Archives: February 2015
Chipotle festival to bring guacamole, music, high levels of sodium to Kansas City in July
The New York Times ran an interesting article about Chipotle on its data-driven vertical The Upshot a few days ago. Turns out, the thing I order at Chipotle at least once a week contains roughly 1,330 calories and 85 percent of a human being’s recommended daily sodium intake. Oh well! I’m still hittin’ up ‘Polay all day like, “Can I get…
Another Petro America defendant off to prison
The book is almost closed on the Petro America case, a gleaming local example of how some people will believe just about anything. A federal judge in Kansas City on Friday sentenced Russell Hopkins to four years and three months in prison, plus more than $600,000 in restitution. Hopkins was from Alabama, showing how far-flung the Kansas City scam became…
Drive-By Truckers are at the Madrid Theatre in April
Kansas City just had a big night with former Drive-By Trucker Jason Isbell earlier this week, and now comes the announcement that the original band is rolling through town in a few short weeks. On Saturday, April 18, the Drive-By Truckers stop at the Madrid Theater. The band is reviving a theme it visited on a tour eight years ago,…
Merle Haggard is at the Uptown on Monday, tickets still available
Merle Haggard is one of outlaw country’s quintessential voices. He has been since the 1960s, when the genre was building its muscles. And it is Haggard, along with Buck Owens, whom we have to thank for introducing us to the signature Bakersfield sound that was perhaps the original rebellion to the polished sheen of Nashville country. So whether you’re signing…
Will One Direction Ticket Drops In Australia Lead To Cheaper Tickets In The States?
The most popular boy band in the country, One Direction is returning to Australia to perform five live shows in the month of February. One Direction’s most recent album, Four, topped the Billboard 200 and the UK Album Chart. The five concert dates and locations are as follows: Brisbane at Suncorp Stadium on February 11th, Melbourne at Etihad Stadium on…
Tonight’s Vodka Vodka moved to the Valentine Room at the Uptown Theater
Ah, the weather outside looks frightful, but don’t let that deter you from The Pitch’s first Vodka Vodka event. For those of you who already have tickets, please note that we have a last-minute venue change: Vodka Vodka will now be taking place at the Valentine Room at the Uptown Theater (it was originally scheduled to take place at the…
Finally confirmed: AMC Entertainment can keep up to $21 million in taxes for its move to Leawood
AMC Entertainment’s decision to move to Leawood in 2011 was one of the more stinging company losses for Kansas City, Missouri. AMC was a prominent downtown employer, and its founder, Stan Durwood, was an early booster for the south loop’s redevelopment, which eventually evolved into what is today the Power & Light District. The company grew tired of its aging…
Throwback Thursday: Chuck Mead sings Johnny Horton in BR5-49’s “‘Cherokee Boogie’ music video
Though hillbilly hitmakers BR5-49 were ostensibly based out of Nashville, the group’s frontman, Chuck Mead, was born and raised in Lawrence. The group came through the area time and time again, going all the way back to their self-titled debut full-length on Arista in 1996. That recording featured this very excellent cover of Johnny Horton’s “Cherokee Boogie” as the lead-off…
And they’re off: The 2015 Folk Alliance International Conference had a massive start last night at the Westin
The annual Folk Alliance International Conference (FAI) is a sprawling, chaotic experience. With approximately 3,000 attendees, this is a big league gathering. Last night at the Westin, the conference kicked off its first of four days of workshops, lectures and, of course, performances. If the opening night’s roster can serve as an indicator, attendees are in store for one hell…
Missouri Lt. Gov. Peter Kinder, who makes $86,000 a year, believes he’s experiencing ‘gradual impoverishment’ due to his job
Pray for Peter Kinder. The lieutenant governor of Missouri, a Republican, has faced some, let’s call it, adversity, in the past. But the man is resilient! He remains the second-highest-ranking official in the Show-Me State. It’s an important job. Who else is going to troll Obama on Twitter all day? You think just anybody can do that? And Kinder makes only…
Fish fry season kicks off tomorrow
Fish frys. Shrimp boils. Meatless meals. For some people, it’s a religious obligation. For others, it’s a communal culinary experience. During the 40 days of Lent — the season of penance and prayer that began yesterday — the six Fridays prior to Easter Sunday, April 5, are traditionally observed by many Christians to be fast days (which often translate as…
Bill Kirchen, Peggy Seeger, Space Oddity and more: Six more Folk Alliance International Conference acts you shouldn’t miss
The 2015 Folk Alliance International Conference officially started yesterday, but that was largely the annual Wednesday-night local showcase. Tonight, the big fun starts. Hundreds of artists from across the globe have poured into the Westin Crown Center, and heaping quantities of them will be performing in official showcases in the evening and private showcases based out of hotel rooms in the…
Midtown’s Mash Handmade is easy to find, hard to stop visiting
I need to buy someone a monster. My first stop, obviously, is Mash Handmade. On a recent winter afternoon, the first thing to catch my eye in the midtown shop is a shelf by the register. Sitting on it are colorful creatures made by KC Monstrosity, whose battery of plush, oversized eyes are begging for love like so many puppies…
Flogging Molly takes over CrossroadsKC in June
Celtic punk-rockers Flogging Molly have just announced a slew of summer concert dates, likely planned to coincide with the band’s forthcoming untitled full-length, due out sometime this year. Flogging Molly stops at CrossroadsKC on Tuesday, June 9. Tickets go on sale Friday, February 20, at 10 a.m. Details here. Categories: News Tags: crossroadskc, flogging molly, incoming, just announced
Nick Wesemann, Patrick Ryan, Howard Hanna and Bluestem up for James Beard Awards
The James Beard Foundation released its list of semifinalists today for the organization’s 2014 Restaurant and Chef Awards. Three Kansas City chefs are among the semifinalists, including the American Restaurant’s pastry chef, Nick Wesemann, who is one of 20 nominees in the nationwide “Outstanding Pastry Chef” category. Howard Hanna, the executive chef and co-owner of the Rieger Hotel Grill &…
Streetside: Everyone has an agenda for the Nelson-Atkins’ ambitious improvement agenda
Talk about urban planning long enough — as about 75 citizens did recently as part of a community meeting organized by the Nelson-Atkins Museum of Art (held at the Bancroft School, at 4300 Tracy) — and you begin to see certain civic blights and unexamined potential hiding in plain sight. Why, for instance, is the intersection of Main Street and…
Border Brewing Co. prepares for Saturday’s grand opening
The Crossroads’ brewery boom is now in full swing. Torn Label Brewing Co.’s production facility went live in December. Now it’s Border Brewing Co.’s turn. Border owner Eric Martens has committed to a Saturday, February 21, grand opening. He’ll unlock the French doors at 406 East 18th Street to the public for the first time at 11 a.m. and won’t…
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