popwreckoning

I’m always one for hop-hop shows. The energy is high with heavy bass and a sea of people who know how to get down and dirty. And I mean, if nothing else, it’s a great place to people watch. Thursday night’s show of The Cool Kids at the Granada Theater in Lawrence did not let me down with the large crowd and not to mention the killer performance. Kansas City – based publication Ink Magazine hosted The Cool Kids concert and brought in local rap artists Gee Watts, Atilla, Ebony Tusks, and Greg Enemy to open for the nationally known group.

Earlier in the evening I stopped by White Chocolate Skateboards (933 Mass St. Lawrence, KS) for a meet and greet with The Cool Kids. Surprisingly there weren’t very many people there, but I had no problem meeting Mikey Rocks and Chuck Inglish. They were both very friendly and seemed to enjoy talking to their fans. To promote their first full-length album When Fish Ride Bicycles, which released July 12^th of this summer, signed posters, stickers, fish gummy candies, and key chains were in abundance to give away. The Cool Kids also hosted a raffle for a skateboard deck with their album artwork on the underside.

Several hours later, I was ready to get to The Granada and get my dance on. When I arrived the line was out the door to get in, which is never fun. To my surprise the line went by fast with nice, helpful door-guys. Everyone inside was decked out in fresh kicks, crisp hats, and the latest designer tees the repped their favorite labels. The bars were backed up with people, so I figured it wasn’t worth the wait for a gin and tonic. The venue’s energy was high while everyone waited for Gee Watts to open the night.

Gee Watts did a great job setting the mood for the rest of the night with catchy bass lines and several friends rapping alongside him. Based out of Kansas City, MO Gee Watts had a decent following that showed up to the Granada to show the love. Kansas City hip-hop/funk artist Atilla performed afterwards with a good sized following as well. His soul/funk infused beats got the crowd swaying and moving during his set.

Lawrence-based rapper Ebony Tusks involved the crowd in his set with callbacks and hand swaying, which was a sight to see. Hyped on the crowd’s energy, Ebony Tusks was all over the stage engaging with his fans. He definitely held a presence on stage that was a force to be reckoned with.

Capping off the set of openers was Kansas City rapper Greg Enemy. Known for his hit song Fly Ass Glasses Greg has a decent following throughout the Lawrence and Kansas City area. Greg sat poised and relaxed on a stool for half of his set, then engaged with the crowd for the rest. At the end of his set, fellow rappers and supporters stormed the stage while Greg Enemy crowd surfed, making a great end to the opening artists.

By the time The Cool Kids stormed the stage, the venue was nearly packed to the brim with a crowd that was clearly excited in anticipation of the headlining set. Mikey Rocks and Chuck Inglish had great chemistry feeding off of each other’s energy, which reflected in the crowd’s energy. Hands were swaying, bodies were moving, and everyone seemed to have a good time. Even the VIP lounge on the balcony was getting down. The Cool Kids performed a good variety of old popular hits, and newer songs off of their new album. Ink Magazine did a fantastic job with the lineup of this show. I think it’s safe to say that from beginning to end, the show was a hit.

This post was written by Rebecca Dreyfus.

I would be lying if I didn’t admit that I had my doubts about Kanrocksas when I received the email regarding the press conference to announce the festival’s lineup. “A festival held at Kansas Speedway,” I thought to myself “will no doubt be a bunch a metal bands.”

Man was I was wrong. Offering a lineup featuring servings from some of the best bands in the world, Kanrocksas was the real deal and had landed right in my backyard. So, as I drove under the speedway into the VIP to catch the day’s first band, I felt as excited as I had for a festival in years. I parked, slid into the media center briefly, then bolted for my first band.

UME:

You know that groggy feeling that you sometimes will get when you wake up early for work on a day following a long night? You fumble to collect your clothes, somewhat unsuccessfully, gathering whatever laundry has pooled in piles on the floor of your bedroom. Skipping the shower, you rush to your neighborhood gas station to grab a red bull to supply whatever energy you can muster up to kick off the day.

In terms of the first annual Kanrocksas Music Festival, UME was that red bull. Taking stage early, these Austin, Texas firecrackers kicked open the door for what would be a great first day, with an energy and poise that left many bands standing in their shadow.

Rocking kind of a Jeckle and Hyde image, Lauren Larson sound checks and speaks in a shy and sheepish manner, before exploding into a large energetic ball of chaos. Sporting a great 1990′s sound, complete with swirling guitar and raspy snarling vocals, UME’s stage show is unquestionably worth mentioning. Their set left a thumbprint on me that would last the whole day, as they showed up several bands lower on the bill. I expect huge things from this band and will be disappointed if the world offers them anything less.

