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Showing posts from 2015

industrial assault trip

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It seemed that folks were ready to get out and dance in January 2003.  I am not sure what it was, but the whole month leaned that way.  Maybe the holidays had been particularly good or bad to them.  It didn’t matter in the end, as the kids lost themselves in the music all night long. Probably the best example of this in January 2003 was a show put on by Phuk Bed Entertainment in cooperation with Suburban Loops, featuring DJ Assault and his own particular brand of “Accelerated Funk.”  Whatever it was, the whole house was grooving.  Everyone had arrived early and were dancing through the supporting cast of locals early on all the way through DJ Sage, Assault, and on through the night.  It was an awesome night that seemed to be made for dancing. The only other event to come close to Invasion was the Project Groove One-Year Anniversary Party in Lawrence.  Their little celebration featured a 5-hour tag team set with two of the most fantastic turntablist, DeeJay P and Z-Trip.  I

the force needs more sleep

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Inside the Glenwood Theater A long time ago, in a theater on the other side of town, I had the opportunity to attend the opening night of a relatively unknown feature film at the Glenwood Theater in Overland Park.  It was the only place in town showing the movie.  Star Wars was an incredible journey through space, time, and fantasy in worlds light years away. We knew very little about this movie, excepting the hype my uncle had put into describing it.  He insisted we go, guaranteeing we would enjoy every minute of it.  He was right.  Indeed, I sat through the movie nailed to my seat.  The special effects were amazing for the time, and captured the imagination.  In spite of what many say recently about the movie, it did not really introduce anything new or unexpected that most science fiction fans were not already well acquainted with.  It did not inspire me to go out and build a rocket, robot, to become an astronaut, or a coder.  Tom Swift Jr. had already done that; yet another

the mongrels ep release party

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The Anonymous Poet, Martian Face, Brother Bagman, and Supermassive Black Holes joined up with The Mongrels to celebrate the release of a debut EP by the latter.  Davey’s Uptown Ramblers Club has always been the go-to spot for good local Rock-n-Roll talent, and a few YouTube from Brother Bagman sold us on the notion though. We were open to most anything anyway, but you never know what you might get, and sometimes, a few things are just not on the list.   Indeed, the primary goal for the evening was some good music that we did not have to stay up all night for.  We were ditching another show because of that second point.  For some reason, a lot of event coordinators in KC believe that a good night of music cannot start before 10 pm; as well, any headliner should not play before Midnight.  That makes for a long night, especially on a Friday. Whatever happened to being able to go out for a little dinner and dancing?  In Kansas City that only seems possible if you are prepared to e

a full year

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The first anniversary of the beginning of this adventure came along , but there was no big celebration, party or otherwise.  I had not even noticed that it had been a year, until that very day.  It had been a wild ride across the scenery of underground dance, music, and performance in Kansas City.  I pondered whether to continue to or not, briefly.  There were so many good events on the horizon, and everyone seemed to enjoy the site, the photos, and what I was looking to accomplish.  Turns out, I was documenting a strange sort of history that nobody else knew about, outside of these circles.  Nothing else like this existed like this at the time in the Midwest. With these thoughts swirling around my head that I headed out the door to Lawrence, on the night of this first anniversary.  I was going to check out Something Cosmic at The Pool Room.  I can’t really recall who it was that was playing, even after looking through the photos, but they were significant, and I remember that it

kill devil shades of jade

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Stopping in a relatively new spot, we were hoping to catch an early performance from a band we had not heard in quite a while; instead, we got something completely different.  It was not bad, but not exactly what we were looking for.  The Kansas City Power & Light District, the Kill Devil Club, and many other establishments really should make a greater effort to ensure that the information on their web site is correct.   The flyer had been sitting on my desktop for several months, and we confirmed the date on their respective web sites that day.  The band, Grand Marquis was nowhere to be found though.  Another local group called Shades of Jade was setting up to play instead.  We were only out for a late evening drink and a couple of tunes anyhow, and we decided to give them a chance.  The Kill Devil Club is not all that new of a spot, but it was the first time we had been there.  It turned out to be a nice.  Dimly lit, it was not so dark that you could not see aroun

footloose hyper house

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Returning from a nice long Halloween break in New Orleans that lasted the better part of that month, there was not too much going on during the month of November 2002.  There was a House Party nearly every weekend, and really only one event featuring anything beyond local talent. After playing as the opening act for the Delta Heavy Tour earlier in the year, DJ Hyper was passing back through on his own Bedrock CD/Record Release Tour, and stopped in for night.  While there was not a huge turnout, it was a Wednesday night in Kansas City after all.  Anyone lucky enough to be out got a real treat, and a flashback to the show early in the year. A completely random event popped into the picture too this month too.  A local high school put on a performance of the infamous "Footloose," and having my camera along, I could not resist snapping a few shots of the show, since it was somewhat of a contrast with the underground music subculture and its sometimes rocky relationship w

