Dream Theater is the last living remnant of that triumphant tribe of intellectual heaviness from yesteryear, the last fragment of the time when only Queensryche T-shirts would do for bibliophilic metalheads. Most bands from that era (Over Kill, Exodus, etc.) are fossils in dollar-vinyl bins, but somehow, over eighteen years with no MTV rotations, radio play or even corporate sponsorship,…
The only three certainties in life are death, taxes and a different style for every Cave In album. The scruffy rockers benefited from the fertile Boston hardcore scene and unleashed two late-’90s discs that incorporated thrashing rock and screaming metal. Naturally, the band followed those punishing noise nuggets with 2000’s prog-emo opus Jupiter, an album of dark experimentation and quiet…
As the brainy cousin of Slug from Atmosphere, Eyedea’s reputation was built in renowned hip-hop war zones such as the Blaze Battle, DMC and Scribble Jam. The freewheeling Minneapolis wunderkind prattles in a dense, literate and hilarious style that pays homage to his battle-scarred past. To date, Eyedea’s recorded works (including his spotty yet brilliant sophomore effort, The Many Faces…
Lucinda Williams was robbed. And somehow the Grammy committee got away with it. Williams went home from this year’s Grammys empty-handed after Pink’s punk pastiche “Trouble” bulldozed her haunting, soul-soaked “Righteously” and Warren Zevon edged her out in the Best Contemporary Folk category. There are a couple of lessons to be learned here, kids. First, never doubt the power of…
Everyone knows Jewel’s rags-to-riches story — did the coffeehouse circuit, lived in a van, amassed a grassroots following and sold a bajillion albums. But last year, her career trajectory took an interesting twist when the snaggletoothed chanteuse shocked her granola-fed fanbase with 0304, an effort that sounded nothing like anything that had come before — at least from Jewel. Michelle…
Moire has earned its share of battle scars on the local hard-rock scene, where competitive concerts are part of the culture. But no recording time or cash prizes will be on the line Friday night when that bone-crushingly brutal band engages in figurative combat with Element, an engaging, spastic hardcore hybrid outfit that’s been around in one form or…
Many people were introduced to Von Bondies singer Jason Stollsteimer by a December 2003 photo in which he looked like a bloodied and bruised Mike Tyson opponent. The perpetrator? Fellow Motor City garage-rock kitty Jack White. The White Stripes singer and amateur boxer apparently had a bone to pick. Circumstances surrounding the fight are unclear, but suffice it to say…
For the last time, Mr. Stewart, the answer is yes. But you really should quit using us to shore up your self-esteem. Yes, we want your body. Yes, we think you’re sexy. We’ve been letting you know that for thirty years. OK, Rod Stewart probably hates “Do Ya Think I’m Sexy?” references, but who gives a shit? The song was…
The Prairie Dogg finds the dirt on the Cars, Pirates of the Caribbean and (what else?) smoking herb with Ziggy Marley. PD: Hey, Ziggy, how are you doing? ZM: Yeah, man. Perfect. Is touring the States in winter tough for a guy from Jamaica? Nah, I’ve done this before. You’re hitting a lot of ski-resort towns. Do you ski or…
You sick bastard. You like to watch as yet another celebrity is torn down from his pedestal, don’t you? You’re giddy as a cheerleader on PCP when misfortune befalls the mighty. You enjoy it when the money train derails, scattering emotional cargo all over The National Enquirer. You secretly relish Michael Jackson’s one-man carnival. You eat it up when slurring…
Let’s get one thing straight: the Church is touring America in support of the album Forget Yourself. It’s not trotting out fan favorites, Las Vegas-cheeseball style. It’s also not building an entire set around its lone U.S. Top-40 hit, 1988’s rainy-day classic “Under the Milky Way.” In fact, remove your mind completely from the retro gutter. Don’t even think…
Some acts of courage — the firefighter’s return to a burning house to rescue a child, the infantryman’s sacrifice for a wounded comrade, the weary black woman’s refusal to yield her seat on a segregated bus — command everyone’s respect. Sometimes, though, courage can feel clouded — especially when it’s a response to voluntary risk or macho vanity. Viewers will…
