When the Power and Light District had its grand opening earlier this month, it also rolled out the metro’s first widespread ban of baggy clothes, jerseys and work boots — basically, anything that reeks of thugwear. In a KSHB Channel 41 report on the dress code, reporter Larry Seward interviewed Lucky Strike Lanes owner Barry Poynter and community activist Alonzo…
“Glass Bullet” by the Blinding Light, from the Glass Bullet EP (Deathwish): Terry Taylor, whose chin-length black hair makes him look a little like Johnny Depp, struggled to get down a walkway at the Clutch show on February 28 at the Beaumont Club. Taylor is a promoter, but that night he seemed more like a rock star. A throng of…
India has fascinated Westerners at least since Rudyard Kipling’s birth there in 1865. British Imperialism; Gandhi; the 1947 partition that created India and Pakistan; and myriad other political, religious and cultural realities make it a country of fascinating depth to outsiders. At the Nerman Museum of Contemporary Art, the three artists of Distant Nearness mine the subcontinent’s complicated and…
Last week, I groggily poured myself a cup of coffee at 7 in the morning and flipped on the tube to watch the news, but Turner Classic Movies came on instead. It was way too early for me to appreciate the languid beauty of 1930s movie star Loretta Young, but the title of the film was somewhat provocative —…
Biographical Landscape: The Photography of Stephen Shore, 1969-1979 American photographer Stephen Shore’s exhibition includes more than 150 images of ’70s-era parking lots, motel rooms, restaurants, highways and other familiar road-trip images from across the country. Anyone who has been on a road trip knows these images by heart. The exterior photographs of filling stations, desolate dirt roads, billboards and other…
Miss Nelson Has a Field Day It’s phys-ed terror in this Theatre For Young America musical — and not in the typical body-issues and tight-shorts ways. An adaptation of Harry Allard and James Marshall’s raucous book about what happens when the worst school in Texas meets the world’s meanest substitute teacher, this Miss Nelson promises comic gloom and energetic numbers…
Ben Mezrich’s 2002 bestseller, Bringing Down the House: The Inside Story of Six M.I.T. Students Who Took Vegas for Millions, was a smart narrative about … well, you read the subtitle, right? Mezrich recounts a fantastic tale spun by M.I.T. grad Kevin Lewis, who is described in the book as “a math-science whiz kid.” Lewis was a new member in…
“Why Do Men Fight?” by Carbon/Silicon, from The Last Post (Caroline): Having once played together in a short-lived punk band called London SS, Mick Jones and Tony James have been friends for 30 years. After successful careers with the Clash (Jones) and Generation X and Sigue Sigue Sputnik (James), the pair reconvened in 2002 to form a new project called…
There isn’t much demand for tap dancers these days, so kudos to Omaha’s Tilly and the Wall for employing Jaime Pressnall in place of a traditional percussionist. (She also plays guitar, but unfortunately, not while tapping.) The coed five-piece is the crown jewel of Bright Eyes songwriter Conor Oberst’s independent label, Team-Love, and will be releasing its yet-to-be-titled third LP…
It’s a Monday night, and Rachael Price is doing what any young, soon-to-be jazz superstar might be doing: catching the bus. Though taking interview calls while hitching a ride on mass transit doesn’t sound like a prelude to a glamorous life of musical fame, it seems to suit the Tennessee-born, sultry-voiced, 22-year-old soprano. Thanks to a handful of high-profile performances…
“Poor Boy” by School of Language, from Sea from Shore (Thrill Jockey): There’s a certain tragic quality to being a Britpop fan and living in the middle of America. Once you’ve discovered that amazing new band from Manchester or Sheffield or Stoke-on-Trent (the more British-sounding, the better) and bought its album as an import and absorbed every vocal harmony, piano…
This is a column about smoking bans. But I’m not going to try to change any minds. As topics go, smoking is like abortion. Folks know where they stand. Still, it’s an irresistible subject. The strict smoking ban on the April 8 ballot in Kansas City, Missouri, has brought out big money and warnings about the imperilment of single mothers….
