Karen Matheson- Rithill Aill

Washed away.

I attended a Celtic Woman concert last night. It was about what one would expect. I sensed that most of the performers, most notably Orla Fallon, would prefer to attempt more adventurous fare. But that doesn't always pay the bills, does it? A few might aspire to do something along the lines of Karen Matheson's The Dreaming Sea. While it always keeps its Gaelic roots within striking distance, the project's creator's explore jazz concepts and the romantic lushness of Roxy Music's Avalon. (Yes, I realize that Matheson is Scottish, but the same principle applies.)

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My review of Friday's Saliva, Drowning Pool and Since October show is here.

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The ludicrous psychedelic pop of The Ruby Suns makes me smile.

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I guess when you have as many albums as Van Morrison, it's inevitable that they're going to start looking alike. The cover of the new release Keep It Simple is indistinguishable from Into the Music at first glance.

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Another Levert died. Awful.

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Kansas City Click: The Trews open for Ace freakin' Frehley tonight at the VooDoo.

Paul Grabowsky- Silverland

Faded.

I don't deserve my friends. While I'm often cantankerous and aloof, they're usually understanding and generous. My buddy L. even ordered me a couple jazz CDs last Christmas. One is Tales of Time and Space by Australian pianist Paul Grabowsky. It features jaw-dropping interplay between saxophonists Joe Lovano and Branford Marsalis. Buy the album to hear those tracks. According to the liner notes, this composition is named for the Australian rock band Silverchair. I'm not sure I believe it, though- the nifty melody is more Chick Corea than Kurt Cobain. Thanks, pal.

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Day 26 are moving units in these parts.

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Trust me, guys. You'll want to take a look at this Grace Potter site.

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Kansas City Click: The gift shop at Harrah's does not sell gum or ear plugs. Prepare accordingly for Drowning Pool and Saliva at the casino's VooDoo Lounge tonight.

The Clash were my gateway band to punk, reggae and dub. And I'll admit to owning that first Generation X album. It'll be a big thrill for fans of a certain age to see Mick Jones and Tony James, now working as Carbon/Silicon, at the Record Bar on Saturday. "Sing, Michael sing!"

Three of the Clash's musical progeny- Anti-Flag, the Briggs and Street Dogs tear up the Beaumont on Sunday.

Loituma- Viimesen Kerran

No more beauty.

Call me Mr. Jones. Something is happening here, but I don't know what it is.

I have no earthly idea why a live performance video of Finnish folk group Loituma has been viewed over three million times at YouTube. I suppose it has something to do with the popularity of this techno remix. And then there's this nonsense. There's no end to the phenomenon. I suppose the sheer randomness is much of the appeal, but even so, WTF!.

While Things of Beauty concludes with the accidental culprit, it's actually a traditional Finnish folk album. Fans of Trio Mediaeval and Anonymous 4 should be all over the Finnish group's gorgeous sound.

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It's taken a valiant effort, but I've succeeded in avoiding disclosing my relationship with The Network at There Stands the Glass. The genius of the Foxboro Hot Tubs is making it increasingly difficult not to divulge the darkest of secrets.

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KPRS and KQRC are my favorite commercial radio stations in Kansas City. Both cultivate a strong sense of community. A large part of that social contract includes airing local talent. I'm thrilled that "The Rock" currently has Red Line Chemistry in heavy rotation.

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Kansas City Click: Alas, the Backsliders playing tonight at Crosstown Station aren't the Backsliders. This group with the same name sound as if they could have opened for the Knack in 1979.

The Wave Pictures- Now You Are Pregnant

No more art.

I owe the staff of Artrocker an apology. Assuming it was the deranged product of a misguided music journalist, I've been automatically deleting the publication's artless email bulletins for a couple years.

So I was shocked to spot the magazine on a newstand on my recent trip to London. And it's great. Better yet, the free CD packaged with the March issue is loaded with spectacular music from the Moshi Moshi label. My favorite is this sentimental song by The Wave Pictures.

The trio somehow balances the epic emotional sweep of the Smiths with the sweet naivete of Jonathan Richman. "Now You Are Pregnant" is a worthy successor to Squeeze's "Up the Junction" and Billy Bragg's "Greetings To the New Brunette."

Here's a video for their current single. I haven't been so utterly gobsmacked by a European pop act since I discovered Aberfeldy and Camera Obscura a couple years ago. I'm swooning.

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I attended a painfully awkward in-store by Five Times August earlier this week. The guy's getting 30,000-plus plays a day at MySpace but drew only a dozen people to a local Borders store on a Monday night. One of the singer-songwriter's fans took some representative footage.

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Rifftides pointed me to this obituary of jazz musician Patti Bown. It sounds like she was quite a character.

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Please don't misconstrue this link as an endorsement, but reggae star Coco Tea has released a credible song endorsing Barack Obama.

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Kansas City Click: Mike Doughty will undoubtedly provide a sufficient soundtrack for a memorable party tonight at the Beaumont.

Israel "Cachao" Lopez, 1918-2008

Farewell.

Israel "Cachao" Lopez died in Florida on Saturday. He was 89. He was to mambo what Bill Monroe was to bluegrass. Even if Cachao wasn't the inventor of the sound, he was an integral participant in its creation. Master Sessions, Volume 1 was released to great acclaim in 1994. Three years later a similar project, Buena Vista Social Club, surpassed the commercial success of Cachao's comeback album. As heard here, the Master Sessions are unspeakably joyous. Now's a great chance to rediscover Cachao. Here's a video of one of his '90s recording sessions. Yes, that's actor Andy Garcia, who served as Cachao's sponsor in his final years.

