Little Richard recently told The New York Post that he couldn’t find the courage to attend James Brown’s funeral, an indication that the death of his fellow Macon, Georgia, native may have the rock pioneer contemplating his own mortality. At 74, the one-time force of nature requires assistance to reach the piano, and his shows are more low-key nowadays. Expect…
The Golden State’s Cold War Kids have kept busy following the 2006 release of Robbers & Cowards, a stellar debut brimming with lucid narratives. The indie quartet isn’t above paying tribute to its influences, either, especially when it’s for a good cause. At the group’s Web site, you can download Benefit at the District, a six-track EP taken from an…
Even if you haven’t dusted off those old issues of Circus and Hit Parader in a while, the name Dangerous Toys should still ring bells for the band’s end-of-the-’80s hits “Teas’n Pleas’n” and “Scared.” What you might not know is that Dangerous Toys is still active and has managed to avoid becoming a VH1-bound train wreck like so many of…
It’s a Wednesday night in the basement green room of the Jackpot Music Hall, and Sam Wright, backing vocalist and cowbell player for Kansas City band the Popsicles, is strapping on his hubcaps. No, that’s not a drug euphemism. One mismatched plastic hubcap goes on his chest, and another goes on his back. He wears a black wig, held down…
Dear Mexican: I’m a 60-year-old Chicano and proud. Why do young Chicanos keep imitating blacks? They dress like blacks, talk like blacks, listen to black music and hang with blacks. Aren’t they proud of their own culture? Why don’t they embrace Hispanic ways and learn about Hispanic history? Say It Loud! I’m Brown and I’m Proud! Dear Loud: Your letter…
Backwash, January 11 Fraud Squad Thank you very much for your item on how to commit mortgage fraud. You gave me a good laugh over coffee today! It is more important than ever that every homeowner and every future homeowner, our college students and kids alike, beware of mortgage fraud. The most important thing to remember: If it seems too…
I was sitting at an Internet terminal filling out a job application at the Central Library when two ladies in uniform, “security ambassadors,” approached me. One had a card in her hand listing the applicable library rule that I had violated. I was kicked out for “emitting an odor that interfered with the use of the library.” I am a…
It was 8 a.m. on an icy Thursday morning, and the parking lot at the tiny Trails West Branch Library was packed. Inside, the world’s largest retailer was unveiling an Earth-friendly prototype, a Wal-Mart of the future that sprang up where Blue Ridge Mall used to suck up energy. The slick slide show was, of course, heavy on the green…
When Kansas City, Missouri, toyed with the idea of banning smoking in public places, restaurateur Ed Nelson testified that the idea would kill thousands of jobs. When the Kansas Legislature considered a statewide ban last week, Nelson was there. What does Nelson stand to gain? He’s CEO of KC Hopps, a local chain of eight restaurants that includes 75th Street…
The Strip was troubled this month to hear about 5,000 more Sprint employees losing their jobs. Even though this newspaper has made the occasional critical comment about its hometown telecom company, this hardworkin’ hamburger would much rather see Sprint prospering than trying to save its hide. Which is why the Strip was also disturbed to learn of a ridiculous-sounding management…
For five years, it has supposedly been official Kansas City, Missouri, policy to make sure that new public buildings are environmentally friendly. In 2002, the city adopted construction standards set out by the U.S. Green Building Council, which awards coveted certifications for meeting LEED (Leadership in Energy and Environmental Design) standards. These days, LEED buildings are breaking new ground…
Saundra McFadden-Weaver has a cold. The Kansas City, Missouri, councilwoman gets out of her chair and moves to the back of the room on the 10th floor of City Hall. She raises the thermostat and returns to her seat, sniffling. It’s a Monday afternoon in mid-December. The city’s rarely convened ethics commission is taking testimony about the suspicious circumstances…
