Subject: Scott Spychalski

• Concert Review: Holy Fuck

  March 10, 2008

• Concert Review: Gogol Bordello, Friday, May 29, at the Beaumont

  REVIEW BY ABBIE STUTZER If you ever attend a Gogol Bordello show, expect to see wiry, unshaven front man, Eugene Hütz, sport everything from canvas zipper clad pants and sneakers to bright striped belts and high heels. Scott SpychalskiHütz! Hütz and his fellow rocking vagabonds will typically down drinks, bend barricades to interact with the crowd, and dance with the band's beautiful face-painted percussionists. Gogol's quick-paced songs and driving beat demand the band put all their energy

  June 2, 2009

• Slideshow: The Cure at Starlight, 5/19/08

  May 20, 2008

• Concert Review: Sigur Ros

  June 13, 2008

• Photos: Peter Murphy at the Beaumont, 6/15/08

  June 16, 2008

• Concert Review: Rockfest 2009. Saturday, May 30, at Liberty Memorial

  Did you know that Rockfest has its own set of rules? That's right. The (allegedly) largest one-day music festival in the country, sponsored by KQRC 98.9 The Rock had screens set up in the back of the venue stating the rules of decorum for the sold-out crowd, which was supposedly 50,000 deep. The Ten Commandments of Rockfest: 1. Thou shalt pick up thy brother if he falls. 2. Thou shalt drink one water for every two beers. 3. Thou shalt apply sunscreen so thou won't become the Rock Lobster. 4.

  June 1, 2009

• Concert Review: Bruce Springsteen, 8/24/08, the Sprint Center

  August 25, 2008

• Slideshow: Dandy Warhols at Liberty Hall, 9/26/08

  September 29, 2008

• Two Tales of Halloween Night

  November 3, 2008

• Late Thoughts on TV On The Radio at Power & Light

  November 3, 2008

• Slide Show: Eagles of Death Metal. Wednesday, December 10, at the Midland

  If you are a fan of Sam Elliot's mustache and garage rock, then you got to see this here slide show by Scott Spychalski, who totally partied with Jessie Hughes after the show and did not call us. Bastard.Click on photo, y'all. Amazing bonus shots after the jump.

  December 11, 2008

• Concert Review: The Black Kids, Mates of State at the Beaumont, April 13, 2009

  BY CALEB GOELLNER Homecoming shows tend to have a polarizing effect on successful touring acts. Much like walking the halls of a former high school, it's a mixed bag of nostalgia and trauma that returning performers either love or loathe. Fortunately for Kansas City, the former Lawrencians of Mates of State were all smiles, harmonies and appreciation. The show began with the recently refined Beaumont at about half capacity - a population that quickly swelled to a crowd more befitting of a "hom

  April 14, 2009

• Concert Review: Kris Kristofferson at the Uptown

  By DANNY ALEXANDER As Ethan Hawke pointed out in his Rolling Stone story on the songwriting giant, Kris Kristofferson has always been ambivalent about his performance skills. "Sometimes I hate it," he admitted in an early interview. And Friday night, he made numerous jokes about his abilities. After "Come Sundown" he made the comment, "Sounded better when Bobby Bare did it." Photos by Scott Spychalski But the overwhelming feeling of the evening was a sense of appreciation. "You're the best au

  April 20, 2009

• Concert Review: Franz Ferdinand at the Beaumont

  Apparently, Franz Ferdinand pretty much took over Westport yesterday. It started early, with a KRBZ 96.5 FM-sponsored "Kegs and Eggs" acoustic show at the Firefly. According to reports, people began waiting outside at 6 a.m. or earlier. I'm not sure when they began letting folks inside, but they had to turn some away. The lucky ones got to nosh on a breakfast buffet and get drinks at the bar -- and then go to work and throw up in their cubicles. Scott SpychalskiFranz leader Alex Kapranos st

  April 28, 2009

• End-of-Day Roundup: Jazz links, Cake photos and more

  A number of things plopped into my inbox, across my RSS reader and into and out of my pants today, so I thought I'd share with a quick little mixed-bag post here at the end of another day in Pitch-land. Bill Brownlee is jazz hero man of the day. Not only did the local blogger write this killer review of the People's Liberation Big Band's Battleship Potemkin project, he also debuted a jazz events calendar that's an offshoot of his jazz blog Plastic Sax. We don't have a review of Cake's sold-out

  May 4, 2009

• Concert Review: The Offspring, Taking Back Sunday, the Used at Buzz Under the Stars

