Album Review: Alasdair Roberts- The Fiery Margin

As a white Midwestern male of humble stock, I’ve had the luxury of never needing to give much thought to my identity.  My American ancestors- a long lineage of obscure farmers, teachers and preachers- allow me to follow a path that’s largely free of expectations, obligations and encumbrances.

The results of the genetic test I recently took weren’t particularly surprising.  While it’s amusing to confirm my hunch that I’m a modern-day Neanderthal, I learned that a substantial chunk of my nuts-and-bolts are directly traceable to Glasgow.

Do my roots explain my dark disposition?  I account for ten of the 200 views of the stark solo performance of "A Keen" filmed in the home of Alasdair Roberts.  The bleak song about “the grief of a parent upon the early death of a child” is agonizing.  It could be the Scot in me that’s compelled to relish the misery.

The expanded instrumentation of the reading of “A Keen” on the Scotsman’s new album The Fiery Margin is reminiscent of Joe Boyd’s brilliant production for the likes of Nick Drake and Richard Thompson.  While based in tradition, Roberts has more in common with his Drag City labelmate Bonnie “Prince” Billy than with a typical folk purist.

My adamant rejection of the concept of historical trauma led to a heated argument with one of my children last year.  Yet Roberts’ brooding songs about uniquely Scottish forms of torment seem to stir dormant memories in my soul.  The Fiery Margin sounds so much like a home I’ve never known that I may owe my kid an apology.


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My audio feature about Robert Castillo and his Kansas City groove-jazz band The Sextet aired on KCUR yesterday.  The sound will eventually be added to my text.

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“Look at all the murderers and rapists here!” Joe Hernandez exclaimed as he surveyed the harmonious crowd of more than 3,000 at Fiesta Hispana last night.  The Tex-Mex legend who rose to fame as the leader of Little Joe y La Familia pilloried the President’s attacks on the Latin American community.  He asked for a moment of silence to acknowledge victims of gun violence and for “children in cages” before leading his band in a heartbreaking reading of “America the Beautiful.”  Hernandez insisted that “I know who I am and what we are- we don’t need a target on our backs.”  I captured a bit of Hernandez’s defiant “Redneck Meskin Boy”.

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The discounted five-dollar tickets I bought for yesterday’s matinee concert by The Four Italian Tenors at the Folly Theater paid off in the form of complimentary champagne and chocolate.  The ensemble’s hammy popera was just a bonus.

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“I run the town daily like Super Jesus.”  Here’s the music video for “Super Jesus”, the Popper’s new song about the Kansas City cult figure Mike Wheeler.

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I first saw Eddie Money at Royals Stadium in 1978.  Kansas, the Steve Miller Band and Van Halen were also on the bill of Summer Jam.  I last saw Money at the suburban festival Old Shawnee Days in 2012.  Here’s my review..  The bookends are a perfect encapsulation of the career arc of a typical pop star.  Money died on Friday.

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The familiar sample of the Sylvers’ “Stay Away from Me” on Sampa the Great’s “Final Form” sent me down a dusty R&B rabbithole yesterday.  I discovered the bonkers “I’ll Never Let You Go”.  I’d like someone to explain the lyrics on to me.  It’s a metaphor, right?

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Three good songs- “Old Soul”, “Loose Change” and “Cocktail and a Song”- salvage the otherwise drearily mundane self-titled album by The Highwomen.

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You’d be correct if you suspect that I’m over the moon about (almost) everything related to this.

(Screenshot of my 23andMe’s site by There Stands the Glass.)

February Recap

Top Five Performances
1. Elton John- Sprint Center
My review.
2. Blake Shelton with Trace Adkins, Lauren Alaina, John Anderson and the Bellamy Brothers- Sprint Center
My review.
3. Ben Allison’s Think Free- Mod Gallery
My review.
4. Chris Hazelton’s Boogaloo 7- Black Dolphin
I like it like that.
5. Heat Index- Thee Gin Mill
Sizzling fusion in the suburbs.