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Kansas City Click: I've long contended that Armor For Sleep are one of the rare Warped Tour-style bands that stands a strong shot at enjoying a prolonged mainstream career. They play an early show for the kids tonight at the Record Bar. A Cursive Memory open.

Mikey Dread, 1954-2008

Farewell, friend.

I was pleasantly surprised to hear the distinctive sound of Mikey Dread spilling out of storefronts and from market boomboxes when I visited Brixton last week. I hadn't yet learned that the reggae legend died March 15.

While Dread was Jamaican, I'll always associate him with England. It was Dread's work with the Clash brought him to my attention. And he produced acts like UB40 while he lived in London.

I pulled this track from a compilation titled Strictly Rockers, but it's most readily available on World War III, available as a British import. Here's a video of Dread performing the song.

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A public bus took me from central London to Brixton. Schools had just let out, and I was secretly delighted to hear kids talking in the accent and using the slang I knew primarily through Dizzee Rascal. In this video, the young lion speaks of his collaboration with the Arctic Monkeys. Whether he knows it or not, Dizzee is deeply indebted to Dread.

(Original image by There Stands the Glass.)

Paul Brady- You're the One

No more.

The proverbial luck of the Irish found me drinking beer in London's Trafalgar Square on St. Patrick's Day. When my associates asked me the name of the Irish folk singer performing before the throng of revelers, I mistakenly told them it was Paul Brady.

Blame it on Vincent Van Gogh. My head was swimming less from beer than from seeing many of the world's most famous paintings in the adjacent National Gallery. The entertainer was actually Luka Bloom. He annoyed much of the crowd by endorsing the reelection of Mayor Ken Livingstone and by playing too many morose songs. And it was "feckin'" cold, to borrow one of Bloom's phrases. He did manage to inspire the crowd with a mean cover of Bob Marley's "Natural Mystic." I'd moved on by the time this fan footage was shot.

Brady is best known to Americans as a hit songwriter for Bonnie Raitt, Brooks & Dunn and other mainstream acts. But he has a long history in traditional Irish music. This song from 1995's Spirits Colliding combines those elements.

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Renaissance man Peter Lubin recounts signing Steve, Bob & Rich (a.k.a. The Rainmakers) in this wonderful tale.

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Kansas City Click: I'm so ashamed! I just discovered that I've never recommended an Eddie Delahunt gig at There Stands the Glass. Our city's most celebrated Irish troubadour is at Mike Kelly's Westsider this evening.

Saturday's concert at the Gem Theater with Mary Stallings, Karrin Allyson and Bobby Watson holds extraordinary promise.

The Record Bar claims that legendary second wave British ska band Bad Manners will appear on their stage Sunday night. No offense guys, but I won't believe it until I see Buster Bloodvessel's distinctive mug with my own two eyes.

(Original image by There Stands the Glass.)

I'm Gone

I'm leaving you with Bobby Rush's finest ambassador while I take a blogging sabbatical.

Little Beirut- Love During Wartime

War is over.

Little Beirut thinks big. Several moments on High Dive, the Portland band's new release, resemble the bombastic arena rock of Oasis and Pink Floyd. And that's a good thing. Such elevated songwriting craft, with its emphasis on melody and difficult subject matter, is a valuable commodity in the realm of indie rock. One of the more intimate songs on High Dive, "Life During Wartime" features a characteristically clever arrangement. It concerns Condoleeza Rice and features a fetching trumpet solo. This unlikely combination almost guarantees the band a place on year-end best-of lists.

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My review of Friday's Gipsy Kings concert is here.

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Is the Washington Post reading There Stands the Glass? A big weekend think piece about the state of smooth jazz expanded on my March 5 comments.

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44 Long lives! I'm delighted to have stumbled across their MySpace page via fellow Portland band Little Beirut. I adored these guys back in '99. Fans of Tommy Womack, Elvis Costello and the Bottle Rockets are advised to download the four songs at the link immediately.

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Kansas City Click: The woefully undervalued Cloud Cult visits Davey's tonight.

Syl and Syleena Johnson- They Can't See Your Good Side

Turned away.

A couple of MCs at last weekend's big soul-blues concert in Kansas City made a running joke out of the scarcity of white people attending the event. It bugged me. Oh, I didn't mind getting playfully elbowed every time the subject came up between acts.

But the enormous musical divide between demographic groups troubles me. I really like Amy Winehouse too, but why is she a superstar in a community that treats the late Luther Vandross like a virtual nonentity? And how is it that 99% of the people who buy tickets to see Mel Waiters and Marvin Sease are of one race?

I don't doubt for a second that Winehouse would have gladly attended the show, just as she would appreciate this wonderful 1995 track from This Time Together by Syl Johnson and his daughter Syleena. Syleena Johnson has a fledgling career of her own. Here she is with fellow Chicagoan Kanye West on his "All Falls Down."

With that in mind, a likely Winehouse arena tour of North America in 2009 has the potential to bring people together. Just for grins, I'm proposing two possible lineups. "The Women of R&B Tour": Mary J. Blige, Winehouse, Etta James and Keyshia Cole. Or... "The New 'Old School' R&B Tour": Winehouse, Fantasia, Robin Thicke and Sir Charles Jones. Whattaya think?

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The Riverfront Times did a nice cover story on Rockwell Knuckles. The St. Louisian's Rhymesayers-style sound deserves a national audience.

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Kansas City Click: Pat Metheny, Christian McBride and Antonio Sanchez perform tonight in Lee's Summit. The concert is sold out.

There Stands the Glass favorite Paul Kelly opens for Big Head Todd and the Monsters at the Uptown on Saturday.

Blues harp veteran Sugar Blue hits Knuckleheads on Sunday.

