Stuart Duncan- Whistlin' Rufus

Stuart Duncan- Whistlin' Rufus (MP3)

Who needs Led Zeppelin?

Robert Plant's decision to tour with Alison Krauss rather than working with a reconstituted Led Zep was validated last night during a thoroughly captivating show at Starlight Theater.

The Raising Sand collaboration is just a tad too polite for me. Thankfully, its sedate and genteel qualities were absent Tuesday. As Robert Plant said, the band- T-Bone Burnett, Buddy Miller, Dennis Crouch, Jay Bellerose and Stuart Duncan- was "smokin'."

The show's best moments were inspired by rock'n'roll. They included the tangible sexual tension on "Black Dog," unbound chaos on Townes Van Zandt's "Nothin'" and Plant's vocal on Benny Spellman's "Fortune Teller."

Plant, of course, is an engaging showman. The night's biggest surprise was Krauss' demeanor. Counting individual sets at '80s and '90s bluegrass festivals, I've seen Krauss over twenty times. She's never been more alluring or- dare I say it, sultry- than she was last night. She was more Stevie Nicks than Bill Monroe.

Here's Tim Finn's review.

Alternating between fiddle and banjo, Stuart Duncan seemed to represent the band's connection to bluegrass and Appalachian music. The traditional "Whistlin' Rufus" is from Duncan's fine 1992 solo album.

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Nappy Brown died September 20. I'm pretty sure I saw him only once. A Black Top Records package tour featuring Brown, Grady Gaines, Snooks Eaglin, Hubert Sumlin and several other greats stopped at the Grand Emporium in the early '90s. I fondly recall Brown's playful leer.

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Kansas City Click: Beppe Gambetta picks at the Mountain Music Shoppe tonight.

Don & Dewey- Jump Awhile

Grounded.

Even though I was never that into Blink-182 (I am quite partial to the Transplants), I was naturally horrified when I learned of Friday's fatal plane crash that seriously injured Travis Barker. The art of rock'n'roll drumming had been on my mind; I'd just received word that Earl Palmer, one of America's most important drummers, had died. Palmer can be heard on essential recordings by Little Richard, Frank Sinatra, Tom Waits, Jimmy Witherspoon, Julie London and Dinah Washington.

He's also the drummer on Richie Valen's "La Bamba" for crying out loud! And it's Palmer that makes Charles Wright & the Watts 103rd St. Rhythm Band's "Express Yourself" one of the funkiest songs of all time.

Palmer worked with Don & Dewey on several of their most famous hits, including "Farmer John" and "The Letter". Those tracks, along with the 1959 instrumental "Jump Awhile" are contained on the absolutely delightful Jungle Hop collection.

Palmer was 83.

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I hate the New York Yankees organization just a little less today. I practically fell off my couch last night when I heard Yankee Stadium's organist play a swinging version of Charlie Parker's "Yardbird Suite" during ESPN's broadcast of the final home game at the landmark. Hey, Kansas City Royals- I'm reluctant to suggest that you copy the Yankees, but how about replacing John Denver with Bird next season?

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According to this video, a Mac Lethal DVD titled Bald and Beautiful is "coming soon."

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I have no regrets about paying $15 to hear Jim White and the Steel Drivers perform Saturday at the Folly. Even so, it was one of those inconsequential shows that you realize (even as you're enjoying it) is destined to become merely a vague memory in a year or two. Here's Tim Finn's review.

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Kansas City Click: The deliberately messed up noise of This Is My Condition will precede The Dead Science tonight at the Record Bar.

Anthony Crawford- The Noise Around Us

Silenced.

Anthony Crawford has the saddest MySpace page I've ever encountered. It's not like it's been abandoned; someone logged in yesterday. It wouldn't be a big deal if his web site wasn't blank.

Why should you care about Crawford's internet woes? The guitarist is in Neil Young's current touring band. They're playing 24 dates between between tomorrow and December 15, including an election night concert in my town.

