The Pitch, Pitch

Don't mess with the Army, feds remind two local businesspeople

Steve Vockrodt — Thu, 23 May 2013 17:23:00 -0500

Virgie Dillard, the 70-year-old owner of Missouri Office Systems and Supplies, is in hot water for allegedly selling counterfeit electronics to a customer most people would rather not mess with: the U.S. Army.

Dillard and her employee Roland Evans were brought up on federal charges today.…

Homer's Drive-In: the oldest drive-through in the metro

Charles Ferruzza — Thu, 23 May 2013 15:24:45 -0500

The Kansas City metro has plenty of historic drive-in restaurants: the beloved local Winstead's (opened in 1940), Mug's Up Root Beer Drive-In (1957), Harold's Drive-In (1958), The Humdinger (1962), and the drive-in that may be the oldest of them all, the cozy diner at 1320 S. Fourth Street in Leavenworth called Homer's. It started as a root-beer stand - with male carhops wearing long-sleeve shirts and ties - in 1931.…

Federal prosecutors allege racially motivated house torching in Independence

Steve Vockrodt — Thu, 23 May 2013 15:21:00 -0500

A grand jury indictment issued at federal court in Kansas City details allegations of a nasty crime in Independence where a black family had its house set on fire by racist neighbors.

It's a story from June 26, 2008, that, if true, summons memories of a much earlier and far less progressive time in this country's civil rights attitude.…

KCPD will breathalyze patrons at Tanner's tonight

Ben Palosaari — Thu, 23 May 2013 13:48:00 -0500

If you're slumming it at bars in Waldo tonight, you might can come away with a little valuable information about your ability to drive after a few cocktails. The Kansas City Police Department is hosting a "Know Your Limits" event tonight at Tanner's Bar and Grill (7425 Broadway).…

Potbelly Sandwich Shop opens June 4 on the Plaza

Jonathan Bender — Thu, 23 May 2013 12:32:00 -0500

To all the Chicagoans who find themselves in Kansas City, Tuesday, June 4, is your Independence Day. That's when Potbelly Sandwich Shop opens its first area location, at 4725 Broadway.…

Kurt Vile headed to Lawrence in August

David Hudnall — Thu, 23 May 2013 12:08:51 -0500

Kurt Vile is one of my favorite guys making music at the moment, and his latest, Waking on a Pretty Daze, is one of the best albums to come out this year, says me. Very exciting, then, to wake up and learn that Vile and his band, the Violators, are hitting up the Granada on Friday, August 16. That will be a tremendous Friday to be alive.…

So is Kansas City International a convenient airport or not?

Steve Vockrodt — Thu, 23 May 2013 11:54:00 -0500

Plenty of local residents think that Kansas City International Airport is fabulously convenient, especially compared with larger airports.

Research firm J.D. Power & Associates agreed - at least they did in 2010, when they festooned KCI with their highest ranking for passenger satisfaction among medium-sized airports, in part due to its convenience at the check-in counter and security checkpoints.…

Soundgarden's sludgy sound, last night at the Midland (review)

Steve Vockrodt — Thu, 23 May 2013 11:53:00 -0500

After the five songs opening Soundgarden's Wednesday-night show at the Midland, frontman Chris Cornell told the crowd that the band was about to play a song it hadn't performed in about 16 years. "Maybe since the last time we were here," he said.…

Why you shouldn't eat the snow cones at Minute Maid Park

Jonathan Bender — Thu, 23 May 2013 10:00:12 -0500

The Kansas City Royals' most recent road trip was like taking snow cones in the bathroom, things went downhill in a hurry. After getting swept by the Oakland Athletics and then dropping two-of-three to the Houston Astros (who can now the thank the boys in blue for a whopping 14 percent of their 14 wins on the season), the Royals limp home at a game under .500.…

Kansas City is not a top-five beer city

Jonathan Bender — Thu, 23 May 2013 09:00:59 -0500

The challenge when one is aspiring toward greatness is being recognized too early. The danger is that you feel like you've arrived before you've actually done the work to reach your destination.…

Rob Zombie is coming to Cricket Wireless Amphitheater

David Hudnall — Thu, 23 May 2013 08:00:08 -0500

We missed this one in the flood of summer concert announcements, but: Rob Zombie is coming to Kansas City in a few months. He'll be at Cricket Wireless Amphitheater on Monday, August 5.…

Voltaire - the saloon, not the philosopher - opens tonight

Charles Ferruzza — Wed, 22 May 2013 13:01:00 -0500

It's been a long time - decades, maybe - since you gathered up your favorite vinyl records and hauled them anywhere (except a secondhand store in order to get rid of them). Now there's a venue in Kansas City where you can eat, drink and listen to your rare 1958 Somethin' Else LP with Cannonball Adderly, Miles Davis and Art Blakey.…

Marilyn Manson and Alice Cooper are headed to Cricket Wireless Amphitheater

David Hudnall — Wed, 22 May 2013 10:47:34 -0500

Alice Cooper was a sort of shock-rock pioneer in the 1970s. Marilyn Manson took up the mantle in the 1990s.…

