It takes Bruce Willis awhile to get warmed up. He’s always just a bit below room temperature — a cool brother, dig, dating back to his Moonlighting days as a private dick belting out “Tighten Up” while going undercover as a man of the cloth in Wayfarer shades. He’s been on the personal appearance tour for a few days before…
If I had a little extra dough in my bank account, I’d fly to Switzerland for the new exhibition at the Johann Jacobs Museum in Zurich. Every year, the museum puts on a show celebrating the cultural history of coffee; the newest exhibit is called Coffee: A Tale of Irresistible Temptation. The museum’s Web site promises that it provides “insight…
Excuse me, but is that a flaming banana in your hand or are you just happy to see me?” I can’t remember if it was Patrick or Frank who said that when our stone-faced waiter at Thai Place Northland seta plate with four fresh banana halves in front of us. He didn’t appear to apprecate — or even notice…
Those of you hoping that the Smashing Pumpkins’ comeback record is an unmitigated disaster will be disappointed. It’s not. Those of you afraid that head Pumpkin Billy Corgan made another The Future Embrace (his synthpop, somewhat cheesy solo album) will be happy. He didn’t. With drummer Jimmy Chamberlin the lone member of the classic Pumpkins lineup remaining — a good…
While absorbing the Blueshammer ersatz and pheromone-scented metallurgy of Icky Thump, the White Stripes’ sixth record, it’s hard not to long for the candy-striped sibs who once sat in that little room, working on something good. Remember them? Way back before the supermodel weddings, Nashville mansions and sundry side projects? Just Jack on guitar and Meg on drums. So what…
“Cold Feelings” by Conner, from Hello Graphic Missile: When Conner plays its last show tonight, Lawrence will wave goodbye to one of its brightest bands. The tightknit foursome’s epitaph reveals no shortage of accomplishments: two great albums, a sold-out tour with the Killers, a deal with Seattle’s Sonic Boom Recordings, placements in Saturn and Nissan commercials, and innumerable sweat-soaked shows…
To some, Reel Big Fish was nothing more than a real big flash in the pan. After all, the band’s biggest hit to date was a song titled “Sell Out,” released in 1997 during ska’s last big moment in the sun. With tongue planted firmly in gills, Mr. R.B. Fish is surely aware of the stigma; in fact, the singular…
Even before the heavy guitars kick in, San Antonio, Texas, trio Girl in a Coma shows more dimension than we’ve heard since the days when the word punk meant not only the Ramones but also Talking Heads and Patti Smith. When the guitars start to race, the chords stay colorful and full (think Failure or the Cure going by really…
You can’t help but admire the D.I.Y. success behind Clap Your Hands Say Yeah. Through self-promotion, blogger buzz and a bit of sweat equity, the Brooklyn art-rock outfit managed to sell more than 100,000 copies of its self-titled debut without ever signing a record deal (though it did have to outsource its overseas demand to Wichita Records). The band won’t…
Take our Fourth of July quiz to find out how American you truly are. 1. Given the chance to wear the American flag, you would: A. Turn it into a sexy leather halter top to accentuate your barely legal curves, like Britney Spears on the cover of Rolling Stone’s May 2000 issue. (0 Points) B. Hack a hole in it…
Really? Us? Tour with Def Leppard? That’s what Tommy Shaw of Styx said to himself when he first heard the offer. “Mr. Roboto” aside, it seemed like a mismatch. Worse, he discovered that Foreigner was also on the proposed bill. But then he realized that he’d been humming “Pour Some Sugar On Me” for roughly a week, and he decided…
At a Beautiful Bodies concert, singer Alicia Solombrino is apt to do just about anything: moonwalk, thrust cleavage in your face, pass out onstage or stop midset to slurp some hot tea. Such unpredictable self-indulgence can be either highly entertaining or highly annoying. Love Solombrino or hate her, though, the skinny minx is one of the most intriguing women rocking…
For the Vampirate Prom — a goth-stravaganza at Davey’s Uptown that encouraged dressing in either pirate or vampire garb — the Night Ranger came up with her favorite costume to date. She sported green scrubs and a black cape. And it was thrilling when a guy in a black T-shirt and skirt immediately recognized it. “You. Are. My hero!” he…
“Tired of this Town” by the Only Children, from Keeper of Youth: Beatle Bob isn’t here, and Josh Berwanger is disappointed. “I really wanted Ricky to see him,” Berwanger says. It’s a Wednesday night at the St. Louis club Cicero’s. The small room is packed with perkily groomed high school kids. Berwanger’s band, the Only Children, is headlining a three-band…
Burnt Ends, June 21 Our Sick Sense of Humor In response to your sarcastic and ill-informed blurb regarding the attempt of Ascension Health (not Carondolet Health, as you mistakenly noted) to see ER patients in a more timely fashion: Is this a bad thing? I am curious about the research your newspaper has done in regard to ER waiting times…
Hey, you, cool guy circa 1987. You pulled up next to us in your hot red Camaro one day as we were rolling through Independence. Sorry, but we wouldn’t have given you or your dated ride a second look if it hadn’t been for the snake coiled around your arm. The black-and-orange creature looked pretty happy, soaking up the late…
The Department of Burnt Ends knows that cybercitizens have more fun. First, computer geeks created families and built houses in the Sims. Then they dreamed up alternate personas on Second Life. Now virtual citizens are laying claim to cities and states in a new online world that its creators describe as “Monopoly on steroids.” In December, Weblo.com debuted with the…
It made front-page news last week when a trio of KCK firefighters allegedly used a fire hydrant to fill a private swimming pool. Yeah, there’s a war going on, and this town has a wee problem with murders and sewage and such, but these guys may have stolen water! After the big news broke, Wyandotte County’s Unified Government announced an…
Two guys and a gal walk past the Frank White statue outside Kauffman Stadium. The mood is festive. A Friday-night crowd has just watched the Royals beat the Florida Marlins, 6-2. “I like that ‘Kansas City’ song,” one of the guys says to his friends. He’s referring to the famous song that begins, in most incarnations, with the lyrics I’m…
Two years ago, Charlton Bradford sat at the bus stop at 45th Street and Troost with his friend Clyde. Bradford liked to hang out at the bus stop because prostitutes who frequented the area sometimes gave him a dollar or two. At 47, Bradford had been in trouble — he’d served time for robbery and possession of a controlled substance…
Even seated in her wheelchair, Lizzie Brown has a swagger. She’ll lean forward, cock her head and raise her eyebrows as though some kid just tried to shortchange her at 7-Eleven. The look crosses her face when she remembers how a man was gunned down in her apartment complex last fall. On October 1, four men sat outside a three-story…
Did anyone else see a connection between these two seemingly unrelated stories – from far opposite ends of town – in this morning’s Star? The first was this one, about how the grand opening for downtown’s prefab new Power & Light District has been moved back to next spring. Developers blamed the city for not transferring land quickly enough to…
The marketing team for Overland Park-based Sprint has a whole new attitude! By which I mean that they’re executing a carefully planned new digital consumer outreach strategy that somehow combines the Bratz-style bitchiness of Gawker.com with those toothless Coca-Cola slide shows that run before movies start (“Unscramble ARPIS HILTON! Name the movie in which Michael Keaton says, ‘I’m Batman!’”)…
The Ssion’s* new video, for the song “ASAP,” is a study in kitsch, weirdness, pop homoerotica, sports, disco violence, and the art of busting a move, and we at the Wayward Blog are pleased to present it for your viewing entertainment. Jaimie Warren’s dance solo at 4:13 will set your face on fire. The Ssion on MySpace: www.myspace.com/ssion The Ssion…
