KC Confidential

I took a sip of Barnyard Beer’s Bonfire Porter and looked around the room.  Hay bales bordered the stage at one end, concealing a recording setup that local country station 92.9 The Bull brought out to document the whole affair.  The Bull was on hand to tape the bands’ sets, edit them down a bit, and then air them on what will become a weekly bluegrass/Americana program called LIVE!stock at Barnyad Beer. 

On stage was Lawrence’s Menage of Twang picking through some original bluegrass/country tunes with a standard setup of guitar, banjo, upright bass, fiddle, and washboard.

The room sounded good, aided by the 100 plus bodies filling the wide open space that is the Barnyard.  Towards the end of their opening set they launched into Take the Night Train to Memphis, which featured a nice down-home fiddle run that highlighted their set. 

More and more people filtered into the bar as the headliners, Ashes to Immortality set up their equipment.  The start times were a little earlier than normal, which many in the crowd seemed to appreciate.  But it did result in some people missing out on a nice set from the Twang gang.

Ashes to Immortality are a relatively new Lawrence band, but they’ve already experienced a measure of success as exemplified by their inclusion in Split Lip Rayfield’s New Year’s show. Split Lip being Kansas’ gold standard bluegrass act.

Ashes took the stage with two female vocals, a fiddlle, mando, guitar, upright bass, banjo, and drums.  They reminded me a bit of the east coast jamgrass act, The Recipe, though at times I thought the inclusion of the drums overwhelmed the subtleties that come with the natural percussion of pickin’ on the strings. 

The band started strong with an emphasis on harmonies between the two female members, with main singer Bayley Kate Hartman’s vocals leading the way.  The first few songs tended more toward rock than bluegrass, as the band mixed in originals with covers of Van Morrison’s Moondance and John Hartford’s Can’t Get No Better. 

The back half of the set was more successful as Ashes shifted into more of their string-y material, emphasizing speedy pickin’ and pluckin’ on the mando and banjo.

My favorite of the night was probably a cover of Little Maggie, along with a quick little smoky mountain instrumental vamp that I could’ve listened to for probably 20 minutes straight before realizing I was in some weird sort of a trance. 

It was just about 11:00 p.m. when Bayley Kate thanked the crowd and said goodnight.  I was hoping for another set, but it was not to be on this night.  Lots of beer fans stuck around, though, to continue analyzing Banyard’s wares, which on this night included a porter, a red, and a golden ale. 

As I mentioned before, the Porter is where it’s at. 

Trust me on this one. 

Afterwards, I spoke with Barnyard bosses Mike Hummell and Heath Hoadley about their newgrass revival, and their hopes for what the venue might become.  

"We’re trying to create a place where the musicians are easily creative," Hummell says.  "Ashes is a band that — these guys are pros, and I can really see them doing something beyond Lawrence, Kansas."

Brewmaster Hoadley agreed, before getting back to his other passion, great beer.  "I just want to make quality beer and hope that other people enjoy it, too." 

"The Irish Red’s great, it’s sweet and I’ve drank a lot of it," said Sam, a music fan who came out to see what the Barnyard was all about.  "I thought the sound could’ve been a tad better, but the energy was great.  And the women were pretty hot."

I’d say so far so good.

A little something for everyone this week…

I’ll break it down for you:

If you’re a beer fan, you’ve ever skinny dipped in only cowboy boots, and you would certainly try a homemade possum recipe, then The Barnyard‘s the place for you Thursday night.

If you’re the adventurous type looking for something new, something that might put you a bit out of your element, and you enjoy thick rimmed glasses and semi-choreographed stage dancing by three girls from NYC, check out the Jackpot Friday.

And if you’re a lucky SOB and you already have tickets for Sprint Center Sunday – Yep, it’s Radiohead week.

On to the picks…

Thursday, March 8th
 

Ashes to Immortality and Menage of Twang at the Barnyard in Lawrence

As I mentioned last week, there’s a new Americana/bluegrass venue in Larryville that’s drawing the beard and washboard crowd out from the hills.  The place is called the Barnyard, and they also happen to be a microbrew (I suggest the porter).  This Thursday represents a bit of a jumping off point for the masterminds behind this scruffy new venture located just behind the Merc (look for the barn doors).  They’ve been ramping up their beer production and are hosting a couple of the best up and coming bluegrass-ish bands in the area.

The headliners are Ashes to Immortality, a folk-roots act that’s helped to spur on the somewhat recent Lawrence bluegrass revival alongside bands like Dumptruck Butterlips and Deadman Flats.  Lead singer Bayley Kate Hartman’s simple and silky style first caught my ear about a year ago, when her band was just getting started playing opening slots at the Jackpot.  Since then they’ve gone on to play with the likes of Split Lip at its New Year’s Eve show at the Bottleneck, and are slated to hit up several festivals this summer.

Also featured are the twangy pickin’ stylings of Menage of Twang, a band not short on songs about drinkin’ and cussin’ and drinkin’. 

As if that weren’t enough, 92.9 The Bull will be on hand to record the whole hootenany.  The tape, edited down to the best 50 minutes per band, will become the pilot episode of LIVE!stock at Barnyad Beer, which will eventually become a weekly radio show featuring up and coming bands as they swing by the Barnyard.  Kind of like Daytrotter, but without the cartoony illustrations.  And with better beer. 

Plus, if you go to Barnyard Beer’s Facebook page you can get a free ticket.  Otherwise it’s $10 at the door.

