Archives: June 2023

Movies

No Hard Feelings fumbles awkwardly through teen sex comedy paint-by-numbers

Jennifer Lawrence does her best to elevate an SNL sketch that won't end.
Brock Wilbur,

In a political climate where libraries across the Midwest are in danger of being defunded for fear of harboring sexual groomers and their propaganda, the biggest comedy in the cineplex is a tale of woe where Jennifer Lawrence can’t get a kid to fuck her. 2023 is goddamn weird, man. No Hard Feelings follows Maddie Barker (Lawrence), a Montauk bartender…

Kc Sipps
Food & Drink

KC Sipps: Westport Café feature, BBQ Fest, & more this weekend

Your weekend dining guide to Kansas City cuisine, events, and excitement in general.
Sarah Sipple,

Art by Cassondra Jones Looking for delicious plans? Whether you want to impress a date, show your fam the best of KC, or just get out of the house, we’ve got you covered… all while supporting local.  Here is your weekly roundup of the best food and drink offerings around Kansas City. Cheers! Something New Mission Taco Joint: A third…

Here Is Better Poster
Movies

New documentary HERE. IS. BETTER. rewrites the narrative of PTSD

One of the main figures in the film is KC veteran and politician Jason Kander, who has publicly shared his mental health struggles as an advocate for years.
Brynn Winkler,

Jason Kander In Jack Youngelsons’ Here. Is. Better. // Courtesy Greenwich Entertainment Content warning: This story discusses specifics around subject matters which may be difficult for some readers, delving into issues of mental health, trauma therapies, and suicide. If you or someone you know is facing challenges in this area, a list of resources can be found here. For those in…

Bplt3772
Theater

KC’s own Prejudice and Pride musical heads to New York

Belle Yennie,

Prejudice and Pride. // Courtesy photo Kansas City musical Prejudice and Pride premieres as an off-Broadway production this July at 59E59 Theaters. From KC and the UK, respectively, Sam Wright and Nicholas Collett internationally crafted a Western adaptation of Jane Austen’s novel Pride and Prejudice almost entirely online.  Wright and Collet originally met for their production of Crazy Horse: A…

Fzhciojwwaiaonf
Politics

The Pitch’s June 20, 2023 Election recap and results

Seven newcomers will join city council, while five of six incumbents defended their seats as Mayor Lucas locked down a second term.
Tyler Schneider,

The biggest takeaway from this massive election cycle, in which the city council saw a great many shakeups, has to be the number of newcomers who will join Mayor Quinton Lucas in his second term of leading Kansas City. In total, seven new faces will assume seats on the city council, with five out of six incumbents having successfully defended…
A&E

Body Politic: Converge embodies cultural structures through dance collaboration

Tristian Griffin Dance Co. and Regina Klenjoski Dance Co. combine forces to tackle complicated ideas and make high-art manifest in the Midwest.
Belle Yennie,

Converge dancers in their first show at Newman University in Wichita, KS // Courtesy Ryan Bruce The Kemper Museum of Contemporary Arts and Lawrence Arts Center host the combined dance performance of Converge. Co-directed by individual dance company owners Tristian Griffin and Regina Klenjoski, Converge includes a meshed performance of five stand-alone pieces on togetherness. They say most dance companies…

The Fix
Food & Drink

Eat This Now: Nashville Fried Chicken Sammie at The Fix

Sarah Sipple,

Photo by Sarah Sipple “Pushing plants in a former Midtown drugstore.”  The tagline of The Fix is deceiving in the best way. The food may be plant-based, but the menu is packed with decadent and meaty made-from-scratch dishes fit for a ballpark, backyard cookout, or dive. Technically there is one salad option, but the main dishes satisfy the most carnivorous…

Child With Anti Vax Shirt Scaled
Politics

Call to arms, misleading language launch Kansas chapter of RFK Jr.’s anti-vax organization

Sam Bailey,

Jim Meehan, an Oklahoma physician, talks with an audience member Saturday after the launch event of the Kansas Chapter of Children’s Health Defense. (Sam Bailey/Kansas Reflector) WICHITA — As a national anti-vaccine group launched in Kansas, keynote speakers hooked the audience with a call to arms and criticisms of transgender people and coddled children. About 200 people attended a fundraiser…

20230615 210132
Music

Tyler Childers rewards sold-out Starlight crowd with a dense 25-song set

The average ticket buyer paid just under $500 to see one of KC’s most anticipated shows of the summer
Tyler Schneider,

Tyler Childers. // photo by Tyler Schneider Kansas City fans had paid, on average, just short of $500 per ticket to see Kentucky star Tyler Childers play a sold-out show at Starlight on Thursday, June 15, in a trend that has become the norm at almost every stop on his latest “Send in the Hounds Tour.”  The 31-year-old and his…