Ralph Towner- The Lizards of Eraclea

Under a rock.

Remember how a calculated air of mystery hung over Belle & Sebastian as the band rose to fame? Details about their appearance and personnel were kept carefully under wraps. That's how the ECM roster of the 1970s seemed to me. Terje Rypdal? Jan Garbarek? Ralph Towner? Who were these guys? The label's album art provided no clues. To a Kansas boy in the pre-internet days, they might as well have been Martians. Now it's all too easy to discover that Towner looks like this. Time Line, the guitarist's most recent release, is typically ravishing.

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I just received a promotional email from Live Nation offering VIP premium access to concerts. It looks like little more than a "seat license program." (It's available at Starlight Theater in my town.) I don't begrudge promoters, venues, artists and labels for exploring new ways to make money. In fact, kudos to Trent Reznor. Be it NIN selling 2,500 units of a limited edition package at $300 a whack, or a power pop artist with a strong cult following selling personalized songs for $100 each, we're all going to have to figure out new ways to earn a living.

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Kansas City Click: It's gypsy punk night at the Beaumont. How will Gogol Bordello resist the mechanical bull?

Herbie Mann- The Purple Grotto

Gone black.

Allow me a culturally uncool assertion: The world needs more Kenny Gs, Grover Washington, Jr.s, Chris Bottis, and yes, Herbie Manns. Believe me, I understand why these crossover jazz artists are mercilessly ridiculed by elitist taste-makers. And while I don't spend my days listening to Dave Koz, I know that his instrumental pop has never pulled a single fan away from "real" jazz. To the contrary- it ultimately leads to additional sales of A Love Supreme. So goof on Herbie Mann all you like. I'll be unapologetically grooving on his 1954 Plays session.

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Speaking of easy targets, how about the recently announced line-up for Rocklahoma? It's an army of '80s hair metal acts. Say what you will, but fans of bands like Tora Tora are loyal consumers of physical music product. That makes them my heroes. And come to think of it, the festival campgrounds are a mere five hours drive away... Roadtrip!

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Kansas City Click: This Will Destroy You canceled tonight's show at the Record Bar, but you can still catch Bob Walkenhorst's weekly matinee.

Jeff Healey, 1966-2008

Farewell.

There was no avoiding the Jeff Healey Band during the last big blues boom. Healey had a radio and MTV hit, a role in a classic cable TV movie, and he toured constantly. Even though I didn't particularly care for his heavy-handed power trio style, I remember seeing him two or three times during that era. Healey was so personable that it was hard to not to like his music at least a little bit, even if albums like Feel This sounded eerily similar to the latest efforts by Bad Company and .38 Special. Healey died yesterday. He was 41.

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I caught this year's big soul-blues package tour Saturday night. Shirley Brown and Bobby Rush were particularly good, and it was my first time seeing Mel Waiters. My review is here.

Kansas City Click: Take solace on a stormy Monday at Jardine's with the organ jazz of OJT with Bukeka Shoals.

Rachel Taylor Brown- Abraham and Isaac

The story has ended.

Half Hours With the Lower Creatures, the new release from Portland's Rachel Taylor Brown, opens with ambient noise that slowly builds into an ominous dreamlike pulse. If Ennio Morricone could be convinced to score a nasty slasher film he would do well to come up with something as eerily evocative. It's an appropriate start to the bleak and often harrowing album. Inevitably, Brown's art-pop will receive comparisons to Tori Amos and Regina Spektor, but it more closely resembles Supper's Ready-era Peter Gabriel. "Abraham and Isaac" is representative of the album's ugly beauty. "You always hurt the one you love," she imagines Abraham sighing as he prepares to sacrifice his son. Half Hours With the Lower Creatures will be released nationally in May. Until then, it's available for purchase at CD Baby.

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I watched bits of PBS' broadcast of the New York Philharmonic's North Korean concert last night. The program streams here. I have mixed feelings about such "musical diplomacy." And what's up with optical illusion that makes the audience in the front section seem invisible?

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Kansas City Click: Fine trumpeter Terell Stafford graces the stage of the Folly Theater tonight.

The best soul blues lineup possible in 2008 comes to the Hale Center on Saturday. Bobby "Blue" Bland, Latimore, Bobby Rush, Shirley Brown and Marvin Sease are among the attractions.

Dozens of musicians converge on BB's Lawnside BBQ Sunday to raise money for the annual Hope House benefit.

Billie Holiday- I Love You Porgy

No more sadness.

Although he's always been accessible, I hadn't met Chuck D until last night. I write about the experience here. Among the dozens of topics Chuck broached during his lecture was the concept that hip hop is only the latest expression of black musical creativity.

"There are parallels between Billie Holiday and Jay-Z, between Art Tatum and break dancers," Chuck asserted.

With that in mind, here's the incomparable jazz vocalist singing one of the most significant songs about the tragedy of slavery in America. It's an utterly devastating performance. The out-of-print Live At Storyville, captured at the Boston club in 1951, might be my favorite Holiday recording. Here's far lesser but still invaluable video footage of Holiday interpreting the song in a television studio. (The arrangement is atrocious.)

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Buddy Miles has died.

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Herschel "Speedy" Haworth died Tuesday. The Ozarks-based guitarist worked with Porter Wagoner, Rex Allen and Red Foley.

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Kansas City Click: The spirit of Johnny Cash burns brightly in Tom Russell. The outstanding songwriter is at Knuckleheads tonight.

The Amalgamated All Stars- Memories

Faded.

