Category Archives: Entertainment
Photo Recap: Slash featuring Myles Kennedy and The Conspirators
On Thursday, September 27th, the legendary Slash played a sold out show at the Midland Theatre featuring Myles Kennedy. The set had something for everyone, from Guns N’ Roses, Velvet Revolver and of course songs from their most recent release, … Continue reading
Sounds Good: Hospital Ships, Dr. John, Steve Kimock, and Sleigh Bells
Here it is folks, better late than never, right?… I’ve finally come down off my US National Team high after watching them take it to Guatemala for 90 minutes at LIVESTRONG Tuesday. Speaking of soccer, Sporting has a huge away game … Continue reading
Posted in Entertainment, Matthew_Donnelly
Leave a comment
Leftridge: TV Time: American Horror Story is Back, Totally Different Show
Confession time: I like scary stuff. Now this may not be as groundbreaking an admission as, oh, say, admitting that you are erotically transfixed by kangaroos, or that you are secretly the patriarch of two families who know nothing of … Continue reading
Posted in Brandon Leftridge, Entertainment
Tagged American Horror Story, Brandon Leftridge, Jessica Lange, TV Time
2 Comments
Leftridge: It’s Always Sunny in Philadelphia…Still
It’s Always Sunny in Philadelphia’s 8th season premiers this Thursday on FX, and frankly, I’m just not so sure how I feel about that fact. You see, this once grand television show—much like anything that moves beyond a 5th or … Continue reading
Posted in Brandon Leftridge, Entertainment
Tagged Brandon Leftridge, Dayman, It's Always Sunny in Philadelphia, Seinfeld, TV Time
4 Comments
Sounds Good: Red Bull Locally Thrown@Granada, Wild Nothing@Jackpot, The Melvins@Bottleneck
Any of you guys heard of this Winfield thing going on down south this weekend? Apparently, lots of local musicians are heading down for some hootenanny, leaving the Lawrence and KC cupboards bare of any roots, bluegrass, and country for … Continue reading
Posted in Entertainment, Matthew_Donnelly
3 Comments
Leftridge: Drunken eBay Purchases: “Classic” Issues of Pro Wrestling Illustrated
When I was little, professional wrestling was tits. All I needed to make my life was a bag of Keebler’s Pizzaria’s Pizza Chips, my mish-mash collection of Ninja Turtles action figures, and a few fat hours of AWA Saturday morning … Continue reading
Posted in Entertainment, Sports, Uncategorized
Tagged Brandon Leftridge, Drunken eBay Purchases, Pro Wrestling, Sexy Arn Anderson
28 Comments
Farmer: Up, Up, Down, Down, Left, Right, Left, Right, B, A, Start – KCC’s Guide to the Best Video games under $25.34
With all the major game systems having been out for years now and Christmas months away, consumers are seeing video game prices drop to unprecedented lows… That’s a win for gamers who wish to round out their collections, consumers looking … Continue reading
Sounds Good: The Yawpers@Barnyard Beer, Victor Continental@Liberty Hall, The Roseline@Replay
Hey, what can I say, it’s a good time to be in Lawrence as you can tell from my picks for the week.
Profile Picture
Yep, us Lawrencianites are relishing the last few days until the college kids get back to town with their rap music and purple Mohawks and high top sneakers.Profile Picture
Get a grip on yourself, man. Go to east Lawrence on Friday and check out some art in the new/old warehouse district. There’s something like 6 galleries within one block, and there’s booze, art, food, and some bands. For the “official” schedule go here and check it: http://www.facebook.com/FFLawrence Continue reading
Posted in Entertainment, Matthew_Donnelly
1 Comment
Sounds Good: Gaslight Anthem@Bottleneck, Dan Hicks@Knuckleheads, The Sluts, Rev Gusto@Barnyard, O.A.R.@Crossroads
I know this is a music post, but I also cover soccer for those of you following along…
Last night, Sporting KC got sweet revenge, beating down Philly 2-0 after being on the receiving end of a 4-0 curb-stomp just a couple weeks back. The win puts KC into the Lamar Hunt US Open Cup finals, which will be held at LIVESTRONG. Get your tickets now, because this will be one of the all-time best atmospheres in a stadium that is known for great atmospheres. And I assure you, this will be a sellout. I mean, the last seven games have been sellouts, but this will be a SUPER SELLOUT.
Scary, right?
