Quadsville

Show to see

Folk/indie rocker Jeffrey Lewis and The Junkyard will perform at RIBCO at 8 p.m. Tuesday, June 2. The show is the second-to-last on Lewis' tour to support his new album " ‘Em Are I."

Caleb Engstrom will open the all-ages Daytrotter Presents show. Cover is $8.

He said what?

Dent May's answer to a reader's question: "What makes a ukulele magnificent?"

"As far as I'm concerned, everything is magnificent. I don't think that the ukulele is anymore special than anyone else's instrument or anything. I just wanted to bring a little theatrical flair to the performance."

For the family

The Quad-Cities Bicycle Club will host a slow-paced ride on a trail snaking along the Mississippi River. The ride will begin in Port Byron, Ill., and head north to Exelon's Quad-Cities Nuclear Generating Station at Cordova.

The ride is free. For more information, contact Vivian Norton at (563) 355-1899.

For teens

FireSale will perform at Mojo's in the River Music Experience at 7 p.m. Friday, June 5.

The teen rockers have several original songs and recently have trended toward a reggae sound. Admission is free.

To promote its upcoming musical, "Peter Pan," Circa ‘21 Dinner Playhouse has invited members of the media to fly (aka get hoisted by wires above the Circa stage in downtown Rock Island).

The catch is that you have to be shorter than 5 feet 4 inches and weigh less than 125 pounds.

At 5 feet 2, I've got the first requirement down. But with my regular diet of Chinese and chocolate from the office candy bowl, I've got about three pounds to lose in order to meet the weight requirement.

But I am officially on the fly list, so I put down the Chinese, walked by the candy bowl and vowed to make myself go to the gym Friday morning.

I have until June 9, so this is totally possible if I lay off the sweets and actually work out instead of just thinking about it.

And considering that my wedding dress is coming in next month, I had better get my rear end in gear anyway so that I'm nice and trim in time for the fitting.

All I have to do is believe right? Believe and find some fairy dust.

I headed to Minnesota this past weekend for the wedding of my mom's best friend.

The ceremony made me cry, as most do. But the interesting part, as far as this blog is concerned, was the reception.

The bride and groom are both in their 50s, so most of the guests were older as well. The only people in their 20s who attended and weren't family were my sister and I, plus the girlfriends of the bride and groom's adult sons from their first marriages.

That all changed about 9 p.m., though. The reception was held on a golf course that could be reached only via a one-lane gravel road in the middle of nowhere. To say it was off the beaten path would be an understatement.

But about 9 p.m., dozens of 20-somethings (some of whom looked like they needed to be carded) began showing up. The guys wore casual shorts and polos and the girls wore skirts so short you could almost see their lady business. And they all started doing shot after shot and boozing heavily.

Some of these seeming wedding crashers appeared to know the sons of the groom, but several never approached them and didn't seem to have any connection to anyone at the wedding at all.

I'd never seen a wedding crashed quite like this one. And it certainly would have been the last one I would have expected to be crashed since it was nowhere near civilization.

Next weekend will be a very different story. I am attending the wedding of a friend from high school who has known her husband-to-be about as long as I've been engaged. The couple is very religious, and I don't expect to see any alcohol. Also, I highly doubt there will be any wedding crashers since the ceremony and reception will be held in her parents' back yard.

What's the craziest wedding crashing you've ever witnessed? And has anyone out there ever crashed a wedding?

Show to see

It's Memorial Day weekend and that means The Travoltas will make the trip from Canada to the Quad-Cities to play ‘70s covers at RIBCO, 1815 2nd Ave., Rock Island.

Opening for the silver-sequined band are Minus Six on Saturday, May 23, and The Premium Sellouts on Sunday, May 24.

Both shows will be held outdoors, weather permitting. Cover is $10, $12 for those younger than 21 years. If the shows have to be held inside, cover will be $15 for those 21 years and older only. In case of rain, the shows will begin at 10 p.m.

For the family

The Modern Woodmen Bank Quad-Cities Criterium will be held from 8 a.m. to 6 p.m. Monday, May 25, in The District of Rock Island. The event will feature 500 bicyclists competing in races through the downtown streets.

There also will be food and activities for the whole family. Admission to the event is free.

For more information, call (309) 788-6323 or visit www.liveri.com on the Web.

For teens

The final Get Your Game On for the school year will be held Wednesday, May 27, at the Davenport Public Library.

The event will be 3-5 p.m. at the Fairmount Street branch, 3000 N. Fairmount, Davenport. Teens can play video games on the Wii and PS2 for free.

For more information contact Christie Vogt at either (563) 326-7900 or cvogt@davenportlibrary.com.

He said what?

Birth Control Records co-creator William Martin on what keeps area musicians playing:

"You work all day long, a slave to the grind. You come home, you've got a wife and kids, but maybe once or twice a month you get up on stage and just go crazy. That's the best feeling in the world."

Read more about Birth Control Records and Birth Control Productions by clicking here.

I made a little bit of an impulse buy Wednesday night.

I studied the piano for 14 years and even had a scholarship to Augustana College for playing the instrument. But when I graduated two years ago, I found myself without a piano for the first time in my life.

