Concert Review: Gingger Shankar at Polsky Theatre

Gingger Shankar’s intriguing appearance at Polsky Theatre on Saturday was intended to illuminate the underappreciated artistry of her mother and grandmother, but the multimedia concert raised more questions than it answered.

A short documentary narrated by Shankar, her performance with multi-instrumentalist Vivek Maddala and drummer Carlo Ribaux and a question-and-answer session left me more confused than ever about the family trees and music of the Shankar and Subramaniam clans.   I sense that Shankar told the audience of about 200 only one side of a very complicated story.

Yeah, but what about the music?  The most interesting bits featured the prerecorded voice of Shankar's mother (the provenance of the source material was hazy) accompanied by the sort of crossover fusion once associated with L. Subramaniam (the man I thought was Shankar’s father until Saturday’s presentation clouded my understanding).


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I reviewed Elle King’s return to the Midland theater.

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I reviewed a concert by Purity Ring and Health.

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I write weekly music previews for The Kansas City Star and Ink magazine.

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I discussed Berwanger on KCUR last week.

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I wrote an extended preview of Sturgill Simpson’s appearance at the Midland theater for The Kansas City Star and Ink magazine.

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Lecrae’s bravely existential “Can’t Stop Me Now” could kill his career as a Christian rapper.

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Donny McCaslin’s Beyond Now is an essential companion to David Bowie’s Blackstar.   The least appealing moments of the daring album remind me Sting’s work with Branford Marsalis, but much of Beyond Now is precisely the sort of fusion I dream about.

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Jah Wobble is a gem.

(Original images by There Stands the Glass.)

The Kendrick Conundrum

Where in tarnation is my album of the year?  I've found plenty to like but little to love among the hundreds of albums I've heard in 2014.  (Perhaps my lack of focus plays a role in this conundrum.)  I prefer the top seven titles in my year-end 2013 list in the column to the right to anything I've encountered during the past nine months.  Where's the stuff that turns my world upside down?  Kendrick Lamar's disappointing new song "i" sent me into panic mode.  C'mon Kanye.

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I reviewed concerts by Spoon and Living Colour.

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Here's the video for Josh Berwanger's "Enemies".

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Kenny Wheeler has died.

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George Hamilton IV, a staple of the Opry, has died.

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Highway Robbery, the new album by Freeway and the Jacka, is RIYL: J. Stalin, thug life, Messy Marv. The Real Rick Ross and Freddie Gibbs are in the video for "Cherry Pie".

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Jerry Douglas, Rob Ickes and the late Mike Auldridge sound great on The Three Bells.  RIY:: dobro, Gene Wooten, pickin' and grinnin'. 

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Goat's formula- equal parts the Doors, the Velvet Underground, Tinariwen and Toumani Diabaté- is irresistible on Commune.

(Original image by There Stands the Glass.)

Surface Noise at Ink's Middle of the Map Fest

I don't share the musical sensibilities of the organizers of Ink's Middle of the Map Fest.  That doesn't mean that I couldn't find plenty to enjoy last weekend.  I caught at least two sets at each of the event's six stages in the 17 hours I logged at the festival.  All of my favorite performances, however, took place at the Riot Room.  Here's the top five:

• Wolf Eyes- searing noise
• Reggie and the Full Effect- a glorious mess
• Bummer- Olathe grunge
• Shabazz Palaces- interstellar hip-hop
• Josh Berwanger Band- Kansas power-pop

Some of my commentary is incorporated into reports here and here.


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Your Friend's session for KJHK at the KU Natural History Museum is impressive. 

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I ponder Mike Dillon's Band of Outsiders at Plastic Sax.

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Wayne Henderson of the Jazz Crusaders has died.

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Atmosphere's "Kanye West" is a bit disappointing.

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The European piano trio Phronesis is doing interesting things.

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Dave Koz's rendition of the "Game of Thrones" theme has gone viral.

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B.B. King's performances continue to deteriorate.

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Kansas City Click: My official picks are published here.

(Original image of James Dewees by There Stands the Glass.)

Concert Review: Marijuana Deathsquads and Lizzo at the RecordBar

I want to join Marijuana Deathsquads.  The noise collective's thrilling performance Monday night at the RecordBar  gave me a sensation I haven't felt in years- I longed to make music with the musicians on stage.

Marijuana Deathsquads' presentation looked more like an industrious meth lab than a performance.  As two drummers kicked up dust, four guys hunched over laptops, mixers and other gadgets.  It was a bit like this, only darker, dirtier and much louder. 