Back to the music. A couple of picks for shows that are taking place tonight, so act quickly KCC music junkies…
Thursday, July 12th
The Gaslight Anthem at the Bottleneck in Lawrence
Katie: Vans Warped Tour 2012 @ Cricket Wireless Ampitheater
She came, she shot, they conquored…
Even the weather was cool at Monday’s Vans Warped Tour at Cricket Wireless Ampitheater. Eliciting this three sentence review of the event by KC Confidential lens-slinger Katie Grogan:
"soooooooooooo many shots. soooooooooooo many bands. sooooooooooo amazing. :)"
Bands pictured include (in order), Newfound Glory, Rise Against, Pierce the Veil, Memphis May Fire and Sleeping With Sirens.
Mancow: Cow Salutes Actor Ernest Borgnine, Dead @ 95
Actor Ernest Borgnine died at the ag ofe 95, great actor…
The television series MCHALE’S NAVY had an excellent cast along with Borgnine. Joe Flynn as Capt. Binghamton was great. Tim Conway as Lt Parker was very funny. I remember watching Borgnine water skiing behind a PT boat and drinking beer. He was also great as Fatso Judson in FROM HERE TO ETERNITY. Everybody said he was one of the nicest guys in Hollywood and he was.
I think he has Hollywood’s record for the shortest marriage…
Sounds Good: Fourth of July & ACBs@Replay, Fitz and the Tantrums@Crossroads, Red Bull Locally Thrown@Crossroads, Victor Wooten@Granada, Death Cab@Crossroads
So much going on this week and weekend…
Of course there are the various fireworks displays around the area – that’s a given.
There’s also the MLB All Star game and festivities that go along with it, including a 5K on Sunday. There’s a food festival in Lawrence’s Watson Park featuring local food and drinks. There’s a thing called Lawrence Field Day Fest that’s spanning a few nights at the Bottleneck featuring 20-some local and regional bands. There’s a Sporting KC game at LIVESTRONG on Saturday against the team that knocked them out in the semis last season, the Houston Dynamo.
Shall I go on?
If you have any time left at all, think about mixing in one of these killer shows…
Leftridge: TV Time: Louie, Louie, Louie, Louieeee (C.K.)
Who’s the best comedian working today?
If you said Katt Williams, you probably own at least one pair of purple shoes, consider hushpuppies a vegetable and pronounce cognac with a hard “g”.
If you said Dane Cook, you’re an idiot.
If you said Steven Wright, you’re incorrect, but I like the cut of your jib. (Also: what’s a jib?)
If you said “_____” (fill in the blank with whoever will be at Stanford’s over the next few weeks), then you’re Craig Glazer.
The correct answer is Louis C.K., born Louis Szekely, native of Mexico, prolific joke-writer and all-around King of Comedy.
Donnelly: My Conversation With Fitz and the Tantrums’ Noelle Scaggs & Win Tickets to Their July 5th Show at Crossroads
If you don’t know who Noelle Scaggs is by her name alone, I guarantee you know her music.
Scaggs is the sexy co-lead singer of LA based indie soul outift Fitz and the Tantrums. You’ve no doubt heard their ridiculously infectious hit single, MoneyGrabber, that’s been all over radio and TV for the last year. Now the band’s finishing up its latest album with all-star studio man Tony Hoffer, who recently produced M83‘s blockbuster album, Hurry Up, We’re Dreaming.
Cross Midnight City with MoneyGrabber and you may have the catchiest damn song ever.
I had the chance to catch up with Noelle to talk about her band’s July 5th gig at Crossroads, about why retro ain’t all that fly, and about what gets her dripping with sweat.
I was also lucky enough to score several sets of tickets for Fitz’ show to give away to loyal KCC readers.
Sounds Good: Buddy Guy & Jonny Lang@Uptown, Truckstop Honeymoon@Replay, Reverend Horton Heat@Crossroads
This weekend is the calm before the storm…
The storm being next week, a holiday week that has killer shows virtually every night.
By virtue of the 4th being on Wednesday, seems like everyone’s treating the entire week as a holiday, in particular the Crossroads. They have a bunch of shows including Yonder Mountain String Band, Fitz and the Tantrums, Dark Star Orchestra, and Death Cab for Cutie.
That’s not to say there are no quality shows to check out before then.
For example….
Today: Win Free Tickets to See the Scissor Sisters Monday @ Crossroads KC!!!
