Category Archives: Entertainment
Sounds Good: Jimmy Cliff@Crossroads, Alice Cooper@Midland, Outlaw Jake@Barnyard
I got you guys covered for Father’s Day…
Pretty much all dads are into at least one of the following: spliffs, mascara, or dirt-whiskey.
So like I said, I got you covered. Just figure out which one your old man likes and then take him to one of these shows.
If he’s not into any of those things, there’s always Barry Manilow at Starlight on Sunday, but that’s a whole different kind of daddy…
Donnelly: Help KC Confidential Photographer Katie Grogan Climb Roger Water’s ‘Wall”
If you’re Katie "McPansy" Grogan, when it rains it pours…
She’s on the verge of winning a nationwide photography contest to go and be Roger Waters’ photographer for a performance of The Wall in NYC.
The photo that caught the eye of the contest organizers was one of the first that she shot for KCC, Rob Zombie at Sandstone last summer. I must say, it’s a badass pic.
So whaddya say KCC faithful? Can you help a brutha out? Katie needs your votes. Follow this link to the contest website:
http://www.talenthouse.com/creativeinvites/preview/a43aa1fc9931ca447add890ea783d904/573
Katie & Matt: Buzz Beach Ball @ Livestrong Sporting Park
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After all the crap the nasty old KCC commentariat flung at sweet, innocent Katie the last time she tried to piece together a sentence or two, I’m surprised she even agreed to keep going with this gig.
She was inconsolable.
Hey, obviously she’s a great photographer but words aren’t her strong suit, you know? So for now she’s going to stick to pointing at things and pressing the button, and I’ll try to fill in the letters and stuff.
Last weekend she made her way out to LIVESTRONG for the Buzz Beach Ball featuring Sublime with Rome, Foster the People, the Shins, Flogging Molly, Metric, and a couple others. I didn’t attend as my Waka duties pulled me out of state. Katie did, however, relate some info to me about the whole deal.
Sounds Good: Sara Jaffe@Replay, Tea Leaf Green@Bottleneck, Ozark Mountain Daredevils@Crossroads KC
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Not only are there some cool shows, there’s some other events that look interesting, too.
One of them combines two of my favorite things: soccer and beer. Yep, Sporting KC is sponsoring the Summer Beer Festival, which features more than 20 breweries. The event will take place from 5-9 p.m. on Saturday at Pennsylvania Avenue, between McCoy’s and Kelly’s in Westport. The event benefits AIDS Walk Kansas City.
And ladies, I have a feeling that Chance Myers will be there based on his tweet the other day:
“Looking forward to #beerfest this weekend. #raaaaa #SKC”
Follow him @CR_Myers, show up to the beerfest, and he’ll let you touch his hair. On to the picks….
Concert Corner: Buzz Beach Ball @ Livestrong Sporting Park
I attended the Buzz Beach Ball on Saturday at Livestrong Sporting Park and the sound quality was vastly improved over last year.
The highlight of the show was the last act, Sublime with Rome.
Although the band’s original lead singer Bradley Nowell is “pushing up daisies” from a heroin overdose in 1996, the new guy Rome Ramirez did a great job.
The biggest audience participation moment came during Sublime’s song about the LA Riots- 20,000 people all screamed out “187 on a Mother F*&^#@g Cop” which is cop code for "Homicide.”
Donnelly: More Ramblings – Saturday at Wakarusa
After a packed Friday at Wakarusa, Saturday was looking to be a tad less hectic.
The cool weather was perfect for us tent-dwellers who are normally driven out of our sweaty dens at the crack of dawn. Not so this time around, and the additional rest sure came in handy.
By the time Balkan Beat Box took the main stage I was rested, recharged, and ready for another 15 or so hours of music. BBB got things going with their unique brand of hip hop infused with a Middle Eastern vibe created by dueling alto sax players, a DJ/drummer, and a bunch of other auxiliary percussion.
Edelman: Not a Normal Week; KC Hosts Four New Broadway Musicals Starting Tuesday
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It’s not every week that four new Broadway musicals come to town…
You’re more likely to find OKLAHOMA! in the park. But the six days starting this Tuesday (Monday’s “dark,” as we say in show biz) can boast just that.
The week gets started with a musical about a family dealing with their biopolar, prescription drug-addicted, possibly suicidal mom. No, MARY POPPINS doesn’t come to town til next year. The aforementioned musical is NEXT TO NORMAL (June 5-10 at the Kauffman Center) , an amazing journey through contemporary suburban life. Kids get high, Mom goes to therapy– and did I mention it was funny as hell? N2N won a passel of awards on Broadway, including the Tony for best music and book and the Pulitzer—one of only about 10 musicals to ever win that drama prize (RENT was the last one). Oh, and the show rocks—composer Tom Kitt scored Green Day’s Broadway entry, AMERICAN IDIOT and he wrote the music for BRING IT ON, which opens this summer in the Big Apple.
