Above: The Dogs aren't so young anymore, but they still hunt.
A reader wondered whether the free shows at the Kansas City Power & Light District were strictly 21-and-older. I thought not. But I checked with one of the district's PR people. The verdict: Yes, 21-and-older. But they are considering making the country shows 18-and-older. So leave your kids at home or locked in the car.
The district's music series start this weekend. The lineup: 7 p.m. Friday: Three Dog Night (above) with Dr. Hook; 7 p.m. Saturday: Vertical Horizon with Josh Gracin; 11 a.m. Sunday: the Armies Rock Band celebrates Armed Forces Day (and it's also game day for the Kansas City Brigade). The rest of the lineup is below.
PS: For the record, never lock your kids in the car, unless they're 21-and-older.
If you attended the Police reunion show at Sprint Center on Tuesday, your reaction to it probably depends heavily on a few factors: where your seat was; what you paid for it; and whether you were ready for how the band treated about 20 of its greatest hits.
According to Sting, about 12,000 fans were in the arena, an official figure that looked pretty accurate. All the seats behind the stage were roped/curtained off; the rest of the place looked about 98 percent full. That's an accomplishment for a tour that charges fans $200-plus for seats that run the spectrum from great (floor) to average (like Row 13 in Section 107, where I was sitting). The upper-level seats weren't cheap, either ($100). So lots of money was spilled, which meant expectations were high.
This YouTube clip is cool and sweet, on many levels. Here's the back story, from Friend of the Blog, Mike Webber:
I guess at some point, everything will reach YouTube. I've been telling people for years about three of my brother-in-laws having been in a really popular band in Mexico during the 60's: Los Hitters on Discos Capitol de Mexico.
Their biggest hits were covers of the Kinks and the Animals, apparently because those bands received less exposure in Mexico and therefore the covers were less likely to be compared with the originals than either the Beatles or the Stones.
Above: A bit of the Frames' "Your Face" by Glen Hansard and Marketa Irglova from the Uptown Theater show.
Last week's Swell Season show at the Uptown Theater show is now available for download. We got this testimonial from someone who was there (thanks, KevRocket):
I believe the cost is (thru PayPal) $9.95. It contains the entire show, with all of Glen's stories so I had to burn it to two discs. I've only listened to a few tunes, however the sound quality is pretty amazing for mp3s.
The Web site Smoking Gun got hold of a Foo Fighter's tour rider. There's lots of wry, sarcastic and funny stuff buried in it, like: "Fat roadies have to eat immediately so they can being their arduous 70- to 90-minute work day!" And this about chicken breasts: "I cannot tell you how many times in catering all over the world I have seen island after tiny island of chicken boobs floating in a mercury like sauce that gets pawned off as a $13 (US) entree.. This is not a diss to lunch rooms and the genus of the tater tot or the surly lunch lady per se. It's just a thought."
The Foos come to Kemper Arena on July 19. Looks like the floor is sold out and the first level is close. A request for a single ticket, "best seat" got me one in Row E, Sec. 114, which is back in the bowl, farthest from the stage.
Above: From way back in 1972, Tina does "Get Back" with three dancers in teeny-tiny skirts.
The official word is that her first Sprint Center show sold out in two minutes, but it doesn't say whether that includes the pre-sale, which was four days before the "general public" sale. Anyway, she's pulling a Bon Jovi, but in the other direction: She has scheduled a second show Oct. 8, a week after her first show (instead of four days before the first). Tickets go on sale at 10 a.m. Monday through Ticketmaster or visit the lady's Web site. Word: It'll be her third show in three days (and her fifth in six days). Neither site mentions a pre-sale for this show.
The boys have set up a Web site, "Mission: Metallica," to give fans a peek at the construction of the new album, due in September. The band this week is in California and Arizona, warming up for its summer tour of Europe, which begins May 28. The Web site is loaded with videos and sound clips and opportunities for fans to join/sign-up for concert premiums, including backstage passes. The European tour ends Aug. 24, in time for the band to launch a North American tour right around the album release -- its first in five years.
If G Love doesn't come through KC/Lawrence three times a year, it sure seems like it. He'll be at the Uptown Theater on July 31, a Thursday. It'll be an all-ages show. Tickets go on sale at 10 a.m. Saturday. They'll be $25.
Jill Scott (above) is coming to Starlight Theatre on Aug. 7, a Thursday. Tickets go on sale at 10 a.m. Saturday. They'll be $39.50 to $55. If you're a fanatic, take the long walk up to the "Producer's Circle" for $125.
He doesn't tour much, so when he does, it's a big deal. He's coming to the 4,192-seat Fox Theatre in downtown St. Louis on June 26, a Thursday. Here's the entire 13-show tour. Tickets go on sale at 10 a.m. Friday (May 16). They'll be $70 and $102.50. The only way to get them: Metrotix or by calling (314) 534-1111.
