Archives: April 2018

Theater review: The Mascot, at the Living Room, is sporty and funny (if not deep)

Die-hard sports fans run the gamut. There are the tamer enthusiasts, who name their babies after players and coaches or get tattoos of their favorite players. On the more extreme end, “you have your stalkers, your field-chargers, and your murderous psychopaths,” notes Bleacher Report. (See the famous 1990s Texas cheerleader case.) Perhaps playwright Jerry Hickey had these not-uncommon instances in mind…

Eric Greitens is the stain on the rug that Missouri can’t get rid of

Eric Greitens should have resigned today before Missouri’s special House committee released its disturbing report. By now, you’ve likely read the report or skimmed its details on Twitter. In it, the Missouri governor’s ex-lover — a woman deemed by the committee to be a credible witness — details a harrowing 2015 encounter in which Greitens blindfolded her, taped her hands to…

Q&A: Comedian Rhea Butcher on Take My Wife and touring the Midwest ahead of Saturday’s RecordBar show

Comedian Rhea Butcher has been doing stand-up for years now, a run that includes a 2016 solo album (Butcher, on Kill Rock Stars), as well as last year’s split release with wife Cameron Esposito. Butcher also is one-third of the stand-up podcast Put Your Hands Together and the co-star of the Seeso comedy series Take My Wife (which was taken off streaming when…

KC FilmFest 2018 starts Wednesday. Here’s the lowdown.

Over the past 22 years, KC FilmFest has managed to bring Sundance favorites like Me and Earl and the Dying Girl to town months before they hit local screens, but it has also helped bring people like Oscar-nominee Don Cheadle back to this cowtown. And it has provided a place for local filmmakers to get their efforts seen in auditoriums…

Walsh’s Corner Cocktails and Stockyards Brewing celebrate anniversaries, Bacon & Bourbon, and more: KC’s food and drink events for March 26 – April 1

Monday, April 9Underdog Wine Company (327 East 55th Street) is hosting Chad Melville of Melville Wines, a renowned estate label in the Santa Rita Hills of California, today for a free tasting from 5 – 7 p.m. Wednesday, April 11Two worthy charity-oriented events to attend tonight: first, Les Dames d’Escoffier and Slow Food Kansas City are hosting a benefit for Kansas City Community…

A conversation with Phoebe Bridgers ahead of Monday’s show at RecordBar

Since being discovered by Ryan Adams at the age of 20, Phoebe Bridgers has grown into one of indie folk’s brightest young stars. The steel guitar and string sections present on Stranger In The Alps, Bridgers’ debut album, at first call to mind the warmth of the contemporary folk music that’s so popular in the American Midwest and South, but…

Photos + Setlist: Dan Auerbach, last night at the Truman

Dan Auerbach and the Easy Eye Sound Reviewwith Shannon and the Clams and special guest Robert FinleyWednesday, April 4, 2018The TrumanLast night, Dan Auerbach, who’s made a career of pared-back, two-part arrangements, opted to showcase his solo material with a band stacked with legendary session performers, including keyboardist Bobby Wood (who played with Elvis Presley and Dusty Springfield), drummer Gene Chrisman (Presley,…

Theater review: KC Rep serves up a stupendous Sweeney Todd

Crazy gets fleshed-out, in a rather spectacular fashion, in Stephen Sondheim’s Sweeney Todd: The Demon Barber of Fleet Street, a provocative, absorbing, funny — dare I say delicious? — rendition of theatrical madness cooked up at Kansas City Repertory Theatre, through April 15.Debuting on Broadway in 1979 — and winning the Tony Award for Best Musical (music and lyrics by…

Can Powell Gardens fight a CAFO and win?

Situated on nearly 1,000 acres of land 40 miles southeast of downtown, Powell Gardens is one of the Kansas City area’s most beautiful and serene spots. The botanical garden boasts thousands of plant varieties, a nature trail, an indoor conservatory. It hosts weddings, field trips, galas, and other special events. Over 100,000 people visit the “living museum” every year.A big…

McLain’s Market to open in Lawrence, plus wine dinners, beer festivals, and more: KC’s food and drink events for April 2-8

Tuesday, April 3Port Fonda (4141 Pennsylvania Avenue) is debuting its mezcal dinner series tonight beginning at 6 p.m. The meal is a six-course paired dinner featuring Bozal mezcal, a spirit made with wild varietals of agave. Cocktails and tasters of mezcal will be served alongside dishes including flash-seared tuna carpaccio with mango, marinated olives and toasted chile oil; and fajitas…