Fast Car

9/3-9/6
Poindexters are primping their pompadours and cuffing their jeans in anticipation of the Kowtown Custom Greaserama, which kicks off with a block party at 7 p.m. Friday at Harry’s Country Club (112 Missouri Avenue). “People are coming from all over the country to show off their cars this weekend,” says Russ Williams, founder of World WideRetro.com (which sponsors this shindig), “and I just wanted to put together something for them to do on Friday night.”

And put together something he did. Lovers of American Steel can lust over the parade of vintage automobiles, motorcycles and hot rods rumbling through the Kool Kar Kruise In, and vendors will be on hand to sell retro memorabilia. Additionally, musical acts the Mezcal Brothers, the Rumblejetts, and Pauly Bluenote and the Dukes begin their performances around 8 p.m.

El Torreon (3101 Gillham) takes over for the rest of Labor Day weekend, hosting events sponsored by the Punk Rods Car Club — including the Kustom Kulture Lowbrow Art Show. More rockabilly, punk and surf bands, such as the Twistin’ Tarantulas, Bloodshot Bill, the Dead Enders and the Von Hodads, play Saturday, and a swap meet is scheduled for Monday. Call 816-786-7877 for more information. — Mark Inman

Special T
Spool shirts the issue.

FRI 9/3
Ah, the T-shirt: that multifaceted closet staple and ever-dependable mood barometer. There’s the concert T — a reminder of the time you knew about that kickass new band before anyone else. Or there’s the oversized, borrowed-from-your-new-boyfriend shirt — which gets doused in kerosene and set on fire 2 weeks later. T-shirts can be sexy, sloppy or sentimental — but they always make a statement. It sucks, then, when you consider that hundreds, possibly thousands of other people are making their statements wearing your shirt. Spool (122 West 18th Street) helps solve that problem by offering limited-edition options from 6 to 10 p.m. Friday — or until the shirts are gone. Fewer than forty of the original designs, conceived by Timmy Fisher of Kansas City graphics studio MK12 and printed by Blue Collar Press, are for purchase. If you miss out this time around, fret not — more limited-edition T-shirts will follow in the next couple of months. Call 816-842-0228 for details. —Annie Fischer

What a Rush
Rosemarie Fiore makes us shiver.

9/3-9/4

We love scary movies, amusement parks and driving too fast. It makes us feel sort of like someone is rubbing chalk against our spinal cord — in a good way. New York-based artist Rosemarie Fiore examines that same tension in her new exhibit, Good-Time Mix Machine, opening at Grand Arts (1819 Grand) from 6 to 9 p.m. Friday. Fiore uses a Scrambler carnival ride, acquired by the gallery and set up in an off-site warehouse, to create giant paintings on vinyl, canvas and paper. At 2 p.m. Saturday, Fiore gives a demonstration and performance in a warehouse at 12th and Van Brunt. (A shuttle runs from Grand Arts to the site.) For details, call 816-421-6887. — Fischer

Free Samples

FRI 9/3

Ten years after their heyday, the Samples are still touring with their jazzy pop songs. But as the final act in the Downtown KC: Always On free concert series at 8:30 p.m. Friday in the Crossroads District, the band must share its audience with the experimental drum composers and DJs pumping out ambient beats from open gallery doors. Singer-songwriter John Prine opens. As of press time we couldn’t confirm where the band would play, so call 816-421-1539 to find out. — Fischer