Kansas City Music Blog

Tonight (and tomorrow night), after the noodle-y goodness of the Widespread Panic at the Midland, drop by Crosstown Station and check out DJ Logic at midnight.

Last week, Logic played on Late Night with Jimmy Fallon with Carly Simon & the Roots, this week he's in the Crossroads. Crazy, huh?

After tomorrow night's second Widespread performance, catch Wichita's own Split Lip Rayfield at midnight. If you are into local music AT ALL and you still haven't ever seen these guys play, well then... you really aren't into local music.

The good folks at Crosstown want you to come over so bad, there will be complimentary transportation from the Midland to 1522 McGee. Two buses will move concertgoers between locations. "I'll be out in front with a bullhorn, herdin' hippies to my place," says club owner Chip Mitchell.

Tickets for the DJ Logic show tonight are $10 at the door and $12 at the door for Split Lip, so don't blow all your dollars at the Midland. You've got drinking until 3 a.m. to do.

This just in: This evening starting at 7 p.m., the Uptown Theater will christen its new space, called The Conspiracy, with an all-ages local show headlined by We Are Voices and including the King and Thief, Katacina and Bottle Rocket.

credit: myspace.com/atophotography

We Are Voices

​The brand-new Conspiracy -- whose name, no doubt, reflects Uptown owner Larry Sells' taste for the fringe -- can be entered off Broadway, just south of the Uptown's box office. The cover is $7.

I'm not familiar with We Are Voices, but apparently someone at AboslutePunk.net is a fan, raving in a review of the band's new album: "Music, camaraderie, and the chances a new day brings pulse throughout What Makes Us So Alive?"

Here's some live footage from the band's CD-release show several months ago.

According to Kim Anderson at the Uptown, none other than Alicia Solo of the Beautiful Bodies will be booking the space. Hit her up!

And what did you ever do?

Barclay Martin and his Ensemble rightly got a standing ovation at the end of a concert on Sunday, November 8, at JCCC's Yardley Hall. Thanks to production by Quixotic and on-stage artillery from the Sampaguita Choir and the Sinag-Tala Dance Troupe, this was not your usual Barclay show. (The Star ran a review.)

Behold, the finale.

The concert was in celebration of the release of the Barclay-penned soundtrack to the upcoming documentary Zamboanga: Poverty, War, Music. The film traces the production of a January 2008 concert held in one of the Philippines' poorest regions.

​As we wrote back in April, the concert found Martin performing alongside native Filipino musicians before a crowd of 10,000.

All proceeds from CD sales are going to a scholarship fund backed by the Christian Foundation for Children and Aging (that's the group that made the film with Barclay). Buy it online and contribute here.

Or, you can probably pick up a copy tonight at Jardine's, where the Barclay Martin Ensemble is playing two shows, at 6 and 8:30 p.m.

With Digable Planets tonight at the Bottleneck and P.O.S. at the Beaumont on Sunday -- and some killer local shows in between -- you won't be blamed for forgetting rock and roll even exists this weekend in Kansas City.

Wait ... check that.

For one thing, guitars will be present tonight at the Scion Lab when Mouth the band provides support for area rappers Reach, thePhantom, Dutch Newman, Godson and Swayzorblades.​

Depending on what Steddy P brings in terms of musical support (he's been known to have both a DJ and live band), there may or may not be amps and drumsticks when the local rapper joins CES Cru, Stik Figa and DJ G-Train for Leaders of the Nu Skool 2 tonight at the Record Bar.

Meanwhile, Digable Planets' Butterfly and Doodlebug are likely to rock it old school at the Bottleneck tonight, with support from local MC Greg Enemy.

We already blogged this, but don't forget: At the Riot Room on Saturday, KC's Deep Thinkers are premiering tracks from their fourth album, Make It Quake. In addition to performances by Reggie B with Miles Bonny and Reach, Chief Rocker Busy Bee will be in the building.

And, then, on Sunday, the Pac-Tour rolls into the Beaumont, bringing the bands Innerpartysystem, Saosin and Eye Alaska and Rhymesayers breadwinner P.O.S., whose punk-rooted indie rap is a solid complement to the rest of the lineup's mostly rock instrumentation.

Kanye West recently gave blog love to P.O.S. for the video for the title track off P's latest, Never Better, which Amazon named one of the year's best in hip-hop.

