentioned that it would be nice to have an entryway directly from the kitchen to the living room. Not too long after that, she returned home to find my dad had cut a hole in the wall.

Day 3

The waterproofing system is really taking shape. The sump pump is installed and the piping is in place, as is a black liner type of thing along the wall that directs any water coming in through the concrete under the floor and into the drainage system.

We're officially on our way to a dry basement. We're also getting closer to having the minor bowing in the foundation fixed. There are four steel I-beams up already, and all of the cracks have been filled.

The rest of our house, however, is a disaster. There is dust everywhere and the floors are a mess. I swept them, but they're going to need a good scrubbing this weekend, especially after the workers haul out several 5-gallon buckets of mud that will be removed from the floor tomorrow.

Day 4

I had a nearly uncontrollable urge to write my last name and the year in the wet cement that was poured over the waterproofing system today. I abstained, however, figuring I should probably make sure that scrawling in the cement wouldn't compromise anything before I ruined the perfectly smooth finish.

About half of the basement perimeter still needs to be poured, so I'll have a second chance tomorrow.

Day 5

Well, it's official. Our house savings account has zero dollars in it, or at least it will be empty after my second check paying for the rest of the job is cashed.

When we got the cost estimates for waterproofing the basement, I called our realtor to figure out how much a dry, finished basement would add to the home's value. The answer was at least $20,000, so we'll make our money back someday, plus we'll enjoy the extra living space. But right now I'm feeling pretty poor.

Next, it's time to start saving those pennies so we can begin updating the kitchen a little bit at a time this winter and finish the basement next summer, once the waterproofing has been tested. In the meantime, I have a long list of relatively inexpensive tasks to tackle.

I've got a new title here at the Quad-City Times. I'm going to be transitioning into the role of social media editor. I'll still be blogging at my.quadsville.com, but it won't necessarily be about entertainment.

So, for my final Out and About blog, I thought it would be fun to recount my top five memories of my 21/2 years as an entertainment reporter for the Times. In reverse order, here they are:

5) Meeting Walt Willey, not once but three times. For those unfamiliar with daytime soaps, Willey has played Jackson Montgomery, the most recognizable of Erica Kane's love interests on "All My Children."

4) Alice Cooper at the Mississippi Valley Fair. I was not excited about reviewing Alice at the fair last summer, thinking he was more my dad's style. But I was blown away by his live show, the best I've seen.

3) The Quad-City Symphony Orchestra's performance of Joseph Schwantner's "New Morning for the World." While I've seen and heard the QCSO perform many wonderful pieces, this is the only one that moved me to tears - a sure sign of good music - during two seasons of reviewing its concerts.

2) The Daytrotter Presents Spoon concert at the Capitol Theatre. This had one of the best light shows I've ever seen, including Kanye West at the i wireless Center. This concert opened my eyes to indie rock.

1) Telling the stories of creative people in the Quad-Cities trying to make a difference through their art.

For the family - Families can enjoy a free movie at dusk Friday at Riverside Park in Moline.

"Up!" is this week's feature film and part of the Movies in the Park series sponsored by the IH Mississippi Valley Credit Union.

Movie-goers are encouraged to bring blankets and chairs.

For future movie dates and locations, visit www.ihmvcu.org/ma or www.facebook.com/myihmvcu.

Show to see - The Goddamn Gallows will bring its punk rock/bluegrass fusion to the Quad-Cities this weekend.

The band will headline Friday, Aug. 20, at RIBCO, 1815 2nd Ave., Rock Island. Area bands The Afterdarks and Krank Daddies will open the show at 9 p.m. Cover is $5.

For more information, visit www.myspace.com/thegallowspdx or www.ribco.com on the web.

For teens - The Rock Island Public Library is kicking off a new series called Teen Nights at the Library with a party Tuesday, Aug. 24.

The series is for children 12-18 years old and will feature social, learning and entertainment activities.

The party begins at 6 p.m. at the Rock Island Main Library, 401 19th St.

For more information, visit www.rockislandlibrary.org/content/teen-events.

She said what? - Grace Potter, the frontwoman for Grace Potter and the Nocturnals, on the band's new self-titled album:

"There's definitely a little more backbone, a little more badonkadonk to the whole thing. There's a rhythm and an up-tempo attitude over the whole record, and we were really shooting for more hooks and more sing-along capability here."

Show to see - Four-piece roots rockers Shaggy Wonda will make a stop at RIBCO during the band's late summer and fall tour of the Midwest.

