Fun House

There’s a scene in a post-apocalyptic movie in which a solitary survivor watches a film of a rock concert in an abandoned theater.  The document of carefree hedonism makes his stark reality seem even bleaker.  That’s how I feel when I listen to Live at Goose Lake: August 8, 1970  The recently released lo-fi document of an infamous set by the Stooges at a Michigan rock festival may as well emanate from a different universe.  

The correlation between the fictional end of the world and today’s pandemic is all-too obvious.  As in the movie, the prospect of another massive music festival seems remote.  But it's not just the coronavirus.  The idea of 200,000 people congregating to hear bands with guitars play rock and roll is ludicrous.  That’s probably never going to happen again in North America.

The Stooges’ outmoded style is made even more obsolete by the honking of Steve Mackay’s saxophone.  The unconventional instrumentation makes Iggy Pop’s berserk interjections even funnier.  The backstory of the essential- albeit superannuated- release on Third Man Records is fascinating.

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I review Brian Scarborough’s fine new album Sunflower Song at Plastic Sax.

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Opera update: I’m up to 143 operas in 142 days.  Danielle de Niese’s breakout performance in Glyndebourne’s 2005 production of Handel’s “Giulio Cesare” provided four of the most entertaining hours of my quarantine.  The free stream is available for three more days.  And all self-respecting Kansas Citians- as well as history-minded feminists- should want to see the Metropolitan Museum of Art's imaginative staging of Virgil Thomson’s “The Mother of Us All."

(Horrifying original image of Detroit Rock City 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.)