Kansas City Music Blog

By ANDY VIHSTADT

Next week, Saul Williams’ Niggy Tardust will see a physical release. No longer free to download, the CD will come with a handful of extras, including the song from that recent Nike commercial (link) and the track below (courtesy of Pitchfork).

MP3: Saul Williams, “World on Wheels”, The Inevitable Rise and Fall of Niggy Tardust! (Fader)

The coolest little ladies in Kansas City take the stage at the KCK Blues Festival.

KCK Street Blues Festival
Date: June 27 & 28, 2008
Venue: Koran Temple parking lot
Better Than: A drunken evening at B.B.’s Lawnside BBQ
By LORNA PERRY

Click to view slideshow.

The 8th Almost Annual KCK Street Blues Festival got underway this weekend at the corner of 13th and State, in Kansas City, Kansas. Friday night featured Cadillac Flambé, Koolaide & Exact Change, Dan Bliss, Blue River Ordonnance with special guests Phil Sanders and Ernie Johnson and Millage Gilbert plus Tommy Soul. Friday’s attendance was hearty, but Saturday was the biggest draw – a sizeable crowd had settled in by the time the first event, a 12:30 panel discussion titled “KC Blues – Yesterday, Today and Tomorrow” with Jim O’Neal, Lindsay Shannon, Chuck Haddix, Groovy Grant and White Hat Mike Ross got underway. Throughout the large parking lot in front of the very tall stage, people had laid claim to asphalt, throwing down blankets, lawnchairs and coolers. Venders and their wares – be it BBQ, T-shirts, African Juices or the African American Democrat Caucus booth – were everywhere.

By JOHN KREICBERGS

Click photo to view slideshow.

There’s little doubt that “American Idol” is the best thing that could have ever happened to Kansas City’s annual Red, White & Boom extravaganza. Having pulled through a few awkward years (think “Livin’ la Vida Loca” and “White Wedding” on the same bill), this homegrown event started to hit its stride during its tweens thanks to a parade of artists hand-picked by primetime hitmakers Randy, Paula and Simon and, in most cases, rejected en masse by an American voting public obviously more interested in minting popstars than presidents. Now officially entering its teens, Red, White & Boom is starting to express a unique sense of style and personality, much like the young girls and boys (but let’s face it -- mostly girls) that packed the recently rechristened Sandstone Amphitheatre this past Saturday.

Bolstered by incredible weather that produced more suntans and cool breezes than cases of heat stroke, the show opened with Drew 6, winners of 93.3’s Ultimate Band Search, followed by the Last Goodnight. By the time the venue started to fill with bedazzled teens sporting puffy painted t-shirts declaring “[insert heartthrob of the moment here] 4 EVAR!,” Ferras pulled up a keyboard centerstage and settled into a short set capped off by this past Idol season’s official sayonara song “Hollywood’s Not America.”

By ROY KASTEN

The glitter fell but doom never did. So much the better for this -- how else can it be put? -- historic Tom Waits show at the Fox Theatre. Not that Waits didn’t try to summon all the spirits in the boneyard at the end of the junkyard at the end of the world. The hall roared when he gave “What’s He Building In There?” all his crypto-voyeurism, but his greatness has nothing to do with channeling Vincent Price. And who cares who “Mr. Stitches” is anyway? One can only take so much persona.

Click the photo to view slideshow.

Photos from the show.

For all the prophecies of chaos and clusterfucks that heralded the anti-scalper gouge-fest that is the Tom Waits ticketing system, the Fox staff moved the sell-out crowd through the block-long lines on Grand like they knew what they were doing. To think I could I have driven to Memphis, chased some trucker speed with a half pint of bourbon, and made it back to St. Louis, stopping for all the coffee and cigarettes I could consume at every other truck stop along the way, for the same price as my VIP2 Row H ticket. I might have gotten some stories out of it, but none of them would have been history.

More after the jump.