  This past Friday night, the intellectuals went to the Beaumont Club, and the people that really wanted to rock were at the City Market. Scott SpychalskiHow many of these kids have actually been to the Steamboat Arabia Museum? 96.5 The Buzz kicked off their Buzz Under the Stars concert series with the Offspring's The Shit Is Fucked Up Tour, with opening support from the kinda-Christian alternative band Anberlin, suburban Chicago punk three-piece Alkaline Trio, the angsty platinum-selling the Us

  May 26, 2009

• Concert Review: Jenny Lewis at the Granada

  REVIEW BY IAN HRABE Last night at the Granada, amid the smell of industrial-strength permanent marker mingled with various perfumes in a crowd of rowdy young women and their boyfriends, I bought everything Jenny Lewis was selling. Scott Spychalski Though I've always found the vocals on her solo records to be a bit too thin for her country-folk-gospel songs, by the end of the night I was reminded of why Jenny Lewis is one of my favorite female singers in the business. Her set featured an equa

  June 16, 2009

• Concert Review: Lucinda Williams, 6/17/09, at the VooDoo Lounge

  It was all about the honey. Sipping straight honey from a cup on stage up by her tiny Fender guitar amp ("It's the only thing that keeps me from coughing," she said, sounding like a character from a Tennessee Williams play), Lucinda Williams and her backing band, Buick 6, delivered two straight hours of pure, refined, thick aural sweetness last night at the VooDoo Lounge at Harrah's Casino. Scott Spychalski After walking out on stage at ten minutes after 9 in high heels and hip-hugging jeans a

  June 18, 2009

• Concert Review: Ida Maria at the Beaumont

  BY ELKE MERMIS With her retro style, exotic roots and riot-grrrl attitude, America's not quite sure what to make of Scandinavian import Ida Maria Sivertsen. Is she supposed to be a 21st century Chrissie Hynde? A thinking man's Katy Perry? A modern pop-punk princess? Or something else entirely?What we do know is that Ida (say "eee-da") Maria rocked a boozy, sweaty set in front of a boozy, sweaty crowd in good ole KC on Friday night, courtesy of 96.5 The Buzz's "Red, White and Blow It Out Your As

  June 22, 2009

• Concert Review: Stevie Wonder

  BY ROBERT FOLSOM The tickets said "8pm," but they should have said "Sunset." ("When it's dark enough for the stage lights and video screens" wouldn't have fit on a ticket.) Eager Stevie Wonder fans had to fan themselves in Friday's heat and humidity while waiting for the pop music legend to come on at Starlight Theatre. Scott Spychalski When he did take the stage at 8:55, he announced that the show was dedicated to Michael Jackson, his longtime friend who died the day before. Also, at daughte

  June 29, 2009

• Coming to Westport this fall ... festival drinking!

  Scott SpychalskiThe P&L won't be the only place to drink outdoors this fall.The Power & Light District won't be the only place to drink outdoors this fall. Missouri Gov. Jay Nixon signed a bill last week to allow festival drinking permits in entertainment districts such as Westport, whose business leaders had been fighting for the permit for a long, long time. Fat City's Owen Morris has more details, but here's a primer:The permits only last for 48 hours, they're limited to two per month

  July 6, 2009

• Concert Review: No Doubt and Paramore @ Starlight

  It was an all-white party when No Doubt took the stage at Starlight Theatre last night as part of their reunion tour. Scott Spychalski Headlining a triple bill that also featured Paramore and Bedouin Soundclash, the members of No Doubt showed off the sort of lovable ska-eccentricity that made the group one of the most popular bands in the '90s. Scott Spychalski As the capacity crowd cheered in anticipation, No Doubt emerged from their hiatus in variations of all-white suits, blond mohawks (fa

  July 7, 2009

• Photos: Chris Isaak at VooDoo Lounge

  Hot on the heels of his well-reviewed 12th LP, Mr. Lucky, Mr. Chris Isaak came to Kansas City last night in full fiery regalia. We were sadly unable to place a reviewer at the show, but we got some cracking visuals. If you were there, by all means, let us know what you thought, baby. Scott SpychalskiClick on Chris for slide show.

