Be Good Or Be Gone

Since the previous There Stands the Glass post seven days ago, I’ve taken in 30 sets of live music.  My ten favorites:

• Four Fists
• Sufjan Stevens
• Ebony Tusks
• Duncan Burnett and the Ministry
• Jorge Arana Trio
• Sleater-Kinney
• The Phantastics
• Sie Lieben Maschinen
• Anna Cole and the Other Lovers
• Peter Hook and the Light

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I reviewed a concert by Sleater-Kinney and Theesatisfaction on Sunday.

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I reviewed Ink’s Middle of the Map Fest on Friday and Saturday.

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I reviewed Death Cab For Cutie’s concert at the Midland theater on Thursday.

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I reviewed Sufjan Stevens’ concert at the Midland theater on Tuesday.

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I contributed a Local Listen segment about La Guerre to KCUR.

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Here’s a ten-minute documentary about the obscure Kansas City musician Michael Angelo.  His 1977 debut album will be reissued on April 28.

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“Yoga” indicates that Janelle Monáe is intent on expanding her audience.

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Live at Monterey Jazz Festival, the debut release of a band co-led by Dave Douglas and Joe Lovano, is every bit as impressive as you’d think.  RIYL: Dave Holland, present-day Wayne Shorter, Tim Berne.

(Original image by There Stands the Glass.)

The Jacka, 1977-2015

The Jacka was killed in Oakland last night.  A television news program reported the murder.  I last saw the underappreciated rapper perform at the Uptown Theater in 2010.  Here are my notes about the show.  D-Boy Era, the Jacka’s throwback hip-hop collaboration with Lee Majors, was my #12 album of 2010.  His most recent release What Happened to the World was my #21 album of 2014.  In spite of his salty persona, the Jacka was very personable when I met with him in a Midtown bar a few years ago.


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I reviewed Dominique Sanders’ astonishing new album at Plastic Sax.

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I contributed a feature about Eddie Moore and the Outer Circle to KCUR.

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La Guerre’s Sapphires is RIYL: Hospital Ships, yearning, Regina Spektor.

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The Floozies’ Do Your Thing is an invigorating dance party.  RIYL: Zapp, disco, Daft Punk.

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I loved John Doe’s recent appearance at Knuckeheads.  Tim Finn reviewed the show.

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Vinyl Community noteworthy Teddy Dibble pays tribute to his late brother.

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I’ve yet to select my favorite new jam on Charlie Wilson’s Forever Charlie. RIYL: The Gap Band, romance, the Commodores.  Here’s ”Me and You Forever”.

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I questioned what I’m doing with my life after I ingested all 153 minutes of the new live album documenting John Scofield’s collaboration with Gov’t Mule.  It’s more in line with the Allman Brothers Band than with Miles Davis. 

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Gehenna, the latest release by Danish band By the Patient, hits the spot.  RIYL: Behemoth, riffs, Vader.

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If neither Hand Over Fist’s “Prize Fight” nor any of the stunning songs on P.O.S’s Never Better failed to break through, it’s unlikely that the latest Doomtree album All Hands will alter the crew’s fortunes. 

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My high hopes for Mohammed Fairouz’s Follow, Poet were dashed when I finally heard the bloated project.  RIYL: high concept, Leonard Bernstein, sociology.

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Dawn Richard’s Blackheart is a compelling variation on post-Beyoncé R&B.  Here’s ”Blow”.

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I have yet to watch the archived performance by Our Point Of View, the all-star group featuring Robert Glasper, Ambrose Akinmusire, Marcus Strickland, Lionel Loueke, Derrick Hodge and Kendrick Scott.

(Original image by There Stands the Glass.)

Concert Review: The Pitch Music Showcase

The annual Pitch Music Showcase is one of my favorite events of the summer.  Friday's party was no exception.  Here are the three best things I took in during the three-and-a-half hours I spent in Westport.

1. Gee Watts at the Riot Room patio
I was charmed by the way in which the young rapper adapted his performance to the pitifully meager audience of about a dozen members of his entourage and 20 unrelated onlookers.  He set the tone by referring to the intimate setting as a "poetry reading."  Although he performed a few off-color selections like "Nasty", his low-key delivery on wrenching material like  "Premature Hate" floored me.  Between selections, Watts shared his views on God, capitalism and friendship.  He even broke down one or two of his songs in the style of Rap Genius.

2. La Guerre at the RecordBar
I've seen Katlyn Conroy perform several times as a member of Cowboy Indian Bear.  I've also enjoyed her recordings.  Not until I witnessed her sing for about a dozen people at the RecordBar, however, did I grasp that her voice is a truly magnificent instrument.

