Thursday 4.21Sarah Lancashire is an absolute wonder as a grandmother and police sergeant in the BBC crime series Happy Valley. Season 2 quietly arrived on Netflix two months ago, and buzz continues to build for this stellar show, just renewed for a third season. Set in an economically depressed river valley in Northern England, it follows kidnapping and murder plots,…
Let’s go crazy … in the parking lot of Hot 103 Jamz. The radio station — 11131 Colorado Avenue — is throwing a Prince Block Party outside of the station’s studios starting at noon today to celebrate the life of the pop icon who died Thursday at age 57.So, if you’re looking for a way to celebrate His Purpleness, head…
Andrew Bird with Dawn of MidiThe Midland Thursday, April 21, 2016 With Andrew Bird, you know you’ll get virtuosic layers of violin — loops and solos that create his own orchestra. There will be intricate lyrics, with elaborate words like “palindromes,” and with references to Jacques Cousteau and the Sargasso Sea absolutely standard. His trademark whistling (really) will soar early…
As a general rule, any time a state lawmaker drums up a bill that affects a red-button social issue during an election year, you can expect that it’s poorly written and ill-conceived legislation.In The Year That Donald Trump May Become President, GOP leaders in Missouri are using Senate Joint Resolution 39 to fire up the base, get people out to…
Prince is dead. TMZ reports that the legendary pop singer’s body was found at his Paisley Park estate in Minnesota this morning. Prince was 57 years old.From what I can tell, his last appearance in Kansas City was on the Musicology Live 2004ever tour on May 4, 2004, at Kemper Arena. On that show, he played a 33-song set, closing…
Our fearless hero has arrived!He swoops down in his speckled teal cape, goggles on. But wait. His insignia is a hesitant question mark, and it’s pinned to the front of his costume. And that smile. It’s a slack-jawed grin inside a halo of graying facial hair. He sees we need protection, and he roars. “Duuuhhhh,” he says.Oh.Maybe Dr. Dumb’s sidekick…
Andrew Birdwith Dawn of MidiA full 20 years after his solo debut, Music of Hair, Andrew Bird continues to build his career, somehow not exhausted by the sheer creative output he demands of himself — a trait that should make his fans forever grateful. On Are You Serious, released at the beginning of this month, Bird delivers the hallmarks we’ve…
The first time I saw Molly Hammer sing was a little less than a year ago. It was at the now shuttered Broadway Jazz Club. Hammer was playing an early set to fewer than a dozen patrons. She stood on the odd, angular stage, facing a dark room as the waning summer sun slowly set behind her.Hammer didn’t seem to…
For the first time in more than a generation, Kansas City has two championship-caliber pro sports teams — the Royals, of course, who won a little thing called the World Series last fall, and Sporting, who took home Major League Soccer’s MLS Cup in 2013. Both teams recently kicked off their 2016 seasons — on the field and in the…
Color me confused.Since Brookside pizzeria Blue Grotto closed, in February, I’ve heard plenty of rumors about possible new tenants. Some people have told me that 6324 Brookside Plaza will next be a steakhouse. For a fleeting moment, others whispered that it would become a ramen restaurant.At least that’s a good place to find a grain of salt to go with…
The Pitch is a free, controlled-circulation magazine, printed the first week of each month. More than 35,000 copies are distributed in the Kansas City metro to more than 1,000 locations. Emphasizing investigative reporting and long-form journalism, The Pitch covers every aspect of local life — government and politics, performing and visual arts, music, fashion, books, movies, food and drink — in print each month and…
In September, the Federal Trade Commission shut down CWB Services, an online payday-lending operation in Mission, Kansas, allegedly controlled by Tim Coppinger. The feds also froze all Coppinger’s bank accounts and assets, in order to preserve the possibility of relief for consumers whom his operations had allegedly taken advantage of. Coppinger is accused of conning consumers out of tens of millions…
No sooner than the moment The Pitch published this article almost a month ago outlining how the Tutera Group hadn’t gotten enough votes from the Prairie Village City Council to build a large senior living project, CEO Joe Tutera wanted to talk. He had a full head of steam that day, perhaps understandable given that he had spent more than…
As one brewery starts its farewell tour, another opens its doors. May 15, KC says goodbye to 75th Street Brewery, a starting point for several local brewers, after 23 years. But we already have a new brewery to frequent.Stockyards Brewing Co. opened last Friday in the bar that once belonged to iconic West Bottoms steakhouse the Golden Ox, at 1600…
Growing debts and few assets forced Johnny James and Diane Balderaz to do what nearly a million Americans did in 2015 — seek bankruptcy protection from their creditors. On August 14, 2015, the two walked into a federal court in Houston, Texas, and filed a Chapter 13 case.Under Chapter 13, debtors don’t liquidate their debts but rather arrange to repay…
Who looks forward to being shown an album of travel photos — especially one purporting to show a year’s worth of adventures?As a rule, nobody does. But when Megan Karson is the roving photographer, you don’t have to put on a fake smile while you think of excuses for leaving before she runs out of pages. The photos that make…
Twitter handle: @RiseofBrockstar Instagram: IamBrockstar Hometown: Forest, Mississippi Current neighborhood: the Historic Northeast What I do: Freelance artist and fashion designer, manager of Peggy Noland KC, cutting technician at Eleve dancewear, studio assistant to Sara Cramer jewelry. I have six jobs. I don’t get tired. I am a creator of beautiful things! I enjoy sewing, drawing, singing and dancing. I…
To hear Missouri Sen. Bob Onder tell it yesterday, Missouri politics are infected with these pesky business people sticking their noses where they shouldn’t. It’s almost like he thinks Big Business shouldn’t go meddling in the political lives of Missouri lawmakers. Onder is unhappy with business folks in their fancy suits speaking up about Senate Joint Resolution 39, a piece…
In March, Pete Cowdin and Deb Pettid closed Reading Reptile, their small, idiosyncratic and beloved children’s bookstore. They did this in order to go full steam on the Rabbit Hole, a proposed national center for the children’s book that’s now raising funds and marshaling strategy. On the evidence of the exhibition now on view in a temporary Crossroads space, the…
A year ago, pianist Dino Massa visited from Naples, Italy. Paired with alto saxophonist Chris Burnett, he filled Take Five Coffee + Bar one night and the Blue Room the next. Massa and Burnett met two decades ago, when both were in the NATO band in Naples. Massa is known for performances of both classical music and jazz. Burnett is…
No one has ever accused the Midwest of being a trendsetting region. That lofty badge has always gone to the coasts; presumably, residents there are more finely attuned to what’s hot and what’s not — especially when it comes to such important cultural matters as booze.What a load of crap.Now, it may be true that certain trends in food and…
Are you a Missouri resident with an outstanding payday loan from one of the following online lenders: Payday Financial, Western Sky Financial, Lakota Cash, Great Sky Finance, Red Stone Financial, Big Sky Cash, Lakota Cash, or Financial Solutions? If so, you don’t need to pay it back. It was illegal for those operations to lend to residents of Missouri, and it…
The Sierra Club scored a major victory in the courts when all of the Kansas Supreme Court justices sent the Kansas Department of Health and Environment’s permit allowing the construction of the Holcomb 2 coal-fired power plant back to the state agency for reconsideration. Holcomb, Kansas, is a town of about 2,000 people in Finney County, best known as the…
Back in November, we got the word out about the Too Much Rock Singles Series, Sid Sowder’s vinyl project featuring local bands. If you don’t want to go back and read the whole article, here’s a refresher: Sowder, notorious local music enthusiast and champion of the under-heard, selects a local band to cover a song of his selection and record…
