The Leavenworth Animal Control Shelter, at 1720 South Second Street, could use the canine equivalents of a Johnny Cash animal shelter tour and multiple stays of execution from the governor, because they’re reporting overcrowded prison conditions this week. Sixteen dogs currently need adoption (including the pup pictured above). You know what Johnny Cash would say – he’d say that he’s…
We saw a while back that Lawrence’s fabled Coalesce is reforming for a short tour behind a 7-inch release on locally based label Second Nature. Here’s a useful entry on a punk site that includes tour dates and vinyl history. Download the classic What Happens On the Road Always Comes Home. Categories: Music
This just in! Rollie Freakin’ Fingers tells us that Friday night (following the Pitch Music Awards) the Kansas City Fake Mustache Club will hold Mustache Mania II at the Newsroom. Click here for a taste of Mustache Mania I debauchery. — Justin Kendall Categories: News
Their start may have been a bit chaotic, but a handful of Kansas City and California art-adventurers have sailed across the state of Missouri on a homemade raft crafted from recycled materials. Jamie Burkart, a slender filmmaker with a penchant for pastel-colored clothing and off-the-wall art installations, came up with the idea of an experiential boat expedition this past…
Insomniac C-SPAN viewers might have seen Missouri’s own Claire McCaskill presiding over the Senate last month, as Demo-crats pulled an all-nighter in an effort to force a vote on withdrawal from Iraq. In a scene described in The Washington Post, McCaskill appeared to sneak a nap at 1 a.m., as her distinguished colleague from Iowa, Tom Harkin, prattled on. Closer…
See over 200 cars, from the original 1953 model to modern Corvettes. Proceeds benefit Camp Quality for kids with cancer. Tags: Chevrolet Corvette, Night & Day
On April 18, 1961, in a story that made national headlines, a Wisconsin plumber named Joe Simonton stepped outside his house to investigate a strange noise in his yard. He told police later that he found a reflective, silver-colored disc measuring 12 feet high and 30 feet wide hovering above the ground. A hatch on the craft’s exterior opened to…
The Independent Filmmakers Coalition’s Every Picture Tells a Story contest hasn’t involved a musical component since its establishment in 2003. Instead, the annual contest links local directors with sculptors, painters, photographers and other visual artists. This year, the focus — and the event’s name — has changed. Every Song Tells a Story is essentially the same idea of connecting about…
Bartending is a complicated balance of flavor, appearance and showmanship. Clearly, the only way to measure these mixological standards is with a bartending competition such as the one tonight at the Uptown Theater (3700 Broadway, 816-753-8665). When bartenders compete, everyone wins. Twelve local bartenders will be rated on presentation, quality and creativity by sommelier Doug Frost and “King of Cocktails”…
Frank Townsend is one of the hottest comics on the national scene. Leaving audiences laughing and wanting more, you’ll understand why he’s in demand. A comedian since 1996, Frank has opened for the likes of Damon Wayans (My Wife and Kids), Tommy Davidson (In Living Color), Adelle Givens (Def Comedy Jam), Dave Coulier (Full House), Mike Epps (Honeymooners, Next Friday),…
Today, the caffeine supplier at 5400 Troost turns into a crafts and fashion flea market. Local vendors will set up shop in Coffee Break’s parking lot to sell handmade, imported and vintage clothing, accessories and more. The monthly event is called MarketPlace; it happens every second Saturday from April through October. “We wanted to showcase local vendors and provide something…
Besides the swizzle stick, the muddler is probably the coolest bar instrument ever. Just the word muddler is awesome. And at Mojito Mondays at One80 (435 Westport Road), the pestle-style tool is put to good use. That’s because from 5 p.m. until close, pitchers of the lovely summer drink cost $10 to $15. The muddler gently crushes the fresh mint,…
