Brooke Vandever Harbour Lights keeps it real. Did you read our piece last week about how Internet jukeboxes are now so ubiquitous that there are basically no old-school jukes left in the area? You should read it. We figured we missed a few in our search, so we asked readers to write in and let us know where you can…
Shipwrecked! An Entertainment might sound contradictory, even with that exclamation point. But note this play’s subtitle: The Amazing Adventures of Louis de Rougemont (as Told by Himself). What it promises, this captivating show — now being staged by Spinning Tree Theatre — delivers. Louis de Rougemont, an ordinary person turned late-19th-century celebrity, was really Henri Louis Grin. He was born…
What today’s Kauffman Center for the Performing Arts is for the Kansas City Symphony and the Lyric Opera, the Jewel Box Lounge was for the female impersonators of the 1950s and ’60s. The original Jewel Box, at 3223 Troost, was a showplace, the big time not only for local femme mimics such as Mr. Tommy Temple and Mr. Butch Ellis…
Luke Rocha, the local artist and music producer, recently passed us a vintage-looking CD called Karen Zinc and the Silver Recovery Presents the World Today. The cover is a composite of old photographs, yellowed and faded, of clean-cut children playing acoustic instruments. The album itself contains spoken testimonials of faith layered over harpsichords, kazoos and funky horn breaks. The sounds…
Shake, Rattle & Roll With Bobby Watson and His All-Star Big Band Kansas City’s adopted jazz father, Bobby Watson, has assembled about 20 of the finest jazz musicians in the region — David Basse, Rod Fleeman, Dan Thomas, Steve Malloy, Horace Washington and Roger Wilder, to name a few — for two evenings of standards and Watson originals. Wear a…
We once knew a woman who rented the first floor of a house on Pennsylvania, around the corner from the Uptown Theater. Her upstairs neighbor was a good-looking young man. He was quiet. We never saw him all that much. But for a little while, the traffic on the back staircase leading to his apartment was a highway of women….
Boulevard Brewing’s Elizabeth Belden tips back a glass of reddish liquid inside the company’s Front Street bottling plant. “It’s a little bit more creamy than I expected,” she says. “I get berry notes on the end,” says Paul Massard, the green-coffee buyer for the Roasterie. “This is a nice color. It doesn’t scream coffee.” Early on this January morning, Belden…
Artist Vera Mercer splits her time between Paris and Omaha, Nebraska, where — along with her husband, Mark — she runs the restaurants V. Mertz, La Buvette and the Boilerroom. She says the Parisian markets and local farmers and hunters she has met in Nebraska provide her with a bounty of items for her large-scale photographic still lifes, 14 of…
These smart, talented, sexy men and women have been breaking our hearts for a while, and now we want to share the pain. Meet The Pitch’s 2013 Heartbreakers.
The Power & Light District hosted its fifth-annual Mardi Gras Festival February 9, transforming the block into a Bourbon Street-like party with fire breathers, jugglers, mimes, face painters and showgirls. Sponsored by Miller Lite and Southern Comfort, 15 bars and clubs participated in this Saturday-night party, and this is what our photographers saw. Photos by Lynn Collins.
Flickr: ilovebutter Home brew could finally make it out of the home in Kansas. If Kansas isn’t careful, it’s going to start attracting more beer brewers. A state that has yet to ratify the amendment overturning Prohibition is dancing with being progressive when it comes to homebrewing. The Lawrence Journal-World writes that Kansas is currently considering a bill that would…
Getty Images Today is Fat Tuesday, a day for imbibing and carousing and sometimes hooliganism. If you’re up for leaving your place of residence on a Tuesday night, we have a few ideas. Dropout Boogie at the Brick Carnival costumes are encouraged at this Mardi Gras celebration, and guests are also promised delicious New Orleans fare and drink specials. Work…
Flickr: ewen and donabel It was a good day yesterday for the puppy lobby. The Jackson County Regional Animal Shelter has an opening date. And this time, it’s for real. KMBC reports that the Jackson County Legislature voted last night to fund the operation of the new $5.3 million animal shelter in Independence, which has been vacant since last summer….
KCPD David and Pamela Martin allegedly mistreated their son. The parents of the 17-year-old boy who was found by police to be handcuffed to a pole in the basement of the family’s Northland home have been charged. David L. Martin, 42, and his wife, Pamela Martin, 41, have been charged in Clay County with child abuse and felonious restraint of…
Facebook: SportingKC Here’s your shot to be in the huddle. If you think you have skills on the pitch beyond FIFA 2013, you can give Sporting KC $208 to find out. The local soccer team is holding open tryouts for the sixth year – a practice that dates back to the days of the Kansas City Wizards – June 15…
flickr/cariliv Something new is blooming in Cafe Thyme’s kitchen at Powell Gardens. It was big news last year when chef-restaurateur Michael Foust of the Farmhouse announced that he was taking over the food-service contract for Cafe Thyme, the facility at Powell Gardens. Until that point, Cafe Thyme was notorious for serving overpriced, less-than-mediocre cuisine. The food at the popular botanical…
Yesterday was the final day for Lawrence’s seven-year-old Mirth Cafe – at the restaurant’s original location (745 New Hampshire). The popular breakfast-and-lunch venue (which The Pitch reviewed in 2010) is scheduled to open next week, according to several of Mirth’s employees working yesterday, a couple of blocks away. We’re taking over the old Pepperjax Grill space at 947 New Hampshire,”…
Flickr: Elessar The city could be sticking out its shingle soon. Sporting KC may have an unexpected competitor, should the local soccer franchise look to acquire a new corporate sponsor for its stadium. The Kansas City Star reports that Kansas City is considering selling naming rights to pieces of city-owned property, such as the ballroom in Bartle Hall. City Manager…
Flickr: bradleyjames Do you have eyes only for your cocktail? The best bartenders are facilitators, helping you find what you didn’t even know you wanted to drink. As a result, it’s easy for the best to sometimes get lost amid the flash of a row of back-lit bottles or a digital jukebox that has you feeding it dollars like a…
Flatlands America is coming to KCK. Hoist a red Solo cup and polish them boots – Toby Keith is coming to town. Keith and Luke Bryan are the headliners of the Flatlands Country Music Festival, a three-day festival at Sporting Park September 12-14. Keith should arrive before the return of his neon ode to the honky-tonk is complete (I Love…
Facebook: Prairie Village They know what to do with duck at Cafe Provence. If you ever needed convincing about the quality of life in the Kansas City area, consider the following fact. Cafe Provence, which Zagat deemed the best service in Kansas City (bear in mind, it’s in Prairie Village), is also the cheapest on a list of the restaurants…
