Breaking Beats with Beethoven

Perhaps I've been listening to too much electronica. 

During the free Beethoven in the Village concert at Prairie Village Presbyterian Church last Sunday, I detected elements of dubstep in Symphony No. 5. in C minor, Op. 67.  Was Beethoven the first breakbeat artist?  Something about being teased with strands of melody before getting clobbered by a massive bass drop has been lighting up the pleasure centers of human brains for centuries. 

While No. 5 invited ecstasy, a rendition of Mass in C Major, Op. 61 induced impatient squirming among the audience of about 1,000.  It seemingly goes on forever.  By the time the piece finally ended, every patron in the two pews directly in front of me had fled.  The novelty of hearing a 90-piece choir perform with an orchestra loaded with prominent musicians including violinist Elizabeth Suh Lane and percussionist Mark Lowry was no match for the church's thinly-padded seating. 

The opportunity to stand during the closing Hymn to Joy came as a blessed relief.


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Terry Callier has died.

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The new promotional video for Wakarusa 2013 makes me want to drive in the opposite direction when the annual festival takes place next spring.  I didn't realize I harbored such a visceral dislike of the combination of dirty hippies, dubstep and tie-dye today's counterculture.

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Macy Gray covered Talking Book.  And I like it.

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Arvo Part's Adam's Lament was released this week.

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I find the group-think receptions accorded to both good kid, m.A.A.d city and Kaleidoscope Dream extremely unappealing.  I eventually came around on Channel Orange- maybe that'll be the case with both of these universally acclaimed "album-of-the-year" candidates.

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Kansas City Click: Troglodyte are among Gwar's opening acts Tuesday at the Beaumont.

The Black Lillies appear at Knuckleheads on Wednesday.

Mike Moreno performs at the Blue Room on Thursday.

(Original image by There Stands the Glass.)

Review: The Sword- Apocryphon

I occasionally feel the need to be pulverized by bone-crushing riffs.  The Sword's monumental new album Apocryphon does the trick.  The album's full of pulverizing moments.  The Sword doesn't deviate from the tried-and-true formula established by Black Sabbath forty years ago.  The straightforward approach temporarily vanquishes my everyday problems and alters my consciousness more effectively than the consumption of drugs or alcohol.  Further analysis is pointless.  Rawk!


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The performance by the Vijay Iyer Trio turned my mind inside out last Friday.   Even so, missing Vicente Fernandez's final Kansas City appearance that night really hurt.  Here's Tim Finn's review.

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Try as I might, I just can't resist the allure of Regina Spektor's maudlin "How".

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Hexvessel! RIYL: Kansas, the Moody Blues, Renaissance.

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Bucket list item #791.

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A documentary on Ben Lee?

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Kansas City Click: My official picks are published here.

(Original image by There Stands the Glass.)

Review: XV- Squarians, Vol. 1

I realize that allowing a free mix tape to fill me with anger, disgust and disappointment is silly.

Squarians, Vol. 1, a project released by XV three days ago, is an execrable effort that's forced me to reconsider the ways in which I've championed the Wichita-based rapper for over four years.  Popular Culture, XV's previous 2012 mix tape, was a smart, innovative and entertaining concept album.  I was convinced that XV was destined to become the most popular rapper from Kansas or Missouri for all of the right reasons.  Apparently, I was wrong.

Squarians, Vol. 1 is an extended celebration of drugs and misogyny.  He takes a shot at 2 Chainz on "Got This Year," then proceeds to be every bit as dopey on the subsequent track "Ganja and Pasta."  (Ugh!)  "That Bowl" wouldn't be worthy of Asher Roth or Sam Adams.  "Now Let's Go In" panders to the University of Kansas.  The only tolerable track is a remake of "Be There, Be Square", a song recycled from Popular Culture.

My L7s are no longer in the air.


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I reviewed Friday's concert by the Vijay Iyer Trio.

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I reviewed Hammerween on Saturday.

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The Kansas City Star offers the backstory on the death of Creepy Face.

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A  video of the Natural State performing in ankle deep water in a cave captures the band's appeal.  I reviewed a recent gig by the Natural State here.

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The video for "Sewer Dweller" has me excited about Conflicts' forthcoming EP.  

