popwreckoning

Ink’s debut Kansas City festival, Middle of the Map Fest, has announced its lineup. Local greats such as The Appleseed Cast join with national acts such as Two Door Cinema Club, Daniel Johnston and  Cursive.

The festival is in the historic Westport area on both April 8 and 9.

Taking place within the music venues of The Record Bar, The Beaumont Club, The Union and The Riot Room, festival goers will be given access to four different musical choices. Tickets can be purchased on day to day basis ($20 for either Friday only access or Saturday only access) or both days for a mere 5 additional dollars, of $25 total.Tickets can be purchased here.

Here’s the full schedule:
Friday:

Two Door Cinema Club
The Appleseed Cast
The Casket Lottery
El Ten Eleven
Dosh
Paper Route
A Lull
Small Black
Continents
Minden
Roman Numerals
Max Justus
Motorboater
Seafarer

Saturday:

Daniel Johnston
Cursive
Margot & The Nuclear So and So’s
The Raveonettes
The Life and Times
Tamaryn
Candy Claws
State Bird
Soft Reeds
Capybara
Cowboy Indian Bear
Saharan Gazelle Boy
Sam Billen
Lazy
Making Movies
Vertigone and Trystyl
Reach
Les Izmore

More are still to come.

Stay up to date with Middle of the Map Fest here.

Kansas City alternative rock group Roman Numerals perform live at the All Together Now Showcase at SXSW 2010. The group also took the time to answer a few questions. Check it out in the video below:

The All Together Now Showcase was made possible with help from ATN Management, Invisible Children, Big Picture Media, PopWreckoning.com, Fox Clothing, Pop Chips, www.borrowlenses.com, www.philipgrey.com, Jacob Mengelkoch, Bayou Lounge, Kelsey Eckberg, Jennifer DaRe and MTV.

It was the only showcase at SXSW where bands could be sure their music would be heard by MTV.

You can learn more about the showcase and other bands featured at www.atnshowcase.com. We’ll also be featuring more bands’ interviews and performances in an ongoing feature at www.PopWreckoning.com.

Were you there? We’d love to hear your memories…

This is just a reminder from your friendly neighborhood blog to see our bands at SXSW today and tomorrow or we’ll stick the green goblin on you.

All bands are at the ATN Showcase at the Bayou Lounge. More information and full-line up here.

TODAY – FRIDAY, MARCH 20

The Grisly Hand play at 1: 40 p.m.

TOMORROW – SATURDAY, MARCH 21

Roman Numerals play at 11 a.m.

Thieves play at 3 p.m.

And for those of stuck at home instead of sunny Austin, perhaps revisiting memories of our Pre-SXSW showcase in Kansas City will warm you up.

We were recently sent these photos by Todd Zimmer:

In my time at Popwreckoning, I’ve been lucky enough to experience some fairly unforgettable events. To compare Bonnaroo to the Beaumont Club would simply be unfair. But last night, standing on the side of the stage watching six of my favorite local bands join forces to put together one of the strongest lineups I’ve ever seen locally, I couldn’t help but feel that the Pre-Sxsw Showcase might honestly outshine the best of our best achievements.

We honestly could not have done this without the help of countless people from the Kansas City music scene. Kcfreepress, The Pitch, Ink, Kansas City Star, Jayplay and Unews have all done a great job of taking care of promoting the show. 96.5 The Buzz was very generous in allowing bands to come on their shows and speak about our concert. We of course couldn’t have done this without the help of Pat Fielder of Velocity Marketing and the Beaumont Club for hosting us. Of course we have to have to thank the six amazing bands who took part in the event. Without them there is no show. Lastly, we have to thank Jeff Tafolla of Saddle Creek Records for judging the event.

At the end of the night, Tafolla cast his votes for the bands he felt would best represent Kansas City at the 5th Annual All Together Now Showcase at the Bayou Lounge in Austin Texas. Those bands that will be joining us in Austin, Texas will be:

Bands Picked By Jeff Tafolla:
The Grisly Hand
Roman Numerals

Previously Picked by Popwreckoning:
Thieves

Thank you to everyone who came out to support us, the show and the Kansas City Music Scene. Last night, our scene looked amazing. Lets take that momentum to Austin and show the world why Kansas City matters.  We look forward to doing this again.

Tonight, March 5, at the Beaumont Club in Kansas City, Miss., PopWreckoning is pleased to present a Pre-SXSW battle of the bands. Winners of the evening’s showcase will be given the funds to go to the 2010 SXSW festival where they’ll perform at the ATN showcase. Jeff Tafolla of Saddle Creek Records will judge.

Roman Numerals are playing tonight’s show at the Beaumont. They go on at 10 p.m.

The alternative rock act is easily recognized as one of the staples of the current music scene in Kansas City. It’s members help out not only with the band, but with many other musical projects. Roman Numerals feature William Smith (guitar, vox, stylophone), Steve Tulipana (vox, guitar, bass, synth), Pete LaPorte (drums, electronics), and Ryan Shank (drums, electonics).

