July Recap

Top Five Performances
1. Khalid- Sprint Center
(My review.)
2. Ehud Ettun and Henrique Eisenmann- 1900 Building
(My review.)
3. Alessia Cara- Sprint Center
(My review.)
4. Gov’t Mule- Crossroads KC
(My Instagram clip.)
5. Ryan Keberle & Catharsis- National World War I Museum and Memorial
(My review.)


Top Five Albums
1. Laura Jurd- Stepping Back, Jumping In
The British whiz kid can do no wrong.
2. Avery R. Young- Tubman.
Good news from Chicago.
3. J. Cole and Dreamville- Revenge of the Dreamers III
Number one with a rubber bullet.
4. Torche- Admission
Coerced confessions.
5. Elew- Cubism
Kurt Rosenwinkel’s compositions stripped bare.


Top Five Songs
1. Beyoncé- “Spirit”
Luxury brand pop.
2. A$AP Ferg- “Floor Seats”
Front row.
3. Volbeat- “Pelvis on Fire”
Goofing on Elvis.
4. Miranda Lambert- “It All Comes Out in the Wash”
So fresh and so clean, clean.
5. Willow- “Time Machine”
Kate Bush meets Future.


I conducted the same exercise in June, May, April, March, February and January.

(Original image of Gov’t Mule by There Stands the Glass.)

Album Review: Youngblood Supercult- The Great American Death Rattle

When a friend recently informed me that the Topeka based Youngblood Supercult had been added to the lineup of Psycho Las Vegas, a festival headlined by the Brian Jonestown Massacre, King Diamond and Mastodon, he and I marveled at the stoner-rock band's low profile in its home market.  The lo-fi sludge of 151-proof songs like “Wormwood” on the new album The Great American Death Rattle effectively recycle the best bits of early Soundgarden, Fu Manchu and Clutch.  Even though the quartet has yet to make much of an impression in Kansas City, Youngblood Supercult is one of the mightiest bands in the Midwest.


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I reviewed a concert by Marco Antonio Solis and Jesse & Joy.

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I featured jazz bassist Micah Herman on my weekly KCUR segment.

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I write weekly concert previews for The Kansas City Star.

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I trespassed on a rarifed jazz salon last week.

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Sonny Burgess has died.

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I claimed Sargasso Sea, my introduction to the music of John Abercrombie, from a discount bin at Classical Westport in the late ‘70s.  I haven’t been the same since. Abercrombie died on Tuesday.

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I’m embarrassed for almost everyone associated with the utterly dismal Rich the Factor Presents KC’s the Town Compilation.

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I like A$AP Ferg’s crossover hits more than his club bangers.  Although it sounds like a million bucks, Still Striving is a street album. Here’s ”East Coast Remix”.

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Acoustic Classics II, a new set of re-recordings, is an ideal introduction to the cult of Richard Thompson.

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Three or four songs on Not Dark Yet, a collaboration between sisters Allison Moorer and Shelby Lynne, please me.

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Even though Yelena Eckemoff is accompanied by jazz luminaries including Chris Potter on In the Shadow of a Cloud, the album is less satisfying than Blooming Tall Phlox, the astounding January release she recorded with relatively obscure Finnish musicians.

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Eddie Palmieri’s music has infused me with joy for decades.  Sabiduria is no different.  RIYL: Willie Bobo, life, Tito Puente.

(Original image by There Stands the Glass.)

This Is a God Dream: Music Midway in 2016

I’ll share my enthusiasm for the best music released so far in 2016 on KCUR’s Up To Date program on Friday, June 17.  The following lists of my favorite albums, songs and performances will provide my detractors with fresh ammunition.  I hope that that everyone else will make a few gratifying discoveries.


Top Albums
Even though it’s Kanye West’s weakest album, The Life of Pablo is a revelation.  (Spotify playlist.)

