FRI 8/5 Had Dan Rather and Andy Warhol ever collaborated, the result might have resembled the work of Sike Style. “I put pieces together as if they were hip and stylized versions of the 10 o’clock world news,” Sike tells the Pitch. His first solo show, Conflicted Interest, opened July 15 at the Cube at Beco (1924 Baltimore, 816-582-8997), but…
8/5-8/6 Cold beer, hot barbecue, Kansas City blues: three great things that taste great together, right? The Sherwood Center, a nonprofit organization that helps people with autism and related disabilities, sure thinks so. The 15th annual Blues and Bar-B-Q benefit party, in the parking lot at B.B.’s Lawnside Bar-B-Que (1205 East 85th Street, 816-822-7427), begins at 6 p.m. Friday,…
SAT 8/6 For many drinkers, the idea of downing beers that aren’t available at the corner liquor store is anathema. But from 2 to 7 p.m. Saturday, fans of beer mere and far can investigate ales from Missouri and Kansas at the KC Brewfest in Market Park (Third Street and Delaware). Hometown brews such as Boulevard share space with Parkville’s…
THU 8/4 We won’t cry for you, Argentina, but only because photographer Daniel Laurine’s Buenos Aires Heat opens at Café Trio (3535 Broadway, 816-756-3227) from 5 to 8 p.m. Thursday. The $20 donation benefits the AIDS Service Foundation of Greater Kansas City. Hot! — Rebecca Braverman Art Films Is it interpretation or just projection? SAT 8/6 Get ready for First…
If Joseph and Dominick Maino were anything but identical twins, we might think that they suffered from a shared case of separation anxiety. Born three minutes apart in Chicago, the two attended the same grade school, high school and college, then chose the same career path, optometry. It’s not a surprise, really, that they then headed to the same…
Thursday, August 4 If we had a nickel for every time our sister checked out the drummer (or the bassist or the guitarist or the cowbell player) for a band and said something sugary like, “That is the man I want to marry,” well, we’d have a lot of nickels. If your posse is similarly goo-goo eyed over the…
Usually, planners of outdoor parties get only one shot at making their events happen. Even when thwarted by circumstances beyond their control, such as unexpected ailments or angered deities, they must swallow their losses. At this year’s Riverfest, for example, thunderstorms forced the cancellation of a laser-light-and-fireworks show. The Bacchus Foundation had clear skies for its May 6 fund-raiser, but…
Bye Bye Birdie No matter what steps Kansas City, Missouri, Parks and Rec takes — spraying, spaying, setting traps — there’s no stopping the first rule of summer: Leave grassy public space unattended long enough, and you can be sure a musical will break out. This time it’s the story of that Elvis-like crooner Conrad Birdie and the trouble he…
About 40 minutes into Funny Girl, as I was coming to grips with the fact that what’s certainly the best show in town is one that presents theatergoers with a choice between chicken and beef, I tried to work out what exactly fuels the snobbish, gut-level apprehension everyone I know harbors for dinner theater. It’s not just the frequent…
DJ Ty Tek has such a long history in the not-exactly-world-famous Denver dance scene, it’s surprising how inventive and intelligent his DJing is — but that’s true of most of the spinners in Colorado’s progressive Casa Del Soul collective. On his Web site, Tek describes his style as “funky fueled electro tech with a touch of tribalness.” Judging by…
When most people think of pain in music, it usually has some pretty dark elements: shrieking vocals, crashing drums, funereal dirges. When Joe Pernice puts his anguish to music, he can’t help but wrap it up in sunny, mellow pop. It’s a disorienting combination, juxtaposing literary songs about train wrecks, plane crashes, bums and cubicle angst with spine-tingling harmonies…
Was the version of Suzanne Vega’s “Tom’s Diner” that became a hit in 1990 the first mash-up? When two British DJs working under the name DNA pirated Vega’s a cappella performance (the original opened her breakthrough album, 1987’s Solitude Standing) and tied it to a Soul II Soul beat, the song — and Vega’s career — was born again. A…
