Concert Review: DJ Lucas, Papo2oo4 and Subjxct 5 at Farewell

Original image of Sujxct 5, DJ Lucas and Papo2oo4 by There Stands the Glass.

I made "Strange Art Rap Decisions" on Wednesday, November 22. A friend with compatible taste encouraged me to attend a rap show at Farewell headlined by DJ Lucas. I’m glad I took his advice even though it meant spending $20 on cover charges ($10 at Farewell and $10 for a rock show next door at Howdy) and standing on cold cement for almost four hours.

Supported by the dynamic Subjxct 5 and Papo2oo4, Lucas’ outlandish raps referenced Emily Dickinson, Sylvia Plath, Carrie Underwood and Eminem. The insular Dark World crew “from out the woods” of Western Massachusetts is reminiscent of Kansas City’s Black Clover and the Twin Cities’ Doomtree collectives.

Standing amid three dozen people, I wondered why the immensely talented trio isn’t better known. Are the literary references too brainy? Is its musicology (Papo2oo4 shouted out the Kansas City cult figure Rich the Factor) excessively geeky? Maybe the crew’s overt drugginess is a barrier.

Also at Farewell: Paris Williams (pop-rap with guitar and drums), Lil Heavn (Lil Peep-er) and N1n4 Freakquency (industrial footwork). And at Howdy: The Blast Monkeys (Tonganoxie pop-punk), Ivory Daze (grunge revivalists) and Island Policy (Topeka’s Puddle of Mudd).

Opera Review: UMKC Conservatory’s Die Zauberflöte at White Recital Hall

Original image of the temple “boys” at curtain call by There Stands the Glass.

Five years ago, I didn’t know the difference between Puccini and Verdi. I discovered I’ve since become an odious opera elitist at White Recital Hall on Thursday, November 16. The alterations made to Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart’s Die Zauberflöte in a UMKC Conservatory production outraged me. Yet even when condensed, sanitized and slightly dumbed down, Mozart’s genius still shines brightly. The orchestra conducted by Nicholas Perry Clark performed commendably. Among the solid cast, I most enjoyed Angelo Silva as Tamino, the three attendants of the Queen of the Night and the three “boys” of the temple. I paid $25 to sit amid the audience of about 250. The production streams here. My sniveling reservations aside, it’s well worth watching.

Concert Review: András Schiff at Helzberg Hall

Pre-recital image by There Stands the Glass.

Unlike her intemperate husband, my life partner isn’t prone to hyperbole. So I took notice when she proclaimed “this is a once-in-a-lifetime experience” during the intermission of András Schiff’s solo piano recital at Helzberg Hall on Tuesday, November 14.

Indeed, the circumstances were fortuitous. I purchased tickets for a pair of seats in the third row when a deep discount was offered to the public by The Friends of Chamber Music on Halloween. We were ideally positioned to witness Schiff’s delicate fingering and pedal work amid the attentive audience of about 1,000.

Schiff made eye contact with us while introducing each selection with illuminating and highly entertaining analysis. And what music! By my count, he rendered four pieces by Johann Sebastian Bach, two apiece by Ludwig van Beethoven and Franz Schubert and single selections by Joseph Hayden and Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart.

The centuries-old works seemed brand new in Schiff’s hands. He seemed aware of the transcendent“once-in-a-lifetime” spell he cast as he played for well over two hours. Even at 70, Schiff gave the impression that he was entirely willing to perform all night.

The Top Kansas City Albums, EPs and Reissues of 2023

The Top 25 Kansas City Albums of 2023

1. Matt Otto- Umbra*

Plastic Sax review.

2. Mike Dillon and Punkadelick- Inflorescence

Plastic Sax review.

3. Adam Larson- With Love, From New York City*

Plastic Sax review.

4. Ampichino and Rich the Factor- Midwest Tygoons*

Real orcas.

5. Stik Figa and The Expert- Ritual*

“It’s Stik Figa, mayne!”

6. Enzo Carniel, Hermon Mehari, Stéphane Adsuar and Damien Varaillon- No(w) Beauty

Plastic Sax review.

7. Pat Metheny- Dream Box

Plastic Sax review.

8. Janelle Monaé- The Age of Pleasure

Decadent.

9. Torches Mauve- Volume Two*

Plastic Sax review.

10. Flooding- Silhouette Machine

Dark shadows.

11. Mireya Ramos & the Poor Choices- Sin Fronteras

Cantinas and honky tonks.

12. Sweeping Promises- Good Living Is Coming For You

Look out below.

13. Samantha Fish and Jesse Dayton- Death Wish Blues

A blaze of glory.

14. The Floozies- Porty Hord

Gort dorn.

15. Kansas Virtuosi- Luis Humberto Salgado

Ecuadorian expedition.

16. Tech N9ne- Bliss*

Bliss-ish.