Top Five Albums
1. Yugen Blakrok- Anima Mysterium
A fearsome roar from the Black Panther soundtrack alum.
2. Nubiyan Twist- Jungle Run
Nourishing future jazz.
3. Drew Williams’ Wing Walker Orchestra- Hazel
The Lee’s Summit musician makes a national splash.
4. Mavis Staples- Live in London
A great American.
5. Cochemea Gastelum- All My Relations
Metaphysical jams.

Top Five Songs
1. Natti Natasha- “Pa’ Mala Yo”
Who’s bad?
2. Reggie B and the Popper- “Not Funky”
Heartland funk.
3. Tropkillaz, J Balvin, Anitta and MC Zaac- “Bola Rebola”
Balling.
4. Ariana Grande- “NASA”
Spaced out.
5. Keaton Conrad- “What Am I Supposed to Do?”
Kansas City’s Prince of Pop.

(Original image of Elton John by There Stands the Glass.)

I'm KC

My latest audio feature for KCUR aired this morning.  I enjoyed my hangs with Walter Edwin, aka The Popper.  The segment lives online here.


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I reviewed James Taylor’s concert at the Sprint Center for The Kansas City Star.

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I also reviewed Jimmy Buffett’s concert at the Sprint Center for The Kansas City Star.  Opening act Caroline Jones was a revelation.  Her overproduced new album is almost unlistenable, but her solo renditions of songs like “Old Blue” charmed me on Saturday.

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I reviewed Harold O’Neal’s Piano Cinema at Plastic Sax.

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I write weekly music previews for The Kansas City Star.

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I previewed Greta Van Fleet’s appearance at the Middle of the Map festival.

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Reggie Lucas has died. (Via BGO.)

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I woke up three hours earlier than usual today because I was so eager to hear Pusha T’s Daytona.  Kanye West’s production is stupendous.

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Old-boy networks can be good things.  Don Was, the current top dog at Blue Note Records, signed his old Was (Not Was) bandmate Dave McMurray.  Music Is Life is an old-school instrumental party album.  RIYL: Maceo Parker, Detroit, Lou Donaldson.

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The Brad Mehldau Trio is a victim of its own success.  If Seymour Reads the Constitution doesn’t sound revolutionary, it’s only because so many imitators have made the trio’s attack seem commonplace.  It’s not.

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What sorcery is this? Elina Duni’s magical Partir is unlike anything I’ve encountered.  RIYL: June Tabor, Albania, Márta Sebestyén.

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I don't hear what everyone else claims to hear in Kacey Musgraves’ Golden Hour.  Post-Christine McVie pop doesn’t appeal to me.  Musgraves’ new songs remind me of the formulaic music I hear during my periodic digs through the closeout racks at Macy’s.

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I hadn’t encountered the striking music video for “Ndogal,” a track from Cheikh Lô’s 1995 album Ne La Thiass, until World Circuit uploaded it this week.

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Iceage’s Beyondless is a mess- and I like it.  Strings, horns and other unlikely embellishments complement the slurred vocals of Elias Bender Rønnenfelt on the Danish band’s strung-out fourth album.  RIYL: The Saints, hitting rock bottom, Nick Cave.

(Original image of The Popper by There Stands the Glass.)

Concert Review: Rich the Factor, the Popper and Don Juan at 7th Heaven

“I’m KC!”  I don’t wear Kansas City-branded t-shirts and I’ve never used a #kcpride hashtag.  Yet as the Popper performed his latest anthem about Kansas City in a parking lot on Troost Avenue on Labor Day, I realized that I may be Kansas City’s truest music enthusiast.  Not only did I begin documenting my longstanding devotion to the sound that made the town famous at Plastic Sax in 2007, I have concurrently chronicled the rap scene that’s produced the only other hometown sound to make a significant global impression during that span.

In the four-and-a-half hours I spent at the free outdoor event sponsored by 7th Heaven, Rich the Factor, the Popper and Don Juan were among the prominent artists who expressed appreciation for their longstanding partnership with the scrappy retailer.  Bucking music industry trends, CDs are sold alongside the apparel lines of Kansas City rap heavyweights at the store.

