Tag Archives: Matthew Donnelly
Sounds Good: Turnpike Troubadours @ Granada, Martin Sexton @ Granada
Thursday, February 19th Turnpike Troubadours at the Granada in Lawrence So you’re not a “country music” fan? Me neither, really. I mean, I love Willie. And I can get into a ripping pedal steel for sure. But I don’t own … Continue reading
Sounds Good: War on Drugs @ Granada, Seinfeld @ Midland, Big Gigantic @ Crossroads KC
Saturday, October 11th The War on Drugs at the Granada in Lawrence This Philadelphia band has put out a couple of damn good albums over the last few years. 2011’s Slave Ambient was a lush take on droney, psychadelic rock. … Continue reading
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Tagged Big Gigantic, Jerry Seinfeld, Matthew Donnelly, The War on Drugs
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Donnelly: Sporting KC Entertains Home Crowd, Scores 4 Against Toronto
How impressive is Sporting Kansas City‘s current perch atop the MLS standings? Consider this: in 24 league matches, KC has used the same starting lineup exactly zero times. Zero. Not to mention that after losing one of the best keepers in … Continue reading
Posted in Matthew_Donnelly
Tagged CJ Sapong, Graham Zusi, Jon Kempin, Matthew Donnelly, Michael Bradley, Peter Vermes, Soony Saad, Sporting Kansas city, Toronto FC
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Donnelly: Dirty Projectors at the Granada, July 18, 2012
"Sometimes they sound like they’re playing two different songs at the same time."
That’s how one concert-goer explained to me her experience with Dirty Projectors Wednesday night at the Granada in Lawrence.
And it’s kind of true.
The Brooklyn-based, experimental indie rock band has certainly never taken a page out of the songwriter’s handbook in crafting their intricate, and at times, off-putting tunes. And I’m guessing they wouldn’t be caught dead rhyming a lyric or doing the typical verse-verse-chorus-bridge thing, either.
Nope. Dirty Projectors pave their own musical way with unusual three and four part vocal harmonies that sometimes come blasting out at the audience like a warning siren. And plenty of hand claps, but not the Kid Rock kind. The three part, complicated, syncopated kind.
Sounds Good: mewithoutYou@Granada, Dirty Projectors@Granada, Josh Ritter@Crossroads, Chicago, Doobies@Starlight, Phantom Blues@Frontier Park, Old Crow@Crossroads
The music scene here – like the weather – is on fire, so let’s get on to this week’s picks, of which there are many…
Tuesday, July 17th
mewithoutYou at the Granada in Lawrence
Damn, the Granada’s been killing it lately, bringing in a wide variety of interesting acts. And this one’s no different.
mewithoutYou plays indie rock and all its members have beards. Their latest release, Ten Stories, is a throwback to the band’s truer sound, after it ventured into more commercially accessible territory with its prior album.
“They’re not quite children’s songs,” vocalist Aaron Weiss explains, “with not quite coherent storylines, but there is an overarching and kind of child-like narrative: a circus train crashes in 19th century Montana. Some animals escape, others stay in their cages. The traveling menagerie re-rails, stays its course, and struggles to fill in the missing attractions. Meanwhile, freed from institutionalized life, the rice-cake rabbit takes to a peripatetic fortune teller, the monastic walrus is tempted by a hedonistic owl, a fish falls for an eggplant.”
Nuff said.
Donnelly: Win Free Tickets to Josh Ritter Show Thursday @ The Crossroads
Lately, here in the lavish music wing of KC Confidential, we’ve been getting hit up with tons of concert ticket giveaways…
And winning them is way easier than being the 96th caller or whatever. Which is great for you guys if you’re paying attention. Who doesn’t like free stuff?
This go around we’re giving away tickets for the Josh Ritter show at Crossroads Thursday.
We’ll choose several winners who each will get two tickets to the show.
Donnelly: Peterson Sparks 2-0 Win at Columbus, Sporting Coming into its Own
Remember a week or two ago when I touted the insertion of journeyman winger/midfielder Jacob Peterson into the Sporting Kansas City lineup?
I believe I called him my new favorite Sporting player and politely asked Bobby Convey, who Peterson replaced, not to rush his rehab from a muscle strain.
Peterson’s energy and determination stood out on a team that already boasted a bunch of high energy guys like Roger Espinoza, Aurelien Collin, and CJ Sapong. And Peterson found some success taking on defenders and getting in front of the net.
That was roughly four or five games ago.
Donnelly: Gaslight Anthem at the Bottleneck, July 12, 2012
The Gaslight Anthem stormed into Lawrence Thursday for a sold out performance at the Bottleneck…
And man was it hot in there.
Not only was the band up for the occasion, but the masses of sweaty dudes inside the venue created a fog in the air reminiscent of my high school locker room. The closer to the stage I ventured, the more suffocating the heat and humidity became, so I was content to chill for most of the night by the soundboard.
