(Above: Frank Black visits “Manitoba” all by his lonesome.) By Joel Francis The Kansas City Star It’s hard to believe, but the Pixies have been around as a reunion act for almost as long as their original incarnation. When Frank Black (aka Black Francis) announced his new project shortly after the Pixies’ first triumphant reunion tour, [...]
Posts Tagged ‘indie rock’
The Man in (Frank) Black
Posted in band feature, tagged Al Kooper, Allisson Krauss, Bob Babbit, Breeders, Buddy Miller, Carol Kaye, Chester Thompson, college rock, Dan Penn, Fast Man Raider Man, Frank Black, Frank Zappa, Genesis, Honeycomb, indie rock, Jim Keltner, Kim Deal, left of the dial, Miles Davis, Patsy Cline, Phil Spector, Pixies, Robert Plant, Spooner Oldham, Steve Cropper, Wave of Mutilation on September 27, 2011 | Leave a Comment »
Review: Big Head Todd and the Monsters
Posted in Concert review, Kansas City Star, tagged All Along the Watchtower, BHTM, Big Head Todd, Big Head Todd and the Monsters, Bittersweet, Bob Dylan, Broken Hearted Savior, indie rock, Jeremy Lawton, John Mellencamp, Ray Manzarek, Robert Johnson, Steve Winwood, ToddPark Mohr, underground rock on June 15, 2011 | Leave a Comment »
(Above: Big Head Todd and the Monsters burn down the house with the mellow, jangly “City on Fire.”) By Joel Francis The Kansas City Star Less than four months after swinging through town in their rootsy Big Head Blues Club guise, the Colorado quartet Big Head Todd and the Monsters delivered a full-on rock show Saturday [...]
Review: Devotchka
Posted in Concert review, Kansas City Star, review, tagged Atoms for Peace, Basso Profundo, David Byrne, Devotcka, Gogol Bordello, indie rock, Little Miss Sunshine, Mauro Refosco, Neil Young, Nick Urata, Thom Yorke, world music on April 6, 2011 | Leave a Comment »
By Joel Francis The Kansas City Star Nick Urata remembers his first gig in Kansas City – the band’s bus crashed right in front of where they were going to play, the Hurricane. Urata and his fellow members in Devotchka had more lush surroundings on Saturday night. Although the balcony of the Midland was closed [...]
Easy success means hard work for Vampire Weekend
Posted in band feature, Kansas City Star, tagged A-Punk, Chris Baio, Contra, indie rock, overnight sensation, Oxford Comma, Vampire Weekend on October 29, 2010 | Leave a Comment »
(Above: Vampire Weekend goes on “Holiday” with this track from their 2010 sophomore release, “Contra.”) By Joel Francis The Kansas City Star Success has come easily to Vampire Weekend. After starting in 2006, the indie-rock band generated major buzz the next year with its single “Cape Cod Kwassa Kwassa,” which appeared on Rolling Stone’s 100 [...]
Review: Sufjan Stevens
Posted in Concert review, Kansas City Star, tagged Age of Adz, Asthmatic Kitty, DM Stith, ELP, Flaming Lips, Funkadelic, Genesis, indie rock, Peter Gabriel, Pitchfork Media, prog rock, Seven Swans, Sufjan Stevens, Uptown Theater, Yes on October 26, 2010 | Leave a Comment »
(Above: An excerpt from Sufjan Stevens’ 25-minute saga “Impossible Souls” performed at the Uptown Theater in Kansas City.) By Joel Francis The Kansas City Star It’s unlikely one will ever find a reissue of “Tales of Topographic Oceans” in the record bins at Urban Outfitters or see hipsters sporting Emerson, Lake and Palmer shirts with their skinny [...]
Review: Pavement
Posted in Concert review, Kansas City Star, tagged band reunion, Beatles, Bob Nastanovich, Cut Your Hair, indie rock, Jamal Charles, Kansas City Chiefs, Ob-La-Di Ob-La-Da, Pavement, Range Life, Smashing Pumpkins, Spiral Stairs, Spit on a Stranger, Starlings of the Slipstream, Stephen Malkmus, Stone Temple Pilots, Terror Twilight, Todd Haley on September 17, 2010 | Leave a Comment »
(Above: Pavement perform “Gold Soundz” live at the Uptown Theater on Sept. 11, 2010.) By Joel Francis The Kansas City Star About 20 minutes into Pavement’s set, lead singer and guitarist Stephen Malkmus announced to a crowded Uptown Theater that this was the band’s first time playing in Kansas City, if you don’t count Lollapalooza. [...]
Review: Modest Mouse (2010)
Posted in Concert review, Kansas City Star, tagged Back To Rockville, Crossroads, Dashboard, Eric Judy, Float On, Granddaddy, indie rock, Isaac Brock, Jackson 5, Jim Fairchild, King Rat, Modest Mouse, Tom Peloso, We've Got Everything on July 12, 2010 | 3 Comments »
(Above: Modest Mouse perform “Dashboard” at the previous stop in Kansas City, at the Uptown Theater in March, 2009.) By Joel Francis The Kansas City Star Early in his first visit to Crossroads, Modest Mouse singer Isaac Brock was quick to point out the venue’s most distinctive feature. After the second song, he told the [...]
Review – The Black Keys
Posted in Concert review, tagged Black Keys, Blakroc, blues, Dan Auerbach, Fat Possum, Gossip Girl, Grand Theft Auto, indie rock, Patrick Carney, The OC, White Stripes on June 9, 2010 | 2 Comments »
(Above: Black Keys guitarist Dan Auerbach lays down some serious blues during “I Got Mine” at the band’s June 4, performance at Crossroads.) By Joel Francis The Daily Record When the Black Keys last stopped in the area, they played a converted movie theater packed – but not quite full – with music geeks and [...]
Review: Jonsi
Posted in Concert review, Kansas City Star, review, tagged 59 Productions, ambient music, art rock, Back To Rockville, Brian Eno, indie rock, Jonsi, Liberty Hall, post-rock, Radiohead, Sigur Ros on April 26, 2010 | 1 Comment »
(Above: This live version of “Grow Till Tall” doesn’t begin to capture the emotion of experiencing it in person.) By Joel Francis The Kansas City Star When bands play Liberty Hall, they usually park their bus on Seventh Street, on the south side of the building. Prior to Jonsi’s show on Thursday night, that space [...]
Follow The Daily Record
About this site
Hire Joel Francis
SubscribeArchives
Tags:
Cake: John McCrea sees a future without music
Posted in band feature, Industry commentary, Kansas City Star, tagged Cake, DIY, illegal downloading, indie rock, John McCrea, major label system, music industry, Solid Sound Festival, touring, underground rock on June 8, 2011 | Leave a Comment »
(Above: Cake’s newest video is called “Sick of You.” They definitely seem tired of the lifestyle.) By Joel Francis The Kansas City Star It won’t be hard to spot John McCrea on Friday night. The lead singer and chief songwriter for the alt-rock band Cake will hold center stage in a night of music in the [...]
Read Full Post »