We’re only a few weeks away from summer time and that means music fans are checking out the calendar to see which festivals they want to attend this year. Probably the biggest festival coming to Kansas City is the Dancefestopia, the EDM festival taking place September 12th and 13th. 2 day passes are only $93 and VIP unlimited drinks will…
The funniest woman – and possibly the funniest person – on television is in Kansas City tonight. Stand-up comedian Amy Schumer brings her “Back Door Tour” to the Midland. Showtime is 8 p.m.; (front) doors open at 7 p.m. Expect a hilariously dirty show. If you’ve yet to be acquainted with Schumer, catch up with episodes of her Comedy Central show, Inside…
Just last month, while wandering around the swelling Austin streets for SXSW, I found my way into a bar for a midday set by Kansas City prog-rock band After Nations. My ears were assaulted by some incredible – and incredibly loud – compositions. There I was, in this small little venue with only a handful of people, watching this talented trio – guitarist Andrew…
Curious how the younger set is advancing? Peek at art by Kansas City Academy students Sydney Bernstein and Nicole Vescovi. The two are showing pieces at Main Street Gallery (1610 Main), the space upstairs from Anton’s Taproom, run by former Pi curator Jody Wilkins. Or head to the vast Locust Factory (504 East 18th Street), where six Shawnee Mission East…
Lutfi’s fried fish is a great comfort-food meal, but there are many ways to enjoy the creatures of the sea (and river) here in Kansas City. There was a time in the not-so-distant past that “fresh” seafood in landlocked Kansas City might be limited at local restaurants to deep-fried shrimp and deep-fried catfish. If you were really lucky, a menu…
These long-covered windows will be a focal point (along with the 15 TV sets) in the new Nick and Jake’s Restaurant at 5031 Main Street. Seventeen days. That’s how long restaurateurs Kevin Timmons and Doug Watkins think it will take to have the two-story space at 5031 Main, which they’ve nearly gutted since starting the project in January, ready for…
One of the less visible springtime elections is Kansas City’s request for voters to bless a $500 million water bond issuance. City Hall wants to sell the bonds to get cash for long-overdue water-line replacements. Water lines are one of the city’s most neglected assets. They sprung upward of 1,200 leaks last year, owing to their age and slipshod installation…
Middle of the Map takes over Westport this weekend, but you can escape the fray for a different kind of madness at Center of the City. Thirty-five KC punk and hardcore bands spend three nights battering two stages at Vandals – the remodeled indoor stage at the Black & Gold Tavern and an outdoor courtyard. “I just thought that the…
Click here for this month’s First Friday gallery openings and events.
Cheatin’ Bill Plympton’s latest animated feature is a wordless love story between a woman named Ella and a gas-station attendant named Jake, whose romance goes sour when she’s falsely accused of being unfaithful to him. Plympton’s movies are always great to look at, but there’s a poignancy to Cheatin’ that makes the movie weirdly heartwarming despite its sordid subject matter….
Like a carnival barker, a cast member yells, “It’s 8:02!” Co-stars singing out of sight in a side aisle join musicians and actors slowly gathering onstage. But where’s George Harter? No opening remarks adding context and history to this Musical Theater Heritage show? Finally he appears and says simply, “This isn’t a rehearsal!” It’s not a rehearsal but it’s clearly…
The first time I reviewed Westside Local, back in 2009, I couldn’t recommend it. Some of my friends already loved the new restaurant unconditionally, grateful to have such a business in this hip neighborhood. But I found the service arrogant and inept (a glaringly bad combination) and the food inconsistent. These things I blamed on original managing partner Troy McEvers,…
On the morning of March 26, Ed Peterson — accompanied by his wife, Laura Scott, and Kathy Cook, former director of Kansas Families for Education — appeared at the Johnson County Election Office in Olathe and filed papers to run for chairman of the Board of County Commissioners. The day before, Peterson’s campaign issued a media advisory, alerting local reporters…
What would you do if information came to light strongly suggesting that your boss was perhaps committing a crime? Would you quit immediately? What if you knew that he hadn’t been charged but might be under criminal investigation? How do you weigh the ethics of working for such a person against meeting your financial obligations? These are some of the…
La Guerre Rare and Collectible Spirits Let’s face it: The whole synth-pop-fronted-by-a-delicate-voiced-female-singer thing is a niche genre on the verge of being pummeled to death by a bunch of would-be sensitive starlets who believe that distortion makes up for quality. It’s a shame because, at one point, I had great love for Oh Land, Beach House, Lana Del Rey, Cults…
Bill Plympton has spent the past few decades redefining what an animated film can look like and what kind of subject matter it can tackle. His Plymptoons became reliably wittier than the music videos they ran between on MTV of the 1980s and ’90s, and his shorts “Your Face” (1985) and “Guard Dog” (2005) brought him Academy Award nominations. His…
John Anderson and Nicole Williams say their Utilitarian Workshop remains in “full steam ahead” mode, even as they add to their business duties with a few other responsibilities: recent homeowners and new parents. So it has been a busy eight months since the couple opened this storefront and showroom at 1659 Summit. And at least one day a month is…
Chef Carl Thorne-Thomsen gets the People’s vote from Food & Wine magazine. Carl Thorne-Thomsen, the chef and co-owner of the Story restaurant in Prairie Village, has been a professional chef for more than a few years. But if Food & Wine magazine says he’s the People’s Best New Chef 2014, who the hell is he to complain? Thorne-Thomsen, one of…
New blood at 510 Westport. The headline up there kinda tells you all you need to know, but, yeah – Bridger’s officially opened for business this afternoon, at 510 Westport Road. Not quite all of the bottle shop’s 600 beers are in stock quite yet, co-owner Eric Flanagan told us when we popped in earlier today, but a good chunk…
Steve Schowengerdt edged out current Mission City Council President David Shepard in a close election Tuesday to replace outgoing Mayor Laura McConwell. Schowengerdt, who served on the Mission City Council until four years ago, ran on a fiscal belt-tightening platform in contrast to Shepard, who was seen as closely aligned with McConwell’s mayoral agenda. Only 19 votes separated the mayoral…
Less than two months after the Kansas City Smokeshack BBQ closed at 900 Swift in North Kansas City, the bright-yellow building has a new tenant, a family-operated Mexican restaurant called El Burrito Loco Mexican Cafe. It opened yesterday. But smoked meats are still on the menu. “I took over this space as a turnkey operation,” says owner Paul Davalos. “The smoker was…
Pitch food critic Charles Ferruzza revisits Westside Local in this week’s Café section (read his review here). Photographer Angela C. Bond gives a peek at the menu in this slideshow.
Kansas City Chiefs offensive lineman Jeff Allen was a stranger to the barbecue egg roll, and I’d never eaten one, either. When we agreed that it was time to try one, we headed to lunch at Smokey’s on the Boulevard BBQ, the Overland Park storefront of father-and-son barbecue team Rob and Jason Harris. (The 19-month-old business is in a strip…