  July 17, 2009

• Concert Review: Sonic Youth at the Uptown

  Two things I need to be up front and honest about before I start this review of Saturday night's Sonic Youth show at the Uptown: I haven't listened to a Sonic Youth album all the way through since Murray Street, (maybe even A Thousand Leaves) and the one and only time I've seen Sonic Youth live was over 14 years ago, opening for R.E.M. I like Sonic Youth as a casual fan. I'll listen to their records when folks put them on, and take an interest whenever they've got a new record on the way, but b

  July 20, 2009

• Concert Review: Incubus, the Duke Spirit at City Market

  PHOTOS & REVIEW BY SCOTT SPYCHALSKI Warning. This review is written by a non-professional writer. I apologize in advance. But I am, however, a professional photographer, who brings you images from the battle zone known as the pit, and the pit was brutal for Incubus, with many crowd surfers, police taking action and a few fists thrown from men and women. I thought Incubus was a chill band? Scott Spychalski8,500-plus? Looks about right. Click for slide show Sunday night was the end of a beautif

  July 21, 2009

• Tori Amos at the Starlight Theatre

  My Tori Amos record collection, which ends at From the Choirgirl Hotel, has been on the shelf for years. I was obsessed with her in high school -- I spent countless hours trying to decipher the convoluted sexual metaphors in her songs and then wrote my own afflicted derivations. I sang "China" at a pops concert. And I even named my dog Tori. I started to lose interest, though, after Amos' unfortunate 2001 covers album, Strange Little Girls. The strange little girl in me perked right up, however

  July 24, 2009

• Concert Review: Jamie Foxx at Sprint Center

  The real Jamie Foxx may have never appeared at the Sprint Center on Saturday night. Instead, he performed as a few polished characters: the oversexed old-school R&B crooner, the feisty hip-hop hitmaker, and, briefly, the reincarnation of Ray Charles. Nearly as brief as Ray's appearance were the moments of pure comedy. Foxx used his formidable stand-up and sketch-comedy chops only as segues to the next club jam. Despite the undeniable popularity of "Blame It," Jamie Foxx the comedic emcee and Jam

  July 27, 2009

• Slide Show: The Jonas Bros. at Sprint Center

  Kevin, Nick and Joe Jonas, stars of the biggest boy band of the moment in America, returned to Sprint Center last night to strut before a sea of adoring fans. We did not send a reviewer, but we got some good, wholesome pics. (And if it's possible to just join someone else's family, I'd really like to be adopted by and/or adopt the family in photo No. 3.) Scott SpychalskiClick on photo for slide show.

  July 30, 2009

• Slide Show Set Lists Rubber Duckie: Glasvegas and Ida Maria

  The Pitch Music Showcase wasn't the only thing going on last night. The other thing: Scottish band Glasvegas and Norwegian rocker-girl Ida Maria played at the Granada. We got some hot shots, including this priceless backstage Polaroid of Glasvegas frontman James Allan. Click on the duckie for slides from the show. Scott Spychalski​

  August 7, 2009

• Photos from Sunday: Drowning Pool on the bus, rained-out at Crossroads KC

  Sunday was kind of a wash for intrepid Pitch photographer Scott Spychalski, who came downtown from his Raytown wigwam in hopes of shooting Crue Fest and Reel Big Fish. Despite getting media credentials to shoot portraits of several of the bands opening for Motley Crue Sunday night at the Sprint Center, Scott Spy was not actually able to get into the show. (Being a regional altweekly, we just don't have that powerful SPIN-sized Kansas City Star pull. What, magazines are dying? Dailies, too? You

  August 11, 2009

• Concert Review: Green Day and Franz Ferdinand at Sprint Center

  I don't think I ended up in a bunny suit last night at Green Day's show at the Sprint Center, but I'm not sure, either. Or maybe that was you I'm thinking of. Were you wearing black Chucks? Do you have a vague recollection of going for beers and coming back in a bunny suit and ending up on stage in front of Tre Cool's drum set dazed in the lights, feeling your bunny ears? Yeah, me too. It was one of those shows: absolutely crazy, totally thrilling, where anything could've happened and most of it

  August 13, 2009

• Concert Review: Blondie at the Crossroads

  According to Wikipedia, Deborah Harry, lead singer for the new wave band Blondie, which played last night at the Crossroads KC at Grinders, turned 64 this past July 1. Damnit, Wikipedia, where are your manners? If this is correct, and I have a feeling it is -- the great and powerful AllMusic.com backs it up -- then Harry was 30, or close to it, when she and guitarist Chris Stein founded their band in 1975. Can you imagine a 30-year-old female American musician doing this today and having anywh

  August 19, 2009

• Concert Review: Dave Alvin and the Guilty Women

  BY ROBERT FOLSOM I'm a girl watcher, I'm a girl watcher/Here comes one now. Or five. And they weren't girls. They were Dave Alvin's Guilty Women taking the stage to the tune of the O'Kaysions' "Girl Watcher" Friday night at the Folly Theater, just ahead of their bandleader. Scott SpychalskiClick for more pics of Dave Alvin and the Guilty Women. Alvin formed his all-female backing band in 2008 after the death of his close friend, West Coast singer-songwriter Chris Gaffney, who had been a memb