I don't exactly have an extra $1,000 lying around to buy a new one - and have it delivered - so I just resigned myself to the idea that I would play again when I someday bought a house and could afford a piano.

Then I found an upright at the Salvation Army this past weekend for $150. The finish is a little worn, but the rest of the piano is in great condition. I immediately called my fiance to see whether we knew anyone with a van.

We couldn't think of anyone, so I left the piano there. But when I stopped in again Wednesday, the piano was still there and I found out that there is a guy who would move it for $30. Well, the moving price sealed the deal and that piano ended up coming home with me.

I dusted off my old piano books and played Chopin waltzes, Beethoven's "Moonlight Sonata," DeBussy's "Clair de Lune" and songs from the Broadway musicals "Rent," "Les Miserables" and "Wicked." Before I knew it, I had played for more than an hour.

My skill level has dropped considerably, so I need to practice my scales and find my copy of Hannon's "The Virtuoso Pianist" so I can practice the exercises in there. I used to hate technique drills as a kid, but now I'm really looking forward to them.

The piano is in need of a good tuning, however. Can anyone recommend a good piano tuner so I can tell the difference between a wrong note and a key that is out of tune?

The District will host a free Lunchtime on the Plaza concert series beginning Friday, May 22.

Concert-goers can grab a bite to eat downtown and enjoy live music from 11:30 a.m. to 1 p.m.

I spent a summer as an intern in Washington, D.C., and attended a similar lunchtime music series that was held near the White House. It was a lot of fun and a great break in the middle of the day.

Concerts will be held May 22, 29, June 5, 19 and 26, July 3, 10, 24 and 31, Aug. 7, 21 and 28.

For a list of scheduled performers, visit www.ridistrict.com.

In a Quad-City Times article published Sunday, Anouar Darif said Davenport makes it easier for food vendors such as himself to do business than in The District of Rock Island.

One of the reasons he gave was that the City of Rock Island requires vendors to have their cart cleaned and put away by 2:30 a.m. - 30 minutes before the closing time for District bars - whereas Davenport merely asks that vendors leave their space clean.

I did an article during the winter on John Seum, who has been running the Egg Roll Express food stand in The District for more than a decade. He also was not thrilled with the 2:30 a.m. curfew for vendors. He doesn't like it mostly because a good portion of his business comes from patrons arriving in The District after the bars in Davenport close at 2 a.m.

In Sunday's article, Zack Wenthe, Rock Island's downtown manager, said the reason for the 2:30 a.m. closing time is safety: The stands need to be loading up as crowds flood out of The District bars.

Well, I think I have a solution that would work for vendors while keeping in mind the safety of bar-goers. Why not pass a new city ordinance that requires stands to either be cleared out by 2:30 a.m. or else vendors can't begin loading up their gear until 3:30 a.m.?

Surely 30 minutes would be more than enough time to clear the plaza of bar-goers so vendors could safely load their equipment, and there likely would be fewer people in the streets at 3:30 a.m. than at 2:30 a.m., when patrons are still bar-hopping or heading home early to beat the rush of cars at The District's 3 a.m. closing time.

Show to see

Country band Boothill Ridge, which features a female lead and specializes in harmonies, will perform at 9:30 p.m. Saturday at RIBCO, 1815 2nd Ave., Rock Island.

Boothill Ridge has been together for less than a year but has already released its first album, "5 Miles To Fame." Cover is $4.

He said what?

Before going to RIBCO for a Daytrotter Presents show, Drakkar Sauna will play at Nelsonville Music Festival, a three-day event that features Willie Nelson.

"For a band like us, there's not really any choice. We get wonderful opportunities to do different stuff, but there's almost always on varying scales," said Wallace Cochran of Drakkar Sauna. "That's how it's always been for us, and we've always really liked it."

For teens

The Davenport Public Library is looking for new members in its Theatre Club. The club nurtures young actors and actresses giving them opportunities to participate in readers' theater and theater games.

The club is free and will meet at 4 p.m. today at the Davenport Public Library, 321 Main St., Davenport. For more information, contact Tamra McConoughey at tmcconoughey@davenportlibrary.com or (563) 326-7900.

For the family

The Quad-Cities Experimental Aircraft Association will host a Young Eagles Rally for children 8 to 17 years old. Children will be able to take a free flight in a personal aircraft.

The Young Eagles Rally will be held at Davenport Municipal Airport, 9010 Harrison St., Davenport. For more information, contact Keith Vasey at keith@vaseyaircraft.com or (309) 749-8881.

If you missed Tuesday night's Go&Do Live Sessions at Mojo's Cafe, then you missed one heck of a show.

It was the first time that the Live Sessions bands performed all original music, and there was something for every musical taste as the genres ranged from metal to jazz, pop/punk to a fusion of Latin, reggae and rock.

Mija closed the show with an energetic performance of driving music and band members that couldn't stay still. JT Tapia, who performs guitar and vocals for the band, was dancing around, kneeling on the floor, jumping on the stage and playing the Theremin while standing on top of a speaker. It was a great way to close out the night.

It features all the Hop! venues, lists what artists will be at each location and even has links to the Web sites of the artists on display.

You can check out the more than 100 videos of local bands from previous Go&Do Live Sessions here.