On Friday, November 3rd, PlaylistPlay and Fine Dining Productions put on a show for the ages. The Rino in Kansas City was graced by the presence of Walker Lukens, with support from local acts Momma’s Boy and Westside Royal. Peep some photos below.
Keep up with Walker Lukens here.
On Wednesday, November 1st, the insanely entertaining rock collective Diarrhea Planet rolled through Kansas City, making an exhilarating appearance at Riot Room. In support was local act Witch Jail, which the guys of Diarrhea Planet mentioned had a band name they were jealous of. (But how could you be?) Here are some photos from the evening.
Keep up with Diarrhea Planet here.
On Tuesday, October 31st, The Used took on the Uptown Theater in midtown Kansas City, Missouri to party it up on the most spooktacular evening of the year with help from post-hardcore favorite Glassjaw.
Members of the audience moved about the theater dressed as Clint Eastwood, Batman and Wayne Campbell of Wayne’s World. Not to be outdone, lead vocalist Bert McCracken debuted his look as the Pope as he twirled his garments and hat through “Take It Away” and “The Bird and the Worm.” Bandmates Jeph Howard, Justin Shekoski and Dan Whitesides also dressed for the occasion as a banana, the grim reaper and the Kool Aid Man respectively. McCracken’s ferocious vocals and the eerie Art Deco architecture adorning the venue’s walls added to the sinister night.
The band is touring in support of their just-released seventh studio album, The Canyon. The 17-track analog record stretches 80 minutes and is the first in which Shekoski stepped in for former guitarist Quinn Allman. It is also written as McCracken recovered from the sudden loss of childhood friend Tregen Lewis. Songs featured during the show included the Kurt Cobain-inspired anthem “Over and Over Again” and the live debut of the self-aware galvanizing chorus that is “The Nexus.”
Inspired by Michael Jackson to dance at the age of eight, McCracken refrained from performing his version of the Thriller dance. Though he spoke to the healing abilities of music and power of expression. “Try not to escape your problems but face your fears and maybe you’ll walk out (of it) feeling better,” he said.
Photographer Ashleigh Lee nabbed some stills for us, and you can check them out below!
Keep up with The Used here!
**Copy by Chris Ruder.
**Photos by Ashleigh Lee.
On October 27th, Noah Cyrus opened up for Katy Perry at Sprint Center in Kansas City. Here are a few photos from that set, which included original music as well as covers by Selena Gomez, Lady Gaga, and more!
In the 18 years I have been going to live shows, I have cried less than a handful of times. In fact, I can only remember twice that I’ve cried at shows. And they both happened relatively recently. (But I digress.) And I’ll admit, I’ve seen Katy Perry several times and she had yet to pull even a single tear from me. But on Friday, October 27th, there were waterworks instead of fireworks, and it made for the feel good musical moment of the year, quite frankly.
Katy took the stage to a large crowd in Kansas City at Sprint Center that night. She dazzled, of course, dripping in diamonds while she sang hit after hit. This time around, she took an 80’s spin to a lot of her tracks, pulling out all the stops in neon outfits and touting ginormous props around like it was no one’s business. She floated on planets amongst the crowd playing acoustic guitar and captivating us with a particularly heartbreaking version of “Thinking Of You”, told her mom during a personal call on speakerphone that – to her dad’s chagrin – she was going to play “I Kissed a Girl” again, and pulled out all the stops for her “California Girls”. Props and dancers supplemented the evening, making tracks off of Witness bigger and bolder than anticipated, leaving quite the mark both politically and spiritually. Katy is about harnessing your own power, and it’s thrilling to watch her inspire generations at her shows. The woman is an entertainer, and you never once question that during a performance.
But the most magical part of the night was when Katy called a random girl up from the audience to make a wish on a giant, glittering prop star. She chose the girl because of her neon orange sweatshirt. (And the fact that she was jumping up and down maniacally in her seat.) And, boy, did Katy’s intuition prove to be correct on that decision.
Zoe Black is twelve years old and – while your pre-teen is losing phone privileges and struggling to figure themselves out – her one big wish was that the kids at her sister’s high school would stop bullying her for her autism. That’s right. A twelve year old wished for that, on stage, in front of an arena full of people.
And we all lost our shit.
I was sitting in front of a row of teenagers, and I turned to them and just exclaimed, “I’m not crying, you’re crying!” And Katy teared up, holding on to Zoe for a few long moments before we all yelled “NO MORE BULLYING!” at the star. It was goosebump-inducing, and really put the night into perspective.
Below are a few photos from Katy’s set, with photos of her opener Noah Cyrus to come.
Learn more about autism and how to make a difference at autismspeaks.org.
On September 29th, Andrew McMahon headlined an out of character stripped down show at Music Alley in Lenexa, KS following an all-too-brief set with Lo Moon. The night was absolutely gorgeous, the music the perfect backdrop to the sunset and subsequent starry night sky.
