Odetta, 1930-2008

Odetta- All the Pretty Little Horses (MP3)

Odetta was part of my childhood. When the producers of televised events wanted to add a sense of dignified importance to their broadcasts, it seemed that they'd often call on the regal woman to perform. Sunday school teachers and elementary school staffers sometimes followed suit. Consequently, Odetta was the type of artist that I admired but rarely enjoyed. "All the Pretty Horses" captures the sense of hushed importance I associate with the folk singer. It's available on this fine compilation of folk classics. Odetta died yesterday.

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One-time Kansas Citian Mike Terry, a saxophonist heard on Motown hits including "Heat Wave" and "This Old Heart of Mine," died October 30. (Tip via BGO.)

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Charles Ferruzza composed a fine tribute to Kansas City composer and critic Virgil Thomson.

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Kansas City Click: New Vintage Big Band swings into B.B.'s Lawnside BBQ tonight.

Seeing Sounds: 2008 In Review

The 25 Best Albums of 2008
1. Erykah Badu- New Amerikah Part One (4th World War)
2. Atmosphere- When Life Gives You Lemons, You Paint That Sh*t Gold
3. The Game- LAX
4. Julieta Venegas- MTV Unplugged
5. Tech N9ne- Killer
6. Duffy- Rockferry
7. Chick Corea & Gary Burton- The New Crystal Silence
8. Girl Talk- Feed the Animals
9. Wynton Marsalis & Willie Nelson- Two Men With the Blues
10. Lil Wayne- Tha Carter III
11. N*E*R*D- Seeing Sounds
12. The Streets- Everything Is Borrowed
13. The Hold Steady- Stay Positive
14. 9th Wonder & Buckshot- The Formula
15. Nas- Nas
16. Ice Cube- Raw Footage
17. Ron Ron- Mr. No It All
18. The Saturday Knights- Mingle
19. Adele- Chasing Pavement
20. Two Cow Garage- Speaking In Cursive
21. The Gaslight Anthem- The '59 Sound
22. Steddy P- Dear Columbia
23. Coldplay- Viva la Vida
24. Dizzee Rascal- Maths + English
25. Kanye West- 808's & Heartbreak
For the first time in years, I haven't fallen in love with any new albums. Each of these titles is flawed. I placed Badu's glorious mess on top because she seems to be laughing at the blemishes in her music.

The 25 Best Songs of 2008
1. Noel Gourdin- "The River"
2. Marvin Sapp- "Never Would Have Made It"
3. Nas- "Be A N***** Too"
4. T.I.- "No Matter What"
5. Wiley- "Cash In My Pocket"
6. Jazmine Sullivan- "Need U Bad"
7. Ashton Shepherd- "Takin' Off This Pain"
8. Coldplay- "Viva La Vida"
9. Dolly Parton- "Jesus & Gravity"
10. Jaheim- "Never"
11. Trace Adkins- "You're Gonna Miss This"
12. Airborne- "Too Much Too Young Too Fast"
13. AC/DC- "Rock 'N Roll Train"
14. Idle Warship- "Fall Back"
15. Lil Wayne- "A Milli"
16. Kid Rock- "All Summer Long"
17. Eric Benet- "You're the Only One"
18. Hot Stylz- "Lookin' Boy"
19. Lyfe Jennings- "Never Never Land"
20. Lee Ann Womack- "Last Call"
21. Young Jeezy- "Put On"
22. Solange- "I Decided"
23. Janelle Monae- "Many Moons"
24. Sevendust- "Prodigal Son"
25. Ben Folds with Regina Spektor- "You Don't Know Me"
Lord, how I love "The River."

The Ten Best Songs of 2008 By Kansas City Artists
1. Donta Slusha- "Check My Posture"
2. XTA-C- "2 Fingers and a Hook (KC Anthem)"
3. Tech N9ne- "Crybaby"
4. The Abracadabras- "Petty Politics"
5. Ghosty- "Dumbo Wins Again"
6. Sliccs Gotcha- "Off Da Chain"
7. Barclay Martin- "Queen of This Town"
8. Innate Sounds- "Raise Up"
9. Mac Lethal- "Black Widow Spider"
10. Koufax- "Any Moment Now"
Although the rest of the world isn't paying much attention, it's been a great year for local music.