Anything we're forgetting? Post it in the comments.

Earlier this morning, this blog reported that King Khan & BBQ Show's appearance tonight at the Jackpot has been canceled due to the band getting arrested in Kentucky yesterday afternoon. (The Riverfront Times has some updates on the situation.)

But the rest of tonight's show is still going on. Tourmates Those Darlins still aim to rock the Jackpot with their Nashville-bred brand of country-influenced garage, and locals the Spook Lights will get the place warmed up with some tubular psych-surf rock.

The cover is $7. Pre-sale refunds are available at point of purchase, but in light of recent developments, if you're a KK&BBQ fan, you're not gonna wanna be anywhere else tonight.

Here's some in-studio Darlins.

Those Darlins "Hung Up On Me" from Lake Fever Sessions on Vimeo.

Update, 1:14 p.m.: From the Up to Eleven Twitter feed:

the king khan & bbq will unfortunately not be able to perform tonight at the jackpot. refunds available at point of purchase. HOWEVER.....those darlins and the spook lights WILL BE playing at the jackpot. tickets only $7 at the door. celebrate friday the 13th in lawrence

Update, 11:06 a.m.: The rumors are true. The booking agent confirmed that the band was arrested yesterday in Hopkinsville, Kentucky. The tour manager remains in jail, but everyone else is out on bail. No word of the charges yet, but the band will not be performing tonight.

Earlier post (10:30 a.m.): Our sister blog A to Z reported this morning that Arish "King" Khan and Mark Sultan of the garage duo King Khan & BBQ Show did not appear for their gig last night in St. Louis at Off Broadway. 

The duo that comprises the King Khan & BBQ Show missed its early evening soundcheck and were M.I.A. and incommunicado throughout the night. Even as the eager crowd filed into the packed venue and witnessed a pair of impressive (though clearly stalling) opening acts, the chatter was that the headliners hadn't been heard from since they left Nashville--their previous tour date-- around 11 a.m. Thursday morning.

King Khan & BBQ

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At approximately 11 p.m., local concert promoter Joey O'Farrell grabbed the mic and sheepishly delivered the news: The King Khan and BBQ would not be performing. No, he didn't know where they were or what had happened. Yes, Off Broadway was offering a full refund to anyone who wanted it.

Then Deer Tick singer John McCauley took the stage and delivered an impromptu set of classic rock and roll covers.

Wait, what?
According to O'Farrell and Off Broadway owner Steve Pohlman, Khan and Sultan were arrested somewhere between Nashville and St. Louis. The charge is rumored to be drug possession, but neither party could offer any specifics.

... A call to Khan's tour manager's cell phone went unanswered and straight to a message saying that her voicemail inbox is full.

The arrest has not been confirmed, and Jacki Becker of Up to Eleven Productions, which promoted the show, said this morning she had no information.

The duo is scheduled to play the Jackpot Music Hall tonight. A call is in to the band's booking agent, and updates will be posted as received.

After over a decade of rocking and rolling you all over Kansas City, the Throttlers are throwing down for one last time tonight. Born out of the ashes of Johnny Black & the Assassins, the Throttlers have been the closest thing this poor world has seen to a hot rod rock 'n' roll band since the New Bomb Turks broke up.

​In their time, the band's played with every Kansas City rock band that's ever mattered, as well as opening for touring badasses like the Boss Martians. When they play tonight, the Throttlers will be rocking out with the help of some friends: The Haunted Creepys (direct from Transylvania), the Federation of Horsepower, and the Klusterfux.

I saw the band play numerous times over the years, both as the Throttlers, and as Johnny Black & the Assassins, and they never gave anything less than their all. PK would play his heart out, and I saw him break out a full-on "YEAAAAAAAAAH!" when sick once. Cuzin' Mike played bass like he was born to it, and Claes Frehley was a welcome addition, adding some serious breadth to the band's sound when he joined on guitar, adding to the three-piece they'd been with drummer Rob.

Now, despite the fact that the band's playing their last show tonight, and despite the fact that you've only got one album's worth of material -- Let the Eagle Fly -- you can find a silver lining to this black cloud. The band might be declared after this show, but the band does remind you "the dead have been know to walk on occasion..."

