Toppling 10 pins is loads of fun for those with the knack, but the game of bowling can leave many in the gutter. For those more gifted with a video-game controller than a 15-pound resin ball, the Kansas City branch of the Midwestern Unconventional Sports Association has a virtual alternative.Let the good times and virtual bowling balls roll tonight at…
Earlier this year, amateur bird-watchers Eric Ward and Scott Curtis decided to try their luck at catching a glimpse of the rare ivory-billed woodpecker in the Big Woods of Arkansas. That’s the last place North America’s largest woodpecker was sighted, in 2004. “It’s hardwood, bottomland forest swamp, so it’s very bleak in wintertime, with no leaves on the trees,” Curtis…
Lacking representation at South by Southwest in the recent past, Kansas City rolls into Austin, Texas, this year with a full-on circus of its best acts. The region’s hip-hop, rock and roots scenes are all sending delegates to this festival, which continues to grow in international significance. The acts highlighted below are sure to put on good shows, as are…
Paul Mussan and Stelo X rolled into Atlanta’s Freight Room for the afterparty of BET’s First-Annual Hip-Hop Awards. There, someone told the Kansas City rapper and his manager that they’d need to buy $5 tickets to use for drinks at the bar. Mussan wasn’t having it. It was November 2006, and damn near every star in hip-hop’s firmament was descending…
With a city government in tax-increment-financing hock to the tune of tens of millions of dollars and a new stadium that has no tenant, the recent expansion of the Unicorn Theatre stands as a financially and artistically sensible Kansas City development project since someone got the bright idea to open that second Town Topic. This is an expansion that…
River Market Brewing Company (500 Walnut, 816-471-6300). Scarf spaghetti till you bust. The Monday all-you-can-eat feast is just $5.99 and includes garlic bread and a salad. Mondays, 5 p.m., 2007 Tags: Night & Day, River Market Brewing Company
Many of the galleries are closely located, so you’re certain to find something you’ll appreciate. Or feel free to call a specific gallery to find out their particular hours. First Friday exhibits do not necessarily coincide with a gallery’s opening of a new exhibit. Check the ArtsLinks.org calendar for specific openings. Crossroads Arts District is part of the Crossroads Community….
Bodies in motion: Acclaimed for its startling mix of humor and invention, Pilobolus defies gravity as the dancers cling and climb on one another to produce amazing effects. Pilobolus member Jun Kuribayashi started dancing at the University of Kansas at the tender age of 22. He is now thrilled to be a part of Pilobolus and cannot wait to share…
Hear stories about a race car driver, a fireman, a zoo trainer, an astronaut and more. Sat., March 1, 12, 1 & 2 p.m.; Sat., March 8, 12, 1 & 2 p.m.; Fri., March 14, 12, 1 & 2 p.m.; Sat., March 22, 12, 1 & 2 p.m.; Fri., March 28, 12, 1 & 2 p.m., 2008 Tags: 2404, Night…
How Religion is changing under the influence of New Thought with Harv Morrow. This class is a continuation of previous classes which makes it somewhat advanced. However, at the same time it is a new subject and a good place to start. Spiral Dynamics Integral will be adequately reviewed for new people. Please come and learn about Spiral Spirituality in…
An elderly man, homeless after the demolition of his New York apartment building goes on an odyssey of discovery as he travels across country with his cat. Art Carney and Chief Dan George star in this film, directed by Paul Mazursky. 115 minutes. Sun., March 9, 2 p.m., 2008 Tags: Art Carney, Dan George, New York, Night & Day, Paul…
The Goonies Excited rumors swirled last month: Had the former Late Night Theatre gang really squatted down at Student Union for a one-night-only run-through of Fast Times at Ridgemont High? Had the cast of old reliables really been rounded out, figuratively, with heavy hitters such as Rusty Sneary and, literally, by that local burlesque performer who filled in as “Phoebe…
