Category Archives: Entertainment
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…
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.)
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…
Edelman: Karrin Allyson Amazes at Jardine’s, Catch Her last Shows Tonight
The word “brilliant” gets thrown around alot these days…
But for an hour plus of the real thing, don’t miss Karrin Allyson’s gig at Jardine’s tonight (two shows Tuesday, Nov 29 at 6:30 and 8:30). Great music doesn’t get much better than this.
Joined by two of KC’s best sidemen– guitarist Rod Fleeman and bass player Gerald Spaits— Allyson plays Beena’s intimate room like she owns the place.
Grogan / Donnelly: American Idol’s David Cook of Blue Springs Does the Midland
Hometown product David Cook returned to KC over the Thanksgiving weekend for his first local show in over two years at the Midland…
You do remember Cook, right?
He won American Idol in 2008 and released an album that did pretty well shortly after that. Since then he’s been kind of flying under the radar (as in fading), as evidenced by the lackluster attendance at the Midland, which was reported in the KC Star as being just around 1,100 bodies, less than half-a-house.
Ouch.
Edelman: Giving Thanks for Kansas City Jazz
Kansas City, say thank you for jazz…
The Chiefs may suck, Royals disappoint, politicians irritate, the economy drags us down— but then there’s jazz. Seven nights a week, fifty-two weeks a year, our town boasts a fine line-up of musicians and the dedicated (and daft) club owners who keep the lights on, booze flowing and stages lit.
I don’t know about you, but I’m thankful for that.
Jazz makes our town special. It’s what KC contributed to world culture, where we left our mark, what we’ll be remembered (and celebrated) for long after the Plaza becomes an outlet mall.
Hearne: Thanksgiving Breakfast Dance Back & Bad w/ Mel Waiters, Denise LaSalle
One of the Cowtown’s most sacred pop culture artifacts has risen from the grave…
The Thanksgiving Day Breakfast Dance – a 30-plus year Kansas City tradition – died an unseemly death two years ago when longtime area blues promoter Roger Naber ran out of the time and energy to keep the ship of state afloat.
Two years earlier Naber had described the event thusly:
“It’s the largest running music tradition in Kansas City to my knowledge. I’ve been going to breakfast dances for 31 years now. And we’re expecting nearly 1,000 people this year on Thanksgiving morning with the talent we have. Johnnie Taylor’s sons are opening the show for Millie Jackson.”
The event goes down on Thanksgiving from 9 a.m. until 2 p.m. at the National Guard Armory in KCK.
Donnelly: Karrin Allyson, One of Jazz’s Finest, Returns to KC at Jardine’s
What a dream it must be… Can you imagine it?
A little girl from Great Bend, Kansas, discovers the piano at a young age. She seems a natural, plinking and pounding away. Soon she starts singing as well, and her voice carries with it a weight not possessed by many others.
She moves to Omaha and formally studies the piano. She starts gigging at small clubs in the area, then moves on to Minneapolis, then KC, all the while honing her gift of a voice. She records her first record around her 30th birthday and it receives high praise from the jazz community.
Maybe this could be my thing. Maybe this IS my thing.
On to the Big Apple…
Donnelly: KC Rapper Tech N9ne’s ‘Lost Cities Tour’ Rocks The Midland
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Well, she’s done it again…
And she’s getting pretty good at it.
Not-so-new-anymore KCC photog Katie Grogan ventured out to be among the people – the Strange people to be exact – the ones that were blowing out the Midland over the weekend.
KC’s hip-hop high priest Tech N9ne was in charge as usual, and he was joined by many of the artists signed to his Strange Music label for a truly local affair. The occasion?
Sounds Good II: Tech N9ne @ The Midland & Demetri Martin @ The Uptown
Too much of a good thing? Nah…
Here’s a second installment of what to do this weekend, just to make things a little more interesting.
Saturday, November 19th
Tech N9ne at the Midland in KC
After releasing All 6’s and 7’s in June of this year, Tech N9ne’s album quickly shot up the charts, selling over 55,000 copies in its first week, and landing at #1 on the Billboard Rap Albums chart. It featured a bunch of guest performers including Snoop Dogg, Lil’ Wayne, Busta Rhymes, T-Pain, and others.
But he didn’t stop there.
Sounds Good: Chris Isaak@Uptown Theater, The Royal Bangs@Jackpot Saloon
Things are slowing down a little bit around here…
After last weekend’s barrage of quality shows, we now are slipping a little bit into the doldrums of the live music season, which seems to run from about Thanksgiving to February or so.
It’s cold out (normally), so girls don’t want to go out. And if girls aren’t going out, then dudes don’t go out either.
That shouldn’t really be the case this weekend, though, because one, Chris Isaak is in town. And he brings his own tropical climate with him.
Don’t say I didn’t give you a heads up guys…
Mermaid: The Summer of Love; Out With the Geezers, In With the Boy Toys
I had a glorious summer- one of inner peace, reckless fun, and lotsa dating experiences…
The age group of the dudes ran the gamut from 33 to 60 (and no, it wasn’t Craig). Through my long, hard journey of men, I found that the strangest myth I knew did not hold truth. The myth that older men were wiser, more refined, and stronger emotionally than the younger crowd.
I have believed this my entire life. Even in high school I never went out with boys my own age.
I went out with college boys. So when the rest of my friends were going to Winstead’s on the weekend I was going to Steak and Ale. Back then, I think I had it right. Now I am not so sure…..
