Kansas City Music Blog

Erasure
Sunday, July 29
Uptown Theater
Better Than: Being on holiday in the Candy Cane Forest with Rick Astley, Ronnie Spector and Lady Bunny.
By Megan Metzger

All was full of love at the Uptown Theater Sunday night when electro-pop tart Andy Bell and his partner in music, Vince Clarke, turned the sometimes stodgy ol’ music hall into a sumptuous wonderland of sparkle and whimsy.

All colors of the rainbow were equally represented among the sizeable, up-on-its-feet crowd. High-rolling executives of the gay elite shook their butts next to swarthy, Birkenstock-wearing granola lesbians who high-fived the fantastic plastic androgynes on dates with their fruit-fly best friends.

Unfortunately we missed opener Young Love because we were at Our Lady of Perpetual Sorrow serving soup to homeless, transgendered kittens. Luckily for us, we arrived just in time to catch Erasure in all its glitter-coated glory.

Fan footage from the show:

The Pomonas
Saturday, July 28
The Replay Lounge
Better Than: Getting hugged by a sweaty, shirtless man.

The scene Saturday night at the Replay Lounge in Lawrence was infernal. There must have been nothing else going on that night in Larryville -- either that or the Volunteers and the Pomonas are (or, in the Pomonas' case, were) bigger than I and my fellow KC pilgrims thought.

By 11:30 p.m., the patio was crowded as hell and continuing to fill with bright young Lawrence things seeking cheap thrills -- a $2 cover and $1.50 PBRs. Inside, where the bands were playing, the temperature was in the 80s and getting more sweltering as the room filled with bodies, even though the bartender I talked to said that the air conditioning was indeed on. (Maybe it was because the doors were open?)

The crowd for the Volunteers was paying to be there.

I was stoked to see the Pomonas, a merry band of guitar tricksters who bounce between the Strokes (in that band's cheerier days) and the Monkees (but with instrumental chops). It was to be their last show before frontman Justin Ripley left to join bandmate Andy Gassaway in Seattle, where the Pomonas' bassist moved several months ago, presaging the death of the band. Earlier this year, over a period of eight days, the Pomonas banged out their second full-length album, Good Cop, Good Cop, and it's full of good pop and better pop. I wish that had been the case for the other bands on the bill.

As the man himself says: "It's finally official."

from Robert Moore:
"Sonic Spectrum will air on the Buzz beginning Saturday, August 11th from 6-8pm."

For those who need explication:
After a break of barely over a month, Robert Moore's popular, locally based freeform music program, which held down a Saturday slot on public radio station KCUR 89.3 FM for over 4 years, has found a new home at commercial alternative rock station KRBZ 96.5 FM.

The station of Lazlo. The station of LoveLine. The station of Jeriney's Homegrown Buzz and Mac Lethal's Black Clover radio. The station of Sonic Spectrum. Who woulda thunk it?

Moore's assessment: "Better time slot, bigger audience." [...] "Same style of show...freeform...total creative control."

Yay, Robert! Yay Buzz!

89.3, um...

There's a lot going on this weekend at the Kansas City Public Library's Fringe Festival, which started Wednesday night. For the benefit of late-to-the-show nincompoops like us, here's a slapdash list of the remaining, music-only acts that I basically cut and pasted from the site.

Here's a map of the locations.

Here's our Night&Day writeup.

Here's the list.

Ambient Music from Outer Space by Brother Iota
10:00 Fri, 7:00 Sat at the Arts Incubator

............................................................................................................... >

The bitch is back.

On Saturday, October 13, Elton John returns to Kansas City to play the Sprint Center's grand opening.

Sprint Center GM and Senior VP Brenda Tinnen told Fox 4, "Fans throughout the region will witness a historical moment with a true industry icon. Elton John's long history of sold-out concerts in Kansas City -- beginning in the early 1970s -- makes him the perfect artist to open Sprint Center."

But what's really got us holding our breath is Disney High School Musical: The Ice Tour, coming to the Sprint Center November 30 through December 2.

Hey, everybody, the new downtown KC is going to be so much fun! Let's see that picture of Elton again.

Woo!

St. Vincent
July 26, 2007
The Record Bar
Photos and review by Richard Gintowt

Man, oh man -- St. Vincent is the shit. I suspected as much after giving her new album Marry Me a couple spins, but Annie Clark and company's show last night at the Record Bar was Ron Burgundy's balls and then some.

Annie Clark, aka St. Vincent

No disrespect to the fine folks at Danny's Bar & Grill in Lenexa (13350 College Blvd), but who the fuck booked the Start there this Saturday? That's like booking Garbage at Governor Stumpy's in Waldo -- but at least that would be closer to Midtown, which is where most of the people who would go see the Start happen to live.

