We recently asked members of Kansas City’s diverse music mafia what singles they reach for in the summer, and one group in particular gave an overwhelming response: the fellas. Who knew that the summer jam was so close to the brooding male heart? So, ladies, if you’re making your man a mix tape this season, consider including one or two…
We flatter ourselves that our readers are smarter than the harried business-class types scanning the paperback racks at the airport. We also flatter ourselves that our anterior deltoids are breathtaking and poolworthy. But you know what? All the deltoid-enhancing incline presses in the world won’t make us look as pretty at the pool as a worn but well-loved copy of…
Peanuts and Cracker Jack at the ol’ ballgame. Leggy models in hot pants strutting an urban catwalk. Juicy hothouse tomatoes you can eat like a peach. Dragons and dinosaurs and butterflies! This is the stuff summer dreams are made of. Hot Town, Summer in the City Nelson-Atkins Museum of Art Bloch Building Opening June 9-10 Those perplexing modern structures next…
Now that the ice and snow are but a faded memory, we’re game for some sun on our face and some splendor in the grass. Some cultural splendor, that is. Lay down Grandma’s patchwork quilt, pop a squat and enjoy a smorgasbord of plays, concerts and festivals. Are the Stars Out Tonight? Heart of America Shakespeare Festival This year marks…
Being a landlocked Midwesterner in a humid city like ours can be more of a bitch than bitchin’. You could keep your undies in the freezer to beat the heat, as Marilyn Monroe did in The Seven Year Itch. Better yet, check out this list of cool places guaranteed to get you wet. Do the Swim Bluejacket Pool 10101 Bond,…
At a coy 67 minutes, documentarian Benjamin Meade’s American Stag barely makes it to third base — and Adam Carolla keeps interrupting. The film compiles grainy, low-rent footage of rushed-looking couples in various states of undress and arousal, with minimal humping. To further retard the viewer’s libido, there’s historical analysis from academics and commentary from B-list celebrities, including radio host…
Ocean’s Thirteen Steven Soderbergh and George Clooney’s latest remake of Frank Sinatra’s rat-pack Vegas caper, the essence of curdled ring-a-ding-ding, is the surest bet in showbiz. It’s a spectacle predicated on a smug gaggle of megastars in boss threads having fun by pretending to steal the house’s money while actually taking yours. The party opens with Rusty Ryan (Brad…
Chefs move around like nomads. As soon as I get used to one talented young chef working at a chic downtown location, the phone rings with news that he’s moved out to the suburbs. Or farther, as in the case of Jeff Scott, the 28-year-old former executive chef at the now-defunct Zin. Scott has turned up in Smithville, Missouri, of…
The other day, I stopped by an estate sale in Hyde Park so I could peek into one of those lumbering mansions built during the Roosevelt era — Theodore, not FDR — and see what relics might be for sale. The house was a wreck, and the relics weren’t much better, but while looking through a stack of books, I…
The venue might still feel unfinished, but at least the lineup is strong. Saturday, the Embassy hosts three of the best party starters since the invention of the kegorator: local DJ duos Nomathmatics and Tactic, with special guest Tittsworth. This D.C. resident has been featured in Urb and Fader magazines for his mix tapes and live act. He has a…
Though he bears an uncanny resemblance to fictional Tanqueray gin spokesman Tony Sinclair, Bloc Party frontman Kele Okereke seems about as far from his socialite doppelgänger as you can get. Sure, both men are British, which brings along its own aristocratic expectations, but Okereke and his bandmates are more at home in the UK postpunk scene than in high society….
If Lawrence expats Mates of State are the Splenda of boyfriend-and-girlfriend indie groups, Matt and Kim are the Sugar in the Raw. The Brooklyn twosome met in 2004 and, like many other young couples in New York City, let their romance blossom into a synth-happy party band. The Internet has been buzzing about their spazzed-out live shows, where cute-as-a-cupcake Kim…
It’s no surprise that tortured soul Lucinda Williams has been known to hang on Jesse Malin. In a croaking voice, the former frontman of NYC glam-punk outfit D Generation delivers gut-wrenching, alt-country heartache without ever coming off weak. Like many modern American troubadours, Malin owes a lot to Bruce Springsteen. But the lad has more blue-collar grit than most Bruce…
This 12th go-round for KMXV 93.3’s annual random assortment of pop acts is Kansas City’s own little Lollapalooza of Top 40. Veterans of Red, White & Booms past can offer plenty of reasons that the festivities are endlessly entertaining, a few of which even have something to do with who’s playing. And in a celebration of America, what could be…
RockFest is back, and it’s sold out. The question now is whether to be lured by the ticket-waving ploys of festival sponsor KQRC 98.9 (the Rock). This year’s show includes 15 bands playing for the duration of a half-turn by planet Earth (12 hours). Should you score your way in, your efforts will be rewarded. The main stage starts with…
Smile — you’re on Wakarusa camera! Just kidding! The Douglas County Sheriff’s office tells us that this year, no hidden cameras will be used to monitor attendees at this year’s Wakarusa Music and Camping Festival. So relax. But don’t overdo it because, between June 7 and June 10, more than 15,000 music fans and 100 bands will descend on the…
“Long Gone” by Fourth of July, from Fourth of July on the Plains (Range Life): There’s a feeling at shows by the band Fourth of July. It doesn’t seem far from home, but it’s a bit unfamiliar for a rock gig. It’s like all the highlights of the pool parties, cookouts and late drunken nights from that one really great…
Located just a couple of miles from the roulette tables, Helen’s Just Another Dive in North Kansas City has become a hangout for casino workers. So when we ventured into JAD in search of a mid-evening Thursday drink, we were hoping for a West Side Story-type rumble to break out between staffers from competing casinos. Sadly, it never came…
“Jesus” by the Ants, from Ideabreaker (Sickroom Records): On the Ants’ new album, Ideabreaker, singer and lyricist Chad Bryan envisions himself in the shoes of Robert F. Kennedy, Dodge City meatpackers and Spanish intellectuals debating Don Quixote. In real life, however, it’s anyone’s guess what will strike Bryan’s muse. “Ted Kaczynski, the Unabomber, talked a lot about goal setting,” Bryan…
Dear Mexican: Has the 1965 Immigration Act proved to be a good thing or a bad thing for America, and has the recent unprecedented flood of immigrants (both legal and illegal) been good or bad overall for America? Please fully explain your answer and include economical, cultural and quality-of-life issues in 25 words or less. (Just kidding — take all…
Hey, you, stripper-clothes guy. There I was, sipping a latté with my boss at a downtown coffee shop on a recent Thursday morning. My boss had her back to the window, but I had a perfect view of what appeared to be clock-in time at the strip club across the street. The parade began with that busty girl in the…
Geo Tracker I just wanted to take a break studying from my exams to let you know that you guys are sincerely my favorite paper. You help me engage the outside world when I discuss the paper’s topics with my classroom and teachers. You constantly use the paper to make people think not just about themselves but about what’s actually…
Here’s something you don’t hear about often: a civil servant who works long after retirement age. But last week, the Kansas City, Missouri, Police Department announced the retirement of Rocky, a 10-1/2-year-old police dog that worked a year and a half longer than the standard K-9 retirement age. After Rocky’s departure, the KCPD was quick to list his sniffed-out accomplishments,…
Seems Kansas Citians aren’t as illiterate as the folks at Prospero’s Books thought. On Tuesday morning, two days after Tom Wayne and Will Leathem lit a few dozen books on fire in front of their store at the corner of 39th Street and Bell, the place buzzed with barely controlled chaos. The used bookstore’s co-owners had already given interviews to…
