Fall in full swing

There truly is no rest for the weary.

As fall arrives Tuesday, it brings with it a barrage of arts and entertainment events. The SEMO District Fair wraps up today and Saturday with two country acts who bring several old favorites. I don't think the drink stands at the fair sell tequila, and it's a good thing because with Joe Nichols on stage, we don't want any clothes coming off. Well, some of us might.

While Saturday's crooner John Michael Montgomery didn't write his first big hit, he brought "I Swear" into the No. 1 slot on country music charts in the early 1990s. The song, written by Gary Baker and Frank Myers, was also covered by R&B act All 4 One. His baritone suits country music and he sticks to the roots of the genre.

On Monday, Southeast Missouri State University River Campus will host Dr. Norman Spivey in a 7:30 p.m. performance of his one-man show "Ecoute: Pieces of Reynaldo Hahn," about the French composer and his life.

After country and classical comes everything else. Next weekend the River City Music Festival sets up downtown.

The following week, starting Sept. 30, Southeast's Department of Theatre and Dance officially starts its 2009-2010 season with "Little Shop of Horrors," and Oct. 2 brings more art gallery exhibits for First Friday -- including the grand opening reception of Aartful Rose, the newest little art gallery in town.

Aartful Rose beside the Rose Bed Inn will feature Craig Thomas for it's initial opening. Owners said they added the extra A into the name to bump up the gallery in alphabetical listings and to make people do a double take.

Speaking of double takes, anyone who watched the VMAs this week most likely did one when Kanye West took the stage and the MTV Video Music Awards and took the mic from Taylor Swift. But what you may have missed was Southeast student Taylor Blake receiving an award for "2009 MTV Video Music Award for Best Performance in a Pepsi Rock Band Video."

Blake and eight other central Illinois guys formed Nerds in Disguise and recorded LIT's "My Own Worst Enemy" and submitted it to the Pepsi/MTV/Rock Band Challenge at the beginning of the summer. They beat out about a thousand to get to the top five and took home the Moonman at Sunday's award show.

You can still see their video at www.pepsirockband.com, clicking on "Video Gallery" and view finalists.