Lucinda Williams and Charlie Louvin Saturday, July 14, 2007 The Crossroads at Grinders The electricity before the show wasn’t just among Lucinda Williams fans — the foreboding clouds above them had that special hue of orange, as lightning struck in the distance and a cool wind threatened to knock down opening act Charlie Louvin, who celebrated his 80th birthday exactly…
Three years ago, Supernanny debuted on ABC. Jo Frost, a glorified baby-sitter whose qualifications included a proper British accent, proposed actual child-rearing techniques – i.e., alternatives to upping the Ritalin dose — for parents with behavior-challenged kids. Not shockingly, their kids fell in line. The network has since launched Frost books, a self-help Web site (suppernanny.com) and a toll-free…
And don’t let the door hit you on the way out. The house guests on Big Brother 8 voted 10-1 to kick out Kansas state Sen. Phil Journey’s daughter, Carol Journey. I guess Carol wasn’t so popular. After her eviction, Carol was forced to watch insincere, yearbook-style, “you’re such a great person” testimonials, including one from her enemy Jessica….
The Wayward Son and his friends have already begun their merrymaking. Here’s some helpful links for those considering taking their mama out this weekend. Follow the links to concerts and venue info. Music on Friday*! And on Saturday! And Sunday too! For inspiration: *Federation of Horsepower, the Architects and the Beautiful Bodies are also playing tonight at the Westport Beach…
Hey, how does everyone feel about the latest war news? As in (if you didn’t already know this years ago), we’re losing it. And, in the six years we’ve been fighting the Orwellian “war on terror,” we’ve made al-Qaida stronger. Several Republicans are now coming to Jesus on the insanity of this war – even Kansas Sen. Pat Roberts,…
Old 97’s July 11, 2007 The Crossroads at Grinders Review & Photos by Richard Gintowt Would I ever have listened to Johnny Cash if it weren’t for the Old 97’s? Probably, but they had a lot to do with it. “Timebomb” was the first train-beat song I can remember liking. It was a big deal to discover a band…
Most of the time, the conservative watchdog group called Americans for Prosperity strike us as a bit hysterical. According to their Web site, the group’s harmless-sounding mission is to “advocate for public policies that champion the principles of entrepreneurship and fiscal and regulatory restraint.” But it’s outraged at a $1 million grant for a Woodstock museum and nauseated over…
There’s always a DJ spinning tunes to make the boys and girls swoon at Missie B’s; Tuesday is retro night. Mondays-Saturdays, 10 p.m.-3 a.m., 2005 Tags: 2833, Night & Day
Yoga classes at the Ernie Miller Nature Center; participants should be 16 years of age or older, and bring a towel and a mat. Registration required. Thursdays, 6:30 p.m. Tags: Ernie Miller Nature Center, Night & Day
When rooting for the Kansas City T-Bones, a little creative jeering can add beaucoup excitement to your Northern League experience. Take, for instance, the Joliet Jackhammers, who play the T-Bones tonight. When the Jackhammers take the field, consider a chant of “Where’s the bacon? (Clap! Clap! Clap-clap-clap!)” in honor of Kevin Bacon, who filmed parts of Stir of Echoes in…
Witness one of the most astonishing, amazing, and sometimes shocking forces of nature: the power of electricity. Learn why you shouldn’t play with electricity in this fun, interactive exhibit! Exciting live presentations including hair-raising balloons, shocking handshakes, bouncing bubbles, flying peanuts, and an indoor lightning show. But still, electricity is not a toy. Tags: 436, Night & Day
The ongoing Summer 2007 reading clubs at Johnson County Libraries are running through Sunday, August 5. The library offers reading programs for kids and adults of various ages. See www.jocolibrary.org/summerreading for details. Tags: 1710, Night & Day
North Carolina literary magazine The Main Street Rag has exported an edgy brand of poetry, fiction and writer interviews since 1996. Here in Kansas City, the Rag is co-sponsoring a monthly poetry reading with the Writers Place (3607 Pennsylvania, 816-753-1090). Rag co-founder Shawn Pavey says, “We want to promote poets who are writing strong work but may not be associated…