Somehow I fear that this will not help Kansas City's reputation as a music town.

In the meantime, our sister paper in St. Louis, The Riverfront Times, got an interview with Start singer Aimee Echo, who, after snacking on hotwings in Danny's tomorrow and laying down the electro-dancepop for a bunch of suburbanites, will head to the Creepy Crawl in St. L., a more appropriate venue. Read it here or after the jump.

"I've been desperately pining for a vibrant, regularly updated web site dedicated to jazz in Kansas City," wrote blogger Bill Brownlee last Saturday on his blog about life, Happy in Bag.

So what'd he do? He started one. The Wayward Blog welcomes Plastic Sax to the local music blogroll. Bill's new blog has an insanely long list of local jazz, soul and even some hip-hop artist links. It's got everyone from Oleta Adams to the Yards.

Happy schoolin', Bill.

By the way: Bill continues to maintain his MP3 blog, There Stands the Glass.

Travis
July 23, 2007
Liberty Hall
Better than: My last birthday party.
By Jason Harper

You're in a Scottish band that was at its commercial and critical peak back when Coldplay was hot. It's your birthday and you're playing a show at a midsize venue in a college town in the summertime, when all the kids are away. It's a Monday night. Tickets to see you are $35. What do you do?

If you're Fran Healy, frontman of Travis, you rock out and have fun. Then you blow out your candles and have a piece of cake.

After entering from the back of the venue to the theme from Rocky, the men of Travis, clad in brightly colored boxing robes, mounted the balloon-littered stage, took their guitars from their roadies, and launched into "Selfish Jean," off the band's new one, The Boy With No Name.

Jimmy Eat World
Friday, July 20
The Granada
Better Than:Yelling for "Sweetness" alone in a dark room.
By Crystal K. Wiebe

The guy next to me must have felt very cheated by his Jimmy Eat World experience last Friday night. The drunk bastard kept yelling for “Sweetness,” but the band never played the guy's favorite song during a sold-out show at the Granada. I would have enjoyed a live rendition of that massive hit, too. But it was satisfying to know that the guy who annoyed me all night went home a little irritated himself.

Most of the band’s other popular songs made it onto the setlist, albeit acoustically. Performed that way, the power pop was stripped down to its naked, emo heart, which inspired lots of young couples to hold each other and sway to the music, despite the oppressive temperature inside the venue.

Security didn't allow us to photograph the show, so here's an old promo shot.

It's not nearly as good as the blog review I did, but the MySpace secret shows people have posted their own review and photos from the Maximo Park and Cribs show last Wednesday at the Record Bar.

The MySpace people writed:
"Two bands who will probably never play in Kansas city together ever again, in a place this small, to such and eager crowd." [sic]

Sensationally bad press -- the kind when a reviewer all but tells a band or musician to stop making music and find something else to do to pass the time -- is cause for commemoration in an artist's life.

It's like in that episode from the first season of Entourage in which the rising-star character, Vincent Chase, gets a horrible review in Variety, and his never-was actor brother, Johnny Drama, consoles him by telling him that one critic hated one of Drama's performances so much that the critic theorized that Drama might be "mildly retarded." Now that's bad press.

Except in the case of a sociopath, it's hard to forget evaluations that people have given of your work, both the favorable and the harsh. But mostly the harsh.

I recently wrote a harsh review of the CD Sea Things by local singer-songwriter and visual artist Sterling Witt. After that review ran, I half-wondered if Witt would take up the dare implied in the review and send one of his nonmusical creations to the Pitchoffice -- a glazed ceramic turd, perhaps, or a decorated sea shell containing a live, angry crab.

Months passed, and we heard no response aside from this letter from a fan of Witt's.

But today, a box arrived. It was full of neatly laid paper airplanes in an array of colors, all bearing printouts of my review under the handwritten, curlicue heading "My Worst Press Ever." These anti-one-sheets also featured a picture of Witt's glowering mug and a list of upcoming shows. And, beneath the planes, covered in confetti, were two black T-shirts, one M, one XL, each with a copy of my review emblazoned on it.

I don't know how Witt really felt about the review, but he certainly channeled his feelings into a creative and even celebratory response (however ironic), and I'm impressed. This really is a gift, both in terms of the physical present and in the sense that I'll have a story to break out at parties.

So, thanks for the shirts, Sterling. I wish you all the best. May you go forth and find some critics who don't hate your CD as much as I did.

