Missouri is about to execute its sixth prisoner this year, but John Middleton’s date with the executioner may not be like all the others. Preceding executions in the state’s increasingly busy death chamber have involved inmates whose guilt for their crimes was in little or no doubt. The controversy over those executions centered mainly on the shadowy means through which…
Ah, yes. The Pitch Music Awards season is in full swing – in case you hadn’t noticed by the “song of the day” posts we’ve been running – and now, we have a fresh addition to this year’s exciting news storm. On Sunday, August 3, former Flaming Lips drummer Kliph Scurlock will present an award to one lucky winner at the Pitch Music…
A sweet deal. First Boulevard, now Russell Stover Candies: Foreign buyouts are trending up locally as the economy brightens (for rich people). Multiple news outlets are reporting that Lindt, a Swiss chocolate maker, has purchased the longtime Kansas City company for somewhere in the $1 billion-$1.5 billion range. The Ward family, who own Russell Stover Candies, had reportedly been shopping…
It’s almost too easy to hate on Young & Sick, the stage name for Nick Van Hofwegen. The Netherlands-via-Los Angeles musician calls Y&S a “music and art project,” which sounds a little highfalutin from a man who has done cover art for Foster the People and Robin Thicke and T-shirts for Urban Outfitters. Most of Young & Sick’s songs sound…
The members of Judas Priest will go down in history as the veritable godfathers of heavy metal. The band formed in 1969, and despite a seemingly continuous carousel of players, Judas Priest has never stopped the music. The band’s influence on its genre goes without saying, and in its latest full-length Redeemer of Souls, Judas Priest proves that it’s not…
This year, the 2014 Pitch Music Awards Showcase is split over two nights: This Saturday, July 19, at the Riot Room and Friday, July 25, at Knuckleheads Saloon (lineup details and tickets here.) The PMA Awards Show is at the Uptown Theater, held this year on Sunday, August 3, and hosted by World Air Guitar Champion Eric “Mean” Melin and Mills Record Co.’s Judy…
Modest Mouse Uptown Theater, Kansas City, MO Sunday, July 13 Modest Mouse surely doesn’t ring as a new band, but it can be hard to believe that the act, despite Isaac Brock’s reputation for being a difficult guy to work with (deserved or not), has been in the game for 20 years. Somehow it has been a full seven years…
How do you take your alt country? Shaken, with a mystery shot and a long pour? Gently stirred with a tender hand? Or neat, like the serious listener you are? Between the rowdy barroom sing-alongs and back-porch ballads of Lucero and the contemplative orchestrations of Murder by Death, there’s bound to be something to whet your palate. It all goes…
Glass Animals Czar Bar, Kansas City Saturday, July 12 2014 Czar Bar was already at capacity by 8 p.m. last night, a full hour and a half before Glass Animals would take the stage. The sold-out crowd rippled with a quiet excitement that transfused through the space, filling the spartan interior with a pregnant energy perfect for the British indie-rock…
Bad news for Kansas City NBA fans — and ticket scalpers. LeBron James is going back to Cleveland to play for the Cavaliers. The news broke today on Sports Illustrated’s website. So after years of playing preseason NBA games in Kansas City with Miami, James won’t be here when the Heat plays the Golden State Warriors at Sprint Center on Friday, October…
This year, the 2014 Pitch Music Awards Showcase is split over two nights: Saturday, July 19, at the Riot Room and Friday, July 25, at Knuckleheads Saloon (lineup details and tickets here.) The PMA Awards Show is at the Uptown Theater, held this year on Sunday, August 3, and hosted by World Air Guitar Champion Eric “Mean” Melin and Mills Record Co.’s Judy Mills…
Screenland Armour’s Arts & Crafts Festival returns on August 22 and 23. What should you expect in year No. 2? * More than 100 different craft beers, including samples from Jolly Pumpkin, Prairie Artisan Ales, Crooked Stave, Mikkeller, Perennial. Screenland’s Adam Roberts tells me that he’s working on securing some special kegs of beers not available in Kansas City. * The Kansas…
