We have to admit, when Bazooka's Showgirls invited us to a dress rehearsal of their new burlesque show, "Frivolitease," we had low expectations. The word "burlesque" has been bandied about so often with so many performers in the last few years, we didn't expect more than a halfhearted fan dance and a few limp tassels attached to titties that didn't care to shake.
Were we wrong. This show rocks. (Click the photo to see the slideshow.)
If you've been meaning to give to the Japan disaster-relief effort and haven't had the chance, Saturday is as good a time as any. The ScionLAB (in the Crossroads District behind Grinders at 18th Street and Oak) is hosting a fundraiser for the American Red Cross Japan Earthquake and Tsunami Relief effort.
You can give a donation at the door, buy $5 raffle tickets (with the chance to win two tickets to every show at Crossroads KC this summer) or bid in a silent auction for art and other creative works. All of the proceeds will go to the Red Cross. The event goes from 1 to 6 p.m. You can also give directly to the American Red Cross by clicking here.
Eric Z. Price was shot in the head outside Waldo Pizza on November 30. Amazingly, he survived and continues to recover.
No mere drink and pizza slinger, Price made a name for himself before the tragedy as a magician. The Pitch even gave him an award for Best Bar Trick back in 2006 for his ability to wow with a deck of cards. Of course, he's still in the midst of his best trick yet -- bouncing back from the awful random act of violence.
This Saturday's benefit should help.
Comedian Jus Jay, whose real name was Jay Ramone Jackson, died June 18. He was 26.
Jackson died from complications after a kidney transplant, according to this website. The previous night, he'd gotten big laughs onstage when he performed at Ginuwine's Arabian Nights Under the Stars charity event.
Fox 4 film critic Shawn Edwards is throwing a garage sale at the Screenland Crossroads Saturday, May 8, from 9 a.m. to 5 p.m. Edwards is selling off a chunk of his movie collection and memorabilia -- and the proceeds all for a good cause. Edwards is donating the money to the Leukemia & Lymphoma Society (he was moved by the movie The Express). Click on The Chronicles of Narnia for a look at some of the goodies to be had at garage sale prices.
Dinosaurs Unearthed opens to the public at Union Station on May 1. The Dinosaurs Unearthed exhibit opens at Union Station on May 1. Judging by this early look, it's the kind of thing we would've loved when we were kids. Then again, what age group doesn't yearn to embrace the Triassic period? Visitors will tour interactive dinosaur exhibits featuring 24 full-sized
animatronic dinosaurs, a paleontological dig site, and a 3-D film. Click on the dino for a sneak peek.
A giant in the nonfiction world will appear at the Kansas City Public Library on March 29. The Writers at Work series has scheduled an evening with Pulitzer Prize winner John McPhee.
In 1965, McPhee published a profile of Bill Bradley in The New Yorker, which continues to print his work. In fact, the magazine's current editor, David Remnick, took the writing class McPhee teaches at Princeton University.
The environment is one of McPhee's favorite subjects. He draws on "innate powers of description, lucid exposition and easy rapport with his subjects" in the words of writer Kevin Kerrane.
It's weird to dial a phone number and have Ira Glass pick up on the other end. It's kind of like calling the tooth fairy or the Easter Bunny. At first, it feels surreal.
If you're a fan of the public radio program This American Life, Glass' voice is unmistakable: definitely nerdy, a little bit nasal, lined with an undercurrent of laughter or irony. Each week, that voice brings millions of radio listeners a one-hour package of perfect storytelling. And with his pithy introductions and seamless interviews, Glass comes off as the coolest, funniest and smartest person you probably only wish you knew in real life.
This weekend, Glass will be in Kansas in the flesh, bringing his radio equipment to the stage of the Lied Center, where he'll re-create the magic of TAL in front of a live audience. In anticipation of Glass' Saturday-night appearance, I spoke yesterday with the famous radio host about his interview technique, a soon-to-air investigative series (possibly in song) and his favorite story about Lawrence.
Nice mentions in the latest issue of Esquire (the one with Leonardo DiCaprio) for Manifesto and R Bar & Restaurant, in the mag's ongoing list of "Best Bars in America." Manifesto (1924 Main) gets accolades for being "an excellent modern speakeasy," but the bulk of the blurb is about R Bar (1617 Genessee). Here's what the lad mag says:
... the new R Bar is a classic-looking, almost patina-ed bar and grill with good modern food and, best of all, speakeasy-style drinks: real cocktail -- the julep is excellent -- nothing too fancy but not the same-old same-old, either. Plus, if it gets a band in, and it does, it's a good one, playing just the kind of music you'd expect in a part of town called the West Bottoms.
Royals fan sprints on the field, steals rosin bag
Oklahoma Joe's ribs named the best in the country by The Daily Meal
Kansas House ignores Brownback, Senate, goes home early for long weekend
Story celebrates with a pig roast and other weekend possibilities
Parisi's Pete Licata is a World Barista Championship semifinalist
Soundgarden's sludgy sound, last night at the Midland (review)
Homer's Drive-In: the oldest drive-through in the metro
KCPD will breathalyze patrons at Tanner's tonight