Archives: August 2011
LeRoi Johnson, king of reviewers, rides into the sunset
Pitch pioneer LeRoi Johnson in his PennyLane days. LeRoi Johnson, whose two-fisted record reviews and thoroughgoing curiosity helped define The Pitch in its first decade, has died. He was 57 and in recent years had suffered congestive heart failure, diabetes and kidney disease. Last year, to help this paper mark its 30th anniversary, I called Johnson to talk about his…
Stats guys don’t know what to make of 2011 Chiefs
Chiefs perplex big computer. Football Outsiders takes an objective look at the NFL. The analysts who contribute to the website and yearly almanac break down every single play of the season in an attempt to understand offensive players’ true value. It’s the Bill James Baseball Abstract in thigh pads. Smart guys that they are, the Outsiders are unsure of what…
The Low Anthem rises and Balmorhea swells, last night at RecordBar
The Low Anthem Last night, the Low Anthem’s Ben Knox Miller made an announcement: It was the late Charlie Parker’s birthday (he would have been 91), and so the show would be played in Bird’s honor. We all gave this sober nod, recognizing his nice first-time-in-Kansas City gesture. But as the Low Anthem performed, the nice gesture became an act…
Dennis White from Rock Paper Scissors on the band’s monthly gig at RecordBar
Every last Tuesday of the month at RecordBar, Rock Paper Scissors bends and twists rock favorites into acoustic pieces. The members’ voices and a single violin meld together, creating warm harmonies and melodies. The three-piece group has performed together and separately around the Kansas City area since the band’s formation five years ago. We recently checked in with member Dennis…
The chefs are coming with books and stories in hand this fall
Diary of a Blue Suit Mom Bobby Flay is part of a pack of celebrity chefs coming to KC. Perhaps they can just sense a burgeoning food culture or the presence of a collection of kitchen citizens hungry for more than tips doled out 30 minutes at a time. Whatever is in the air, just about every big-name chef is…
Another allegation surfaces of abuse at Republic School District
Home of very troubling allegations. What the hell, Republic School District? What the hell? Weeks ago, the district was outed for banning books principally because some guy who doesn’t have kids in the district complained about them. Then last week, news broke that a former Republic School District special-ed student and her family are suing the district because the student…
Former Star publisher Art Brisbane gets shredded for doing his job at The New York Times
Art Brisbane is taking heat for asking questions. Former Kansas City Star editor and publisher Art Brisbane was hired to be the public ombudsman for The New York Times. It truly is, as The Pitch managing editor David Martin called it at the time, “one of the sweetest gigs in journalism.” His job is to read The Times, look for…
You don’t have to play hard to get, In-N-Out
VisitRenoTahoe.com Just get the lights on, we’ll do the rest. I don’t know if you’re worried about being rejected. Or if you’ve been burnt by a bad municipality in the past. But the truth is, In-N-Out, you don’t have to play hard to get with Kansas City. I get that you don’t want to come right out and say you’re…
West Edge turns into a very expensive game of Jenga
West Edge, in its original vision In a decision that should send a chill down the spine of black-cape architects, the Polsinelli Shughart law firm wants to tear down an unfinished office building that Moshe Safdie designed for the Bernstein-Rein ad agency. The 11-story building has been deemed too irregular for lawyers. According to a report in today’s Kansas City…
Have you ever improperly used technology for the sake of food?