Cotton candy, a carnival, cows and corn-fed queens. What’s summer without a little county-fair action? A 144th-annual celebration of good, old-fashioned fun gets underway today at the Platte County Fairgrounds (15730 Fairgrounds Road in Platte City). The Platte County Fair’s today-through-Saturday schedule is jam-packed with horse shows, 4-H demonstrations, musical performances and even a little drinkin’ at the Dirty Shame…
Don’t pity the hobo. This endangered American archetype, as rare today as flappers or compassionate conservatives, lives on freedom, on the fat of the land, on pies filched off widows’ windowsills, on all the old-fangled things too often absent in modern America. But hobos aren’t quite extinct. Cultural-studies departments have a mad-on for them, and every year, rangy, bearded freedom…
When a school is sizable enough to boast a satellite campus, the outpost is usually the lowest of the low. Lecturers, assistant adjuncts and other near-faculty types usually staff the off-site classes. This results in name-only institutions that serve education’s version of watery, 3.2 near-beer. Tonight, though, the University of Kansas seems determined to prove that its franchise’s brew is…
“The Pioneer” by Jim Button Band: When you have a name like Jim Button, you don’t futz around with silly band names. The Jim Button Band, a delightfully poppy quartet, may remind local audiences of Kelpie, the former Lawrence-based project of Button accomplice Casey Burge. The two are a match made in singer-songwriter heaven, employing similarly expressive chord voicings and…
Frank is the author of MacArthur: A Biography, the latest installment in the Great Generals Series edited by General Wesley K. Clark. Frank is also the author of the bestselling books Guadalcanal and Downfall, and winner of the Harry S. Truman Book Award. Tags: Guadalcanal Province, Harry S. Truman, Night & Day, Wesley Clark
One of the best new video games on the market requires you to take math tests. During summer break, no less. But before you cue up “Night on Bald Mountain” and run like hell, you really should play Big Brain Academy: Wii Degree. Any “party title” that can hold a group’s attention with counting, memorization, and logic puzzles is on…
You’re Gonna Miss Me (Palm) A hit at the South by Southwest Film Festival two years ago, Keven McAlester’s doc about the Papa of Psychedelia, Roky Erickson, at long last gets its proper release. But time has done McAlester a tremendous favor: Had he shot the film too soon, he would have been forced to depict Erickson solely as he’s…
8-Track: The Sounds of the ’70s Each decade, radio’s definition of “oldies” refreshes itself in accordance with the key demographic’s nostalgic sweet spot. These days, the Boogie Woogie Bugle Boys of the world have been cut for the Elton Johns and — shudder — Billy Joels. Nobody knows more about tonguing said sweet spots than the American Heartland Theatre, where…
Let’s be superficial and pity the poor philosophers,” says Eloyt, the caddish male lead in Noel Coward’s Private Lives. Coward’s audiences have long been coached to do just that. Since its debut, the show — one of Coward’s most popular plays — has been toasted or damned by critics as a thin, idea-less confection. But in the Kansas City Actors…
America Starts Here Kate Ericson and Mel Ziegler, both graduates of the Kansas City Art Institute, collaborated for 10 years on the work exhibited here, until Ericson’s death in 1995 at age 39. Their widely recognized work is conceptual — it’s about ideas rather than experiences. Through mixed-media sculptures and installations, they explore the ironies of American life. “Squeaky Clean”…
Because the Surface Design Association Conference has commandeered so many galleries, does it seem as if it will never end? One last time, and then we’re done. Of the five fiber exhibitions at Belger Arts Center, the best are the two that are tied to the natural world: Dorothy Caldwell’s Marking the Everyday and Kyoung Ae Cho’s Tranquil Moment. Kyoung…
