Ghost Bird is a full-length documentary exploring the strange rediscovery of the Ivory-billed Woodpecker, believed extinct for over half a century. It is an exquisite portrayal of the iconic American species in its haunting flight toward immortality. In 2004, scientists announced that the bird was still flying in the swamps of Eastern Arkansas, leading the nation’s 80 million birders to…
This exhibition brings together the work of two promising young Korean-born artists, both recent MFA graduates of Indiana University Bloomington. June Yong Lee creates photographic work which “maps” the torso skin of his portrait subjects. Youngsuk Altieri references ecology and insect life in her prints, video, and interactive computer generated sculptures. Both create artwork which balances the grotesque and the…
Dance in the Park is an outdoor dance concert which showcases the exciting performances of a host of the Kansas City region’s unique dance companies. Free African Dance class for audience members on stage at 6:30pm. Rain date: Sunday, September 12th, same times. Sat., Sept. 11, 7 p.m., 2010 Tags: Kansas City, Night & Day
Having made the film-festival circuit from Honolulu to the Jersey Shore (it’s true — the Jersey Shore has a film festival), the award-winning indie flick Earthwork finally gets a night in Lawrence, the city where some of it was shot. Based on the life of Kansas crop artist Stan Herd, the movie stars John Hawkes and focuses on the artist’s…
Known as the “Piano Man” of pop music, Billy Joel has entertained audiences with his brand of music for four decades. Now his music comes to life on the stage in the Jewish Community Center’s production The Piano Man- The Music of Billy Joel. Wed., Sept. 15, 7:30 p.m.; Thu., Sept. 16, 7:30 p.m.; Sun., Sept. 19, 2 p.m.; Tue.,…
The exhibition entitled SHIP/SHAPE reflects the work done by Warren Rosser in the past three years. There are three distinct bodies of work that are being presented here: the fabric constructions, and the oil paintings on clay-board, both of which have been produced over this entire period, and a new group of paintings on canvas have been made in the…
A little city of white tents and tables and commerce sprang up Friday around the intersection of Pennsylvania Avenue and Westport Road. That evening, from 5 to 9 p.m., was the opening of the 31st Annual Art Westport. Dozens of painters, sculptors, jewelry makers and potters continued to peddle their eye-catching creations from 10 a.m. to 9 p.m. Saturday. The…
Instead of pounding some pulled pork or binging on bacon in this home stretch of the grilling season, you may want to savor a vegetarian dish, which the folks at Café Seed (2932 Cherry) want you to know can be just as tasty and even more satisfying. The quaint eatery is known for serving up local, organic vegan burgers, tacos…
One can’t accuse the inaugural Show Me Social Justice International Film Festival of a dearth of ambition. Presented in Warrensburg, Missouri, the festival’s slate of 135 shorts, features and documentaries from around the world is merely a jumping-off point. Other highlights include a Missouri Artisans Showcase and a Back Lot Vendors Showcase, plus a wine- and food-tasting event and an…
Learn how to say, in Greek, “More baklava, please.” The 49th annual Greek Food Festival opens from 6 to 10 p.m. Load your plate with such traditional Greek specialties as gyros and spanakopita, then pick up some new moves from folk dancers. Get a glimpse of KC Wizards soccer player Nikos Kounenakis, former team captain for the OFI Crete team…
Two people go in; one story comes out. That is the premise of StoryCorps, the brainchild of award-winning documentarian Dave Isay. Since 2003, StoryCorps has recorded 60,000 interviews in 50 states. Talk with someone you love in StoryCorps’ Airstream MobileBooth and get a CD of the conversation as a keepsake. For those who wish, a copy of the interview is…
Perhaps you’ve thought, Boy, I’d really like to join Cirque du Soleil, but I’m far too clumsy and inexperienced. Also, I hate their particular brand of clown-based whimsy. I love their gravity-defying acrobatics and avant-garde dance theatrics, but my loathing of their maddening Francophone insouciance is tearing me apart! Don’t fret — Quixotic Fusion has your solution. This collective of…
