It’s hard to pinpoint exactly when hardcore bands started broadening their musical palettes, but Seattle quartet These Arms Are Snakes renders it a moot exercise. With ex-Botch (and current Russian Circles) bassist Brian Cook anchoring much of the band’s songwriting, These Arms pushes the evolution of post-hardcore into uncharted territory. Along with like-minded innovators such as Isis and Portugal the…
What are we to make of Rufus Wainwright? The faaabulous piano crooner is seemingly on the fast track to Vegas with his recent Judy Garland tribute album and an impending opera with a French libretto. Fans who fell in love with Wainwright’s first two albums of rococo pop might feel a little put off by his sudden — though wholly…
Some would argue that the Pretenders ceased to exist 25 years ago after the deaths of guitarist James Honeyman Scott and bassist Pete Farndon. Even Chrissie Hynde admits that recordings like “Brass in Pocket” are a far cry from the Pretenders’ recent Americana-tinged efforts. With a revolving backing crew, Hynde has remained an icon in the eyes of her fans,…
In its 15 years, Flogging Molly has grown in size, scope, skill and acclaim, mining an Irish punk sound reminiscent of a less besotted Pogues. The group’s live performances are rousing epiphanies fueled by the resilient blend of punky guitar, trilling violin and ringing mandolin to leaven frontman Dave King’s dark anxious meditations. Whether considering squalid “Life in a Tenement…
Martin Bush has been welding riffs for years in heavy bands like Salt the Earth and Paper Cities. So he can’t help but sound a little apologetic when he talks about his new project, Audiovox. “I never played in a band that I wasn’t playing a half-stack in until this year,” he tells me on a Tuesday night at the…
Producers who rap, and rappers who produce, are a bit like two-sport athletes. Most wish they could do both. Few can. Fewer still are those in the ticket-holding audience who profit from the effort. Bo Jackson’s hip injury and subsquent retirement left the the Oakland Raiders reeling for the better part of the 1990s. Kanye West, the Deion Sanders of…
The original members of Exit 159 sit facing one another at a studio in Kansas City’s Crossroads District, their instruments 6 feet away. They’ve been joined by their old tour manager, Aaron Weber. They’re smiling. “The first rehearsal was a huge relief,” bandleader Kristie Stremel says. “Everyone still knew the songs!” This is the third rehearsal for the band’s two…
A couple of friends of mine recently got into an impassioned argument about the state of restaurants in this dismal economy. “The old model just won’t work anymore,” one of them insisted. “The days of fine dining are all over. No one wants to go to those restaurants anymore. They can barely afford to eat at Chipotle!” I refused to…
It’s worth noting how particularly abhorrent a movie like Fired Up is. Not content to be just another dumb high-school flick, it’s actually teaching young, virginal viewers to treat women like stupid, submissive slut-cattle for the rest of their lives. Bored of banging every last chick in school, horny football studs Shawn (Nicholas D’Agosto) and Nick (Eric Christian Olsen) ditch…
Design exhibitions can be dicey affairs. If a gallery focuses solely on an object or a fashion designer’s products, it can end up looking like a showroom. At the Nelson-Atkins Museum of Art, British designer Michael Cross applies his conceptual sensibilities to the gallery as a whole experience, attempting to redefine the space as a laboratory of sorts. The result,…
Out on Blue Parkway, in a squat, sorry building that looks like a carpet store, there’s a club named Funky Town. Inside hangs a cheesy glow-in-the-dark cityscape. The highlight of any night blown dancing in this silliest of places: When “Funkytown” plays, those cartoon buildings are rigged to dance. Why do I bring this up? As my eyes tried to…
Excerpt from the Real-Vampires Community Alliance Guide to Safer Bloodletting, written by Sylvere: Before you begin, you should prepare a first-aid kit. Include antiseptic mouthwash, antibacterial ointment or spray for aftercare; Band-Aids or another brand of sterile bandages for punctures and small cuts; nonstick, sterile gauze pads and medical tape for larger wounds; and latex gloves. You should also purchase…
The Federal Reserve Bank of Kansas City loves to tell its story. Last summer, the bank’s public affairs department published a commemorative history, Confidence Restored. The bank also commissioned a film. It’s a fancy production. In addition to generic images of Midwestern values (horseback riding, ball games), local actors portray the long-dead governors and businessmen who made Kansas City seem…
Dear Plog: What’s going on with that guy who asked for small campaign contributions and almost got elected to the Kansas Statehouse? And can I try running for office on the cheap? You mean Sean Tevis, who raised a whole lot of money in his run for the Kansas House of Representatives. Many of Tevis’ campaign donations were small. In…
Dear Mexican: What is the deal with Mexican denial when it comes to dealing with child sexual abuse? I know counselors who tell me that it’s a big problem trying to get Mexican families to admit and confront this. In my own experience, I have seen my Mexican relatives be more concerned over the fact that their son was certainly…
Letters: “There’s the Rub,” January 29 Read It and Wipe Thanks to The Pitch for sharing the wonderful comments from KC’s anal-hygiene cop Eric Orth. Here’s a guy who criticizes the wardrobe police while busily documenting what brand of tissue his “people” use to clean their backsides. Do you watch these folks on the throne, Eric, or just do post-game…
Carlos Rosa’s girlfriend told detectives that her boyfriend “wanted to die a violent death as his murdered father did.” Court records say Rosa almost got his death wish in the early morning hours of February 10. The records say Rosa charged Kansas City Police officers with a large silver knife at an apartment building at 524 Maple Blvd. Rosa allegedly…
No, it’s not in the West Bottoms…. Categories: Dining, Food & Drink
Robbing a hydroponics store for grow lights isn’t a great plan for a heist. Robbing it with a stun gun when the shopkeeper is packing a revolver — even worse. The story gets much worse for 17-year-old Nikkolas Mata, who Jackson County prosecutors are charging him second-degree murder, attempted robbery and armed criminal action. Court documents allege that Mata and…
Yes, I’ve definitely become more frugal lately, but I never used to be the kind of person who walked by a listing of daily specials in front of a restaurant and thought, “Hey, I think I’ll order that.” In fact, I was typically the one who refused to order whatever the special du jour might be, if only out of…
File this under “Places I Wish I Had Eaten When I Had The Chance — Before It Was Too Late.” My friend Bob was a huge fan of the old-fashioned drive-in, Hav-A-Snack at 2641 Van Brunt Avenue. He insists they used to sell the most delicious cheeseburgers on the city’s east side. Now I’m not sure if Hav-A-Snack ever had…
You know what Missouri U.S. Rep. Blaine Luetkemeyer likes? The economic stimulus bill he voted against. Talking Points Memo points out the hypocrisy of Luetkemeyer and three of his fellow House Republicans, who have been taking credit for the plan, which every GOP member in their chamber voted against. KTVO says: Luetkemeyer said the project is considered ‘shovel ready’ and…
Check out this cool photo of (I’m guessing) the only dome home in Mission, Kansas. Apartment Therapy’s Sarah Rae snapped this pic of the place (it’s just off Interstate 35 and Lamar) and promises a future tour of the place. I can’t wait. Update: Anonymous is right. The dome is actually a video production company called DHTV Productions. Check them…
By RICHARD GINTOWT Wherever the Rooftop Vigilantes go, hilarity seems to follow. The Lawrence garage-pop outfit hit the road this month for a cross-country tour. We checked in with guitarist and singer Zach Campbell en route to Cleveland, and he relayed the following highlights from what’s turned out to be a zany tour. Missoula, Montana – “There was this coked-out…
