If Tom Valenti can’t build a $20 million bookstore on the campus of Syracuse University, is there any hope for Mission? Syracuse University decided last Friday that it had had enough of Valenti’s excuses and persistent delays and fired the developer from the bookstore and fitness center that was planned there. Valenti, as regular Pitch readers know, is the man with…
Pioneer Press Facebook All weekend long. Last year, Pioneers Press – a small-press publishing house based in Lansing, Kansas – was awarded a Rocket Grant to help fund a traveling zine gallery and shop. The pair behind the operation, Jessica and Thaddeus Christian, have dubbed it the Hard 50 Farm Zine Mobile, and they’re debuting it this weekend in Lawrence….
I met Monica Martin in the upstairs band lounge of Austin, Texas’ Mohawk during SXSW. As we talked about her band’s unlikely starting point (Baraboo, Wisconsin, of all places) and her unexpected role as a frontwoman, Martin admired my footwear – monstrous Danskos that, while hideous, proved to be the smartest packing decision I’d made – and we briefly swapped…
It doesn’t matter if “black metal” isn’t your jam. San Francisco’s Deafheaven brings something to the table that most rock fans can appreciate, even if they aren’t going to get obsessed with the band’s excellent album Sunbather. Lead screamer George Clarke lays down his aggressive, unforgiving vocals over explosive prog-rock jams, and the record flows rather melodiously and artfully. Hear…
I’ve never cared much for Ray LaMontagne. Yes, he’s very talented, but something about his tender-stringed songs and his full-throated delivery is just so earnest. But I take it all back. LaMontagne’s latest release, Supernova, produced by the Black Keys’ Dan Auerbach, is more psych-folk than sentimental, designed to challenge the genre-box that LaMontagne was stuck in. Tickets start at…
Citizens for Responsible Government filed an ethics complaint Friday against Kansas City Mayor Sly James and the rest of the Kansas City, Missouri, City Council, accusing them of steering public funds toward streetcar advocacy. CFRG is an advocacy committee led by Dan Coffey, a Kansas City resident, who is also tied to Friends of KCI, which opposes single-terminal construction at…
In anticipation of its forthcoming album They Want My Soul (out August 5), Spoon has just announced a North American tour. The Austin rockers stop at Liberty Hall on Thursday, September 21. They Want My Soul is the first release from Spoon in four years, and it marks the end of the band’s three-year hiatus, so there will be a lot to…
The Dodgers travel to Kauffman Stadium this week for three games against the Kansas City Royals. In an interleague showdown, the Royals schedule has the two teams meeting this week for the first and only time this season. While season average for Royals tickets is $63.63, each of the three games will see an average price below that number. The series as a whole…
New York singer and songwriter Sharon Van Etten has just announced a fall tour in support of her latest album, the stunning Are We There, and because life isn’t fair, she’s skipping Kansas City on the extensive run. Major sadface. In case you want to jet to St. Louis in October, or perhaps pick a more exotic destination, we’ve copied…
Inherit the mantle of Cook. Are you the world’s next pop star? Probably not! Statistically, we’re talking about a zero, then a decimal, then several more zeros before a non-zero integer. Terrible odds! But Blue Springs native son David Cook did it (briefly). And so did Clay Aiken, and look where he is now. How? Through the staggering reach of…
Future with Rico Love Crossroads KC, Kansas City Sunday, June 22 While initially threatened with cancellation due to lightning, Atlanta’s Future eventually took the stage and proceeded to romp through 24 crowd-motivating tracks. Future’s gig was originally scheduled within the weather-resistant confines of the Midland but was eventually and inconspicuously transferred to the open-air venue of the Crossroads. As luck…
It’s finally your day, Team Two Jokers. After a three-year absence, Boulevard Brewing Co.’s Two Jokers Double-Witt is available on draft today. The Belgian-style white beer’s return to taps precedes its second coming in 750 ml bottles in stores on Tuesday, July 8. Boulevard says it employs “a traditional sour mash technique” on a quarter of the total batch in brewing Two Jokers,…
Ha Ha Tonka and Making Movies Knucklehead’s Saloon, Kansas City Friday, June 20, 2014 Two of the area’s most raucous live bands joined forces Friday night at a distinctly authentic local venue. Knucklehead’s Saloon, nestled into the small residential community of the storied East Bottoms, played host to a gathering of friends and comingling of folk cultures that brought together…
96.5 the Buzz has just announced the lineup for its annual Buzz Beach Ball, and it looks pretty tasty. Arctic Monkeys headline, and alternative L.A. juggernaut Weezer will also be on deck to make you remember the 1990s. Personally, I’m a little more excited for Austin’s Ume, a female-fronted psych-rock band that packs a pretty dangerous punch, but to each…
The Avett Brothers with Langhorne Slim & the Law Cricket Wireless Amphitheater, Bonner Springs Friday, June 20 Those who’ve never seen an Avett Brothers show, and are only familiar with the studio albums, usually get a bit of a shock at some point in their first concert. There’s a lot of yelling. It’s fun to watch NPR types in plaid…
