Category Archives: Tony_Botello

Before I witnessed a couple of local shows and talked with a few performers, I didn’t realize that the Kansas City Burlesque scene was filled with so much intrigue, mystery and maneuvering.

The latest tremor shaking the scene to its core is a move by Susanna “Lucky Deluxe” Lee that announces a split between the local pinup comedian, whose career is on the rise, and her pals at The Kansas City Society of Burlesque.

On the record both parties are being very cordial and it’s kind of the classic “creative differences” split that so many performers undergo. But on background, it’s clear to me that Lucky Deluxe might have outgrown the KC SOB and their collection of small town part-timers.

Check out the rather gracious press release from Lee: Continue reading →

Gentrification is a funny thing.

In Kansas City Proper the so-called “Downtown Renaissance” has turned out to be nothing but an urban legend. But that hasn’t stopped a few committed “hipsters” from continually touting the benefits of urban life, minus, of course, all of the original lower income minority inhabitants pushed out by the new gentry. In the aftermath of the American Mortgage collapse that sunk the world’s economy I’m not completely convinced that most real estate transactions aren’t based completely on lies.

Nevertheless, it’s hard to blame people for wanting to increase the value of their homes. Today, there’s a great post in the local blogosphere that demonstrates the wishful thinking that empowered so many hipster dweebs to buy land, office space, lofts and condos in the Crossroads and similar areas . . . It’s a simple analysis of a graph which explains that living in the suburbs is more costly than living in urban areas. That’s not really a ground breaking idea but let’s examine this sentiment just a bit further. Shall we?
Continue reading →

Is it just me or is Karen Pletz kind of hot?

Sure, The Kansas City University of Medicine and Biosciences is calling her a thief and a liar in front of all of Kansas City media but that somehow only makes her more interesting.

Previously, I’ve noted that this upper class, executive power play doesn’t really have any impact on the lives of so many plebeian consumers of mass media. But the name calling, countersuits and intrigue now have my attention if only because it offers even more confirmation that the moneyed class are just as immoral as the rest of us.

Also, the medical school angle of this slapfight is apropos given that we’re on the cusp of enacting Socialism/Obamacare depending on your worldview/mood.

The long and short of it is that this story of medical professional excess represents that last dance during the vocation’s salad days.
Continue reading →

Typical Kansas City, it’s snowing on the first day of spring.

Even worse, this temporary inclement weather isn’t supposed to hang around that long and it’s leaving me in a quandary regarding my approach to the new season. The snow will melt Tuesday but on this first day of Spring it just doesn’t feel right to leave sidewalks a mess. The type-A personalities are ready to approach Spring Cleaning with renewed vigor but there’s no point in wasting energy. Still, snowfall to start the Spring has me thinking about this town’s lingering problems. Continue reading →

Kansas City Star Columnist Mike Hendricks was slapped in front of a radio audience of millions yesterday and I think we need to revel in that fact.

This isn’t the first time that Hendricks has been publicly embarrassed. In fact, it might be something of a third strike. His public pay cut amid Star layoffs couldn’t have been nice and to make matters worse Hendricks immediately went on Facebook to whine about his bad news, contemplate a new job search and insult his readers. Hearne and I disagree on this one. Hearne argues that the pay cut was an effort to keep Mike at The Star whereas I think if a salary is docked it either translates into “go away” or reveals an employer doesn’t care what happens to the employee. Either way, ranting about it online is definitely a mistake. The Second strike against Mike Hendricks came when he was revealed to be an arrogant jerk during some e-mail job search.

And now he had to correct himself for foolishly using Myspace as a research tool.

So just how long will the Kansas City Star endure his constant screw-ups?
Continue reading →

Let’s make this quick because I have drinking work to do. I’ve compiled the most important list of activities for any real fan of St. Patrick’s Day in Kansas City. 1. Watch Eddie Delahunt play. Seriously if you don’t hear … Continue reading →

Did you know they still throw raves?

I thought the rave scene died after the hillbilliy sons-of-the-soil inherited meth and subsequently wrecked their teeth.