The Runaway Sons have a new album out, entitled Soy España, and they'd like you to hear it. Rather than just listening to rockers like "Jerk and Gyrate" or "Kathleen Turner Overdrive" via the tinny speakers on your laptop, the band would like you to get a taste of the album the way it was meant to be heard -- blasting out of some speakers, surrounded by a bunch of like-minded individuals.

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Now, should you care to hear the EP at ear-blistering volume, you can join the band and other fans at the Soy España listening party tonight.

The party gets going at 6pm tonight, at the Hot Topic in the Great Mall of the Great Plains in Olathe. To find Hot Topic in the vast oval that is the Great Mall, follow these easy instructions:

Hot Topic is located inside the theater entrance at the NorthWest side of the mall. Walk past the movie ticket kiosk, and we are right after Java Jive on the right hand side.

In addition to hearing the album, it'll be available for for purchase, alongside the usual Hot Topic fare such as Invader Zim lunchboxes and plus-size corsets.

We mentioned a couple of weeks ago about Ian MacDougall, guitarist for the Riverboat Gamblers, and the injuries he sustained when hit by a car while he was riding his bike.

​While you can still go to the Help Ian page to donate, perhaps you're the sort of person who needs to get a little something for your donation -- the person who doesn't send any money to PBS until they offer up the tote bag, as it were.

Well, here you go: tonight at the Riot Room, there's a benefit for MacDougall, featuring some of the finest rock 'n' roll Kansas City has to offer. When benefits for musicians are usually done, it's inevitably the case that the bands playing have little-to-no connection with the musician whom they're helping, other than the tenuous "fellow musician" connection.

In the case of tonight's show, you get a healthly dose of bands who share a sonic connection with MacDougall's band: The Sixteens, Wrong Crowd, The Also Rans, Hopeless Destroyers, and 45th St. Porch Band.

​It had been awhile since we'd heard from our pal Andy Graham of the fabulous, late A. Graham and the Moment Band. And, frankly, we did not expect to hear from him in conjunction with something called Spaniel, but the world is full of little surprises, idn'tit?

Fronted by Graham with ex-Moment guitarist Mark Weinberg and variously referred to as "Time Spaniel" or "Liquor Spaniel," Spaniel is playing tonight at the Record Bar with San Diego rawk threesome Marasol and the deliciously jagged Little Murders.

Mr. Graham was kind enough to share an exclusive rough mix from his new-old band (he and Weinberg have been putting on the dog off and on since the '90s), and it sounds promising: a sort of dreamy, quirky "Ziggy Stardust"-referencing ballad about a dogsledder. Dogsledsman? Whatever. It's nice.

MP3: Spaniel, "Skyhawk"

Skyhawk!

Our sister paper, The Riverfront Times, ran an interesting profile of St. Louisan Joey Carenza, who, for the past 18 months, has been around the globe with the one and only Leonard Cohen, who brings his tower of song to Kansas City tonight at the Midland by AMC.

Amy de Souza

​

Turns out there's an even-more-local connection to Carenza. His tour-managing roster includes at least one stint with TGUK. Here's how he got started.

Indeed, Carenza parlayed his time with [St. Louis ska band] MU330 into gigs as a guitar tech and tour producer with a wide variety of bands; notable ones include Face to Face, the Get Up Kids, the Bravery, Ash and Sondre Lerche. The connections he built eventually landed him a gig producing some shows by Anjani Thomas, a jazz singer who frequently collaborates with Cohen. The success of these concerts led Carenza to a December 2007 meeting in LA with Cohen's manager, Robert Kory -- ostensibly to discuss the potential of a tour.

Seems that Carenza has gotten to know his current boss pretty well. In addition to talking about how the 75-year-old poet and singer prefers work to sleep, Carenza reflects:

"Rock stars, entertainers, are just people," Carenza says. "And [if] you work around enough of them, you really realize that. But if you do work around enough of them, you realize that every once in awhile, one or two of 'em, they're not just people. There's really something about them that puts them head and shoulders above the rest of them.

"And that's Leonard. He's a regular dude, and he's a guy, he's a down-to-earth person, but there's also something about him that's very much not like everybody else. That's what makes him Leonard Cohen, I think. He has that something extra that's sort of semi-intangible. You read his writing and his work, and that's very tangible. He's a beacon. People are drawn to it. It's no joke; he's the real deal."