I was saddened to hear that Jamaican music industry veteran Joe Gibbs died last week. But I'm delighted that it compelled me to return to this stunning collection of material he oversaw between 1967-73. It'd been a few years since I spun the disc; it's even better than I remembered. The instrumental featured here is marvelous, yet it's probably the least compelling of the compilation's eighteen tracks. Sir Lord Comic, Lee "Scratch" Perry and the Overtakers are among the standouts on this essential set. Gibbs may be best remembered for his later work, but music doesn't get much more compelling than this.

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Erykah Badu's Amerykah is a spectacular mess. Self-indulgent and filled with pointless detours, it sounds like something George Clinton might have orchestrated during a lost weekend in 1973. Needless to say, I like it a lot.

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Talk about an act that fits the There Stands the Glass aesthetic: Uncle Monk is a modest old-timey duo that you'd think would be relegated to providing warm smiles at a coffee house's open mic night. But there's a twist. Tommy Ramone is in the band! Uncle Monk is on an extensive tour. I am so there.

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Kansas City Click: For Midwestern power pop twits, tonight's triple bill of Ludo, Anything But Joey and Ha Ha Tonka at the Record Bar is pure bliss.

The Golden Gate Quartet- Give Me Two Wings

Flew away.

I like to think I'm well-versed in area history.

But a wonderful feature in Sunday's Kansas City Star exposed me to the almost entirely forgotten gospel music legacy of the Jackson Jubilee Singers of Western University. It was all news to me. Sure, accounts of the black abolitionist town of Quindaro, Kansas, are part of most regional Border War histories. Yet I had no idea that "for a time, roughly between 1907 and 1940, (the Jackson Jubilee Singers) were wildly popular with both black and white audiences." It's fascinating stuff.

The Star links to clips of a couple surviving recordings at Emusic. Their sound resembles the Golden Gate Quartet only in passing. But I'm going with what I own. As the Star's story points out, traditional slave songs like "Give Me Two Wings" are part of gospel's subversive tradition. While the lyric is ostensibly about Jesus, the real message concerns a desperate longing for more than just spiritual freedom.

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I'll pick up Erykah Badu's new release tomorrow, but the album I can hardly wait to get my hands on is the new Luciano. The two new songs streaming at his MySpace are scorching. (I will not be buying Webbie's new release. The best/worst hit since, "Crank That," "Independent" has already inflicted irreparable brain damage to my poor noggin. "She cook/She clean/Never smell like onion rings!")

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Kansas City Click: Luz D'Sol play at Jardine's tonight. They were the subject of a KCUR profile aired yesterday.

Erik Satie- Gnossienne Lent

Left.

Jim, my first freshman roommate, insisted on playing music all night long. He hit the automated repeat button on my turntable so that the second side of Pretenders or the first side of Some Girls would play until morning. In spite of that nightmarish experience, I sometimes like to let a CD put me to sleep. This set of Erik Satie's piano music is ideal for that purpose. It's not a proper sedative. To the contrary, it's so fascinating that I can focus on its intricacies rather than allow myself to worry about work, knee pain or the barking dog next door.

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Teo Macero died Tuesday. Not to take anything away from Mingus, Miles, Brubeck or Byrd, but it's probably no accident that Macero contributed to many of the greatest crossover albums in the history of jazz.

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Kansas City Click: Jazz has its own version of Billy Ray Cyrus. Pianist and bandleader Michael Wolff sired the Naked Brothers. He plays tonight at the Blue Room.

In a symbolic changing of the guard, Snuff Jazz follows Ida McBeth at Jardine's on Saturday night.

Sunday brings an ideal pairing- Rex Hobart and the Misery Boys and the Westport Flea Market.

Aterciopelados- La Misma Tijera

Quiet.

Perhaps it's a reaction to the frigid temperature and the gray winter tundra outside my window, but the music that sounds best to me right now emanates from approximately 1,000 miles south of my current location. Celebrated Colombian band Aterciopelados doesn't worry about classifications- electronica, M.P.B., lounge, cumbia, and pop are all on equal footing on their 2001 release Gozo Poderoso. Here's a video for "El Album", my second favorite song on the Grammy winner.

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It'd be a heckuva commute, but this blog post by Steve Pick makes me want to apply for a job at St. Louis' Euclid Records. And while I don't always trust Steve's judgement, his concise dismissal of Holy F*ck just saved me thirty minutes of frustration.

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I've managed to capture video images of my dreams. Here's what I experienced at 3:22 a.m. this morning.

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Kansas City Click: But for the ice falling from the heavens, I might head for Knuckleheads tonight to catch folk-jazz duo Stereofidelics.

Gonzalo Rubalcaba- Preludio Proyecto Latino

Thinking of Cuba in silence.

The combination of the insightful profile in Sunday's New York Times and the glimmer of hope that arrived yesterday for the people of Cuba compels me to offer this post focusing on Gonzalo Rubalcaba. The 44-year-old Cuban expatriate's Avatar was released earlier this month. The pianist's stunning technical proficiency is on display in this solo piece from the out-of-print Mi Gran Pasion. The 1987 date was his first official session as a leader. It's frightening to consider that he's expanded his formidable talent even further in the intervening 21 years.

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As I indicated in my previous post, I was floored by Kid Rock's effort Sunday. Yet it might not have been the best show I caught last weekend. The Redwalls' Friday gig was also wonderful. My review is here.

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And on Saturday I was one of two dozen people in the audience for Mark Olson at Davey's Uptown Rambler's Club. Here's a two-minute sample of his performance. It ended very awkwardly as fans of metal act Red Line Chemistry began arriving for the bar's late show. The rockers were in no mood for Olson's rootsy songs. It was an extraordinarily uncomfortable clash of cultures.

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Kansas City Click: Kentucky's People Noise are tonight's headliners at the Record Bar.

