Jason Boland & the Stragglers Outlaw Jim & the Whiskey Benders and Scott Ford
For the New Year all you need to remember is this: Elvis Belts Exciting Songs. That four-word mnemonic device I just created will help you remember the first and most important step of picking out a sparkling wine, how sweet it is. There’s seven classifications on sparkling wine but the four common ones from dry to sweet are: Extra-Brut (Elvis):…
Today from 12 p.m. to 1 p.m. I shall be joining Charles Ferruzza and sommelier Lisa Burgess on Charles’ KKFI radio show Anything Goes. There’s a couple of things I’m planning on talking about but would love your input as well. I should be mentioning a lot of drinks, restaurants and giving shout-outs to fellow bloggers. It is a call-in…
%{}% I’m looking forward more to inauguration than New Years and the new food policy Obama might bring. Speaking of the FDA, it currently has several problems with Diet Coke’s label. So now that Christmas is over will the real deals finally begin. Arnold Schwarzenegger is not cooking in the back of a Planet Hollywood and Emeril Lagasse isn’t in…
Everyone loves doing year-end top-10 lists. Operation Rescue isn’t about to be left out. A few days ago, the Wichita-based anti-abortion group released its 10 best stories of 2008. As expected, Kansas abortion provider George Tiller claimed a majority of the spots — a whopping six selections! But Tiller couldn’t be the top story of the year. That distinction was…
About a week ago, I had an early-morning flight out of KCI. I was stumbling around, bleary-eyed, when I saw this interesting display hanging on a deserted storefront in whatever terminal houses Midwest Airlines. The exhibit, entitled “Physical Kansas City,” featured old photos from KC’s early development days. Presented by UMKC, these placards also introduce us to the architects that helped shape KC….
1. “Silent Night/Little Drummer Boy,” Jimi Hendrix A snare drum riff gets this going — it feels familiar yet ominous, then Hendrix’s guitar slides into an acidic “Little Drummer Boy” in which the words we know go with the tune — come, they told me — might as well be demands to answer draft notices. Soon, Hendrix segues into a…
Each Thursday, your Crap Archivist brings you the finest in forgotten and bewildering crap culled from area basements, thrift stores, estate sales and flea markets. I do this for one reason: Knowledge is power. The Act of Marriage: The Beauty of Sexual Love Author: Left Behind creator Tim LaHaye and his wife Beverly Publisher: Zondervan Publishing Date: 1976 Discovered at:…
It’s easy to love The Big Lebowski — consider all those people shouting lines at the movie during the Screenland’s midnight showings. It’s not the detective novel plot that gets us but the gorgeously rendered bowling fantasies. If we know the Dude, a truly lazy man after our own heart, he’d go to Willie’s for Wii Wednesdays instead of the…
The purpose of yoga isn’t the strength to balance on your forearms or the flexibility to arc your leg upward until your toes touch the crown of your head. The physical acrobatics are just a fancy way to get the mind to calm down and give the body permission to do nothing but breathe. So Sarah Kucera has it pretty…
If you have today off and are sick of looking at your family members, consider this special bonding opportunity: a tour through an exhibit at Union Station (30 West Pershing, 816-460-2020) that simulates blindness. Dialog in the Dark offers a glimpse into the world of the visually impaired with elaborate walk-through scenes that force sighted folks to rely on their…
The Kansas City Guitar Battle is hosted by Levee Town with Dave Hayes, Tommy Andrews, John Coakley, Nick Schnebelen, Kool Aide, Alan Locke, Fast Johnny, Millage Gilbert, Jimmy Nickelsen. Mon., Dec. 28, 3-7 p.m., 2009 Tags: Alan Locke, Dave Hayes, Jimmy Nickelsen, John Coakley, Night & Day
Midtown’s Emerald House (3620 Main, 816-960-3650) is the premier dance destination this evening, with three contests: authentic ballroom dancing, swing and smoldering-hot salsa. Open to all levels of experience, the contests offer a $300 grand prize for each couple. But tonight isn’t strictly about competition. Anyone with a mind for footwork can express his or her passion and dance for…
Things are most ideal when they’re custom-made. That’s the concept behind Susan Wiegand’s shop, Ideal Garment (4518 Troost, 816-206-6837). The designer specializes in personally tailored, simple, elegant yet comfortable creations — skirts, tops, hats, underwear. She also sells handmade scarves and other items that can be worn right out of the store. The thing is, if you’re not familiar with…
It’s a natural progression when stand-ups make the transition to acting, yet no one blinks at the opposite: an actor trying his or her hand at live comedy, which can be a huge undertaking. It takes far more than presence and good timing to deliver a decent set. Thankfully, Friday and Elf star Faizon Love is more than comfortable traversing…
As on the one magical day every 100 years when the Scottish town of Brigadoon reappears, a transformation takes place on the fifth Monday of each five-Monday month. That’s when a group of roots musicians turns its weekly Rural Grit Happy Hour — a gathering of like-minded players armed with acoustic instruments — into the Electric Freakout. “Normally, they play…
‘Twas the night before Christmas, and no turkey was cooked; the family planned to eat out, but the Plaza was booked. So they opened The Pitch, which pointed the way, to nine ethnic restaurants open on Christmas Day (plus a place for Dad). For Chinese food, Princess Garden (8906 Wornall, 816-444-3709) is open from 11:30 a.m. to 8 p.m., and…
The T-Bones have conducted on-field promotions between innings for years, mounting 90-second sponsored events as mini-entertainments for fans. “I love the Cabela’s Dummy Launch,” says Colin Aldrich, the team’s director of promotions. “That one’s a favorite.” He’s talking about a game in which a fan with a big net attempts to catch a hunting dummy launched from an air cannon….
Plenty of award-season movies arrive in theaters today, but you don’t have to leave your paper-strewn home to uphold the holy tradition of ponderous cinema on December 25. The ponderous can also be poetic, if your existential stocking stuffer is Wim Wenders’ Wings of Desire, in which black-garbed, empathic angels walk, invisible, among the living. The German director’s secular but…
(200 West 12th Street, 816-421-6800). The downtown hotel with the nightly light show on its south facade hosts a soiree at the Kansas City Convention Center’s Grand Ballroom. Deluxe packages for two — including a cocktail reception, dinner, entertainment by Sound of the Supremes and Atlantic Express, breakfast, parking and late checkout — start at $279. Wed., Dec. 31, 2008…
(401 Regent, Excelsior Springs, 816-630-5500 or 800-843-3567). Over the past 120 years, this hotel and retreat has played host to Harry S. Truman, Al Capone and many others. Tonight’s New Year’s Eve package includes a guest room, buffet dinner, a midnight champagne toast, entertainment by the Selle Brothers, a commemorative photo, and brunch the next day. After the 1930s theme…
(2345 McGee, 816-398-4770). Complete with an indoor laser show, pyrotechnic display, balloon drop, Drew6 and others, the New Year’s Eve party at the Hyatt features three floors of entertainment and special menus at the Peppercorn Duck Club and Skies. Packages with guest rooms begin at $299. Call for reservations. Wed., Dec. 31, 2008 Tags: Hyatt Corporation, Night & Day
Steve Martin and Andrew Dice Clay did it. Dane Cook, Chris Rock and the Blue Collar Comedy team still do it. Now ventriloquist Jeff Dunham — even in this economic downturn — has joined their ranks, taking his brand of mayhem to arenas around the country. Think of it: a 19,500-seat venue filled with talking dummies — and Dunham’s puppets,…