From where the Control Freeks are sitting, the DJ scene in Kansas City ain’t looking too bad. Freek Xan Lucero says that all the club nights he attends or plays seem to be successful. As a DJ duo, the Control Freeks have enjoyed a growing reputation since Lucero and his partner, Atom Bryce, won The Pitch’s Ultra Music Contest back…
Tomas Young breezes through the halls of the Rehabilitation Institute wearing a leather jacket and commanding his wheelchair like a competitive cyclist. A bottle of fluorescent green Gatorade goes flying as he enters an exercise room populated by stroke patients wearing sweat pants, but Young dips and recovers it, barely breaking momentum. The 28-year-old Iraq-war veteran is here, a few…
Fans of Andrew Bird and Bonnie Prince Billy will cozy right up to Bowerbirds and Phosphorescent, two neo-folk acts touring together en route to South by Southwest. North Carolina’s Bowerbirds sing waltzy numbers crafted with nylon-string guitar, accordion, violin, kitchen-sink percussion and a marching bass drum. Phosphorescent highlights the slow, quiet songcraft of Brooklynite Matthew Houck, who looks like Moses…
When Terry Burns, the former general manager of the old Prospect of Westport restaurant, decided to open his own bistro in 1986, he walked across the street. Burns leased a space in the building at 4124 Pennsylvania that was built in 1903 as a barn for the horses that pulled the city’s trolley cars. By the 1980s, it had been…
Dear Mexican: Why do Mexicans have padrinos for everything? I never understood why — can you help me out? The Godfather Fan Dear Wab: Many gabachos have long wondered about the galaxy of godparents that surround Mexicans from birth to death, but it’s no misterio. Ostensibly, godparents (padrino is a godfather, madrina is a godmother and padrinos are godparents) are…
Terry Riley thinks I’m out to get him. A month ago, when I stopped the Kansas City councilman at City Hall and asked for an interview, he suggested that The Pitch was on a witch hunt. A few weeks later, he finally called: “What is it, man? Do you hate me, Dave?” I don’t think it’s hateful to want…
Feature, “The Teacher” February 21 Vision Quest Thank you for Carolyn Szczepanski’s insightful coverage of Kansas City, Missouri, School District candidate Airick Leonard West. I think the article highlighted West as a dedicated individual who is willing to make tremendous sacrifices for the children and people of Kansas City. I loved the personal take on his life choices, what he…
“Everyone Nose” by N.E.R.D., from N.3.R.D. (Virgin): Name a pop music A-lister, and he or she has either worked with Pharrell Williams or probably wants to. Gwen Stefani, Jay-Z, Britney Spears, Kanye West, Snoop Dogg and Madonna all fall into the first category. Need more proof? But as he has transformed himself into one of the three or four…
“Please Remain Calm” by Cloud Cult, from The Meaning of 8 (Earthology Records): Cloud Cult is almost as well known for its dedication to the environment as for its music, a smorgasbord of indie pop, electronic and experimental elements. Founder Craig Minowa, an environmental scientist, lives on an organic hobby farm in northern Minnesota. The band’s studio is made…
At some point, all First World punks struggle with their national self-hatred, imperialist guilt and the burden of privilege. Few fully appreciate the humor of that weird love-hate relationship — seriously, we liked Jello Biafra better before — but somehow Toronto’s Brutal Knights get it right. The band’s latest LP, Feast of Shame, says it all: They love fast food….
Holy Fuck is a group of Scandinavian death-porn metalheads whose sole mission is to achieve a decibel level that will make audience members involuntarily shit their pants. Actually, that’s not true at all. Holy Fuck consists of sweet and shaggy Canadian indie rockers making electronic music. The live show is a sweaty, raucous spectacle: The boys duct-tape together old-school analog…
For entertainment value, few bands rival the gypsy punks of Gogol Bordello. Their capering, careening, high-energy mix of Eastern European cabaret-folk and punk attitude has the incendiary pulse of the Pogues and Flogging Molly tussling like Sharks and Jets with butane torches. The eight-piece act features accordion, violin and a pair of costume-changing dancers worthy of a Vegas stage show….