On June 25, he's at the Brady Theatre in Tulsa (about the same distance, depending on where your house is). Tickets for that go on sale at noon Friday. Call (866) 443-8849 or visit GetTix.
He's coming to Starlight Theater on Oct. 11 as part of the Music Builds Tour, an "eclectic" (odd) collection of "spiritual" bands: Jars of Clay, Switchfoot, Third Day and RR & the Family Band.
My Morning Jacket comes to town Aug. 18 at the Uptown Theater. The pre-sale: on right now. The password: thepitch. The price: $31. Their set in Austin at SXSW in March (above): not priceless, but pretty close.
He's older (nearly 60) and outspoken, but he's always entertaining. He'll be at the Uptown Theater on July 20. Tickets go on sale Saturday at 10 a.m. They'll cost you $25 each.
The Retribution Gospel Choir opens Wednesday's show in the streets of Lawrence. Don't bother fasting for communion: They're a three-piece rock band, featuring Alan Sparhawk of Low, and they have some Neil Young/Crazy Horse in their saddle bags. They sound like they have an affection for Built to Spill, too. Above: They rip into Low's "Breaker."
The Police come to Kansas City on Tuesday, headling a show at Sprint Center with Elvis Costello and the Imposters. Tickets are still available. A few weeks ago, guitarist Andy Summers spoke with us via telephone about the tour and all that it has meant to him and the band. The biggest reward: “Playing the music and getting on stage in front of these fabulous audiences and having it be so enormously successful beyond anything even we might have imagined.” Read the story below. Here's a review of a Police/Elvis show May 1 in Ottawa.
Russell Robinson, the senior point guard for the National Champion Kansas Jayhawks, is throwing himself a graduation party at Liberty Hall on May 17, and the lineup includes Robinson's uncle, old-school rapper Busy Bee (aka the Chief Rocker).
The rest of the lineup includes a "Who's Who" of local hip-hop luminaries: Mac Lethal, Joc Max, Reach, Miles Bonny and a "surprise guest." Tickets are $15.
They'll be at Sprint Center on July 9. Tickets will go on sale May 17, which is next Saturday). The entire tour posted here (and it calls our new arena the Spring Center).
You can pre-order tickets here. You'll need the password HARPOANIT. (That's TINA OPRAH in reverse.) The presale ends Friday at 8 p.m.Tickets go on sale to the general public at 10 a.m. Monday. Prices: 59.50 and $150.
Wednesday's show at Knuckleheads proved a few good things about the state of music these days. First, under the right circumstances, people will show up and pay a fair price to hear talent; second, if you have the talent and are willing to do the legwork, you can make a decent living as a singer-songwriter; and third, some of the best shows pop up at unexpected times and in unlikely places.
Kathleen Edwards was the headliner at Knuckleheads on Wednesday. Because the forecasters had predicted rain, owner Frank Hicks staged the show inside instead of outdoors. When Edwards took the stage around 9:15 p.m., the room was nearly filled (about 100 people) with a crowd that treated her like a star. And she didn't mind being indoors: "I've always wanted to play a roadhouse."
Here's a sample, in honor of the Cure and Steve Miller, due soon at Starlight Theatre (but not together) and Bob Marley (above) for what happened to this song on "American Idol" this week.
Above: The Bravery will perform -- for free -- July 2 as part of the Rock the Block Series in the Kansas City Power and Light District.
The Kansas City Power and Light District has put together most of its spring/summer/fall free music program. All shows are free and take place in the covered outdoor pavilion in the entertainment district across from Sprint Center. It all starts next weekend with a three-day Spring Extravaganza. The lineup:
7 p.m. May 16: Three Dog Night with Dr. Hook; 7 p.m. May 17: Vertical Horizon with Josh Gracin; 11 a.m. May 18: the Armies Rock Band celebrates Armed Forces Day (and it's also game day for the Kansas City Brigade).
The district has planned four concert series: the Rock the Block Series, Hot Country Nights, the Kansas City Blues Society's Blues Series and the District Rhythms series. The lineups:
Magnet The online version of "the bi-monthly, internationally distributed, glossy music magazine that gives well-deserved attention to musicians largely ignored by mainstream publications."
Metacritic Lots and lots of critics praise and bitch about music (and movies, DVDs, games, books and TV).
Paste "The premier magazine for people who still enjoy discovering new music, prize substance and songcraft over fads and manufactured attitude, and appreciate quality music in whatever genre it might inhabit."
The Police come to Kansas City on Tuesday, headling a show at Sprint Center with Elvis Costello and the Imposters. 
They'll be at Sprint Center on July 9. Tickets will go on sale May 17, which is next Saturday). The entire tour posted 
These graphs and charts are posted at a site called 
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