It’s one-man-act night at the Record Bar (1020 Westport Road, 816-753-5207). On the bill are percussive Lawrence sensation This Is My Condition and Nebraska freak rocker Darren Keen. The latter is better known as the Show Is the Rainbow. No mere guitar-slinging troubadour, Keen incorporates homemade videos and pre-recorded beats into his hyperactive sets. He hurtles around a venue, screaming,…
“Goofy to too damn serious” is how spoken-word artist 331 describes the range of the lip servers who frequent the weekly Dramatic Art in Rhythm open mics at The Hangout (3611 Broadway, 816-931-9200). The gathering has spawned a wide-ranging community of poets, lyricists, songwriters and visual artists. “We’re not cliquish or anything. We’re just family,” explains 331, a local poet…
Hip-hop karaoke is nothing new in London or New York, but until now, no one has launched this particular brand of delicious embarrassment in Kansas City. Beatbroker, the head DJ in charge of the Sunday-night Hip-Hop and Hot Wings events at the downtown Peanut (418 West Ninth Street, 816-221-7470), is launching a weekly hip-hop karaoke segment from 6 to 8…
How in the hell could Eric Idle improve the 1975 classic Monty Python and the Holy Grail? Why, by adding leggy showgirls and songs called “He’s Not Dead Yet” and “The Song That Goes Like This,” along with “Always Look on the Bright Side of Life,” Idle’s optimistic ditty from the messianic 1979 Python pic, The Life of Brian. The…
Beneath (Paramount) Brigitte Bardot 5-Film Collection (Lionsgate) Luis Bunuel: 2-Disc Collector’s Edition (Lionsgate) Disturbia (DreamWorks) The Dog Problem (THINKfilm) The Dresden Files: The Complete First Season (Lionsgate) 8 Simple Rules: The Complete First Season (Buena Vista) The Fly: Collector Set (Fox) Full House: The Complete Seventh Season (Warner Bros.) The Hills: The Complete Second Season (Paramount) I Think I Love…
Stupid video-game logic, rule no. 154: When thousands of fugly, bloodthirsty aliens take over a spaceship, it’s best to send in a lone woman with a flamethrower. That’s the entire plot of Alien Syndrome, a pseudo sequel to Sega’s 1987 “run ‘n’ gun” arcade game of the same name. And despite landing with little fanfare during the Wii’s summer-release slump,…
Bubba Ho-tep Limited Edition (MGM) Intentional camp is difficult to do well. It’s a contradiction that usually comes off cutesy and forced. The old Batman series pulled it off, and it’s been B-movie god Bruce Campbell’s livelihood. But in a long career of overacting and mugging, Campbell’s peak may be Bubba Ho-tep, the plot of which informs us of the…
Dinner With Friends All summer long, the Kansas City Actors Theatre dedicates its ample intelligence to the contemplation of modern marriage, a subject about which everyone has an opinion but few truly understand. Their second of three shows, Donald Margulies’ comic yet painful Dinner With Friends, examines two couples, one break-up and all the fallout. Fresh off a stellar Oklahoma!,…
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”…
Galleries and new museums aren’t the only places to enjoy visual pleasures. If you haven’t been to Linda Hall Library of Science, Engineering & Technology, you are missing out on one of this city’s most beautiful places. This world-renowned science, engineering and technology library sits on the University of Missouri-Kansas City campus (though it’s not part of the university) in…
In the fall of 2006, David Lynch published a book called Catching the Big Fish: Meditation, Consciousness, and Creativity. “Ideas are like fish,” he begins, and the book is his guide to their natural habitat (the unconscious); the best way to hook them (transcendental meditation); and the most effective kinds of bait (desire, intuition). Along the way, Lynch shares the…
Ingmar Bergman directed more than 50 features, but he was a significant figure in 20th-century culture in part because he was so obviously significant. Last week’s inch-above-the-fold front-page New York Times obituary cites Woody Allen’s pledge of allegiance: The Swedish director was nothing less than “the greatest film artist … since the invention of the motion picture camera.” More than…
