Jazz Under the Stars
Thursday, Aug. 27

Soak up the stars at Lake Street Dive’s show this week at Jazz Under the Stars. Hailing from Boston, and led by bassist (and Iowa City West graduate) Bridget Kearney, the ensemble creates a blend of jazz, R&B, pop and their own sweet sounds. The Jazz series – in its 22nd season – has been entertaining Corridor music lovers for more two decades. Food and beverages are sold during the show, but you can also bring your own lawn chairs, blankets and picnic. Don’t miss the final installment of the 2009 season.

Lake Street Dive @ Jazz Under the Stars
7 p.m. Thursday (8/27), Noelridge Park, Cedar Rapids, Free, www.kcck.org

Sand in the City
Friday, August 28 to Sunday, August 30

Bill Dow of Billings, Mont., carves detail into a channel catfish head as he works on a sand sculpture for Cedar Rapids' Floodstock. (Jim Slosiarek/The Gazette)

We may not have ocean-side resorts or miles of coastline beaches in Corridor. But this weekend in Iowa City we do have plenty of sand — and that’s the best part of going to the beach anyway, isn’t it? As a fundraiser for Iowa City’s Summer of the Arts, Bank of the West is sponsoring a weekend-long event for families – Sand in the City. The free event lines Iowa Avenue and Linn Street downtown Iowa City with giant sandboxes, elaborate sand sculptures, live music and kids’ activities. Teams from area business build sculptures and eventgoers will have the opportunity to vote for their favorites. The sand-filled fun will run from Friday (in conjunction with the Friday Night Concert Series) through Sunday.

Sand in the City
10 a.m. Friday (8/28), Saturday (8/29), Sunday (8/30) Iowa Avenue and Linn Street, Downtown Iowa City, Free, www.summerofthearts.org

Cracker @ The Mill
Sunday, August 30

Cracker in New York City in 2006. (Rahav/Photopass.com)

The men who put a new spin on alt-rock in the mid-80s are still rocking today — or more specifically, Sunday at the Mill in Iowa City. Cracker is currently on tour promoting their ninth studio album, “Sunrise In the Land of Milk and Honey.” The group first made a mark on the college-aged MTV crowd 17 years ago, and are still making music that channels late ‘70s-early ‘80s pop-punk rock. Weaving decades of musical experience and plenty of unique style, Cracker is sure to be a one-of-a-kind Corridor show. Doors open at 8 p.m. and Detroit pop band The High Strung is set to open the show.

Cracker
9 p.m. Sunday (8/30), 120 E. Burlington Street, Iowa City, $15, www.icmill.com

Three more things

• CR Rollergirls – “Death Proof Derby”
• 7 p.m. Saturday (8/29)
• US Cellular Center, 370 First Avenue NE, Cedar Rapids, adults $13 in advance, $16 at the door, kids 5 & under free, www.uscellularcenter.com

• BrewBQ and The Blues
• 4 p.m. Saturday (8/30)
• Millstream Brewing, 835 48th Avenue, Amana, www.millstreambrewing.com

• Cedar Rapids Kernels Family Day
• 2 p.m. Sunday (8/30)
• Perfect Game Field at Veterans Memorial Stadium, 950 Rockford Road SW, Cedar Rapids, $7-$10, www.kernels.com

Tell-all baseball books are boring these days. Players are not saints and we know it. It wasn’t always this way. A few short decades ago, the public viewed athletes as golden boys.
Want to know what helped shift the public perception? Read “Ball Four.” Former player Jim Bouton’s classic account of the New York Yankees and expansion Seattle Pilots will no longer surprise, but it will greatly entertain. The book is famous for breaking open the walls of the major league clubhouse. Bouton’s transformation from fireballer to knuckleballer fascinated me, and the quest of players to make and stay in the majors is compelling reading.
Read it for a window into a crude and hilarious clubhouse. Don’t read it if you like telling young’uns that the athletes of yesteryear were much better people than today’s crop. Spoiler: Mickey Mantle was not a boy scout. Fun Fact: Bouton invented Big League Chew.
As long as we are tearing down old Yankee idols, try “Joe DiMaggio: The Hero’s Life” by Richard Ben Cramer. What you already know: DiMaggio was a fantastic player, one of the best ever. What you might learn: DiMaggio was a fantastic jerk to people of all ages, including children.
Another good baseball read is “Moneyball: The Art of Winning an Unfair Game” by Michael Lewis about the (then) new numbers-based philosophy toward scouting championed by Billy Beane, the general manager of the Oakland A’s. Can Ivy League guys better evaluate players than classic “baseball men”? Um, yes. With “Moneyball” showing that intelligence is another route into professional sports, pickup mathletics are on the rise at public parks everywhere. If you like “Moneyball,” Lewis also wrote “The Blind Side: Evolution of a Game.” Read it now and follow the NFL career of rookie Michael Oher. The book chronicles his remarkable life and high school football career while dissecting the workings of the offensive line in football.
— GREG