Yearly Archives: 2011
Donnelly: Robert Earl Keen at the Granada, February 25, 2011
The road goes on forever, and the party never ends….jpg)
I never wanted to believe anyone more than I wanted to believe Robert Earl Keen last Friday night. In REK’s world, things are simple and people are good. Hell, even the scoundrels aren’t so bad, maybe they just got in with the wrong crowd. Shit happens, you know? People drink too much and might do bad things, but they don’t really mean it.
The packed house at the Granada certainly bought into REK’s feel good vibe and it didn’t take much convincing. Most people that I talked to in the crowd revered Keen as a legend, and only a few said that this was their first REK show. Yes, the sing-along choruses started from almost the first song.
But that’s what happens when the songs are so damn catchy…
Tony: Bill Withers And The Best/Worst Week in Kansas City Ever
I don’t know if I’m up late or early but right now I’m listening to an online play list featuring the soulful sounds of Bill Withers and remembering that I owe Hearne another post this week.
So since I’m in a retro kind of mood, I think it’s appropriate to round up this week in Kansas City news.
Mayor Mark Funkhouser is now a lame duck and is now a footnote in Kansas City history. I’m finished trying to come up with clever analogies to mark this not-so-noteworthy occasion.Instead, I’m surprised how much this DIDN’T change. The earth didn’t split open, there weren’s’t mass celebration in the streets and no one even took a moment to halt from their respective campaigns to lament the one-time political giant’s implosion.
There’s talk that because The Star called the finalists in the General Election, that they now have more power and influence in Kansas City. This myth is easily busted by the fact that NOBODY voted and their coverage wasn’t influential enough to draw anybody to the polls. For the record, my 87 year-old grandma also predicted the EXACT outcome of the race. She’s also really good when it comes to bingo. But I digress.
This week also offers some more recycled trends. Let’s see:
Glazer: An Era Nears Its End With Death Of Bill Grigsby
He was a Kansas City star…
Broadcaster Bill Grigsby will be missed by, well everyone. Starting with me. I knew Bill when I was a kid, even before he hosted the Otis Taylor HALL OF FAME push at Stanfords in Westport with Len Dawson in 2003. Yes, I saw Billy boy at radio stations doing commercials until about a year ago when he just couldn’t do it anymore. What a guy’s guy, what a fun, funny man.
Who didn’t love Bill Grigsby?
We all have stories about this colorful man, many of which probably shouldn’t be told at this point.
But just to get right to the point, Grigs was a LADIES MAN to no end.
Car: Greater Kansas City Auto Show Next Week Triggers Harrowing Muscle Car Flashbacks
The Greater Kansas City International Auto Show revs up next week…
The Kansas City Convention Center will be filled with that new car smell. I go every year with my brother Steve and our boys. Cars are a passion for us and I think Detroit has come full circle on some of the models I drove in the late 60’s and early 70’s.
The new Chevrolet Camaro, the Dodge Challenger and the Ford Mustang remind me of the muscle cars I fell head-over-hot rod heels for back then.
I’ve owned a few fast cars in my life and hindsight being 20/20. I’d give almost anything to have one or two of them parked in my garage right now.
My High School love Mary dropped me like a Ford Pinto gas tank in the early 70s.
Jennifer: Julian & Market Vineyards a Perfect Fit in Brookside
A couple of weeks back Julian restaurant in Brookside hosted a very special wine dinner…
It paired Market Vineyard wines with thoughtfully selected courses. The collaboration was remarkable as both brands have locally grown roots, but share national recognition.
Julian is owned and operated by James Beard Award winning chef Celina Tio.
NEW JACK CITY: RAZZIES Award Underachievement in Film!
Forget the Oscars!
The 31st annual Razzie Awards got the jump on the festivities Saturday night by naming M. Night Shyamalan’s The Last Airbender worst movie of 2010.
The epic cleaned up by also collecting Golden Raspberry statues for Worst Direction by Mr. Shyamalan, Worst Screenplay and Worst Supporting actor Jackson Rathbone.
Finally, in a new category, Airbender was also awarded for Worst Eye-Gouging Misuse Of 3-D this past year.
Another big Razzie winner: Sex and the City 2
Car: The Italian Job Comes To Olathe, Mini Cooper Killer Splashes Down
The Italian Job has landed…
It’s more than a little ironic that the movie that put BMW’s Mini Cooper on the map was 2003’s "The Italian Job." Now that Italy’s spanking new Fiat 500 looks to be the car that wipes said MINI off that very map. The 500 comes into the marketplace for between $4,000 to $6,000 less money than similarly-optioned MINIs with better mileage on regular fuel and equal parts style and smile.
Trouble is, no one around these parts has so much as caught a glimpse of the 500, let alone driven one
Until now.