3. Info Gates at the Riot Room patio
Info Gates, a hip-hop producer, songwriter and performer, was joined by Ubiquitous, Godemis and Les Izmore.  It looked and sounded a lot like this.


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I reviewed Saturday's concert by the Killers, Queens of the Stone Age, Gogol Bordello and the Virgins.

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Strange Music continues to crank out product.  "Why Me", is a track on Krizz Kaliko's new Son of Sam album, his fifth in six years.

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Mills Record Company provides a nice analysis of the significance of the Get Up Kids' Four Minute Mile.

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Mary Halvorson's stellar set at last weekend's Newport Jazz Festival is available as a free download.  RIYL: Henry Threadgill, Marc Ribot, Charles Mingus.

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I'm looking forward to hearing this week's new releases by Gary Burton, the Civil Wars, Chick Corea, Iwrestledabearonce, Christian McBride, Old Crow Medicine Show, the Polyphonic Spree, Elvis at Stax: Deluxe Edition, Revocation, Terje Rypdal, Beating The Petrillo Ban: The Late December 1947 Modern Sessions and Mutazione - Italian Electronic & New Wave Underground 1980 - 1988

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Kansas City Click: Amon Amarth open for Rob Zombie at Cricket Wireless Amphitheater on Monday.

The Floozies perform Tuesday at Crossroads KC.

T.J. Martley performs with Bill McKemy and Matt Leifer at Unity of Kansas City North on Wednesday.

John Velghe & the Prodigal Sons appear at Knuckleheads on Thursday.

(Original image of Gee Watts by There Stands the Glass.)

Review: Toro Y Moi- Anything In Return

Although I've only published a handful of posts at There Stands the Glass since New Year's Day, I've already offered abundant praise of hip hop, EDM, opera, gospel, R&B, reggae, folk, jazz, blues, punk and indie rock artists.  Is there anything I don't like? 

I have, in fact, encountered a new album that encapsulates many of the things I abhor in popular music.   The fashionable aural wallpaper of Toro Y Moi's Anything In Return serves as a case study of my dislikes.  The frothy album is emotionally vacant and deliberately devoid of grit and soul.  By my standards, Toro Y Moi makes music for people who don't like music.

Incredibly, many of my friends love Anything In Return.  That's fine.  The pleasure they take in the music of Toro Y Moi doesn't bother me.  To each his own.


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James Carter plays a lot of notes.  And I like it.  I reviewed last weekend's concert by the James Carter Organ Trio at the Folly Theater.

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I reviewed Passport's self-titled debut album at Plastic Sax.

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Leroy "Sugarfoot" Bonnner of the Ohio Players has died.  He last performed in Kansas City at the 2010 Rhythm & Ribs Jazz and Blues Festival.

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Gour Khyapa has died.  (Tip via BGO.)

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Foxygen's "San Francisco" fills me with joy.  RIYL: Ray Davies, Eric Burdon, fops.

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Miss the White Stripes?  Pony Time has you covered with the excellent "Geordie".

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Whenever I find myself bedridden with an injury or an illness, I attempt to make the best of a bad situation by using my impaired state to explore new forms of music.  Armed with painkillers after I broke my ankle a few years ago, I came to appreciate EDM on a new level.  When the flu knocked me out last week, I discovered the compositions of Henri Dutilleux.  This stuff is sick.

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Chris Morris wrote a great analysis of Amoeba's digital efforts.

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I adore Broadcast's original soundtrack for Berberian Sound Studio.  RIYL: Ennio Morricone, John Zorn, found sound.

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Free Energy's Love Sign is an excellent windows-down summer cruising album. RIYL: The Cars, Cheap Trick, Peter Wolf.

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The demos at the end of some versions of Camper Van Beethoven's new reunion album La Costa Perdida are markedly more interesting than the official tracks.  RIYL: the Grateful Dead, California, patchouli.

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I'm looking forward to digging into Gamak, Rudresh Mahanthappa's skronky new album.

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Vinyl eroticism from Salina, Kansas: "The Doors Infinite Unboxing".

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Kansas City Click: Max Groove plays Jazz on 39th Street on Tuesday.

Stone Sour is Wednesday's headliner at the Midland.

La Guerre performs Thursday at the RecordBar.

Eddie Moore and the Outer Circle hit the Blue Room on Friday.

The Folly Theater hosts Danielle de Niese on Saturday.

(Original image by There Stands the Glass.)