The Cultural Surveillance series presents a slideshow and lecture by Kansas City printmaker and sculptor John Newman, artist-in-residence through September 18th at the Lawrence Lithography Studio in the Crossroads Arts District. This first Cultural Surveillance presentation, at the Plaza Branch of the Kansas City Public Library, will be an overview of Newman’s recent sculpture, and launches this occasional series by…
Until the 1980 French musical production of Victor Hugo’s Les Miserables, nobody had ever read or heard about it in the whole history of literature. And until its 1985 West End performance in English, nobody even cared about it. A strong argument for the musical reinterpretation of other unread classics, like Gravity’s Rainbow by Thomas Pynchon and The Bible, by…
Kansas City’s most iconic fried chicken restaurant started out as a roadhouse at 85th and Troost. Its founder, Helen Stroud, called the place a “shack.” After seven decades of serving iconic pan-fried chicken, the original location closed in 2005 to make room for a city street-widening project. Longtime owner Mike Donegan has reopened in a suburban building that’s been cleverly…
Poet and translator Brandon Brown combined with poet and Professor of mathematics Judith Roitman make a Tango and Cash odd-couple one-two punch tonight at the 6 Gallery, where he will read selections of his poetry, and where she will read selections of, uh, her poetry, too. We were actually hoping for a calculus discussion, but sure, we’ll take poetry. Poetry’s…
As part of the Kansas City Symphony’s Pops series of crowd-pleasing performances, trumpeter Chris Botti joins the symphony tonight for a performance of contemporary jazz and pop. Known for his particular flavor of smooo-oooth jazz, the Grammy-winning Botti is better-regarded among music critics than some of his tenor-sax-playing brethren. Fri., Sept. 12, 8 p.m., 2008 Tags: Chris Botti, grammy awards,…
The Zona Rosa art festival, today through Sunday, brings together over 100 artists in every conceivable medium, including painting, sculpture, airbrushed vans and bedazzled T-shirts for an outdoor art bazaar spectacular. The weekend’s events include live music, dance and theatrical performances. Look for Mr. Stinky Feet, Four Fried Chickens and a Coke and the Elders. Sept. 12-14, 2008 Tags: Night…
Connoisseurs and owners of fine body art gather today at the Uptown Theater for the 2nd Annual Real Deal Tattoo Convention, a showcase of skulls, Tasmanian devils, dancing hula girls and the logos of hair metal bands inked on human flesh and displayed for the curious. Artists from all over the country will demonstrate technique and display examples of their…
Savvy Church of the Resurrection uses its property at 136th Street and Roe by committing its parking lot today to the display of fancy, shiny cars at the 7th Annual Resurrection Car Show & Expo. If you’re the owner of a fancy car, register for judging or display; the first 100 cars receive dash plaques. Proceeds will benefit inner-city youth…
Missouri Town 1855 is a living museum, which means people dress up and pretend they live in a different century — the perfect place for area Star Fleet crews to “beam down” and walk around asking everybody what year it is! This weekend, in addition to making candles alongside Klingons and touring the settlement with the away team from the…
Bikers are rebel outlaws who scoff at your precious rules. But once a year, they set aside their iconoclastic automotive contrarianism and rev their engines for the March of Dimes in its pursuit of a generally better world for the babies. Who doesn’t like babies? I’ll tell you who doesn’t not like babies: It’s the bikers, and you can join…
Some people just don’t respond to human-friendly sycophant pets like kittens and puppies, preferring instead the more inscrutable and emotionless companionship of reptiles. Owners and afficianados of cold-blooded, scale-covered vertebrates can congregate today at the Kansas City Reptile Show. It kicks off today from 10 a.m. to 4 p.m., showcasing turtles, reptiles, small exotics and includes vendor booths featuring cages,…