Hank Williams, Jr.- I Can't Change My Tune

Changed.

Kid Rock taught me a few lessons this week.

I was startled at the visceral reaction I received each time I mentioned to friends that my weekend plans included a Kid Rock concert. The condescendingly elitist views harbored by my associates startled me.

Because I have a jazz site and I usually feature esoteric music at this MP3 blog, I guess some people assume that I maintain an exclusionary sense of superiority. It's actually quite the opposite- as a populist, I desperately long for the music I champion to enjoy a broader base of support.

I can't relate to those who embrace a cloistered sense of isolation within a "scene," be it dixieland jazz or indie rock. I love Bocephus no less than I love Led Zeppelin, M.I.A., Little Richard, Pavement, Miles Davis and Ralph Stanley. They're all part of the same thing to me. (The song featured here is available on this collection.)

Kid Rock understands that. His show didn't just feature guest artists Dickey Betts of the Allman Brothers and Rev. Run of Run D.M.C. (That alone is an astonishing thing if you stop to think about it.) Soul, metal, bluegrass, honky tonk, pop, rap, classic rock, DJ scratching and gospel were part of his three hour show. I didn't spot a single member of the 11,000 fans in the Sprint Center last night who didn't embrace every single one of those styles.

It was beautiful.

While many Kid Rock fans headed straight for nearby strip joints after the show, I walked past Temptations and Bazooka's to visit YJ's, a tiny hipster coffee shop that features live jazz on Sunday nights. Between songs, the bass player asked me about my evening. I told him- and the cafe's five customers- where I'd been. While the bassist wasn't judgmental, the others treated me as if I had suddenly transformed into a shotgun-wielding Dick Cheney.

I was tempted to lecture the tiny tribe of small-minded bohemians about the ironies implicit in their undemocratic ideals.

I just got lost in the bossa nova instead.

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Kansas City Click: John Proulx, a jazz pianist and crooner in the style of Nat "King" Cole, appears at the downtown Marriott tonight.

Osibisa- I Feel (Pata Pata)

The dance is over.

British-based, African-minded Osibisa were far ahead of their time. The group's unapologetically pop sound defined "world music" before the term was even invented. It worked. Although the band enjoyed a tremendous level of success, they're largely forgotten today. Perhaps the popularity of Vampire Weekend signals the advent of renewed interest in these sounds. This live footage from 1974 certainly deserves a fresh look. The Osibisa catalog is a shambles; you may as well start with this collection.

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Back in 1982, taking a girl to a club where the Blue Riddim Band was playing was a pretty good idea. I'm delighted that some old footage recently emerged at YouTube.

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How it possible that I went through life without hearing Virgil Thomson's The River until yesterday?

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Kansas City Click: A terrific all-ages show starts at the Record Bar this afternoon. Included are the Redwalls, the Abracadabras and Catfish Haven. (The latter band is one of my favorites, even though I invariably end up being the only guy grooving on their primitive soul.)

Mark Olson lays out the cold, hard facts at Davey's Saturday.

I'm not sure if we can be friends if at least some part of you doesn't want to take Kid Rock's "musical journey thru American music" at the Sprint Center on Sunday.

Mark Olson- Poor Michael's Boat

Rowed to shore.

Mark Olson, bless his heart, is still on the road. I snapped this photo last September. He plays another gig in my town this weekend.

Olson's old band, the Jayhawks, are one of the definitive folk/country/rock groups of the last quarter century. For a few thousand diehard fans, they meant everything. But for the lack of a couple lucky breaks, Olson might now be filling arenas instead of playing to one or two hundred true believers each night.

"Ain't it funny how big plans fall through," Olson wistfully notes on "Poor Michael's Boat."

It's from 2007's essential The Salvation Blues. It's a painfully honest document about coming to terms with diminished expectations and discovering hidden beauty inside the resulting pain and disappointment. In other words, it's "the salvation blues."

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Until I actually watched every excruciating minute of Tuesday's two-hour American Idol broadcast, the show had never inspired strong opinions in me. I kind of like Kelly Clarkson, Fantasia and Taylor Hicks. Never again. From now on I intend to let my friend Tim track the results for me at The Other Door.

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Kansas City Click: Kasey Rausch is just one of several Kansas City songwriters participating in the "Love Hangover" event tonight at Davey's.

Herbie Hancock- Bouquet

Dried up.

A handful of people have expressed disappointment that I'm not jubilant about Herbie Hancock's big win at the Grammys. They're overlooking two things.

Sure, I'm a jazz geek. It's true that I'm responsible for Plastic Sax, a regularly updated site devoted to Kansas City jazz. But I love Hank Williams no less than Count Basie, and I'm just as passionate about "Mother Popcorn" as I am about "Yardbird Suite." Graduation was my favorite album of 2007; I also like Amy Winehouse, Vince Gill and the Foo Fighters. I'm unable to treat Hancock's award as anything other than a nice surprise.

Secondly, we're talking about the Grammys. The institution isn't exactly a trendsetter. "It's been 43 years since the first and only time that a jazz artist got an album of the year award," Hancock claimed.

I didn't believe this assertion, so I investigated it here. Sure enough, if you don't count Frank Sinatra, Blood Sweat & Tears, Natalie Cole, Tony Bennett, Steely Dan, Norah Jones or Ray Charles as jazz, Hancock is correct. 1964's Getz/Gilberto, another crossover album made with the pop audience in mind, is the only other jazz-oriented "album of the year" recipient.

