Remember Andrew Ridgeley? He was the other guy in Wham, the one who found himself stranded in 1986, after George Michael had faith enough in his own talent to break up the act. Ridgeley went on to record one solo record. His label decided there was no need for a second. In Music and Lyrics, Hugh Grant plays Alex Fletcher…
In December 2002, ABC’s 20/20 ran a story called “Spycatcher” about Eric O’Neill, an undercover surveillance specialist for the Federal Bureau of Investigation. O’Neill, at a mere 27 years old, had helped bring down Robert Hanssen, an FBI agent who, for more than two decades, sold thousands of secrets to the Russian government. FBI agents told ABC that O’Neill…
Just because I had a good experience eating an organic burger made with locally grown meat (see review) doesn’t mean I won’t eat the alternative. You know what kind: all the other burgers out there, most of them made from beef that’s potentially chock-full of antibiotics and added hormones, from a cow that didn’t live the most pleasant life while…
The all-American hamburger turns 122 years old this year. By most historical accounts, the creator of America’s most successful sandwich was a Wisconsin teenager named Charlie Nagreen who, in 1885, set up a concession stand to sell meatballs at a county fair. When too few customers came over to buy his beef balls, Nagreen supposedly had the bright idea…
Last weekend found us performing the delightful task of listening to nearly 30 submissions to the Pitch Ultra Music DJ Contest and picking five finalists. Actually, the narrowing-down part wasn’t so delightful because we got so much good music. But it’s Darwin’s world, and the five fittest DJs, who will compete for a trip to drop some beats on the…
With two great out-of-town DJ guests coming to Balanca’s and the Jackpot Saturday, we’ve decided to cut this week’s Spin Cycle down the middle. First, Roy Davis Jr. (pictured) will get down in a cozy setting at the Jackpot with Lawrencian Alan Paul, celebrating Cicada Rhythm’s 10-year anniversary. Producer and DJ Davis is a Chicago house-music legend. The same…
The Night Ranger needed to dress appropriately for the Ugly-Sweater Bash at Davey’s UptownSo she raided Night Ranger Mom’s closet and found a lovely red holiday number that depicted Dalmatian puppies frolicking in front of a fireplace. Adding to the “holy crap, my eyes!” factor were the poinsettia-shaped beads sticking up in bas-relief. Uh, sorry NR Mom, but your sweater…
For some in KC, Mardi Gras is all about beads, beer and boobs, preferably in a sports bar. That’s just fine. But many locals prefer to revel in the more exotic, funky and sometimes surreal manner exemplified at the Top of the Bottoms’ 18th Street party on Tuesday (see Night & Day). This crowd can get its freak on…
London-born and Scotland-bred, Alexi Murdoch arrived in the United States six years ago a wide-eyed Duke University freshman philosophy major. Nowadays, he spends more time with his guitar than with his textbooks. Though there’s nothing novel about Murdoch’s musical niche — it’s almost too easy to imagine a clichéd singer-songwriter type slinging a guitar gently over his shoulder after strumming…
Riding high on the crest of the new single “Everybody Is Easy,” Dallas’ all-star cast of musical veterans (plus Kansas City’s own ex-Tenderloin drummer, Taz Bentley) the Burden Brothers has just dropped a new disc called Mercy. And it’s an oddly named piece of work, given that the disc shows none of what the title promises. Rather, it’s a full-on,…
Mixing roots-rock twang and bubbling power pop, the Damnwells tread a path similar to the Goo Goo Dolls before that band became a hot adult-contemporary staple, a similarity heightened by how much Alex Dezen’s grainy tenor resembles that of the Dolls’ Johnny Reznik. The group’s full-length debut, Bastards of the Beat, leaned hard on the hooks with punchy, head-bobbing arrangements,…
Those lucky enough to catch Lawrence’s Filthy Jim in its natural element bore witness to an unbridled cock-rock assault that paid straight-faced tribute to the genre’s scuzzy matinee idols: Motorhead, Metallica and Guns n’ Roses. Beyond that, the band was a card-carrying member of the tour-till-it-hurts circuit that spawned like-minded morality wreckers such as Zeke and Valient Thorr. The group…
It’s a marvelous thing when virtuosity and songcraft collide the way they do on Field Music’s third disc, Tones of Town. The British trio’s members seem joined at the hip (two of ’em are brothers) in their offbeat, twisted take on McCartney-influenced pop. At times, the immaculate Tones borders on overkill: rapid-fire catchiness clashing with devilishly creative rhythms and rogue…
In the radio spot on disc six of this set, Robin Gibb applies his quivering sentimentality to lines such as I open up some Coke and smile, and then my mind’s free for a while. So much for the late-’60s Bee Gees being presellout innocents. But even if the extraordinarily musical Anglo-Aussie brothers were commercial-minded, this comprehensive stash of early…
North Carolina’s Little Brother just got smaller due to the recent departure of super-producer 9th Wonder, but MCs Phonte and Big Pooh aren’t letting it slow them down. Along with its third LP on the way, the hip-hop duo is giving away And Justus for All, a collaboration with mixtape guru (and official DJ of the Cleveland Cavaliers), Mick Boogie….