There were only about 50 people in the RecordBar when Marijuana Deathsquads began its assault.  The room cleared quickly.  About 15 fans had the fortitude to withstand the band's overwhelming "Ewok Sadness", a sound which is somewhat akin to a mashup of Ministry and Schoolly D. 

It's back to the lab for me. 

An opening set by Lizzo- loaded with bangers like "Batches & Cookies" and "Faded"- was charming. 


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I reviewed Ladysmith Black Mambazo at Liberty Hall on Thursday and Gordon Lightfoot at the Uptown Theater on Sunday.

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The Kansas City-based folk musician Beth Scalet has died.

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The lyric video for Josh Berwanger's "Baby Loses Her Mind" is very funny.

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Farout is arguably the best rapper in the Indyground crew.  Billy Hoyle is his new five-song EP.  RIYL: Steddy P., 420, Ces Cru.

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Stooges drummer Ron Asheton has died.

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Road trip?  The lineup of Iowa City's Mission Creek Festival includes There Stands the Glass favorites Philip Glass, Laurie Anderson, Jason Isbell and Dessa.

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The kids are alright.  "Alabama Movies" is a new video from Skating Polly, a band of Okie kids. The children in Austin's Residual Kid channel Nirvana on "Friends".  And the fresh faces of Radkey, the pride of northwest Missouri, continue to pop up everywhere.  The damning anecdote at the 1:20 mark of the Radkey video is damning.  (Residual Kid tip via SS.)

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I hadn't heard of Mickey Guyton until I watched a live stream of her performance at SXSW.  She's going to be a star.  RIYL: Taylor Swift, absurdly adorable people, the Band Perry.

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Joyce Yang's excellent solo piano album Wild Dreams has inspired me to begin studying the work of Paul Hindemith.

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The My Husband's Stupid Record Collection blog is delightful.  (Initial tip via Euclid Records.)

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Eagulls is my new favorite classic rock band.  Eagulls is RIYL: Lords of the New Church, oldies, Joy Division.

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Shahin Novrasli's Bayati is an exceptionally daring piano trio album.  RIYL: Eldar Djangarov, Eastern Europe, ECM.

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I'm not sold on the party vibe of Major Lazer's Apocalypse Soon.

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Real Estate's Atlas is one of the best received releases of 2014.  I call baloney.  It's little more than a Christopher Cross tribute album.

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Kansas City Click: My official picks are published here.

(Original images of Marijuana Deathsquads and Lizzo by There Stands the Glass.)

The Top Ten Kansas City Music Videos of 2013

The Grisly Hand's "Country Singles" joins Making Movies' "Tormenta" (2010), Hidden Pictures' "Anne Apparently" (2011) and SSION's "Earthquake" (2012) as the obvious choice for There Stands the Glass' top video of the year by a Kansas City-area artist.  I added current YouTube view counts to provide a bit of context regarding the relative popularity of each act.

1. The Grisly Hand- "Country Singles" (481 views)

2. Tiny Horse- "Ride" (877 views)

3. Tech N9ne- "Straight Out the Gate" (3,986,084 views)

4. Josh Berwanger- "Time Traveler" (1,414 views)

5. Krizz Kaliko- "Why Me" (276,203 views)

6. Cowboy Indian Bear- "Let It Down" (98 views)

7. Gee Watts- "Nasty" (45,963 views)

8. Minden- "What's More Than Appropriate?" (1,250 views)

9. The ACBs- "Television" (4,372 views)

10. Rich the Factor- "I'm Hustlin'" (121,029 views)

I conducted similar exercises in 2012, 2011 and 2010.

Album Review: The Wood Brothers- The Muse

The year-end top-ten-album list I just submitted to the official gatekeepers is dominated by hip-hop and jazz entries.  I'm pleased with my choices, but obviously a brief list won't fully represent my listening habits.  For instance, I listen to a lot of folk and folk-rock ranging from favorite albums by the late Bill Morrissey to current folk scare acts like the Head and the Heart that are inflicted on me by members of my compound.  Because its relaxed tone is reminiscent of creaky old albums by The Band, I'm particularly partial to The Muse, the latest effort by The Wood Brothers.  I'm not about to forsake my beloved jazz, hip-hop and metal for The Muse, but it's pretty solid.  Here's the video for the album's title track.