Further reading: Check out the RFT's review on Cohen's show last night in St. Louis at A to Z.

Just over a year ago, friends of musician Abigail Henderson rallied to help her defray the cost of the expensive cancer treatments she was undergoing. And in true Kansas City fashion, that first benefit show, called Apocalypse Meow, rocked. Now Henderson is cancer-free, and it's time for another round of musical fundraising.

Forester Michael

Abigail Hendson at last year's inaugural Apocalypse Meow

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Taking place Saturday at Crosstown Station with a pre-party tonight at Midwestern Musical Co. (1830 Locust), Apocalypse Meow 2 will raise money for the burgeoning Midwest Music Foundation, which grew out of the first Meow and is bent toward helping musicians with health-care costs.

Beginning at 7 p.m. Friday at Midwestern, Howard Iceberg and the Titanics, followed by Henderson's band, the Gaslights, kick up the dust. Live-music-oriented photographs will be on display and for sale.

Saturday, the party moves to Crosstown for a blowout headlined by the Pedaljets and featuring the Columns, the Grisly Hand, Alacartoona, Sara Swenson and Tiny Horse. Scores of sweet prizes will be auctioned and raffled, including two pairs of Leonard Cohen VIP tickets, an autographed Zach Greinke baseball and a one-year pass to the Riot Room. Get there early for the health fair if you haven't had your blood pressure checked in a while. But watch out -- later, when the bands go on, it's gonna rise.

Go here for more info, plus an hour-by-hour, audio-enhanced schedule.

There's not a lot I can say here that trumps what Saby Reyes-Kulkarni said about Valient Thorr in his show preview:
​

Valient Thorr kicks ass far beyond the dreams of any of those psychedelic-stoner-garage-riff-'n'-rollers who make careers out of copying Sabbath or Iggy Pop and get drooled on by forgiving fans.

However, it's certainly worth bringing up that the Architects will make a rare appearance in Lawrence as openers for this show. We'd like to see some more rock 'n' roll in Lawrence, but it sadly seems to be, for the most part, exclusive to Kansas City, which is a shame -- mainly because those of us who live in Lawrence and don't suckle at the teat of indie rock or jam bands have to make 80 mile round trips.

So, if you live in Lawrence, please come out and support the rare Friday night rock 'n' roll show. Showing up early and giving the Phillips brothers and Mr. Liggatt a little love wouldn't be unappreciated, either.

MP3: Valient Thorr, "I Hope the Ghosts of the Dead Haunt Yr Soul Forever"

To get you ready for tonight's Riot Room show, here's a video of Broadway Calls playing the FEST this weekend shot by the dudes from Punknews. They "took a day off from their West Coast tour to fly into Gainesville and play The Fest. The crowd at The Venue showed their appreciation by stage diving. A lot."

In the video the band performs one song from each of their full-lengths: "Midnight Hour" from this year's Good Views, Bad News and "Van Rides and High Tides" from their 2007 self-titled full-length.

Broadway Calls - "Midnight Hour" / "Van Rides and High Tides" from Punknews.org on Vimeo.

Grunge, an infectiously rockin' disease that originated with flannel-clad chimpanzees in Africa and spread through male primate ululating in the nightclubs of Seattle, is still alive and raging in the undergrounds of the USA.

Batrider, a New Zealand band that fully embraces its grunge affliction, is headlining a show tonight at the Pistol Social Club, and, holy cow, look at this nice flier!

(That probably could be a good contender for Flier of the Week, but I'll leave the choosing of that up to my co-blogger, Nick "Fly Eyes" Spacek.)​

Batrider's not the only band bringing back the '90s tonight in the Bottoms, at least, according to the Pistol's Facebook page, which lists the bill as follows:

High Diving Ponies (Lawrence) Shoe-grungers
Biker Chick and the Riff Raffs (KC) Fun-grunge
Poison Generate (KC) Grunge-velvet

Andrew Connor of Ghosty, who is not grunge at all but still came of age in the '90s, opens with a solo set.

Stream and/or purchase Batrider's newest, the very grungy indeed Why Can't We Be Together?, at Bandcamp. Or save your money for tonight's donation and buy a record from the merch table.

