Archives: September 2010
Lou Engle has big plans for Sarah Palin
Everybody’s favorite local religious zealot/gay death penalty advocate/former Sam Brownback roomie Lou Engle got some serious press last weekend. Not only did he host another one of his massive “TheCall” prayer meetings in Sacramento (although it sounds like he didn’t get the turnout he was praying for), the dominionist kook popped up in a Vanity Fair profile of Sarah Palin….
International stars Mumiy Troll rock out, Russian-style
It’s not often that you get to experience international superstars on an intimate level. But thanks to discrepancy in musical trends — and the sheer amount of distance between here and Russia — fans of Russian mega-band Mumiy Troll rocked out up close and personal with them at the Record Bar Monday night. As the Russian population of Kansas City…
Stream the new White Flight track, ‘Children of the Light’; beat by Ratatat
Lawrence-ish solo act White Flight, will be putting out his sophomore album, White Ark, sometime in the near future via Range Life. Back in May, White Flight released “Panther,” the first single on the album, and today we bring you the second single, “Children of the Light,” which you can stream right here. It’s a big, fat, happy psych-folk jam, with a…
Arthur Bryant’s battles Gates Barbecue tonight on the Travel Channel’s Food Wars
Let the barbecue battle begin. The episode of Food Wars pitting ribs from Arthur Bryant’s against Gates Barbecue airs tonight at 9 on the Travel Channel. Food Wars was in town back in February, and Fat City readers were offended that Danny Edwards and Oklahoma Joe’s didn’t make the cut. The show travels to a city to profile two iconic…
Kansas AG says DNA sample backlog has been reduced by 70 percent
Progress has been made in reducing the backlog of unprocessed DNA samples in the Kansas Bureau of Investigations laboratory, according to Kansas Attorney General Steve Six. In September 2009, there were more than 38,000 DNA samples awaiting testing by KBI lab workers. Another 11,277 came in for processing so far this year, and even with that increase, Six says the…
We’re giving away tickets to the Efterklang show at Crosstown Station this Sunday
Danish pop warriors Efterklang glide into Crosstown Station this Sunday evening in support of their latest, Magic Chairs, out on 4AD. They’ll be joined by openers Buke & Gass, Cowboy Indian Bear and Olympic Size. Tickets are $10 in advance, $12 at the door. But they’re FREE if you can answer this trivia question from Billy Smith, who’s now booking…
Frederick Jones Jr., KCMO homicide No. 75: Man gunned down at Shell gas station
%{}% Kansas City police have confirmed that Frederick C. Jones Jr. was the homicide victim at a Shell gas station at 5501 Bannister Road last Friday. The 21-year-old was found wounded in the gas station’s parking lot around 6:54 p.m., and later died at a local hospital. Categories: News Tags: Backin’ Up song, Frederick Jones Jr., Gregory Brothers, homicide, shooting
Thomas Simmons, KCMO homicide No. 76: Police ID victim from Gregory and Prospect slaying
Kansas City, Missouri’s total homicide count for 2010 stands at 77. Kansas City police identified the 76th homicide victim this afternoon as 27-year-old Thomas E. Simmons. The cops are still looking for Simmons’ killer. Simmons was found dead inside a vehicle at Gregory and Prospect on Sunday night at 10:41. Categories: News Tags: homicide, Thomas Simmons
Kansas City Star going through another round of layoffs … right now
%{}% Fewer people will be working here by the end of the day. Update II (2:21 p.m. September 7): I just received the Star’s press release about today’s layoffs, which included a statement from publisher Mark Zieman that “The Star won’t die, but this recession will.” Comforting. Categories: News Tags: Kansas City Star, layoffs, Mark Zieman, Mike Fannin
Ameristar Casino won’t really gamble on the Falcon Diner
A year ago, the Ameristar Casino shut down its attractive, retro-style Falcon Diner, located near the casino’s main entrance. This venue was appealing but clearly wasn’t earning the revue of the casino’s most popular dining destination, the Horizons Buffet. The Falcon Diner’s name was changed to the Falcon Bakery, and the well-lighted pastry cases remained filled with pretty iced layer…
Kansas Jayhawk fans, you got your wish. Lew Perkins is gone
This is what the fallout of Kansas’ embarrassing 6-3 loss to North Dakota State looks like. Athletics director Lew Perkins is retiring, “effective immediately.” Chancellor Bernadette Gray-Little tried to put a happy face on Perkins’ accelerated exit. Categories: News Tags: Kansas Jayhawks, Lew Perkins