The heat is on, but…
By the time the Scissor Sisters take the stage Monday it will all seem like a bad dream. Nobody died for lack of air conditioning, nobody’s car overheated, nobody passed out at the pre Fourth of July family kegger and Craig went an entire day without a "typo."
Nonetheless, KC Confidential to the rescue with five pair of free tickets for the Scissor Sisters show, a mix of glam rock, pop with electroclash and nu disco – that’s right, nu-disco.
Trust me, you don’t want to miss this one. The Scissor Sisters all but burned down the Uptown a few years back and the band’s new CD "Magic Hour" is going strong and "dedicated to get you out and keep you out on the dance floor all night long."
And where better for that to go down than at The Crossroads?
Here’s the deal…
Sounds Good: Flaming Lips@LibertyHall, Steve Martin@Midland, Split Lip@Crossroads
Storied Lawrence concert venue Liberty Hall turns 100 this week, and they’re throwing one helluva party to celebrate…
Fittingly, the party couldn’t be one night only, not for its 100th. Nope, they’re doing it up right, with two nights of the Flaming Lips starting Thursday. How is Wayne Coyne going to squeeze his giant hamster ball inside the intimate venue you ask? Not sure. But I do know it’s going to be insane. Definitely the smallest venue that the Lips have played in some time, I’m sure.
Remember, last summer they played the second stage at Kanrocksas in front of several thousand and killed it.
For Friday’s event, Mass. Street in front of Liberty Hall is getting shut down and turned into a psychedelic street party that I expect to be absolutely packed. This looks to be one of those events that you simply cannot miss if you’re expecting to keep any of your Larryville cred.
On to the picks…
Katie: No Lie, ‘Badass’ Alice Cooper Delivers the Goods @ Midland by AMC
We sent ace photographer Katie Grogan out into the trenches over the weekend to check out the freak show going down at the Midland…
Sure, Alice Cooper is old enough to be her granddad, but in order to appreciate the new, you’ve got to understand the classics, right? And Alice has been reaching out to younger generations for years, playing at Bonnaroo last week and incorporating a Lady Gaga cover into his set, of all things.
Reviews have been positive across the board, almost every one of them mentioning the fact that Alice can still bring it with gusto. Just as KC Confidential‘s Brian McTavish found in Cooper’s show here three years back.
Edelman: There is Life After Jardine’s for Kansas City Jazz
.jpg)
Rest in the Peace, Jardine’s…
All that’s left of my favorite KC jazz spot is the occasional story about Beena‘s travails here in KC Confidential. With its liquor license coming due, I’m afraid that may be all she wrote for a club that gave up plenty of smiles in its long hey day (and kept alot of musicians working).
Beena gave us some great shows.
I had my "killing me softly" moment the first time I heard Karrin Allyson on the tiny Jardine’s stage. Billy Stritch, Marilyn Maye‘s musical director, brought the cool for a $5 cover– that would be $35 and a two drink minimum in NYC. The Sons of Brasil (and all of Stan Kessler‘s musical amalgamations), Alacartoona, Professor Cartwright‘s KC series, Julia Othmer, Bram‘s jumping septet, Friday nights with Angela and Saturdays for Ida McBeth–it all sounded good,
I, for one, miss the place.
Like the Reno Club, Tootie’s Mayfair, the Inferno, Milton’s and a hundred other nightspots, the doors are closed but the music lives on. Don’t despair; move on.
Speaking of which, here are some places to catch great jazz in Kansas City this week:
Hearne: Theater League Honcho Polishes Off Sondheim After Dissing
Just like real life, revenge can taste soooooo sweet on the Broadway stage…
As evidenced Sunday in New York by Theater League honcho Mark Edelman at this year’s Tony Awards.
"We invested in two shows and both of them won Tonys," Edelman says. "So it was a pretty good night for us. We won the big ones, including ‘best musical’ for ‘Once‘ – which won 8 Tonys – it was the biggest winner of the night. And we won for Best Revival of a Musical for The Gershwins’ ‘Porgy and Bess,’ which is kinda funny because it beat out a revival of ‘Follies‘ by Steven Sondheim.
Which was a massive upset, as evidenced by the Washington Post report stating that Sondheim’s ‘Follies" was "considered by some the best musical revival of the Broadway season."
"And Sonheim had dissed ‘Porgy and Bess’ earlier," Edelman says. "He wrote a letter to the New York Times, which of course, they printed."