By ANDY VIHSTADT

Only July 29, Thirsty Ear Records and the Future of Music Coalition will bring the subject of Net Neutrality to the forefront with the Rock the Net compilation. The album will feature new and exclusive cuts from artists like the Wrens, Portastatic, and They Might Be Giants. Where the proceeds go isn’t quite clear, but you can stream the entire thing right here.

By ANDY VIHSTADT

Along with running the Serato for Kanye West on tour, Montreal’s DJ A-Trak has amassed an impressive collection of trophies, including being the youngest and first to win five DMC championships. He recently contributed a workout mix for the Nike Original Run series, now available on iTunes. Get a free taste below, thanks to Spinner.

MP3: DJ A-Trak, “Say Whoa,” The Running Man: Nike + Original Run

Little pig, little pig, let me in. Click below to view the slideshow.

By ANDY VIHSTADT

The Faint recently left the Saddle Creek imprint to start its own blank.wav record label. The Omaha-based dance-punk outfit will debut its new business venture with its fifth LP, Fasciinatiion, out August 5. Have a listen to the album’s first single, “The Geeks Were Right,” here.

By FLANNERY CASHILL

D/Will gets cocky with swank summertime raps.

MP3: D-Will, "Glory," from Heir of Abraham (self-released)

Punk rocker cum mountain man Tommy Ramone strokes his wiry white beard this week at Mountain Music Shoppe, where he plucks the mandolin and gee-tar for bluegrass duo Uncle Monk.

MP3: Uncle Monk, "Home Sweet Reality," from Uncle Monk (Airday Records)

More jams after the jump.

By C.J. JANOVY

This week’s issue of Rolling Stone has an interview with American Idol winner and Blue Springs native David Cook. Among the fascinating revelations: at a “glitzy restaurant on the south tip of Manhattan’s Central Park,” Cook is “scared” of foie gras on toast, drowning out the taste with a Sprite, and refuses to eat “a delicate flan of pureed peas.” Cook also shows his “gnawed fingernails.” Although Cook seems out of place in New York City, he has fond memories of going to Royals games and performing his first audition, a second-grade try-out for a cowboy-themed Christmas pageant. And learning his first instrument, the violin, because he liked a girl in the orchestra. Read the interview here.

From the tipline: Beginning today and ending July 7, if you preorder Beck's new one, Modern Guilt, from iTunes you'll get a password for concert tix presale. Says the Ticketmaster page, Beck is expected to hit the following markets;

Albuquerque, NM
Boston, MA
Chicago, IL
El Paso, TX
Kansas City, MO
Minneapolis, MN
New York, NY
Phoenix, AZ

Um, yes please.

By ANDY VIHSTADT

After a ten year hiatus, Richard Ashcroft and co. will be releasing their reunion album on August 19. Aptly titled Four, the Verve’s fourth LP will include all four original members. The band posted the first single, “Love is Noise,” yesterday. Stream it here, via MySpace.

Anyone who already has a ticket or wants to buy a ticket at the door at tonight's Matisyahu show at the Crossroads at Grinders can now bring their rabbi -- for free.

Just go to this web page and print out the "golden ticket."

Apparently, ticket sales aren't going to well. Not surprising -- it's $28 for GA; $35 for bleachers; $76.50 for VIP.

Someone still loves you, Matsiyahu.

By JASON HARPER

Local politicians don't know where the Embassy is; midtown scenesters don't know that it's still open. But the spacious, two-room storefront bar at the intersection of Main and Westport Road is most definitely still open, and its Monday night hip-hop open mic, hosted by KC's patriarchal Heet Mob, is alive and well.

By JASON HARPER

Buffalo Saints. Now there's a band that takes me back. The first time I saw 'em was in early 2004. The next time after that that I saw 'em was election night 2004, when America re-elected George W. Bush. The band was playing the election results watching party at Davey's. Lead singer and guitarist Tommy Hoskins was then and still is now one of the finest voices in Kansas City music -- his bleating tenor equally suited for pop as for twang. Joining him were Nate Harold on bass, Ryan Johnson on drums and Mike Alexander guitar -- a country slinger before I ever knew him as an Architect or Gadjit. The Saints, in those days, were as dedicated to flannel western shirts and catchy hooks as any band ten or fifty years older, and their music was crisp, catchy and smoky like wet mesquite on the fire.