tonelli american duo

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We stopped in at The American Restaurant for a little chill jazz session with the Tonelli Duo.  This was one of the first official gigs in town for guitarist Mark Tonelli , after bidding farewell to regular duties with the Jazz Knights ensemble. After spending 10 years with that group, he decided it was time for a change, and came to Kansas City to soak in the thick tradition of Jazz the town holds close.  Playing alongside a bassist, the two provided some light, enjoyable, and unobtrusive music for the early evening hours, enabling good conversation with those who had joined us. Arriving before they started, we enjoyed a few appetizers and cocktails from the Lounge.  This was our first trip to this location, and we were happy to discover they supported numerous local Jazz musicians, hosting small ensembles regularly every week from Wednesday. It runs through Saturday in the Lounge, playing mostly sounds of the Contemporary sort.  Situated as it is with a view o

kraftwerk 3dkc

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What would you say if I told you that you could drive a car across Germany all by yourself, without ever leaving the room?  I still remember my uncle asking something along those lines, and my 8-year-old mind was immediately fascinated with the idea. Removing a brand new album, decorated with the image of a highway, he explained that he had some new music that could make that happen.  It was only music, but it was magic too, and had the power to transport me across the ocean, into a car and across Germany in special sort of road trip.  I would only need to close my eyes and pay very special attention to the music though.  There would be words that I would not understand, but it did not matter; if I listened closely, I would understand everything. He placed the enormous headphones over my ears, and gently placed the needle on the record.  I heard the car start and back out of the driveway.  A horn honked and in no time, I was speeding down a highway.  Cars and trucks passed

a night at the kcjo cotton club

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The Cotton Club was at the epicenter of jazz creativity and fame during the Harlem Renaissance of the 1920s and ‘30s.  It produced some of the greatest names in music and show business, legends such as Duke Ellington, Fats Waller, Billie Holiday, Lena Horne, Bill ‘Bojangles’ Robinson, Cab Calloway, Fletcher Henderson and scores of others. The Kansas City Jazz Orchestra opened their season with a tribute to this era, and a sold-out house in Helzberg Hall of Kauffman Center for the Performing Arts. The 17-piece orchestra presented “A Night at the Cotton Club,” with classic swing arrangements and a few variations of tunes like “Rockin In Rhythm,” “Stormy Weather,” “Echoes Of Harlem,” “Stardust.” “Minnie The Moocher,” “Creole Love Call,” and many others. A backdrop displayed various images from the era, and a few different guests shared the stage.  Local educator Herman Mehari sat in as a guest trumpet, blasting out some good solo runs on a song or two.   Showing off da

fire spinning submission

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Since last we spoke, I have managed to restore October 2002.  I did not have a chance to say much about August and September when those were posted back to back last month.  They were no less interesting than the previous months. August kicked off with a new monthly at Balanca's Pyro Room featuring local talent from the Techno Justice League.  There was another House Party, a BBQ and a trip to the Empire Room for a peek in on DJ Mike Scott's night.  A couple of big events went off in Lawrence, courtesy of Project Groove and then a little backstreet boogie to send DJ Booth & DJ Nitro on their way to St Louis. The event of the month was Prodo-1 put on at a dirty little spot on Guinotte by Cosmic Space Entertainment and XL KlubKnights; aside from the DJ talent, the feature of the night being a Live Firedancer performance by Wildfire Entertainment Chicago. September started with an awesome little Labor Day party at The Empire Room.  A few folks celebrated their birthdays

kc chalk and walk festival 2015

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We took a walk down to KC Chalk and Walk Festival at Crown Center , hoping to see the promised focus on 3-D images. Sixteen blocks later Saturday, we discovered they were incomplete; that is, for the featured work.  A few of the other displays were complete; most of them were still in progress. The central theme appeared to be video games. Houston-based muralist and chalk artist Anat Ronen was among the featured guests, along with 100 other artists showcased in the area around the Crown Square Fountain. Hundreds of kids and adults also left their mark on the event in a massive free-draw area.  A couple of food trucks kept everyone fed, and both days were perfect for those participating and viewing. Returning Sunday near the end of the day, the featured works were complete.  I even found one that kind of looked like local House Music legend DJ Pat Nice.  I asked the artist about the similarity, but she pointed me to another guy that was the model for the painting.  