By definition- at least in my world- that makes Crawford important. The first few seconds of "The Noise Around Us" could easily be mistaken for a track from Young's Harvest Moon. Crawford's sadly overlooked 1993 album was co-produced by Pete Anderson and Dusty Wakeman.

Visit Crawford's MySpace page if you like what you hear; he could use some friends.

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I've been inside a few Hard Rock locations, but I've never quite grasped the mania so many people have for the establishments. Officials in Kansas City, Kansas, announced today that a combination Hard Rock casino, hotel and nightclub will be built adjacent to the city's racetrack. A quick glance at Hard Rock's music site indicates that their locations present live music only sporadically.

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Kansas City Click: Bobby Watson leads his Live & Learn band tonight at the Blue Room.

I listened to Rapture for the first time in years last night. It still sounds great. Anita Baker will undoubtedly reprise much of that album Saturday night at the Midland by AMC.

The Gem Theater hosts Rich the Factor Sunday. The Kansas City rapper's Bucks Over Fame was supposed to have been released this week, although I'm told that 7th Heaven and Streetside have yet to receive it.

Walter "Wolfman" Washington- Just My Imagination

Imagine it.

Ashford-Simpson. Holland-Dozier-Holland. Whitfield-Strong. Even the names of Motown Record's top songwriting teams seem magical. Norman Whitfield died Tuesday.

Many of Whitfield's songs- including "Ain't Too Proud To Beg," "I Heard It Through the Grapevine" and "Papa Was a Rolling Stone"- are in constant rotation in our culture of aural wallpaper. One of my favorites, Rose Royce's "I Wanna Get Next To You", has been spared from overexposure.

New Orleans blues and soul mainstay Walter "Wolfman" Washington puts a refreshing spin on Whitfield-Strong's "Just My Imagination (Running Away with Me)." Appropriately, he uses the song to remember Little Willie John, Nat "King" Cole and Louis Armstrong. It's from a reissue of a fine 1981 release.

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Deleting MP3s is the new listening to B-sides.

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I seem to miss out on the fun stuff at 7th Heaven. Sliccs Gotcha raps from the roof on this distorted clip.

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I never thought I could tire of M.I.A.'s "Paper Planes," but the 18-month-old hit has been ubiquitous the past couple months.

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Kansas City Click: Ron Block's former bandleader Alison Krauss (along with Robert Plant) will return to Starlight Theater next week. Block picks and grins in the intimate confines of the Mountain Music Shoppe tonight.

Clay: A Review

I've never featured a theatrical production at There Stands the Glass. I'll gladly make an exception for Clay. I caught the "hip hop musical" last weekend at Kansas City's Copaken Stage. After the Kansas City run ends September 28, Clay opens in New York at Lincoln Center's Duke Theater on October 6.

As this is a music blog, I won't rave about the spectacular performance of Matt Sax. I'll only suggest that Clay feels nothing like a one man show.

Familiar songs by Kanye West and Common filled the theater before the lights went down. That's misleading; Clay's actual music content is far different. I suspect the narrative style of The Streets served as the production's creative blueprint. Mike Skinner's "Blinded By the Lights", with its female vocal hooks acting as a Greek chorus, offers a sense of Clay's tone. Eminem's "Stan" might also have served as an inspiration.

I loved everything about Clay save its anti-climatic conclusion. We're led to believe that the protagonist's first single, the song that is destined to propel Clay and his mentor Sir John to stardom, is a radio hit. The song is just not very convincing.

I suggest that Clay's creative team contact Mike Skinner- quick snap!

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Kansas City Click: Tonight's The Beautiful Bodies show at the Beast House sounds like a good time.

Bheki Mseleku, 1955-2008

Farewell.

Bheki Mseleku, one of the most compelling pianists in jazz, died last week. Like fellow South African Abdullah Ibrahim, Mseleku brought new concepts and textures to the music. As his career developed Mseleku became associated with English jazz musicians including Courtney Pine. The saxophonist and several other Englishmen assist Mseleku on Celebration, but "Joy" is propelled by precisely the sort of groove I associate with Marvin "Smitty" Smith, the 1992 date's American drummer.

