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Donnelly: Wilco @ The Uptown Theater, December 3, 2011
“Tonight we’ve got a little something for everyone,” declared Jeff Tweedy midway through Wilco’s sold out Saturday night show at the Uptown Theater. “Merry Christmas!”
He wasn’t kidding.
Wilco’s set list was probably the most unpredictable in all the dozen or so times I’ve seen this band over the years. No Jesus, Etc., no I Am Trying to Break Your Heart, and no Handshake Drugs.
Instead, the band hopped around their discography, with an emphasis, of course,on their newest effort, The Whole Love.
Pretty much everyone agrees that Wilco’s most recent three albums are not as good as the two that came before – Yankee Hotel Foxtrot and A Ghost is Born.
Hearne: Jason Whitlock Hammers ESPN on CNN’s ‘Reliable Sources’
Another uptick for former Star sports star Jason Whitlock…
On the heels of hammering Penn State on ESPN, Whitlock was back in play Sunday on the national stage, courtesy of CNN‘s "Reliable Sources."
This time out, the Big Guy took estranged former-employer ESPN to task. Albeit via some twisted logic to rationalize what he’d written a few weeks back.
Think of it as a tale of two cities…
On November 23rd Whitlock had hammered ESPN – the sports media giant that fired him five years back – for unfairly smearing the now-disgraced Syracuse basketball coach Bernie Fine.
Glazer: Scribe Drowns His Sorrows in Chiefs’ Win Over Chicago
The stink farm known as the Kansas City Chiefs were smart enough to steal Kyle Orton…
From two teams that wanted him badly – Texas and Chicago – teams that have a real shot at the playoffs while the Chiefs are totally out of the playoffs picture. Then Orton threw a single pass, hurt his hand and is likely out for the season. Great way to blow $2 million.
Orton was meaningless to one of the NFL’s worst teams.
And once again today the Chiefs were gifted a game. From a team with a wounded quarterback, like us. Chiefs QB Tyler Palko is brave and tries very hard, but he’s not a legitimate NFL quarterback, as evidenced by zero touchdowns in three games.
Yes, we had a playground TD at the end of the first half. Palko just threw it up and the Chiefs got lucky when it was batted down and into their hands.
Impressive, what talent!
Hearne: The Best of and The Enigma That Was Don Harman
Let’s lighten things up a bit where the Don Harman tragedy is concerned…
While most viewers of Fox 4‘s popular morning news show knew only the bright, sunny side of Harman, I got to see a surprisingly different side of the affable weather wonk after covering a handful of his early exploits in my column in the Kansas City Star.
Let’s revisit those happier times, then I’ll share an anecdote with you about a personal encounter with Harman after writing those largely innocuous items.
Hearne: Vaunted Plaza Jazz Club Jardine’s Fires Staff, Closes for ‘Repairs’
This just in…
Kansas City’s premier jazz club Jardine’s has been closed since Tuesday’s Karrin Allyson concert there "for repairs." That’s what the sign says, anyway. But local musicians and Jardine’s staffers don’t appear to know exactly what’s going on.
"I regret to announce that my band WILL NOT be performing tonight at Jardine’s Jazz Club," musician Dave Stephens wrote on his Facebook page at 6:07 p.m. Thursday. "The owner of the club fired her entire staff yesterday and subsequently there would be no one there to work the show. My apologies to those of you who were planning on attending. I just found out about this a few minutes ago."
Today: ‘River City’ Gives Don Harman a Pass on Disappearance of Missing Iowa Anchor
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On this cold, rainy, dreary day I bring heartening news to the fans and supporters of Don Harman.…
While I’ve yet to hear back from police Lt. Frank Sterns in Mason City, Iowa, I was able to connect with sources there familiar with the case of long-missing, early-morning news anchor Jodi Husentruit.
Let’s review.
Glazer: Scribe Steadies Himself & Prepares to Kick NFL & College Butt
There are not many college game weeks left…
Pretty soon the Bowl picture will start to unfold and that’s pretty much it. But it was a fun year. The pro’s have just over a month and then the Playoffs! That should be interesting. And while the Chiefs never really had a season to talk about (in a good way), other decent teams have and it should be a wild finish.
This week in college there are only a few games that I like.
My two favorites are Houston over So. Mississippi and LSU over Georgia. Houston has covered every game – all of them. Wish I had seen that in week three instead of week 10. Oh well, better late than never. I think Houston, who has a somewhat soft set up, is maybe the number 5 team in the nation. Great offense, decent defense, I like ’em.
