Nu-metal seemed like such a good idea at the time. Back in early 1998, alternative rock had mutated into such boring commodities as Pearl Jam, Third Eye Blind, and swing music. And this certainly wasn’t doing anything to help kindle the disaffected youth of America. While critics kept up hope that electronica still had a chance to break big, a…
To casual music fans, “singer/songwriter” might seem to be an absurd name for a genre. After all, lots of solo artists sing and pen their own tunes, so why isn’t, say, Bryan Adams placed into this category? Well, Adams is disqualified because it’s easy to lump him into the mainstream rock pile. The singer/songwriter stamp is reserved for those diverse…
“I honestly think that this band will go on as long as there is something for us to say and we don’t mind saying it together,” Bobby Schayer of SoCal punk rock legends Bad Religion says from his hotel room in Sacramento. The drummer and his band currently share the stage with upstarts Blink-182 and are having a helluva good…
Holy moly! Yet another version of Hamlet? Will they never stop? Ah well, at least Michael Almereyda’s new adaptation is one of those really different takes on the venerable play. While the last two widely seen versions — the 1990 Mel Gibson/Franco Zeffirelli film and the four-hour-plus 1996 Kenneth Branagh/ Kenneth Branagh version — were relatively straight adaptations, Almereyda…
Despite what many believe, it doesn’t come down to explosions, star power, or millions of greenbacks thrown at the producers. The true indicator of success for a summer movie is The Moment, that one memorable scene that sticks in your head, the one that Billy Crystal parodies the following spring because he knows everyone will get the joke. There…
Not since Jaws has a film caused viewers so much apprehension about taking their next dip in the ocean. But despite its visceral charms, The Perfect Storm is a far cry from Steven Spielberg’s 1975 blockbuster. Its watery digital effects may be slicker than a temperamental mechanical shark, but the movie is lacking in the character department and is downright…
Pagan haven Thanks for a great article about Pagan Pride Day (“Pagan Party,” June 22-28). If we keep plugging away and telling people we’re not evil, perhaps in a few hundred years they’ll believe us. They tend to forget that early Christians were treated like we are being treated now — mistrusted, called evil, and punished for their beliefs. Kind…
Photographer’s eye gives her a ticket into the world of blues The crowd members are getting their boogie on as if they couldn’t care less who’s on stage, as long as the music sounds good. In the middle of the celebratory mayhem is a small lady standing in front of center stage. She’s pointing her camera — like a marksman…
The city council ignores the multiyear effort to create a citywide strategic development plan When David Dobbins and his family moved into their home in a semirural area of the Northland, they expected development to move their way. “To move out here and believe development was never going to make it this far would have been foolish,” Dobbins says….
There’s nothing touchy-feely about Ralph Nader. He’s not teddy-bear cuddly or even the back-slapping type. Nader is just intense. Not the kind of in-your-face intensity, because his presence in a room can be rather low-key, but the switch-is-always-on level of heat. He entertains a relaxing sense of confidence, branded in intellect and aggressive in Nader’s sense of what is right…
From playboy to Playboy Club proprietor. From reluctant car dealer to banker and rental car mogul. He’s moved with the makers and shakers of the KC business world, yet few outside Kansas City business circles ever heard of Jerry Green until he spearheaded a move to buy the Royals. Although that effort didn’t succeed, it is credited for kicking the…
Nick Park speaks so softly that the tape recorder barely registers him at all. His is a whisper of a voice, the sound of a man who has spent years in isolation talking to no one but himself. Transcribing an interview with him is like trying to decipher a man’s private thoughts. Perhaps that is because for the past 30…
Rain, rain, go away, don’t pour down on my crème brûlée. Sitting out on the concrete patio of Lidia’s Kansas City (101 W. 22nd St., KCMO, 816-221-3722), dipping a spoon into a bowl of a purple wild gooseberry sorbetto, I looked up to see a mass of dark clouds boiling up in the distance, suggesting a rather dreary finale to…
22 Thursday At 20, Pink defies categorization as a teen pop princess, but even if she shared a birthdate with Christina Aguilera or Britney Spears, she would warrant a different label. For one thing, this former club kid’s tunes have much more of a genuine R&B feel than those of the aforementioned artists. Also, it’s worth noting that Pink,…
Have a yabba dabba doo time/A dabba doo time/We’ll have a gay old time … at the Kansas City Gay & Lesbian Film Festival 2000, which will take place at the Tivoli Cinemas at Manor Square in Westport. Jamie Rich, community coordinator for the Gay and Lesbian Alliance Against Defamation (GLAAD) and the festival’s lead coordinator, sees Kansas City…
The Blair Witch Project. Practical Magic. Children of the Corn. Duane Marshall, a founder of the Kansas City Pagan chapter and coordinator for the third annual Pagan Pride Day, which takes place on Saturday, June 24, says such movies have encouraged erroneous American beliefs about pagan rituals, witches, and non-Christian beliefs. “The one thing that we tend to forget is…
For all the talk about what a varied and healthy theater community Kansas City has, many small theater companies still struggle to find a home. The budget-minded have some options, such as the Alanz Theatre on East 63rd Street, the basement of the Westport Coffee House on Pennsylvania, and various school or church auditoriums, but for several performance troupes,…
From a couple of blocks away, the piece looks like a ring of perched birds. But from a closer vantage point, it becomes clear that the wreath adorning the side of DST Inc.’s Poindexter Parking Structure at Ninth and Central streets is made up of thinkers. More precisely, 18 fiberglass reproductions of Auguste Rodin’s “The Thinker” comprise the latest…
It’s a damn shame that Ween is one of the only bands out there willing to really sweat it out and serve up a show so long that even a fan can barely stand it. Aaron Freeman and Mickey Melchiondo — Gene and Dean Ween to their fans — are, if nothing else, devoted to turning their Steely Dan-meets-They Might…
Authenticity is an element of music that should never be de-emphasized, but in this era of Lou Bega it all too frequently is. Thankfully, unimaginative record producers can exploit only a few musical genres at a time, and the blues are currently out of favor. Consequently, such labels as Fat Possum Records can uncover the real thing, serving up…
Shannon Curfman, the 15-year-old guitar ingenue who inexplicably opened for veteran songwriter John Hiatt Thursday night, should have been watching her elder’s set carefully, because slide genius and all-around guitar guru Sonny Landreth was in the house. Leading Hiatt’s band the Goners, Landreth gave his boss’ songs an immensely satisfying slow-cooked flavor that Curfman and her crew couldn’t even…
Anyone who says that pop stars such as ‘N Sync do little to inspire creativity among today’s youth would change their tune after seeing the Kemper Arena parking lot Thursday night. Many of the cars were decorated with artistic flair and witty slogans, such as “God made Coke, God made Pepsi, God made ‘N Sync oh so sexy!” Boyz…
Categories: Music Tags: Echo
To the disappointment of many, San Francisco’s Blackalicious was unable to deliver its Brand New Heavy grooves to the anxious Lawrence crowd on Wednesday night. One of its members suffered a severe ear infection, and being in the vicinity of speakers that expel tooth-shaking bass isn’t a doctor-approved part of the recovery process. To the delight of those who…