As I wrote in a 2016 album review, Rich the Factor is “a veritable legend on the streets of the city’s urban core.” He affirmed his status during an auspicious headlining performance.  Don Juan performed “I Am the Street” after boasting that “I started that Tech N9ne sh*t” and reminding onlookers of his affiliation with the late Mac Dre.  Rush Borda, Chauncey Clyde and the teen duo Candii Gyrlz were among the other notable acts at the makeshift rooftop stage that validated my obsessive dedication to the most essential Kansas City music.

I posted video snippets of sets by Rich the Factor, Don Juan and The Popper to my Instagram account.  I also documented 7th Heaven’s Taste of Troost party in 2009.


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I named the forthcoming Gorillaz show at the Sprint Center my concert of the month for The Kansas City Star and Ink magazine.

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The Project H is KCUR’s Band of the Week.  My on-air segment will appear online in this space.

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I write weekly concert previews for The Kansas City Star.

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I recount my experience at the Charlie Parker Jazz Festival in Tompkins Square Park at Plastic Sax.

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I hope the reports that the Kansas City musician Ben Juneau has died are incorrect.

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Walter Becker of Steely Dan has died.

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Holger Czukay of Can has died.

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I opted to attend Noise Fest at Davey’s rather than the Kansas City Irish Fest at Crown Center last weekend.  Most of the acts I saw at the shambolic event sponsored by Leavenworth’s Big Pharma Records were merely uninspired dudes who manipulated feedback and static.  Only Pussyvision’s riveting freakout redeemed my break with tradition.

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A$AP Mob’s Cozy Tapes Vol. 2: Too Cozy is rude, childish and without any redeeming social value.  Needless to say, I'm all about it.  Here’s “Perry Aye”.

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The members of Algiers and I clearly like a lot of the same records.  It’s odd, consequently, that I can’t get into The Underside of Power.  RIYL Solomon Burke, futuristic gospel, Elvis Presley.  Here’s the title track.

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Eric Revis’ astounding Sing Me Some Cry is RIYL Ken Vandermark, temerity, David Ware.

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While it’s not exactly complex, Lil Uzi Vert’s Luv Is Rage 2 is shockingly multidimensional.  Color me (very) impressed.  Here’s ”How To Talk”.

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New Order’s Power, Corruption and Lies turned my world around in 1983.  Even with its overt tributes to Suicide and David Bowie, I hear LCD Soundsystem’s American Dream as a heartfelt homage to the seminal release.

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If Tyler, The Creator is really as miserable as he sounds on Flower Boy, he’s likely going to be utterly despondent when he's 50.  RIYL: cranks, Earl Sweatshirt, misanthropes.  Here’s ”Who Dat Boy”.

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I can’t be sure that I’ve listened to Ozuna’s ridiculously slight Odisea.  His reggaeton is the wispiest music I’ve heard.  Here’s “Una Flor”.

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I don’t loathe Portico Quartet’s Art in the Age of Automation because the ensemble has shifted away from jazz.  I simply can’t stand the sound of soulless ringtones.

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P.O.S’s verses on Shredders’ ”Flipping Cars” are stupendous.

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The gratuitous volume employed by Mogwai at a Matador Records showcase at SXSW in 2001 came just shy of making my ears literally bleed.  I was unable to flee because I was working the show.  I’ve held a grudge against the Scottish band ever since.  Even so, I’ve fallen hard for Every Country’s Sun.

(Original image of Rich the Factor by There Stands the Glass.)

Album Review: Shabazz Palaces- Quazarz: Born On A Gangster Star and Quazarz vs. The Jealous Machines

The overwhelming onslaught of alarming events has compelled many of my friends to embrace intoxicants with renewed fervor.  Even though I’m often tempted to turn to the bottle for deliberative escapism, I’ve found that a pair of gauzy new albums by Shabazz Palaces are capable of transporting me to an alternate reality that allows me to unwind, toy with astral projection and regain a semblance of composure.  I prefer Quazarz vs. The Jealous Machines to Quazarz: Born On A Gangster Star, but both releases possess some of the most appealing aspects of Sly and the Family Stone, Sun Ra, Future and Linton Kwesi Johnson.