On any other day of the year, KKHK 1250 (La Super X) and the local Univision affiliate compete for Latino consumers. But to celebrate Mexican Independence Day this weekend, the two media outlets are combining forces to put on a blow-out festival at the Rainbow Center (6220 Kansas Avenue in Kansas City, Kansas). Len Randazzo, general manager for KUKC Channel…
When the Kansas City Chiefs’ front office told fans this year would be a rebuilding season, the message sounded like: Take a year off from watching what looks to be a mostly poor team. Could that be why billboards advertising Chiefs season tickets are blanketing the town? Fortunately, another football avenue exists for local fans, though they’ll have to get…
Billy Hayes was a 23-year-old American sentenced to five hellish years in a Turkish prison for trying to leave the country with two kilos of hash. In 1978, the thriller Midnight Express told Hayes’ story, forever giving Turkey a bad name. That same year, a German chemist named Harald Boehmer was employing his knowledge to help Turkish weavers identify the…
OK, so maybe Pulitzer winner and renowned author Philip Roth won’t be personally stopping by Fairway anytime soon — the notoriously grumpy author doesn’t often stray far from the Eastern seaboard, after all. And yet tonight, in the placid Johnson County burg, you can see or even ask a question of Roth, the author of American Pastoral and Portnoy’s Complaint.For…
Nara was the capital of Japan from 710 to 784. In the Crossroads, Nara is the capital of trendiness. Soak it up from 3 to 6 p.m. with martinis, Kirin drafts and spring rolls, all $4 each. Mondays-Saturdays, 3-6 p.m., 2008 Tags: Asia, East Asia, Japan, Nara Prefecture, Night & Day
(417 East 18th Street, 816-472-5454). Hot beer prices and cool patio weather go together like steak and Cheez Whiz down on 18th Street. Enjoy alone or share a domestic bucket for $12 from 5 p.m. until close. Mondays-Fridays, 3 p.m.-1:30 a.m., 2008 Tags: Kraft Cheez Whiz, Night & Day
(1522 McGee, 816-471-1522). Exercise caution from 4:30 to 6:30 p.m. when Boulevard Wheat draws are $2 and Jäger and Tuaca bombs are only $3.50. Mondays-Thursdays, 2008 Tags: 3778, Night & Day
You know how that annoying friend of yours is always saying everybody’s on Facebook now? Well, he might be right. Because the Department of Burnt Ends recently found this feather-friendly page for Kansas City Star columnist C.W. Gusewelle. Click on the image for Gusewelle’s Facebook page. Click here to write a letter to the editor. Categories: News Tags: Columns, Department…
“Mama Said Knock You Out (Remix),” by Z-Trip: DJ Z-Trip has piled on the credentials of late. Along with entertaining the troops for Operation MySpace and spinning in China during the Olympics, the Arizona native pumped up crowds at the Democratic National Convention. Suddenly, Thursday night’s stop at Abe & Jake’s seems like an intimate performance. Considered to be one…
“I Stand Corrected,” by Vampire Weekend, from Vampire Weekend (XL): For all the talk of Afro-pop influences on Vampire Weekend’s self-titled debut, you’d think these guys were the heirs apparent to Fela Kuti. Truth is, they’re about as African as Paul Simon. Still, there’s something exotic about the syncopated bongo rhythms and quaint, clean guitar lines that inform the group’s…
“Dying is Fine,” by Ra Ra Riot, from The Rhumb Line (Barsuk Records): String-laden Syracuse, New York, quintet Ra Ra Riot endured a rocky start but still managed to distinguish itself as one of the finds of the year with last month’s full-length debut, The Rhumb Line. Two years ago, the group’s original frontman bailed, leaving vocal duties to keyboardist…
Feel like bitching about the music industry? You won’t after hearing the story of the Plastic People of the Universe, a Czech band that formed in 1968 during the Soviet takeover. The avant-garde rockers spent the next decade as exiles persecuted by a communist government that sought to destroy their very existence. Influenced by Frank Zappa and Captain Beefheart, they…
“So Haunted,” by Cut Copy, from In Ghost Colours (Modular Recordings): With songs that shimmer like glitter-coated glass skyscrapers, Cut Copy has reached little less than the apex of recent synth-pop structural studies. Unlike other retro-ish groups that merely ape ’80s hits they’re barely old enough to remember, this Melbourne trio infuses the new-wave formula with fresh, irresistibly catchy melodies….
