Glenn Kotche

Anyone who has seen Glenn Kotche's stick bag (as documented in The Wilco Book) knows exactly why he is the ultimate badass drummer. Bamboo rods, superball skewers, pingpong balls filled with shot — these are the tools of Kotche's trade. Such sound innovations are presumably the reason he was hired to drum for Wilco, but Kotche's realm extends into modern experimental music with avant-jazz combo On Fillmore and his own instrumental recordings. His latest effort, Mobile (released last year on Nonesuch, also Wilco's home), tinkers with vibraphone, marimba, cembalo, piano, kalimba, kit drums and more. Kotche's dulcet compositions range from warped found-object manipulations to heady pieces in the vein of Steve Reich or Philip Glass. After touring much of the country with Wilco bandmate Nels Cline, Kotche goes solo for this Kansas City date.