Rockin' chicks kick off 100 days of music

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By Stephanie De Pasquale | Wednesday, June 18, 2008 12:25 PM CDT | () comments

It’s a night for the ladies at Bass Street Landing as Chicago cover band Catfight and Quad-City favorite the Dani Lynn Howe Band take the stage Friday to kick off 100 days of music in downtown Moline.

The all-girl band will have one male substitute at this show, but Julie Dutchak, Catfight’s lead singer, said the band still will be fronted by women, which is the way they like it.

“What separates us is we’re an all-female-fronted or an all-girl band, usually,” said Dutchak, who thinks that having one guy join a bunch of rocking girls onstage actually adds to the dynamic. “We all pick on him a little bit, but in a good way. But it’s fun because you still have a bunch of ladies up there, and one guy, and everybody else is rocking out.”

Catfight plays everything from Christina Aguilera to Big and Rich to AC/DC and sticks to covers so the crowd can sing along with them.

“We want to put on a great show and sound good, but we laugh and have a good time and try to get the crowd involved and try to get them to have a good time with us,” Dutchak said. “I think sometimes you’ll go see a band and everyone is so serious. They want to rock out on the song and then it’s on to the next one. But we actually stop and talk to the crowd, and we have everyone hold up their drinks and do a little toast with us.”

Catfight comes dressed to entertain in short skirts and tops with high heels. Dutchak says the mode of dress is all part of rocking out.

“It makes us feel like rock stars,” she said. “In my real life I’m never going to dress up in a schoolgirl outfit, but if I can for two hours be onstage and be in fishnets and a schoolgirl outfit, rocking it out like Gwen Stefani, hell yeah I’m going to do it.

“It’s about putting on a show and putting on a good time and being a little outrageous because we can.”

Chicks That Rock is the kickoff to Moline Centre’s 100 Days of Music. Scheduling 100 days of music in the downtown area

wasn’t something that Moline Centre Partners had to work with local businesses to get accomplished. The shows were already happening, and Moline Centre is working to promote the downtown area as a place to go and see several different types of entertainment.

“I think that one of the things that happens, to get back to the typical issue in the Quad-Cities, is there’s so much going on that it is very easy for people to hear something but not realize what community it’s in, and this is a chance for us to say, ‘Hey, it’s Moline Centre,’ ” said Glenn Kass, marketing and fundraising director for Moline Centre Partners.

Kass had a hard time picking a favorite event to attend during the 100 Days of Music because of the many different options available, from family-friendly festivals to places where one could take a date or friends on a night out.

“There’s some nights when there’s three or four different things, where you could literally go for dinner at one place and hear some music and then go on to another spot and see a totally different band,” he said.

A complete list of artists performing at downtown Moline locations is available on the Moline Centre Partners Web site, molinecentre.org.

If you go

What: Chicks That Rock, the 100 Days of Music kickoff, featuring Catfight and the Dani Lynn Howe Band

When: 4:30 p.m. preshow, 7:30 p.m. main event, Friday, June 20

Where: Bass Street Landing, 101 18th St., Moline

How much: $8 in advance, $10 at the door

Information: molinecentre.org

On the Web: myspace.com/catfightbandcom

More music

Four other downtown Moline locations will have live music Friday night.

-- Bier Stube Bar & Grille, 415 15th St., hosts Jim the Mule. Show starts at 9 p.m.

-- Bent River Brewing Co., 1413 5th Ave., hosts Chester Brown. Show is 10 p.m. to 2 a.m.

-- The Brown Bottle, 1624 5th Ave., hosts Hi Fi. Show is 9 p.m. to 1 a.m. with no cover charge.

-- River House Bar & Grill, 1510 River Drive, hosts Blue Fuzzy Monkey. Show is 8 p.m. to midnight with no cover charge.

For a complete list of artists performing at downtown Moline locations, go to molinecentre.org.

Stephanie De Pasquale can be contacted at (563) 333-2639 or sdepasquale@qctimes.com. Comment on this story at qctimes.com.