The NFL is about to shake out the pretenders for the playoffs. Are the Jets for real? Tim Tebo? The next two weeks should give us those answers.
Glazer: Old Soldiers Like Frank White Never Die, They Go on Nick Wright’s Show
For some reason or another, Nick Wright and I no longer have that warm fuzzy thing going…
He’s got his own posse and is the Johnny Dare of 610 Sports now despite what some of KCC’s geezer readers may think. Who knows why we drifted apart?
However I call them like I see them and Nick did a fantastic job of interviewing Frank White tonight. Huge scoop. Frank was fired from the Royals TV post, as well as everything else. He was on live tonight to say how he felt about, the Royals "going in another direction."
Many of you know Frank White’s Kansas City story.
He’s one of only a couple of born and raised KC guys to make it big in pro sports and play for the home team.
Donnelly / Grogan: Kid Rock Still On Top @ The Midland by AMC
You gotta give Kid Rock some credit…
I mean, first of all, he’s still around. That’s saying something right there.
He’s still touring and selling out venues much bigger than the Midland, which he sold out a few days ago.
Where are the other rap-rock bands that broke through around the same time, like Limp Bizkit and Korn?
Who cares, really?
Kid Rock has remained relevant by morphing over the years from DJ to rapper to rap-rocker to rocker. And when that genre was taken behind the woodshed, he shifted again. This time to dirty country hillbilly where he found perhaps the biggest success of his career by releasing his most mainstream album yet, 2010’s Born Free.
Check out the trailer trash king’s court, courtesy of KCC photog Katie Grogan, after the jump…
Starbeams: Saddest Cities, Free Leawood, the KCSD & Ricky Martin to Glee
Men’s Health magazine just put out a list ranking the 100 biggest U.S. cities from saddest to happiest.
It’s based on suicide rates, unemployment rates, surveys on depression, and the level of antidepressant usage. The top 10 saddest cities, in order, are:
St. Petersburg, Detroit, Memphis, Tampa, Louisville, St. Louis, Birmingham, Miami, Reno and Las Vegas. Honolulu was happiest and Kansas City finished at number 73 on the list, ahead of Phoenix, Atlanta, Washington, DC and our so-sad, big-brother city – St. Louis. It’s about time for them to return Albert Pujols so we can wipe away his sadness.
Glazer: The Future of Todd Haley & Handicapping the NFL Playoffs
Chiefs coach Todd Haley seems like a decent guy…
He may even be the Chiefs future coach, but somebody needs to tell Todd the Chiefs were out of this race before game one. I tried to tell him that. Remember, I made my bet that the Chiefs wouldn’t win 8 games, before Eric Berry and Jamaal Charles got hurt. Oh yeah and that worthless tight end, Tony Moeaki who’s always hurt.
Local sports talk radio and Haley talk about Kyle Orton as if he mattered this year. Let alone ever.
THE CHIEFS ARE HORRIBLE. THEY HAVE BEEN FOR YEARS. THEY AREN’T IN ANY RACE ABOUT ANYTHING. THEY WON A WORTHLESS HANDED TO THEM DIVISION LAST YEAR.
Jack Goes Confidential: George Clooney Shines In ‘DESCENDANTS’ – K.C. Engagements Expand
It’s been seven years since Omaha filmmeister Alexander Payne brought us his wine country mini-classic SIDEWAYS with Paul Giamatti…
Prior to that he made a director’s name for himself with 1999’s ELECTION starring Reese Witherspoon, followed by Jack Nicholson in ABOUT SCHMIDT.
Now Payne delivers what could well become his finest creation yet. One which is poised to pick up multiple Oscar nominations, not only in the catagories of Best Actor, Best Director and Best Screenplay, but Best Picture as well!
Donnelly: Vermes Pulls Jedi Mind Trick on Montreal
Last week I wrote about the MLS Expansion Draft, how the whole thing works, and who Sporting KC protected from being snatched
away by the expansion Montreal Impact.
I noted that I thought it was odd to protect Davy Arnaud, an aging midfielder who played little in 2011 after undergoing sports hernia surgery. Though Davy certainly had a great relationship with Peter Vermes – indeed, he was named captain the past two seasons – his production was minimal. The team seemed to play better in his absence which also allowed Graham Zusi to emerge and become, in my opinion, SKC’s best player.
Also, Davy had a hefty salary of over $250,000 per year. That’s a ton when you consider the fact that multiple Sporting starters made under $50,000 last season and contributed far more to the team’s success.
