Archives: April 2019

Culture

A Kansas State grad student has reconstructed a piece of Vatican music that’s not been heard since 1542

Emily Park,

Nearly 500 years ago, the complex harmonies of “Missa Ad te levavi” were last performed in the Sistine Chapel. Then the music disappeared, for centuries, into the Vatican archives. Torn and heavily damaged, this mass — created by Renaissance composer Bartolome Escobedo — was never transcribed into modern notation. Then, last year, a Kansas State University graduate student named Patrick Dittamo set…
Theater

At the Unicorn, Logan Black shares a personal Bond

Deborah Hirsch,

Logan Black knows how to tell a story. His Bond (a Soldier and His Dog), at the Unicorn Theatre, in collaboration with Mesner Puppet Theater, is a compelling personal account of Black’s experiences as a specialized search dog handler in Iraq from 2006 to 2007. For his vivid and moving first-person storytelling, The Pitch awarded Black Best Original Play by…
Culture

What’s going on at the Brookside Whole Foods happy hour?

David Hudnall,

On the latest City Rag podcast: I chat with the Fish Boys, now known as the Fish Mongers, about the happy hour scene at the Fountain Room, the bar inside the Brookside Whole Foods. Lots going on at this place, and we sat down to chop it all up. There is a three-drink maximum and a great deal of delicious,…
Music

The Tallest Man on Earth, Sunday night at Liberty Hall (photos, setlist)

Nick Spacek,

The Tallest Man on Earth Liberty Hall Sunday, April 28 The Tallest Man on Earth is Kristian Matsson. He’s just one man with many guitars, an impressive light show, and a surprisingly upbeat mood for someone who traffics is such sad songs. On Sunday at Liberty Hall, Matsson told us the stories behind many of his songs. “Running Styles of…
Food & Drink

Wanderfest, Cinco de Mayo, Derby Day, Percheron, and more: KC’s huge week in food and drinks, April 29-May 5

April Fleming,

Tuesday, April 30 Hopcat (401 Westport Road) is hosting a collaboration beer dinner featuring beers from Torn Label Brewing Company and Lawrence Beer Company tonight. This includes a special collaboration IPA, the Vilfredo. A few sample courses: Hang Em High 26, an American IPA from Torn Label Brewing Company, is being served with tuna poke wontons with mango coulis; and the…
Music

Damn, Frank’s North Star Tavern in Lawrence is closing

David Hudnall,

Franks’s North Star Tavern is closing, ownership announced today on Facebook: We had been talking with some prospective buyers but it recently fell through. Since my bicycle accident, I have been unable to give the business the attention necessary to maintain its viability. Owning this bar has been an amazing ride and I will miss you all, but my family and…
Movies

Stockholm, a stranger-than-fiction story that keeps the energy level high

Eric Melin,

With his scraggly long-hair wig, American-flag-tinged black leather jacket, and dark sunglasses, the man who calls himself “The Outlaw” takes hostages during a 1973 bank heist in Sweden. He asks for two guns, the release of his jailed friend Gunnar Sorensson (Mark Strong), $1 million U.S. dollars, and a very specific getaway car: a Mustang 302, just like the one…
News

Missouri Republicans’ gerrymandering power grab is a political emergency

Emily Park,

Clean Missouri supporters in Jeff City last August. In November 2018, a resounding 62 percent of Missouri voters approved Constitutional Amendment One, better known as Clean Missouri. The amendment restored a modicum of sanity and fairness to a legislature with a reputation for the kind of corruption that tends to grow out of a lack of transparency. Clean Missouri replaced…
Food & Drink

Missie B’s turns 25, the Parkville Microbrew Festival, and more: KC’s food and drink events for April 22-28

April Fleming,

Courtesy Defiance Brewing Company Tuesday, April 23 In honor of Kansas Craft Beer Week, Red Crow Brewing Company (1062 West Santa Fe Drive) is hosting Defiance Brewing Company out of Hays, Kansas, for a brewer meet-and-greet and a tapping featuring two of Defiance’s beers: Udderly Handsome Milk Stout and Twisted Logic IPA. The event runs from 5:30-10 p.m.  Wednesday, April 24…
Music