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Forget my review. You need to see the incredible photos Keith Myers took of Norman Brown and Chante Moore on Saturday night.

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Charlie Walker died Friday. This vintage Walker video will make you smile. (Tip via BGO.)

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Richard Wright of Pink Floyd died today.

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Soul great Marva Whitney posted a blog update over the weekend.

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Kansas City Click: Cut Copy and the Presets will fill the dance floor at the Record Bar tonight.

Two Cow Garage- Your Humble Narrator

Closed book.

Speaking In Cursive, the forthcoming album by Two Cow Garage, is so shockingly good that it's forcing me to reassess the overall health of the alt-country genre.

Between No Depression ceasing print publication and many of the music's best artists following Jeff Tweedy out of the stylistic ghetto, I reckoned the sound was perilously close to receiving a grevious angel's escort to heaven. Yet Speaking In Cursive is no moldy exercise in nostalgia; Two Cow Garage's passionate new songs teem with vitality. I suspect the Ohio band learned a few tricks from the Hold Steady. With the addition of a keyboard player, they now swing as if Guy Clark had hijacked the E Street Band.

Need more? The boys go all helter skelter on a live version of the Beatles' "Don't Let Me Down."

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Thinking of "Galveston"... (I've seen Jimmy Webb perform, but until I uncovered this video, I never realized that his ears are even more enormous than mine.)

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Sakes alive! This tale about partying with Head East is hilarious.

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Kansas City Click: Here's something no other music blogger would write- I'd gladly pay $9.89 to see Puddle of Mudd at the Midland tonight.

Ruben "El Gato Negro" Ramos is Saturday's headliner at Fiesta Hispana.

It's difficult to believe, but Awilo Longomba is supposedly performing Sunday at the Roxy in Overland Park.

(Image from Two Cow Garage's MySpace.)

Irma Thomas- Zero Willpower

Zero sound.

The late career renaissance of Irma Thomas is deeply rewarding for fans of rhythm and blues. Simply Grand, her acclaimed new album, might also provide encouragement to the Marva Whitneys and Ida McBeths of the world. It's possible that their best work may still lie ahead. Thomas' out of print Safe With Me, recorded in 1979, hasn't aged well. This Dan Penn and Spooner Oldham song is probably its best track. Look out for the spoken word bit.

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Forget music- Miles Bonny is a great photographer! The images from his European trip on his blog are incredible. The evocative video for "Miles Gets Open" serves as an excellent primer on Bonny's approach and as a travelogue of downtown Kansas City.

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Am I just resistant to change, or is "Love Lockdown" the worst song of Kanye West's career?

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Kansas City Click: Shawty Lo and an enormous cast of locals- including There Stands the Glass favorite Sliccs Gotcha- are scheduled to appear at Moda Mansion tonight.

New Klezmer Trio- Phrases

Edited out.

My pal BGO suggested that I feature outstanding clarinetist Anat Cohen here at There Stands the Glass. Her intriguing new album was released yesterday. Instead, here's an experimental clarinet showcase by New Klezmer Trio from an obscure collection that also features John Zorn's Masada and the Klezmatics. It's listed for sale here. Fifteen years later, clarinetist Ben Goldberg is an associate of Tin Hat. He makes a racket in this skronky video.

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It's been a full year since I last pledged allegiance to The Driftwood Singers. My favorite music bloggers recently wrote about their cosmic encounters in Room #8.

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The Popper has a basic but captivating video for "It's Like That." It's pure Kansas City.

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Kansas City Click: The Garrett Nordstrom Situation provide the soundtrack at JP Wine Bar tonight.

Adullesence- Something Real

No more reality.

Is Topeka the next hip hop hot spot? I raved about the Kansas capital's Stik Figa three months ago. Now it's Adullesence's turn. "Something Real," one of the tracks on his free download, opens with a deep breath and is anchored by a vintage soul sample. It deserves an audience beyond the state of Kansas. Stik Figa and Adullesence also collaborate under The Only Ones banner.

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I reviewed last night's Motorhead, Misfits and Valient Thorr concert.