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I hailed Kendrick Lamar in advance of his return to the Sprint Center.

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I featured Mac Lethal in my weekly KCUR segment.

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I write weekly concert previews for The Kansas City Star.

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Guitarist Chuck Loeb has died.  He was a leading figure in the final wave of commercially viable and artistically compelling crossover jazz.

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Jan Fichman of 7th Heaven makes a cameo in the video for Rich the Factor and the Popper’s ”Aristocrat”.

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The Kansas City pianist Mark Lowrey oversees an disarming arrangement of Soundgarden’s “Fell On Black Days.”

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Trevor Lawrence Jr.’s Relationships is RIYL Quincy Jones, the intersection of jazz and R&B, the Brothers Johnson.

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Algorhythms turned me on to Matt Cappy’s debut release Church and State.  The jazz-based album by the Philadelphia trumpeter includes an Afro-beat selection and an interpretation of “Nessun Dorma.”

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Arcade Fire’s Everything Now is RIYL Abba, preciousness, Destroyer.

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Numero Group will release a Jackie Shane compilation in October.

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The 2017 Living Blues Awards indicate that the blues clearly isn’t alright.

(Original image by There Stands the Glass.)

Album Review: Mark Eitzel- Hey Mr. Ferryman

Mark Eitzel has my number.  Not literally- we last spoke in the ‘90s.  Yet his new album Hey Mr. Ferryman resembles a musical narration of my inner voice at 3 a.m.  Like Eitzel, I’m a fifty-something American whose life was changed by the music of Frank Sinatra, Sonny Rollins and Joe Strummer.  ”The Last Ten Years”, the opening track of Hey Mr. Ferryman, is loaded with zingers like “I saw the bartender’s love- I saw it in her yawn.”  The songs in which Eitzel banters with Jesus, dreams of slow-dancing in a kitchen and paints a portrait of a forlorn man who “gets grumpy trying to keep hope alive” hit uncomfortably close to my dilapidated home.


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I reviewed Winter Jam at the Sprint Center.

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I pondered the enigmatic Erica Joy on KCUR.

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I wrote an extended concert preview about Eric Church’s return to the Sprint Center.

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I write weekly music previews for The Kansas City Star and Ink magazine.

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An anti-rap editorial in The Sedalia Democrat was inspired by a KCUR segment based on my advocacy of a song by the Popper.

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John Wetton has died.

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Delbert McClinton doesn’t give a flip on Prick of the Litter.  And that’s a good thing.  The new album is RIYL Dan Hicks, constructive indifference, Leon Russell.

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Boosie’s fatalistic ”Crabs In a Bucket” is my new theme song.

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Into the Blue, an EP by a trio led by the teen jazz pianist Emily Bear, is an exercise in tedious formalism.  RIYL: Joey Alexander, hype, Bill Charlap.

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Kehlani’s SweetSexySavage is RIYL Janet Jackson, generic R&B, Jhene Aiko.  Here’s “Distraction”.

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Bell Biv DeVoe’s Three Stripes is a barely passable reunion.

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Miles Mosley’s Uprising is RIYL Snarky Puppy, bluster, Al Kooper’s Blood, Sweat & Tears.  Here’s a live version of “L.A. Won’t Bring You Down”.

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Code Orange’s excellent Forever is RIYL chaos, the concept of metal version of Crass, throwing bricks.

(Original image by There Stands the Glass.)

Talkin’ Out the Side of My Neck

I was denied entrance to the Power & Light District last night. 

The inner sanctum of the entertainment area had reached its capacity of 3,500 for a free concert by Cameo.  I stood among more than 1,000 disappointed people who were also shut out.  After listening to the brilliant band for about twenty minutes as I verified that all external doors were locked and that every security guard took his job seriously, I dropped into the RecordBar. 