Nope, while checking/deleting all of my facebook messages I noticed an angry screed from somebody who couldn’t find any help from his many facebook fans. I’ve changed his name to “Raver Dude” in an attempt to protect the innocent and hopelessly naive when it comes to marketing in the digital age.
Continue reading →

Think about this: Because corporate media has never been keen on portraying the diversity that exists within communities of color; for most people right now, Latino Comedy begins and ends with George Lopez.

From Cantinflas to Cheech Marin Latino Comedy has always been trailblazing and once again Willie Barcena is breaking the mold.

It’s not just his no-holds barred cantankerous style that sets him apart but also a bit of authenticity regarding the lifestyle of a professional stand-up.

At the end of his last performance at Standford’s over the weekend the comic haggled with the management over the price of a bottle of tequila on stage and then purchased a shot for all the willing participants in the audience.
Continue reading →

This week featured an amazing amount of failure from Kansas City, Missouri.

So much so that fleeing to the suburbs like so many middle-class people have in this town’s recent history seems to be a somewhat viable alternative.

I’ve always noted that all of JoCo is nothing more than a vast cultural wasteland, but this week it seems that Kansas City Proper is moving closer to becoming a sprawling urban wasteland. It might be time to leave.

Here are five reasons why:
Continue reading →

As journalism makes a transformation to the digital age the dreaded, anonymous mean-spirited Internet comment is now becoming a curse for journalists who were part of a corporate enterprise that controlled public opinion through their stranglehold on media channels.

Now the Internet has given rise to angry, pajama-clad reactionaries who are seemingly on equal footing with reporters who have slaved away on a story.

To wit, a recent consumer satisfaction opus backfired on Pitch reporter Nadia Pflaum and her newsy instincts seemed all wrong in the populist/plebeian setting of a comment forum. I don’t care about the details of the story because they’re really not that interesting. What’s important is that the tale started with Nadia investigating the moaning and groaning of an unsatisfied consumer and ended with a great deal of anger aimed her way.

Unfortunately, it seems that it might have been her dead tree investigative instincts that led her astray.
Continue reading →

This town has a twisted way of looking at so many of its setbacks that’s not really optimistic but more delusional than anything else.

For instance, this year has already hosted some major setbacks for this town and yet there seems to be a widespread and ongoing effort to portray these local disasters in the best possible light.

It’s not just run-of-the-mill political spin that Kansas City professionals have employed. And to call it propaganda makes it seem a tad too sinister. I think it’s more akin to a fat chick lying to herself about losing the weight. There are good intentions but the end result is usually failure.

Is that too cruel?

Probably, but it explains why I only date hot broads who hate themselves.

In any event, allow me a few examples that might provide some insight into how Kansas City continually lies to itself:
Continue reading →

The slight chance that an Internet Juggernaut could come to town has unleashed limitless possibilities in my imagination. BlogKC provides the background:

“Last week the City Council formally endorsed an application to be a test city for Google Fiber for Communities, the company Continue reading →

Basketball is coming back to Downtown Kansas City this week and already there’s a wide-scale push to continue the urban legend otherwise known as The Downtown Renaissance.

Of course The Kansas City Star is content to report unquestioningly from PR copy but the figures just don’t add up. The underlying cultural logics of all the news stories celebrating the crowds coming to see the Big 12 reveals that Kansas City just wanted to bring white people back downtown no matter what the cost. And while this city is drowning in a sea of debt, there is no question (this week anyway) that the goal of bringing JoCo and other suburban sports fans back into the loop has been accomplished.

Still, a few years into all this subsidized construction it’s plain to see that a flock of sports dorks from The Golden Ghetto won’t save Kansas City. Not even close.
Continue reading →

Love comes and goes rather quickly in the digital age.

To wit, my favorite thing on the Internet right now is a story of love lost that took place right here on KC Confidential and involves our fearless leader Hearne and his former lady friend.

Now, to understand this story of Internet angst just for a moment, we’ll have to examine the nature of blog comments. In my experience most people write to blogs simply to express their displeasure, offer a correction or speak to their own concerns. If a reader agrees with a post, they’re usually the last to write in and express that feeling. Just as the nature of all news is negative, so are the comments from most active blog participants.

Now, most of the time these comments are anonymous and can be easily dismissed .But on the Internet, when a person signs their name, an extra bit of gravitas needs to be given to words published for all to see.