Can we use the word "grunge" again in this post? No? OK.

Here is the schedule for tonight's KRBZ 96.5 the Buzz Halloweenie Roast. Thanks to Jeriney of the Homegrown Buzz show for passing this along. It's also posted here with lots of videos from the you-tele.

Beaumont Indoors:
Doors: 5:00pm
DJ: 5:00 - 5:30
Fists Up: 5:30 - 6:00
Adam Lee: 6:25 - 6:55
Nuthatch-47: 7:20 - 7:50
Thunder Eagle: 8:15 - 8:45
DJ Till: 9:30
Freaks Tattoo Contest: 9:30 - 9:50
DJ Till: 11:05
The Architects: 11:05 - 11:45
Calamity Cubes: 12:05 - 12:35

Outside:
White Rabbits: 6:05 - 6:35pm
Black Joe Lewis: 6:55 - 7:25pm
The Raveonettes: 7:45 - 8:25pm
A Flock Of Seagulls: 8:45 - 9:30pm
Jet: 9:50 - 11:00pm

As I just said on Twitter, seeing this song live tonight will be the fulfillment of a neon childhood dream I never had. Which is just to say: I'm excited to see it, but I wish they'd booked Tears for Fears instead.

On a serious note, I've always wanted to see White Rabbits. Raveonettes will be good. Jet? OK. The local lineup is great. Well done, Buzz.

There, that's my six-second preview. See you there.

A few minutes after 6 p.m., the Sprint Center sent out the following media advisory, also posted to the venue's website:

Due to a death in Bruce's immediate family, tonight's show at Sprint Center has been unavoidably cancelled. All tickets will be refunded at the point of purchase. Bruce and The Band deeply appreciate the understanding of our Kansas City audience and look forward to returning at the earliest opportunity.

That's all the information we have at this time.

Update: At 6:31 p.m., the Star reported that a member of Springsteen's entourage was found dead earlier this afternoon at the Intercontinental Hotel. According to Springsteen's official site, the man was 36-year-old Lenny Sullivan, Springsteen's cousin and the E Street Band's assistant road manager for the past ten years. No cause of death was released.

Evidently, there must be someone smiling down on everyone who listens to pop-punk, because this is the second Friday night pop-punk show we've gotten this month. First Teenage Bottlerocket at the Record Bar, and now the Queers at the Jackpot? Hallelujah!

​Tonight, the Queers play with the cream of Lawrence's pop-punk crop. Granted, they are the only pop-punk bands in Lawrence, but since Bent Left got to play with Nothington earlier this week, and Fists Up! got to play with Teenage Bottlerocket, everything's getting distributed all fair and equitable-like.

So, yeah -- opening tonight's early show (doors at 8pm) will be KTP, Pass-A-Fist, and the Hemorrhoids. It will be full of sing-a-long goodness, and you'd be a fool to pass this up.

You can probably get out of there with just enough time to spare to get yourself down to Liberty Hall for the midnight screening of Evil Dead 2, as well.

​Never mind what we said earlier.

From the Crossroads at Grinders Web site.

Unfortunately, due to unseasonable weather and a deteriorating forecast for this evening, tonight's Ghostland Observatory and Glitch Mob concert at Crossroads KC has been postponed until a later date. Tickets originally purchased for tonight's concert will be honored at the rescheduled date; however, if you wish to receive a refund, please return your tickets to their point of purchase. Online purchasers should contact Pipeline Ticketing via the following link: http://crossroads.frontgatesolutions.com/corp/contact.php

Not sure what "deteriorating forecast" they're looking at. As of this post, here's what Weather.com has:

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Thought it was a "rain or shine" show anyway. Apparently not.

BUMMER.

Thanks to Rhonda for alerting us.

​Got a yen to do the danse macabre tonight? Head down to Crossroads KC at Grinders tonight for an electro-dance cruise ship of awesomeness helmed by Austin synth-vocals duo Ghostland Observatory and openers the Glitch Mob, a scruffy, knob-twisting dance quartet from Cali.

Get like PBS and watch these docu-videos about both acts. The first is a quaint little Central-Texas-made piece starring people with hefty drawls tawlking about Ghostland's unique aesthetic. (Kinda reminds me of Suicide in that they've got one weirdo doing beats and another weirdo singing, but Ghostland is way less threatening and dire than, say, "Ghost Rider." And they've got braids.) Anyway, here's the film.

