Day 18: Davenport
Welcome
Yesterday we explored the quad cities, and played a show at Racoon Motel.
At the Hampton Inn & Suites, Davenport, breakfast runs until 10am, so the opportunity for a sleep in was utilised. When I made it downstairs to the buffet I was impressed by the spread, choosing to go for a sesame bagel, half topped with strawberry cream cheese and grape jelly, the other half topped with cream cheese and strawberry jam.
We had received an invite to visit a local recording studio so at midday we checked out and headed to Rock Island, just across the Illinois state border which is defined by the Mississippi river. Futureappletree Studio 2 is an all-analogue recording studio that houses a remarkable collection of vintage recording equipment, amplifiers, keyboards, drums, and much more. It was all a bit much to take in but there were highlights such as getting a demonstration of the subtleties from a range of different tube compressors.
We love storage so these steel workshop drawers were a treat.
Microphone forest. Comment your favourites!
Amp hill. Comment your favourite!
Hammond organ. Comment your favourite button!
Racks. Comment your favourite one!
Cable management/routing. Comment your favourite wire!
Tape machines. Comment how they make you feel!
Tristan tries out the ‘any genre’ drum kit.
Jon trying out an oscilloscope.
At 2pm we pulled up to Racoon Motel and loaded into the small, brick-lined venue. Soundcheck was the age-old challenge of trying to make a pleasant noise in a concrete echo-chamber which we worked at for a while and then called it quits.
Tristan and I then set about completing the required daily Beths PT which was a run along the excellent trail on the western bank of the Mississippi. It was on this run that I got to see Arsenal Bridge, the mighty structure that connects Rock Island and Davenport. Completed in 1896, the bridge is a double-deck through truss design that is composed of two Pratt trusses, five Baltimore trusses, and a Baltimore swing truss. The swing section is the longest at 111m and the entire bridge spans 490m. The upper deck carries the Iowa Interstate Railroad and the lower deck carries automobile traffic to both Rock Island City and the US Army’s Rock Island Arsenal.
Government bridge pivots out of the way so a barge can traverse the lock and dam.
📷 Kbh3rd
The Riverfront Trail.
A scoop of pelicans taking a break from fishing.
It was great pleasure to catch up with Rosie Tucker and band after our prolonged separation. We exchanged stories and talked through the highlights of the drive to Davenport - our favourite scenery, the straightest section of the highway, the best lane to choose on the highway, the best cornfield, and the fastest speed attained in our vehicles. As usual it was completely inspiring to watch their performance and they came back from a two day break with an fearsome energy that I have not managed to capture very well in the following photo.
Davenport is just one of the five cities that belong to the Quad Cities Region. As you can see on the below map there is also the adjacent Bettendorf on the Iowa side of the river, plus Rock Island, Moline, and East Moline, on the Illonois side.
When you put these five cities together they are capable of producing a fine audience and yesterday at the Racoon Motel that is exactly what happened. It was a tremendously fun night and the 150 odd people in packed into this tiny room brought a wild Wednesday energy.
We headed to bed right after the show in preparation an early start and a 9 hour drive the next day.