A Camp — featuring Nina Persson (The Cardigans), Nathan Larson (Shudder to Think) and Niclas Frisk (Atomic Swing) — released their debut album Colonia last month to critical acclaim. Rolling Stone said, “{Persson} luxuriates in brooding isolation, orchestral drift and heartsick melodies that recall Sixties girl groups and the Carpenters,” while Spin called the album “Beguiling, gorgeous stuff — and…
What’s the biggest compliment you can give to water? That it tastes like water. Or, if you’re one of the increasing number of water gullible fools connoisseurs, then you’d use words like rounded, flinty, crispy and spritzy to describe two parts hydrogen and one part oxygen. All of those adjectives are actually used in a taste test of waters served…
Among Michael Pollan’s food rules is the one that says if your grandma wouldn’t recognize the food, avoid it. Grandma knows fruits such as apples, oranges and pears but not say, fruit-by-the-foot. Also, if Grandma wouldn’t recognize many of the words in the health claim on the package, the health claim is probably bogus. Men’s Health (yes, the same magazine…
Kerry Browne was two years old when she started working at her family’s store. “My relatives asked my parents what took so long,” she jokes. Some of her earliest memories are working at the store, stocking its shelves and riding in the company delivery van. Tomorrow, June 6, she’ll add to those memories when Browne’s Irish Market celebrates its 122-year…
In these tough economic times, we Wayward Bloggers would like to offer you what we call Friday Freebies, a list of things to do this weekend that won’t cost you any more than the gas it takes to get to ’em. Lessman’s Catfish Farm, home of Truckhenge, has Truckhenge Music Festival III. The three-day festival has 18 bands, with everything…
%{}% On this Follow Friday, Time magazine released a list of the top 10 celeb Twitter feeds, and Missouri Sen. Claire “Bear” McCaskill made the list, which includes Britney Spears, Shaquille O’Neal, the Dalai Lama, Snoop Dogg and, of course, Ashton Kutcher and Demi Moore. Why? Missouri Senator Claire McCaskill is one of the most followed politicans on Twitter, largely…
%{}% The dump the Funk crew is threatening to take the recall recount to court if the Kansas City Council doesn’t tell the city clerk to do the recount. The recall committee hired attorney Brett Shirk yesterday “to examine and pursue all available legal remedies to force” the election boards in Platte and Clay counties and Kansas City to do…
%{}% Wal-Mart announced it’s hiring 22,000 new workers this year. Wait, because it’s Wal-Mart does that mean the economy is getting better or worse? Thought this would be the other way around but no, the internet doesn’t cause insomnia but can actually cure it. One of the reasons bluefin tuna is becoming so rare is because companies such as Mitsubishi…
The Can’t Stop Rockin’ Tour, featuring REO Speedwagon, Styx, and .38 Special hit Starlight last night. The tour is what all classic rock tours should be, essentially — it billed itself as “All Hits, All Night.” No new stuff, no solo material to make the guitar player happy — just the hits. The show delivered what your average classic rock…
Do the First Friday thing. Yes, it’s already that time of the month again. And this month, a herd of zombies will be crawling through the Crossroads. Show your pride — or just your support. Kansas City’s Gay Pride Festival kicks off with a downtown street party tonight. Go back to the Crossroads on Saturday for the West 18th Street…
This week’s edition of The Pitch includes a cool story about The Moonflower Vine, a reportedly amazing and now revived book by a long-forgotten Western Missouri author named Jetta Carleton. Anyone who’s looking for more books of regional interest will be interested in the 2009 Kansas Notable Books List. Released a couple of weeks ago by the State Library of…
At first, the plan to coop up Kansas City’s low-level offenders with Jackson County’s convicted felons in the same downtown detention facility struck many community groups as a very, very bad idea. Organizations that provided mental health services, addiction treatment and outreach programming for the inmates at the Municipal Correctional Institution worried that the new jail would hinder their ability…
Shawn Draper, Dj Shaun Duval & live art
Every band worth its salt has t-shirts, stickers, and music. The more punk of them have patches and pins, and your more corporate acts will throw images and logos on everything from air fresheners to Zippos. But it takes a truly visionary act to create such a merchandising opportunity as debuted this Monday by Silver Sprocket Labs. They are now…
Beginning around 9 a.m. this morning, semi-serious but truly hardy 3EB fans Kelli, Alyssa and Ashley (all aged 19) camped outside the Uptown for rights to the front rail at tonight’s show. In this impromptu Flip Camera interview, they discuss their moderate-ish love for the band and share tips on the best way to pass time in line (i.e., making…
Tonight, scrappy, tough and compelling KC rapper James Christos takes over the Riot Room patio, bringing along cohorts Categories: Music Tags: Greg Enemy, hip-hop, Jamel Rockwell, James Christos, PL, Pyrex Kidz
Kansas Congressman Todd Tiahrt broke the hearts of his 327 followers today when he made this shocking announcement: Great. Thanks a lot meanie hackers. A big fail whale to you. Now how are we going to get spectacularly infrequent updates on the times (yawn) and locations (yawn) of Tiahrt and his perfectly quaffed hair’s press conferences? Boourns. Categories: News Tags:…
When was the last time you had a drink at Mike’s Tavern? On a rainy, muggy afternoon, I caught up with Brookside native and Mike’s proprietor, Kurt Wirken. To the sounds of old Irish drinking songs, we talked about the neighborhood and his east side bar. The Pitch: How long has Mike’s been around? Kurt Wirken: It was established…
In the late ’80s and early ’90s, the smack-talkin’, party-startin’ Philadelphia duo DJ Jazzy Jeff and the Fresh Prince provided millions of young American suburbanites their first introduction to the joys of hip-hop. With multi-platinum-selling status and unforgettable songs like “Girls Ain’t Nothing But Trouble,” “Parents Just Don’t Understand” (which won the first-ever rap Grammy), “Nightmare On My Street” (which,…
Here’s the best little bit of news I’ve heard about 18th & Vine since Alvin Ailey moved into the almost-forsaken historic district: soon, we might have free Friday-night shows in the district’s Patio Terrace area. “We’re hoping to do a different types of events — not just jazz, not just music. Alvin Ailey might put on some kind of a…