Roman Numerals: MySpace

It’s finally here! A few weeks ago, PopWreckoning announced that we would be hosting a battle of the bands competition to help bring local Kansas acts to play at a national showcase at the 2010 SXSW.  That showcase is happening TONIGHT!

These are the bands and set times of the bands playing tonight:

6:00 pm – Dreams are for Rookies
7:00 pm – The Grisly Hand
8:00 pm – Olympic Size
9:00 pm – Capybara
10:00 pm – Roman Numerals
11:00 pm – Thieves

Whether you are in KC and planning on going to the show or elsewhere in the country, click on those links for the above ands. They are all fantastic and we’d bring them all to SXSW if we could.

However this is a competition and to keep things fair, we will have a special guest judge selecting the winner’s of the evenings events. Jeff Tafolla from Saddle Creek Records will have this honor.

The winners of the showcase will then play at SXSW during the ATN Showcase, the only showcase where bands can be sure their music will be heard by MTV. This showcase also helps the great Invisible Children organization.

There are still tickets will be $10 at the door. A $2 minors fee will be added to anyone 18 and above, but under the age of 21. Come on out and support a great night of local music at the Beaumont Club.

We hope to see you there!

When I started PopWreckoning a little over two years ago, one of the main goals I set for the site was for it to be used as a tool to help bands succeed. It was very important to me to always remember what it felt like to play in a smaller do-it-yourself type band. Unlike web sites like Pitchfork and Absolute Punk, I wanted PopWreckoning to always keep a grasp on how thankless it can be to keep putting everything into music. I also wanted to reach a place with my project where I could take bands under my wing and offer them a larger stage than they otherwise might not have had. We wanted PopWreckoning to become a part of the Kansas City (and national) music scene, rather than just covering them.

I believe the 2010 PopWreckoning Pre-SXSW showcase, which will be held March 5, 2010 at the Beaumont Club in Kansas City, will help us take a major step towards that goal.

The lineup will be as follows:

6:00 pm – Dreams are for Rookies
7:00 pm – The Grisly Hand
8:00 pm – Olympic Size
9:00 pm – Capybara
10:00 pm – Roman Numerals
11:00 pm – Thieves

Tickets will be ten dollars at the door. A $2 minors fee will be added to anyone 18 and above, but under the age of 21.

Tickets can be collected in three locations. They are as follows:

1. They can be purchased at the door on the day of show.
2. They can be purchased on Ticketmaster here.
3. They can be purchased directly from PopWreckoning by email joshua@popwreckoning.com.

The Eighth Street Taproom’s basement was filled with haunting music on the night of Friday, November 13. Two wonderful local bands and another band from Omaha, Neb., brought many people out on the cold, dreary night. 

Shiver, Shiver, started the evening with jazz infused rock. Chase Thornburg (drums, vocals) and Jordan Elsberry (keys, vocals) performed upbeat songs that had melancholy lyrics. The band’s 2008 debut release, Soulless Sex Appeal, “is a portrait of the simultaneous embrace and rejection of our chapter in the age-old story of love and lust.”

It was hard to believe Shiver, Shiver, only had two band members. Elsberry and Thornburg’s music was full and robust. Their vocal harmonies stood out, and Thornburg’s drum solos were outstanding.

By the time Kansas City, Mo.’s Roman Numerals took the stage, the Taproom’s basement was crowded. People packed into the small room, and wedged between Shiver, Shiver, and Cowboy Indian Bear‘s equipment and merch.

Numerals’ sound blends new wave melodies with precise percussion.

Many of Numerals’ songs’ melodies echoed over the band’s driving bass and drums and created a rumbling, hypnotic sound. William Smith (guitar, vocals, stylophone) and Steve Tulipana‘s (vocals, guitar, bass, synth) voices pierced through the sounds Shawn Sherrill (bass, synth), Pete LaPorte (drums, electronics), Ryan Shank (drums, electronics), and created.

During the middle of Numeral’s set, orange and red hues lighted the Taproom’s dark basement. The lights almost welcomed Numerals’ darker, dance-rock tracks; vocals were rough, and gritty bass caused the other bands’ drums to buzz. The band sounded like a darker !!!.

Numerals finished their set by thanking everyone in the audience. Numerals put on a great performance, and left the audience wanting more.

Set list (written on a cocktail napkin illustrated with lightening bolts):
In Motion
CNtRL
Rule Of V
My Life After DUB
Occupado
Go/No/Go
Bass Fishing

Now, this reviewer didn’t stay for Cowboy Indian Bear’s set. The reason for this was PopWreckoning writers’ have reviewed CIB many times this year; see here, here, and here. Here is a quick description of CIB for the readers who don’t click links:

Cowboy Indian Bear blends electronic melodies, soft vocal and guitars, a humming bass and lots of percussion to create a unique sound. The Lawrence, Kan., indie-rock band’s songs are influenced by jazz, 60s lounge, folk… the list goes on.