OTC: Rumor Has Tyshawn Guilty Of Doing The Deed Inside AF
“From two Kansas media sources, I was told this morning that (Tyshawn) Taylor and (Marisha) Brown were allegedly discovered playing a little unauthorized 1-on-1 inside Allen Fieldhouse. You can take that any way you’d like.”Brooks Melchior, on the two recently suspended Kansas men’s and women’s basketball players, SportsByBrooks.com
GH: Brooks is intentionally (and uncharacteristically) vague in reporting the two Jayhawks had consensual sex inside Allen Fieldhouse and have been suspended by their coaches for this seemingly natural act. Brooks catches a lot of heat because he breaks stories on his website that other media outlets won’t touch. He’s not always accurate but he is professional enough that most mainstream sports reporters check and quote from his site regularly. I just can’t imagine this is the reason Self suspended his starting point guard.”
“If this is true, Tyshawn shouldn’t be suspended. They should hang his jersey if the rafters!”
Shan Shariff, 610 AM
GH: Maybe Tyshawn and Marisha did do the deed inside the hallowed halls of Allen Fieldhouse, but there has to be more to this story. Were they atop Self’s desk and taking turns wearing Bill’s game-day toupee?
Shan Shariff, 610 AM
GH: Maybe Tyshawn and Marisha did do the deed inside the hallowed halls of Allen Fieldhouse, but there has to be more to this story. Were they atop Self’s desk and taking turns wearing Bill’s game-day toupee?
Glazer: Last Call For Ralphie May on Small Stage Monday, Tuesday at Stanford’s
Ralphi May is easily the most famous funny guy from NBC’s Last Comic Standing...
Oddly enough Ralphie, weighing in at 700 pounds at the time, didn’t win. He came in third. But after the run with Last Comic Standing, Ralphie was everywhere, The Tonight Show, several TV specials, including three on Comedy Central and on and on.
By 2009 Ralphie was the top act in clubs, selling out everywhere.
He was scheduled at Stanford that next March, but as it always seems to happen, the big offer finally came his way.
Today: Kansas City Gets Booby Prize in March Esquire, Maria Cries Foul!
Tired of reading and hearing about what former Kansas Citians favorite barbecue is?
Anybody really care, besides restaurant owners? Or that we’re the fattest city, best place to raise a family, etc. Yeah, we’ve got the Chiefs, Paul Rudd and a couple of secondary movie comics. And for what it’s worth, the Plaza.
Almost forget the Royals, but they’re infamous.
Will we ever break out of this boring, uninspired PR nightmare?
Thanks to "Kara In Kansas City, Missouri" in the March issue of Esquire, we just did.
STARBEAMS: Emergency plane lands in Independence; Wild and Crazy Comes in Threes for Sheen and KC Zoo
A small airplane from Florida had to make an emergency landing after engine problems Thursday morning around 2 a.m. The plane landed on Little Blue Parkway in Independence. Everyone was fine.
Nobody was hurt but the landing did disrupt a couple of meth deals.
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Charlie Sheen took off for the Bahamas on a private jet yesterday, accompanied by three women. It was nice to see Wilson Phillips back together again.
Hearne: Star Stumbles, Puts Pirate Broadway Grease Gear On Sale
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It’s no secret that times are tough at 18th and Grand…
Anything and everything is for sale these days for a price. Sunday comics, business listings, death notices. But there are limits, as the newspaper learned today the hard way after KC Confidential noticed it was hawking merchandise festooned with photos purloined from Broadway Across America’s production of "Grease" at the Music Hall.
The Star posted a dozen photographs taken opening night at the musical by photographer Allison Long. Ostensibly to run with its review of the show. But an advisory invited readers to purchase everything from photos, and coffee mugs to t-shirts and mouse pads – even a "keepsake box" for anywhere from $8.50 to $89.95.
A move placed the Star into competition with the play’s merchandise and souvenir sales.
STARBEAMS: Urich Delivers Stand-up; Woman Delivers in Elevator
I took a stab at stand-up comedy in front of a recorded studio audience.
Watch if you don’t mind losing a few minutes of your life…
STARBEAMS: KC Crime Down; Union Station Up; Royals Down
Violent crime in Kansas City dropped drastically last year. Rape was down 19%. Robbery was down 19%. Assault was down 12%.The drop in crime was more than double the national average. This coincides with the year I started writing for KCCONFIDENTIAL.COM.
Coincidence? I THINK NOT!
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Union Station finished 2010 with a $4 million surplus. About half of that money came from donations.
The other half came from me paying parking tickets.
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Two-time All-Star and Kansas City reliever Joakim Soria Tweeted he doesn’t like to be called the Mexicutioner. He said, "How about we change my nickname to something more positive? In support to Mexico to stop all the violence!!!"