A sprinkling of late-afternoon rain dampens Harris Park’s cracked asphalt. Two teams bound up and down the basketball court, which is tucked discreetly into Kansas City’s Ivanhoe neighborhood. The game is casual but competitive, and the trash talk flows. Six teams have joined the park’s adult league this year; they play only for bragging rights, but the stands are packed…
In a 2009 interview with The Pitch, author and Daily Show resident expert John Hodgman told a story about an interview he’d once conducted with sculptor Robert Berks, whose JFK bust sits in the grand foyer of the Kennedy Center Opera House. “I was in his studio, and he had a sculpture of, I think, Robert Kennedy,” Hodgman said. “It…
Good films about ballet can be numbered on one hand. And about Chinese dissidents? I’ve still got enough fingers to type this review. Based on the memoirs of Li Cunxin, Mao’s Last Dancer means well, but it stumbles between genres. Li is played by three actors as he grows from plucky peasant lad in the 1970s to grim-faced trainee at…
Scott Crocker’s Ghost Bird, a documentary about the search for the elusive (or illusory) ivory-billed woodpecker, traces the hubbub around the decades-departed bird, purportedly rediscovered near Brinkley, Arkansas, in 2005. Its reappearance was celebrated as the rediscovery of a lifetime, prompting a large-scale recovery effort. It’s the sort of film that builds up familiar frenzy — newspaper notoriety, tourism uptick,…
To identify a Pavement fan, ask this: “What about the voice of Geddy Lee? How did it get so high? I wonder if he speaks like an ordinary guy?” If the person responds: “I know him, and he does,” then you’re talking to a Pavement fan. That back-and-forth quote is from “Stereo,” on the band’s 1997 release, Brighten the Corners….
Gregg Gillis: genius or hack? We asked our local DJs this question in the Pitch Music Showcase supplement last month, with mixed results. It seems that no one can agree whether Girl Talk is an indication of Gillis’ brilliance or music’s agonizing decline into postmodern muck. Gillis’ mixes mash up your favorite jukebox hits with a shock of bass. Feed…
Autolux’s debut, 2004’s Future Perfect, arrived far enough ahead of the current neo-psych groundswell to be a trendsetter, and its long-awaited follow-up, Transit Transit, is intriguing enough to spotlight on the trend’s way out. Whereas Future was all swelling distortion punctuated by ferocious thumps, the new effort scales back the fuzz. The result is like a loft with exposed beams…
Dear Readers: ¡Viva México, cabrones! Happy 200th cumpleaños to America’s favorite country, to the land of pretty señoritas and eternal economic crises, to the world’s greatest, drunkest bola de hijos de la chingada! Celebrate on the 16th and drive safe, and guys: Remember to wear a helmet before going into battle with a gabacha, if you coger my drift. On…
In the hip-hop world, independence has its own rewards. Independent hip-hop artists may not ship platinum, but they don’t have to worry about their naked post-concert debauchery showing up on TMZ, and they don’t have to dodge bloodthirsty paparazzi or confront Perez Hilton at a Starbucks. The best perk of all, though, is the freedom to say whatever you want…
Bill Sundahl is the mastermind behind the annual Crossroads Music Fest. The Pitch caught up with the busy organizer to ask him about this year’s local music extravaganza, which takes place on six stages in the Crossroads September 11. The Pitch: What’s new and exciting this year? Bill Sundahl: Last year was the best yet. Barring a tornado, it should…
Embodying a punk-rock ethos has its consequences. “Hey, man, I’m sorry. I don’t know where Mikee is,” Rory Cameron says. “He took off last night, and we haven’t seen him all day.” Rory shrugs off Michael Pruitt’s strange absence. Unexplained disappearances are common in the circle that the Conquerors run in. That circle is made up of 20-somethings who constantly…
Don’t you want to buy some raffle tickets?” I was standing in the front entrance of Frontier Steakhouse, waiting for the server, Patty, to run my credit card through the machine near the cash register. The raffle tickets, Patty explained, raised funds to benefit a children’s charity — I can’t remember which one — and the first prize was a…