Definitely not your grandmother’s Broadway musical.
Leftridge: Ween Calls it Quits, Leaving Trail of Sad Stoners in Their Wake
Last year, seminal 80’s/90’s pop-rock superstars REM announced that they were splitting it up after nearly three decades of making music. Some were distraught. Others wavered between “eh, what are you gonna do? They had a good run,” and “who cares?” Most people, however, said, “they were still a band? Weird.”
On Tuesday, odd-rock duo Ween announced that THEY were splitting up after 25 years of making music, and most people said, “who?” And while calloused and slightly sad, that response felt just about right– an indelicate testament to a couple of underrated musical geniuses.
For most people, their only exposure to Ween stemmed from one of a few places:
An appearance in 1994’s moderately funny SNL-skit-turned-feature-length-abortion It’s Pat.
Beavis and Butthead’s critique of their only minor hit, “Push th’ Little Daisies,” a bitterly joyful ode to wishing death upon someone you used to love.
“Voodoo Lady” a track about, well, a voodoo lady, that was featured in the movies Road Trip and Dude, Where’s My Car?
“Ocean Man,” from 1997’s brilliant, nautically themed record The Mollusk that was featured in the Spongebob Squarepants movie and in a 2003 Honda Civic commercial.
Those minor instances—with, perhaps, a few others that I may be forgetting—regrettably sum up Ween’s lack of success.
For me, however, Ween was so much more.
Sounds Good:Wakarusa Ahead, Blitzen Trapper@Riot Room, Devil Makes Three Crossroads & Buzz Beach Ball
It is upon us…
The Wakarusa Festival is this weekend (finally!) down on beautiful Mulberry Mountain in northeast Arkansas. Who am I most excited to see you ask? Well, here’s my preliminary list, which is sure to change as we go:
Soulive & Lettuce, G-Love, The Avett Bros., Del McCoury Band, SAVOY, Nathaniel Rateliff, Lyrics Born, Ghostland Observatory and Matisyahu.
Anyone else heading down for the weekend? If so, who are you looking forward to most?
If not, here’s what’s happening in the KC/Lawrence area this week…
Edelman: Unicorn Gets The Rapture (& Fred Phelps)
The far-from-friendly Fred Phelps family usually finds itself outside the theater, ranting on the sidewalk about some wacky message from God.
Well, welcome inside the Unicorn Theatre, oh my Topeka brothers—it’s probably not the one your Scripture had in mind, but the EVERYDAY RAPTURE (now thru June 10) has arrived and you’re in it.
When I saw this smart, hilarious yet touching show on Broadway, I thought the Unicorn would be perfect for EVERYDAY RAPTURE. After all—how many cutting edge theaters can you find within 100 miles of the Kansas state capital? Well, praise the Lord and pass the intermission—Cynthia Levin and company procured the rights to the first-ever production of this little gem outside NYC. Now you can see it and have fun with the Phelps’ kin yourself.
Katie: Van Halen Storms Sprint Center
I shot for Van Halen last night at Sprint Center. The shooting was rough though. I could only be there for the first three songs and it was from the soundboard. I couldn’t see shit!
But seeing those three songs was freaking amazing.. I can’t really write much about the concert because I didn’t get to stay after that…boo! Still was a pretty neat experience.
Sounds Good: Jon Eric@Barnyard, Weir, Robinson, & Greene@Crossroads, Best Coast@Granada
Some cool shows this weekend…
I’ll be taking it a little easy, resting up for the big trip to Mulberry Mountain next weekend for the Wakarusa Festival. I’m planning on talking with festival mastermind Brett Mosiman sometime soon to get the inside scoop on this year’s festivities, which I will, of course, relate to you loyal KCC readers.
And I’ll be reviewing the bands, venue, hula hoopers (or is it hoopists?), etc., live from the mountain top for those of you not brave enough to make the trek yourselves.
In the meantime, here’s where to go…
Donnelly: Mayer Hawthorne at the Granada, May 21, 2012
Apparently, Mayer Hawthorne is taking this neo-soul thing seriously.
When he rolled through Larryville in late 2010 with just one record under his belt, you had to wonder whether this kid’s journey into Motown was real or if it was just a cheeky, ironic hipster wink. I mean, he had already carved out a pretty nice little niche for himself in LA as Haircut, a hip hop DJ, so it wouldn’t have been surprising to find out that Mr. Hawthorne donned the tight sport coat and hit the high notes just for something to do on the side.
Katie: Daughtry Delivers (Family Style) at Midland by AMC
Daughtry is one of those people who didn’t win American Idol but is actually doing way better than many of the people who did win.