All that said, I have the highest regard for Herbie Hancock. He's one of only a handful of artists who didn't just change with the times- he was agent of change. Here's a selective summary of Hancock's career:

*a sideman for Miles in 1963
*a brilliant bandleader in 1964
*a funkateer with the Headhunters in 1974
*a supreme disco king in 1979
*a scratchy hitmaker in 1983
*an aggressive all-star jazzman in 1997
*a Grammy-pleaser in 2007

Maiden Voyage is one of the first jazz albums that blew my mind. Since I know that you'll buy it today if you don't already own it (it's on sale for $7.97), I'll feature something else. Hancock plays pretty on this gorgeous Bobby Hutcherson vehicle from the out-of-print Town Hall Concert from 1985.

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Freddie Bell died February 10. He was 76.

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Kansas City Click: It's Over and The Autumn Film are at the Record Bar.

Keely Smith- Kansas City

Left town.

Cynics and haters should move along.

I loved last night's Grammy broadcast. Several performances were real treats- John Fogerty with Jerry Lee Lewis and Little Richard, KC's homeboy Eldar, the always-entertaining Kanye West, "Rhapsody In Blue," Feist with a brass band, the excellent gospel segment, the radiance of Beyonce and the Foo Fighters' gig with John Paul Jones and contestant #1.

My favorite bit, however, was the duet with Kid Rock and Keely Smith. What a hoot! It was great seeing the 75-year-old getting some exposure. Her Swing Swing Swing attempted to capitalize on the most recent swing scare. And in spite of- or perhaps because of- her references to the Chiefs, "Kansas City" is also a lot of fun.

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I watched the Grammys with a person unfamiliar with rock music. She was delighted that a band would name themselves "The Food Finders."

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Wynton Marsalis and the Jazz at Lincoln Center Orchestra were rock solid Friday. My review is here. I was blown away by Leeland's performance when they opened for Casting Crowns the next night. My review is here.

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Pianist Chris Anderson, who played with Charlie Parker, died February 4. He was 81.

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Kansas City Click: The Heet Mob crew has their weekly Mic Check Mondays gig at the Embassy.

Walter Hyatt- In November

Time is up.

Unfinished business, indeed. Walter Hyatt was killed in the infamous 1996 ValuJet crash. The gifted singer-songwriter was a part of the same Texas scene inhabited by David Ball, Lyle Lovett and Jimmie Dale Gilmore. Here's a loving fan video paying tribute to Hyatt's time in Uncle Walt's Band. A new collection of previously unreleased Hyatt material, Unfinished Business, Volume One, began shipping last month. Details about the project are contained in this story. "In November" is from the out-of-print major label release King Tears. Not unlike Charlie Rich's classic Pictures and Paintings, it's a quiet blend of jazz and country.

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I heard a version of this Bach composition as I was falling asleep a couple nights ago. After dreaming up "variations" all night, I realized that I need to spend more time with J.S.

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Kansas City Click: L.A. has Metal Skool. Kansas City has the Baloney Ponyz. They rock the Roxy tonight.

On Saturday night Bobby Watson features his new band at the Blue Room.

I'm not sure how a band claiming Wilco, Lyle Lovett and Ryan Adams as influences ends up sounding like Sawyer Brown and Rascall Flatts, but that's just what True North accomplishes. They're playing at the Borders store north of the river on Sunday.

Randolph Walker- Miss Jackson's Daughter

Randolph Walker- Miss Jackson's Daughter (MP3)

Before DJ Shadow and Cut Chemist began their first set last night, Shadow noted that while neither man had previously performed in Kansas City, he'd been a regular customer of the Music Exchange. "R.I.P." he sadly noted. Between that and the early Marva Whitney reference, I was guaranteed to love the show.

I was shocked by the conventional, old-fashioned tone of the performance. Isaac Hayes' concert on the same stage a couple months ago was comparatively pioneering. It seemed like the DJs were performing exclusively for collectors like me. They played lots of deep Southern R&B, Indian psychedelia, spoken word novelty records and De La Soul- I was probably one of five guys in the room old enough to have purchased 3 Feet High and Rising as a new release.

The duo's arbitrary self-imposed "rules" even reminded me of the guidelines I usually employ (and are being broken in this atypical post) at There Stands the Glass.

The incredible song I feature today is exactly the sort of treasure DJ Shadow and Cut Chemist rightfully fetishized last night. Outside of the 7-inch format, the gem from 1970 is only available on this powerful out-of-print compilation.


Kid Koala's opening set was far more adventurous. While he wasn't averse to playing hits by Kanye West and M.I.A., he was best when repurposing blues and jazz tracks. I also liked that he left the stage as a loop of Mac Lethal's "Pound That Beer" continued to skip on one of his turntables.

Tim Finn's review and professional photographs are here.

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Kansas City Click: I'll recommend the "prairie vibrations" of reggae act Seedlove even though their MySpace page lists Deepak Chopra (twice) and "10 Foot Ganja Plant" among their influences. The crusty kids are at Spivey's in Lenexa.

The Four Tops- Bring Me Together

Fell apart.

I abandoned the vinyl format for newfangled compact discs in 1986. The LP versions of new releases were simply atrocious. I tired of buying increasingly flimsy and warped product. (A music industry conspiracy? No doubt about it.)

But in addition to the limited selection, most CDs were priced upwards of $20. Yet Motown two-fers at 7th Heaven, my neighborhood record store, were $7.97. Once a week I would buy titles by Al Green, Smokey Robinson, Marvin Gaye and the Four Tops. What a great investment!

The Temptations deservedly get a lot of credit for incorporating contemporary psychedelic rock into their sound. But the Four Tops forged a more nuanced sound on Still Waters Run Deep. It probably sounds even better now than it did as a new release in 1970. Need to hear more? Here's the album's sublime closing song.