Or something like that.

The voting is live, folks. Click here to enter your info (so we know you're real) and vote for your favorite band.

Here's a quick list of the nominees.

Gregg Pfister of Sunflower Auction called The Pitch this morning with the news that his auction house is working with former Music Exchange employee Steve Franz and the widow of the store's late owner Ron Rooks, Nancy Rooks, to sell off the hundreds of thousands of records plus all the posters, flyers and memorabilia -- Ron called the stuff "Americana" -- contained in the West Bottoms building to which Ron moved his Westport institution in May of 2006, five months before he died.

"It's pretty much like he left it," reports Pfister, describing the two-story complex at 1413 West 13th Terrace in the Bottoms as holding about a quarter of a million LPs, a hundred thousand 78s, and twenty to thirty thousand 45s -- a half million records, overall, Pfister thinks.

With the exception of a handful of special LPs that will be reserved for an auction on Saturday, July 12, at 10 a.m. that will serve to sell the non-vinyl items (i.e., the Americana), the vast majority of records will be on sale for $1 each -- including many that are worth more than that -- on the following days: Wednesday, July 16 - Saturday, July 19 and Wednesday, July 23 - Saturday, July 26 (10 a.m. to 4 p.m. Daily).

Go to the Sunflower site for all the details.

Expassionates, with Barclay Martin
Saturday, 06-21-08
Davey's Uptown
Better than: Lung cancer

There's no place I would have rather experienced my first smoke-free night in Kansas City than Davey's Uptown. Many a night have I cursed the dive's omnipresent smoke cloud, and just as many nights I've avoided it altogether for that very reason. Thanks to the great voters of Kansas City, I was stoked to experience my first (mostly) smokeless night in Kansas City. As an added bonus, Expassionates and Barclay Martin were set to perform – the latter joining the bill following an unfortunate last-minute cancellation by San Francisco's The Botticellis (a great band well worth checking out despite their unexplained truancy).

More after the jump.

by FLANNERY CASHILL

Some of you may know Chip Hanna from his drumming for the '90s street punk band U.S. Bombs. Others may recognize him from One Man Army or his alt-country project Chip Hanna and the Berlin Three. Either way, few of you probably expected his drumset to end up in Leawood. Present owner Ben Pate met Hanna in his former state of residence, California, and the drums were a joint Christmas gift from Pate's girlfriend and Hanna himself. Pate has put the set on sale for Craigslist, advertising to collectors and drummers but hoping that someone who "knows and appreciates drums" will buy them first. The drums have been on several nationwide tours and used on the original U.S. Bombs recordings, but really, they're just not practical in a condo.

By ANDY VIHSTADT

Last, year, the hip-hop duo behind Clipse (and one-half of the Re-up Gang) left Jive Records for greener pastures. “Fast Life” is rumored to be the first single from Malice and Pusha T’s upcoming release on Columbia. Get it here.

Love old school? Miss the Cosby Show? Still hate Reagan? Click below to view our slideshow of '80s night at the Record Bar.

Soul Asylum and Los Lonely Boys
06/21/08
Ribfest, American Royal/Kemper Arena Parking Lot
Better Than: you could imagine
By DANNY ALEXANDER
Photos by LAUREN ALEXANDER

Click photo to view slideshow.

"Karl told us to say hi," guitarist Dan Murphy announced toward the end of Soul Asylum's set, "That guy could kick some ribs." Of course, Murphy was referring to Karl Mueller, the band's founding member lost to cancer in 2005.

Despite the oddity of playing to a somewhat sparse crowd (it grew substantially as the band played) on a hot afternoon at a barbeque, lead singer Dave Pirner seemed determined to have fun from the start, prowling the stage and cracking bad jokes inspired by the John Deere display and the irony of playing in the shadow of an arena. By the third song, Pirner
was swinging his hips and dodging invisible bullets (or ribs).

