The kickoff date for Christina Aguilera’s first headlining stadium tour drew a diverse crowd to Sandstone Amphitheatre, with shrieking grade-school students; parents serving as patient chaperones; other adults who secretly enjoy Aguilera’s easy-listening ballads; just-imitating Slim Shadys who came to holler, “God, she’s hot,” at the object of their idol’s derision; and teens, about a quarter of whom were…
Natalie Maines, Martie Seidel, and Emily Robison have managed to parlay years of playing live into a successful career as overnight sensations. That both of their major-label discs have hit the stratosphere and their cheerful good looks have made them video-channel staples is a combination that matters less than the simple fact that as writers and musicians, they continue to…
One of the many cutting-edge opening acts Pearl Jam has introduced to its comparatively mainstream crowd, The Murder City Devils startled grunge fans several years ago with their rowdy, noisy sets. On record, this Seattle-based sextet’s songs are much moodier — due, appropriately enough, to the nuanced voice of a singer named (Spencer) Moody. The combination of his tortured growl…
Upon hearing the album-opening title track to Blue Shoe Sole Revue’s latest release, some listeners might be skeptical about proceeding any further into the disc. Although this tune’s Johnny Winters-style bouncy blues backdrop is likable enough, the goose-step references in the lyrics are a bit iffy. However, those who stick it out will be rewarded, as this veteran ensemble produces…
When an experimental band names itself Leary, certain expectations arise. However, anyone who decides to listen to this sextet’s album, Falling Into Space, under the influence of any hallucinogenic substance might be in for a rough trip, especially if he or she doesn’t abandon ship before the potentially head-exploding, pulsing sound effects at the end of “Thursday Eve.” However, the…
You made your last mistake/You’re going way out on that boot hill … You did me so wrong/You’re going way out on that boot hill — Stevie Ray Vaughan, “Boot Hill” The members of Boot Hill have been done wrong, but they don’t have the energy to assume Stevie Ray’s vigilante tone. In fact, their words echo the lyrics of…
Back in the day, the release of a new Urge record was an exciting, eagerly awaited event for any music-loving Midwesterner. The St. Louis sextet used to write amazingly energetic songs, create immensely enjoyable records, and put on the most astounding live shows. That was then; this is Too Much Stereo. It’s almost like yet another remake of Invasion of…
Bravado and attitude feed off each other like self-triggered nuclear reactions. Generally, if rappers possess one of these dubious qualities in abundance, they can boost the other level high enough to convince listeners that they’re for real. Naturally, it depends upon the presence of the perpetrator, but this formula has worked (however fleetingly) even for white-bread chumps, such as Vanilla…
It’s too bad Sunny Day Real Estate operates below the radar of most VH1 fans, because over the course of six years and four studio albums, the band has inspired so many rumors and endured so many twisted variations on standard rock clichés that it’s perhaps indie-rock’s finest candidate for an episode of Behind the Music. Of course, the group’s…
Demons keep popping up in Hairy Apes BMX vibe-master Mike Dillon’s professional life. From the pagan ones his former troupe Billy Goat embraced on stage to the dangerous ones that led him to relocate the band from Dallas to Kansas City, the man never seemed to escape constant questions and suspicion about them. Oddly, now that Billy Goat no longer…
“Kansas City, huh?” asks Uncle Kracker, Kid Rock’s longtime collaborator. On tour with the devil without a cause while also promoting his solo debut, Double Large, Kracker is mired in a press-related daze, but upon hearing the location of his latest interviewer, he takes off on what, for him, is probably an enjoyable tangent, far from the usual inquiries about…
Ah, rape. Such a delightful theme to weave into a science-fiction yarn, and who better than Paul Verhoeven (Basic Instinct, Showgirls) to exploit it? To his credit, Verhoeven is a crackerjack at taking his crowd-pleasing entertainment over the top, whether he’s showing us packs of huge, monstrous insects stampeding toward Denise Richards’ blinding teeth in Starship Troopers, or romping…
It’s a pleasure to say that Clint Eastwood reverses his recent downward slide — A Perfect World (1993), The Bridges of Madison County (1995), Absolute Power (1997), and True Crime (1999), each of which has seemed less satisfying than its predecessor — with Space Cowboys, his latest. It isn’t an especially profound film, but as both director and star,…
Arteta’s hero, Buck O’Brien (Mike White), is a 27-year-old manchild who eats lollipops all day long, takes refuge in a toy-strewn bedroom listening to his favorite teeny-bop tune over and over, and generally avoids maturity with the ferocity of a sixth-grader who’s been denied an extra scoop of ice cream. With his saucer eyes and little-boy shuffle, Buck’s the…
Fight or Flight Great article on Richards-Gebaur (Bruce Rodgers’ “Flight Canceled,” July 27)! There is serious consideration being taken about recalling Teresa Loar because of this very issue and many others. There has even been talk of recalling the entire council as well as the mayor, wild as that might seem. Kind of like a great big “do over.” The…
If voters approve curbside recycling, they won’t be doing anything radical. If it’s anything, Kansas City is mainstream. This burg is a consciously conservative town that mostly copies trends instead of creating them: Latest examples include a big-ticket downtown renovation project (the Power & Light District), suburban style urban redevelopment (Midtown Marketplace), and kitsch public-art charity fundraising (Cows on Parade)….
Cow chips: We continue to be udderly awed by the fever of the controversy surrounding the Cow Parade, a “community art” project wherein local artists paint 300 fiberglass cows in a “charity” fundraiser for the zoo, the Kemper Museum, and the American Royal. Local arts boosters want to bring the project to town, even though it’s quickly growing stale after…
On July 23, about 300 people gathered in Washington Square Park at Grand Avenue and Main for a free concert by the Kansas City Band, a swing combo from Tokyo. For nearly 30 years, Kansas Citians have been able to enjoy free concerts in city parks. This summer has been no exception — there’s still music in the park, but…
When Floyd S. Bledsoe spoke publicly for the first time in eight months, he did so with desperation befitting a man in shackles. “First of all, I want to say I didn’t do it,” he said at his July 14 sentencing hearing, commencing a monologue that rambled for nearly five minutes. Floyd insisted the case against him was rife with…
