Deep Cover

There’s a right way and a wrong way to make an album of cover songs.  Nikka Costa takes the proper approach on the stellar Nikka & Strings: Underneath and In Between.  The unconventional arrangements and unusual instrumentation demonstrate Costa’s healthy irreverence on selections like Prince’s ”Nothing Compares 2 U”.  Her leisurely version of  “Stormy Weather” makes a case for Costa as Etta James’ most worthy heir.  Conversely, Douyé’s impeccably tasteful interpretations of standards like “In a Sentimental Mood” on Daddy Said So are infuriatingly stale.  The inability of elite jazz musicians like Kenny Barron, Ron Carter and Jeremy Pelt to lift the project out of the doldrums makes the effort even more frustrating.  The reactionary conservatism of Daddy Said So sounds like the supper club of my nightmares.


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I reviewed a concert by Iron Maiden and Ghost on Tuesday.

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I reviewed Monday’s outing by DJ Shadow at the Madrid Theatre.

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OneRepublic’s concert at the Sprint Center on Friday was one of my favorite shows of 2017.  No joke.  I reviewed the concert for The Kansas City Star.

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I discussed the Kansas City jazz fusion musician Blair Bryant on KCUR last week.  I inflicted Mike Dillon on listeners of the NPR affiliate earlier today.

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I write weekly concert previews for The Kansas City Star.

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I consider Steve Lambert’s new album Seven Stories at Plastic Sax.

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Lord have mercy.  Pokey Bear’s ”Can’t Be Faithful” is a strong contender for my favorite song of 2017.

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21 Savage’s Issa is so bad that it's good. "FaceTime" is among the tracks that are both brilliantly awful and awfully brilliant.

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I love everything about Riverside’s The New National Anthem.  The project overseen by trumpeter Dave Douglas is RIYL Carla Bley, brilliant fun, Old and New Dreams.

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Shredders, a reshuffling of the Doomtree crew, is invigorating.  RIYL: P.O.S, feeling Minnesota, Sims.

(Original image by There Stands the Glass.)

Funky Céilí

I planned on spending all day at the KC Irish Fest when I forked over $18 to gain admission to the popular event on Saturday.  Succumbing to crankiness rooted in heat and sobriety, I left after just a few hours.

A solo set by Larry Kirwan of Black 47 was the highlight of my experience.  His strident political songs were balanced by old favorites like “40 Shades of Blue” and the minor 1991 hit "Funky Céilí (Bridie's Song)".

Only one of the five additional performances I witnessed is worth mentioning.   Kiana Weber, the fiddler of Gaelic Storm, led a session titled Transatlantic Unplugged with Kiana.  The largely acoustic jam included guests from the festival’s top acts such as Socks in the Frying Pan, We Banjos 3, the Elders and Flashpoint. 

The lively collaborations provided a nice survey of everything I wasn’t willing to stick around to hear.


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I write weekly music previews for The Kansas City Star.

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I previewed Lee “Scratch” Perry’s show at the Riot Room for Ink.

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I reviewed Michael Pagán’s The Ottawa Sesions album at Plastic Sax.

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Rico Rodriguez has died.

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Ruby Amanfu’s Standing Still is the best Chris Isaak album I’ve heard in years.  I’m down with anyone who covers both Bob Dylan and Kanye West.  Her interpretation of the Wilco/Bragg/Guthrie gem “One By One” is magnificent.  Here’s a nice interview/performance video.

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I purchased a batch of Bryan Ferry solo albums as cutouts in the early ‘80s.  The posh atmosphere of those elegant recordings was foreign to me.  I still can’t relate more than 30 years later.  Although Dan Bejar doesn’t have much of a voice, Destroyer’s Poison Season reminds me of those Ferry albums.  RIYL: Belle and Sebastian, ennui, Gerry Rafferty.

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Skullduggery, a 2014 collaboration between Joe McPhee and Universal Indian, is a treat.  RIYL: Albert Ayler, skronk, Archie Shepp.

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Myrkur’s M has a lot of great moments.  RIYL: Trio Mediaeval, angels and demons, Celtic Frost.

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Much of Ghost B.C.’s Meloria sounds more like the Moody Blues than Black Sabbath.  Not my thing.

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Fidlar’s Too is just as engaging as the skeezy punk band’s first album.  RIYL: Blink-182, intoxicants, Dead Milkmen.  Here’s ”West Coast”.

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I have only one thing to say about Motörhead’s Bad Magic album.

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Jacob Fred Jazz Odyssey’s The Battle For Earth is RIYL: Augustus Pablo, freaky jamz, Galactic.  Here’s ”Appropriation Song”.

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George Clinton and affiliates like Bootsy Collins sounded cool when they rambled about the cosmic virtues of funk in the 1970s.  When Dâm-Funk and his cohorts do the same on his new album Invite the Light, they comes across as dorks.  Invite the Light is really good when no one’s talking or singing. RIYL: 1975, Junie Morrison, funkateers.

(Original image of the Dublin band Tupelo at the KC Irish Fest by There Stands the Glass.)