Gold Fields
Thursday
Czar Bar
A savvy distillation of the alternative rock radio charts, the music of the Australian band Gold Fields evokes the bristling melodic sensibility of Muse, the glossy sheen of Passion Pit and the dramatic posturing of Fun. The carefully calibrated sound has the Australian band poised to play larger venues upon the release of its debut album in 2013. Two promising locally-based bands open the show. The Way Back creates shimmering dramatic soundscapes in the tradition of Kansas City's the Republic Tigers. Is Paris Burning, a new band consisting of seasoned Kansas City rockers, completes the bill. Tickets to the 7 p.m. show are $8 in advance and $10 on the day of the show.
Trey Songz
Friday
The Midland
The third song on R&B star Trey Songz's new album is titled "Panty Wetter." It's not about incontinence. Songz's boudoir-friendly repertoire is calibrated to make his many admirers squirm and scream. Steamy songs of sexual prowess like "Dive In" and party anthems like "Bottoms Up" are fixtures of radio playlists. Miguel is slightly less sordid. The best moments of "Kaleidoscope Dream," Miguel's ambitious new album, demonstrate the vocalist's admiration of Marvin Gaye and Prince. Elle Varner and her inescapable hit "Refill" kicks off the first portion of the sensual triple-bill. Tickets to the 8 p.m. show range from $59.50 to $99.50.
Ernest James Zydeco
Friday
BB's Lawnside BBQ
Just as many people might be reluctant to order sushi at an establishment in a landlocked Midwestern town, music lovers may be skeptical about the credibility of a Kansas City-based zydeco band. Ernest James Zydeco sidesteps the issue by using the style indigenous to Louisiana as a spicy base in an eclectic gumbo of American music. 3 Steps From La La, the band's excellent new album, features gutbucket blues, rollicking roots rock and soulful R&B along with a handful of zydeco selections. Authenticity be damned- Ernest James Zydeco is one of Kansas City's best party bands. The cover charge for the 9 p.m. show is $5.
Soul Providers
Friday
The Brick
People who don't follow hip-hop should be forgiven for believing that the form represents a moral and musical cesspool. A lot of the most prominent hip-hop is, in fact, crude and unimaginative. The detritus serves to make the exceptions seem remarkably refreshing. The Soul Providers are Kansas City's most notable practitioners of high-minded hip-hop. While socially conscious, members of the collective including Reach, MC Storm, Les Izmore and D/Will aren't prudes. Friday's show will be a smile-inducing party.
Admission charge for the 10 p.m. show is $5 before 11 p.m. and $7 after 11 p.m. Cover charge is waived for women.
Chris Isaak
Saturday
Uptown Theater
Men admire him. Women adore him. For over a quarter of a century, Isaak has been the most glamorous man in roots-rock. While the 1989 hit "Wicked Game" propelled him to stardom, Isaak has never attempted to hide his unfashionable veneration of Elvis Presley, Roy Orbison and Jerry Lee Lewis. The handsome entertainer balances these indulgences with renditions of crowd-pleasing material including the sweltering "Baby Did a Bad, Bad Thing" in his captivating concerts. Tickets to the 8 p.m. show range from $44 to $133.
The Story
Saturday
Independence Events Center
The spectacular success of the Trans-Siberian Orchestra's Christmas-themed concerts has inspired waves of imitators. One of the most promising new entries in the holiday concert sweepstakes comes from the realm of Christian rock. A choir and orchestra will accompany several of the genre's biggest names including Mark Hall of Casting Crowns, Jeremy Camp, Natalie Grant and Selah in performances of familiar seasonal fare in addition to The Story, a song cycle billed as "a musical journey from Genesis to Revelation." Tickets to the 7 p.m. show range from $27.19 to $81.69.
Killswitch Engage
Saturday
Beaumont Club
Playing musical chairs with vocalists is a time-honored tradition in hard rock and heavy metal. Black Sabbath, Anthrax and Van Halen are among the prominent acts that have switched front men. After original vocalist Jesse Leach left the band ten years ago, Killswitch Engage went on to achieve even greater success. Leach rejoined the band this year. The band is celebrating Leach's return with a tour that includes a performance of its revered 2002 album Alive or Just Breathing. Two bands that also hail from Killswitch Engage's home state of Massachusetts- the brutal Shadows Fall and the up-and-coming metal heads Acaro- open the show. Tickets to the 8 p.m. show are $19.02 in advance.
