Probably because I grew up being tormented by guitar-wielding teachers at school and at church while being brainwashed by Coke commercials at home, I've never romanticized the singer-songwriter concept. While I'm a rabid fan of the likes of Dylan, Kristofferson, Prine and Van Zandt, I don't necessarily want to hear that stuff in a bar. I've been baffled, consequently, to have regularly found myself in acoustic performance settings during the past few months. The concept is becoming so prevalent that it's difficult to avoid. Fortunately, a lot of the music is really good. Last week I heard excellent sets by several people at the Czar Bar. They included contributions by Vi Tran (above) and Billy Smith (below). The latter performer is perhaps best known today for his work with Olympic Size and Roman Numerals.
---
It's no secret that I'm a longtime Taylor Swift skeptic. I called her out for her insincerity back in 2007. That issue bothers me far more than her flawed voice and her country-in-name-only pop hits. I'm relieved that my perspective is finally socially acceptable.
---
Links to sad stories about epic failures in Kansas City's jazz community are available at Plastic Sax.
---
Here's the latest homemade video from Kansas City's Steddy P.
---
Kansas City Click: Dreams Are For Rookies play the Riot Room on Wednesday.
The great Randy Weston is at the American Jazz Museum on Thursday.
(Original images by There Stands the Glass.)
No comments:
Post a Comment