17. The Whiffs- Scratch n' Sniff

Pub rock.

18. Krista Kopper- Blessed Are Those Who Mourn

There Stands the Glass review.

19. The Count Basie Orchestra- Swings the Blues*

Plastic Sax review.

20. LaVelle- Promise to Love

Between the sheets.

21. Danny Embrey- Orion Room

Plastic Sax review.

22. Bach Aria Soloists- Le dolce sirene

Siren songs.

23. Nick Schnebelen- What Key Is Trouble In?

There Stands the Glass review.

24. Heidi Lynne Gluck- Migrate or Die

Rumours.

25. Kelly Hunt- Ozark Symphony

Polished folk.

The Top 10 Kansas City EPs of 2023

1. Midwestern- Cartoon Network

There Stands the Glass review.

2. Missouri Executive Order 44- Seventeen Dead in Caldwell County

Savage.

3. SleazyWorld Baghdad- Debo Baghdad*

Shooter.

4. Weaponize Chomsky- Time Destroys Everything

Dialectical materialism.

5. Conductor Williams- Conductor We Have a Problem

The preferred sound of 2023.

6. Kevin Morby- Music From Montana Story

Big skies.

7. Spine- Raîces

Furia.

8. Alyssa Murray- Scrollin'

Plastic Sax review.

9. The Bitter Lake Association- My Life Inside a Movie Scene

A one-person greeting committee.

10. Eggs on Mars- Warm Breakfast

Tasty.

The Top 5 Kansas City Reissues of 2023

1. SleazyWorld Go- Where the Shooters Be 2

Star light, star bright.

2. Charlie Parker- Hot House: The Complete Jazz at Massey Hall Recordings

Refreshed sound for the storied 1953 date.

3. Fred Davis- Cleveland Blues

Buried treasure.

4. Basie All Stars-  Live at Fabrik Hamburg 1981, Vol. 1

Shiny stockings.

5. The Noise FM- Deleted Scenes: Unreleased Hits 2013-2023

Appropriately titled.

*One or more of the musician’s additional 2023 recordings were excluded from these listings to make room for titles by other artists.

Last year’s rankings are here.

Concert Review: Kelly Hall-Tompkins at the Folly Theater

Original image by There Stands the Glass.

“Fiddler on the Roof” is my favorite musical. “Do You Love Me?” is my favorite “Fiddler on the Roof” song. The winsome ballad was performed in the style of French jazz violinist Stéphane Grappelli at the Folly Theater on Friday, November 10. The rendering rewarded my decision to dedicate the evening to Kelly Hall-Tompkins’ free recital presented by the Harriman-Jewell Series. The violinist known for her role as the titular instrumentalist in the most recent Broadway revival of “Fiddler on the Roof” was accompanied by an accordionist, guitarist and bassist. All but three or four selections were instrumental arrangements of selections from the musical. An audience of approximately 500 took in charming  interpretations of the familiar melodies.

Sally, Take My Hand: A Lapsed Fan Revisits Who’s Next

Describing his teenage infatuation with the literary giant in Vanity of Deluoz, Jack Kerouac wrote “only adolescents appreciate Thomas Wolfe… because he’s the kind of writer you can just about only read once, and deeply and slowly, discovering, and having discovered, move away”

I’ve felt much the same way about the Who for the past forty years. As a teen, Who’s Next, Quadrophenia and Meaty Beaty Big and Bouncy acted as primary sources of inspiration and solace. I’ve had no use for those albums as an adult.

Who’s Next / Life Hous Super Deluxe Edition, a new ten-hour reissue of the 1971 touchstone, compelled me to revisit my youth. Aside from the comical outlier “My Wife”, I can only appreciate the songs from a distance. Sadly, the hours of additional material are only of marginal interest to me. I can’t go home again.

October 2023 Recap: A Monthly Exercise in Critical Transparency

Screenshot of the trailer for Garsington Opera’s production of Gioachino Rossini’s Il barbiere di Siviglia by There Stands the Glass.

Top Ten Albums of October

1. Bad Bunny- Nadie Sabe Lo Que Va a Pasar Mañana

Carpe diem.

2. Sylvie Courvoisier- Chimaera

Spectral.

3. Gucci Mane- Breath of Fresh Air

Rap redemption.

4. John Scofield- Uncle John’s Band

How does the song go?

5. Fuerza Regida- Pa las Baby’s y Belikeada

Party central.

6. Andris Nelsons and the Boston Symphony Orchestra- 

Shostakovich: Symphonies Nos. 2, 3, 12 & 13

The ponderous soul of Russia.

7. Ava Mendoza- Echolocation

My review.

8. Allison Miller- Rivers in Our Veins

Freewheeling jazz.

9. Nathan Davis- Neutral Buoyant

Psaltery.