Kendrick Lamar
Sunday
The Midland
The accolades heaped on Kendrick Lamar are entirely deserved. The imagination displayed by the most celebrated rapper of 2012 on the stunning new album good kid, m.A.A.d city has raised the artistic bar for the remainder of the hip-hop community. Lamar's panoramic depiction of gang violence, addiction, poverty and spiritual salvation is well beyond the genre's standard fare. Successfully translating Lamar's complex, character-driven material to the stage, however, may proved to be an insurmountable challenge.
Tickets to the 8 p.m. show are $29.50 in advance and $33 on the day of the show.
The Sword
Monday
RecordBar
The Sword didn't have any trouble engulfing the Sprint Center with heavy metal thunder when the band opened for Metallica in 2008. The Austin-based band's performances at vastly smaller venues like the RecordBar, consequently, run the risk of overwhelming listeners with sensory overload. Rather than attempting to forge a new sound, The Sword successfully refines the metallic framework established by Black Sabbath. Two like-minded acts open the show. California's Gypsyhawk plays with a similarly retro sensibility. The metal of Austin's American Sharks adds an angry punk edge to the equation. Tickets to the 9:30 p.m. show are $15 in advance.
Kreayshawn
Tuesday
The Granada
If accumulating detractors is an indication of success, the career of Kreayshawn is flourishing. The internet sensation is actively loathed by thousands of observers of popular culture. A significant portion of the millions of people who have watched Kreayshawn's music video for "Gucci Gucci" enjoy mocking her contradictory examination of materialism. The controversial headliner will be joined by a clutch of intriguing opening acts. Rye Rye, a cheerful rapper from Baltimore, is best known for her association with M.I.A. Toronto's Honey Cocaine was shot in the arm after a concert with Tyga in Omaha earlier this year. Bay Area rapper Chippy Nonstop is cultivating a reputation for boorish behavior with material like "Kicked Out Da Club." Tickets to the 8 p.m. show are $20 in advance.
Friday
The Midland
The third song on R&B star Trey Songz's new album is titled "Panty Wetter." It's not about incontinence. Songz's boudoir-friendly repertoire is calibrated to make his many admirers squirm and scream. Steamy songs of sexual prowess like "Dive In" and party anthems like "Bottoms Up" are fixtures of radio playlists. Miguel is slightly less sordid. The best moments of "Kaleidoscope Dream," Miguel's ambitious new album, demonstrate the vocalist's admiration of Marvin Gaye and Prince. Elle Varner and her inescapable hit "Refill" kicks off the first portion of the sensual triple-bill. Tickets to the 8 p.m. show range from $59.50 to $99.50.
Ernest James Zydeco
Friday
BB's Lawnside BBQ
Just as many people might be reluctant to order sushi at an establishment in a landlocked Midwestern town, music lovers may be skeptical about the credibility of a Kansas City-based zydeco band. Ernest James Zydeco sidesteps the issue by using the style indigenous to Louisiana as a spicy base in an eclectic gumbo of American music. 3 Steps From La La, the band's excellent new album, features gutbucket blues, rollicking roots rock and soulful R&B along with a handful of zydeco selections. Authenticity be damned- Ernest James Zydeco is one of Kansas City's best party bands. The cover charge for the 9 p.m. show is $5.
Soul Providers
Friday
The Brick
People who don't follow hip-hop should be forgiven for believing that the form represents a moral and musical cesspool. A lot of the most prominent hip-hop is, in fact, crude and unimaginative. The detritus serves to make the exceptions seem remarkably refreshing. The Soul Providers are Kansas City's most notable practitioners of high-minded hip-hop. While socially conscious, members of the collective including Reach, MC Storm, Les Izmore and D/Will aren't prudes. Friday's show will be a smile-inducing party.
Admission charge for the 10 p.m. show is $5 before 11 p.m. and $7 after 11 p.m. Cover charge is waived for women.
Chris Isaak
Saturday
Uptown Theater
Men admire him. Women adore him. For over a quarter of a century, Isaak has been the most glamorous man in roots-rock. While the 1989 hit "Wicked Game" propelled him to stardom, Isaak has never attempted to hide his unfashionable veneration of Elvis Presley, Roy Orbison and Jerry Lee Lewis. The handsome entertainer balances these indulgences with renditions of crowd-pleasing material including the sweltering "Baby Did a Bad, Bad Thing" in his captivating concerts. Tickets to the 8 p.m. show range from $44 to $133.