Which is, you know, kinda awesome.
Hey, he’s a super-talented guy and his vocals we’re spot on last night at the Midland by AMC. Which makes me wonder; why didn’t he win? The show wasn’t sold out unfortunately and most of the audience was – to my surprise – an older crowd. Even people were there with their small children. Not exactly a good sign hipness-wise.
Leftridge: TV time: Kill These Shows, Please
Television is a strange industry. For every successful, acclaimed run of a Mad About You, viewers will be forever forced to live with the emotional scarring that occurs after a two-episode hiccup like The Paul Reiser Show. (and this is nothing compared to what it means for someone like Reiser himself, or his agent, for that matter). Some shows– underappreciated by the suits who dictate decisions—are gone too soon, the victim of poor time-slotting and/or marketing (see: Arrested Development, Freaks and Geeks). Others hang on languidly, somehow avoiding the executioner’s axe long after the head should have been firmly in the basket.
Mancow: How the Hyatt Disaster & Bob Walkenhorst Derailed KC’s Rainmakers
In 1986 "Rockin’ at the T-Dance" by Kansas City’s Rainmakers was forbidden @ my former station Q104 back when it was a hit music station.
The song dared to blame the Hyatt Corporation for the Hyatt Regency Skywalks disaster. Too young to remember? Look it up. It’s a filthy, dark mark in Kansas City history that many "suits" would like the Cowtown to forget.
Shoddy, cheap work lead to a massacre.
My parents lost friends at that Tea Dance while the band played Duke Ellington‘s "Satin Doll" on a hot July evening. It impacted my family & haunted me with nightmares for years .
Why did Q104 ban the Rainmakers song?
Whinery: Marilyn Manson Disappoints at Uptown
Don’t know what it is with rock stars who don’t play their hits…
I saw Marilyn Manson last night for probably the 10th time- but only the second show since the late 1990’s. I’d seen him several times on the “Dead to the World” tour –in support of the seminal recording “Anti -Christ Superstar”
Which coincided with the 1996 Presidential Campaign – the second term of Bill Clinton, a “laydown” (sorry sexual metaphors are intrinsically linked to the man) – over the Great Senator from Kansas- Robert J. Dole. Back when America wasn’t perpetually involved in major wars.
Mermaid: Pistol Packing Mama Hits the Bullet Hole for Thrills & Chills
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I guess my curiosity with guns started when I saw a hot pink Sig Sauer Mosquito. 22 online…
It was a lot meaner than a new pair of shoes but still toted some major bling! I’ve wanted a gun ever since.
This week I got my wish when my boyfriend, David, took me to the Bullet Hole after some extreme begging on my part. We both have family heirloom guns and I thought it would be great to learn how to shoot them. It’s always been on my bucket list and I think in the back of my mind I now wanted to have the personal protection in my home. I wasn’t sure if I’d enjoy the experience or not, but I was pretty excited to try it out…
Walking in to the Bullet Hole, it was a serious yet friendly atmosphere.
We showed them our guns and they checked them to make sure they were in good working order. Corey, an expert Bullet Hole guide, seemed impressed with my Belgium Browning 9mm. He said he’d never seen one quite like it.
Naturally I was pleased that my gun was getting some respect.
Donnelly: Taj Mahal @ Knuckleheads, May 16, 2012
Taj Mahal celebrated his 70th birthday onstage Wednesday at Knuckleheads in front of an enthusiastic crowd that packed the patio and upper decks, and filled about half of the inside area.
Even KC mayor Sly James and his crew found their way into the Bottoms to catch the show, drink some beer, and eat a bunch of fried food. Now there’s a platform I can really get behind.
As Taj took the stage he was presented with a huge guitar-shaped cake and serenaded with a spirited rendition of happy birthday. The storied bluesman seemed to appreciate the gesture, but didn’t say much and quickly launched into the opener, an instrumental jam that displayed his trademark tremolo-soaked, syncopated guitar picking.
He’s still got it, I thought to myself, even at 70.
Sounds Good: Taj Mahal@Knuckleheads, Grant Hart@Tap Room, P-Funk@Crossroads, Bad Veins@Replay, CIB & Ghosty@Replay
For those that don’t know, this week is American Craft Beer Week...
Yeah, I know it sounds like it was made up by American craft brewers. But it does have a few benefits, particularly if you’re in the Larry neck of the woods this Thursday evening. Free State is teaming up with local milk gurus Iwig’s Dairy at the Farmer’s Market near 19th and Mass. Word on the street is that these two local favs will be combining their wares to make the famous Oatmeal Stout Ice Cream Floats.
And that’s just ONE of the benefits of American Craft Beer Week! Trust me, there’s lots more.
By the way, next week is KC Entertainment Blog Week, so you know what that means.
Some good music this week, check it out…
