For those that don’t know, this week is American Craft Beer Week...
Yeah, I know it sounds like it was made up by American craft brewers. But it does have a few benefits, particularly if you’re in the Larry neck of the woods this Thursday evening. Free State is teaming up with local milk gurus Iwig’s Dairy at the Farmer’s Market near 19th and Mass. Word on the street is that these two local favs will be combining their wares to make the famous Oatmeal Stout Ice Cream Floats.
And that’s just ONE of the benefits of American Craft Beer Week! Trust me, there’s lots more.
By the way, next week is KC Entertainment Blog Week, so you know what that means.
Some good music this week, check it out…
Wednesday, May 16th
Taj Mahal @ Knuckleheads in KC
Simply put, Taj is a legend. He has played a variety of styles over the years, including a form of Hawaiian roots blues (I just made that genre up) that is super mellow and awesome. But mostly, I guess you would call Taj a southern blues guitar man, and his soulful growl more than equals his finger-picking. On May 17th Taj turns 70 so this show could turn into a special birthday celebration if the old man can make it past midnight. I bet he can. And I bet he literally commands the audience to get up and shake it a little.
“The music was designed for people to move, and it’s a bit difficult after a while to have people sitting like they’re watching television,” said Taj. “Often I don’t allow that. I just play to the goddess of music-and I know she’s dancing.”
Thursday, May 17th
Grant Hart & Danny Pound @ the Taproom in Lawrence
This should be a cool and intimate show in a dark and dank basement. For those that don’t know, Grant Hart was the drummer for Hüsker Dü, the super-influential alternative/ punk band that many credit with giving birth to the 90s grunge thing. After that band broke up around 1987, Hart started a new band, Nova Mob. Now, he’s doing solo stuff.
And damn, does he have some stories. Most of them are hard to follow. Like this snippet about his brand new album, The Argument which is based on John Milton’s Paradise Lost.
“Growing up—when I was 9, 10, 11—Jesus Christ Superstar was quite popular,” Hart explained to the Village Voice’s Brad Cohan. “It always took me that they were able to pull a single off of every side of that record without throwing the Bible or God in your face. With the Milton, I have skipped over anything it has where it could be obtained in other sources. My listeners did not need a rewrite of the Old Testament.”
Friday, May 18th
George Clinton and the P-Funk Allstars @ Crossroads KC
OK, we all know that George Clinto
n is a crazy mutha-funker… I’ll pause quickly right now and slap myself in the mouth for that. I deserve it.
But the guy is simply relentless. He still plays about 200 shows per year, and recent reviews indicate that he still brings it hard. Granted, he has a top notch band, always has, always will. But don’t hold that against the MAN. Here’s how Chicago at Night’s Jim Ryan described a show in the Windy City from last week:
“When it comes to the live show, at this point, George allows his band to do most of the heavy lifting. That said, for the first and last forty-five minutes of Thursday’s show, George was as energized, animated and vocal as I’ve seen him in the past few years… There was a sexy nurse. A guy walking on his hands. George’s son. George’s granddaughter. George’s grandson… My favorite song of the night was actually the fifteen minute psychadelic journey the band took me on with the 1970 Funkadelic hit "I Bet You" to open the show. I don’t even know how the band created some of the sounds that I heard during that performance.”
Whaddya think? I know I’m in.
Bad Veins @ the Replay in Lawrence
These guys are getting some run right now, right before they go out on tour with Two Door Cinema Club and Clap Your Hands Say Yeah later this month. This keyboard and guitar duo’s live shows features the backing of a reel-to-reel backing track for drums, and a bunch of other weird instruments, as well as, I’m told a rotary telephone. And they just released a new album, The Mess We’ve Made, to generally positive reviews.
This show looks to me like one of those Jacki Becker specials. You know, the ones where the band is about to blow up and you probably won’t see these guys in such a tiny venue ever again, but if you do you can brag about it for the next five years or so.
Saturday, May 19th
Cowboy Indian Bear & Ghosty @ the Replay in Lawrence
CIB returns (triumphantly?) from a short Midwest tour that finally answered the age-old question that everyone wants to know. Who is the cowboy, who’s the Indian, and I’m pretty sure I know who the bear is actually.
Joining in the fun is local indie stalwarts Ghosty, fresh off of releasing a new album a few weeks ago that everyone seems to like a fair amount.
I expect this show to be packed, with a musician/artist/tanktop wearer/hipster:hottie ratio at 10:1. Just so ya know.
P-Funk is great, but you leave there satisfied that you only need to see them once. Great party atmosphere but not the strongest musical chops anymore.
Oatmean stout ice cream float sounds
absolutely horrible. Sounds about as good as a turd sundae.
Yuck.
Grant Hart
Is also playing tonight at the Record Bar.
P-Funk
Is definitely worth seeing at least once, but having seen them a couple of times in the last 15 years, I actually find their shows a bit boring, at least after an hour or so. Plus, no more Diaper Man (RIP) and there’s even less to like. And when exactly did they go from true funk band that appealed to a mostly urban audience to frat boy party band adored by the jamband set? Eh, whatever sells, I guess.
Why would one want to take what is suppose to be good beer and mix it with ice cream?
Far as that goes why would anyone want to take good ice cream and mix it with beer?
That makes as much sense as letting Glazer write a kids book…not a good mix.