The 25 Best Live Performances of 2008
1. Alison Krauss & Robert Plant- Starlight Theater (fan video)
2. Maxwell- Uptown Theater
3. Tech N9ne- Uptown Theater (April show) (fan footage)
4. Stone Temple Pilots- Liberty Memorial (fan footage)
5. Kid Rock- Sprint Center (fan footage)
6. Sarah Buxton- Power & Light
7. Luciano- Beaumont Club (backstage footage)
8. Nikka Costa- Record Bar
9. Fourth of July- McCoys
10. The Mars Volta- Beaumont Club (fan footage)
11. Mac Lethal- Riot Room
12. Wynton Marsalis & the Jazz at Lincoln Center Orchestra- Folly Theater
13. ZZ Top- Midland Theater
14. T.I.- Sandstone Amphitheater
15. Rodney Crowell- Frontier Park
16. Stefon Harris- Folly Theater
17. The Misfits- VooDoo Lounge
18. Busy Bee- Liberty Hall
19. Kristin Hersh- house party in Lee's Summit, MO
20. Ashes Divide- Liberty Memorial
21. Slipknot- Sandstone Amphitheater (fan footage)
22. Drowning Pool- VooDoo Lounge
23. The Redwalls- The Record Bar
24. Say Anything- Power & Light
25. Atmosphere- Liberty Hall
These are the best of the 253 individual performances I've witnessed so far in 2008.

The Five Best Opening Acts of 2008
1. Brandi Carlile (for Sheryl Crow at Starlight Theater)
2. Thrice (for Rise Against at the Uptown Theater)
3. Tesla (for Queensryche at the Midland Theater)
4. Meg & Dia (for Plain White T's at the Beaumont Club)
5. Lil Mama (for Chris Brown at the Sprint Center) (fan footage)
The headliners never stood a chance.

The Five Most Disappointing Live Performances of 2008
1. The Roots- VooDoo Lounge (fan footage)
2. Bruce Springsteen & the E Street Band- Sprint Center (fan footage)
3. Lazy Lester- KCK Street Blues Festival
4. M.I.A.- Liberty Hall (fan footage)
5. Matisyahu- Crossroads KC (fan footage)
I had high hopes for each of these concerts; my expectations were not met.

(Original image of Dia Frampton of Meg & Dia by There Stands the Glass.)

Robert Lucas, 1962-2008

Robert Lucas- Never Trust Your Love Again (MP3)

Robert Lucas was signing autographs the last time I saw him. He had just played a set with Canned Heat at a blues festival in Kansas City three or four years ago. I didn't catch the performance; I have a strong antipathy for recycled boogie. Yet I recall that image for two reasons. Almost every one of his fans was a biker. I was also struck by the thought that Lucas seemed far too young to be in the band. He was just 46 when he died Sunday. Layaway is one of several solid solo albums in which Lucas splits the difference between Howlin' Wolf and Tom Waits. (Tip via BGO.)

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MC Breed died Saturday.

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Richey Edwards of the Manic Street Preachers has been declared dead. It's a sad story. (Tip via BGO.)

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I reviewed Tech N9ne's show Saturday night.

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Mac Lethal's life almost ends at the 3:30 mark of this otherwise pointless Soulcrate Music tour vlog.

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I briefly ponder MURS, the Clash and the concept of selling out here.

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Kansas City Click: I could stop at the Czar Bar after tonight's Kansas-Syracuse game to catch Ghosty.

Corey Crowder- Love

Corey Crowder- Love (MP3)

Mainstream country radio hasn't quite figured out that dudes don't want to hear Taylor Swift. Most men want beer-drinkin' music with brains and (please forgive the crude indiscretion) balls.

That's Corey Crowder. He's staked out some valuable property on the musical landscape somewhere to the south of Dierks Bentley and just a little to the west of the Allman Brothers. He'd be an appropriate opening act for both Kid Rock and Tim McGraw.

I could use a little more punk-styled grit on his new Tooth & Nail release Gold and the Sand, but Crowder's tendency to keep James Taylor's melodic monolith in sight will probably serve him well.

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Stop the presses! There's a late contender for 2008's song of the year. It's Wiley's "Cash In My Pocket". The accompanying video is also great.

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This video moves me, and I'm not even a big Coldplay fan. (Found via a Twitter pal.)

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Hammerlord is my new favorite local metal band.

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I finally got around to watching an episode of Celebrity Rehab. A Google search confirmed my immediate hunch- one of the counselors is Bob Forrest of Thelonious Monster!

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Kansas City Click: Tech N9ne returns to the Uptown Theater tonight.

Stefon Harris plays vibes Saturday at the Folly Theater.

Soulfly top the bill Sunday at the Beaumont.

Suzpecial- Break Away

Suzpecial- Break Away (MP3)

Musical epiphanies inevitably become less frequent with age and experience.

While sound still sends chills down my spine on a regular basis, the most recent life-changing musical revelation I experienced came via the Run the Road compilation in 2005. It was my first exposure to British grime. The combination of Joy Division's iciness and hip hop's street poetry stunned me.