The band started off strong with Great Expectations, 45, Old White Lincoln, and Even Cowgirls Get the Blues, before unleashing a searing version of American Slang that set off an already pumped up crowd.
Nothing could stop gregarious front man Brian Fallon as he rollicked through the band’s material old and new.
Sounds Good: Gaslight Anthem@Bottleneck, Dan Hicks@Knuckleheads, The Sluts, Rev Gusto@Barnyard, O.A.R.@Crossroads
I know this is a music post, but I also cover soccer for those of you following along…
Last night, Sporting KC got sweet revenge, beating down Philly 2-0 after being on the receiving end of a 4-0 curb-stomp just a couple weeks back. The win puts KC into the Lamar Hunt US Open Cup finals, which will be held at LIVESTRONG. Get your tickets now, because this will be one of the all-time best atmospheres in a stadium that is known for great atmospheres. And I assure you, this will be a sellout. I mean, the last seven games have been sellouts, but this will be a SUPER SELLOUT.
Scary, right?
Back to the music. A couple of picks for shows that are taking place tonight, so act quickly KCC music junkies…
Thursday, July 12th
The Gaslight Anthem at the Bottleneck in Lawrence
Donnelly: Beach House at Liberty Hall, July 10, 2012
I rolled into Liberty Hall at about 9:05, which provided the perfect amount of time to get a Free State Beer before the show started.
Beach House went on around 9:15, and Liberty Hall—although not at its 1000 person capacity- was pretty packed. And surprisingly, the audience was more versatile than I expected…not just a bunch of hipsters.
The band opened the show with Wild, the second song off their latest album, Bloom.
Although singer/pianist Victoria Legrand does have a strong, full voice, it wasn’t until the third song, Norway, from their 2010 album, Teen Dream, that the band really took command of the audience.
Donnelly: Sporting Kansas City Dominates MLS All Star Lineup
Yesterday Major League Soccer announced its 2012 All Star Starting XI…
The All Star game is on July 25th in Philly and will pit the best in the MLS against EPL giant Chelsea.
Sporting KC is represented big time, with more players on the Starting XI than any other team.
That’s some major props to Sporting and its front office, considering KC doesn’t exactly get the national media coverage that some of the other teams do.
Kansas City has three players on the Starting XI – Jimmy Nielsen, Aurelien Collin and Graham Zusi.
My initial thoughts:
Donnelly: Sporting Swelters to 0-0 Tie & Share of Division Lead
It was the most boring game of the season…
Saturday’s 0-0 draw against Houston took place in sweltering heat over the weekend at LIVESTRONG.
First off, I was happy to see Jacob Peterson in the starting lineup. The scrappy winger has straight up earned it with two goals in four appearances. He brings a relentless energy that boss man Peter Vermes loves, so I’m actually a bit surprised it took Peterson this long to get some substantial minutes. But I guess when you’re trying to justify the Bobby Convey deal you’ve got to play Bobby Convey a lot.
Plus Peterson is one of the few Sporting players that is not content with taking the path of least resistance and dumping through-balls into the corners for surging fullbacks to run onto and cross into the box. Instead, Peterson likes to face up his man, maybe try and find a foot or two of space, and fire a shot from in front of goal, something that I have criticized this team for not doing enough.
Donnelly: Hottest Ticket in Town? Sporting KC Saturday & Former SKC Man Davy Arnaud Can’t Believe It
Sporting KC bounced back in a big way on the road this week at Montreal...
Despite not playing its best and conceding many dangerous chances to the home side, KC came away with a 3-1 win boosting the team’s confidence as they head home for Saturday’s 7 pm grudge match against the team that dashed their championship dreams last season, the Houston Dynamo.
And tickets for this baby are going fast, if they’re not already gone. I just looked on Sporting’s ticket site and there werer literally about 8 tickets available. Yep, Sporting Kansas City is the hottest ticket in town right now, aside from the MLB All Star game of course.
However if you don’t have a ticket yet and still want in, don’t sweat it too much. There are several good options for scoring an after-market ticket. The option I use most is simply showing up at LIVESTRONG, heading towards the wafting barbecue smoke and looking for the blue flags flapping in the breeze. There’s almost always a super fan with an extra ticket to unload, and a few times they wouldn’t even allow me to pay for it.
They may also make you chug a beer for good measure and to prove your loyalty to SKC.
Sounds Good: Fourth of July & ACBs@Replay, Fitz and the Tantrums@Crossroads, Red Bull Locally Thrown@Crossroads, Victor Wooten@Granada, Death Cab@Crossroads
So much going on this week and weekend…
Of course there are the various fireworks displays around the area – that’s a given.
