Arnon Goldfinger’s documentary starts slowly, with the feeling of a home movie fashioned into something for PBS. The photography is matter-of-fact and sometimes harsh, like something strung together from a couple of cellphones. But these seeming early deficits allow The Flat to catch you off-guard with what turns out to be a rich, complex and unlikely story. Goldfinger’s movie won…
Hitchcock, a sort of fat-suit version of last year’s softheaded nostalgia trip My Week With Marilyn, brushes by with just enough suavity that you don’t notice right away how despicable it is. Whatever credit can be claimed for this short-lasting sleight of hand goes not to Anthony Hopkins, whose vulcanized impression of the master of suspense feels fussy and shallow,…
On Thanksgiving night a couple of weeks back, the three members of the Shy Boys invited friends and fans — two circles with a lot of overlap at this early stage in the band’s existence — to celebrate at the house where they live together on the western edge of the West Plaza neighborhood. Furniture had been relocated to the…
A pub crawl was wrapping up at Martini Corner when I arrived in the area early last Saturday evening. I had come simply to eat a sandwich at Tower Tavern, a sports bar over there that employs a person with whom I share DNA. A meal in peace is all I ask! Instead, I found myself surrounded by a bunch…
Fast-forward 10 years. It’s 2022. No one has put on a winter coat in years. A Clinton is back in the White House. And the streets are alive in downtown Kansas City, Missouri. Lured by an abundance of jobs and culture, young people from all over the Midwest are flocking to KC, capital of what the world calls the…
From the preshow cellphone-and-candy-wrapper announcements by stage manager M.J. (Jessica Biernaki Jensen), Inspecting Carol wraps its arms around the audience and says, Here goes. The Unicorn, with the Kansas City Actors Theatre and UMKC Theatre, sends up seasonal sentiment with this play within a play — a farce within a farce, really — which combines elements of Noises Off, Waiting…
Big Bad Voodoo Daddy Having names vaguely embarrassing to say out loud was an unspoken rule among groups that participated in the brief swing-music revival of the mid-1990s. Hence, the Cherry Poppin’ Daddies, the Squirrel Nut Zippers and Big Bad Voodoo Daddy. BBVD is still touring, and the brassy boys in the band are still wearing fancy pinstriped suits and…
On a recent evening at Louie’s Wine Dive, one of my dining companions complained to me that the noise level in the room was “obnoxious.” At least I think that’s the word she used. I had to read her lips. This new, 84-seat restaurant can indeed turn a dinner conversation into a silent movie without the title cards. But that’s…
Chris Mullins Dogs and humans will both be happy in the new shelter. It’s a good day for metro animal lovers. Monday, the Jackson County Legislature and Independence city officials finally struck a deal to open the brand-new animal shelter that has sat unused in Independence for many months. The shelter will open January 1 and be a no-kill (meaning…
“This is how we do Christmas in Kansas City,” say four bros in holiday wool, and with that you are brought into a universe of tipsy santas and elves. The Travel Channel filmed last year’s Ugly Christmas Sweater Party in Kansas City and aired the results last week on its Christmas Crazier program. It’s a look back at the mobile-kitchen…
These aren’t just cookies. They’re breakfast cookies. It’s National Cookie Day, and I’m sitting here typing with a plate of chocolate-chip cookies for breakfast. Only I know this plate will eventually be empty and there is lunch to think about… Cookies are the engine that powers Fat City. We’ve written about the Upper Crust Bakery’s banana cookie, the sugar cookies…
Wikipedia Emerson is breaking up with Congress. The longest-serving member of Missouri’s congressional delegation will be stepping down next February. Only a month after handily winning re-election with nearly 72 percent of the vote, U.S. Rep. Jo Ann Emerson (MO-8) announced her resignation Monday so that she can become the president and chief executive officer of the National Rural Electric…
Big one: Fleetwood Mac is headed to the Sprint Center on April 30. No additional information yet on sale dates and ticket prices, though. Do you like jangly indie pop? What about catchy tunes that are smart and sunny? Well then, you may just fall for Kishi Bashi. Take a watch and listen to the oddball video for “Bright Whites”…
The butchers, Madouras (left) and Johnson, of the Broadway Butcher Shop. The lean times may be ending for Kansas City’s butchers. Broadway Butcher Shop is planning a soft opening this Wednesday at 3828 Broadway, most recently the temporary home of the adjacent Gomer’s. “We wanted something that was good for the neighborhood,” says Jim Coley, the midtown Gomer’s wine director….
Flickr: DarLaReid Take a moment to sit and swing. Some mornings you just want a bit of distraction, a moment to stop thinking about a piece of bad news that sits on your spirit like an elephant on a badly splintered fence. This is one of those mornings. So, here’s a breather. Sounding Out has a fall Kansas City Soundwalk…
Oklahoma Joe’s Your fries can get a little help for the holidays. Oklahoma Joe’s may have built its third and self-proclaimed final location, but that doesn’t mean the Manliest Restaurant in America is done growing. The area barbecue joint with a high national profile is in the midst of a large kitchen expansion at its Olathe restaurant and has just…
A Kansas City Chiefs player was reportedly involved in a murder-suicide Saturday morning. A Kansas City Chiefs player has allegedly shot his girlfriend and then himself, according to Kansas City Police Chief Darryl Forte’s Twitter account. The player involved is linebacker Jovan Belcher, according to CBS Sports’ Jason La Canfora. UPDATE: Kansas City police have identified the victim as 22-year-old…