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I caught John Mayall and the Bluesbreakers at Knuckleheads on Friday night.

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Kansas City rapper James Christos created a credible video for "Higher (Opus 13)."

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A Grand Don't Come For Free was my favorite album of 2004 but the Streets' subsequent output has disappointed me. I have high hopes for the new release based on the free (tagged) download of "The Escapist" from Vice. The video is almost perfect.

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Harry Dean Stanton plays the role of an obsessive Bob Dylan bootlegger in a new video for Dylan's "Dreamin' of You."

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Kansas City Click: Baltimore's Wye Oak strum at the Record Bar tonight. They're joined by The Expassionates.

(Image from Adullesence's MySpace.)

Chris Connor- Kansas City

No more Kansas City wine.

I usually cringe at every rendition of Leiber and Stoller's "Kansas City." I hear it so often that it's just completely played out for me. The impossibly bright voice of hometown girl Chris Connor, however, adds a refreshing twist to the standard. It doesn't hurt that her accompanyists include Oliver Nelson, Joe Newman and Phil Woods. The 1962 session is included on this outstanding compilation. The eighty-year-old is still among us. Here's live footage from 1995.

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I once harbored a schoolboy crush on the waifish "Ways To Be Wicked"-era Maria McKee. And there's no denying the beauty and commercial instincts of Faith Hill. Last night Sarah Buxton found the sweet spot between the two artists at her enchantingly carefree performance on the Power & Light stage. A photo I took doesn't begin to capture Buxton's charm.

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Kansas City Click: Excellent jazz guitarist Mike Moreno performs at Jardine's tonight.

The Crossroads Music Festival is Saturday.

The VooDoo Lounge offers the dream bill of Motorhead, the Misfits and Airbourne on Sunday.

Grady Tate- Don't Fence Me In

Escaped.

The sad news of Jimmy Cleveland's passing compelled me to review his credits at AllMusic. The trombonist played on hundreds of sessions for artists including Miles, Billie, Monk, Sonny and Dinah. I also spotted a listing for Grady Tate's Windmills of My Mind. The jazz drummer's 1968 album is comparable to the cosmopolitan classics of Lou Rawls and Mel Torme. It's insanely great. The relaxed blues of "T.N.T." is perhaps the album's least memorable song; I selected it because it features Cleveland's bright brass.

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Rich the Factor's contribution to Young Doe's "Flip Flop" is excellent.

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The '70s orientation of yesterday's post made me wonder what happened to Mac Davis. Until I punched it up on YouTube this morning, I hadn't heard this 1972 smash since I was a child. Now I know why- "Girl you're a hot-blooded woman-child/And it's warm where you're touching me." Are you kidding? I'm calling the cops right now!

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Amy Rigby and Wreckless Eric are touring together. Here's their new joint MySpace page.

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Kansas City Click: Country up-and-comer Sarah Buxton sings on the the Power & Light stage tonight.

Jerry Reed, 1937-2008

Farewell.

It should come as no surprise to There Stands the Glass readers to hear I've always been a music nerd. I recall toting a little transistor radio around even before I entered elementary school. Like all kids then and now, I couldn't resist novelty songs. I loved the goofy hits of Ray Stevens, Bobby Bare, Jim Stafford and Jerry Reed. (Heck yeah, I was a country boy.) "Amos Moses" and "When You're Hot, You're Hot" were touchstone songs of my childhood. Of course, there was a lot more to Reed than the cartoonish redneck persona portrayed on "East Bound and Down" and "U.S. Male." "Nervous Breakdown" shows a different side of the talented star. It's on this essential compilation. Reed died Monday.

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It seems so unlikely. Peter Hammill is scheduled to appear at the Cashew on October 4!

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Kansas City Click: I often feel I'm the only pop music fan in the Kansas City area who has yet to swoon over The Republic Tigers' "Buildings & Mountains." Maybe I'll get it if I attend their free show tonight on the Power & Light stage.

Rachael Davis- Fragile

Safe.