The Last Bandoleros, last night at the Lied Center (photos)

Nick Spacek,

The Last Bandoleros The Lied Center Friday, April 19 If you wanted to know what to expect from the Last Bandoleros in concert, the band’s pre-show playlist at the Lied Center Friday night — featuring Willie Nelson’s version of “Pancho & Lefty,” along with the Jerry Jeff Walker classic “Up Against the Wall Redneck Mother” — did a fine job…
Movies

In High Life, the subject matter may seem crude, but the filmmaking is not

Eric Melin,

The children’s advocacy nonprofit Common Sense Media calls the new adult sci-fi drama High Life “a crude, profane, violent film” and a “collection of things you wish you could unsee.” That’s a stupid, short-sighted, and ultimately irresponsible reaction to this movie, which has no more violence than your average Walking Dead episode. Certainly, there’s stuff in High Life — the first English-language film…
Music

The Last Bandoleros’ red-dirt Tejano rock arrives in Lawrence this weekend

Nick Spacek,

Last year, Rolling Stone did a glowing piece on the Last Bandoleros titled “Why Last Bandoleros Could Be This Year’s Most Important New Country Band.” wherein Writer Joseph Hudak posed the idea that the band’s “Tex-Mex-flavored sound has a chance to add some much-needed diversity to country music.” Having come a year before Lil Nas X, the piece seems positively prescient in…
Theater

Billy Elliot the Musical, at Spinning Tree Theatre, is a follow-your-heart story (with anti-Thatcherite anthems)

Liz Cook,

Billy Elliot the Musical, playing through this weekend at Spinning Tree Theatre, is ostensibly about a lot of things: gender essentialism, artistic expression, the union-busting tactics of the Margaret Thatcher years. The 2005 Elton John and Lee Hall musical — based on the 2000 film of the same name — centers on a working-class boy nurturing a secret love of…
Food & Drink

The Pitch‘s Bacon and Bourbon Festival is this Thursday at the Truman

David Hudnall,

The Pitch’s sixth-annual festival full of bacon and bourbon — fittingly named the Bacon & Bourbon Festival — is this Thursday, April 18, at the Truman. Last year’s event sold out, so you will want to get your tickets soon. Do that here. What to know about the party: -Over 20 bourbons to sample, from Boot Hill Distillery, Bulleit Bourbon, Crown Royal, Seagram’s 7 Crown, George Dickel…
Music

Make some room for the Freedom Affair, KC’s nine-piece soul powerhouse

Riley Cowing,

Photo: Zach Bauman Six white guys in suit jackets take the stage at Knuckleheads on a Thursday in early March. They start in on an upbeat instrumental number with a deep, funk beat: bass, drums, guitars, then the horns. The bassist, Chris Hazelton, steps up to a microphone and announces that the performance we’re about to see offers “a message…
Food & Drink

Easter brunch, a Waldo seafood boil, and more: KC’s food and drink events for April 15-21

April Fleming,

Monday, April 15 Waldo Thai (8431 Wornall Road) and Crane Brewing Company are teaming up tonight for a generous, one-off seafood boil. Chefs Pam Liberda and Kevin Foster are preparing several seafood courses, which will be paired with beer from Crane and cocktails by Darrell Loo and Mari Matsumoto. One sample dish: crispy panko soft shell crab, served with with…
News

With Great Plains SPCA’s sudden departure, what will happen to the second-largest animal shelter in the metro?

Roxie Hammill,

Zach Bauman Hopes were high when the new animal shelter opened at the rural edge of Independence in 2013. The shelter, built through an agreement between Jackson County and the City of Independence, seemed to be the answer to the area’s stray animal problem. It would be “no-kill,” with a focus on foster homes for animals, spaying and neutering, and…
Music

Failure and Swervedriver, last night at Liberty Hall (photos, setlists)

Nick Spacek,

Failure / Swervedriver Liberty Hall Friday, April 12 The dream of ’90s shoegaze indie pop was alive and well at Lawrence’s Liberty Hall Friday night. Big, droning chords, reverb, and swirling lights enveloped the venue for hours during full sets from Failure and Swervedriver. Failure’s set relied a little more on melody than sheer volume; Swervedriver was crushingly loud. Openers…