Johnny Hamil led a “gawdy cartoonnoirjazz” (his words and stylization) band for a handful of fans, friends and family members.  After marveling at the blood moon from the venue’s smoking patio, I moved a few blocks west on Westport Road.

An adorably sincere little punk show at Records With Merritt provided me with the thrill I’d been seeking.  Rather than feeling self-conscious about being the oldest member of the audience by at least twenty years, I took pleasure in knowing that I was the only listener who had attended performances by Sonic Youth and Cameo thirty years ago. 


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I'm featured in Sylvia Maria Gross' otherwise outstanding examination of The Popper’s "I'm KC."

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I previewed Vince Staples’ concert at the Granada for Ink magazine.

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I write weekly music previews for The Kansas City Star.

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I previewed Ernest James Zydeco’s album release party for KCUR.

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I reviewed Many a New Day: Karrin Allyson Sings Rodgers and Hammerstein at Plastic Sax.

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Tech N9ne has a new video for ”No K”.

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I’ve long adored K.T. Oslin.  Even so, I can’t tell if Simply, a brief album of remakes, is a last gasp or a welcome comeback.

(Original image by There Stands the Glass.)

Album Review: Jill Scott- Woman

My world changed when I picked up a Japanese compilation of Stax singles that introduced me to the likes of William Bell, the Bar-Kays, the Dramatics and Frederick Knight in the early 1980s. I don’t know how or when Jill Scott came to love those same songs, but it’s clear that she also knows them inside and out.  Woman is a vibrant tribute to the classic sound of Stax Records.  The video for “You Don’t Know” will persuade skeptics.


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I didn’t expect my  review of Van Halen’s concert last week to instigate a classic rock rebellion.  The show struck me as unequivocally terrible.  It ranks among performances by Guy, Rick Ross and Soundgarden as one of the worst efforts by a major act I’ve witnessed in recent years.  The outraged reactions to my observations compelled The Kansas City Star to issue a disclaimer.

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I also reviewed a concert by Graham Nash.

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An item about Be/Non is my latest contribution to KCUR’s Local Listen series.

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The Popper’s ”I’m KC” may be cheesy, but it’s my song of the summer.

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Kutt Calhoun’s EP Kuttin Loose doesn’t contain any surprises.  RIYL: early Tech N9ne, rap beefs, gangsta sh*t.

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Howard Rumsey has died.  Here’s Marc Myers’ remembrance.

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David Banner’s “My Uzi” might be the best song of 2015.  It’s not about what you think it’s about.

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Torche’s Restarter is likely to be my favorite rock album of 2015.  RIYL: Nothing, sludge, Electric Wizard.

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Blue Dialect, a collaboration between bassist Mario Pavone, pianist Matt Mitchell and drummer Tyshawn Sorey, is astounding.  RIYL: Anthony Braxton, out, Myra Melford.

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Ashley Monroe’s The Blade is a mess.  Only three or four of the tracks on the scattershot album are on point.  RIYL: uncertainty, Sturgill Simpson, indecision.

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There’s nothing wrong with Richard Thompson’s Still, but I don’t intend to give the relatively unremarkable new album a second hearing.  I’ll count on There Stands the Glass readers to point out any hidden gems beyond the novelty goof “Guitar Heroes.”

(Original image by There Stands the Glass.)

Vote for Me Dummy: The Top Albums, Songs and Shows of 2014

The 50 Top Albums of 2014
Spotify playlist
I preferred Jim Lauderdale to Sturgill Simpson and Keyshia Cole to Mary J. Blige.