I can't imagine not having fun at Kansas City's annual Irish festival. I wrote about the opening night here. I was so taken by Millish that I decided to see what other Michigan artists I might be overlooking. Rachael Davis is one of Millish's top MySpace friends. She's a straightforward folkie who reminds me of the tough but tender work of Iris DeMent and Tish Hinojosa. The simple zen of "Fragile" sold me: "I am not who I would like to be/I'm just who I am right now." Taken from Live In Breman, Germany, "Fragile" is also one of six songs Davis has made available for download at her MySpace. Here's a rough video of a live performance.

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Why aren't you listening to Tech N9ne? My review of Saturday's concert may answer that question.

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Kansas City Click: The Kansas City Ballet performs at 6 p.m. today at Loose Park.

(Image from Davis' MySpace account.)

Waylon Jennings- Just Watch Your Mama and Me

Lights out.

Fred Wickham of alt-country band Hadacol bought Waylon Jennings' old tour bus on eBay. How cool is that! The new issue of the Pitch has a great story about how it happened. I was raised on Honky Tonk Heroes, Ol' Waylon and Wanted! The Outlaws, so I intend to reach out to Fred about getting on that bus. Closing In On the Fire, one of Waylon's last albums, is burdened by too many unfortunate guest appearances to be considered a classic. Yet it does contain several excellent performances, including a definitive cover of the Stones' "No Expectations." Even so, it's this uncharacteristically gentle love song that moves me most. Here's Hadacol covering Waylon at Davey's Uptown.

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I took no pleasure in writing an unflattering review of a Sheryl Crow concert several weeks ago. So I was somewhat relieved to find that her appearance at Invesco Field last night was every bit as tepid.

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Kansas City Click: It's another festival weekend. KC Irish Fest is always wild. Rock the Light offers a different type of celebration at Starlight. This year's Santa-Cali-Gon-Days is awash in cover bands, but country star Lorrie Morgan performs on the main stage Sunday.

Tech N9ne returns to Sandstone Saturday.

Kenny Neal, the subject of the previous post, is at Knuckleheads on Sunday.

Oldies but goodies The Krazy Kats perform Monday afternoon at the Legends shopping district.

Kenny Neal- Let Love Flow

Flowed away.

The son of swamp blues master Raful Neal, Kenny Neal obviously knows his blues history.

Echoes of Solomon Burke, Little Milton and Bobby "Blue" Bland abound on Let Life Flow. Too often, however, the production of the new release evokes the meticulously processed style of post-Nick of Time Bonnie Raitt.

The Slim Harpo-style shuffle of "Starlight Diamond" is typical. The performance is solid, but the woozy grit that makes Harpo's hits so wonderful is entirely absent. Still, Let Life Flow contains flashes of brilliance. "You've Got To Hurt Before You Heal," for example, shares the hard-won conviction of the Band's best ballads.

The 50-year-old's distinctive voice, remarkable musicianship and inspired songwriting could have combined to create a great album. As a result of its smooth production, however, Let Life Flow is merely good.

Something tells me that the cautious sheen of Let Life Flow evaporates on Neal's current tour. He's in Chicago on Friday, St. Louis on Saturday and at Kansas City's Knuckleheads on Sunday. And get this- he plays Moscow in September- Russia, not Idaho.

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Did you catch Leavenworth native Melissa Etheridge's medley of "God Bless America"/"The Times They Are A-Changin'"/"Give Peace a Chance"/"Born In the U.S.A." last night? It made for good music, but I'm not sure if it translates into solid political policy...

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Here's a decent video documenting the best moment of Bruce Springsteen's Kansas City show. The same bootlegger also posted a nice compilation of Sunday's concert.

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Kansas City Click: I need a miracle! Bob Dylan is at the Uptown Theater tonight and I don't have a ticket.

Phil Guy, 1940-2008

Farewell.