Here's the full lineup for tonight's Glenefit at Davey's Uptown Rambler's Club. Follow this link and read "Help a Dude Out."

In addition to all the music, there'll be T-shirts for sale, "including the infamous Hockemeir Spouse-Beater" (quoting a press release there), and cinnamon rolls provided by the Kansas City Music Ladies Auxilliary Commission.

7:30-8:00- Tony Ladeish (Old side)

8:00-8:30- Honeywagen (New Side)

8:30-9:00- Gary Cloud (OS)

9:00-9:30- Whiskey Boots (NS)

9:30-10:00-Tommy Donoho (OS)

10:00-10:30- The Expassionates (NS)

10:30-11:00- Chris & Abby of The Gaslights (OS)

11:00-11:45- American Catastrophe (NS)

11:45-12:30- Pendergast (NS)

12:30-1:15- the Architects (NS)

1:15-2:00- Its Over (NS)

Earlier this week, Riverfront Times music editor Annie Zaleski, saw the Roman Numerals play a new club in St. Louis. Here's her report:

Us St. Louis residents had the pleasure of seeing ex-Get Up Kid Ryan Pope’s debut appearance as the drummer of Roman Numerals on Tuesday night. The band was kind enough to grace us with its presence at the town’s newest club, the Bluebird. (Take note, KC bands: The venue is looking to book good, quality acts there. Get more info at the MySpace page or at this bloglink.)

What struck me first during the performance – besides the fact that Pope is a dead-ringer for Ben Folds -- was how happy the Nooms looked. Not that they usually look or act particularly dour, but a looser, light-hearted atmosphere permeated the set, moreso than any of the multiple times I’ve seen them. The band’s music also seemed much more flexible – both in scope and arrangement-wise -- with Pope behind the kit.

Maximo Park and the Cribs
July 18, 2007
The Record Bar
Better Than: The Arctic Monkeys accepting your friend request.
Review by Jason Harper. Photos by Scott Spychalski.

How are people going to know about it if it’s a secret show?

That was the crux of the biscuit going into the Record Bar’s free Secret MySpace Show last night, where upwardly mobile British bands the Cribs and Maximo Park were shedyuled to play before an all-ages crowd comprising kids who could have only heard about the show through their MySpace membership. (Well, or by looking at the RB ad in this week's Pitch, or reading about it on this blog, or whatever.)

I arrived at 6 p.m., an hour before show time, hoping to see a ridiculously long line of MySpace chitlins waiting at the door. Instead, they were all on Facebook. Infiltration!

Just kidding. Actually and somewhat unsurprisingly, no one was lined up outside the door. The situation was a bit scary for me because as both a music scene advocate and an Anglophile, I wanted the show to be successful.

In the bar's basement, chipper Maximo Park singer Paul Smith was biding his time in the sweltering-hot green room, fiddling with iTunes on his Mac laptop. He was in a very positive mood, saying that even if only a hundred people showed up to his middle-America club show it was OK as long as they reached just one person. “I used to be that hundredth person,” he said referring to his own youth, when he’d witnessed cool, underground shows in his hometown of Billingham, England. I was wondering how he’d react when only 13 or so people showed up to see his band play Kansas City.

You may know this by now, but tonight at 7 p.m. at the Record Bar, two UK buzz bands are playing: the Who and the Dave Clark Five.

Just kidding.

It's actually Maximo Park and the Cribs. They're kind of like today's mods, though, when it comes to the British beat. Maximo's two albums (including this year's Our Earthly Pleasures) have been fast, fun, literate and catchy -- and unjustly overshadowed by the hyperexplosive success of the Arctic Monkeys, who have a similar sound but a less grown-up style. "Going Missing," from the first Maximo album, A Certain Trigger, and also the Stranger than Fiction soundtrack, is quite good:

The Cribs... dunno much about them, but I like "Men's Needs":

It's a MySpace Secret Show, a largely unpromoted deal paid for (I assume) by the online giant. Add the Secret Show as a friend, and you'll find out early about these things, though who knows how many more will come through KC that are this good.

Hey, you, Willie Nelson fan. Listen up!

The August 1, 2007, Willie Nelson and Family concert at Starlight Theatre has been rescheduled for Thursday, September 20, 2007. Tickets go on sale this Saturday, July 21, and if you bought a ticket for the August 1 show, 'twill be honor'd. Refunds available at point of purchase.

And for those in Central Missouri, this from the desk of the prolific Melissa Ferry:

LAKE OZARK, MISSOURI - The Willie Nelson Concert, scheduled at The Horny
Toad Entertainment Complex on Sunday July 29, has been rescheduled to
Friday, September 21. Due to unforeseen circumstances, Nelson will be unable
to perform on the July date.