1. Kanye West- The Life of Pablo
2. Chance the Rapper- Coloring Book
3. David Murray, Geri Allen and Terri Lyne Carrington- Perfection
4. Logan Richardson- Shift
5. Savages- Adore Life
6. Hélène Grimaud- Water
7. David Bowie- Blackstar
8. Allison Miller’s Boom Tic Boom- Otis Was a Polar Bear
9. Walker Family Singers- Panola County Spirit
10. Kendrick Lamar- Untitled Unmastered

11. Willie Nelson- Summertime: Willie Nelson Sings Gershwin
12. Exmortus- Drive Forth
13. Adrian Younge- Something About April II
14. Volbeat- Seal the Deal & Let’s Boogie
15. Céu- Tropix
16. Pat Metheny Unity Band- The Unity Sessions
17. Charles Lloyd & the Marvels- I Long To See You
18. Lecrae- Church Clothes 3
19. Conflicts- The North Slope
20. A$AP Ferg- Always Strive and Prosper

21. Anthony Hamilton- What I’m Feelin’
22. BJ the Chicago Kid- In My Mind
23. Psychic Heat- Sunshower
24. Babymetal- Metal Resistance
25. Kevin Gates- Islah


Top Songs
Chance Bennett has been reading my mind.  (Spotify playlist.)

1. Chance the Rapper- “Same Drugs”
2. Anderson Paak- “Come Down”
3. Parker Millsap- “Heaven Sent”
4. Kanye West- “Ultralight Beam”
5. Tedeschi Trucks Band- “Anyhow”
6. BJ the Chicago Kid- “Church”
7. Agoraphobic Nosebleed- “Not a Daughter”
8. Krizz Kaliko- “Didn’t Wanna Wake You”
9. Boosie Badazz- “Cancer”
10. Steve Gunn- “Ancient Jules”

11. Anthony Hamilton- “Ain’t No Shame”
12. A$AP Ferg- “Strive”
13. Regina Belle- “He’s Alright”
14. Macklemore & Ryan Lewis- “Bolo Tie”
15. Mount Moriah- “Precita”
16. Deftones- “Doomed User”
17. Margo Price- “Hurtin’ (On the Bottle)”
18. Rihanna- “Love On the Brain”
19. Keys N Krates featuring Ouici- “Love Again”
20. The Philistines- “Radiation Drive”

21. French Montana, Kanye West and Nas- “Figure It Out”
22. Kvelertak- “1985”
23. Carrie Rodriguez- “Z”
24. Sturgill Simpson- “Breakers Roar”
25. Josh Hoyer and Soul Colossal- “Parts of a Man”


Top Shows
I've attended about 200 individual performances since January 1.

1. Lee Fields and the Expressions- The Granada
2. Bruce Springsteen and the E Street Band- Sprint Center
3. Exmortus- Aftershock
4. Florence + The Machine- Providence Medical Amphitheater
5. Tortoise- The Granada
6. The Who- Sprint Center
7. Lamb of God- The Midland
8. Christian McBride Trio- Folly Theater
9. Goddamn Gallows- Riot Room patio
10. Be/Non- Scottish Rite Temple

11. Maarja Nuut- Westin Kansas City at Crown Center
12. Tedeschi Trucks Band- The Midland
13.  Logan Richardson- Blue Room
14.  Dwight Yoakam- Uptown Theater
15.  UFO- VooDoo
16.  Pablo Ziegler and the Quartet for New Tango- Polsky Theatre
17.  Les Arts Florissant- Helzberg Hall
18.  Fantasia- Starlight Theatre
19.  Roy Ayers- Blue Room
20. Matt Villinger- Orion Room at the Green Lady Lounge

21. Ebony Tusks- The Midland
22. Avant- Uptown Theater
23. Group of the Altos- The Brick
24. Midori with the Kansas City Symphony- Helzberg Hall
25. R. Kelly- Sprint Center

Top Five Opening Acts
1. A$AP Ferg, for G-Eazy- The Midland
2. Tombs, for 1349- Riot Room
3. Deafheaven, for Lamb of God- The Midland
4. OMD, for Barenaked Ladies- Starlight Theatre
5. Elle King, for Vance Joy- The Midland

(Original image of my 38th favorite performance of 2016- the Calamity Cubes at the Riot Room patio- by There Stands the Glass.)

Concert Review: Les Arts Florissants at Helzberg Hall

I couldn’t afford not to go to the Les Arts Florissants concert at Helzberg Hall last Saturday.  The 80% discount the presenter offered to everyone on its mailing list reduced the price of the ticket I purchased in the back row of the room to $4. 