Considering that the war in Iraq has proven to be Washington’s shot-by-shot remake of Vietnam, it’s only natural that Hollywood has followed suit, giving us a series of Iraq-themed films that can be set neatly alongside their Vietnam-era counterparts. Just as the initial wave of angry anti-Vietnam documentaries (In the Year of the Pig, Hearts and Minds) gave way to…
Anti-Flag attacks many societal ills in the same curt fashion, placing the word fuck in front of the offending entity or sucks after it. This formula generates rallying cries, but it doesn’t provide much perspective. For a more nuanced take on these topics, fans should arrive early for opening act Street Dogs. Informed by singer and Army veteran Mike McColgan’s…
During Saliva’s 2007 hit, “Ladies and Gentlemen,” Josey Scott raves through megaphone-style distortion about A feast for your eyes to see/An explosion of catastrophe. He then indulges in grunge-pop crooning before revisiting the group’s 2001 smash, “Boom Click Boom,” with a series of onomatopoeic explosions. “Ladies and Gentlemen” quickly became the preferred audio-adrenaline injection for athletes: Several teams use the…
“Welcome, Ghosts” by Explosions In the Sky, from All of a Sudden, I Miss Everyone (Temporary Residence): Is there any band more quintessentially Texan than Explosions in the Sky? OK, about a thousand. But the Lone Star State has been good to the quartet, setting the stage for the dynamic, instrumental rock group’s contributions to the soundtracks for the Friday…
No matter how big Spoon gets — Saturday Night Live and two bona fide hit singles notwithstanding — the celebrated avant-rock band never seems to jeopardize its street cred. That’s a credit to founding members Britt Daniel and Jim Eno, who utilize a home studio to bake each critically exalted album with new ingredients. Last year’s Ga Ga Ga Ga…
Developers seem to believe that their first-person games are required to include online modes. Blame it on the few narrow-minded gamers (and critics) who constantly hammer away with that boneheaded message. At best, it’s a strange logic of inheritance: Since the earliest first-person shooters were playable online, every first-person game to come — shooter or not — is somehow…
Dear Mexican: I’m a gay man in his mid-30s who has always loved Mexican men. And this question is not only from my experience but also from that of friends: Why is it that Mexican men are so flaky? They seem the top-offending ethnicity in this. By flaky, I mean not returning calls, giving out their number but never answering…
“Time to Get Fresh” by S.H.A.D.O.W., from Death of a Salesman (self-released): Kansas City rapper S.H.A.D.O.W. recently spent a few months in St. Louis, getting out of his comfort zone and recording his latest, Death of a Salesman. His time out of town seems to have paid off. On “To Live for So Much More,” Mozaart Jones (Maryland) lays an…
“Autumn Drive” by Tripp Algiers, from Old City Crows (BeatOven): Tripp Algiers drummer Drew Burasco operates the locals-only label (BeatOven) that his own band calls home. Burasco has compared BeatOven to a fledgling SubPop, and Tripp Algiers also follows an early-to-mid-’90s business model, conjuring flashbacks to Pavement’s nonchalant harmonies and Stone Temple Pilots’ “Big Empty” guitars. The quartet dabbles with…
50 percent off tapas, sangria, wines by the glass, well drinks, draft beer and domestic bottles. Mondays-Fridays, 2-6 p.m.; Saturdays, 2-4 p.m., 2007 Tags: 869, Night & Day
Sweet! M.I.A. has just announced a U.S. tour that brings her to Lawrence on May 14, at Liberty Hall. Let’s have a lookalike contest, whaddaya say!? We never do that anymore! OK, let’s not. M.I.A. – “Bird Flu” Categories: Music Tags: M.I.A.
With the Wildcats out of the basketball tourney, it’s now time to turn our attention to K-State football, and that means: The Goo-Goo Dolls. This just in from the PR desk. March 26, 2008 FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE LUCKY LOCAL BAND WILL OPEN FOR THE GOO GOO DOLLS AT GRIDIRON BASH! One local band will have the chance of a lifetime…the…