sounds of summer tour 2015 kc

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The Sounds of Summer Tour, featuring platinum selling country music singer and songwriter Dierks Bentley, stopped in on Kansas City in support of his latest full-length album.  The North American tour opened in North Carolina in January with a supporting cast of up-and-coming talent Kip Moore, Maddie & Tae, and Canaan Smith.  Bentley said that these three acts "are three of the hottest rising artists out there right now" and he feels "fortunate to be spending the summer with them." The Kansas City show was a near sell-out, with most folks having purchased tickets to the event in January as part of the Live Nation's Country Megaticket.  A few expressed disappointment in this particular event, citing a generally drunken and rowdy sort of crowd, with beer showers for the unsuspecting. ~ photos & video by sherri   view more photos from this event photos & video by sherri

imagine that band

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While on a fishing expedition in Arkansas, a friend and I wandered across this random event.  Actually, to be perfectly honest, it was somewhat planned.  We had been at Mack's Fish House the night before, and a few of the members of the band were putting on a little show.  The guitarist was on point, and the vocalist had a very fine voice indeed.  There were a couple of other vocalists that sat in too, and they were good, almost the same quality.   After one of their sets, they indicated that they were playing down at the park amphitheater the next night.  We knew of it and planned to drop by anyway, but this little show convinced us to stop in for a moment. That was about as long as we stayed though.  We had been out kayaking and fishing all day and exhaustion got the better of us.  We dropped in for about three or four tunes, which were mostly covers of 80s pop rock tunes.  It likely turned into a good crowd.  Another girl out of Nashville was going on at 830 pm, and folks

36th annual ethnic enrichment festival

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After spending the afternoon watching the Blue Angels perform for the Kansas City Aviation Expo, we headed out to Swope Park to taste the cuisine offered at the 36th annual Ethnic Enrichment Festival.   We had not been since the 25th and were quite anxious to see how much the annual affair had grown, and what new things there were to see. The situation had expanded quite significantly since our last visit, which became very apparent as we approached the gates on 63rd Street.  Traffic was backed up for about a half mile, but we progressed quickly.  It was still at the pavilion near Starlight Theater, and we easily maneuvered our way to a parking spot on the lawn surrounding the festivities. The festival was no longer free, but who could complain about that.  It was somewhat expected after all that time.  Three dollars is not too bad for a day of music and dance performances from just about nearly every ethnic group in the world.  Additionally, food tents surrounded the pavil

blue angels at kc aviation expo

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It was downtown to the rooftops again for a look at the performance of the United States Navy Blue Angels, during the Kansas City Aviation Expo. It is always good to have a friend with the right view, when something like this is going on; lacking that, all it takes is a little resourcefulness and an understanding of Google Maps. There are several good spots to view, without burning twenty dollars to get a ground level view of the situation. We arrived later in the afternoon than originally intended, but apparently had not missed a thing; that is, excepting an earlier performance by the Blue Angels.  I was surprised to hear that. Usually there are all sorts of things flying about at these events.  It did make me a bit curious as to what exactly the Expo was all about; still, not curious enough to park 5 miles away, ride a bus with a bunch of other sweaty tourists, compete with those same masses for a good spot, and make an equally competitive return trip. The view

wheels up tour kc

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The girls were out for yet another event last Saturday, featuring Lady Antebellum as part of the Wheels Up Tour.  Hunter Hayes and Sam Hunt joined the party, during this fall half of a tour that began on May 1 in Lubbock, TX.   The first half kicked off in Oslo, Norway with a few other stops in the rest of Europe and Australia in this yearlong tour. “The magic of being with fans from all over the country is really why we’re ultimately all here,” said Lady A’s Charles Kelley. “Being able to play off each other on that stage is honestly where we have the most fun, and I have a feeling the crowd will already be on their feet when we get out there after starting the night with Hunter and Sam!" The trio’s “warranted leap to stardom” (Dallas Morning News) and undeniable chemistry has continuously commanded the attention of critics who continue to praise their “effortless harmonies and raw emotion” (The Washington Post) and “top-notch, high energy” performances (The

under the sun tour kc

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After a full and fun day in the sun, you would think there would not be much energy left over for a show. However, if you leave immediately after you get home, you have no time to think about the comfort of the sofa.  A little disappointed that we had almost certainly already missed Uncle Cracker and Sugar Ray, that is exactly what we did, and arrived just before Better Than Ezra took the stage.  The Power & Light District was full, but we were still able to take up our usual post behind the soundboard. It had been a hot day, but there was a good breeze moving through the venue, keeping things relatively cool.  The band came on just a few minutes after our arrival, and immediately launched into one of their big hits, and then another, before jumping off on a wild tangent, performing several cover songs. Time catches up with us all eventually, and we forget more than we learned; but surely, not your own tunes.  The crowd did not seem to know how to handle this change, at

trombone shorty kc

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A great night of music, straight out of New Orleans, descended on Kansas City at the free KC Live! show at the Kansas City Power & Light District.  The show featured some of the finest brass band music and talent, playing an array of traditional rhythms mixed with current themes. New Breed Brass Band came on just a bit after I arrived, and wound the crowd up.  Folks were already getting the grove on, when Trombone Shorty & Orleans Avenue took over and cranked out some of the hottest tunes this side of Big Easy. I only had my phone along to this one, after the fiasco last week.  It was too hot to be walking back to the car again, and I was more interested in participating in the experience.  I did take a couple of shots, and of course there is a little collage of video clips on the YouTube.