At that absurdly low sum, I was willing to bail at intermission if the show wasn’t entertaining.  Rather than finding Les Arts Florissants tiresome, I wished that the vocal and instrumental ensemble that specializes in playing baroque music on period instruments would have performed all night.

An exceedingly sober review of the concert bears the headline “Consistency, grace, good taste.”  Those words don’t reflect my reaction to the presentation.  I’d go with “Sexy, steamy, fun” instead.  Vintage footage of a Les Arts Florissants show captures only a bit of the ensemble’s sultry side that enthralled this bargain-hunter on Saturday.


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I reviewed a concert by the Tedeschi Trucks Band.

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I reviewed a concert by Magic Man, the Griswolds and Panama Wedding.

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My friends don’t call me Rain Man for nothing.  My stilted commentary is featured in an audio review of Logan Richardson’s Shift that was aired by KCUR on Wednesday.

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I chatted about Duncan Burnett with Steve Kraske on KCUR last week.

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I wrote an extended concert preview about the Arcs.

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I wrote an extended show preview for R. Kelly’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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Lonnie Mack has died.

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Billy Paul has died.

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Papa Wemba has died.

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The Kansas City band Making Movies created a video for “Ready For the Rain.”

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Nihil Novi, the wonderful album by Marcus Strickland’s Twi-Life, is a post-Kamasi Washington, post-Robert Glasper project.  RIYL: Randy Weston, groovin’, Meshell Ndegeocello.  The 15-minute album trailer contains a few interesting insights.

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Most of Mind of Mine, the solo debut album by former One Direction member Zayn Malik, is an unabashed homage to R. Kelly.  In other words, it’s pretty good.  Here’s ”Befour”.

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George Coleman’s A Master Speaks is a treat.  RIYL: octogenarians, Jackie McLean, standards.

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The press release for the Yellowjackets’ Cohearence suggests that the band offers a “modern take on Weather Report.”  If by “modern” the publicist meant “watered down,” the assertion is spot-on.  And I’m not even going to pretend that I’m too cool for sophisticated elevator music.  The Yellowjackets are one of my favorite contemporary jazz groups.

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Levitation Room’s Ethos is an almost perfect neo-garage-rock album.  RIYL: The Electric Prunes, “Pushin’ Too Hard,” the Pretty Things.

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Allison Miller’s Boom Tic Boom- Otis Was a Polar Bear is delightful.  RIYL: Jenny Scheinman, giving the drummer some, Myra Melford.  Here’s a promotional video.

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A$AP Ferg’s Always Strive and Prosper is immensely entertaining.  RIYL: Wu-Tang Clan, glossy production, Danny Brown’s XXX.  The uplifting ”Strive” may be my favorite song of 2016.

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Black Stone Cherry’s Kentucky is RIYL: Lynyrd Skynyrd, boogie, Kid Rock.  Here’s “Soul Machine”.

(Original image of a facade in Kansas City’s jazz district by There Stands the Glass.)

Album Review: Exmortus- Ride Forth

The cover art is ridiculous, the guitar solos are garish, the vocals are generic and the production is flat.  I adore Exmortus’ Ride Forth anyway.  The band's standard-issue metallic riffing scratches one of my recurring itches.  ”For the Horde” is exactly what I need to get me through this dark month.


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I reviewed G-Eazy's sold-out concert at the Midland theater.

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I featured Jay McShann in an episode of KCUR’s weekly Local Listen and reviewed a centennial birthday concert in his honor.

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I can’t keep up with the spate of notable deaths.  The careers of Phil Everly, Paul Bley, Long John Hunter, Pierre Boulez, Clarence “Blowfly” Reid, Red Simpson and Glenn Frey may or may not be examined in this space in the weeks to come.

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As the first genuine soul man to drip sweat on me while I was on a dance floor, Otis Clay had a more profound impact on me than any of the men listed in the item above.  I first saw him pour it all out at a blues club in Chicago in the 1980s.  I also recall the late George Myers, a co-owner of the Grand Emporium, playfully delivering a nickel and a nail to the stage of his bar during a Clay performance.  Clay died on January 8.  Here’s footage from Soul Train.

