KC Confidential

Oldies acts can be disappointing, seriously disappointing…

Trust me on this, I’ve seen my share. The worst maybe was a Guess Who show at the Uptown years ago with only the lowly bass player remaining from the original cast. For the record, it wasn’t my show – nor did I buy a ticket – I was consulting on promotions for a former Uptown Theater owner. Otherwise, no way would I have been there.

I digress.

To call the TV show born band The Monkees a super group would be a gross exaggeration. That said, a combination of  widespread exposure on a popular television sitcom (that ran for two years starting in 1967) and a string of – let’s call it, seven hit singles – elevated the fatuous foursome to dizzying heights that many would categorize as iconic.

Especially Baby Boomers transitioning through their teens and 20s in the late 1960s as well as subsequent watchers of the show’s ubiquitous reruns.

All of which made for a packed house – and a seated show – last week at the Uptown.  Continue reading →

One thing seems pretty obvious…

That Cinetopia did not plow however many millions into its ritzy new movieplex, the Overland Park 18 with the intention of getting to show only half of new blockbuster movies like Transformers and 22 Jump Street.

Equally obvious at this point is no way Kansas City based AMC is willing to compete with Cinetopia on a level playing field at its nearby Town Center 20. Not with both theaters playing the same movies while vying for an overlapping movie audience.

For example, Town Center passed on potential blockbusters like X-Men, Blended, A million Ways to Die in the West and Maleficent the past two weeks, while Cinetopia cleaned up at the box office.

But times change… Continue reading →

Once upon a time the American Royal was a pretty big deal here in Kansas City…

It truly mattered. The American Royal Parade downtown – the one that was cancelled last fall that would have been its 88th – was a kiddie and parent magnet of the first order. The blue-jacketed youth of the Future Farmers of America gathered every fall by the tens of thousands and fanned out across the metro. The top bidder for its champion steer received wide media coverage for their generosity. Its Belles of the American Royal (BOTAR) society ball was second only to the Nelson-Atkins Museum’s Jewel Ball. And to a reasonable degree, locals actually bothered to attend Royal’s rodeo, equestrian and concert events.

That was then…

The waning years of  20th Century and 21st have not been kind to the Royal. Continue reading →

Bruce Findley

Think kinder, gentler Sodom and Gomorrah…

Rockfest 2014, nothing wildly outrageous, just your everyday mash up of 50,000-plus at Penn Valley Park by Liberty Memorial engaging in fine art of sex, drugs and rock n roll – to the 10th power.

Or as Arthur P. Loatman, Jr. of Sweet Springs put it on Rockfest sponsor The Rock 98.9 FM’s website, and I quote:

“IT WAS AWESOME AS HELL MUD, TITS, BEER and MUSIC had few MOSH PITS TO GET AWAY FROM AND SOME SEXY WOMEN SURFING THE CROWD AND GOT A FEW TITTIES IN MY HAND AS WELL AS SOME ASS CHEEKS WOOOOOOOOOO!!!!!!!”

Get the picture?

For Lawrence electrician Bruce Findley it was the best bash he’d ever attended. And that includes recent concerts by Slayer at the Uptown and Mushroom Head at the Granada in Lawrence. Continue reading →

Can we talk?

A smattering of prickly-but-thoughtful takes on the error of our ways, courtesy 0f entertainment lawyer turned scribe Bob Lefsetz:

ALBUMS

Coldplay sells an anemic 384,000 copies and in a few weeks it’ll be over, like it never came out, even those who bought it will be done with it. Just like the Black Keys, who debuted at number one with 164,000 and then sold only 54,000 in week two. And they think they’re winning because they’re not on Spotify. No, they’re losing, because no one’s listening to their music.

The album was killed by the CD, wherein the compilation was too long, full of dreck and without a second side. The CD was unfathomable. And you could program your player to play just the tracks you wanted to hear.

The album was disrupted long ago. It’s only the jerks who make the music and those who sell it and the few consumers with loud voices who still care. The rest of the public is all about the single. And they’ll play more of your singles if you make good ones.

As for sitting at home playing the one album you bought over and over until you knew every lick… Yeah, you knew all the commercials when there were only three channels and you had no clicker, when there was no DVR.
Continue reading →