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Awful news for There Stands the Glass favorite P.O.S.- his tour is postponed to enable him to get a kidney replacement.  He talks about it here. 

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Jim Wunderle of Springfield has died.

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Manu Katché's new album sounds very nice.

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August Burns Red has released a Christmas album.

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Although they lack the support of a record label, Australia's The Rubens sure look and sound like the next big thing.  "My Gun" is RIYL Gnarls Barkley, the Black Keys, commercial radio.

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The black comedy of Mark Eitzel's Don't Be a Stranger video series continues to amuse me.

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Et tu, Death Grips?  Rapping over the original vocal tracks doesn't work for me.

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Kansas City Click: Todd Snider serves as Tuesday's headliner at Knuckleheads.

Enter Shikari are on Wednesday's bill at the Beaumont Club.

Whitey Morgan & the 78s play the Czar Bar on Thursday.

(Original image of defaced promotional poster by There Stands the Glass.)

Review: Elizabeth Cook- Gospel Plow

I worshiped at St Paul's Cathedral earlier this year.  I'm a far cry from Anglican, but I couldn't resist the opportunity to get a sense of how it's done by the high and mighty.  The ceremony was beautiful.  Even so, Elizabeth Cook's 2012 release Gospel Plow is a more accurate reflection of my faith.  Raw country gospel speaks to me.  Here's a live version of "Hear Jerusalem Calling," the least appealing song on the project.  My favorite selection is a harrowing reading of Lou Reed's "Jesus," which almost certainly reveals a great deal about me.


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John Tchicai and David Ware have died.

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Maybe I should re-immerse myself in punk.  Based on this performance by No Statik, it shouldn't be difficult to get up to speed.

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I love to see real people talking about music.  In this case, the subject is Oddisee.

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The Pitch reports that Earwaxx, a record store in Gladstone, is closing.  (Via S.S.)

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Kansas City Click: My official picks are published here.

(Original image by There Stands the Glass.)

Review: The Fresh and Onlys- Long Slow Dance

I regularly nicked 200 as one of the stars of my bowling league when I was ten years old.  Those glory days only come to mind when I drive past bowling alleys in the rain.  Just as I no longer bowl, I rarely think about the old Let's Active, Windbreakers and Lloyd Cole & the Commotions vinyl that's gathering dust in my basement.  My dormant love of '80s jangle pop requires a unique combination of esoteric stimuli to be rekindled.

Already burdened by an agonizing personal problem, I happened to stumble across The Fresh & Onlys' expertly wistful Long Slow Dance a few days ago.   Waves of repressed memories came flooding back. 

The first five tracks- including the excellent "Presence of Mind"- force me to recall everything about my life in 1986.  The remainder of the album contains a few twists that break the spell.  "Fire Alarm" throws an Ultravox-style synth into the mix while "Euphoria" brings Joy Division to mind.

Thanks for the trip, the Fresh & Onlys.  Yet because indulging in nostalgic reveries feels sinful to me, I won't spend any more time in the comforting arms of Long Slow Dance.


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My five favorite acts at Saturday's Rhythm & Ribs Jazz and Blues Festival?  Thanks for asking.  They are Brian McKnight, the McFadden Brothers, Linda Shell & the Blues Thang, the Charles Perkins and Gerald Spaits Quartet and Joe Louis Walker.  Here's my review.

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Here's the video for Super Black Market's "Dancing Drunk.  (Via Back to Rockville.)

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Matt Bauer's cover of Prince's "Under the Cherry Moon" is worth a listen.

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I just found out about Lindi Ortega.  The roots rocker is the opening act on Social D's new tour.

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It should come as no surprise to readers of There Stands the Glass that Anthony Hamilton's "Pray For Me" is one of my favorite singles of 2012.

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No.

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Kansas City Click: ZZ Top return to the Midland Theater on Tuesday.

The Riot Room hosts the Hudson Falcons on Wednesday.

Rob Scheps' Kansas City band plays at Take Five Coffee on Thursday.

The legendary Vicente Fernandez performs in Kansas City for the final time Friday at the Sprint Center.

(Original image by There Stands the Glass.)

Review: Mike Mictlan- Snaxxx

Mike Mictlan's new mixtape Snaxxx is a drug album.   The title of this blog notwithstanding, I've recently become an anti-drug zealot.  Snaxxx, consequently, should infuriate me. 