The Story
Saturday
Independence Events Center
The spectacular success of the Trans-Siberian Orchestra's Christmas-themed concerts has inspired waves of imitators. One of the most promising new entries in the holiday concert sweepstakes comes from the realm of Christian rock. A choir and orchestra will accompany several of the genre's biggest names including Mark Hall of Casting Crowns, Jeremy Camp, Natalie Grant and Selah in performances of familiar seasonal fare in addition to The Story, a song cycle billed as "a musical journey from Genesis to Revelation." Tickets to the 7 p.m. show range from $27.19 to $81.69.
Killswitch Engage
Saturday
Beaumont Club
Playing musical chairs with vocalists is a time-honored tradition in hard rock and heavy metal. Black Sabbath, Anthrax and Van Halen are among the prominent acts that have switched front men. After original vocalist Jesse Leach left the band ten years ago, Killswitch Engage went on to achieve even greater success. Leach rejoined the band this year. The band is celebrating Leach's return with a tour that includes a performance of its revered 2002 album Alive or Just Breathing. Two bands that also hail from Killswitch Engage's home state of Massachusetts- the brutal Shadows Fall and the up-and-coming metal heads Acaro- open the show. Tickets to the 8 p.m. show are $19.02 in advance.
Kendrick Lamar
Sunday
The Midland
The accolades heaped on Kendrick Lamar are entirely deserved. The imagination displayed by the most celebrated rapper of 2012 on the stunning new album good kid, m.A.A.d city has raised the artistic bar for the remainder of the hip-hop community. Lamar's panoramic depiction of gang violence, addiction, poverty and spiritual salvation is well beyond the genre's standard fare. Successfully translating Lamar's complex, character-driven material to the stage, however, may proved to be an insurmountable challenge.
Tickets to the 8 p.m. show are $29.50 in advance and $33 on the day of the show.
The Sword
Monday
RecordBar
The Sword didn't have any trouble engulfing the Sprint Center with heavy metal thunder when the band opened for Metallica in 2008. The Austin-based band's performances at vastly smaller venues like the RecordBar, consequently, run the risk of overwhelming listeners with sensory overload. Rather than attempting to forge a new sound, The Sword successfully refines the metallic framework established by Black Sabbath. Two like-minded acts open the show. California's Gypsyhawk plays with a similarly retro sensibility. The metal of Austin's American Sharks adds an angry punk edge to the equation. Tickets to the 9:30 p.m. show are $15 in advance.
Kreayshawn
Tuesday
The Granada
If accumulating detractors is an indication of success, the career of Kreayshawn is flourishing. The internet sensation is actively loathed by thousands of observers of popular culture. A significant portion of the millions of people who have watched Kreayshawn's music video for "Gucci Gucci" enjoy mocking her contradictory examination of materialism. The controversial headliner will be joined by a clutch of intriguing opening acts. Rye Rye, a cheerful rapper from Baltimore, is best known for her association with M.I.A. Toronto's Honey Cocaine was shot in the arm after a concert with Tyga in Omaha earlier this year. Bay Area rapper Chippy Nonstop is cultivating a reputation for boorish behavior with material like "Kicked Out Da Club." Tickets to the 8 p.m. show are $20 in advance.
|Bill Brownlee, Special to The Star
Joanne Shaw Taylor (blues guitarist from the UK) at Knuckleheads tonight. Going to be a 'Living Room' session, should be a good show!
Posted by: onthemark | November 29, 2012 at 03:59 PM
OTM, that sure WAS a heck of a set she played!
I got there late for the Crayons reunion show (they don't often start things at 7:30 on the main stage)
Pete the soundman told me what a killer musician I was missing in the back, so we came in and stayed for the last 40 or so....
Her version of 'Going Down' was really great, as well as the tune she'd written 1st at the age of 14.
Wish I'd seen the whole set!
The Crayons, wonderful guys(some of whom apparently worked at Quiqley's Music & had sold me & my pals instruments so long ago) are all passionate, talented musicians.
The place was packed, for a Thurs night. I was surprised & happy for them. The room was full of friends.
Headed down to see Kinky Friedman..
Posted by: Corky | November 30, 2012 at 06:29 PM