By ANDY VIHSTADT

Florida’s much-blogged-about Black Kids will be releasing its formal debut on July 22. Following the “I’m Not Gonna Teach Your Boyfriend How to Dance with You” lead, the album’s second single is yet another tightened up version from the Kids’ online-released EP, Wizard of Ahhhs. Grab it below, thanks to Hypeful.

MP3: Black Kids, “Hurricane Jane”, Partie Traumatic (Columbia)

Read Andy Vihstadt's Download column every week at Pitch.com.

By ANNIE ZALESKI

In a post today, Idolator spotlighted the Creepy Crawl's long-standing list of "Top 39 Annoying Things That Bands Do." Now, that list has been up for as long as I can remember -- and I've lived here for three years now. And in light of the club's declining number of shows (if not the quality of shows it hosts), some of these items are quite funny. To wit:

8. Bands that spell their names with a strange spelling twist e.g., junkeez, katz etc. After meeting the band, however, we are left with the impression that they didn't intentionally try and spell their name with a twist but rather they probably just don't know how to spell.

Gas Money:
INCORRECT UNDERSTANDING: $200 is not gas money. $200 is we're partying all night on the East Side and getting privates at Roxy's for everyone in the band.

By ANDY VIHSTADT

Tokyo Police Club is joining the fight against Lupus. Go here and click the play button on the turntable to hear the Montreal outfit’s cover of the Rentals’ “Friends of P.” If you’re feeling generous, donate $15 and score a free tote bag for your troubles.

Read Andy Vihstadt's Download column every week at Pitch.com.

By AARON LADAGE

MP3: Fiancé, "TwentySomething", from Please, Ambitious, Please (Twenty Something Records)

Calling Fiancé’s latest EP, Please, Ambitious, Please, an unapologetically pop record wouldn’t be a bad descriptor, except for one thing: the Denver-native foursome has nothing to be sorry for in the first place. Sure, there are a few obvious blemishes on the surface (particularly when lead singer Patrick McGuire’s nasally vocals reach a little too deep into the emo cookie jar), but a closer inspection reveals a melodic, hook-driven songwriting style that sounds a bit like Ben Folds trying to cover Explosions in the Sky. Does the world need another cut-and-paste piano-pop band? Probably not – and that’s what makes Fiancé so damn refreshing.

The Red Dons and the Estranged
6/18/08
The Newsroom
Better than: Playing erotic photo hunt on the Megatouch
By FLANNERY CASHILL

As of Tuesday night, the Red Dons had no place to play. The Anchor got shut down last weeks by cops, forcing all booked shows elsewhere, and relocating the Red Dons and tourmates the Estranged to the Newsroom. Locals Helium Head and Hopeless Destroyers were supposed to play, but didn’t. No one made flyers. Despite no openers and little publicity, the bands attracted a good crowd of earnest punks, and thank God, because they deserve all the gas money they can get.

On page 11 of today's issue of The Pitch, readers will find a glorious and diverse list of all the bands and artists who have received nominations in this year's Pitch Music Awards.

You know the competition will be great and the showcase will be titanic, so write this down now:

Pitch Music Showcase
Westport
29 bands for $5
August 7, 2008.

NOTE: As of this post, our online voting page is still in the works. We apologize for the delay; it should be up by the end of the week.

Vote HERE.

Follow the jump to see a complete list of this year's nominees, which were chosen largely by Pitch contributors, with a little outside help from our friends in the scene, such as your mom. What, she didn't tell you? Maybe it's because you never call her!

It has just been announced that the Dandy Warhols on on their way to Lawrence. Accompanied by opening act Darker My Love, the Warhols will be at Liberty Hall on Friday, September 26. Starting at 10 a.m. on Saturday, June 21, you can ensure that you'll be there by purchasing one of the $16.50 tickets available through Ticketbastard.

Viva information!

You can stream the group's new album, Earth to the Dandy Warhols, here. Or, by becoming a member of the band's subscription service (they don't have a record label no' mo'), you can download the sucker before it's physical release, set for sometime this Fall. Just follow the instructions on the site to do all that stuff.