Fitz and the Tantrums:

There is no questioning the fact that the chemistry between Michael Fitzpatrick and Noelle Scaggs is real. While watching this band, every line of every song seems to be a tip of the hat to the passion that these two share for both each other and for music.

With a jazzy retro sound and soul train moves, Fitz and the Tantrums plowed through a stellar set, which included covers “Steady as She Goes” by The Raconteurs (corrected at 11:46 p.m. 8/7/2011) and “Sweet Dreams” by Annie Lennox. As if that were not enough to please, their crowd interactive set lit the Kanrocksas crew up, causing a stir I hadn’t expected in the 192 degree weather. Dancing and grinding around the pit area of the speedway, one would have to assume those in attendance put their complaints of sunburns and dehydration on hold, trading them for a prom dance throwback.

A stellar set from a stellar band.    

D12:

Sadly, my streak of sets that captured my heart would stall right there. D12 seemed rack with technical difficulties and lackluster efforts in front of roughly 2,000 viewers, the group honestly serves as my biggest disappointment of Kanrocksas. Having seen D12 before (when I was like, 16) I remembered them as a high energy, wicked funny rap group, slightly out of place at Warped Tour. However, I also remember walking away both impressed and stunned enough to grab their albums off the shelves. Sadly, the D12 on stage at Kanrocksas was not the D12 I remembered loving. Flowing over beats that seemed misguided and somewhat sloppy, the set simply flopped.

However, that would not stop a large mass of fans to sit, hopeful to catch an early glimpse of Eminem. They would in the end walk away empty handed.

Jack’s Mannequin:

I was of the small percentage of journalists who skipped Arctic Monkeys set to catch former Something Corporate front man Andrew McMahon’s newish project Jack’s Mannequin. Having always been a fan of his emotional performances and energetic stage presence, I figured I would no doubt find a bit of recovery from D12′s lackluster set.

Without a doubt, I was. Busting out old favorites and premiering new singles Jack’s Mannequin left nothing to be desired. Shifting, twitching and switching between two mics, McMahon ran the gambit of emotional content, ranging from cancer, coming to age and coming to terms with breakups.

While I’m sure some people would question my choice to skip Arctic Monkeys for a band that causes 16 year old fangirls to crowd the stage with “I fucking love you Andrew” signs, I have no regrets with my decision based on one solid fact: Andrew McManon is truly the nicest man in music. That should always be supported.

Regardless, for those who desire them, here are Scott’s Arctic Monkey’s Photos:

Check out Kanrocksas: Day One, Part Two featuring  Kid Cudi, Ween, Bassnectar, Flaming Lips and Eminem soon!

Kanrocksas Music Festival is reaching out to local musicians and giving them the chance of a lifetime with Wild Bill’s Local Music Showcase, a music competition giving local bands and deejays the chance to compete for the opportunity to perform at the Kanrocksas Music Festival. Local bands and deejays will perform at Wild Bill’s Steakhouse and Saloon located in Legends Outlets Kansas City every Friday and Saturday in July for the opportunity to share the stage with national acts at Kanrocksas and to take home VIP passes with an additional cash prize.

Winners will be declared by a panel of judges as well as audience voting participation. Two final winners will be announced before the Kanrocksas Music Festival, including one winning band and one winning deejay that who perform on one of the three main stages at the music festival. Finalists who place in the top five during the weekly showcases will win festival passes and will be offered the chance to play on the “Camping Stage” presented by The Pitch, 103.7 The Dam, and 95.7 The Vibe.

No cover will be charged during each weekly showcase. The crowd will also have several opportunities to win official Kanrocksas Music Festival giveaways, including passes to the festival. After 10:00 p.m., each showcase is restricted to an audience of 21 and older.

Local Band Showcase:

July 1, 2011
• The Grisly Hand at 10:30 p.m.
• The Dead Girls at 11:30 p.m.
• Abandon Kansas at 12:30 a.m.

July 8, 2011
• The Beautiful Bodies at 10:30 p.m.
• Scott Allan Knost at 11:30 p.m.
• Soft Reeds at 12:30 a.m.

For more information, and to purchase tickets to Kanrocksas, visit www.kanrocksas.com

July 15, 2011
• Cowboy Indian Bear at 10:30 p.m.
• Signum A.D at 11:30 p.m.
• Queens Club at 12:30 a.m.

July 22, 2011
• The Atlantic at 9:30 p.m.
• Head Change at 10:30 p.m.
• Drakkar Sauna at 11:30 p.m.
• Maps for Travelers at 12:30 p.m.

July 29, 2011
• The Hearts of Darkness at 10:30 p.m.
• Evalyn Awake at 11:30 p.m.
• Approach at 12:30 a.m.

Mötley Crüe recently rocked the Sprint Center and joining them were glam rockers New York Dolls.

