Yes, the weather is less agreeable these days, but the concert calendar isn’t cooling off anytime soon. November gives you plenty of reasons to kick the pets off the couch, pull on a jacket and head out the door. Here are a few under-the-radar gigs I think are worth the effort, followed by the rest of the month’s shows and…
Some people love whale song. I prefer the white noise of a busy dining room. Not because it soothes but because it informs. You can glean a lot about how a restaurant is doing if you listen to the buzz of conversation. Pay attention to the ease with which voices sail over the ambient clank of dishes and the pleasing hiss…
Racial profiling and appropriation in the art world collide in Disgraced, a tight dinner-party drama playing at the Unicorn Theatre through November 12. But if you’re expecting smug sermons from that ideological mix, think again. Playwright Ayad Akhtar has crafted a carousel of reversals, resulting in a message that will seem obvious only to hopeless hardliners. At the play’s center is…
Back in 2008, the first Apocalypse Meow raised funds for musician Abigail Henderson’s treatment, after she was diagnosed with Stage 3 inflammatory breast cancer. The event fetched nearly $20,000; in the spirit of giving back to the community, Henderson started the Midwest Music Foundation to, as she said at the time, “provide musicians with healthcare assistance.”Henderson died in 2013, but…
Tuesday, October 31Novel (815 West 17th Street) is hosting a four-course “Hallo-Wine” dinner tonight, featuring French Burgundy. Among the items on the menu: pumpkin soup with black truffle, apple cider and pumpkin seed; and seared salmon served with smoked potato, hackleback caviar and napa cabbage. The dinner is $45, exclusive of tax or gratuity. Call 816-221-0785 to check on availability. Wednesday,…
Despite battling what appeared to be acute sinusitis during her appearance last night at the Uptown Theater, the compelling Russian-born, American-adopted singer-songwriter Regina Spektor delivered a beautiful 90-minute set, drawing from her most recent effort, Remember Us to Life, in addition to digging deep into her catalog. She joked and chatted with the audience throughout the night, sharing stories, commiserating…
Arcade Fire, with Bomba EstereoThe Silverstein Eye Centers ArenaFriday, October 28, 2017The choice of the Silverstein Eye Centers Arena for Arcade Fire’s stop on the Infinite Content tour seemed an odd one. Following the band’s previous two appearances at the perpetually wonderful Starlight, the far-flung Independence venue seemed bland, next door as it is to a Costco — decidedly suburban….
Halloween is upon us, in what has turned out to be Hollywood’s biggest year ever for horror. Box office figures indicate that you’ve probably seen the latest and most obvious such flicks. And anyway, I say it’s better to scare yourself into catatonia at home, so I’ve meditated on my own video-rental past to come up with a list of…
Dear Dan: In a frank exchange early in our courtship, I told my girlfriend that I have no kinks. As a faithful reader of Savage Love, I’m obviously not opposed to kinks — but I’ve never had any inclinations in that direction and am probably a typical hetero vanilla. As a result, I’m damn near clueless in that area.Last night, my…
Nick Lowe is probably most identified with the 70s and 80s, when he was a pub-rock punker and behind-the-scenes new wave songwriter and producer. But many of Lowe’s best songs (“Long Limbed Girl,” “Lately I’ve Let Things Slide,” “I Read A Lot,” “Hope for Us All,” “Restless Feeling,” I could go on) have arrived, with little to no fanfare, in…
At this point in his career, actor William Shatner needs no introduction. But one can nevertheless take pleasure in recapping: We are talking about the original Captain James T. Kirk, of the USS Enterprise, and we are talking about the cop T.J. Hooker and the lawyer Denny Crane. He is the Priceline Negotiator. He is the auteur of several albums…
As part of the hip-hop group Cypress Hill, rapper Sen Dog is known for his strong verbal jabs, which punctuate the laconic flow of B-Real. Sen’s lyrics also hit hard, so it’s no surprise that he frequently works with heavy rock and metal artists such as Phunk Junkeez, P.O.D. and Transplants. No shock, then, that Sen would join forces with…
Blind Tiger (3945 Main) is set to close its doors October 31, the bar recently announced on its Facebook page. It’s unwelcome news for billiards enthusiasts — Blind Tiger was home to four pool tables — not to mention the punk-centric scene that sprouted up around the midtown bar since its August 2015 opening. A makeshift venue in the basement has…
Since 2013, Josh Berwanger has released two full-length albums — Strange Stains and Exorcism Rock — along with the Demonios EP and three singles. So why slow down now?On Halloween, he’s releasing his third LP, The Star Invaders. Berwanger has been part of two other notable local acts, the Anniversary and the Only Children, which bands released just two albums apiece. A third…
Fences, the kind we erect on land or in our psyches — that we put up between ourselves and others, to hold them in or set them apart — all appear in Fences. But in the vast space of the Copaken Theatre, no barriers impede the Kansas City Repertory Theatre’s production of this August Wilson play, which, directed by Ron…
Monday, October 23Krokstrom Klubb and Market (3601 Broadway) is offering more than its typical Scandinavian fare tonight, when it features the work of chefs Abby Calvert (Krokstrom) and Sam Hall (the Rieger) for a night of seasonally inspired Italian offerings. The six-course menu will be available with drink pairings ($80, exclusive of tax and gratuity) and without ($60). The event…
The conversation over what to do about Kansas City’s ailing American Jazz Museum shifted into a more dramatic key yesterday, when Councilman Jermaine Reed introduced an ordinance that would give the city — the Parks and Recreation Department, specifically — oversight of the museum and its assets. The AJM’s staff and board of directors manage the museum, the Blue Room and…
Dear Dan: My only child is 16 years old. He was curious about sex from a very young age and very open with me, so his interest in sexual matters gave me ample opportunity to talk with him about safety and consent. He went through a cross-dressing phase when he was small — mostly wanting to wear nail polish and try…
Sometimes Shakespeare’s works feel uncannily close to modern life. That sensation of familiarity is uncommonly strong in the King Lear now onstage at UMKC’s Spencer Theatre, a co-production of Kansas City Actors Theatre and UMKC Theatre.Here, the eponymous king (fiercely portrayed by Theodore Swetz) seeks flattery above all else, and is too shallow to see through its fakery or to value honest sentiment. (“Thou…
To adults of a certain generation, Marc Summers is the laid-back, super-fun uncle they never had. Summers was a Nickelodeon staple of the 1980s and early ’90s, the ringmaster of that cable network’s slime-powered game show Double Dare. Among his now-grown-up fans: Alex Brightman — the Tony-nominated star of Broadway’s School of Rock. When Brightman met Summers, the host said he wanted…
The shuttlecocks on the grounds of the Nelson-Atkins Museum of Art are cool and all, but you can’t actually play badminton with them. They’re much too big!Next summer, though, the leisure-sports vibe on the Nelson’s lawn will become significantly more interactive. The museum has announced that, in late spring of 2018, it will debut a nine-hole miniature golf course on…
The mill inside Messenger Coffee’s new space, at 1624 Grand, comes from Vermont, and it’s impressive: two large stone discs, perched atop a frame of metal and wood. Whole grain comes through the stainless-steel hopper into a hole in the top stone, then flows into a webbing etched into the stones. The stones crush the grain and push out flour…
Monday, October 16Pizza. There is no more perfect food. Even in its most humble, freezer-section form, it is still good. So there is much to celebrate from now through October 22, as The Pitch presents KC Pizza Week. All week, choose from specialty 10-inch (or larger) pizzas for just $8 at any of the following locations: il Lazzarone KC, Dewey’s Pizza KC,…