Friday, March 9th

Ava Luna & Night Moves at the Jackpot in Lawrence

You know Jacki Becker right?  She’s the brains behind Lawrence’s Eleven Productions, the outfit that brings the cool bands into town before you even know that they’re the cool bands.  Well, here’s one show Jacki circled in red on her calendar so you should probably check it.  Plus, then later you can tell all your friends that you saw Ava Luna at the Jackpot in ’12.  Seriously, if I have to hear one more hipster’s story about seeing Arcade Fire at the Jackpot five years ago, I might strangle that hipster. 

Because I’m jealous. 

Ava Luna are… ummm… kinda weird.  They combine elements of post punk, soul, rock, hip hop kind of… Let’s just say they are very interesting and feature a trio of female vocalists alongside a falsetto wailing synth player with Buddy Holly glasses.  Did I sell it for you?  If you still don’t believe me, check this out:  http://www.infinitebestrecordings.com/2011/09/services-3rd-avenue-island/

They’re cruising through town on their way to SXSW where they’re playing an impressive seven shows in four days.  Along for the ride are Minneapolis psych-rockers Night Moves, who recently signed onto London-based Domino Records to put out their debut sometime later this year.      

 
Sunday, March 11th

Radiohead at the Sprint Center in KC

Do I really need to say anything about these guys? 

Well, first things first: the show is sold out and has been since about 20 minutes after tickets were released several months ago.  What else?  Well, they’ve put out some of the best albums of the past two decades, like OK Computer, The Bends, Kid A, and Amnesiac. 

And yes, they’ve raked in loads of awards, from just about every music magazine on earth as well as multiple Grammys. 

But perhaps the most interesting thing about Radiohead is their ability to literally dictate what is cool.  I’ll give you a hint: whatever Radiohead does, that’s what is cool.  When they wanted to shift away from the alt-rock thing and embark on a more personal art rock journey with OK Computer, they did it.  In doing so they redefined the genre and gave birth to countless imitators.  When the band wanted to try a more electronic sound, they put out Kid A, and of course, it was a revelation.

That’s just what Radiohead does. 

The Kansas Craft Beer Expo was a smashing success weeks before the doors opened this past Saturday at 1:00 in Lawrence…

The $30 tickets sold out in about a week, leaving many who had initially balked at the price tag scrounging to find extras.  The event was held at Abe & Jake’s Landing, which boasts a large and unique room with balconies, terraces, a stage, a side pub, weird art sprawled all over the place, and a porch overlooking the Kansas River.  On Saturday, the place packed in about 700 thirsty revelers. 

Good thing there was plenty beer… 

Those showcasing their wares included locals like Free State, Boulevard, and 23rd Street, but there were also lots of brewers from around the country.  For example, representing California was Anchor Brewing, Green Flash, and Anderson Valley.  Colorado was in the house with Odell, New Planet, New Belgium, and Great Divide.  Nebraska was strong with Lucky Bucket and Nebraska Brewing Co.  And Missouri was impressive with 75th Street, McCoy’s, Schlafly, Kirkwood Station, Perennial Artisan Ales, Weston, and more.  

When you walk in you’re handed a three ounce glass and a booklet describing the beers, and you walk from booth to booth trying whichever you want.  Each brewer had at least two or three varieties, so it was convenient to make laps around the large room.  Each station also had pitchers of water and dump buckets to cleanse the glasses, which was a nice touch. 

Onstage, a party DJ blared mellow tunes for the aging hipster crowd.  In one corner there was a nice setup of snacks that included mostly cheese and fruit.  With about 15 different varieties of cheeses, it was a little hard to rip myself away from the table.  Until of course, I drained my tiny beer again.

There was also really reasonably priced food for sale in the side pub – local barbecue, tacos, pretzels and the like – with most of the prices coming in under $5. 

But since I was here on business, I couldn’t waste valuable beer space with delicious pulled pork sandos.

Though the place was crowded, wait times to get a taste was never more than a few minutes, and all the brewers were happy to answer questions. 

After a few hours, I’m pretty sure I’d sampled at least one beer from every vendor there.  My favorite beer of the day ended up being from a brewery I’d never even heard of before, Kirkwood Station Brewing Company out of Kirkwood, Missouri.  Their IPA was just bitter enough, just hoppy enough, and finished just smooth enough to get me go back two or three times to confirm my hunch. 

Here’s how Kirkwood describes the beer with technical beer terms for people who are more into beer than me:

An American style India Pale Ale. Light amber in color with a big citrus hop aroma. A decidedly hoppy and bitter, and moderately strong ale, this beer is for the hop lover. The malt flavor is just enough to balance out the Citrus, Grapefruit and Pine flavors from the hops. Medium bodied with a crisp dry finish. Brewed with 2-Row Malt, Munich Malt, Caramel Malt, Victory Malt, and Honey Malt. Hops are Summit, Simcoe, Cascade and Willamette. Dry hopping the beer with Cascade and Chinook hops when it is finished with fermentation gives it its big hop aroma. Year Round Flagship. IPA contains 6.3% ABV.

No doubt this event will be back next year.  And based on the demand for tickets  people are more than willing to plunk down $30 for a cool event like this.  However if you go but don’t drink the $30 worth of beer, that’s on you. 

The only question: is there a bigger venue in Lawrence that is equally as cool as Abe & Jake’s?  It would suck to see this thing in a hotel conference room or the like.  Some have suggested holding it outside in downtown Lawrence or South Park.  But then you can’t do it in March, and you’re competing with all the other events that come with the warmer weather.