Independence man shot to death Tuesday morning
%{}% The body count in the metro just keeps climbing. If a man getting stabbed to death on Interstate 35 wasn’t enough for one day, Independence police say a man was shot to death in the 1800 block of South Glenwood around 4 a.m. The victim hasn’t been named yet, but we do know that he’s a white male in…
Moonshine makers try to touch your heart, liver
Illegal distilleries call to mind Southern guys in Mustangs being pursued by county sheriffs with hound dogs in the passenger seat as they both bump over rutted dirt roads. Dusty bottles clank noisily together as a secret still fades into the rearview mirror. Today, illegal stills are more likely to be found in a hipster’s basement as he cracks open…
Small-town barbecued meatloaf…and bikers
When I say small town, I mean practically microscopic: population 120 people. I stumbled into this combination biker bar and barbecue pit traveling through Missouri on one of our speedy eastbound interstates. The joint serves a limited menu but attracts a motley clientele. When I stopped there, I saw a biker chick who looked remarkably like Maria Ouspenskaya — the grim-faced…
Killa City: August 2010 victims and accused slideshow
August’s list of homicide victim’s included an aspiring rapper, a 23-year-old man gunned down on his front porch and a UMKC student killed in his Shawnee apartment. Some victims found justice. There were sentences for Franklin Grammer for shooting his estranged wife point blank in the head after locking her in a headlock and Deonta Taylor, who was convicted of…
Dog paddling and two more things to do this week
Today: Throw your dog in the pool. Several metro swimming holes are celebrating the end of the summer season by letting dogs paddle. Wednesday: Salute the grammar police. Two nerds on a mission to eradicate the nation’s typos visit the library. Thursday: Have a sausage-free dinner theater experience. A new play about women premieres at the vegan Cafe Seed. For…
The Google vs. iTunes showdown draws ever near
Your Android phone could become significantly cooler as soon as Christmas, when Reuters is reporting Google will debut its Android music service. Google plans to launch both an iTunes-style music download store, as well as a “digital song locker,” where users will be able to play songs on the go via a wi-fi connection. Categories: Music Tags: Apple, google, google +,…
Saying goodbye to summer at September’s First Friday (slideshow)
Last week’s First Friday event was the last of the summer, and the usual hodgepodge of art lovers wandered through Crossroads’ streets to take it all in. Pitch photographer Scott Spychalski was right there with them, snapping photos of everyone, from cute kids and break dancers to the Mayor himself. See if you got caught by Spychalski’s lens in this…
Genetically engineered salmon could be coming to a plate near you
Love salmon but hate how long it takes to grow? Well, you’re in luck. The Food and Drug Administration gave preliminary approval last Friday to a genetically engineered salmon that grows twice as quickly as its counterpart in nature. Aqua Bounty Technologies Inc., a Masschusetts-based company, spliced in genes from an ocean pout, which allows the AquAdvantage — the fish’s…
Succotash chef Beth Barden figures it all out
Beth Barden: bawdy brunch broad Beth Barden ended 2009 by moving Succotash, her iconoclastic bruncheonette, from the City Market — where she had operated in a very small space — to a bigger, sunnier location at 2601 Holmes. For many years, that building housed the dark and smoky Dutch Hill Bar & Grill. Barden did much of the physical labor converting…
No. 21: Pork tenderloin sandwich from Kitty’s Cafe
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 Pork tenderloin sandwiches aren’t known for being delicate. But that’s because most pork tenderloin sandwiches aren’t like the triple stack from Kitty’s Cafe. Sometimes it takes a little something fried to bring out your…
Plaza flash mob wasn’t about race until it was about race
Hours before they called the cops and the U.S. Marshals, there were warning signs we were in for trouble. “These are the same people that were here the last time it happened,” one of the servers said while waiting for food to come out of the kitchen at the Cheesecake Factory on the Plaza. A manager who hadn’t worked on…
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