So why would Sporting use one of their coveted 11 spots to protect Arnaud from being selected? Maybe because a behind-the-scenes deal was in the works…
Today: Was Don Harman Involved in Missing Iowa Anchor Jodi Husentruit?
Since I was outted in the comments section by the first comment….
I’ll give you a brief update. I’m flying really low today with three deadlines and no iPhone. So I’m limited on my reporting time, but now that I’ve let the cat out of the bag, I suspect this thing’s gonna snowball pretty fast.
The law enforcement talk here is indeed that Fox 4 meteorologist Don Harman was spoken to last week by officers investigating a cold case murder that has recently been reopened.
To be fair, while that may be true, it certainly doesn’t mean that Harman was a suspect in that case.
The case of a missing Mason City, Iowa TV anchor Jodi Husentruit was reopened in September.
Hearne: Fox 4 Meteorologist Don Harman Suicide May Prove a Shocker
At the risk of turning this site into a Suicide Zone I’m going to wade into the mystery of Don Harman‘s death…
If you followed my early reporting on the Fox 4 weatherman’s passing yesterday, you undoubtedly noticed that fellow meteorologist Gary Lezak – the guy Harman replaced in 1999 when Lezak left Fox4 for greener pastures – noted that Harman had serious issues with depression. A detail which seemed to be driven home by the fact that prior to addressing Harman’s death, Fox 4 posted its intention to do a story on holiday stress and sadness on its Web site.
Sounds Good: Adam Lee@Replay, Wilco@Uptown & 96.5 the Buzz’s XXX-Mas@Midland
Has the relationship between Miss Piggy and Kermit ever bothered you?
Or made you think a little bit? I’ve been seeing all these commercials for the new Muppet movie, and I think it dredged something up from the past that I had forgotten about. Or repressed, if that’s what you want to call it.
But I don’t need to get into that right now in front of all of you.
Anyway, I noticed that all the songs in the movie are by Bret McKenzie, one half of the New Zealand duo Flight of the Conchords. You know, the Conchords… with hits such as "Leggy Blonde," "If That’s What You’re Into," and "Albi the Racist Dragon."
(Think about it, though, and tell me honestly that you can’t picture Kermy in a leather hood with a zippered mouth. Be honest.)
Car: Rebirth of the Datsun 240Z; Subaru Poised to Unleash New Sports Rocket
Long time no affordable sports car…
Even if you count the Mazda Miata – not the most manly ride known to man – it’s been decades since a true, affordable sports car has been for sale in this country. Nissan’s 370Z starts at $31,000 and change but the price rises pretty quick.
We’ll have to wait and see exactly how Subaru prices this one but with an expected sticker starting around $25,000 it beats the Z Car by a considerable amount. That said, knowing Subaru’s penchant for offering an infinitesimal array of options and add-ons, it won’t be hard to drive up the sticker price.
The Subaru BRZ debuted today in production form at the Tokyo Motor Show.
Donnelly: Karrin Allyson @ Jardine’s, November 28, 2011
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The lights inside Jardine’s dimmed slightly as people were still shuffling into their seats…
In the sold-out room, the wine flowed freely as the staff rushed between the tightly packed tables. It was just after 6:30 on a Monday night and Beena – the owner of this little jazz club situated on the end of the Plaza – was hustling, greeting patrons, and making sure everyone was in their proper place.
Several men in black fiddled with their instruments on the small stage. One set up a couple guitars, arranged a music stand. Another plucked and poked the thick strings on a stand-up bass. They looked experienced, their hands on auto-pilot, tuning and prepping.
On stage right sat a grand piano that filled half of the tiny stage. This is where renowned jazz singer Karrin Allyson would situate herself for most of the night…
Hearne: Fox 4 Meteorologist Don Harman Takes His Own Life
Here we ago again…
Yet another well-known Kansas City personality – Fox 4 weather wonk Don Harman – has taken his own life.
"He was a really good guy, a funny guy and he had a nice edge to him," says fellow meteroologist Gary Lezak of KSHB TV, Channel 41. "He’s one of the most popular personalities in the city – he just suffered from depression."
Glazer: Tis the Season…of Johnny Dare!
He’s everywhere…
I’m talking about Johnny Dare. Yes, on November 21st, a few days ago, our own Johnny Dare landed a very nice story in USA Today: RADIO HOST USES SHOW TO HELP LISTENERS AT THE HOLIDAYS.
Hope for the Holidays has a 15-year history of generating tears and acts of kindness on behalf of Kansas City people who are in need. Dare has listeners submit requests for assistance, which are then vetted by his team.
