Nightlife / Stephanie Depasquale

More to do in the Q-C than you think

By Stephanie De Pasquale | Sunday, September 07, 2008 | () comments

A girl who goes to my church back home will begin her freshman year at my alma mater, Augustana College in Rock Island, this month. I’m feeling a little old because, when I was 17 years old and she was going into sixth grade, I was her cabin leader at church camp.

But I got in touch with her through Facebook to let her know she could hitch a ride with me whenever I go home on weekends and to let her know of a few places where she and her family can eat at during the move-in weekend.

That quick message ended up turning into an essay on local eateries, Daytrotter, the Redstone Room, Theo’s Java Club, Mixtapes and a whole host of other things to do in the Quad-Cities before turning the magic age of 21.

Her response was that it seemed like there was a lot more to do in the Quad-Cities than the Chicago suburb where we’re both from.

That makes sense considering that no bands really play in our hometown because there aren’t any bars there. The town was dry until the first liquor license was issued during my senior year of high school, and that went to an Applebee’s restaurant. So the town definitely doesn’t have the plethora of bands playing every weekend like the Quad-Cities does.

But as far as venues that cater to the 21-and-under crowd, the Quad-Cities has come a long way since all-ages shows at RIBCO were the only thing you could do when I first arrived in 2003.

Since then, Daytrotter has developed and begun hosting shows featuring up-and-coming musicians from across the country, Mixtapes opened in East Moline and began hosting shows again last week, the River Music Experience opened and began offering music to all ages at Mojo’s and to those 19 and older at the Redstone Room.

And even more good news for young people such as myself and the soon-to-be freshman at Augustana College is that most of the shows at these venues cost only about $5.

Maybe if the Quad-Cities continues to develop its music scene, more Chicago suburban kids will come here to go to school and stay like I did.

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