• Recycled Records, your civic leader in recorded-music
sales and selection, now brings you live music during Downtown Springfield Inc.’s
holiday walks. From 5-9 p.m. today, Thursday, Dec. 2, singer/songwriter Jill
Manning and a funky bunch of friends host a Christmas hootenanny. On Dec. 11,
elevator shoe unaffected grooves for customers from noon-5 p.m. Musical artists
set up in the front-window area of the venerable music store at 625 E. Adams
St.
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• At 7 p.m. Saturday, Dec. 4, Stone Ring Circle performs in the beautiful
Arlee Theater, a recently restored 1936 movie house in downtown Mason City.
The venue features the original light fixtures, leather and wood seats, and
sound-friendly wall coverings. The Celtic-rock band jigs and swings, reels and
rocks, while running through original tunes and Celtic covers. They combine
electric and acoustic guitar with flute and fiddle backed with bass, keyboards,
and percussion to create an inspiring mix of Irish-American blended music. And
coming soon to the Arlee are comedians Royce Elliott and Mike Dentino. They
claim to be funny and clean. How can that be? Find out for yourself at 3 p.m.
Sunday, Dec. 12. For more information, call the theater: 217-482-9999.
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• What the heck happened to Dempsey’s, you ask? Simple: It’s being remodeled
into — drum roll, please — Mojo’s. Proprietor Reier Deloney has owned and operated
the venue at 225 E. Monroe St. for just over a year and recently decided it
was time to name it himself. Years ago, the bar was a popular live-music venue
named Bedrock’s, and when the remodeling work is finished, it will return to
a performance schedule of six nights a week, Deloney says. There’s also been
some interior redecorating to accommodate the bands and their followers.
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• No it’s not a misprint: Field of Grey returns to Viele’s Planet this
Saturday. The St. Louis modern-rock band has played the Second and Jefferson
nightclub three months in a row, most recently on Nov. 19. The group’s Web site
reports that that outing was less than exceptional, with one of three bands
canceling and “about half” of the expected crowd turnout. The always optimistic
Springfieldians in attendance informed the band that “Fridays suck.” The group’s
final analysis: “All is good! See ya next time Viele’s.” So here’s another chance
for Field of Grey fans — on a Saturday night. Also on the bill are the Timmys
and the Funky Circus Fleas. It all starts around 10 p.m. and winds up by 3 a.m.
This article appears in Dec 2-8, 2004.