On 1999's Say What You Mean, Phil Guy laments that "I'm the last of the blues singers- everyone else is gone." If the situation was bleak then, it just got worse. Guy died August 20. Comparisons to his brother Buddy are inevitable. On this fine disc, Phil sounds rawer and more down to earth than Buddy. I'm not a fan of counterproductive slaps at other forms of music ("This here rap music, Lord it ain't no song"), but Guy's uncompromising attitude is representative of his tough, burly music. This vital footage from Theresa's Lounge is essential viewing for blues fans.

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Hard core rhythm and blues fans in Kansas City will face a dilemma on October 8. Tina Turner is at the Sprint Center and Nikka Costa is at The Record Bar. I'm one of the guys who loses sleep wondering why Costa isn't already today's Tina Turner, or at least a Lenny Kravitz or a Joan Osborne. Maybe part of the problem is that the best Costa video on YouTube is a thirty-second commercial for the Gap.

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Kansas City Click: Victory Records' 1997 headline at the Main Street Cafe.

Sliccs Gotcha- Off Da Chain

Escaped.

Just try getting this hook out of your head. With a few minor tweaks, "Off Da Chain," available as a free download at Sliccs Gotcha's MySpace, could break out of Kansas City to become a national hit. Additional material is available at Sliccs Gotcha's site. And this no budget video has a certain homemade charm.

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I really shouldn't tease Sliccs Gotcha about his video; I didn't even bother editing the footage I shot at yesterday's Charlie Parker memorial service.

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Bruce Springsteen reads There Stands the Glass! He fulfilled the request I made in the previous post by playing "4th of July, Asbury Park (Sandy)" last night. He last performed the song on July 15. It was one of only a handful of selections that really connected with me. The others were "Out In the Street," "Candy's Room" and "Devils & Dust." I love you, Bruce, but I'm kind of disappointed by last night's middling concert.

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I caught Bernard Allison, Shemekia Copeland and Tommy Castro at the Roots Festival in Paola, Kansas, on Friday night. Here's my review.

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Kansas City Click: The Jazz Disciples lead a jam session at the Blue Room tonight.

(Image from Sliccs Gotcha's MySpace.)

Norma Jenkins- Me Myself and I

All alone.

I understand that the E Street Band is fielding requests on their current tour. So how about it, fellas- could you play this Norma Jenkins nugget for me Sunday night? "Me Myself and I" is sort of a scuffed-up reworking of "Tears of a Clown." It's just one of 24 absolutely indispensable songs on this compilation of vintage soul from the Carnival label.

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My most recent musical epiphany arrived earlier this week when I heard this version of Louis Vierne's "Toccata" as I was surrounded by wheat fields.

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Kansas City Click: Lisa Henry sings at the Blue Room tonight.

Saturday's Soul Food Festival at Parade Park features Silk, Troop, Angela Winbush, Ronnie Laws, Dru Hill and the eternal Bar-Kays.

Do you suppose I'll hear my favorite Bruce Springsteen song at the Sprint Center Sunday?

Review: Ice Cube's Raw Footage

Ice Cube- "Do Ya Thang" (video stream)

Ice Cube suggests that he might run for President on Raw Footage. The lyrical content of his new release suggests that he'd be an ideal candidate for the Libertarian Party.

He promotes self-reliance ("don't let your m*therf*cking talent go to waste"), encourages a strong work ethic ("man up"), decries the failed educational system ("they trying to dumb us down"), lobbies for free speech, mocks rampant materialism, rails against pointless black-on-black violence, mocks the established African American power structure and questions the motivation of younger rappers.

In short, he sounds like a cranky, short-tempered reactionary. Raw Footage is the gangsta rap equivalent of "Get off my lawn, you damn kids!" And I respect Ice Cube all the more for it.

The focus is squarely on the veteran's booming delivery; Ice Cube's authoritative flow is second only to Chuck D's. Raw Footage may not be Straight Outta Compton, but my generational affinity with Ice Cube contributes to my deep affection for the release.

(Don't let the video mislead you; "Do Ya Thang" is perhaps Raw Footage's weakest track.)

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Similarly, Tim Finn composed a remarkable essay about the relationship between aging and rock'n'roll.

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Kansas City Click: The North Vs. South Music Festival begins tonight.