You’d think that with the level of success Flee the Seen has enjoyed over the past year, the band would’ve made like its name and gotten the hell out of Dodge — er, Kansas City — as fast as their tour van could go. But the members of Flee the Seen aren’t looking to leave their roots behind anytime soon,…
Last September, a new Outback Steakhouse spot provided the year’s definitive “Wait, what? Rewind” television moment for indie-rock connoisseurs. The ad unveiled an altered version of Of Montreal’s engaging psychedelic-dance single “Wraith Pinned to the Mist (and Other Games),” its lyrics revamped, its chorus heftily reinforced and its instrumentation Aussied up with tribal rhythms and didgeridoos. “You call that a…
“Broken Bone Choir” from American Catastrophe’s album Excerpts from the Broken Bone Choir: Hang ‘Em High With OxBlood Records as its steed, American Catastrophe prepares to spur on to wider attention. No matter what the members of American Catastrophe say, the We Pity the Kitties salmon cat treats made by Kansas City’s Three Dog Bakery, while no doubt insanely delicious…
Talk about spreading good cheer. When the members of the Kansas City band It’s Over take to a stage, you’d swear the lights in the room get brighter. Rocking out with such abandon that liquid sunshine seems to run through their veins, It’s Over is gaining a reputation around town as a band that’s real fun to see live. The…
It’s one thing to sling last-minute mud when you sign your name to it. Everybody expects that in politics these days. But to toss some dirt without even adding the name of the politician with the dirty hands? That’s just cowardly. The unsigned dirt began arriving in Kansas City mailboxes on Valentine’s Day. The postcard depicts a panhandler appearing to…
Dear Mexican: How do Mexicans get such ridiculous nicknames from seemingly normal names? For instance, José becomes Chepe, Eduardo is Lalo, Gabriel becomes Gabi, and Guillermo devolves into Memo. It’s Marcela, Not Chela Dear Mexican: In English, people have nicknames that have some relation to their given names — for example, Kenny is the nickname for Kenneth, Jenny for Jennifer….
Web Exclusive, February 1 Final Curtain Late Night Theatre will be missed tremendously. Kansas City was lucky to have it. Please don’t goooo! Kristin Chow, Kansas City, Kansas Letters, February 1 In Defense of Kris Florence Streeter’s letter was a poorly informed swipe at Professor Kris Kobach and indicates that she knows very little about the law. Her letter contains…
Hey, you, high school classmate of the bar’s owner. Thanks for giving my boyfriend attitude as you shoved ahead of us in the bar line on a crowded night at the Record Bar. You joked about being an alcoholic since your teens, so I guess you needed that drink more than we did. And we so enjoyed your story about…
Missouri native David Koechner’s characters just might be the most obscene on any screen, big or small. They include perverse salesman Todd Packer on NBC’s The Office and pro-gun lobbyist Bobby Jay Bliss in Thank You for Smoking. Koechner’s latest character is Gerald “T-Bones” Tibbons, a crude but crafty, comb-over-sporting con man who can be seen Wednesday nights on…