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I ran into Howard Iceberg at the Mutual Musicians Foundation on Friday night. That the folk-rock artist was hanging out at a Kansas City jazz jam session speaks to his broad sensibility. He let me know that he's embarked on an ambitious project to record his vast back catalog of songs. He regularly rotates new, downloadable songs at his MySpace page. While he jokes that he sounds "like Tom Waits on a bad day," Howard gives Waits, Dylan, Prine and Ritter a run for their money.

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Local trio Trampled Under Foot won the Blues Foundation's annual band competition in Memphis.

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Kansas City Click: It seems sacrilegious to suggest a non-Fat Tuesday show. But it's not everyday that DJ Shadow comes to town. Cut Chemist and Kid Koala join him at the VooDoo.

Megan Birdsall- Send My Love

Megan Birdsall- Send My Love

Megan Birdsall, Kansas City's "little jazz bird," had a lousy 2007.

Just as she was on the verge of following Oleta Adams, Karrin Allyson and Kevin Mahogany as the next jazz-oriented vocalist to break out of Kansas City, Birdsall was diagnosed with a painful and severe medical condition requiring expensive surgery.

This orchestrated showstopper from Little Jazz Bird is akin to a Leon Russell production on an old Rita Coolidge album. It's odd to hear Birdsall in this lush setting, because she's a delightfully informal performer. Someone took this live footage the same night I grabbed the photo above. Her playful introduction to "Wichita Lineman" is unspeakably adorable.

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Regional jazz promoter Butch Berman died last week. He also played guitar in the bands of Charlie Burton, Sleepy LaBeef and Roy Loney. (Tip via Lee.)

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Kansas City Click: It's been a long time since I've endorsed the weekly Rural Grit Happy Hour at the Brick. Bring your beard and your banjo if you want to fit in.

Joe Jackson- The Old Songs

Faded away.

Given the eclectic nature of There Stands the Glass, I feel a strong affinity for the stylistic restlessness that's characterized Joe Jackson's career. Constant genre jumping has limited Jackson's commercial appeal, just as it reduces the audience for this site.

Jackson has excelled at Louis Jordan jump, cocktail jazz, classical composition and pop music. The latter category featured one of the two contemporary personal anthems of my high school experience. (Here's the other one. Oh, what painful memories!)

The fifty-something's Rain was released earlier this week. Initial sales figures indicate that it will fair better than the largely forgotten out-of-print Laughter & Lust. Yet the 1991 album has aged quite well.

"The Old Songs" reflects sentiments familiar to anyone reading these words. Jackson laments the way so many music fans become mired in the past. "I like those songs," he sighs wearily. "But I'd like something new."

Me too, Joe.

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Even though many of his fans have already acquired leaked MP3s of its contents, it feels like my 2008 won't really be underway until I'm holding the official version of Lil Wayne's Tha Carter III. Here's an update.

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Kansas City Click: The Last Call Girls should feel right at home at Davey's tonight.

Randy Brecker continues his work with UMKC's jazz kids on Saturday.

The Fisk Jubilee Singers visit Park College on Sunday.

Joao Bosco- Ronco da Cuica

No more brilliance.

I stumbled upon El Guincho via Eat My Art Out. While I can't decipher the blogger's nonsensical description, I share his enthusiasm for the Spanish artist. El Guincho is clearly drawing inspiration from classic MPB by the likes of Joao Bosco.

"Ronco da Cuica," from 1982, is surreal from beginning to end. It has a Sgt. Pepper-esque introduction, hyperactive percussion effects, seemingly random production and an anticlimactic fade. I'm guessing that the bizarre song first appeared on this out-of-print album. I pulled it from this compilation, which is also out-of-print.

"Ronco da Cuica" still sounds futuristic in this refined all-star session, but it's positively anarchic in this brand new fan footage.

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I'm looking forward to seeing this kind of stuff from Kid Koala next week.

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Kansas City Click: The Lonely H play tonight at the Record Bar. The teenagers play convincing classic rock. Need proof? Look no further.

David Murray- Waltz To Heaven

The dance is over.

Who's the best baseball player? Greatest president? I'm not a fan of this pointless parlor game. Even so, when it comes to the subject of best living jazz musician, it'd be impossible not to give David Murray serious consideration. His ability to play inside and outside simultaneously is one of Murray's most remarkable accomplishments. His bass clarinet work on "Waltz To Heaven" is a great example. He's not walking a stylistic fine line; he renders it irrelevant. This sublime brilliance is from the out-of-print 1991 session A Sanctuary Within. He's joined by bassist Tony Overwater, drummer Sunny Murray and Kahil El' Zabar on percussion.

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I recently added Masala to my blogroll because I didn't want to miss gems like this. Masala asserts (correctly, I believe) that the song and its accompanying video indicate that the inevitable globalization of pop music has fully arrived. The ditty by IshQ Bector and Sunidhi Chauhan is annoyingly Fergalicious.

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Don't miss this incredible story about an arsonist DJ at Austin's KOOP.

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Kansas City Click: Wacky There Stands the Glass favorites Coat Party open for Blood On the Wall at the Record Bar tonight.

Adrian Juarez- Ya No Vendra Tu Ombligo a Tomarnos La Congoja

Adrian Juarez- Ya No Vendra Tu Ombligo a Tomarnos La Congoja

It's a good thing I don't consume drugs. The extraordinary Mars Volta concert I reviewed Friday night might have altered my DNA if I hadn't been entirely sober. It was the kind of show that can profoundly impact a person's relationship to music. Accordingly, I was compelled to turn to something entirely new.