TOP 5 NEW NICKNAMES FOR JOAKIM SORIA:
Tony: So That JimmyCSays Hears Me Loud And Clear
I don’t want to get into "blogger beef" because it never really helps anybody. However, I feel it’s important to take the time and make myself EVER CLEARER when it comes to the subject of Former Star reporter and current blogger Jim Fitzpatrick and his big money donations to Kansas City Mayoral Candidate Mike Burke.
Before this blog reported it, Fitzpatrick’s donations were simply marked with a tiny, brief and very easy to miss note that he contributed to Mike Burke. They didn’t appear on every post, they were part of his overall support AND they were REALLY easy to miss.
But I didn’t miss them. I found that the first significant note Fitz made regarding his Mike Burke love and a detailed contribution disclosure was on Valentine’s Day a week before the election. If you’ve got a link to something earlier. Post it. What you’ll find is a bunch of parenthetical asides that don’t provide any detail at all. Or at least not the same detail Fitzpatrick asks from The Star when he debates which page they should post their corrections on.
And then there’s the subject of blogging, where i would be happy to educate Mr. Fitzpatrick.
Jack Goes Confidential: Farrelly Brothers’ ‘HALL PASS’ Pushes (Funny) Envelope!
It’s been a while since we’ve last heard from the Farrelly Brothers—the original pull-out-all-the stops writing, producing and directing team that hit it big with the cult classic THERE’S SOMETHING ABOUT MARY.
And how can we forget DUMB AND DUMBER?
Well, they’re back and this time with NO Filters!
In their latest over the top outing, HALL PASS, they team Owen Wilson with Kansas City’s Jason Sudeikis.
The pair play best friends with plenty in common and now pretty well past their days of wedded bliss.
But they’re convinced that IF they were single, they’d be able to pick up any woman they come in contact with.
Today: How KC’s Mayor’s Race Played Out & What’s Next for Dirty Tricksters
One of KC’s most influential business and civic leaders handicapped Tuesday’s mayoral contest for KCC…
And as some of you have noted, he didn’t quite get it right.
"Maybe your civic heavy hitter would like to weigh in on the chances of the Royals winning a World Series and the Chiefs getting into the Super Bowl!" cracked BarKeeper in the comments section. "Maybe sports is his strong suit, ’cause politics ain’t."
So, as promised, let’s take that trip back to the Horse’s Mouth and check out The Explanation.
"What happened was Mike Burke beat Deb Hermann up north worse than I thought he would," he says. "Mike Sanders had endorsed Hermann and (longtime political kingmaker) Jim Nutter gave her his financial support. And I thought that would translate into something more than it did. And Jim Rowland got nothing out of Freedom. You pay for that endorsement but it was worth nothing. So if you take what I missed on those two and add their votes into the other candidates – Burke and Sly James – that’s where I went wrong."
OTC: Pullen Spanks Huskers Despite Manic Martin
“Biggest bubble winner last night besides Cincy was K State. Important road win at Nebraska. At least someone wants to play in this tourney.”Seth Davis, Twitter
GH: Is Kansas State still a bubble team in Seth Davis’ eyes? Jacob Pullen is doing everything he can to avoid playing in the NIT. Read on.
“Pullen and the Wildcats have their groove back. They look like the team that was ranked preseason top five and a team that could be a load in the NCAAs. A Final Four team? Who knows? Don’t pass on them in your pool.”
Tom Shatel, columnist, Omaha World Herald
GH: I’m not quite as sold on K-State as a deep-run tourney team. But I am definitely sold on Jacob Pullen as a resurgent player who is as hot now as he was last March in the NCAA tourney. Pullen has had one very dramatic senior season…that is far from over.
Tom Shatel, columnist, Omaha World Herald
GH: I’m not quite as sold on K-State as a deep-run tourney team. But I am definitely sold on Jacob Pullen as a resurgent player who is as hot now as he was last March in the NCAA tourney. Pullen has had one very dramatic senior season…that is far from over.
GREASE Takes GLEE Back to the 50s
Before Glee, Grease was the word.
Though Fox may have television’s biggest sitcom hit on its hands, Matthew Morrison, Lea Michele and company by no means invented testosterone-laden high school angst rendered musically in cool threads. That distinction belonged to Jim Jacobs and Warren Casey, who decades ago hit upon the winning formula that made GREASE (now through Sunday at the Music Hall) one of the longest-running hits on Broadway.
Glazer: Time to Kick Some Butt & Clean Up the Middle East
Nobody wants to say it. Ever!
Are you not with me on this? Don’t you think – WTF – enough with these uneducated morons. With Iran, Iraq, Jordan, and all those wonderful people that bring us beheadings, terror, expensive oil and gas, believe in Allah and that Christians and Jews must die, want to drive Israel into the sea and – oh yeah – suicide bombers. How much more do we have to take?
Now they are in revolt for NEW DICTATORS. New Lunatics NEEDED IN THE MIDDLE EAST.
Are you afraid to say it? I’m not. It’s time to take them out.
It’s simple really.