Much like many tracks on Atmosphere's When Life Gives You Lemons..., "Break Away" by Suzpecial bluntly addresses immediate domestic concerns. "I wish things were better..." I don't know if Suzpecial is guy, a duo or a collective. The British act doesn't blow my mind, but it's definitely effective.

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The Plain White T's are woefully misunderstood. Their effort Sunday night represented the second best power pop performance I've seen this year. (The Redwalls were better.) Here's my review. And look out for Meg & Dia in '09.

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"We're the Get Up Kids from Kansas City, Missouri."

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I did my best to provoke Kansas City's jazz community today.

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I'm Weezer-neutral but I love Rivers Cuomo for his "Let's Write a Sawng" series. The new chapter is particularly interesting.

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Kansas City Click: Eldar's run at Jardine's continues through Thursday.

(Image from Suzpecial's MySpace.)

The Gaslight Anthem at the Uptown Theater

"Welcome to Casual Friday," Brian Fallon of The Gaslight Anthem told early arrivals Friday night at the Uptown Theater.

It was more like Opposite Day. The four bands on the tour- the Gaslight Anthem, Thrice, Alkaline Trio and Rise Against- were billed in reverse order of my personal preference.

Serving as the sacrificial opening act, the Gaslight Anthem were the most compelling band of the night. A thirty-minute opening slot at a punk show isn't the ideal forum to make a case for being the future of rock'n'roll. While the Gaslight Anthem didn't send shivers down my spine, they also did nothing to dissuade my faith in their potential.

Significantly, they weren't manic, sloppy and self-destructive like comparable true believers the Hold Steady or the Replacements. The Gaslight Anthem tried their best. Welcome to the new sincerity.

The emotional dynamics of "We Came To Dance" recalled fellow New Jersey resident Bruce Springsteen. (It was sort of like this.) "Angry Johnny and the Radio" sounded a lot like "Breakdown"-era Tom Petty & the Heartbreakers. (It felt something like this.)

Only time will tell if Fallon can achieve Springsteen-esque success. He may instead become a cult favorite like Joe Grushecky or Garland Jeffreys. Either way, I intend to be listening attentively. (The band returns to Kansas City December 10 for a radio station event at the Midland Theater.)

Thrice was second. Their brawny post-punk floored me. I had no idea that the Californians had progressed into an incredibly interesting band. Imagine Tool without the arena-rock impulses. A faithful cover of "Helter Skelter" seemed only natural.

Alkaline Trio provide the answer to an awkward question: What would have become of Green Day if Billie Joe Armstrong had never been struck with inspiration? The near-capacity crowd of about 1,400, however, didn't share my cynicism. Many sang along with every punk anthem. The Gaslight Anthem's Fallon joined them for a set-ending Misfits cover.

Blame it on election fatigue. I just wasn't in the mood for the strident political protest punk of Rise Against. I found watching the sea of people on the floor more entertaining than listening to the headliners. I left early.

After all, it was Opposite Day.

(Image of Brian Fallon taken from Rise of Beachmont's Flickr account.)

Jose Feliciano- Hot Burrito #1

Jose Feliciano- Hot Burrito #1 (MP3)

Juanes may have cleaned up at last night's Latin Grammy Awards, but it also seemed that Jose Feliciano was everywhere. Univision made him the star of their red carpet coverage. He was visible when the cameras panned the audience. He was featured on the tribute to Gloria Estefan. And he even won the Best Contemporary Tropical Album award.

I had no idea that the 63-year-old remains so relevant. Young readers may be startled to hear that Feliciano's version of "Light My Fire" was probably more popular than the Doors' original. And do any of you remember his theme to Chico and the Man? Oh, (bad) memories.

Feliciano also recorded a soulful version of this Gram Parsons classic. It's contained on an insanely great collection. As good as it is, it makes me long for an Elvis Presley treatment.

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My favorite performance last night was by the wonderful Julieta Venegas. Banda El Recodo blew my mind. Just look at the size of that band! It's also going to take a lot of tequila to erase the memory of Karyme Lozano snogging Kenny G's soprano sax.

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I also watched the CMA Awards Wednesday night. How tedious was it? I thought the three best performances were by Kid Rock, the Eagles and Kenny Chesney.

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Kansas City Click: The Gaslight Anthem, the subject of the previous There Stands the Glass post, open the show tonight at the Uptown Theater.

Kelley Hunt has a Kansas City-themed show Saturday at the Blue Room.

The Get Up Kids reunite for a Sunday show at the Record Bar.