This band was the favorite of our photographer, Todd Zimmer, who shares these photos of the Dolls:

Joining Mötley Crüe at their recent Kansas City performance at the Sprint Center were glam rockers Poison.

Photographer Todd Zimmer was there and shares these photos from the event:

Heavy metal rockers Mötley Crüe revved up Kansas City fans at their Sprint Center performance. Between the rock, dancing girls and an impressive rollercoaster rig for Tommy Lee‘s drum set, the show was an amazing sight.

Photographer Todd Zimmer was there and shares these photos from the event:

Rock Chalk Jayhawk! Kansas pride was running high at the Beaumont Club Sunday and it isn’t even the season for college sports. The occasion? A Panic! at the Disco concert.

The Kansas City club was packed with a surprisingly diverse group of crowd – yes, the expected screaming tween girls were there with their parents, but so were some young adults and many guys.

California’s Funeral Party opened the night with their brand of punk dance rock. Their songs are very anthem-structured. It’s easy to sing/cheer along and get revved up, especially on a tune such as “Finale.” Funeral Party has been getting some radio play in Kansas City and that seemed to help increase the amount of people singing along. The five band members seemed a little crammed on the stage with their many synths and guitars and the covered instruments of the bands to come. However, the cramped space didn’t stop singer Chad Elliott from bouncing around and dancing across any inch of stage left uncovered by equipment. These guys were a great warm-up for what was to come.

The next act up was the upbeat indie pop of New York’s fun – seriously – I’ve seen them perform in the form as a trio to the now six-piece. Fun. is a hodgepodge of some very talented musicians that you might recognize from their work with other bands. For example, in the trio that makes up the official members of fun., you might recognize the distinctive vocals of Nate Ruess from The Format, multi-instrumentalist Andrew Dost from Anthallo and guitarist Jack Antonoff from Steel Train. The touring members have an equally impressive history; drummer Will Noon‘s from Straylight Run. Finally, if you flash back to this post’s opening “Rock Chalk Jayhawk” cheer – I have to give a major shout out to Nate Harold. Harold was rocking a KU basketball jersey – but this wasn’t one of those gimmicks where the artist dons local paraphernalia just for the city’s show and then ditches it. Harold really does have ties to KU and KU’s home in Lawrence. Harold is a Lawrence musician. His music resume includes several Lawrence bands such as Buffalo Saints, Kelpie, Koufax and Big Surrender. He’s lent his talents to Get Up Kids‘ live shows and Hidden Pictures‘ latest album. As if that slew of Kansas bands wasn’t enough, he’s also known for his work with Waking Ashland. So it’s pretty exciting to this bassist on this national tour. Of course, Kansas City, is mostly in Missouri, so there are plenty of Mizzou fans that weren’t exactly the most thrilled with a KU shout out in the middle of the set. To keep things light-hearted, singer Ruess said he’d represent Missouri for that night. ‘Light-hearted’ is exactly how you could describe fun.’s music. Serious musicians with a light-hearted sound. Even when a song whose title and primary line is, “At least I’m not as sad as I used to be,” would give you pause to state aloud, when singing it there’s no doubt: you’re happy. There’s no way you could be sad listening to the bubbly piano-chords and singing “oh oh ooohs” on various fun. tunes. Lastly, I don’t want to end without mentioning how much I love the addition of Emily Moore on backing vocals and keys. She really adds a nice depth to the already flawless vocals of Ruess with her harmonies.

Now on to Panic! at the Disco – a band worth of having an exclamation in their name.

If you had asked me what I thought of the band when I first saw them perform in 2005 – ‘green,’ ‘pitchy,’ ‘eh’ would have been my reaction. They were excited, but not quite familiar with their instruments. They seemed a little nervous back then. By 2007 – I would have called them ‘too showy.’ It seemed like they were overcompensating with elaborate sets – at times it was impossible to even find the guys playing instruments amidst all the other skits happening on stage.

With this tour, they seem to have found that sweet spot between not overcompensating with an overdone stage set up and instead finding that confidence in their own talents as musicians. Don’t sweat if you liked a fancy stage piece – they still have a cool backdrop for this tour which was like Phantom of the Opera meets steampunk – (Phantom! of the Disco?). Eerie green lights highlighted organ pipes mountaining up from around the drum set. Fog billowed out from the pipes as our synth-organ-maestro Brendon Urie pounded out riffs on piano and guitar while the other original P!ATD member Spencer Smith dropped the beats that provided the backbone to the group’s many dance numbers.