Click photo for closer view of underarm skin.

From the How'd We Miss This? Department comes this dispatch from a publicist:

"LAKE OZARK - On Thursday, July 5, The Horny Toad Entertainment Complex at Lake of the Ozarks came alive when REO Speedwagon took the stage."

Click on photo for even more rock fury.

Thank you, Melissa Ferry of Anderson Marketing in Lake Ozark, Missouri, for reminding us that magical things still happen in central Missouri.

Hip-Hop KC has gotten a makeover. Head over to the little site that just won't quit and access the local, underground, independent, positive, barbecue-loving hometown rap headquarters.

Mr. Reach was kind enough to post a link on the site to our awards, highlighting nominees (including himself, for the first time this year) in hip-hop-related fields. Thanks, Reach.

Lucinda Williams and Charlie Louvin
Saturday, July 14, 2007
The Crossroads at Grinders

The electricity before the show wasn’t just among Lucinda Williams fans -- the foreboding clouds above them had that special hue of orange, as lightning struck in the distance and a cool wind threatened to knock down opening act Charlie Louvin, who celebrated his 80th birthday exactly one week ago.

Louvin, half of the legendary Louvin Brothers from Nashville’s mid-century golden era, has been playing live shows since World War II. A tornadic sky wasn’t going to phase him. Following a brief break demanded by venue staff, he finished a saucy, honky-tonk performance for the growing crowd beneath a brief rain.

The Wayward Son and his friends have already begun their merrymaking. Here's some helpful links for those considering taking their mama out this weekend. Follow the links to concerts and venue info.

Music on Friday*!

And on Saturday!

And Sunday too!

For inspiration:

*Federation of Horsepower, the Architects and the Beautiful Bodies are also playing tonight at the Westport Beach Club, 4050 Pennsylvania.

Old 97's
July 11, 2007
The Crossroads at Grinders
Review & Photos by Richard Gintowt

Would I ever have listened to Johnny Cash if it weren't for the Old 97's? Probably, but they had a lot to do with it. "Timebomb" was the first train-beat song I can remember liking. It was a big deal to discover a band like the Old 97's in high school; my friends and I were still getting over that whole grunge thing.

So here we are a decade later, and the anti-teetotalling Texas two-steppers haven't skipped a beat. Kicking things off with two of their trademark girly-name numbers ("Doreen" and Annette's "Designs on You"), the Old 97's made it abundantly clear that Rhett Miller's two-album solo detour hadn't ruptured their chemistry. They looked happy as hell to be playing Kansas City on a beautiful Wednesday evening -- probably partly due to the fact that the Crossroads' outdoor setting looked every bit the part of Antone's in Austin, TX.

Battles, with Singer and Pixel Panda
July 10, 2007
The Record Bar
Better Than: Lying on the sidewalk in the rain, stoned. Mostly.
Review by Jason Harper

"How can you not know about the tall cymbal?"

The dude in the baseball cap had yelled in approval as Battles drummer John Stanier (formerly of Helmet) raised his 7-foot cymbal during setup, like a flag. Thinking that, you know, knowledge of an instrumental rock band's having a really tall cymbal -- however trademark an image -- was a bit arcane, I had asked him, "How do you know about the tall cymbal?"

How can you not know about the tall cymbal?

And how can you not know about Battles? Though by the end of the night, when Battles finally came on (12:23 a.m.), many of them had left, most of these people seemed to know about this New York experimental-instrumental-weirdamental-mental rock band -- and the buzz surrounding it.

In a town where usually only the big, radio-sponsored shows draw a pre-show line, the line outside the Record Bar stretched from the door all the way down to the little pavilion outside the quaint scrapbooking-supply store. For a Tuesday night, that's just crazy -- and damn great.

The latest Pitchcast, Wayward Cast 10: It's Hard Out Here for a Punk, is up!

Download it here, and you'll hear ...

(playlist after the jump)

A night on the town with Heartbeat City columnist Megan Metzger

More often than not, our sleazy little town affords us the luxury of going to several live music happenings all in one night. Each offers something a little different, kind of like a buffet at a casino. (Have you been to one of those? They’re fucking insane. You can eat fried wontons, a fudge-brownie sundae, lasagna and scrambled eggs all in one sitting -- I mean, if that’s what you’re into).

Anyway, this past Saturday was such a night.