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I asked McClain Johnson an “uncomfortable question” after I heard 3,000 white kids yell a racial epithet during A$AP Ferg’s performance at the Midland.  Here’s his response.

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Blackstar is solid.  Had David Bowie released the album a month earlier, Blackstar would have ranked #15 on my Best Albums of 2015 list.

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Charles Lloyd & the Marvels’ I Long To See You is dreamy.  RIYL: Bill Frisell, folk-jazz, Greg Leisz.

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Halsey’s excruciating ”New Americana” makes me want to summarily dismiss her entire generation.

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Bill Stewart’s Space Squid is RIYL: Seamus Blake, modal jazz, Paul Motian.

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Charles Bradley’s cover of Black Sabbath’s ”Changes” is a revelation.

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I’ll gladly buy a ticket to see Hinds perform, but I’ve already heard all the sounds on Leave Me Alone too many times.  RIYL: The Blake Babies, enthusiasm, Burger Records.

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The Spirio Sessions, a virtual piano duet between Uri Caine and Jenny Lin, is RIYL third stream, Keith Jarrett, high concept.

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I may grow to love the album, but my initial reaction to Anderson Paak’s Malibu is that it’s precisely one-third as good as To Pimp a Butterfly.  Here’s ”Come Down”.

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Why didn’t any of you jerks tell me about Judith Hill’s Prince-produced 2015 album Back In Time?  I would have missed the fine R&B project entirely had the bots at Spotify not insisted that I hear it.  Here’s ”Cry Cry Cry”. RIYL: Etta James, Prince media blackout, Alicia Keys.

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Moments on Baaba Maal’s wildly inconsistent The Traveller are rapturously beautiful.  RIYL: Salif Keita, production tricks, Peter Gabriel.

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I’m not disappointed that Esperanza Spalding has turned to psychedelic funk-rock. Instead, I’m disappointed that she’s turned to pedestrian psychedelic funk-rock.

(Original image by There Stands the Glass.)

Album Review: Vieux Farka Touré- Mon Pays

Vieux Farka Touré has served as my mental health counselor for the past ten days.  It's my understanding that his new album Mon Pays addresses the horrors afflicting his native Mali, but the album has consoled me as I struggle with my decidedly less dramatic personal issues.  The rapturously beautiful album lacks the startling "new thing" element that characterized his father Ali Farka Touré's crossover albums in the 1990s.  Yet Mon Pays' sense of familiarity brings me comfort.  Blessed relief is just a click away.

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Tim Finn wrote a remembrance of Abigail Henderson.

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Sathima Bea Benjamin has died.

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ReJoyce, a new Joyce DiDonato compilation, contains six previously-unreleased tracks.

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I reviewed Harold O'Neal's Man On the Street album at Plastic Sax.

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I recently stumbled across Dereck Higgins talking about the French label BYG Actuel on his YouTube channel.  I love everything about this guy.

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Kentucky Knife Fight's Hush Hush is RIYL: The Hold Steady, Lucero, Vic Chesnutt. 

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A$AP Ferg's Trap Lord is as harrowing as Mon Pays is comforting.

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The EPK for Linda Oh's Sun Pictures reflects the album's charms.  RIYL: Kurt Rosenwinkel, Matt Wilson, Todd Clouser.

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Light In the Attic is releasing a massive box set of material originally released by Lee Hazelwood Industries.

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Here's footage of Steve Coleman's Five Elements tearing it up.

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Four Fists is a new collaboration between P.O.S and Astronautalis.  RIYL: TV On the Radio, Nine Inch Nails, Beck.

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The trailer for Narco Cultura is fantastic.

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This week's new releases of interest to There Stands the Glass include Tamar Braxton, Richard Buckner, Neko Case, Joyce DiDonato, Dave Holland's Prism (here's a fusion-tastic sample), Jaheim, King Khan & The Shrines, Kreator, John Legend, Glenn Lewis, Nine Inch Nails, North Mississippi Allstars, Okkervil River, Raheem DeVaughn, a collaboration between Julian Lage and Fred Hersch, a new version of Verdi's Requiem and the Numero Group's Forte compilation.

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Kansas City Click: My official picks are published here.

(Original image by There Stands the Glass.)