Skeleton Key should be heralded as an essential part of the glorious wave of mid-’90s rock innovation that includes contemporaries such as Enon, some better-publicized acts, and probably hundreds of others we’ll never hear about. A Lower East Side sensibility informs the band’s funk-laced groove, which is roughed up by the use of junk percussion. Pots, pans, hubcaps and miscellaneous…
What began eight years ago as 16-year-old small-town Kentucky boy Cody Critcheloe’s rock and roll fantasy, the Ssion, has lived through multiple incarnations and seen many players come and go. Previously touted as the Kansas City Art Institute’s resident rabble-rousers and Williamsburg’s Next Big Thing (the group spent a semester in New York City), Critcheloe and company are now returning…
It’s surprising that Kansas City native son turned Nashville notable Jeff Black remains a relatively anonymous figure, even with credentials that include sharing the studio and stage with the likes of Wilco, newgrass pioneer Sam Bush and rebel troubadour Steve Earle. As an industry outsider, Black has enough talent to be an insider and enough common sense to remain a…
It’s about time something really freaky went down at the Blue Room. Evidently, Mark Southerland’s Snuff Jazz and Jacob Fred Jazz Odyssey pianist Brian Haas (pictured) are the ones to bring on the bizarre. For those not familiar with local saxman and instrument inventor Southerland, Snuff Jazz teams him with Arnie Young and Bill McKemy to run down less…
XTA-C’s 2003 track “So Heavy” rivals Tech N9ne’s “It’s Alive” as the best single ever to emerge from Kansas City’s rap scene. The laid-back lyricist stocks Tha Warning!, a generously portioned mix, with would-be hits of every stripe. He flows “2 M.P.H.” over a syrup-thick synth backdrop, lays down club-rocking crunk, pairs an R&B hook with a minimalist thump, and…
Besides the White Stripes, the Volebeats might be the best band the Motor City has to offer. Like the reverb-drenched Jayhawks, they make classic folk-rock that’s part Everly Brothers harmonies and part Byrdsian 12-string jangle. Firm believers in quality over quantity, the Volebeats have released only six proper LPs since forming in 1987, taking the time to deliver sturdy craftsmanship…
Feeling kicked in the shins when his Sub Pop labelmates hit Hollywood paydirt with the Garden State soundtrack, Fruit Bats central figure Eric Johnson has taken the minimal success and continuous lineup changes of his folk-pop outfit pretty well. Having moved from Chicago to Seattle with the intention of putting out a dark album, Johnson has instead created something surprisingly…
It’s not surprising that Baton Rouge, Louisiana, rapper Webbie’s major-label debut is filled with the requisite talk of guns, drugs, bitches, booze and bling. Dubbed “gangsta shit” by Webbie himself, Savage Life is the uninitiated’s walk through the urban underworld of Baton Rouge, a down-South country pillar that once had the second-highest murder rate in the nation. The attraction of…
In a world worth a good goddamn, we’d just say Joe Ely’s in town! and y’all would get your asses in the seats. Instead, even though the guy’s been tearing it up since the late ’70s; even though he’s mined a dozen records from that juke-joint sweet spot where rock and country eye each other, make sure nobody’s around,…
Omarion, whose progression from kiddie-band crooner (with B2K) to sex-obsessed solo singer mirrors Christina Aguilera’s journey from the Mickey Mouse Club, was in London on July 7 when terrorist transit-system bombings killed more than 50 people. In a press release that made no mention of the casualties, the uninjured artist allegedly expressed that he “would like his fans to…
One of the best bands ever to roam the regional landscape without leaving recorded footprints, To Conquer created trance-inducing songs that transcended their settings. Listeners closed their eyes and forgot where they were, as did singer and guitarist Brad Hodgson, who occasionally sleepwalked off the stage midsong. “It was the repetition of the progressions,” Hodgson explains. “I remember the…
It was a Sunday in July in Kansas City, and I was sucking down gin and staring down a newspaper deadline like it was the barrel of a pearl-handled pistol. I had 12 hours to cook up some copy to keep the pink slip at bay. My cat’s ribs were showing, and my wife needed new stockings. Sliding Workin’ With…
