Great River Days “Battle of the Bands”
plays to packed house at Plamor

Room 212 wins top honors

 Better late than never, the rain and flood delayed conclusion to the 2010 GRD “Battle of the Bands” last Friday evening at Plamor Lanes in Muscatine played out to a packed house with hundreds of fans in attendance for this very anticipated concert event.

Larry and Leanna Richardson, owners of Plamor Lanes in Muscatine, hosted the event inside their facility, with a special stage built on top of the alleys themselves. Bos Electronics supplied the audio production, with Connected Home Technologies adapting two projection TV systems to show live video of the bands as they played. All in all, it was a very special one-off venue to showcase the five finalists as were chosen by the fans as the best bands in the region.

“Pour Boyz” took to the stage at 7PM, with special host Steve “race man” Donovan of 97X as host and emcee. Each band had just 45 minutes to showcase their best music, and leave nothing behind. “Crashing the FM” from Durant played next, this time as a four-piece band, as one of their members had collegiate commitments and could not attend. Brilliant vocals and harmonies from such a young group was as amazing the second time around as was the first. Filling the 9 PM slot was last year’s BOB runner-up, “Marmaduke” from Davenport. The left-handed lead guitarist picked out Led Zeppelin and Joe Satriani as if it was his only mission in life, and showed why they were a two-time finalist at this event. By 10PM, the crowd was large and expectant of the next band, Room 212. Also a second-time BOB finalist, the five-piece band brought out the big guns and out-done any show they have performed prior over their fourteen year history. The volume was high, and the energy even higher as they brought down the house with a large and loud encore. Wrapping up the event at 11 PM, was “The Beat Boxcar Children” of Rock Island. A blend of hip-hop, techno and rock from excellent musicians and showmen, they surprised the audience with a new blend of music, and a large variety of instruments that all agreed was very catchy and entertaining.

The audiences in attendance were the judges of the event, and cast ballots for their favorite performance. At 12:15AM when the votes were tallied, “Pour Boyz” and “Crashing the FM” tied for second place. Each of them received an ovation, as well as the $500 runner-up checks.

But the overall winner was almost a given by night’s end, as Room 212 put out a show that amazed even their regular fans. The group was all smiles and sweat as they posed for the pictures with the $1000 winners’ check, and crowned title as the best band in the region. Room 212 now joins last year’s BOB winner “Seven Shy” as an emeritus, while organizers plans are already underway for next years “Battle of the Bands” event.

Video of the 2010 Great River Days “Battle of the Bands” will be aired on public access MPW channel 9 later this fall, and posted on the GreatRiverDays.com website.

“This has to be the longest Great River Days festival ever” commented Kerry Keller, event co-chairman. “Two dates, three venues, and a month later, we can finally say mission accomplished”  he concluded.

When questioned about the many difficulties in concluding this event, co-chairman JJ Koehler said “Yes, it was pretty hard, but we know how much this BOB concert means to the bands. They are committed to it, the fans want to see it, and despite the flood and rain….twice mind you on the rain…several hundred people came to Plamor to see this through. We feel we had to do this, and give the BOB it’s exclusivity. This is not a hired in show with a catchy name; The bands are chosen by the fans, voted on by the fans, and it happens only once a year. We provide the venue, but they make it successful.” 

When asked about doing this event again in 2011, Koehler replied “Absolutely. This BOB thing was our concept from the beginning, and we want to showcase homegrown music talent to the best of our abilities. Nowhere in the country do I know of an event like this, where the fans are the only driving force behind the actual concert itself. It is unique to Great River Days, and something we will continue to do as long as we can” he added.

Special thanks to Cumulus Radio, Steve Donovan, Vanguard Distributing, Dick-n-Sons Lumber, Muscatine Jaycees, Sprouse Distributing, Curry’s and Plamor Lanes for their ongoing support of this event.

Congratulations to all five finalist bands, who put on a show that was truly a unique concert experience, and worth the wait for it’s culmination.

 The 53rd Annual Great River Days festival and concert series will take place on July 27-31, 2011 on the Muscatine Riverfront.

Unless it floods again……..

For information, contact JJ Koehler 309-791-1209
Reference contacts: Mark Byrd Sr – Room 212 – 563-260-6687