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Review: Ben Folds

Ben Folds and his band were in the middle of "Errant Dog" when fireworks lit up the sky south of Crossroads KC. A dozen blocks away or so, the mammoth Rockfest '09 was ending, and though the 50,000 hard-rock fans were sharing their finale with most of the 2,500-plus inside the fenced-in venue behind Grinders, the sky above them and the firework show were the only things the two shows had in common.

Review: Rockfest '09

Above: Gregg Todt of the Kansas City band Federation of Horsepower, which opened Rockfest at noon Saturday. The festival ended 11 hours later, after a set by headliner Korn and a fireworks display. Photos by Keith Myers/The Star

Billed as the nation's biggest one-day music festival, the 2009 edition of Rockfest was a monstrous success. About 50,000 fans heard 15 bands perform on two stages Saturday at the grounds of the Liberty Memorial. The event's extraordinary size serves as an annual tribute to the relationship between radio station KQRC (98.9) and its unflinchingly loyal listeners.

For a Rockfest slideshow, go here.

Review: Sugarland

Photos by Sue Pfannmuller/Special to The Star

If Sugarland represents the future of country music, then that future will be flavored heavily with references to all other kinds of music. Friday night, the duo from Atlanta entertained more than 12,000 fans inside the Sprint Center with a show that included covers of songs by fellow-Georgians R.E.M. and the B-52s and a trick they picked up from the Flaming Lips. They also tossed in some refernces to Madonna, Nelly, Flight of the Concords and the Emotions.

This weekend: Shows big and small

This weekend's big four events: Sugarland at Sprint Center (tonight); Charlie Wilson at Municipal Auditorium (tonight); Ben Folds at Crossroads KC (Saturday); and Rockfest, the all-day hard-rock orgy at Liberty Memorial park (Saturday). But there are plenty of smaller shows, too. Here are a few. Let us know if we've missed something worth a mention.

Review: NIN/JA

Wednesday's show at Starlight Theatre was billed as a reunion show and a farewell tour. Nine Inch Nails is reportedly calling it quits after 20-plus years (at least that's what Trent Reznor says); and Jane's Addiction is saying hello again after a hiatus of nearly five years. The bands famously toured together on the first Lollapalooza in 1991. So there was also some nostalgia in the air.

Review: The Decemberists

What you thought of Wednesday night’s concert by the Decemberists at the Uptown Theater is largely based on your opinion of the band’s latest release, “The Hazards of Love.”

NIN/JA: Word

According to the NIN fanclub Web site, here are the starting times for tonight's show at Starlight Theatre:  N.I.N. at 7:45 p.m.; Jane's Addiction at 9:30 p.m. Street Sweeper Social Club, featuring Tom Morello, opens at 7 p.m. The guest local band in the VIP Club: the Beautiful Bodies. (Thanks, Brian C.)

The Dead Weather, with Jack White and Alison Mossheart

Wish we could say they were on the way, but here they perform "60 Feet Tall" (the song starts at about 1:40). Video is from the crowd, so there are a couple of hoopleheads to listen over, but otherwise the sound isn't bad.

The album, "Horehound," is scheduled for a June 9 release.

| David Frese, The Star

On the way: Gomez, Glasvegas and more

Gomez is coming to the Beaumont Club on July 20, a Monday.

Ex-Wilco member Jay Bennett dies

His legacy will  be polluted by "I Am Trying to Break Your Heart," the documentary that chronicled the end of his partnership with Jeff Tweedy. Nonetheless, this is really sad; and he sure had his brilliant side. More here.