1. Flying Lotus- You're Dead!
2. St. Vincent- St. Vincent
3. Peter Schlamb- Tinks
4. Naomi Shelton & the Gospel Queens- Cold World
5. Against Me!- Transgender Dysphoria Blues
6. The Architects- Border Wars (Episode II)
7. Kris Bowers- Heroes + Misfits
8. Keyshia Cole- Point of No Return
9. Joyce DiDonato- Stella di Napoli
10. Young Fathers- Dead

11. Budos Band- Burnt Offering
12. Jim Lauderdale- I'm a Song
13. Down- Down IV: Part II
14. Shabazz Palaces- Lese Majesty
15. Kelis- Food
16. Pallbearer- Foundations of Burden
17. Toni Braxton and Babyface- Love, Marriage & Divorce
18. Da Cruz- Disco e Progresso
19. Danilo Pérez- Panama 500
20. Leela James- Fall For You

21. The Jacka- What Happened to the World
22. Spoon- They Want My Soul
23. Sturgill Simpson- Metamodern Sounds in Country Music
24. Joyce Yang- Wild Dreams
25. Pat Metheny Unity Group- Kin
26. David Binney- Anacapa
27. Future- Honest
28. D'Angelo- Black Messiah
29. Rosanne Cash- The River & the Thread
30. Ambrose Akinmusire- The Imagined Savior Is Far Easier to Paint

31. Mutilation Rites- Harbinger
32. Black Milk- If There's a Hell Below
33. Various Blonde- Summer High
34. The Popper- Values, Respect, Loyalty & Beliefs
35. Angelique Kidjo- Eve
36. Ben Miller Band- Any Way, Shape or Form
37. SZA- Z
38. Lecrae- Anomaly
39. Coltsblood- Into the Unfathomable Abyss
40. Pharrell Williams- Girl

41. Takuya Kuroda- Rising Son
42. Triptykon- Melana Chasmata
43. Bob Mould- Beauty & Ruin
44. Mary J. Blige- The London Sessions
44. Ledisi- The Truth
45. Juilliard String Quartet- Elliott Carter: The Five String Quartets
46. GoGo Penguin- v2.0
47. Iceage- Plowing Into the Field of Love
48. The Project H- We Live Among the Lines
49. Bohren & Der Club of Gore- Piano Nights
50. D/Will- Reset


The 50 Top Songs of 2014
Spotify playlist
It may have been a weak year for albums, but 2014 was a stellar year for songs.

1. Skating Polly- "Alabama Movies"
2. Rick Ross, Kanye West and Big Sean- "Sanctified"
3. Michael Jackson- "Love Never Felt So Good"
4. Kendrick Lamar- "i"
5. Jack White- "High Ball Stepper"
6. Mary J. Blige- "Whole Damn Year"
7. Jeremih and YG- "Don't Tell 'Em"
8. Zara McFarlane- "Open Heart"
9. Jason Eady- "One, Two... Many"
10. Sam Smith- "Stay With Me"

11. Ledisi- "The Truth"
12. Guided By Voices- "Vote for Me Dummy"
13. Drive-By Truckers- "Primer Coat"
14. Joey Bada$$- "Big Dusty"
15. Stephen Malkmus & the Jicks- "Lariat"
16. Freeway and the Jacka featuring Killa Mike- "Sunnah Boys"
17. Miniature Tigers- "Swimming Pool Blues"
18. Ex-Hex- "Beast"
19. Yelawolf- "'Til It's Gone"
20. Jhene Aiko- "The Worst"

21. Ume- "Black Stone"
22. Future with André 3000- "Benz Friendz"
23. Jenny Lewis- "Slippery Slopes"
24. Tech N9ne- "Strangeulation 1"
25. Robyn Hitchcock- "The Ghost In You"
26. T-Pain- "Drankin' Patna"
27. Black Lips- "Smiling"
28. Pharoahe Monch- "Damage"
29. Prince- "Funknroll"
30. FKA twigs- "Two Weeks"

31. Leela James featuring Anthony Hamilton- "Say That"
32. Rick Ross with Project Pat- "Elvis Presley Blvd."
33. Nick Waterhouse- "Sleeping Pills"
34. Die Antwoord- "Pitbull Terrier"
35. The Reverend Horton Heat- "Let Me Teach You How To Eat"
36. Doomtree- ".38 Airweight"
37. Julión Alvarez y su Norteño Banda- "Te Hubieras Ido Antes"
38. Tinashe- "2 On"
39. Yusuf- "Dying to Live"
40. Lizzo- "Paris"