Based in Bloomington, Ind., the band has opened for JJ Grey and Mofro, as well as Karl Densen, both of which have also toured in the Quad-Cities. The show begins at 10 p.m. Thursday, Aug. 19. RIBCO is at 1815 2nd Ave., Rock Island. Cover is $4.

For more, visit www.ribco.com or www.shaggywonda.com.

For teens - The Role Playing Group will meet in the Junior League Room at the Bettendorf Public Library, 2950 Learning Campus Drive, at 1 p.m. Saturday, Aug. 14. The group mostly plays Dungeons and Dragons or BattleTech.

Newcomers can join a game already in progress or bring a group of friends to begin a new one. For more information, visit www.bettendorflibrary.com.

For the family - The entire family, including canine members, can have fun for a good cause during the fifth annual Doggie Dip at the Fejervary Family Aquatic Center, 1800 W. 12th St., Davenport.

Dogs are invited to take a swim 6-7:30 p.m. Friday, Aug. 13. The cost is $3 per dog, and proceeds go to the Humane Society of Scott County. For more information, visit www.hssc.us.

He said what? - Reggae musician Pato Banton sings about spirituality and often invites the crowd to join him in a prayer circle after shows, but he doesn't subscribe to any one religion:

"I have the same religion as the angels. ... My philosophy would be that we're all God's children, brothers and sisters, and when we recognize that, we have a responsibility to serve God and to serve each other."

When downloading music for free became commonplace with the birth of Napster, Metallica led the fight against it. At the time, Billy Peiffer, the founder of a Quad-City band that has toured the country and put out nine records, thought they were being big babies.

"Now I realize the impact is great. People think music is free and it's not," Peiffer said, adding that while he can make money from his shows, all his record company has is sales to keep it afloat.

"People pay a lot of money to put out a production, and it's hard to get paid for it these days."

O.A.R., whose songs are heard regularly on the radio, owes its success to Napster and the confusion among many that the band's name is "Oar," like a boat paddle, to illegal downloads. Originally, the young musicians were thrilled that people were listening to their songs, even if they weren't paying for them, because it helped spread their music throughout the country before they even toured.

"But we recognize that the same platform was taking away from bands," said Benj Gershman of O.A.R. "We recognize that there was this sort of dichotomy of how it affected bands."

One of the ways illegal downloads, and the ease with which new material can be recorded in today's digital world, affects country singer Eric Church is that he will not play new material live until it's out on a record, and he relies on his own instincts to write instead of editing songs based on crowd reactions during road tests.

"I would do it more, but in this day and time, with YouTube and the Internet, if you road-test too many of them, there's not a song on your record that people haven't heard when you put the record out," he said. "That frightens me."

But the reactions of musicians to illegal downloading are mixed. Chandra Watson, one-half of The Watson Twins, says that buying or downloading music from legitimate sources by which the artist and record company are paid is part of the circle of life in the music business. As record companies receive less money due to illegal downloads, there isn't as much leftover to fund tours, which means your favorite artist might not come to your town anymore.

Her sister, Leigh Watson, has different thoughts on the subject.

"If somebody rips my CD, yeah, it's kind of a bummer because my label doesn't see that I'm selling X amount of CDs and whatever repercussions that might have," she said. "But ultimately, if they love 'Talking To You, Talking To Me,' (the sisters' latest record) and their favorite song is "Harpeth River," and they can't stop listening to it and it brings them joy, I'm with that 100 percent."

Taylor Locke of Rooney said this is a critical time for music fans to support their favorite bands by paying for music.

"Everyone is stealing music, and contestant-oriented shows and reality shows like ‘American Idol,' that's where all the big promo money is going," Locke said. "Real artists who write their own songs and produce their own record and work with other artistic people to make videos that have their own look and their own style and play great live and have honed their chops playing live for years are fewer and far between now.

"To the causal people out there that are just into ‘American Idol' or getting music for free, take a good look around, think for a minute about what you're doing. If you're passionate about music, this is a really pivotal time in music history to stand behind the music you love, reignite the flame and develop the audience-artist relationship."

Anyone driving past the Mississippi Valley Fairgrounds on Saturday night would have been shocked to learn that it was a country singer/songwriter gracing the grandstand stage.

Eric Church put on a show that was three parts rock ‘n’ roll, one part metal and just a touch of country. While he played an acoustic guitar throughout the 75-minute set and the band featured a banjo, both were rarely heard over the thumping drums and wailing electric guitar.

He even had the rock star attitude down, hosing the crowd down at one point during the concert and flipping them the bird with both hands while singing the line “The tax man and the devil share the same address,” in “Before She Does.”

