It’s tempting to think there’s something twisted about her tale. After all, she was a mere 18 the first time she had sex in front of a camera—for money, small change that would soon enough blossom into a pile of cash—and did so only at the insistence of her boyfriend, who had worked for months to get her to,…
Even before the addition of Morton’s (see review on the previous page), did Kansas City have too many steakhouses? Not according to Rob Crews, the vice president of marketing for Atlanta-based Rare Hospitality International Inc., which operates three restaurant chains: the upscale Capital Grille, the Texas-style LongHorn Steakhouses, and the Australian-inspired Bugaboo Steakhouses. Two Rare Hospitality properties are scheduled to…
About 130 years before Morton’s of Chicago opened its Crown Center location, another single-name restaurant had a similar focus: Gaston’s (located in the heart of the bustling new Kansas City, where the River Market’s outdoor stalls now stand). Colonel Gaston’s claim to fame was spit-roasted beef, and if the surroundings weren’t exactly fancy, everyone knew the roast beef was…
27 Thursday Kansas City knows a thing or two about jazz, but now a traveling exhibit from the Smithsonian Institution will add to that body of knowledge. The Jazz Age in Paris 1914-1940 explores post-World War I Europe from an interesting perspective: Europe’s early jazz movement, including its relationship to the development of jazz in the United States and…
You don’t have to be a wizard to figure out that you have to fill the stands to keep the mojo (a cool word for magical power) working — which is why the Kansas City Wizards have been kicking around more than just opponents and soccer balls to bring fans to Arrowhead. It seems a charm is in the…
Typically when people hear the term “square dancing,” they get an image of frilly skirts, lace-up boots, and gray hair. Well, circle left and swing that stereotype aside. The only thing dorky about a do-si-do is a do-si-doer who doesn’t want to learn how. That’s where the Sho-Me Squares come in. Members of the Sho-Me Squares, a gay and lesbian…
As the 12th chime of the Campanile echoes throughout Mount Oread, ringing in the noon hour, another sound familiar to those who frequent the University of Kansas campus on summer afternoons commences: the din of Don Gardner’s bullhorn as he leads yet another grueling midday workout at Memorial Stadium. “Two laps, let’s go!” Gardner barks through the bullhorn, and, in…
One of the traits that separates those who survive from those who succumb is a sense of humor. A comedic spin on a tragic circumstance can do more first aid than all the sympathy in the world. This is the prime ingredient of black comedy. It’s what makes such works as The Sopranos and Sam Shepard’s True West so…
Tattoo the Earth? More like “poo-poo the earth.” This nine-plus-hour metalfest was filled with polluters and pollutants too numerous to count. Mutants were out in full force, flying their mullets with pride and dislodging any vegetation below their feet for use as a projectile during the headlining bands’ sets. The idyllic Burcham Park used to be a playground, complete…
Mike Park, former frontman of the most excellent ska ensemble Skankin’ Pickle, puts on an amazing show. His latest brainchild, the not-for-profit charity show Plea For Peace, brought out a diverse crowd of bands Thursday night that almost threatened to outnumber the sparse yet enthusiastic crowd at Liberty Hall. Nine brilliant performances were squeezed tightly together in a little…
Walking into El Torreon Sunday afternoon, you wouldn’t know you were entering a metal fest. Detention room, maybe, with a healthy mix of outcasts, rebels, and clean-cut hyperactive boys — but heavy metal? Where’s all the hair? There’s something lost in the art of headbanging when no one’s sweaty hair whips fellow listeners in the face, but then again,…
This year’s Friday night Blues and Jazz Festival kickoff couldn’t have run more smoothly. The weather was perfect; the park was, despite obvious construction on Liberty Memorial, well kept; the food vendors were out en masse; and the bands simply defied comparison. The Blues and Jazz Festival seems to be getting better and better ever year. It’s something metro-dwelling citizens…
Tracy Chapman opening for Sting was a strong confluence of two veterans of slick music-making. It was a good thing the concert was on a Sunday, lest a huge chunk of the audience miss Charlie Rose. At every turn, the temptation to criticize, which should have been rampant, was held at bay by the artists’ absolute confidence. Chapman played…
On “Bells of War,” one of the smoothest tracks on the Wu-Tang Clan’s baroque masterpiece Wu-Tang Forever, members of the nine-man hip-hop collective speculate that listeners might not understand this complex album until 2000, adding that this would be the year the crew would “come back with a comet.” While some hip-hop heads finally piece together the intricacies of that…
%{}% When she materialized last summer, Christina Aguilera was roundly dismissed as an inferior, if intriguing, challenger to Britney Spears’ throne. However, her dance numbers “Genie in a Bottle” and “What a Girl Wants” turned out to have legs, which (in conjunction with her upset nod in the Best New Artist category at the Grammys) solidified her stature as an…
It takes a lot to shock Jello Biafra. After helping to spearhead the politically charged hardcore punk explosion of the early ’80s, becoming the first musician to face criminal charges over releasing a record in the aftermath of the Parents’ Music Resource Center hearings, and being drawn into a nasty legal battle with the former members of his group,…
At best, most bands have the capacity to produce only one highbrow pun. Impressively, the trio once known as Louie Pasture has struck twice with its latest name. The new crew, which sports a different singer than the previous incarnation, might have felt burned out after coming up with such a clever psychology-class reference; its lyrics aren’t quite as witty….
What’s the best way to distinguish Kevorkian’s Dream from the scores of other new-metal outfits flooding the market with releases? Well, for starters, the band’s name is in the possessive form, which is common for horror-movie sequels (Freddy/Jason/Pumpkinhead’s Revenge) but relatively rare in the metal moniker category. Moving on, this quartet is from Columbia, which is better known for…
Contrary to what was printed in this column a few weeks back, Shallow still exists. According to singer Julie Shields, if and when the band does decide to end it all, she’ll be the first to tell you. “We wanted to leave that opportunity (to play together again) open,” says Shields. “Ryan (Newton, guitar) is out in California for…
Probably the best singer in pop music, k.d. lang is still finding her voice on disc. Affixing the Albert Camus quote that gives Invincible Summer its title to an otherwise vapid lyric sheet only exacerbates the trouble with her new album. For all the finesse of the brief, melt-in-your-mouth set of songs, the content is frustratingly slight, even given that…
Disclaimer: This review was written for neither the usual phanatics nor the neophytes in the Phish phenomenon but rather for those who exist somewhere in between — basically, the majority of us. Thus, all the background minutiae about when and where songs debuted in concert will not be discussed, nor will it be necessary to regurgitate the entire history of…
If you’re not a rock critic, stop reading this and skip down to the next review. You might as well; no one but the music press seems interested in Belle and Sebastian. The only exceptions are people who post reviews to Amazon.com (the site reports that the album is selling well in Illinois) and disenfranchised Smiths fans. That’s too bad,…
By now, the story is familiar. Steve Earle, a more-than-promising Nashville record-maker on the verge of major stardom, ends up in the Gray-Bar Hotel after burning out on drugs. Then comes the artistic rebirth: an acoustic disc, followed by small-label releases focusing on a tight Americana sound, followed by an acclaimed bluegrass disc, then this summer’s Transcendental Blues. Blues has…
Only in the movies could a kid who looks and acts like Jason Biggs be called a loser. Let’s see: charming conversationalist, big smile, washboard abs? Oh yeah, those’ll make a guy unpopular, for sure. About the only thing surprising about Biggs’ character in The Loser is that the filmmakers didn’t stoop to the old trick of putting him…
