Minus the Bear
Wednesday, October 24
The Granada
Review & Photo by Crystal K. Wiebe
Fashionably late is fine for a party. But I like to get to concerts on time — early, even. There’s an inherent thrill for me in getting to hear the opener. Who knows what new sound you might hear?
But, sometimes, I admit, I just want to hear whatever band I really came to see. Like last night at the Granada. Poor Tiny Vipers and Helio Sequence didn’t have a chance with me. Headliner Minus the Bear was one of the bands I was most proud to have “discovered” at South by Southwest in 2005. Having not seen the Bear since then, I was crazy excited.
Where's the Bear?
On October 10, The Pitch requested a copy of any contracts issued or agreed to by the Jazz District Redevelopment Corporation. The JDRC responded on October 23 with a one-page letter that denied the request.
The following day, we published this story, in which several sources confirmed the existence of a contract between the JDRC and the Downtown Council. Hours after the edition hit the stands, The Pitch got a call from the JDRC that, yes, in fact, there was a contract. They offered to allow me to come inspect it at 8:30 this morning. After paying 70 cents, they handed over this copy of the contract.
This may be old news to some, but apparently guerilla marketers for the spacey, screeching prog-emo band Coheed and Cambria scared the hell out of folks at Kansas University by painting the band's logo -- or some damn symbol -- and the date 10.23.07 in various places around campus to commemorate the Tuesday release of the band's album Long-Haired Dude in Tight Jeans Will Kick Your Whole Town's Ass.
Here's a brief LJ World blog article on the subject. Google Coheed Cambria Kansas University for more.
In other prog/emo news...
Say the name D.B. Cooper to a midtowner and they’ll probably think of the smoky 39th Street bar near the Kansas University Medical Center that opens at 6 a.m. and hosts some wild karaoke on Wednesdays. Many of the bar’s regulars might not even know the story of the real D.B. Cooper, a daring, albeit extraordinarily polite hijacker who jumped out of a Seattle-bound 727 with $200,000 in $20 bills in 1971, never to be seen again.
Kenny Giese, the owner of D.B. Cooper’s on 39th Street, lived in Seattle at the time of Cooper’s heist and became fascinated with the story. “He always wondered if Cooper was in some small town somewhere, tending some tiny bar,” a friend of Giese’s tells us. “So when he bought this bar from the original owners, that’s what he named it.”
Less than a year after releasing The Guerilla Movement, KC rapper James Christos is back with The Coup: A 21-Day Revolution Within.
Two men figure strongest on The Coup, Christos, of course, and Jaz Brewer of 64111 Studios, a good place to have a soda and make a rap album. I haven't had much of a chance to listen to this yet, but a cursory skimming turns up mainly bangers, chock full of inspiring, self-esteem-boosting rhymes, good turns-of-urban-dictionary-phrase and catchy choruses, like on "Opus 2," with its mighty chant: Act ignint, here to get ya lifted!
James Christos: "Opus 2" MP3
By the way, none of the songs on The Coup have actual titles. They're just Opus 1, Op. 2, Op. 3, through all nine tracks. And there's lots of good morsels among these opi. Though definitely not gangsta, Christos is gruff enough to avoid backpacker characterization, and Brewer's production is full of hard, street-level beats. It's bravado for the well-behaved hustler.
See the energetic MC perform songs from The Coup this Sunday, October 28, at the Peanut Downtown. Cover is $3, and the show starts at 9. (Upstairs at the venue, pianist John Brewer, DJ Leonard D Stroy and percussionist Brandan Draper perform live jazz-soul-funk-world-turntable jams.)
Those crazy radio people. Those crazy California wildfires.
Just found out that San Diego-based sex rockers Louis XIV (featuring hometown boy James Armbrust on bass) are playing from 9 a.m. to 11 a.m. this Sunday, October 28, at the Brooksider. Put on by the Buzz, the "Bloody Mary Breakfast" show also features and appearance by the station's syndicated morning host, Don Imus.
Just kidding. Dick Dale will be there. (Not this guy:
)
And these perps will, too. (That's Armbrust on the far left)
In the meantime, here's a kickass YT video of parkour moves set to a song by Louis XIV.
It has been nearly a week since Kansas made national headlines for rejecting a power plant because it would add to global warming – and the political fallout has been immediate and intense.
When Rod Bremby, the secretary for the Kansas Department of Health and Environment, denied an air permit for Sunflower Electric Power Corporation to drastically expand a coal-fired power complex in western Kansas, outrage flared across the state.
Ever wonder what it’s like to be in a huddle with Bobby Knight yelling in your face, halitosis in full force? Ever dreamed of accepting bribes from influential boosters? What about screaming through your school president’s property on an ATV when you’re supposed to be serving time in a halfway house? Me neither. But there was one thing I did want to know about the new College Basketball Experience facility adjacent to the Sprint Center.
To be honest, I was less interested in paying homage to college basketball players and coaches than I was in testing the claim made by a sign above the CBE entrance: "Warning. This is NOT a museum. You may sweat." I usually avoid activity involving that possibility, but I thought, No one is going to threaten me like that.
So I get this book in the mail, a book written by some limey about dead rock stars, and innit, I find a profile on this cat named Lee Collinson, who died of t'roat cancer -- but not before singing in this killer '70s British pub rock band called Dr. Feelgood. Collinson sang under the alias Lee Brilleaux. He was great. I wish he was still alive and was my granddad and stuff. Check out the YouTubery on Lee and his mates. I love discovering new old stuff.
"Roxette" by Dr. Feelgood
On Sunday night, Jon Fulton Adams and Ron Megee got married in a spectacular affair. JFA, a fashion and costume designer, and Ron, an actor who founded Late Night Theatre, are known for hosting creative theme parties in their West Bottoms loft. So it was no surprise that their big night incorporated an Edwardian-Victorian-goth theme, a touching ceremony that made most everyone cry and – of course – a stage show with drag and burlesque performances at the reception.
The ceremony -- which Ron described in his vows as a “one-night only” show -- took place at the Coterie Theater. The wedding party dressed in either black jackets with tails or corset dresses with billowing skirts, which they accessorized with pheasant feather corsages. Ron and JFA both sported top hats and tuxes; Ron had a black lace veil hanging from the front of his hat. De De Deville, who rocked the ringlet curls and a Victorian dress with a bustle, carried Atticus, the couple’s wire terrier. He served as the ring-bearer and his little stubby tail wagged excitedly as he went down the aisle.
After they were pronounced husband and husband, we headed to their loft for the reception. Some highlights of the night:
Team hotels in plaza or elsewhere?? Any insight?
I'd give anything for that cocktail, hold the tail.
I'm sorry, but I can't get into a sport that allows a 0-0 tie to…
BORING.
Agree w/Abe, mint remains the one to beat. I'll be interested to see how the…
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