Epilogue: CMF

Dead Voices: unvarnished and invigorating cosmic-rock, with some fierce pedal steel. 

If there was a go-to show among the two-dozen-plus performances at this year's Crossroads Music Fest, it must have been Hearts of Darkness' gig, which started at 11:30 p.m. in the downstairs room at Crosstown Station. By the time the band took the stage, the line of people waiting to get into the venue was long and included at least one spouse of a band member. It was one-in, one-out. But not too many people were leaving. "Pull rank and get in," someone texted me. Instead I walked half a block to the Czar Bar and caught Dead Voices for the first time. It was one of my favorite sets of a long and rewarding evening. 

Atlantic Fadeout: a "Some Girls" cover that will not be forgotten.

It wasn't a perfect night. There were some sound issues here and there. It was frustrating a few times, but it didn't sour the event for me. Because something larger was going on.

The festival showcased only 25 or so of the hundreds of bands in this city, most of them assembled by people who love music like a religion but who can only pursue it as a hobby or a second job. It can be an expensive indulgence -- financially, emotionally and personally -- especially for those who pursue with some level of financial success in mind.

Grisly Hand: a little Meat Purveyors, a little Trailer Bride, a lot of Bloodshot in their veins.

But they do it anyway because they can't imagine not doing it. Asking them to stop would be like asking an egg to stop being oval. They love to create and perform and the ones who really know what they're doing spend a lot of time and money creating and honing and rehearsing and then bringing it out into the public and performing it really well, sometimes as well as people who are well-known and make a decent living -- or a lot of money -- doing it.

Music isn't like sports, where performance can be quantified into statistics. Plenty of mediocre bands get famous; lots of good bands never get discovered. Saturday night's event was a low-cost/high-reward showcase for some bands in Kansas City who deserve some level of discovery and for some of the venues that book them. 

I saw several bands on Saturday I hadn't seen before: Faster Horses, Atlantic Fadeout, the Caves and Dead Voices. I saw the Grisly Hand for only the second time. And I saw a few bands I've long been sold on, like Thee Water Moccasins and the Bleach Bloodz. It was all good; some of it was really good.

Howard Iceberg in an alley with the Bleach Bloodz: like John Prine sitting in with the Ramones.

But what stood out for me -- and what other people noticed -- was not just the attendance but who showed up. It seemed likely that the Pavement show would draw a lot of people away from this festival. Instead, the early crowds were big, then the rooms got even fuller around 11 p.m., after the Pavement show let out. And the crowds appeared to include more than the usual suspects and scenesters. It sure looked like a lot of people were hearing bands and seeing venues for the first time. In the clubs and in the streets outside them, the vibe was jovial -- a win-win for everyone.

Faster Horses: some big loud melodic rock

It'd be nice if what happened Saturday prompted people to go back to the clubs to see these and other bands. Maybe it will. There will be more opportunities later this fall, like the Record Bar anniversary the first weekend in October, which will showcase a bunch of local bands. Or the Apocalypse Meow benefit Nov. 5 and 6. Otherwise, there are opportunities that have nothing to do with benefits, birthdays  or festivals. The next time you're looking for an inexpensive way to enjoy a night of live music, click on some of the venues listed here and explore the bands they've booked, whether they're local or regional. Saturday's showcase proved there are at least two dozen bands worth a look/listen. The better news: there are a lot more out there, too. As I learned Saturday night, even when you can't get in to see one of your favorite bands, there's usually another waiting around the corner.

| Timothy Finn, The Star

Comments

[michael]

A great night indeed - Kansas City's music scene came through on this night set aside just for them. Too many highlights to mention, but I'll go ahead and mention a couple anyway: The Wires floored me with their virtuoso alt-classical performance, and after hearing months of hype I finally caught The Bleach Bloodz - and discovered the plaudits were well-earned. Looking forward to CMF '11 already.

[Natacha VonBraun]

You're right that something larger was going on; there were a lot of talented people onstage and behind the scenes making this a truly memorable night of live music.

[John Ferguson]

It's funny that you refer to the Grisly Hand as "a little Meat Purveyors." You are more right than you know. Amazing.

[Kelly Dawson]

This was an amazing night! As someone who takes part in the KC music scene on a near nightly basis, it was fantastic to see so many new faces being formally introduced to the talent in our city!
And the event held something new and surprising even for those of us well versed. Diverse smoothed me out with their incredible, tight jazz mix and Hearts of Darkness, whom I had heard so much about, absolutely incinerated Crosstown Station! I will not miss them again!
The others I caught are already faves but glad to see potential new devotees being turned on to The Grisly Hand, Atlantic Fadeout & The BleechBloodz! Big thanks to Bill Sundahl and all the volunteers for making this much needed night happen for the 6th year. Can't Wait for number 7!

[spanishgrover@yahoo.com]

It was a spectacular night of muzaks. Good to see folks I didn't know. By the way, our next Dead Voices gig is Sept. 25th at Davey's Uptown.

[troy blchbldz]

the vibe was unreal. i like drugs but i was higher than i've been in awile from the energy, the best show we have been apart of , thanks bill and everyone else for the support!!!

[troy blchbldz]

oh yeah , DEAD VOICES i will not miss again.

[Naturelle]

Why-oh-why did I leave town this weekend??!!! Sorry to have missed it - I KNOW I would have discovered many new bands and met new people in addition to running into friends. Happy that it sounds like the fest was a success!! I'll put number 7 on the calendar for next year!

[Chas]

LOL @ John. Dammit.

[LK]

@John, we were really bloodshot okay?!

[kcanimator]

Here's a link to Atlantic Fadeout's performance of "Some Girls" that nite ..

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=qZDdsCgBX3c