0b8a3991 Web Landscape
Music

Photos: Stone Senate and Andy Ross at Knuckleheads

Mike Dotson,

Stone Senate. // Photo by Mike Dotson Stone Senate with Andy Ross Knuckleheads Friday, June 16 On Friday, June 16, Stone Senate took the stage at Knuckleheads with opener Andy Ross. Our photographer Mike Dotson (Insta: @mikedotsonkc) was there to capture the experience. Stone Senate Andy Ross Categories: Music Tags: andy ross, concert photos, knuckleheads, stone senate

2d0a3636
Theater

The Tempest plays it easy and breezy for Shakespeare in the Park

Elaborate design and live music add flourish to a straightforward summer staging.
Brock Wilbur,

Photo by Brian Collins Opposite Boulevardia this weekend was a bunch of Bard-via in Southmoreland Park, where the Heart of America Shakespeare Festival staged this summer’s Shakespeare in the Park event, along with its many side events, concessions, and of course plenty of wine options. Tackling The Tempest this summer, a bright and fantastical production took over our Saturday evening. In…

Photo Jun 17 2023 10 54 49 Am
Music

Photos: Gov’t Mule brings a Friday eve party to Grinders

Allison Scavo,

Gov’t Mule. // photo by Allison Scavo Gov’t Mule Grinders KC Thursday, June 15 If you take the best of southern rock and blues, mix it with improvised jams, add in some reggae and funk, then top it off with a dash of magic, you’ll have Gov’t Mule. Originally a side project of Allman Brothers Band, the group of Warren…

20230616 Dsc 1612
Music

Photos: Phase Fest was the emo night of your dreams

Chris Ortiz,

The All-American Rejects. // photo by Chris Ortiz Phase Fest Legends Field Friday, June 16 On Friday, June 16, Kansas City got a miniature version of Las Vegas’ When We Were Young festival, with the Phase Fest at Legends Field. Proving its tagline of “it’s not just a phase” true, youngsters not even born when some of these bands first…

20230618 Dsc 2635
Music

Photos: Matchbox Twenty at Starlight

Chris Ortiz,

Matchbox Twenty at Starlight. // Photo by Chris Ortiz Matchbox Twenty appeared at Starlight Theater on Sunday to a packed but not sold-out house.  The concert that was originally supposed to happen in 2020, but was postponed three times due to the pandemic, was one that was with a little sorrow. Fans who had tickets for the 2020 and the…

Dsc0875
Music

Photos: Cat F!ght, Junkyard Royalty, Discotek Mama, and Scumbag enter the DIY Matrix at Howdy

Maura Dayton,

Cat F!ght. // Photo by Maura Dayton Cat F!ght with Discotek Mama, Junkyard Royalty, and Scumbag Howdy Friday, June 16 On Friday, June 16, local bands Cat F!ght, Discotek Mama, Junkyard Royalty, and Scumbag took the stage for a Matrix-themed DIY show at Howdy. Our photographer Maura Dayton (@twistedmauraphotos), was there to capture the experience. Cat F!ght Discotek Mama Junkyard…

Philip Dickey And Sharon Hamm
Music

No Skips: Phil Dickey of Dragon Inn 3 deep dives into the band’s newest album Trade Secrets

A track-by-track discussion with Phil Dickey of Dragon Inn 3 about their latest album.
Emma Hilboldt,

Courtesy of Dragon Inn 3 In our series No Skips, we sit down with an artist or band and go track by track through their latest release. For some of us, the banter in a concert where a song gets explained is our favorite thing in the world, and we’d just like to keep living in that. Every song has…
Politics

Missouri ‘micro’ cannabis license rules limit review of jail data to 20 years

Omitting marijuana incarceration rates from before 2003 limits eligibility in many areas with high Black populations, some advocates say.
Rebecca Rivas,

Chris Price, associate at the Trimmer Store, walks St. Louis resident Lisa Thomas through care instructions for her new marijuana plant on April 20, 2023 (Rebecca Rivas/Missouri Independent). In St. Louis in the 1980s, if you got caught with even a “butt of a joint,” you were going to do jail time, said Bob Ramsey, who was assistant public defender…
Politics

The month the Chiefs won the Super Bowl, Kansans bet $194 million on sports but the state got only $1,134

Why did the state get so little? Kansas’ law legalizing sports betting allows sportsbook companies to deduct the cost of promotional free bets before reporting revenues.
Marco Schaden,

On Feb. 15, hundreds of thousands of fans lined the streets of Kansas City, Missouri, to celebrate the Kansas City Chiefs winning the Super Bowl. Super Bowl fervor contributed to the $194 million bet in Kansas in February 2023 under a new law legalizing sports betting. The state legalized sports betting to create a new revenue source, but that month…
Politics

Juneteenth events grow statewide, as advocates celebrate progress on reparations

Mayors in Missouri’s two major cities have ordered studies into the impact of slavery and segregation on present-day inequities.
Rebecca Rivas,

A dancer performs at the Juneteenth Racial Injustice Solidarity March in St. Louis on June 19, 2020. Organizers of the event say the celebration has grown exponentially in the past years. (Photo by Rebecca Rivas/The Missouri Independent) As Missourians go out to celebrate Juneteenth this weekend and commemorate the end of slavery in the United States, local advocates say they…