Doomtree's Mictlan is far too talented to be easily dismissed.  Besides, Snaxxx's glorification of intoxicants is tempered by several acknowledgements of their ill effects.  On "85 Low 105 High" for instance, he raps that "15 was L.S.D., 16 was B and E, by 18 couldn't make the letters spell G.E.D."   He expresses bitterness that a childhood flame has become a successful business woman while he's barely getting by on "MCAD".

Nothing on Snaxxx is as epic as "Prizefight" or "Game Over".  And I must insist that you not watch the revolting video for "Spicy Peen". P.O.S., the biggest star of the Doomtree crew, pops up on two tracks including the old-school tribute "Syke!".  Yet Snaxxx is far more than a placeholder until P.O.S.'s new album We Don't Even Live Here comes out in couple weeks.

My conscious won't allow me to fully support the druggy project, but I encourage There Stands the Glass readers to splurge on one of the 300 limited edition Snaxxx Pizza Box packages.  Otherwise, it's available as a free download at Bandcamp.


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I reviewed Esperanza Spalding's concert at Helzberg Hall.

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Here's the video for Ebony Tusks' "Sioux Empire".

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Black Oxygen made a video for "Insane".

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Jamie Searle created a Kickstarter campaign for My Brothers and Sisters.

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Adele's "Skyfall" is stellar.  But you already knew that.

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On Wednesday, October 17, Led Zeppelin's Celebration Day will play at the following theaters in the Kansas City area: Town Center 20 with IMAX (Leawood), Barrywoods 24 with IMAX and ETX (north of the river) and Cinemark 20 (Merriam).

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Kansas City Click: My official picks are published here.

(Original image by There Stands the Glass.)

Review: The Kansas City Wind Symphony at Village Presbyterian Church

Allow me to escort the elephant out of the room.  The Kansas City Wind Symphony doesn't perform at the same level as the Kansas City Symphony.  A "volunteer ensemble of professional and accomplished amateur musicians selected by competitive audition," the Wind Symphony plays a different repertoire and has an entirely different sensibility than Kansas City's best known classical institution. 

Over 300 people- including plenty of friends and family of the musicians- attended Sunday's free season-opening performance at Village Presbyterian Church.  Titled "Something Old: Favorites from our Past," the repertoire showcased during the 90-minute concert was pleasant but conservative.  Dr. Phillip Posey, the ensemble's conductor, made a telling comment as he surveyed the forthcoming season. 

"I promise not to play any of that weird stuff I played last year," Posey said.

My thoughts about that unfortunate attitude are posted here.

The concert opened with Paul Dukas' brief but charming "Fanfare pour Preceder La Peri."  The forced festiveness of Felix Mendelssohn's "Overture for Band" almost sent me scurrying for the exit.  I simply couldn't abide the constant chime of what I assume was a triangle.  Although some of it was a bit hazy, Percy Grainger's nostalgic "Lincolnshire Posy" showcased the entire ensemble.  Dr. Maria Harman's beautiful flute feature on Kent Kennan's "Night Soliloquy" provided the concert's most intriguing moments.  Pieces by Julie Giroux and James Barnes were less compelling. 

I'm thrilled that the Kansas City Symphony is performing to huge audiences in its second season at Helzberg Hall.  Lovers of symphonic music would be doing themselves a favor by also familiarizing themselves with the noble efforts of the Kansas City Wind Symphony.



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I reviewed a concert by Kansas, King's X and That I Guy.

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I chose the Kansas City Wind Symphony over a free Delfonics' concert on Sunday.  Based on this fan footage, I made the right call.

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Antibalas is featured in a new Tiny Desk Concert.

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Modern bluesman Nick Curran has died.

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Who needs Psy when there's Riff Raff?

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The Tord Gustavsen Quartet continues to put its spell on me.

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Kansas City Click: Say Anything, one of my favorite emo bands, plays the Beaumont on Tuesday.

Bob Log III will do bad things at Davey's on Wednesday.

Fado Novato will make its debut performance Thursday at Grunauer.

(Original image by There Stands the Glass.)

Review: Caroline Herring- Camilla

I have yet to hear a note of Iris DeMent's Sing the Delta.  And it may be some time before I get around to listening to the new release by the hometown hero.  The only singer-songwriter album I want to hear right now is Caroline Herring's stunning Camilla.