Reader Scott H. alerted me to Love God’s Way, some kooky Christian organization that, among other things, compiles a list of “Gay Bands.” Well, they’re right about a couple, but, man, this is just hilarious. Jay-Z, Kansas, Motorhead, Audioslave… bunch a’ fairies. Note that they also describe Oscar Wilde as a “reformed homosexual.” Priceless. And now it’s our turn to…
Your favorite Billy Ray Cyrus lookalike may have to reroute his tour to bypass Branson. Or just use his real name. State Rep. Juanita Head Walton, D-Florissant, is proposing a bill that would forbid impersonators to use the same names as the celebrities they impersonate. Read about it in the Springfield News-Leader. I get the sense that this is the…
Sometime around a year ago, around when I wrote this column, our dear Jon Harrison intimated to me that he wanted to start a label-offshoot-type-thing from his Little Hits blog in order to release 45s. It seemed like the perfect project for a man whose life is so definied by a love for beautiful and forgotten pop singles. And now,…
More breaking news about awesome upcoming concerts! The Junior Boys are playing the Record Bar on April 17! The last time Junior Boys came through — back in my wilder days — hardly anyone was there. This time will be different because you. Will. Not. Fucking. Miss. It. Junior Boys will bring that knowing smile back to KC this April….
In case anyone’s interested in how last night’s show at the Main Street Cafe went down, our calendar editor, Crystal Wiebe, was there and filed the following report: I guess Kansas City kids just didn’t want to pay $12 on a frigid Thursday night to hang out at Main Street Cafe (3111 Wyandotte). Not even a hundred of them milled…
Local outlaw auteur Ben Meade has informed me that the subject of his next film will be Kansas City Irish rock band the Elders. Meade explained the project via e-mail: “The first week of March I am taking a film crew to Ireland with the Irish band The Elders……and 150 fans…..3 busloads. Really. We are making the ultimate road flick….
Last October, Stephanie Iser, director of kids’ programs at the Louise H. Bluford Branch Library, surveyed teens about what kinds of programs interested them. Most said they were interested in hip-hop music. Iser, who is 26, was unsure how hip-hop might mesh with the library. Did she need to start wearing a gold chain? Fewer books, more 808 speakers? Jeremy…
Regular readers of the blog Tonyskansascity.com might wonder where its author, Tony Botello, got his seething vendetta against Beth Gottstein, a candidate for the 4th District at-large seat on the Kansas City, Missouri, City Council. The answer came Wednesday, when Rita Valenciano officially filed as a candidate for that same 4th district seat. Rita who, you ask? Valenciano is a…
Clerks II (Weinstein) Council of the Gods (First Run) Die You Zombie Bastards (Image) Dreamland (Image) Employee of the Month (Lions Gate) Gridiron Gang (Sony) Grim Reaper (Lions Gate) Her Minor Thing (First Look) La Moustache (Koch Lorber) Lucky Number Slevin (Weinstein) Monroe: Class of ’76 (Image) Pulse (Weinstein) Rotation (First Run) Seven Swords (Genius) Space Academy: The Complete Series…
Viva Piñata begins with you acquiring the deed to a barren patch of land on “Piñata Island,” a strange place where everyone wears masks and the main form of currency is chocolate coins. Your first order of business is a little gardening, breathing some life back into your dusty plot. This not only makes it nicer to look at,…
The Protector (Genius Products) Thailand’s Tony Jaa has made clear his plan to take Jackie Chan’s crown as the king of Holy crap, did he just do that? He’s about halfway there. Though Jaa is devoid of Chan’s charisma, his hyperathletic kickboxing style will make your jaw drop; here’s a movie to watch like porn, with one hand on…
American Dream: In Question The second installment of the Belger’s American Dream series requires an open mind and an adventurous spirit. National artists such as Robert Rauschenberg, Jim Roche, Renee Stout, Robert Stackhouse and William T. Wiley, among many others, share space with local artists Archie Scott Gobber and May Tveit, offering a variety of media with intriguing results. Rather…
