Archives: July 2010

Praise Obama! 39th and Broadway gets a left-turn signal

O endless left-turn off West 39th Street onto Broadway, thou used to be a plague worse than locusts and boils. But now! Now, thou hast a new left-turn arrow! Whilst the cars embarking onto West 39th Street from Broadway have dedicated turn lanes and arrows, the eastern- and western-bound traffic lacked such fortune. But like manna from heaven, President Barack…

Missouri Dems’ new website, Flavor of the Month, targets Roy Blunt’s pay-to-Praline ways

For politicians, the age of the bullet-pointed press release is long gone, replaced by schticky websites and “sharable content.” So it’s no surprise that the Missouri Democrats, desperate to snag outgoing Sen. Kit Bond’s seat from Republicans, have launched a site devoted entirely to senate candidate Roy Blunt’s many varieties of shady. “He spent 14 years in Washington,” party spokesman…

The M&M Bakery: Bronia’s Legacy

Bronia Roslawowski died last Wednesday. She was 88 years old and one of this city’s great survivors. Not only of the restaurant industry in Kansas City — Bronia and her husband, Mendel, who predeceased her, operated the M&M Bakery & Delicatessen at 1721 East 31st Street for many years — but of the Holocaust. The Polish-born Bronia Kibel was imprisoned…

Looking for love, ladies? The Bachelor is casting in Shawnee

Renee Kelly’s at Caenen Castle is much like the whimsical locations used on The Bachelor. It’s also the spot for Kansas City’s hopeful bachelorettes to dazzle and impress the reality show’s production crew tomorrow night. Categories: News Tags: Ali Fedotowsky, luv, Renee Kelly’s, Shawnee, The Bachelor, The Bachelorette

The Faint, Pepper Rabbit, Neon Trees, Frontier Ruckus: Tuesday’s Best Bets is here!

L.A.’s Pepper Rabbit and Fort Collins’ Candy Claws, at RecordBar.  The Faint at the Granada! From Omaha! Frontier Ruckus at the Bottleneck. From Michigan! Or get your 96.5 the Buzz on at the Beaumont with Neon Trees, Paper Tongues, MeTalkPretty, and locals Roman Numerals.  What else?  Categories: Music Tags: Candy Claws, frontier ruckus, Neon Trees, Pepper Rabbit, The Faint

Kansas, Missouri jobsless rates fall — barely

The latest local job news is good news, with unemployment rates falling in both Kansas and Missouri. And Kansas’ rate has fallen even further below the national average, which labor experts still describe as “totally in the shitter.” (They’re full of technical terms, those labor experts.) But don’t start surfing porn at work just yet. The jobs still aren’t easy…

Step back in time with lunch at The Majestic

I’m the only man not wearing a tie for lunch at The Majestic (931 Broadway). The state of a major retail operation is being discussed at the table on my left, and all of the servers have black ties that lie flat against pressed white shirts. But the dining room isn’t stuffy, and I’m the only one who seems to…

Break the smoking ban, get your liquor license suspended. Two bars find out the hard way

Make no mistake, Regulated Industries is enforcing the city’s smoking ban. About a week ago, Neighbors Lounge (9025 East 35th Street) got dinged, and the bar’s two-day suspension is underway (it ends July 21). This week, Regulated Industries nailed J’s Bigger Jigger (3019 East 12th Street) and J.C.’s Sports Bar (6135 Northeast Vivion Road) with 10-day liquor license suspensions. Categories:…

iDosing: Can it really get you high?

I ought to warn you now that I’ve got my iPod buds in while I write this, and “Gates of Hades” is playing. So if it turns out that I’m completely wrong about all of this and this review goes off the rails somewhere in the next few hundred words, you’ll know what happened.  Categories: Music Tags: drugs, iDosing, WTF

Product review: Will iDosing get you high?

I ought to warn you now that I’ve got my iPod buds in while I write this, and “Gates of Hades” is playing. So if it turns out that I’m completely wrong about all of this and this review goes off the rails somewhere in the next few hundred words, you’ll know what happened. Categories: News Tags: bullshit, drugs, iDosing

The Faint is tonight at the Granada: prepare to get sweaty

​Each time the Faint hits up our city, I remember the time I missed them — at the Uptown in 2005, directly after the grungy electro act had skipped into the dark curtains offstage. Why was everyone so sweaty? Isn’t Bright Eyes on next? What’s going on? It was at this exact moment that an elementary school classmate of mine…

How long do you wait to be served?

Is five minutes long enough? Ten? ​”Sit anywhere you want,” said the bartender when we walked into the saloon-restaurant on 39th Street. There was a table by the window, so my friend and I took seats and watched the waitress at the other end of the restaurant talk on her cell phone while polishing silverware with a rag. She looked…

Sacramento Kings owner says Kansas City return unlikely

The owners of the Sacramento Kings are exploring their options, including moving their pro basketball franchise to a city with a new arena, according to Sports Illustrated. Hey! We have a 3-year-old arena without a home team. How about it, Kings owner? Categories: News Tags: DeMarcus Cousins, George Maloof, Kansas City Kings, NBA, Sacramento Kings, Sprint Center, Tyreke Evans

Blackberry season is upon us

Take a break from blueberries. In fact, forget about them entirely. Instead, grab a handful (delicately) of plump, tart blackberries. Blackberries have an unfair reputation. They can be dull in color, bitter even when ripe, and smash seemingly without being touched. But the most persnickety fruit can be the most rewarding, if one just has the patience to go a…

Civil Twilight’s moody atmospherics at the Record Bar

In a preview in this week’s Pitch, we told you to ignore the fact that this band’s name has the word twilight in it. But, after peeping some shots of Civil Twilight’s set at the Record Bar last night, we might have to reconsider: Does the singer look a tad bit like R-Patz to you, too?  Check more photos after…

Did accused Ripley County killers target the elderly?

When an elderly couple died in a late-night fire last month, investigators in southeast Missouri’s Ripley County dismissed the deaths as accidental — a gnarly ending to two full lives. But when the bodies of two more elderly people were found in a burning home last week — and it turned out one had been shot twice before burning up…

New Conquerors tracks!

Hazy garage-rock outfit the Conquerors is one of my local faves, and since it is a slow news day, I am here to report that they just uploaded two songs to their way-dormant Myspace page. I heard about the Myspace songs because I’m a Facebook fan of the band. Here in the biz, we call that a Face-to-Space assist. Social…