Scandybars This is what happens when a high-powered scanner meets a candy bar. I had a roommate just after college with a job that gave him access to liquid nitrogen. Now the words “just after college” and “liquid nitrogen” should never be uttered in the same sentence. Case in point, said roommate’s desire to have a frozen Snickers bar. After…
Jason Barr’s “Heaven Party” show meets with controversy
Lawrence’s monthly artwalk, Final Fridays, celebrated its first anniversary this weekend. Among the various shows was a solo one from Asteroid Head collective member Jason Barr. Barr is well-known in the Lawrence arts community for his ridiculously active Twitter account (@BARRR), as well as his A.D.D. arts podcast. His show, “Heaven Party,” opened at the Bourgeois Pig Friday night. While…
Mayor Sly James’ son accused of punching a woman in the face at The Point bar
Kyle James: Problem child? About a month after acting like a spoiled and privileged rich kid during a run-in with police in the Power & Light District, Mayor Sly James’ son Kyle is now accused of punching a woman in the face during a melee at The Point bar. Fox 4 reported last night that the mayor’s 23-year-old son is…
Laurie Anderson at the Kauffman Center for the Performing Arts tickets on sale today
I drive past what will soon officially be the Kauffman Center for the Performing Arts on my way to work every day. It’s a constant motion of trucks and hard hats and dust and concrete outside that place all day long. It perturbs me, if I am being perfectly honest. I am ready for that sucker to open on September…
Don’t think of it as meat, darn it, consider it a seasoning!
photo by cq The classic American grilled vegetable, hold the bacon … Those fabulously creative folks at Powell Gardens came up with a great idea for an outdoor grilling competition: a fruit and vegetable Grill Off to be held on the grounds of the nonprofit botanical garden Saturday, September 10. It’s going to be a big culinary day for Powell…
Local bakers compete to decorate P.T. Barnum’s birthday cake
The circus charges admission, but this week’s circus-inspired cake-decorating contest is free. P.T. Barnum By most accounts, Phineas Taylor Barnum (1810-1891) was a con artist, huckster, charlatan and the world’s greatest showman (and an author, politician, publisher and philanthropist). The circus that still bears his name — Ringling Brothers and Barnum & Bailey — has been celebrating, for more than…
Some FEMA money for Joplin will be delayed to assist victims of Irene
Damn it, Irene! FEMA was poor enough before you came along! Joplin just can’t get a break. First Eric Cantor didn’t want to fund recovery efforts in Joplin following a tornado of biblical proportions if it added to the federal deficit, and now the Federal Emergency Management Agency says it’s running out of money, so aid to Joplin will shift…
One of Kansas City’s first celebrity chefs: Bonnie Winston
Long before Anthony Bourdain or Paula Deen, there were local celebrity chefs. And one of Kansas City’s best-known culinary stars was Bonnie Winston. On the surface, she was an unlikely candidate for kitchen stardom. The lithe Detroit native hadn’t gone to cooking school; she had a master’s degree in personnel psychology from Columbia University. “I don’t know what I thought…
The KC Bear Fighters and the Sunflower Colonels, Friday at the Replay (photos)
There are few places finer than the Replay beer garden for a late summer matinee show. There was music. There were pork chops and facial tattoos. And, naturally, there was PBR. Categories: Music
Fund set up for Church’s Chicken employee burned by grease
Gary Cifuentes was burned over more than half of his body and requires multiple surgeries. A fund has been established to help pay for medical bills accrued by Gary Cifuentes, the 22-year-old Church’s Chicken employee who was burned by grease after a car smashed into the restaurant. The freak accident happened last Friday while Cifuentes, a Guatemala native, was working…
Return to Forever, Friday at the Midland
Longtime jazz fusion ensemble Return to Forever was in Kansas City Friday night, a decent but not sold-out crowd in attendance. One of the earliest bands to combine jazz and rock, RTF brought its sound in full force, taking us on a two-hour trip that was enjoyable, technically amazing, sometimes a bit long-winded, but always very sincere. Categories: Music
Fag Cop, Lazy, and Meat Mist, Saturday at the Studded Bird
Fag Cop Just as TV on the Radio was wrapping up its set over at Grinders on Saturday, Meat Mist was starting. Outside the door of the Studded Bird, the only other things making noise were the Tension Envelopes sign and bats circling overhead. But that might just have been Meat Mist’s squealing sound check. Maybe the bats thought Meat…
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