Shawn Ratigan and Bishop Robert Finn face two new civil lawsuits

Ben Palosaari — Wed, 22 May 2013 10:20:00 -0500

Just one week after the Catholic Diocese of Kansas City-St. Joseph settled a $600,000 civil lawsuit with a family swept up in the diocese's child-pornography scandal, it faces two new suits. A lawyer representing two Missouri girls filed civil suits Tuesday against the diocese, Bishop Robert Finn (who already pleaded guilty to misdemeanors during the scandal) and the Rev. Shawn Ratigan.…

WWE's Monday Night Raw returns to Kansas City October 14

Justin Kendall — Wed, 22 May 2013 08:01:26 -0500

Monday Night Raw may have just been in Kansas City, but the WWE's biggest weekly television show is returning to the Sprint Center on October 14 for another live go-round on the USA Network. Tickets went on sale for the return date as Monday's show played out.…

Big Rip Brewing Co. expands the Northland's beer universe

Jonathan Bender — Wed, 22 May 2013 08:00:00 -0500

Josh Collins flips open the lid of a white 5-gallon bucket to reveal the lustrous red juice inside.

"This is what we got from 60 pounds of organic raspberries and three hours with a juicer," he says.…

Yo La Tengo is at Grinders tonight

David Hudnall — Wed, 22 May 2013 07:37:44 -0500

Big surprise: Fade, the latest Yo La Tengo record, its 13th, is another gorgeous batch of gently fuzzy, melodic pop songs. (The moment when the strings come in on the chorus of "Is That Enough" is among the most pleasurable things I've heard on an album so far this year.)…

Courtney Cole, Greater Kansas City Women's Political Caucus executive director, answers The Pitch's questionnaire

Justin Kendall — Wed, 22 May 2013 07:00:29 -0500

Name: Courtney Cole

Occupation: Executive director, Greater Kansas City Women's Political Caucus

Hometown: Excelsior Springs

Current neighborhood: Elms Boulevard in Excelsior Springs

Who or what is your sidekick? My 5-year-old daughter, Mackenzie

What career would you choose in an alternate reality? I would be a professional political activist ... oh, wait, that's what I am.…

A consultant tells KC that big retail could save Citadel Plaza

Steve Vockrodt — Wed, 22 May 2013 06:00:15 -0500

In the retail industry, there's an old adage that "retail follows rooftops."

Which means: Retail stores such as Walmart and Target open in places where people already live, and where they expect those with good earning prospects to move in the future.

But a consultant hired by Kansas City, Missouri, seems to buck that analysis, suggesting that the blighted corner of 63rd Street and Prospect is ripe for four or five big-box retail stores.…

Streetside: Surviving the Mystery Train's murder-mystery dinner theater

David Hudnall — Tue, 21 May 2013 22:00:00 -0500

by David Hudnall There was a time, and it was not that long ago, when the promise of a free meal was enough to persuade people to accompany me to just about any event, no matter how stupid. But lately, everybody seems to have a little more money and a lot less time.…

Music Forecast May 23-29: Cheap Trick, Japandroids, Drive-By Truckers, El Ten Eleven, Dawes and more

David Hudnall — Tue, 21 May 2013 22:00:00 -0500

by David Hudnall Cheap Trick The power-pop pride of Rockford, Illinois, is still touring 40 years into its career. Cheap Trick knows no other way — or, at least, its members have no other marketable skills.…

Barry Anderson's The Janus Restraint: The Ascension chips off some Iceland for summer

Tracy Abeln — Tue, 21 May 2013 22:00:00 -0500

Barry Anderson's exhibit chips off some Iceland for summer. by Tracy Abeln Barry Anderson is known for his bright, colorful video works: bars and diagonals and bubbles, light-rich abstractions that act as moving collages. His art features regularly in group exhibitions around the country and is in a number of museum and private collections, and recently he has collaborated with bands such as the U.K.'s Written in Waters, making abstract videos for their music.…

Waldo's Kokoro Maki House makes decent sushi — and good Korean food

Charles Ferruzza — Tue, 21 May 2013 22:00:00 -0500

Find both Korean cuisine and sushi at this Waldo spot. by Charles Ferruzza "There are not four Korean restaurants in Kansas City," said a friend of mine who is something of an expert in the cuisine of the Korean peninsula. "There are seven."…

Nineties KC-Lawrence club fixture DJ Ray Velasquez returns home for a few shows

David Hudnall — Tue, 21 May 2013 22:00:00 -0500

DJ Ray Velasquez comes home for some shows. by David Hudnall Those tuned in to the local club scene in the 1990s will remember Ray Velasquez. In addition to hosting Nocturnal Transmissions, a Saturday-night, electronic-music program on the much-loved Lawrence station KLZR (the Lazer) 105.9, Velasquez was a pioneering DJ at venues in KC and Lawrence from 1983 until 1999, when he moved to New York City.…

Fast & Furious 6

Jason Shawhan — Tue, 21 May 2013 22:00:00 -0500

by Jason Shawhan If the entirety of the nitro-burning delirium that is Fast & Furious 6 were just Gina Carano fighting Michelle Rodriguez, it would be the best movie of the year — a new-millennium Faster, Pussycat! Kill!…