I've always been wary of electronic-based music on net labels, but I feel I've uncovered a real jewel in Adrian Juarez. As the Argentine explores a number of styles- tango, dream pop, Cage-ish experimentation and dramatic Morricone-inspired soundscapes- there's no such thing as a representative piece. The haunting composition I feature here feels like a peaceful deathbed reverie.

His MySpace is a good place to beginning exploring Juarez' work, as is this evocative video.

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I encountered traditional British vocalist Rachel Unthank on a folk radio show yesterday. What a find! This fan video captures some of the magic.

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Kansas City Click: The Louis Neal Big Band plays at the Blue Room tonight.

Steve James- Grain Alcohol

Empty.

I don't know how I missed the news that blues harpist Gary Primich died last September. He was 49. It seemed that Primich toured constantly in the '90s. Mark Rubin of the Bad Livers remembers Primich here. Rubin, Danny Barnes and Primich join Steve James on the out-of-print American Primitive from 1994. A heartfelt Primich tribute video is here.

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Man, I love me some fado. And Cristina Branco makes Nelly Furtado's appearance seem plain.

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Kansas City Click: Friday's two biggest shows- B.B. King and the Mars Volta- are sold out. You might try the New Amsterdams at the Record Bar. A fan made a clever video for my favorite song by the band.

I'm recommending saloon singer Frank Cherrito's Saturday gig at the Copa Room because I know his web site will make you smile.

The Caves and Lights & Siren are at McCoy's on Sunday.

Lena Horne- Get Out of Town

Gone.

A few days ago a musician told me that he doesn't perform many Cole Porter standards because he prefers songs about "mean women." His point is well taken, but my pal needs to hear the way Lena Horne imbues this Porter love song with a sense of menace. She recorded it in 1958 with Lennie Hayton & His Orchestra. It's from this fine collection. Can't get enough Lena? This trailer for Horne's Stormy Weather is priceless.

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Attending .moe's in-store performance last night brought back bad memories. I reminisce about an old job here.

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Kansas City post-punk band Flee the Seen have a solid new video.

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This Ghostface Killah rant is making the rounds. Believe me, Captain America, I feel your pain.

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Kansas City Click: Jeff Black comes home to Knuckleheads tonight.

Angaleena Presley- All I Ever Wanted

Angaleena Presley- All I Ever Wanted

It's a good thing for Angaleena Presley that I'm not on the prowl for a new romance. Her MySpace profile describes an ideal woman.

"I'm a real life coal miner's daughter from Beauty, Kentucky. That pretty much explains why I'm in Nashville singing my stories. I love beer, ballet, dirtbikes, The Tao, The Rolling Stones, poetry, music, and God. I worship Loretta Lynn and hope to someday make out with Dolly Parton."

Although she has a publishing deal, it's unbelievable that Presley isn't already making teenage girls forget all about my musical nemesis Taylor Swift. Presley inhabits the sweet spot between Mindy Smith and Gretchen Wilson. "All I Ever Wanted" is one of the better Saturday-night-and-Sunday-morning songs I've encountered, and that niche is one of my specialties.

(Image of artist by this photographer.)

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Listen to the new Tender Forever here. I'm a fan of their gentle take on the K Records aesthetic. Video types should start here instead.

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Kansas City Click: Dude! moe. is scheduled to play a 7 p.m. in-store Wednesday at the Borders at 123rd and Metcalf.

John Stewart, 1939-2008

Farewell, John.

Even as a clueless kid I knew that there was something different about the man behind the 1979 radio hit "Gold". The presence of Buckingham and Nicks couldn't disguise that the singer's tremulous croak, filled with weary conviction, sprang from a deeper well. John Stewart died Friday.

On this outstanding live album from 1991, Stewart relates that his original lyric to "Daydream Believer" was changed from "now you know how funky I can be" to "now you know how happy I can be" for the Monkees' version. That alteration is an apt summation of his relationship with the popular audience.

This song, also a hit for Rosanne Cash, captures much of what made Stewart distinctive. Inside an epic sweep is a keen eye for intimate detail.

"Blind boys and gamblers/They invented the blues/Will pay up in blood when this marker comes due/To try to get off now is about as insane/As those who wave lanterns at runaway trains."

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My notes on two memorial events for the brilliant vocalist Gregory Hickman-Williams are here.

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I have newfound respect for Timbaland. For the first fifteen minutes of One Republic's show Saturday night, I was pleased with the Colorado band. The appeal of their varnished reinterpretation of Coldplay and U2 was not lost on me. But the faceless guys lack stagecraft and even a smidgen of soulfulness. They lost me and most of the sold-out room. Timbaland's ability to mine the compelling hit "Apologize" from One Republic's bland sound is a miraculous achievement. Opening act Eric Hutchinson was selling a t-shirt that read "Eric Hutchinson is pretty good." That's about right.

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Kansas City Click: Everette DeVan hosts a jam at the Blue Room on Monday night.

The Dell Griffiths- The King of Almost

The dream is over.

This post is dedicated to your friends' old bands. You smiled when they gave their band a goofy name, laughed when they wrote a song about your old girlfriend and supported their gigs. They probably sounded as good as the Replacements after a few beers. But unless your pals were extraordinarily lucky or supremely talented, little but warm memories remain. These guys seem to typify that experience. They were merely adequate, or as their song puts it, "The King of Almost."

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A publicity firm is trumpeting good news for local label Anodyne Records. The Bellrays are scheduled to release their next album on the label in April.

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Kansas City Click: Although I fear that Toubab Krewe may be Phish in African clothing, I'm still intrigued. They're at Crosstown Station tonight.

The legendary Ahmad Jamal visits the Gem Theater on Saturday.

I hope to attend the Gregory Hickman-Williams tribute at Jardine's on Sunday.