Charles Macheers must be compensating for something. Maybe the Kansas House representative from Shawnee backed an insidious bill to allow discrimination against gay couples in the Sunflower State as a means get his name out and make up for an undistinguished political career. Or maybe he has some other, more personal reason. How else to explain the legislation he drafted that…
That’s right. The almighty Morrissey has finally rescheduled the tour he had to cancel last year because of some rather serious health concerns – namely a bleeding ulcer and double pneumonia – and he’s coming to Liberty Hall on Tuesday, May 20. The date is so brand-spanking-new that it’s not even up on the Liberty Hall calendar yet. Pitchfork has the…
The Clowns were too Insane for Missouri. Last week came the somewhat mind-blowing announcement that the Insane Clown Posse’s legendary annual summer party, the Gathering of the Juggalos, would be held at a park in Kaiser, Missouri, near the Lake of the Ozarks. Then, just a minute ago, tragedy struck. Psychopathic Records, ICP’s label, issued a press release explaining that…
Tickets to Boulevard Brewing Co.’s Boulevardia festival go on sale March 5 at 10 a.m. There aren’t a lot of other details out there yet for the West Bottoms street festival, scheduled for June 13-15. Not even ticket prices. But we do know that there will be single-day and weekend passes available – and a separate beer and food event (thanks, Facebook!). Boulevard’s initial announcement…
Kevin Boyer, frontman for Detroit noise-punk band Tyvek, is not a singer. On 2012’s full-length On Triple Beams, Boyer yells, spits and snarls through the album’s abrasive ten tracks. His lyrics cover the usual band stories – getting too drunk, playing shows, life on the road. But Boyer also pays homage to his much-maligned hometown, shedding a punk realist’s…
The International Folk Alliance Conference & Winter Music Camp comes to KC February 19-23. To get you geared up for the folk blowout, every day we’re posting a song we like by one of the event’s showcase artists. To understand the significance of Sam Baker’s music, you need to know how it started. In 1986, when Baker was 32, he…
As part of our International Folk Alliance Conference preview series, we’re rounding up a bunch of notable acts that are coming to town and chatting about what’s happening in their world. The International Folk Alliance Conference takes place from February 19-23. Details here. Knoxville quintet the Black Lillies released its most recent album, Runaway Freeway Blue, early last year and…
You’ve heard it from your friends, and we’ve heard it from ours: Dating in Kansas City is hard. Well, sure — dating anywhere is hard. Sometimes you’re the heartbreaker, sometimes you’re the heartbroken, and sometimes there’s no heartbeat to start with. But now and then, we see a couple who clicks. We notice the way they look at each other,…
To say we muse a lot about motherhood understates our obsession with the subject. The birthing and raising of children is, like sex, experienced from a variety of predilections. Maternity infiltrates religion, nationality and culture, and inspires works of art and literature. And so now comes Motherhood Out Loud, a short play on an endlessly multifaceted subject. The 90-minute one-act,…
Pig. Heifer. Whale. The slurs familiar to the overweight share a crucial premise: If you’re fat, you’re less than human. Playwright Neil LaBute fires back shots of his own at our image-obsessed culture in his beauty plays, a treatise-in-triptych: The Shape of Things, Reasons to Be Pretty and Fat Pig. Fat Pig is as brutal and direct as LaBute’s title…
Top Five Songs to Listen to as You Get Shitfaced and Cry All Night 1. “Lost Cause” from Sea Change, by Beck. “First of all, the entire album. Second of all, bust out the Kleenex if you don’t already own it. #Ebayprices #OutofPrint” 2. “Love Hurts” from Hair of the Dog, by Nazareth. “Predictable choice, but my best Valentine’s Day was…
Eboni Fondren has a voice that drips with the blues and a seductive power — a song from her pulls you in, then knocks you around with a powerful, sultry swing. She’s got quite the pedigree, too, having spent eight years singing with organist Everette DeVan, and she can still sometimes be heard sitting in with DeVan’s Tuesday jams at…
It’s easy for a band like Making Movies to stand out in Kansas City. The foursome — Panamanian-born brothers Enrique and Diego Chi, Mexican-born Juan-Carlos Chaurand, KC-born Brendan Culp — are used to the confusion of new fans when they explain that their psych-rock and Latin-jazz fusion sprouted in decidedly unspicy Midwestern fields. They’re also quite proud of that fact….
“Valentine’s Day is a stupid holiday,” Stevie Cruz says. “I’m sorry, but it is.” He shrugs and sips his Jameson and leans forward. On this gray afternoon, deep into the long and unforgiving winter, he’s wearing a cutoff black T-shirt. His forearms are tan. Cruz is the lead singer for Hammerlord, and he and guitarists J.P. Gaughan and Ty Scott,…
Tyvek, Schwervon, the Bad Ideas Kevin Boyer, frontman for Detroit noise-punk band Tyvek, isn’t a singer. He yells, spits and snarls through the 10 abrasive tracks of 2012’s On Triple Beams. His lyrics cover the usual band stories — getting drunk, playing shows, life on the road — but Boyer also pays homage to his much-maligned hometown, training a punk…
Oklahoma compounding pharmacy the Apothecary Shoppe markets itself with a slogan that says: “The most important thing we did today is fill your prescription.” One prescription the pharmacy won’t be filling today, tomorrow or any day until at least February 18 is a fatal dose of pentobarbital for the Missouri Department of Corrections to administer for Michael Taylor’s death. Taylor…
It’s a great week for Kansas City craft-beer drinkers. The KC Bier Co. opened yesterday, and today Martin City Pizza & Tap opens its doors. The new craft brewery at 410 East 135th Street serves six beers – Black Saison, ESB, IPA, Porter, Strong Dark Belgian and Witbier – and also cooks up brick-oven pizzas. The new place isn’t far from the Martin City…
A couple of weeks ago, I didn’t know anything about chia seeds, the glitter of the antioxidant world. The grayish, mildly nutty kernels work on oatmeal or salads or even ice cream, delivering an unobtrusive dose of protein, healthy omega-3 fats and fiber. Along with kale and blueberries, they’re on the short list of foods ready to make you invincible…
The Pixies with the Cults Midland, Kansas City February 11, 2014 For the full slideshow from last night, go here. Black Francis is not much for small talk. During the Pixies’ 90-minute set last night at the Midland, the band’s legendarily egomaniacal front man, his trademark bald dome shining under the spotlight, did not address the audience once – not even…