It took a little getting used to, hearing bright country vowels with such heavy accompaniment, but the combination is one that grows on you. While I’m all for artists pushing boundaries, Church does need to dial back the decibel level a little because the shredding guitar often got in the way of his lyrics, making them sound muddled at times.

When his vocals did ring out over the band, he showed some impressive skills on “Carolina” and “Love Your Love The Most.” I was also impressed that he played the guitar throughout the entire show, something you don’t see that often at his level, but I could have done without his King Kong-like chest thumping and two fist pumps during pivotal points in songs.

Church, who is either a vampire, perfectionist or prima donna — take your pick — delayed the start of the show by 40 minutes so the sun would set before he took the stage and the crowd of more than 16,000 could enjoy the full effect of his light show. Quad-City favorites the Dani Lynn Howe Band were called in to fill half of that time with covers and one original, “What Would You Do?”

Granted, the lights and occasional plumes of smoke choreographed to music were cool and added to the rock feel of the show. But they weren’t spectacular, and I’ve seen better from previous Mississippi Valley Fair performers who started before dark and on time.

Dierks Bentley performed a stellar, high-energy show to a rowdy crowd of more than 25,000 Thursday at the Mississippi Valley Fair in Davenport.

The country star seemed to feed off the vibe of the largest grandstand crowd so far this week, constantly interacting with the fans with a smile on his face. There was the expected altering of lyrics to fit the town and venue, but he also joked about the human pyramids forming in the audience, saying somebody should get a shirt for one man who definitely shops in the big-and-tall department and somehow defied gravity by being hoisted on the shoulders of several guys. Another time, he declared one pyramid with a woman in a white tank top to be the winner of all totem poles for the night.

“I have a thing for little white tank tops, what can I say?” Bentley said with an up-to-no-good smirk. He honored the ladies again, playing “What Was I Thinking” as an encore.

The crowd loved Bentley and as he performed his hits including “Free and Easy (Down the Road I Go),” “Lot of Leavin’ Left To Do,” “Settle for a Slowdown,” “So So Long” and “My Last Name,” which he performed on an acoustic guitar with lead guitar player Bryan Layson providing a beautiful harmony on strings and vocals.

One of the highlights of the show was when Bentley covered George Straight’s “All My Ex’s Live in Texas,” explaining that he and the guys on the bus recently listened to 40 of the country legend’s songs in a row and then led into one of Bentley’s many famous songs about ex’s, “How Am I Doin.’ ”

Bentley opened the show with “Up on the Ridge,” the title track to his new album, and performed a few others off the new album including “Draw Me A Map,” which takes a turn toward a bluegrass sound. The darker sounds laced with a bass drum, banjo and fiddle sound at home with Bentley’s deep vocals.

The only sour note of the concert came during the chorus of “Sideways,” when Bentley just couldn’t seem to get the word the song is named for out on key. But the crowd didn’t seem to mind; they just kept right on singing and dancing along.

At one point Bentley, clearly excited by the crowd’s reaction to him, compared the experience to Bonnaroo and asked: “Where’s the big after party tonight? I think we should just go there. ... I don’t remember it being this crazy the last time around. But I like crazy.”

Show to see - Free Moral Agents, the brainchild of Ikey Owens, the keyboard player for Grammy-winning Mars Volta, will be in the Quad-Cities this weekend.

The psychedelic musical stylings will begin with Nocando at 9:30 p.m. Friday, Aug. 6, at Racers Edge, 936 15th Ave., East Moline. Cover is $5. For more information, visit www.myspace.com/freemoralagents or ww.myspace.com/racers_edge2007.

For teens - Teen rockers FireSale will perform Friday, Aug. 6, at the River Music Experience, 129 N. Main St., Davenport. The free performance begins at 5 p.m. and is part of a live music series offered by the nonprofit organization dedicated to music education.

For more information, visit rivermusicexperience.org or www.myspace.com/firesalerocks.

For the family - The flamingos from the "Flamingo Follies" exhibit at the Quad-City Botanical Center will be auctioned during the Flamingo Fling at 6 p.m. Friday, Aug. 6.

Area band The Fry Daddies will provide the musical entertainment. The cost to attend is $10 for children and $15 for adults. The center is at 2525 4th Ave., Rock Island. For more information, visit www.qcgardens.com.

He said what? - Taylor Locke, Rooney's guitar player, on why the band filled in with solo shows on the dates when it's not opening for the Hanson tour.

"I hate to ruin the glamour of it, but oftentimes a day off is a parking lot of a hotel and a Walmart, and if there's a chain diner and a movie theater, you're actually really lucky. I would just as soon play a show than putter around Walmart and buy new socks or something."