THIS IS MY “What I Did On My Summer Vacation” blog, edition 2025! This year, the Eversons did not plan a big trip (like last year to NYC) but I did have an action-packed week at the end of June with two concerts, a Shakespeare in the park performance and a pinball tournament!
The Play’s the Thing…
A couple of years ago, when my son Shaun first went to University of Iowa, I discovered that there is an outdoor theatre there in Iowa City modeled after London’s Globe Theatre. The Riverside Theatre performs free Shakespeare plays there every summer. I caught Twelfth Night that first year and fell in love with this program, but couldn’t come back last year for Julius Caesar. This year, I made it a point to drive the three hours and see this year‘s production – Romeo and Juliet.
It wasn’t the best heat index night for an outdoor Shakespeare play (it was 91° when they started performing) but it was still a super fun, amazing experience. The actors did a phenomenal job and really brought life to those centuries-old words. Iambic Pentameter rules!
If you have ever been a fan of Shakespeare, I highly recommend making the trip for whatever the put on next year. It’s a beautiful outdoor theater and a wonderful experience. No microphones, no special effects, just the poetry of the bard as it was meant to be heard.
Going back to Copperhead Road…
I loved Steve Earle back in the early ’90s when he hit it big with “Copperhead Road.” And then, a couple years later, he kind of dropped out of sight. When I saw he was going to be at the Englert Theatre in Iowa City a couple days after the Shakespeare play, I decided to make a “vacation” of it, and stayed in Iowa City at Shaun’s vacant college apartment from Sunday – Wednesday so I could do both.
Earle did not disappoint. He is celebrating his 50th anniversary in the music business, and with just him and a guitar (and occasional harmonica), he ran through a two-hour set playing his key songs in order of release (which was a little unusual since his big hits were in the middle – there was no big song for the encore!) He talked about the genesis of all the songs and explained the drug bust, prison term and rehab that took him out of the limelight just as he’d “made it big.”
His sister Stacey opened the concert and did a duet with him, which was one of my favorite performances of the night. Here’s a supercut of a few of the songs:
It was a great night of Americana!
Always time for a beer…
While I was in Iowa City, I played pinball at SpareMe and TapTap, a couple of my favorite places, and did a little writing at two of my favorite breweries, Reunion and Big Grove. And… I checked out another brewery just north of there, Field Day in North Liberty in the midst of a torrential downpour that finally killed the 90+ degree heatwave. It was definitely a nice break.
Then, on my way home from Iowa City, I stopped off at LeClaire, IA, a little town just off I-80 on the Mississippi River. I’ve been passing it now every couple months for two years, so… it was time. And I’m glad I did! I discovered a great little spot – Green Tree Brewery – with a great river view. I enjoyed their Bodhi Boy IPA so much that I brought home some cans.
Always with the Silver Ball
I was barely home an hour from my Iowa City sojourn when I went right back out to Batavia, IL. I played in a pinball tournament that night, and probably thanks to the two nights of practice in Iowa City, I actually played really well and got in the finals that night…oh, and it was at another brewery by the way – Grainology. I hit five breweries ultimately in four days!
If You Leave…
I chilled out for a couple days but then was back in action on Saturday, because Orchestral Manoeuvres in the Dark was playing a show at Chicago’s Riviera Theater. I saw them there three years ago and they were great, so I had to do it again since they have released a new CD, Bauhaus Staircase since then (it’s great!)
This time around, I went with my friends Warwick and Dove, who run the amazing Ghoulish Mortals store in St. Charles, IL. And… I got to introduce them to one of my favorite Chicago gastropubs beforehand – Hopleaf. We had a nice dinner overlooking Clark St. before heading to the show.
Here’s a “supercut” video of some of the songs from the show, from “If You Leave” to “Enola Gay.”
All in all… it was a pretty amazing week – and there is plenty of summer fun still to come!