Due to “overwhelming demand,” and the fact that his July 30 Sprint Center gig is already sold out, our man J.T. has added a second Kansas City show to his calendar, on July 31. Is that a collective scream of delight we hear echoing around the metro? Tickets for the 7/31 date on the superstar’s 20/20 Experience roster officially…
The revitalized Corner Restaurant at 4059 Broadway has been open for seven months and is already introducing a new executive chef: Mickey Priolo, formerly of Bluestem and the President Hotel. Corner co-owner Dawn Slaughter tells The Pitch that Natasha Sears, the chef who opened the new restaurant in April, sat down with Slaughter and co-owner Michael Pfeifer last month and gave…
Penn says he’ll refile. Division 12 of the Jackson County Courthouse this week was all set to be a big party for media watchers in town, for former Star columnist Steve Penn’s defamation lawsuit against his old employer. Penn was fired by the Star in 2011 for recycling press releases and passing them off as his own in his column….
Albert Hammond Jr., with Rathborne Riot Room, Kansas City November 15, 2013 Albert Hammond Jr. and his band put on a very lively show at the Riot Room Friday night. The show was rooted in a particular early punk-influenced pop, not much unlike his other day job. The band was all decked out in black attire, with Hammond decorating himself…
Aussie alt-rocker Nick Cave and his band the Bad Seeds have just announced the dates for their North American tour, and Kansas City is the second stop on the list. The tour follows the recent release of Cave’s 15th studio album, Push the Sky Away. Nick Cave and the Bad Seeds will be taking over the Midland on June 18,…
Junot Diaz. Junot Diaz is one of the most decorated novelists in America at the moment. He won the Pulitzer Prize in 2008 for his novel, The Brief Wondrous Life of Oscar Wao. Last year, he was a recipient of an illustrious MacArthur Foundation “genius” grant, which awards $500,000 to especially talented artists and thinkers. He’s also a writing professor…
Update: We’ve just received news that Alaine Dickman and Taylor Nelson have had to cancel their show at RecordBar tomorrow night due to a family death that took place over the weekend. No news on a rescheduled show. Alaine Dickman and Taylor Nelsonmake up the Minneapolis duo Wiping Out Thousands, an experimental electronic band for all the nerds out there. They…
Local indie-pop trio Shy Boys have been keeping details of their debut album pretty firmly under wraps, but they aren’t above teasing listeners with a new single. “Keeps Me on My Toes” is airy and simple, a little lo-fi pop goodness that will make you swoon for summer – and at under two minutes in length, it’s downright flirtatious. The…
Janelle Monáe with Roman GianArthur Uptown Theater, Kansas City Friday, November 15, 2013 Let’s get something straight: Janelle Monáe is a goddess. Not a music goddess or an R&B goddess, or whatever. Monáe is not actually human, because it just isn’t possible for someone to be so pretty and so talented and real at the same time. At least, that’s…
Mike Sanders is back into transit. Fresh off a bruising defeat for the translational medical research tax, the Jackson County executive gave his annual state of the county address, ending it by renewing a call for mass transit in the region. “The millennial generation feel empowered more than ever by iPhones than their cars,” Sanders told a crowd of about…
Aqua Teen Hunger Force’s Carl was wrong before betting against the Kansas City Chiefs. Will he be wrong again Sunday? Carl is picking the Denver Broncos to end the Chiefs’ undefeated streak. Why? Carl’s logic goes: Andy Reid has “no heart,” and Denver coach John Fox has a bum ticker. “All the great ones get heart attacks eventually,” Carl explains….
People love using words like “wholesome” and “classy” to describe 21-year-old Disney Channel graduate Selena Gomez. Compared with her pop-culture counterpart Miley Cyrus, Gomez certainly is the more family-friendly car-ride CD choice. I have a hard time believing that there’s anything beyond marshmallow fluff between Gomez’s ears. The starlet’s latest record, Stars Dance, is filled with polished pop songs that…
Dead Confederate with Spindrift Riot Room, Kansas City Thursday, October 14, 2013 Genre tags are an unfortunate thing in the music world. They’re coined by critics, not bands, and yet once overused create layers and layers of skin to peel through before you can even find the music. Last night’s show at Riot Room found three touring bands fighting through…
It’s rare when “hillbilly music” sounds even remotely appealing, but exceptions must be made in the case of Mountain Sprout. The Arkansas four-piece features bass, guitar, banjo and fiddle, and the band’s unpretentious twang sounds like a throwback to the riotous days of moonshine and shotgun weddings. With songs like “Screw the Government” and “Town Drunk,” it’s clear that Mountain Sprout…