And here's an XLR8R-made film about the Glitch setting up guerilla-style outside of an Apple Store in San Francisco. The old guy at the beginning decrying their lack of instrumental ability is priceless.

Doors at 7 p.m., show at 8. Call 816-221-LIVE for info.

Due to a family emergency, tonight's Stephen Lynch show at the Midland is postponed.

​The show's been rescheduled for December 12. All tickets for the show tonight will be honored at the December 12 show. For refunds, please visit the point-of-purchase location.

If this bums you out too terribly much, pull out the Live at the El Rey DVD and watch that. Try not to think about the fact that this is the second time Lynch has had to bail on a KC show. Several years ago, he canceled a show at the Uptown with Mitch Hedberg to audition for what would become his first Broadway role, that of Robbie in the Wedding Singer.

MP3: Stephen Lynch, "Vanilla Ice Cream"

Wonkachild is in the building

​When I told a colleague here at The Pitch that I was excited about an artist named Wonkachild, he said, "What, is he a candy raver or something?"

Yeah, 23-year-old Jaqwan Sirls picked a stupid-ass name on which to hang a music career. But even if he went by Fetusmuncher, I'd be encouraging attendance at his show tonight at the Record Bar. Why? Because I listened to his whole album online and didn't skip a single song. It is, as they say, all good.

I can clown on Sirls' moniker all I want, he says, because, "If you really think about it, Willy Wonka didn't care what people thought of him."

Sirls imagines himself as the son of the candymaker from Charlie and the Chocolate Factory because as a kid, he could relate more to characters in books than to people, he says.

He considered going by "Wonka," but says, "That sounds like I could be some rapper from the 'hood, so if I add 'child' to it, it separates me from them."

The distinction is necessary because Wonkachild's music is far from thuggy. The soon-to-be Rockhurst grad raps about Argyle sweaters, and the title track from his debut album, Urkel, features the chorus, "I dress like Urkel but I look like Carlton/ and I'm cooler than you."

Hear a couple for yourself after the jump.

Our friends at Popwreckoning, the national music blog with a local arm are celebrating their site's second birthday with a show tonight at Davey's Uptown Ramblers Club.

Event-planning pros Life in Jersey play tonight at Davey's.

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Life in Jersey is headlining. We recently spoke with the Kansas City band about its new album, Plotted Points, on which frontman Carson Lands struggles with issues of faith. One thing his band does not struggle with: putting on a kickass show. "We don't even want to play in town unless we can make it an event," Land told us in September.

Also on tonight's bill are Colorado bands the Photo Atlas and the Epilogues. Popwreckoner Josh Hammond says he'll be giving away copies of the Photo Atlas' new one to the first 15 people who show up and bring at least two friends. Evangelism! Cover is $5. KC's Yellow Walrus rounds out the bill.

Aireoke is a combination of air guitar and karaoke that was created by "Air Guitar Nation" star Bjorn Turoque, and it's at the Jackpot in Lawrence tonight.

​You get to get up on-stage and make like a rock star. You can bring your MP3 player and shred to your favorite tunes (my suggestion? "Headbanger Face Rip" by Municipal Waste or Corrosion of Conformity's "Big Problems"), or select from the vast, totally awesome selection Aireoke will have on hand.

The event is hosted by 2009 KC air guitar champion Mean Melin (aka Scene-Stealers' and the Dead Girls' Eric Melin) and authorized by To Air Is Human author Bjorn Turoque.

It's two or three bucks to get in, meaning you can bring a ten and still get a pretty good Hamm's buzz going on.

As you may recall, I quite enjoyed Brand New's recent release, Daisy. I'm not alone, as Spin's given it four stars, and it received a 90% rating on Absolutepunk.

You get your chance to see the new songs tonight at the Uptown, when the band takes the stage after openers Manchester Orchestra.

Brand New - At the Bottom - Daisy Sessions from TheApKproductionCollective on Vimeo.

Tonight, Tut Tut plays the Czar Bar with 20,000 Strongmen. They were offered this show kind of last minute and thus is not on the Czar Bar web site nor calendar, which is why you may not have heard about it.