After attending the premiere of local design powerhouse MK12’s absurd, ultra-violent and totally kickass cowboys ‘n’ astronauts short film, The History of America, some friends and I ventured down to the Brick to down a delicious libation that was on special. The drink tasted exactly like a Louie-Bloo Raspberry Otter Pop, but with vodka. The bartender called the toilet bowl aqua-colored concoction “Electric Blue Lemonade,” but my friend Sheppa re-dubbed it “Smurf Juice,” a decidedly catchier moniker.

That night’s bill at the Brick included Hundred Years War, Minds Under Cover and the Sperm. Each band varies greatly in influences (from Unsane to Mr. Bungle to Lightning Bolt), but all share one important distinction: they’re loud as fuck.

The Republic Tigers

It's a rare occasion when one of our local outfits appears on the influential Pitchforkmedia site, the maker or breaker of so many indie artists via dense, earnest, self-indulgent critical verbiage overloaded with adjectives and posted up alongside rationale-free ratings. Fortunately, our latest crew of homegrown outfits to face the 'fork fared pretty well, especially considering a 9.0 is the highest score the site-zine-blog gives (see: the Field)

American Catastrophe, Excerpts from the Broken Bone Choir

"Excerpts is confusingly colorful, painted in various shades of gray and blood red."

(Maybe if they'd used a less confusing color palette -- fewer shades of blood red, perhaps -- the reviewer would've given 'em a 6.7.)

There’s something mighty depressing about seeing bands that have zero interest in staying creative in the twilight years of their career. The Violent Femmes abandoned the idea of writing new material at about the turn of the century, conceding to the pressures of nostalgia and playing their half-dozen hits into a distant “Live in Iceland” abyss.

Granted, no one who braved the pre-07-07-07 slot junkies at the VooDoo Lounge at Harrah’s Casino last night wanted to hear a whole set of new material. For the most part, it was a crowd of 30- and 40somethings willing to spend $5 on a whiskey and Coke and risk a fatal head wound at the hands of a clumsy flair bartender (seriously, is anyone still amused by that shit?). If the Femmes had walked out and played 10-minute versions of “Add It Up”, “Gone Daddy Gone” and “Blister in the Sun”, 90 percent of the crowd would have gone home happy.

"Stop us if you've heard this one bef--...never mind."

Before the Fourth of July holiday, our writer Andy Vihstadt caught the summer's biggest touring band in St. Louis. Here's his report.

Like most of the 20,000 fans who poured into the Scottrade Center on Monday night, July 2, I’d been daydreaming of seeing the Police live since the band’s performance on the Grammys earlier this year, even if it meant shelling out beaucoup bucks for a decent ticket and a road trip to St. Louis. After all, this is the hottest concert ticket of the summer. And then, after shelling out said bucks, I found myself with passes to the pre-show VIP tent thanks to a Best Buy contest I'd entered on a lark.

The Police in the Lou. More photos here.

Once we got inside the arena, we were ushered into a back room done up with Moroccan rugs, tapestries and a nice spread of free appetizers. The 30 or so contest winners in the room were buzzing about in hopes of meeting Sting, Stewart Copeland and Andy Summers in person. The Best Buy winning statement was kind of vague about this point. But hey, they’re serving mint tea and Moroccan food, Sting should just magically appear, right? Sadly, no. Instead, our consolation prize was an autograph opportunity with the openers, Fiction Plane.

Led Zeppelin V. Tuesday, July 3, at the Record Bar
Reviewed by Richard Gintowt

So I thought the air guitar championships were at the Record Bar last night, but as it turns out, it was just Be/Non playing the part of Led Zeppelin. Each time I turned around some Hypercolor-clad dude was blissing out with his eyes closed and his hands convulsing with imagined arpeggios. It was quite the site to behold, especially considering the medium age of the crowd was about 25 years older than a typical night at the Record Bar.

For my tastes, the best cover bands are the ones that don’t take themselves seriously but still manage to throw down killer facsimiles of the real deal. That’s certainly the case with Led Zeppelin V, which features top axe-smith Brodie Rush and drumming dexterity clinician Billy Brimblecom (apologies for not recognizing John Paul Jones’ stand-in, who was also top-notch [That was Jeff Harshbarger. -- Ed.].). And vocalist John Huff – who knew? Sure, he didn’t hit ALL the high notes. But two-thirds of ‘em is still pretty damn impressive.

Your music scene gossip item for the day:

This Friday, July 6, is drummer Pete LaPorte's last show as a Roman Numeral. The affable chap with the metronomic joints is moving to San Francisco.

The band has hired ex-Get Up Kids drummer Ryan Pope to take his place.

Drop that tidbit while in conversation with the right person at a party this week and you might get fondled, who knows. Especially if it's this guy:

Pete's LaPortrait by Michael Forester.