Donnelly: The Jayhawks @ The Beaumont Club, November 12, 2011
Nothing fancy here. 
At least it didn’t seem fancy. It seemed simple and just right.
Watching The Jayhawks’ lead electric guitarist Gary Louris softly slide around the fretboard of his Gibson SG all night made me think, "Hey, I could do that."
Yeah, right.
He just made everything look so damn easy. Couple that with his soaring tenor vocals that are so naturally un-strained.
But it’s not easy. The fact of the matter is that Louris was just born to do this.
Donnelly: Lucinda Williams@Liberty Hall, November 11, 2011
Some critics think marriage has softened the jagged edges that defined Lucinda Williams’ songwriting and performing.
They say that Williams’ trademark angst, anger, and pain gave way to the boring happiness of a healthy and stable relationship when she married her longtime manager Tom Overby in 2006. They panned her latest release, Blessed, as sappy and lacking in grit, and wondered if her newfound happiness had stripped away her ability to find that tortured inner compartment she had used for so long to harvest material from.
It’s kind of the same argument that some have applied to Jeff Tweedy and his band, Wilco. After years of battling his demons, including a long stint addicted to painkillers, Tweedy finally got clean and proceeded to release several albums that simply didn’t match Wilco’s releases during the drug years. During a performance in the summer of 2003, a pale and sweaty Jeff Tweedy asked the audience, "Is everyone high out there?"
Katie: Pop Punk’s Not Dead Tour w/ New Found Glory, Set Your Goals, Wonder Years & Man Overboard
KCC photographer Katie Grogan has been a busy grrrl.
She’s been concentrating her talents on seeking out the kind of bands that would be more comfortable at the X Games than the Superbowl. You know, the kind of bands that have things pierced that you probably didn’t even know could be pierced. (What’s a body corset?)
In that vein, she thrashed out a night or two ago at the Midland to the Pop Punk’s Not Dead Tour with headliners New Found Glory, along with Set Your Goals, The Wonder Years, and Man Overboard.
To bear witness to that insanity, click on through…
Sounds Good: North Mississippi@Knuckleheads, Lucinda Williams@Liberty Hall, 11.11.11@Downtown Lawrence, Jayhawks@Beaumont, Jakob Dylan@Indie
After looking at my picks for this weekend, I realized they’re super heavy on the rootsy, Americana thing.
Which is nice, if you’re into that whole deal.
If not, hey, you’re just wrong, that’s all.
I guess you can always go down to the Sprint Center and watch the bloated carcass that ate Axl Rose haul his ass on stage and try to scream without shitting his pants.
Seriously, I know he’s all old and stuff, and probably needs money real bad, but maybe it’s time to hang up the “leather pants-sexy rock star- front man” thing and just sign up for Celebrity Boxing or something.
Donnelly: Eleven Productions Jacki Becker is Throwing You a Party This Friday for 11.11.11
What’s that old cliché? — Do what you love, and you’ll never work a day in your life. 
It’s obvious that Jacki Becker, founder and boss woman of Eleven Productions, is doing what she loves. And while I’m sure she would admit that at times it takes a tremendous amount of work, there are rewards as well.
"Working with incredibly talented and creative people every day, how could I ask for more?" explained Becker, before revealing perhaps the best perk of working in the music business. "Oh, and the fact that I have never needed to buy t-shirts, hoodies or cloth bags in my life."
Hey, it’s the little things sometimes people, c’mon!
Becker has seen bands come and go, seen the ups and downs of the industry, and discovered many artists "before they were big." For 10 years now, her company has promoted bands in the Lawrence and KC area, as well Omaha, Iowa City, Springfield, and St. Louis.
Katie: Uptown Punk Night w/ Hollywood Undead, Asking Alexandra & Bogore
If you were lucky enough- and brave enough- to make it out to the Uptown Saturday for the World War III Tour featuring Hollywood Undead, Asking Alexandria, Bogore and We Came As Romans and party with KCC photo scribe Katie Grogan, this is what you might have seen.
Kids, shield your eyes, please.
Hollywood Undead
Mermaid: Melt Your Face at Snow & Company in the Crossroads
Don’t take this the wrong way, but…
Let it snow! Let it snow! Let it snow!
Lose the parkas, forget the Uggs – wear something sexy people. Because this place is H-O-T.
Snow and Co. has arrived in the Crossroads, courtesy of the four UMKC students who got their MBA’s together and decided to dodge the office cubicle bullet and go for their dream instead.
Snow – meaning delicious frozen cocktails and Co. – somehow meaning all local ingredients.
I think they should call the place Blonde (or maybe Blind) because after two of these concoctions I committed a major Mermaid faux pas. I brought my Nikon D7000 to get some professional pics of the place but I was so tipsy I couldn’t figure out why my screen was black.
Did I trip some secret off switch I didn’t know about? Nope, the old lens cap on the camera trick!
My god, how many people just saw me try to take pictures like that? I was mortified.
Sounds Good: Social Distortion@Midland, Quiet Corral@Granada, The War On Drugs@Jackpot
This weekend is the real KC slut-walk…
You know, slutty witches, slutty nurses, slutty pirates, even slutty zombies.
Halloween just has a way of turning everything into a bikini contest. That’s the real trick.
Or is it the treat?
Either way, here’s where to go and what to listen to while you’re getting your slut on…