10. Daniel Villarreal- Lados B

Raw grooves with Jeff Parker and Anna Butterss.

Top Ten Songs of October

1. Kali Uchis- "Te Mata"

Wayback machine #1.

2. Esperanza Spalding- "Não Ao Marco Temporal"

Wayback machine #2.

3. Holly Macve and Lana Del Rey- “Suburban House”

Cul-de-sac.

4. The Streets- “Gonna Hurt When This Is Over”

Such sublime sadness.

5. Danny Brown- "Tantor"

Chaos agent.

6. Ken Carson- "Jennifer's Body"

Tomorrow’s sounds today.

7. Tainy with J Balvin, Young Miko and Jowell & Randy- "Colmillo"

Everything at once.

8. Yebba- "Waterfall (I Adore You)"

Chasing.

9. Flatland Cavalry- "Spinnin'"

Heartsick honky tonk.

10. Drake- “IDGAF”

An extended ECM Records sample!

Top Ten Performances of October

1. Hilary Hahn at the Folly Theater

My review.

2. Thomas Rosenkranz at White Recital Hall

My review.

3. Samara Joy at the Folly Theater

My review.

4. Brent Cobb and Meg McRee and Knuckleheads

My review.

5. Alien Nosejob, Citric Dummies and CKrit at Howdy

My review.

6. Chamber Music Masterclass with Michael Stern at Helzberg Hall

My Instagram photo.

7. Stan Kessler, Brant Jester, Bob Bowman and Zach Morrow at the Blue Room

My Instagram clip.

8. Vintage Crop, Jackoffs and Konrad Hell and the Highwaters at Farewell

My review.

9. Carl Butler, Dennis LaFoon and Terry Hancock- Gospel Lounge at the Gospel Lounge

My Instagram clip.

10. Musica Sacra- Arrupe Hall at Rockhurst

My Instagram photo.

The previous monthly survey is here.

Guess Who I Saw Today

Original image by There Stands the Glass.

As I feared, Samara Joy performed “Guess Who I Saw Today” at the Folly Theater two weeks ago. Yet by turning the threadbare standard inside out, the celebrated star won me over. I was pleased to have put my money where my mouth is. One or two of my November concert recommendations for KCUR should likewise provide satisfactory returns on my out-of-pocket investments.

Book Review: Time’s Echo: The Second World War, The Holocaust, and the Music of Remembrance, by Jeremy Eichler

Original image by There Stands the Glass.

My race against the clock becomes more urgent with each passing day. I’m committed to becoming as fully aware and completely realized as possible before I die.

Most of my free time is devoted to reading and deep listening. Jeremy Eichler’s new study Time’s Echo: The Second World War, The Holocaust, and the Music of Remembrance allowed me to indulge in both pursuits.

A combination of history and musicology, Eichler’s work focuses on four classical compositions inspired by the Shoah in the years before, during and after World War II.

Get this: I hadn’t previously heard any of them. Richard Strauss’ Metamorphosen, Arnold Schoenberg’s A Survivor or from Warsaw, Benjamin Britten’s War Requiem and Dmitri Shostakovich’s  Symphony No 13 (Babi Yar) came as shocking revelations.

I share Eichler’s conviction that music can act as a form of time travel as well as a metaphysical means to commune with the past. Having eagerly absorbed Time’s Echo, I’m able to use the portal with enhanced sophistication.

Concert Review: Thomas Rosenkranz at White Recital Hall

Original image by There Stands the Glass.

Everything you might care to know about my current state of mind is encapsulated by my steadfast commitment to attending Thomas Rosenkranz’s recital at White Recital Hall on Friday, October 20. (The recital streams here.)

The rare opportunity to hear a complete performance of Olivier Messiaen’s Vingt Regards sur l’Enfant-Jésus appealed to me more than attending concurrent concerts by Travis Scott or the Jazz at Lincoln Center Orchestra.

Friends and loved ones declined to join me when upon learning they were being asked to endure two hours of challenging solo piano at the free concert presented by the UMKC Conservatory. The translated title of Messiaen’s work- Twenty Contemplations of the Infant Jésus- was a nonstarter for at least one person.

The piece is best experienced alone anyway. Upon selecting a seat allowing me to watch Rosenkranz’s frenetic fingering, I placed my phone on the floor and didn’t once turn around to check on the responses of the approximately 100 people in the auditorium.

Transfixed, my mind only wandered to consider how curious the composition must have seemed to listeners at its premiere in 1945. It still sounds otherworldly. Allusions range from Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart to George Gershwin. Messiaen also seems to have anticipated the innovations of Philip Glass and Cecil Taylor.

Yet musicological musings are a secondary consideration. During one segment I sensed the incomprehensible magnificence of God from a proximate vantage point I hadn’t previously experienced. Three days later, I’m still trembling.