41. Bonnie "Prince" Billy- "Quail and Dumplings"
42. Clipping- "Work Work"
43. Bobby Shmurda- "Hot Boy"
44. Beyoncé- "7/11"
45. Colbie Caillat- "Try"
46. Slipknot- "Custer"
47. F*cked Up- "Sun Glass"
48. Rickie Lee Jones- "Been on a Train"
49. Regina Carter- "Hickory Wind"
50. Big K.R.I.T.- "Cadillactica"


The 50 Top Shows of 2014
I'm going to fall about a dozen gigs short of my annual benchmark of 365.

1. Nick Cave & The Bad Seeds- Midland theater
2. Jessica Care Moore- Blue Room
3. Pat Metheny Unity Group- Topeka Performing Arts Center
4. Kraftwerk- Sony Centre (Toronto)
5. Bettye LaVette- Knuckleheads
6. Marijuana Deathsquads- RecordBar
7. Pharaoh Sanders- Blues Alley (Washington D.C.)
8. Miguel Zenón- Blue Room
9. Spoon- Liberty Hall
10. Lecrae- Independence Events Center

11. Kronos Quartet- Helzberg Hall
12. T-Pain- Crossroads KC
13. Living Color- Knuckleheads
14. Marmozets- Warped Tour at Cricket Wireless Amphitheater
15. Charlie Hunter and Scott Amendola- The Brick
16. Deborah Brown with Joe Lovano and Terrel Stafford- Prairie Village Jazz Festival
17. Chrisette Michele- Uptown Theater
18. Tony Bennett- Muriel Kauffman Theatre
19. Nicola Benedetti- Folly Theater
20. Maze- Municipal Auditorium

21. Sam Baker and Mary Gauthier- Folly Theater
22. Allen Toussaint- Folly Theater
23. Ladysmith Black Mambazo- Liberty Hall
24. Bahia Orchestra Project- Helzberg Hall
25. Shabazz Palaces- Riot Room patio
26. Ingrid Laubrock and Tom Rainey- RecordBar
27. Nickel Creek- Uptown Theater
28. St. Vincent- Liberty Hall
29. Wolf Eyes- Riot Room patio
30. Joan Sebastian- Cricket Wireless Amphitheater

31. John Cale- Lawrence Arts Center
32. Black Label Society- Penn Valley Park
33. Morris Day & the Time- Parade Park
34. Burt Bacharach- Muriel Kauffman Theatre
35. Brad Cox- La Esquina
36. Marcus Hampton- Gem Theater
37. Regina Carter- Helzberg Hall
38. Lalah Hathaway- KC Live
39. Eric Taylor- Knuckleheads
40. Judas Priest- Midland theater

41. Brad Mehldau Trio- Folly Theater
42. Fitz & the Tantrums- KC Live
43. Eric Benét- KC Live
44. Peter Noone's Herman's Hermits- Town Center Plaza
45. John Scofield- Folly Theater
46. Guitarras Ibericas- Recital Hall at the Carlsen Center
47. The Kansas City Jazz Orchestra- Muriel Kauffman Theatre
48. Vine Street Rumble- Celebration at the Station at Union Station
49. Hunter Hayes- Sprint Center
50. Brother Ali- The Granada


The Ten Best Opening Acts of 2014
I get there early.

1.Suicidal Tendencies- Uptown Theater, for Slayer
2. Pusha T- Midland theater, for 2 Chainz
3. Kvelertak- Uptown Theater, for Mastodon
4. Electric Würms- Crossroads KC, for the Flaming Lips
5. King 810- Sprint Center, for Slipknot
6. Sarah Jarosz- Uptown Theater, for Nickel Creek
7. Thy Art Is Murder- Aftershock, for Emmure
8. Judy Collins- Knuckleheads, for Don McLean
9. Gary Clark, Jr.- for Kings of Leon, Sprint Center
10. Death Vessel- Horseshoe Tavern (Toronto), for Shearwater

(Original image of Hunter Hayes by There Stands the Glass.)