  August 24, 2009

• Concert Review: Peter, Bjorn and John at the Granada

  BY IAN HRABE It's funny what a hit can do. Two years ago, I literally could not walk down Mass Street without hearing Peter, Bjorn and John's whistle-wielding surprise hit "Young Folks" blasting out of some boutique or pizza place. Suddenly, the song was everywhere. From clothing commercials, to sports video games, to Grey's Anatomy, to a sample in a Kanye West track. Rather than recreate the success of "Young Folks," with this year's Living Thing, the trio abandoned the anthemic sing-a-long po

  August 31, 2009

• Concert Review: Lee "Scratch" Perry at the Beaumont Club

  Better Than: the 2009 American Idols Tour at the Sprint Center. I had second thoughts before I agreed to review the Lee "Scratch" Perry performance at the Beaumont Club on Sunday night. "He's a legend," my friend said. "People are probably going to talk shit about your review, no matter what you write... and don't even think about getting a setlist either," he added. Despite the warning, I decided to carry on, slightly fearing public backlash (i.e., Railroad Earth fans). I did some research,

  September 1, 2009

• Slideshow No. 1 from a long weekend: Greaserama

  A scary monster hangs out with Tara Fay Hansen at Greaserama.​Last weekend was Greaserama at the Boulevard Drive-In and photographer Scott Spychalski was there to capture it all. Here's Scott Spy's shots in a slideshow.

  September 8, 2009

• Concert Review: Blink-182 and Weezer at Sandstone

  BY ELKE MERMIS I don't dig '90s nostalgia. I find it creepy and unnecessary, and frankly, it makes me feel old as hell. But when bands like Blink-182 and Weezer roll around -- on the same billing, no less -- I'm more than willing to shake off my hang-ups, slather on the eyeliner and get a little angsty for the night. Geared up for some serious high school nostalgia, I caught both of these bands -- two of the '90s most legendary pop-punk acts -- at the end of the daylong Buzz Beach Ball, hoste

  September 8, 2009

• Concert Review: the Get Up Kids at VooDoo Lounge

  BY IAN HRABE When you tell someone you're from Kansas you will get one of two responses. Some people will immediately reference The Wizard of Oz, and if you are outside of the midwest you are almost guaranteed to have someone remind you that "you're not in Kansas anymore." The more saavy bunch will immediately bring up the Get Up Kids. My response to this was that Jim Suptic's mom was my 7th grade math teacher, and that this led not only to my discovery of the band but triggered the punk-rock a

  September 14, 2009

• Concert Review: Kings of Leon at Sprint Center

  It was a cold, misty night in Kansas City. A mass of people descended on the glowing orb of the Sprint Center to see a Rock Band with a capital "R" play spacious rock epics inside said arena. The Rock Band in question gave a high-quality, by-the-book performance with no surprises that surely satisfied fans but might not have won over many new ones. Scott Spychalski​ Now a short background: Kings of Leon is made up of three evangelical preacher's sons and their cousin. They go by their mid

  October 14, 2009

• Sprint Center's night of NBA action impresses

  Photos by Scott SpychalskiClick on Dwayne Wade throwing it down for a slideshow of last night's Heat-Hornets game.​Matt Moore of Hardwood Paroxysm covered Thursday night's Heat-Hornets game at the Sprint Center. Here's his dispatch.The NBA in Kansas City. Man, that's weird. It's like barbecue in St. Louis. It's just absurd. And coming into Thursday night's game between the Heat and the Hornets, I expected the city of KC to mostly respond in kind. Sure, there would be a fair amount of folks who

  October 16, 2009

• Concert Review: The Pogues at the Midland

  To flip someone off in Ireland and the UK, you make the V-sign and hold it out palm inwards. Usually, the index and middle finger are closer together than, say, in the gesture you would make ordering two gyros at the falafel truck. This version of the bird ("the two-fingered salute" as they call it) was designed and put into order by Parliament specifically and for no other reason than to enable Shane MacGowan to flip you off every time he takes a drag from his cigarette on stage. It's a fact.

  October 26, 2009

• How should Larry Johnson be punished?

