Garage3, at 817 22nd Street in Rock Island, is becoming an ever more popular venue for traveling comedians, as the word spreads of its laid back atmosphere and warm crowds.  Named as being the third garage on the property of Dylan and Tia Parker, Garage3 is normally host to spoken word and poetry readings. Sporadically, however, it is taken over by comedians. Monday, August 22nd was one of these nights. Hosted by local comic Andrew Cline, the Crew Neck Comedy Show is a free comedy showcase of local and traveling acts. A donation basket is passed around for the out of town entertainers, however.... Read More

A little of the big apple is coming to a garage in Rock Island tonight. Monday, August 22, Garage3’s Crew Neck Comedy Show will be showcasing comedians from New York City. Patrick Hastie, an Iowa native now living in New York, will be headlining. Featured along with Hastie will be Albert Kirchner and Nick Pupo from New York as well. Local comedians will be Benjamin Graham from Rock Island, as well as Travis Bails and Donny Townsend from Cedar Rapids. Located at 817 22nd Street in the historic Broadway District of Rock Island, sits Garage3, named as being the third garage on the property of #MrRockIsland... Read More

RFD -TV is teaming up with comedians Jeff Foxworthy and Larry the Cable Guy to bring the We’ve Been Thinking Tour to a city near you.  Superstar comedians Jeff Foxworthy and Larry the Cable Guy will reunite on the We’ve Been Thinking Tour to bring an unforgettable night of comedy to the Adler Theatre in Davenport.  During this momentous event, both comedians will deliver a laughter-packed evening of all new material before they come together on stage for an uproarious encore you won’t want to miss!  Tickets ($59.50) will go on sale Wednesday, August 24 at 10:00 a.m. at the Adler Theatre... Read More

“I kill bugs for my mom. Recently she called me over to kill a daddy longlegs. I don’t mess with any bug that makes the other bugs call it ‘daddy’,” Austin Black said, during the latest Crew Neck Comedy show at Garage 3 in Rock Island. He followed that up with these wise words: “You ever get tickled by someone who has a straight face the entire time?” Regarding his senior prom and being in a dance circle, Black added, “You don’t make eye contact with another guy in a grinding circle. That’s seven years of bad luck.” Comedian Joey Ficken also offered this bit of advice: “One... Read More

If you want to trek to a land of hilarious, oddball fun, hit the trails to “Nocturne Falls” tomorrow night at the Establishment Theater. The show is one of Comedy Sportz’ regular after-hours studio series gigs, a slate of shorter performances with an R-rated slant that hit different distinct audiences, but have one thing in common – they’re all unique, hilarious and improvisational fun. “Nocturne” is part “Twin Peaks,” part Mayberry, part Weekly World News. It’s set in the town of the same name, and the show involves a group of its residents, each chatting, in monologues and... Read More

There have been many spirited discussions, parties and creative meetings of the minds and performances held in garages, with and without the use of musical instruments. So much so that an entire subgenre of music, garage rock, has been named for it. Dylan Parker and Sean Whitney have taken that to the next level with Garage 3. The Rock Island performance space hosts a variety of poetry, comedy and spoken word performances in, well, Parker’s garage. On Wednesday, July 20, an attractive audience gathered at Garage3, named as being the third garage on the property of #MrRockIsland himself Dylan... Read More

“One, Two, Three,” by the comedic film genius Billy Wilder is the next film to unspool in the Germans in Hollywood: Film & Lecture Series taking place at 3 p.m. Sunday, Aug. `14 at the Figge Art Museum-John Deere Auditorium, downtown Davenport. The film will be presented and accompanied by a lecture by Augustana College German professor Lisa Seidlitz. Cost is $5 per person. “One, Two, Three” is a 1961 American comedy directed by WIlder. The film festures James Cagney, Horst Buchholz, Lilo Pulver, Pamela Tiffin, Arlene Francis, Leon Askin, Howard St. John, and others. In the film a... Read More

The Speakeasy Laugh Hard Challenge is a stand-up comedy competition where comics from around the Midwest compete for the win. The first round of preliminaries was held Saturday, Aug. 6 at the Circa 21 Speakeasy, 1818 3rd Avenue in Rock Island. Hosted by James Draper, there were 14 comedians in the first round. Judges included Tiffany Lundberg from WHBF, Brett Hitchcock, owner and operator of the Speakeasy, and Andrew King, host of weekly shows at Boozies in Davenport as well as the former host of the Quad-Cities only live late night talk show The After Hour. The comedians who attempted the challenge... Read More

It’s hard to believe that anything could be better than cover bands, karaoke and gravy, unless it’s a Nickelback cover band that leads a karaoke version of “Call Me Maybe” retitled “Call Me Gravy,” as they’re making gravy, but, as incomprehensible as it may be even within the realm of quantum physics, Andrew King insists that the new Bix Beiderbomb Presents MAY be even better than that. MAY be. He’s not making any promises or guarantees. So, if your to-do list for the week includes downing cheap beer, laughing at cheap comedy, being surprised by cheap thrills and stories and getting... Read More

The Laugh Hard Challenge is back this weekend for a second year of rocking the mic and ripping out the laughs for area audiences. In the six years since opening The Speakeasy has become known as one of the premiere venues in the area for stand up comedy. “Comics tell us on a regular basis it’s their favorite room in town to perform in” said Brett Hitchcock, Director of Audience Development. “Last year we hosted the inaugural Speakeasy Laugh Hard Challenge where we had comics from Chicago, Peoria, St Louis as well as our wonderful local comics coming together to compete in... Read More