Who wouldn't want to sound like Otis Redding? I respect JJ Grey's musical ambitions. As I tweeted last night from Crossroads KC, Grey is no Eddie Hinton, but he ain't bad. The Floridian's backing band included a trumpeter, saxophonist, organist and a guitarist who doubled on pedal steel. Grey is doing it right. Yet most of the 1,500 people in attendance were only there for headliner Jonny Lang. They wanted nothing to do with Grey's throwback R&B. (I opted not to stick around for this.)
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Vanilla Ice, Snoop Dogg and Eminem have performed in Kansas City this year. Lil Wayne plays here later this month. The Jay-Z and Kanye West tour comes to town in November. That means that six of the best-selling hip hop artists of all time will have performed in Kansas City in 2011. Missing- The Beastie Boys, LL Cool J, Outkast, Nelly, 50 Cent, and obviously, Tupac and Biggie.
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Ubiquitous of Ces Cru stars in the video for Reggie B's "Celeste."
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Uh oh. An impeccable lineup at the world's most famous jazz festival attracted a combined 12,500 fans last weekend. Here's The New York Times' review.
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Kansas City Click: I hope to catch Matt Otto at the Blue Room on Thursday.
I can't imagine who Howard Iceberg was referring to in his email solicitation for his Friday gig: As a once-in-a-lifetime special accommodation to those of you who like my songs but hate my singing (you know who you are), this Friday at The Writers Place I will be reading the lyrics to some of my songs as if they were poetry. Following which I will punish the attendees by singing a few songs anyway. The dope: This Friday, Aug 12th, 8:00pm, Writers Place.
The Dwarves open for Nashville Pussy Saturday at The Riot Room.
I've had many awkward moments at previous Pitch Music Awards ceremonies. This year's edition takes place Sunday at The Uptown Theater.
More of my picks are published here.
(Original image by There Stands the Glass.)
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