The problem with Spartan isn’t so much that it’s mediocre but that it could have been a whole lot better. Unlike writer-director David Mamet’s last movie, Heist, a film with such a generic plot and predictable Gene Hackman performance that it never had a chance, Spartan has a reasonably compelling story that makes the viewer at least wonder (though…
Lean cut: Regarding Allie Johnson’s “The Deepest Cut” (February 26): I am a former patient of Dr. Timothy Sifers who had my stomach stapled in 1980. Medicaid paid for it. Sifers made it possible by stating that my obesity would kill me eventually. I was 5 feet tall and weighed 260. I did lose weight, but I wish that Sifers…
The Strip weighed in a few weeks ago about KCTV Channel 5’s Internet perv series (“Hard Sell,” February 19), drawing attention to the questionable tactics used by the vigilantes Channel 5 hooked up with to produce last month’s six-night broadcast. This reporting ribeye was concerned that the volunteers at Perverted-justice.com — who trawl Internet chat rooms for men they can…
Under an agreement with Jackson County, the Chiefs and the Royals will pay virtually nothing toward a proposed $402 million renovation of Arrowhead and Kauffman stadiums. Last fall the Jackson County Sports Complex Authority agreed to terms that would keep the football and baseball teams in Kansas City until 2029. The agreements, which hinge on voters passing a new bistate…
Like his hero, Kiss guitarist Ace Frehley, Merriam City Councilman Dan Leap knows how to turn a Gibson Les Paul into a musical Roman candle. Rigging the neck of his instrument with gunpowder, Leap can create the pyrotechnic illusion that his guitar shoots bombs. But that’s not all. The ponytailed suburban politician can also transform a guitar into something even…
Despite the burgeoning activity downtown, there are still certain parts that resemble a ghost town after dusk — we’re talking crickets-chirping quiet, tumbleweeds-practically-rolling-down-the-street empty. There’s an eerie charm to our not-so-bustling city center after dark, when you can’t tell what exactly is open or which establishments are mute testimonies of our swinging past. Such is the case with Soakies, a…
I know midtowners who often make the twenty-minute drive to Riverside for a hearty breakfast at the Corner Café (see review) because the number of diner-style breakfast joints in the urban core has dwindled over the years. That list included the venerable Jimmy’s Restaurant at 5429 Troost, which closed last July after a long run. It was one of the…
My friend Sally is an excellent cook and a culinary adventurer. She’s eaten yak butter in the Himalayas and gulab jamun on the banks of the Ganges. At the other end of the spectrum is Walt Bodine, who prefers chili dogs and chocolate malts to haute cuisine and isn’t ashamed to admit it. “I prefer places where ordinary people eat,”…
SAT 3/6 Here’s a way to trick that friend who can’t take “you’re drunk — it’s time to go home” for an answer on Saturday night. Turn on KSMO Channel 62 immediately upon getting her home at precisely 1 a.m., and she’ll be right back in Westport with Cowtown Saturday Night, taped live at Stanford and Sons. Cowtown Saturday Night…
3/8-3/12 If you can’t stand musicals because you’re annoyed by people spontaneously breaking into song, we warn you: Such things go down in a couple of the movies slated to play in the Empire Room’s Music Film Festival. However, most of them are scheduled for Monday’s Gender Bender Glamour Rock Double Feature. And one of the flicks is Hedwig and…
WED 3/11 Back in November, you fantasized about ice skating outdoors — the fantasy was set on a frozen pond, but you figured an ice terrace would do. Then time got away from you, and suddenly it was February. February being a sucky month, you forgot about all of the fun things because winter was being such a jerk, snowing…
3/8 & 3/10 Our recent online discovery of “the world’s only ass-kicking machine” — designed by the white-haired Robert P. Booth — was the inspiration. We hoped to make our own ass-kicking device using the inventor’s tips, but it was too complicated. Even the handy Mr. Booth had some trouble with his machine, which once started up on its own…
