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.)

Review: The Owen/Cox Dance Company's "A Body of Work"

As the rest of an audience of about 100 watched five athletic dancers at La Esquina on Sunday, October 5, I studied Brad Cox as he manipulated sound at the back of the room.  I have nothing against ballet, but Cox's stunning score for The Owen/Cox Dance Group's production "A Body of Work" demanded my full attention.  Using a combination of prerecorded backing tracks, ambient beats derived from the dancers' movements, a drum machine and the live vocals of Victoria Botero, Cox crafted a compelling soundscape.  Additional percussion emanating from four hanging columns and a quadrophonic mix made the experience even more dizzying.  Cox's exceptional performance was a civilized version of the futuristic work of groundbreaking acts like Marijuana Deathsquads.


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I reviewed Tuesday's concert by Gaslight Anthem, Against Me! and Cory Branan.

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The Kronos Quartet's performance at Helzberg Hall floored me on Saturday. 

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Ikey Owens of Mars Volta has died.  Owens recently produced Various Blonde's Summer High album.

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John Holt of the Paragons has died.

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Here's a video tour of the Vinyl Underground at 7th Heaven.

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Local Customs: Cavern Sound, a compilation of forgotten bands from Independence, will be released this week.  The only name that rings a bell is Morningstar, a band I hadn't thought about in at least 25 years.

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Iceage's Plowing Into the Field of Love is shockingly raw.  RIYL: The Fall, drunken stupors, the Birthday Party.  Here's "How Many".

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The video for Bonnie 'Prince' Billy's "Quail and Dumplings" is almost as good as the song.

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It's not fair to Vince Staples, but almost all I could think about as I listened to Hell Can Wait was how much I still love Earl Sweatshirt's Doris.  RIYL: OFWGKTA, Los Angeles, the Cool Kids.

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On Worker, the latest studio album by Jacob Fred Jazz Odyssey, the Oklahoma band veers into electronic territory.  RIYL: Soulive, acting on impulses, Galactic.

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SZA's fine new album Z is RIYL: Sade, slow motion, Frank Ocean.  "Babylon" is the best track.

(Original image by There Stands the Glass.)

Opry Lament

The Grand Ole Opry took a lot of my money in the 1990s.  I felt like a doofus every time I joined the throngs of tourists for the Opry's cheesy skits in the soulless environs of the Opryland Hotel complex.  Yet those were the only times I saw legends including Roy Acuff, Little Jimmy Dickens, Jack Greene, Jimmy C. Newman, Johnny Russell, Hank Snow and Porter Wagoner perform.  Newman died on June 21.  Here's scratchy old footage of "Alligator Man."


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I reviewed Monday's concert by Peter Murphy, Ringo Deathstarr and Cinemaphonic.

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Why isn't Charlie Hunter a star?  Hunter and Jacob Fred Jazz Odyssey performed at the Brick last Thursday.  Here's my review.

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"Hometown", a collabo between Kansas City's Skiem Hiem and Oakland's the Jacka, may be the definitive Kansas City music video of 2014.

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Stik Figa represents Topeka in the video for "Knowhere."

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Take me to the river.  Mabon "Teenie" Hodges has died.

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I comment on the late Horace Silver's connection to Kansas City here. 

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Gerry Goffin has died.

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I adore songs about God, Satan and Elvis.  Nick Cave's performance at the Midland on Wednesday, consequently, made me deliriously happy.  Tim Finn reviewed the show.

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I would pay good money to watch a comment reconstruction depicting the moronic chatter attached to a video of T.I. and Iggy Azalea's "No Mediocre".

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A lot of critics are hailing Willie Nelson's Band of Brothers as a comeback album.  Longtime readers of There Stands the Glass know that I'm quite fond of many of his recent releases.  Band of Brothers is merely adequate.  Here's the video for the title track.

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The Roots' …and then you shoot your cousin is a strange album. RIYL: N.E.R.D, middle age, De La Soul.

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"Release your wiggle!"  Big Freedia's Just Be Free is RIYL: 5th Ward Weebie, New Orleans, Sissy Nobby.

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José James' No Beginning, No End was my #5 album in 2013.  I have yet to make up my mind about his new While You Were Sleeping.  RIYL: Roy Ayers, risk takers, War.

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Because I've long admired Ian McLagan, I'm predisposed to love everything about his (average) new album. United States is RIYL: pubs, the Faces, taverns.

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Joshua Redman's Trios Live is fire.  RIYL: Sonny Rollins, live albums, James Carter.

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Raise your hand if you've been waiting decades for Jonathan Richman to quit goofing around and finally make another album in the vein of the Modern Lovers.  The members of Parquet Courts have taken matters into their own hands.  Sunbathing Animal is RIYL: Lou Reed, wondering what happened to Jonathan Richman, Pavement.

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Die Antwoord's transgressive Donker Mag is surely a sign of end times.  RIYL: Rob Zombie, drone strikes, 2 Live Crew.

(Original image by There Stands the Glass.)