Herring's political material is particularly potent.  It comes in the form of quiet stories that pack devastating punches.  (I highly recommend this live performance of "Camilla.")  "Maiden Voyage"- not the Herbie Hancock classic- is a bittersweet firsthand account of 2009's presidential inauguration. Herring gives voice to victims of racial hatred on "White Dress" and the title track.  In spite of an occasional outbreak of the sort of self-conscious white liberal guilt that infests much of today's folk scene, Camilla is a refreshingly original statement.

Alongside Mary Gauthier's Mercy Now and Gillian Welch's Time (The Revelator), Camilla is one of the most immediately striking contemporary folk albums of the new millennium. 


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Kutt Calhoun's "Bottle Service" fails to make me thirsty.

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Here's the video for Making Movies' "Hangover Blues."  (First spotted at Wayward Blog.)

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R.B. Greaves has died.

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The realization that you have to laugh to keep from crying makes Mark Eitzel a sad clown.  And there's more black comedy where that came from.

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The video for OFF!'s "Cracked" is perfect.

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A new remix of Robert Glasper's version of David Bowie's "Letter to Hermione" is captivating.

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Kansas City Click: My official picks are published here.

Also, Cadillac Flambe, Diverse, Victor & Penny and Betse Ellis with Jason Beers will perform at the opening reception for Prairie Logic on Friday, October 5.  Music is scheduled to begin at 5 p.m. at "Kansas City's newest public art project and performance venue."

(Original image by There Stands the Glass.)

Review: Nellie McKay at Polsky Theatre

As about 5,000 of her contemporaries filed into Starlight Theatre for a concert by the Ben Folds Five on Friday evening, the similarly acerbic piano-based singer-songwriter Nellie McKay entertained about 300 senior citizens and a few dozen younger folks at Polsky Theatre.

Largely because she prefers Cole Porter to Elton John, McKay works in relative obscurity.  The 31-year-old songwriter may not sell many albums, but I'll put my money on "Ding Dong" over Folds' "Battle of Who Could Care Less" in a contest of bitter songs about alienation.

Friday's concert opened with a seductive reading of "Sentimental Journey."  During "Crazy Rhythm," McKay verbalized an internal dialogue.  "Only the best for Overland Park!" she squeaked.  A rendition of "A Tisket a Tasket" emphasized the absurdity of the song.  Not every standard was soothing.  "(What Did I Do to Be So) Black and Blue," for instance, is a difficult song for a blonde 31-year-old Manhattanite to cover.  A take on the Beatles' "I'm So Tired" exposed the song's murderous intent.  She dedicated a straightforward version of the Loretta Lynn hit "One's On the Way" to Planned Parenthood.

McKay's interpretive skills and clever songs suggest that just a couple tours opening for the likes of Regina Spektor and Rufus Wainwright might afford her a more commercially substantial career.  Yet Stephen Holden has a different idea.  His examination of the state of cabaret in The New York Times  suggests that McKay is one of a group of under-40 performers who "occupy the middle ground behind cabaret’s haute and demimondes."  (Link via Emily Jones Behrmann.)


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I reviewed Saturday's concert by Gary Burton, Chick Corea and the Harlem String Quartet.

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Wicked Wayz was scheduled to open for horrorcore rapper Brotha Lynch Hung at Aftershock on Friday, September 28.  Instead, a candlelight tribute was held on State Avenue for a member of the rap crew.   Chad Ford, a.k.a. Creepy Face, was killed in what The Kansas City Star characterized as a "rolling gun battle" in Kansas City, Kansas, earlier in the week.  KCTV5's report has the genuinely shocking details.  The context couldn't be more chilling.  (Initial tip via Tony's Kansas City.)

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Hearing Lupe Fiasco's "B*tch Bad" on KPRS is like being offered a bottle of water in a whiskey bar.  (Yes, I'm a hypocrite.)

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Kansas City Click: R. Stevie Moore appears Monday at the RecordBar.

Dr. Orpheus Project performs Tuesday at the Riot Room.

Wolfgang Van Halen and Mark Tremonti play the Beaumont on Wednesday.

Knuckleheads hosts JD McPherson on Thursday.

(Original image by There Stands the Glass.)