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I reviewed Harry Connick's concert at the Midland theater on Sunday.

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Kansas City rapper Ace Duce has died.

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Dalima, a Kansas City rapper associated with Tech N9ne, was involved in a shooting in Salina several months ago.  (Tip via Tony's Kansas City.)

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Composer John Tavener has died.  I reviewed a performance of one of his works in 2011.

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The video for Josh Berwanger's "Time Traveler" is RIYL: Warriors (the movie), 1989, Cheap Trick. 

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Marcus Yates, the artist known as Obergeek just a few months ago, has released Dark Taupe Schemata . RIYL: XV, Tech N9ne, Kid Cudi.

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Danny Brown's cameo is my favorite part of the new interactive Bob Dylan video that's threatening to explode the internet today.

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Esperanza Spalding campaigns for the closure of Guantanamo in "We Are America".

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Death's edition of "What's In My Bag" is pretty great.

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El Pelon del Mikrophone's "No voy a llorar" is my idea of a good time.

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Here's a track from Neneh Cherry's forthcoming solo album, her first in 16 years.  RIYL: M.I.A., The Slits, Roni Size.

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I mentioned Marco Polo's PA2's The Director's Cut in the previous post.  I finally got around to listening to the supremely entertaining 80-minute project that serves as a tribute to old-school hip-hop.  RIYL: Pharoahe Monch, Large Professor, King Tee.

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Oh, Kanye West,, how I love you!

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By request- here's the soundtrack of my childhood: "Hee hee he haw haw haw".

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Kansas City Click: My official picks are published here.

(Original image by There Stands the Glass.)

Concert Review: Phil Neal & the Wornalls at the RecordBar

I should have been drinking Guinness and wearing an Eddie & the Hot Rods t-shirt rather than enjoying Boulevard Pale Ale while bundled in a sweater.  Attending Phil Neal & the Wornalls' recent matinee performance at the RecordBar was akin to stepping into a London pub in 1976.  The earnest band banged out pub rock with casual grace. 

Ever since I reviewed the delightful album Lonely Tonight in February, I'd been meaning to catch the band.  Better late than never. 

Neal comes by the no-frills sound honestly.  Check out his 1983 video for "2 Time Loser".  Thirty years later, Neal's pop aspirations have been replaced with gritty defiance.

Aside from the shaky vocals I referenced in my album review, the band- particularly lead guitarist Gary Paredes- played with admirable fortitude.  While callow audiences might be put off by the multi-generational composition of his band, Neal's perseverance inspires me.


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Josh Berwanger's Strange Stains is RIYL: Dwight Twilley, Lindsey Buckingham, the Shoes.  (Tip via Tim Finn.)

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A favorite parlor game in the There Stands the Glass compound is determining which version of a popular song is best.  The winner of the "Both Sides Now" entry is Dave Van Ronk. 

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Care to watch grainy footage of Don Ho and Tom Jones singing Willie Nelson's "Night Life"?  Of course you do.

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Disappointed!  Robert Glasper's Black Radio 2 is a self-indulgent mess.  Most of the raps are corny while the melismatic vocalists sound way too blessed out. 

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Boy George's album is remarkably solid.  Check out "King of Everything".  RIYL: Culture Club, Culture, Club Med. 

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I enjoyed Arcade Fire's new Reflektor album far more than the band's 2010 breakthrough album The Suburbs. RIYL: Let's Dance-era David Bowie, NPR, Chic.

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I really wanted to like Alan Jackson's Bluegrass Album album, but it just brought me down.  RIYL: The Grand Ole Opry, moonshine, poor execution. 

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Skeletonwitch's Serpents Unleashed is excellent.  RIYL: dirt, Torche, beer.

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I'm glad to have listened to Allen Tousssaint's Songbook once, but the live recording accentuates the brilliant man's weaknesses.  RIYL: Bobby Short, cabaret, Elvis Costello. 

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Malaco re-upped a fine promotional video for a 1999 Little Milton album. 

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This week's new releases of special interest to There Stands the Glass include titles by Trace Adkins, Arcade Fire, Bad Religion (Christmas Songs!), Bardo Pond, Kelly Clarkson, Chris Forsyth, Robert Glasper, Roy Harper, Toby Keith, Los Lobos, Nick Lowe, Johnny Mathis, Minor Alps, Juana Molina, Warbringer and White Denim.

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Kansas City Click: My official picks are published here.

(Original image by There Stands the Glass.)