Scott Wagner knew from the start of his campaign that the city’s council redistricting could affect him personally. Wagner is gunning to replace termed out 1st District At-large Councilwoman Deb Hermann. Wagner lives in the Indian Mound neighborhood north of Independence Avenue and is the president of its neighborhood association. He’s rallied his neighbors to support the concept of a…
Kinetic Brooklyn girl-and-guy duo Matt and Kim rock the Granada in Lawrence on September 23. You won’t be able to hear a full recording of the band’s third record, Sidewalks, until it comes out on November 2, but here’s the first single, “Cameras.” Listen to it here. It’s rich with instrumentation, including horns and synths! (Thank the album’s producer, Animal Collective’s…
Try out Arcade Fire’s mind-blowing new video for “Used to Wait.” It’s for a track off of their new album, The Suburbs, and it actually sets the video in the neighborhood where you used to live. (Which, if you’re like me, is fittingly in the suburbs.) The video is centered around a kid in a hoodie running down a suburban…
The Adam Smith Foundation, a conservative, Jefferson City-based political nonprofit started by some of Matt Blunt’s pals in 2007, just wrote a $498,000 check to California political cause Yes On 23, which is trying to stop California’s tougher pollution regulations. Now a whole lot of people are asking questions of Adam Smith. The mystery at the center of the uproar…
Graffiti is obviously not discouraged in the alleys that branch northward from West 18th Street between Baltimore Avenue and Wyandotte Street. These walls have been splashed and coated again and again by spray-can artists (with varying degrees of talent) for a decade, at least. Advertising agencies commonly co-opt street art for the commercial interests of their clients. Now, an ad…
Bacon is like Kanye West — either you love it full-heartedly and support everything it does (even if it seems a little off), or you wish other, more talented meats would get their due. There’s no need to question what camp I’m in. I would begin every morning lathering up with bacon soap if a fear of being trampled by…
Do this. Do it now. Click here, and RSVP for Scion Garage Fest — a free festival in Lawrence on October 2 that includes Best Coast, the Raveonettes, Thee Oh Sees, King Khan and the Shrines, Times New Viking, the Oblivions, the Gories, Hunx and His Punks — oh, hell, just see the whole lineup for yourself. This is a…
Monday: Catch a fly ball. The Royals take on the Texas Rangers at 7:10 p.m. Tuesday: Practice for the hangover headache with an ice cream headache. Several local burger joints offer boozy milkshakes. Categories: News Tags: Chiefs, royals, the beach
Never Shout Never — also known as scenester pop sensation Christofer Drew Ingle — is appearing at the Bottleneck tomorrow night in a last-minute, secret Myspace show with the Ready Set. (This is appropriate, since Drew — a Joplin, Missouri native — first exploded onto the tween scene via his Myspace in 2007.) The show is at the Bottleneck, it’s…
A local door guy tells us what makes him tick — or get ticked off. First off, I hate the term “bouncer.” At best, it brings to mind a Swayze-esque badass; at worst, a meathead on a power trip. I always use the term “doorman”: It’s nicer, and doesn’t reek of Axe and steroids. There aren’t many people who take…
The national sporting press is starting to roll out its predictions for the 2010-11 NFL season. And while specific predictions don’t mean much, anytime large groups of sportswriters reach some sort of consensus, they’re usually right. Or at least not totally wrong. In this case, the consensus is less depressing than you might expect. Categories: News Tags: kansas city chiefs
Wilco’s Jeff Tweedy — who grew up 20 miles or so outside St. Louis, in Belleville, Illinois, before moving his band to Chicago — played a solo set at the fest. Beforehand, St. Louis Mayor Francis Slay declared the day (August 29) Jeff Tweedy Day in St. Louis. Categories: Music Tags: jeff tweedy, st. louis
To whet your appetite for The Pitch’s annual Best of Kansas City issue, we’re counting down our favorite Top 50 dishes each weekday until October 7. Light and fresh, the spring rolls at the Vietnam Cafe should really be called summer rolls. The perfect dish for when it’s hot with enough vegetables that you can lie to yourself and say…
The temperature last Friday night was perfect for patio entertainment. The Sexy Accident members Jesse Kates and Camry Ivory performed their character-driven pop songs in the Roasterie’s outdoor seating area. Categories: Music Tags: acoustic, Sexy Accident
All home cooks have a moment when they wonder if they could cut the mustard on the line in a restaurant kitchen. Julian’s Celina Tio is giving foodies a chance to realize that dream with a challenge to design her Sunday family meal. The first diner-designed dinner is slated for September 12, when plumber Matt Murdick tries his hand at…
Freddy’s Frozen Custard & Steakburgers (7301 West 135th Street) opened last week at 135th and Riley in Overland Park. At 5:15 p.m. Saturday, I thought I’d beat the rush. But we got the second-to-last available table as anxious diners watched to see when we would finish our meal to approach us about sitting down. Freddy’s is like the Wichita-based offspring…
The crowd at the Uptown was drunk last night. (Not just drunk, but drunk-drunk.) The fourth annual 2010 Greater Kansas City Bartending Competition made sure of that. Bartenders from KC, St. Louis and Manhattan, Kansas, competed in what turned out to be an exceptionally upscale boozefest. Twelve finalists competed in front of a rowdy crowd and four judges including: Doug…
Royals owner David Glass loves socialism. Taxpayers in Jackson County are paying most of the costs associated with the renovation of Kauffman Stadium, which makes it possible for the Royals to charge $95 for Diamond Club seats (food and bev not included). Glass can also count on the kindness of his fellow owners, who share their revenue with the Royals…
Chefs from across Missouri and Kansas gathered at the Uptown Sunday night for a bartending competition. Read more about the mixologist throwdown here and check out Scott Spychalski’s photos from the booze battle.
I would not want to be in charge of procurement at the Costco in Johnson County. The store currently doesn’t have large bags of pine nuts in stock and after hearing a Costco employee receive a few choice words about that decision, it would seem that hell hath no fury scorned like a woman denied an oversized sack of the…