Of course, as tickled as I was to see Brendon Urie display his ability to play multiple instruments (anyone remember back in ’05 when we weren’t even sure if he can play an instrument?), the real reason he makes the girls swoon is his voice. As I mentioned before, in ’05 I would have written Urie off – I found him unbelievably pitchy, but he really has been practicing training and now I see the charm of his vocals – a charm that really helps deliver songs such as  the hugeness of opening number “Ready to Go,” the subtle mood of “Lying Is the Most Fun” and the sweetness of “Always.” I love seeing a musician willing to work at their trade to improve – this is a job after all – so I really applaud Urie on how much he’s improved. I knew he had showmanship, but this tour really helps show that he also has musicianship. My only critique now is that when he can overuse vibrato, especially if a vocal is just a hair past his comfort level, but really his overall improvement makes that critique seem nitpicky.

Of course, Urie isn’t the only one who has done wonders impressing me over the years – drummer Spencer Smith – hot damn! I think because of that previously mentioned overdone stage set up a few years ago, the one that had Smith placed up on a platform 30 feet above the rest of the band – I had no idea how good this guy was. You couldn’t see him and you forgot to really listen to him in the melee of the theatrics. I’m so glad that they’ve taken him out of the shadows and placed him in better view because he should never go overlooked again. He packed some wicked syncopations into some of those numbers.

Now, for anyone who has been following P!ATD’s history, you’ll know that the band lost two of its members prior to this tour and their album. Joining Urie and Smith for the live performance were Ian Crawford (ex-The Cab) and Dallon Weekes. These guys did a great job keeping the sound full and complete, but I have to wonder if the line-up change was the reason for so few songs off of Pretty. Odd. It was expected that the band would play mostly off the latest release, but it did seem like Pretty. Odd was being neglected until toward the end of the set when they worked in two numbers. Of course, this is more of an observation – the fans still loved every minute of the set regardless.

Fun. wasn’t the only band that gave Kansas a big homage during their performance. P!ATD gave a special tribute of their own. When P!ATD returned for an encore, they treated everyone to a cover from rock group Kansas. It was a tight cover and you could see that many of the older crowd there really perked up with this addition. All these Kansas tributes made for a truly special night (but of course, you have to neglect that we were in Kansas City, Missouri).

P!ATD Set List:
Ready to Go
But It’s Better
Mona Lisa
Lying
Trade Mistakes
Camisado
Hurricane
Only Difference
Kill Tonight
Always
Nine
Things Have Changed
New Perspective
Calendar
Sins
//
Carry On (Kansas cover)
Nearly Witches

Kansas City rockers The Architects spent most of the Spring on tour with My Chemical Romance. Though that particular tour skipped over Kansas City, the band was not about to neglect their hometown. After resting for a few days, they band returned to the stage for a packed, high-energy show at RecordBar.

Photographer Todd Zimmer was there and shares these photos from The Architects‘ triumphant return to Kansas City:

When Sleigh Bells had to cancel their December performance in Kansas City, the duo promised to make it up to their fans. This June, they delivered that promise.

Chillwavers Neon Indian opened the show, which at first seems like a bizzarre  pairing with the blaring music of Sleigh Bells. But their music was the perfect balance to the heavier Sleigh Bells. Neon Indian – a band that many credit with starting the chillwave music – provide music that is seemingly relaxing yet still quite danceable. The audience gave Neon Indian a warm reception – singing along to the trippy, yet romantic lyrics, dancing along and cheering at all the appropriate moments. The band must have been equally thrilled by the audience treating everyone to a rare encore performance from an opening act.

In stark contrast, Sleigh Bells was the furthest thing from “chill” music. For just two people, they know how to make a lot of noise. Sleigh Bells is they type of band for which phrase such as ‘rock your face off’ is coined. Supported by a wall of amps, Sleigh Bell took it one louder. They were entertaining and a blast to watch their insane amount of energy – but many ears are probably relieved that they just have one full-length. Aside from being loud, they also played an entertaining mix of genres – think Alice Glass of Crystal Castles mashed with a cheerleading squad. A little odd, but very entertaining.

Photographer Erica Cassella shares these photos from the event:

As of June 7, Kansas City band, The Empty Spaces will release their upcoming EP Low Noise on Golden Sound Records.

“We are proud to welcome the local Kansas City rock trio The Empty Spaces to our roster! They will be releasing their EP “Low Noise” on June 21st exclusively through Golden Sound Records. Stop by their artist page and give the track “Working With The Wind” a listen. If you enjoy you can download for free.”

The Empty Spaces will embark on a short Midwest tour at the end of June.Go out and pick up their new EP at a show!

June 24 – Lincoln, NE at Knickerbockers w/ Millions of Boys
June 25 – Omaha, NE at The Sandbox w/ Millions of Boys
June 27 – Chicago, IL at Reggie’s Rock Club
June 28 – Chicago, IL at The Elbo Room
June 29 – St. Louis, MO at Cicero’s
June 30 – Springfield, MO at Lindberg’s
July 2 – Kansas City, MO at recordbar

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