  Larry Johnson awaits his fate​The Kansas City Star finally released the audio clip of Megatron telling reporters to "Get your faggot ass out of here." Oh, that was Larry Johnson? I couldn't understand a damn thing he said, but the Chiefs running back isn't disputing anything other than his suspension. About that: What do you guys think the team should do with the aging, troubled back at the end of his suspension? Vote early and vote often. What should the Chiefs do with Larry Johnson?(poll)

  October 29, 2009

• 2009 Buzz Halloweenie Roast: Desperation, Angst and Jet

  I was miserable for most of last night's KRBZ's Buzz Halloweenie Roast at the Beaumont. I felt like an alley cat -- friendless, weatherbeaten, a scavenging creature of the night. I had a bad cold coming on (whose intensification today accounts for the lateness of this review) and, what's worse, I had a rock in my shoe. There's nothing like a bad cold and a rock in your shoe to remind you that the life of a man is "solitary, poor, nasty, brutish, and short." Scott SpychalskiClick on Adam Lee for

  October 29, 2009

• Slideshow: Halloween in the P&L District

  ​Pitch photographer Scott Spychalski survived Halloween night at downtown's Power & Light District. As to the fate of the folks in his photos ... we're not so sure. Click the Stay Puft Marshmallow Man for a slideshow (and look out for Luke Skywalker riding a tauntaun).

  November 2, 2009

• Concert Review: Paramore at the Uptown

  With fiery vocals, spunky 'tude and faux-angsty pop-punk sound, singer Hayley Williams, her band boys -- Josh Farro, Jeremy Davis, Zac Farro and Taylor York -- and her famously brightly-dyed hair have been inspiring precious pink-haired teenagers under their now-famous moniker of Paramore since 2004. Scott SpychalskiClick for more Paramore pics.​ Tempering the punch of their punk influences with their openly Christian beliefs and down-home Southern charm, Paramore has perfected its own b

  November 5, 2009

• Comment of the Week

  Photo by Scott SpychalskiLarry Johnson​Larry Johnson reports back to work on Monday. His suspension will be over, and the news about his homophobic slurs and criticism of his coach will be forgotten and everyone will kiss and make up. Uh, probably not. Fans are banding together to keep LJ on the sidelines and away from the Chiefs' all-time leading rusher record. They're circulating a petition/letter to general manager Scott Pioli, asking him to keep LJ off the field and 80 yards shy of the rec

  November 6, 2009

• Concert Review: Snoop Dogg's Wonderland High School Tour

  Was it a testament to Snoop Dogg's market value or to a hunger for '90s nostalgia that there was an hourlong wait to get into the VooDoo Lounge at Harrah's Casino Friday night? Of course, the wand-equipped security probably had a lot to do with the wait time, but the place was packed. And smoky. And rowdy as hell. By the time I finally got in, around 9:30 (after arriving at 8 and killing time on the casino floor while the line died down), I witnessed security guards gently escorting out a girl

  November 9, 2009

• Concert Review: Leonard Cohen at the Midland

  The ticket admonished: "8 p.m. sharp." And at 7:58 last night, the lights inside the Midland dimmed, and a low-voltage current of recorded flamenco music swept six musicians and three singers onto the stage. Then Leonard Cohen bounded out -- bounded, like someone on his way to high-five Scottie Pippen and Michael Jordan. The first song: "Dance Me to the End of Love." Mission accomplished. Scott SpychalskiLeonard Cohen, opening with "Dance Me to the End of Love"​ The 75-year-old poet and so

  November 10, 2009

• Concert Review: Har Mar Superstar

  Let's get one thing straight. This is sexy:Scott Spychalski​ I'm not kidding.Har Mar Superstar is a pudgy, balding 31--year-old, yes. But it's all in the mind. Which is why, when the Minnesota-born R&B rocker purrs sex-laced lyrics while shedding layers of clothing like a sweaty, sequined snake, he believes that every girl in the audience wants to rip off his Paul Frank tighty-whities. And he's right. I'd take Har Mar over Justin Timberlake any day -- and I know I'm not the only one.Alicia

  November 12, 2009

• Slide Show: Rock 'N Fashion at Crosstown Station

  In a rare feat of sexiness for the Wayward Blog, we actually have pictures of bona fide good-looking people for you to ogle today. Hollywood, here we come! These shots were taken at the Rock 'N Fashion party this past Saturday at Crosstown Station, where designers Oblivion, Robert Anthony, Abigail Carolina, Wop on Top, Betsey Johnson, Envolve and Evil Pawn showed their wares alongside performances by Pet Comfort, Action Figure and Heroes and Villains. We don't know who anyone is or what/who th

  November 16, 2009