Had Julian Glover not broken his leg at the beginning of January, it’s quite likely he would be off filming a movie. But, Glover reminds, having a broken leg in the movie business is like being pregnant in the movie business: “It lasts five years,” meaning casting agents don’t phone up damaged goods and offer them choice roles, and…
At the risk of sounding like a character in the movie Cool Hand Luke, let me say that when it comes to dinner at the new Carrabba’s Italian Grill in Overland Park, there’s definitely “a failure to communicate.” What do I mean? The staff at this slickly operated, Texas-based chain restaurant (operated by parent company Outback Steakhouses Inc.) could…
29 Thursday For 10 days Starlight Theatre will host the Kansas City premiere of Miss Saigon. It’s a moving love story about a young Vietnamese girl and an American soldier who fall in love during the time of the fall of Saigon in 1975. Of course, like most enduring love stories, theirs is torn apart at the seams by…
If you’ve ever wanted to know what it might feel like to look down from the Golden Gate Bridge, surf waves the size of small mountains, or actually go on an expedition inside a 265-foot giant sequoia tree without actually shelling out the bucks for a trip to California, now you can … sort of. An alternative, Adventures in…
The Rio Theater first opened its doors on Christmas Day 1946 — and shut them in the ’80s. But Brian Mossman, owner of the Fine Arts Theatre on Johnson Drive, is bringing the Rio back to life — and, he says, it’s definitely flowing in the right direction. Although the Rio, located in Overland Park, with its green and pink…
After 10 years at the helm of the Kansas City Royals baseball operation, Herk Robinson showed up at his Kauffman Stadium office on June 19 with a new set of responsibilities. Longtime assistant GM Allard Baird now has the reins, but by no means is Robinson — who recently turned 60 — trading in his Royals cap for a…
The cast of As You Like It, try as it might, never managed to find its footing on opening night of the 2000 Heart of America Shakespeare Festival. With a hodgepodge of acting styles and varied levels of comfort with the text, compounded by distracting snafus with the microphones, the production reminded me of a hamster in a Habitrail —…
Firmly planted in the middle class, the March family has stood up to the Industrial Revolution, two world wars, and women’s liberation. If the four daughters — Jo, Beth, Amy, and Meg — created by Louisa May Alcott had real-life ancestors, those women would be at the top of their game. They’d be running things, because no one ever…
Those of us who have “hung a show,” as installing an exhibit generally is termed, know that the process is an art unto itself. From determining how to balance the works with the room’s dynamics and with one another to choosing the hardware and lighting that will make the images look their best without crashing to the floor is…
A glib hand could easily have written the press release for the 11th annual International Surface Design Conference exhibits: It might shout, “It’s hip to be square!” or “Welcome to Squaresville!” The connotations would be accurate, but the tone would be off the mark entirely. The many Kansas City shows celebrating the latest in textile art reveal a deep sense…
Taking the stage in front of the eerily devoted cult that attends Sunny Day Real Estate concerts is no easy task for an opening act. These fickle fans, who have gathered close to the stage more to reserve their spots for the headliners’ set than because of any affection for the band currently playing, waits patiently (if the group…
There must be a specific circle of hell reserved for radio-station festivals. And speaking of hellish, why would anyone spend 12 hours in muggy summer weather for the chance to dance to the tape of his or her one hit? Although surrounded on all sides by rustic farmland, Sandstone Amphitheatre is no Garden of Eden. It’s a vast concrete…
In today’s litigious society, a show such as the one at Davey’s Friday night is a disaster waiting to happen. First up came Electrophonic Foundation, a group that has posted much of its slight oeuvre on MP3.com for the perusal of fans and converts. Already, you’re listening to a band that has cast its lot on the wrong side…
El Torreon is known as a haven for punk and indie-rock acts, so it was refreshing to see a decent-size crowd show up to see four bands that can’t be crowded into either of the aforementioned categories. The Minibosses from Boston kicked off the evening with perhaps the only prog-rock tunes ever to grace the ballroom’s hallowed halls. With…
At most midsize punk concerts, such as the ones that take place at The Bottleneck, a few devoted souls show up early to catch the local openers, then the venue gradually fills to capacity by the time the Fat Wreck Chords/Epitaph-affiliated headlining act starts to play. At El Torreon, a much different scenario unfolds. Scenesters arrive in droves to support…
Amid the summer rock blowouts and barbecue contests, Kansas City has been able to make a steady tradition of its Reggae World Music Fest. In this, the festival’s 11th year, the organizers have scored a coup in bringing Jimmy Cliff to a local stage. Touring in support of his first album in five years, Cliff is a 30-year veteran whose…
Although there was some grumbling from fans upon hearing that the 11th annual festival would take place at an indoor venue (let alone one with a no-smoking policy), a closer look reveals that, as Bob Marley sang, everything’s gonna be alright. For one thing, this is scheduled to be an indoor/outdoor affair, so smokers and sunshine-lovers can mill in and…
I don’t know about you, but when I was 12 years old, hunched over a stereo system in hopes of capturing songs from the radio on a cassette, I didn’t consider myself a pirate. Unfortunately, the Recording Industry Association of America (RIAA) did. The RIAA’s main goal is to protect the corporate interests of the recording industry from people like…
Following Punchline alphabetically in the local metal index is Pusht, a five-piece outfit with two vocalists who speak their lines with dangerous volume and naked rage in a manner reminiscent of the Rollins Band and Biohazard. Also, like the aforementioned acts, Pusht delivers what its album title advertises, injecting plenty of streetwise swagger into its songs. However, this isn’t a…
Landing yet another crushing blow on behalf of the Kansas City metal scene is Punchline, a veteran crew whose circle-pit-inspiring live sets have moved fans of everyone from Agnostic Front to D.R.I. to exert more energy than is usually allotted for the local openers. Break Your Necks offers seven straightforward two-minute-long rockers powered by Ryan Leach’s throaty growl, a pounding…
Reflector is, or should I say was, one of those few local acts that seemed to draw music fans — from emo-kids to punk rockers — across their genre-specific lines in the sand to gain support. Hell, the band even conned one of the area’s most popular (and recently reclusive) groups, Kill Creek, to open for its last show,…
In a move most likely to avoid a bevy of lawsuits from the families of Columbine victims, KMFDM has undergone somewhat less than radical reconstructive surgery. The group has altered its ever-mysterious moniker, once thought to be an amalgamation of the phrase “Kill Mother-Fucking Depeche Mode,” to now spelling it backwards. The genius move is equal parts simplicity and stupidity…
On the back cover of its CD, Dusty Trails, a duo featuring ex-Breeder Josephine Wiggs and Luscious Jackson alum Vivian Trimble, describes its sound as “a synthesis of elegance and groove.” To be more accurate, Dusty Trails is like elevator music for a swank multistory night spot, or on-hold music to entertain callers at a hip record store. The instrumentals…
In competition with the Backstreet Boys and Britney Spears for worst single of the still unspooling year, Elwood has come up with “Sundown,” a stoner remake of Gordon Lightfoot’s classic 1974 hit. If you thought House of Pain frontman Everlast was a bit slow, check out his redheaded stepchild Elwood’s debut, The Parlance of Our Time. The album takes Everlast’s…