​According to Tut Tut's Alexander Abnos, 20,000 Strongmen plays "jangly folksy stuff, and a lot of the songs are pretty funny. It should be a fun show, and really, what the hell else is there to do on a Tuesday?"

Tut Tut plays next on October 16 at the Brick, where Abnos will be playing with Mammoth Life. This will be ML's last KC show before they head east to play at CMJ, so come out to support our locals before they go east to make famous with the college radio types.

Wilco had a busy weekend. They played the annual Farm Aid concert, which our colleagues at the Riverfront Times described as "loose and raw - more like the tightest jam session you'll ever see than a well-orchestrated gig."

Michael Segal

You ain't gettin' in.

​In addition, Wilco continued the chain of higher-quality musical guests on A Prairie Home Companion the past few weeks, fitting in nicely this weekend alongside the other musical guest Patty Loveless, as well as the usual suspects like Guy Noir and Lives of the Cowboys.

If you don't have a ticket to tonight's show with Liam Finn at the Crossroads, you're pretty much screwed, as it's sold out. Best of luck getting in, as their fanbase is rabid, and unlikely to part with any tickets. There aren't even any on StubHub. You can stream the Prairie Home Companion show here as a consolation prize.

In our Best Of issue, First Fridays at Midwestern Musical Company were declared "Best Free Music", and with this show, it's easy to see why.

​You've got American Catastrophe, one of the best purveyors of dark and gloomy Americana around, alongside up-and-comers Adam Lee & the Dead Horse Sound Company, and the show is free.

Oh, and MMCo. is raffling off the Tito's Vodka guitar they were presented with at the Pitch Music Awards Ceremony, so you've got a chance to walk away with a free guitar...in addition to the one the kind folks at the shop might convince you to purchase.

Come see why we said it's "the go-to place not only for strings and picks but also for live music on First Fridays -- something the Crossroads District sorely needed."

We just received the news that Passion Pit, the headliner at tonight's free, KRBZ-sponsored show at the Back Yard at the Beaumont, has canceled its performance.

Printed announcements were tacked up, including the one below, which had an additional message scrawled on it.

At approximately 6 p.m., the band posted the following on Twitter:

Kansas, we are sorry we had to cancel tonights show at the Beaumont. A lighting rig almost took out our sound guy mark during load in, and the stage was about 5 minutes away from collapsing from dry rot. We apologize, and we owe you one.

We've received no word yet from the Beaumont or the show's organizers. The other bands on the bill -- Roman Numerals, Audiovox and Owl City -- appear to be performing as scheduled.

​David Cross hasn't been to Kansas City since suffering the drunken mindfuck he describes at length on his Grammy-nominated first album, 2003's Shut Up, You Fucking Baby. Launching into his tale of how he came to be undone by booze and the medium-lousy band Harlow, he says he started the night alone because he had no friends in Kansas City. "And good for my friends," he says.

That cheap shot hasn't stopped Cross fans here from quoting lines from that bit most of this decade. If you're reading this, you probably know someone who has affected a low, nasal voice and told you to "answer your telephone" -- or you've done it yourself.

Still, knowing that all the liquor in Westport wasn't enough to endear KC to the comedy hero of Mr. Show, Arrested Development and the upcoming Channel 4 show The Increasingly Poor Decisions of Todd Margaret -- well, that's disappointing. Cross is showing a segment of that new show, which he has co-written, to some audiences on his new tour, which stops tonight at the Midland downtown. (The show's at 8; Todd Glass opens.) He won't run into any acts from VH1's Bands on the Run, so the way seems clear for him to like us this time.

The occasion for Cross' tour is I Drink for a Reason, his new book of short essays, lists and tangents. It's his first book, and at this writing, it's holding at No. 32 on the New York Times hardcover best-seller list.

I talked to Cross for a few minutes last week as his tour got under way. I blame the flop-sweat inferiority complex induced by a quick refresher with the Harlow-Kansas City track from Shut Up for some weak questions. So if Cross still thinks KC is lame, it's probably all my fault.

So, uh, you're coming back to Kansas City ...

I'm sorry. I can only apologize so many times. No, seriously, I just remembered that the airline lost my luggage coming into Kansas City for that show, so I had to wing around 20 minutes that I normally would have had stuff.