There’s also the MLB All Star game and festivities that go along with it, including a 5K on Sunday. There’s a food festival in Lawrence’s Watson Park featuring local food and drinks. There’s a thing called Lawrence Field Day Fest that’s spanning a few nights at the Bottleneck featuring 20-some local and regional bands. There’s a Sporting KC game at LIVESTRONG on Saturday against the team that knocked them out in the semis last season, the Houston Dynamo.
Shall I go on?
If you have any time left at all, think about mixing in one of these killer shows…
Donnelly: Chalk it up to Bad Luck? No, Not Again. Enough with the Excuses.
Sporting continued its mini-slide over the weekend, with a 1-0 loss against fabricated rivals, the Chicago Fire at LIVESTRONG Sporting Park...
That despite that KC outshot the visitors 27-10.
Headlines from some of the other publications around town covering Sporting spoke of a "dominant" performance from the boys in blue. Really?
I wonder if they saw the more relevant stat, "shots on goal," which showed KC with only the slightest edge at 5-4. Let’s be honest, KC takes a ton of shots that never test the opposing keeper or even require a save. So it’s no surprise that they routinely, massively outshoot their opponents, even in the games they lose.
Fake hustle, anyone?
Donnelly: My Conversation With Fitz and the Tantrums’ Noelle Scaggs & Win Tickets to Their July 5th Show at Crossroads
If you don’t know who Noelle Scaggs is by her name alone, I guarantee you know her music.
Scaggs is the sexy co-lead singer of LA based indie soul outift Fitz and the Tantrums. You’ve no doubt heard their ridiculously infectious hit single, MoneyGrabber, that’s been all over radio and TV for the last year. Now the band’s finishing up its latest album with all-star studio man Tony Hoffer, who recently produced M83‘s blockbuster album, Hurry Up, We’re Dreaming.
Cross Midnight City with MoneyGrabber and you may have the catchiest damn song ever.
I had the chance to catch up with Noelle to talk about her band’s July 5th gig at Crossroads, about why retro ain’t all that fly, and about what gets her dripping with sweat.
I was also lucky enough to score several sets of tickets for Fitz’ show to give away to loyal KCC readers.
Sounds Good: Buddy Guy & Jonny Lang@Uptown, Truckstop Honeymoon@Replay, Reverend Horton Heat@Crossroads
This weekend is the calm before the storm…
The storm being next week, a holiday week that has killer shows virtually every night.
By virtue of the 4th being on Wednesday, seems like everyone’s treating the entire week as a holiday, in particular the Crossroads. They have a bunch of shows including Yonder Mountain String Band, Fitz and the Tantrums, Dark Star Orchestra, and Death Cab for Cutie.
That’s not to say there are no quality shows to check out before then.
For example….
Donnelly: Sporting KC Shocked in Philly, Concede Goal in First Minute
"It’s embarrassing, coming in here obviously the effort wasn’t good enough. 4-0 is a slap in the face and we
obviously can’t dwell on it and move on tomorrow.”
That was Sporting fullback Chance Myers after KC got bullied into a 4-0 loss at Philly.
It started almost immediately after the referee blew the whistle.
The Union’s Lionard Pajoy beat the KC defense to a ball heading over the end line just as his onrushing teammate, Jack McInerney rushed in to finish the point blank roofer.
Donnelly: Vermes Lays it on the Table, Steals Point With Little-Used Players @ Seattle
Sporting KC coach Peter Vermes took a big swing with his starting lineup Wednesday night at the Seattle Sounders…
Six of his eleven starters had played sparingly so far this year and one – outside midfielder Michael Thomas – had never logged an MLS minute. The other five, Lawrence Olum, Peterson Joseph, Michael Harrington, Jacob Peterson and Soony Saad, had a couple of starts this year combined.
But with a packed schedule looming, including five games in the next 14 days and a cross-continental flight for Saturday’s contest in Philly, having the regulars at full strength going forward was crucial. So Vermes made a gutsy call, threw all his chips down and let them fall where they may.
When all was said and done, the gruff KC boss came out smelling like a rose.
This game was a high water mark for both the club and the coach.
Sounds Good: Flaming Lips@LibertyHall, Steve Martin@Midland, Split Lip@Crossroads
Storied Lawrence concert venue Liberty Hall turns 100 this week, and they’re throwing one helluva party to celebrate…
Fittingly, the party couldn’t be one night only, not for its 100th. Nope, they’re doing it up right, with two nights of the Flaming Lips starting Thursday. How is Wayne Coyne going to squeeze his giant hamster ball inside the intimate venue you ask? Not sure. But I do know it’s going to be insane. Definitely the smallest venue that the Lips have played in some time, I’m sure.
Remember, last summer they played the second stage at Kanrocksas in front of several thousand and killed it.
For Friday’s event, Mass. Street in front of Liberty Hall is getting shut down and turned into a psychedelic street party that I expect to be absolutely packed. This looks to be one of those events that you simply cannot miss if you’re expecting to keep any of your Larryville cred.
On to the picks…