And a recent comment from Hearne’s old flame Mandy demonstrates the validity of my theory perfectly.
Continue reading →

In this digital era when some many people claim journalism is dying, it’s somewhat comforting to know that a great many people are celebrating the legacy of local reporting left by Tom Bogdon.

While so many blog posts, tabloid gossip and print media sponsored content is quickly forgotten. Dedicated news watchers should know that a commitment to the community through journalism is something not so easily taken for granted as mere “content.”

Currently, Kansas City’s Missouri State Representative Mike Talboy is introducing a Resolution in the State House that speaks to amazing life that Bogdon led and Continue reading →

Election season is upon us and it’s time to make friends with one of the many goofballs running for office.

But beware.

Befriending a serious person who really wants to accomplish something will only entail hours upon hours of thankless political activism. The trick here is to find an ambitious but slightly naive political neophyte and strike a casual allegiance.

To wit, I have provided some quick tips, advice and befits to a political alliance. I’m doing this now because we’re just entering the season of political hope. Right now there really aren’t any front runners in a Kansas City election that looks to be a house cleaning and could be more contentious than anyone realizes. Before the campaign really kicks into high gear it’s important to strike up a friendship so that any criticism can be played off as part of a human connection and not any ideological bent.

Now, here’s some things to think about when throwing tacit support behind some poor unsuspecting do-gooder looking to change the world with the help of strangers.
Continue reading →

Recently, I talked with a really nice middle-class white lady who was completely disgusted with Missouri Mavericks.

It wasn’t the hockey fights that troubled her. No, everybody knows Kansas City Area hockey fights are awesome. And because this really great lady was moderately affluent it wasn’t the price gouging that goes on at every professional sporting event that troubled her. And, of course, everyone in this cowtown is accustomed to commuting, so the drive across town was not a point of contention.

Nope. Despite the fact that The Mavericks are the most successful pro-sports franchise in Kansas City, it’s the crowd at Missouri Maverick games that causes a bit of consternation among Kansas City’s professional consumer class.

It’s not my bag, but go ahead and call them whatever stereotype you’d like: Lowbrow, WT, Sons of the soil, Methland Hillbillies. The “working class” fans of Independence hockey seem to be causing a sense of anxiety among the housewives and professionals who typically support Kansas City professional sports. For me, it’s hilarious that a few white people would be scared off by small differences in class, but like it or not that’s the scuttlebutt among a few ritzy local sporting denizens.
Continue reading →

We all know the Royals are gonna suck this year.

For baseball fans with any real knowledge perennial Royals mediocrity has been a fact of life every season since the late 1980’s, but this year it seems abundantly clear.

Still every season at Springtime, for so many years, there has been lots of unreliable marketing disguised as reporting that touts the fortunes of Kansas City’s baseball team. With the promotion of unproven players or coaches no less. Only suckers believe this kind of nonsense and I’m happily noticing that the pointless hype might just have abated this year.

I notice that the Royal’s slogan, “It All Happens Here” is remarkably understated.

There is good reason for this low key approach.
Continue reading →

Under the radar of even the most astute denizens of Kansas City’s entertainment scene there was a recent no-holds-barred dust up among competing burlesque events. I only wish I had more photos of the ruckus if only because my imagination leads me to believe there were feather boas and pasties flying everywhere.

What I like about the underground dispute is that it matches up competing ideologies related to Kansas City entertainment.

On one side: The Beaumont Club was putting together what they thought was a fun $500 burlesque contest in order to garner some of the momentum that local burlesque performers have been generating around Kansas City of late.

Meanwhile, neo-burlesque “purists” (and I use that term loosely) like The KC Society of Burlesque and The Burlesque Downtown Underground were offended that the art form they have championed was being used primarily for what they consider commercial interest with not of the feminist ideology that is often apparent at these shows.

Like any real fight over ideology: Somebody had to lose.
Continue reading →

If there was a common theme this week in Kansas City it’s that this town is hopelessly divided between black and white.

While I don’t want to be a pessimist it’s nearly impossible to objectively look at this town without seeing eons worth of racial divisions that taint nearly every popular discussion in local discourse. What’s worse is that during The Great Recession people without cash or prospects have even more time to debate the vast array of inequities which define life in the American Midwest.

Let’s review just a few stories from this week that support my brilliant assertion.
Continue reading →