Rancid porcupine head Lars Frederiksen describes his side project, the Bastards, as though it were a no-strings-attached spring fling. “With this, I just have a really good time,” he said in an interview this past summer. “It’s not like Rancid — that’s, of course, my band — it’s my priority. This is just like a kick in the ass, just…
Cowboys who amble too far from the corral are liable to get mauled by a grizzly, bitten by a rattler or shunned from the electronic-music industry. But Texas native D:Fuse and his trademark cowboy hat have found a home in range, saddling up disparate sounds wherever they may roam. You see, D:Fuse isn’t merely a producer, not only a DJ….
I don’t think Toby Keith is inherently a bad man. He’s just a simple guy singing simple songs about excruciatingly complicated subjects. But he means well. And I despise him for it. That’s because Keith and musicians such as Chely Wright, Craig Morgan and Keni Thomas represent a constituency known to exhibit blind audacity when it comes to things like…
Oh, the weather outside is frightful. But you don’t need no stinking fire to feel delightful, because you have the burning, yearning desire to fall hopelessly into debt chasing all the materialistic paper tigers you never knew you wanted to tame until corporate America told you so. And who the hell are we to stand in the way? That’s right….
In Spanglish, which is less a story than a snapshot of a crumbling marriage populated by sitcom characters, Adam Sandler plays John Clasky, an average man with an above-average life. With his burgeoning double chin always covered in a slight shadow of stubble, he’s a celebrated chef who runs a successful restaurant in Beverly Hills and has a beautiful wife…
This much can be said for the movie version of Lemony Snicket’s A Series of Unfortunate Events: Its villain, Count Olaf, just might be Jim Carrey’s finest screen role. A bitter, would-be master thespian who delights in donning ridiculous disguises and adopting funny accents, he doesn’t seem far removed from what Carrey might be like had he not hit…
The parade of real-life figures strolling across movie screens has been endless this year: Jamie Foxx as Ray Charles, Johnny Depp as Peter Pan author J.M. Barrie, Liam Neeson as sexologist Alfred Kinsey, Kevin Kline as standards composer Cole Porter, Gael García Bernal as horny revolutionary Ernesto “Che” Guevara, Colin Farrell as Alexander the Great. It’s as if the studios…
The most shocking thing about Kinsey, the first film from writer-director Bill Condon since 1998’s Gods and Monsters, is how shocking it actually is. Within the confines of a standard biopic (A Beautiful Dirty Mind, you might call it), Condon refuses to play it straight — which is only fair to a subject who was bisexual, condoned wife-swapping in…
Note this: In response to Brandon Phillips’ reply to my November 18 letter (concerning C.J. Janovy’s article on local musician Heather Cave’s illness and a benefit held on her behalf ), where I discussed musicians’ health insurance and general business practices: I say YOU, Mr. Phillips, are twice the arrogant asshole as I am. If after 10 years of being…
Jimmy the Fetus Hey, kids, Jimmy the Fetus here, your guide to moral values in the Midwest, helping everyone see that what we learned in Sunday school really matters. Dear Jimmy: Mom and Dad said they had a plan for financing my first semester at K-State. But it turns out their “plan” was sending a whole lot of cash to…
What a betrayal. Just two years ago, the Kansas City, Missouri, City Council promised that if Julia Irene Kauffman could finally raise all the money to make the $304 million performing-arts center a reality, the city would build an underground parking garage right next to it. It’s that kind of assurance that makes it possible to raise funds for such…
Four years ago, Jesus flew for the first time. Andrew Rebmann came all the way from Las Vegas to teach him how. It was just another gig for the muscular, ponytailed Rebmann, whose ZFX Flying Illusions Inc. supplied the wires, cables, harnesses and lessons to theaters when, say, Peter Pan was required to alight on a bedroom windowsill or flying…
Backyard Beer Night “Beer Your Grandpa Drinks”
Unwed Wednesday
College Night
Bob Harvey
DJ Rizzo
For an interesting contrast in restaurant styles, compare the recently opened Poco’s Latin American Grille (see review, page 39) with another new addition to the scene, the Latin-influenced Matadors (1815 West 39th Street). Poco’s is intimate and tasteful. Matadors is chaotic and irritating. After a second visit to Matadors, I’m still trying to decide whether to give it a full-length…
With Jen Chen still traipsing around Europe, the job of filling in for her this week fell to me, and I headed over to Union Hill. I’ve been drawn to the area before, but the Beautiful People (BPs) at the Velvet Dog have always sort of terrified me. The Empire Room feels a little more comfortable because it’s, well, darker….
After the movie What the Bleep Do We Know? came to town, practically everyone I know started using the phrase paradigm shift to explain everything from breaking up with a lover to rearranging the living room furniture. “I needed to cleanse my living space after I had my paradigm shift,” said one friend, who wouldn’t know how to shift gears…
THU 12/9 Billy Joe Shaver rose to fame in 1973 when he wrote nearly all of Waylon Jennings’ classic Honky Tonk Heroes album. With songs such as “I’ve Been to Georgia on a Fast Train” and “Old Five and Dimers Like Me,” he helped to create the “outlaw country” sound — and was one of the most gently faithful country…
SUN 12/12 Jerry Garcia inspired a Ben & Jerry’s flavor, but his widow is attempting to leave a more serious mark on the world of food. Deborah Koons Garcia’s new documentary, The Future of Food, looks at the issues surrounding genetically engineered crops — the corporations that use the technology and the policies that allow them to do so. Garcia…
SAT 12/11 Last year, the University of Missouri-Kansas City Kangaroos women’s basketball team showed swagger, starting its conference season with seven straight wins. Led by guard Katie Houlehan, the Roos routed the University of Kansas Jayhawks; they might have welcomed the challenge of competing against the mighty Kansas State Wildcats, just to see where they stood. In 2004, though, the…
SAT 12/11 No More Homeless Pets (a coalition of veterinarians, humane societies and rescue groups, among others) hosts a collective open house Saturday, with 16 metro-area shelters participating. Expect raffles, refreshments and T-shirts for donations — or just come to adopt. Call 816-333-7387. — Annie Fischer Ars Poetica THU 12/9 In addition to chalking pastel odes on Loose Park sidewalks…
