February 2023 Recap: A Monthly Exercise in Critical Transparency

Screenshot of the trailer of Detroit Opera’s production of Charles Gounod’s “Faust” by There Stands the Glass.

Top Ten Albums of February

1. Young Fathers- Heavy Heavy

Crushed.

2. Christian McBride’s New Jawn- Prime

A1.

3. James Brandon Lewis- Eye of I

All seeing.

4. Ten City- Love Is Love

Disco revival, part one.

5. Karol G- Mañana Será Bonito

Tomorrow will be pretty.

6. Don Toliver- Love Sick

Grown and sexy.

7. Lisel- Patterns for Auto-Tuned Voices and Delay

A.I. soundtrack.

8. Gorillaz- Cracker Island

Stranded.

9. Kelela- Raven

In flight.

10. The Necks- Travel

Hear the world.

Top Ten Songs of February

1. Kelsea Ballerini- "Leave Me Again"

Alone.

2. Fuerza Regida and Becky G- "Te Quiero Besar"

Kisses.

3. Joe Louis Walker- "Don’t Walk Out That Door"

Let’s stay together.

4. Jessie Ware- "Pearls"

Disco revival, part two.

5. Hitkidd featuring Aleza, Gloss Up, Slimeroni and K Carbon- "You the Type"

Old-school fun.

6. Yeat featuring YoungBoy Never Broke Again- "Shmunk"

Kids these days.

7. Lonnie Holley featuring Moor Mother- "I Am a Part of the Wonder"

Old souls.

8. Dierks Bentley- “Heartbreak Drinking Tour”

The night life ain’t no good life.

9. The Men- “Peace of Mind”

Stooges stew.

10. Talibando featuring BabyTron- "Make the Money"

Paid in full.

Top Ten Performances of February

1. UMKC Conservatory’s “Proving Up” at Spencer Theater

My review.

2. Hermon Mehari Quartet at the Folly Theater

My review.

3. Jake Blount at the Folk Alliance International Conference:

My review.

4. Bobby Weir and the Wolf Bros at Louisville Palace

My review.

5. Verónica Valerio at the Folk Alliance International Conference

My Instagram clip.

6. Kentucky Opera’s “Cinderella” at W.L. Lyons Brown Theatre

My Instagram snapshot.

7. Voices of Mississippi at Polsky Theatre

My review.

8. Jack Wright with Ron Stabinsky at Charlotte Street Foundation

My Instagram clip.

9. Talibah Safiya at the Folk Alliance International Conference:

My Instagram snapshot.

10. NAVO Trio at Polsky Theatre

My Instagram snapshot.

The previous monthly survey is here.

May 2022 Recap: A Monthly Exercise in Critical Transparency

Screenshot of soprano Sara Blanch in the trailer of the Donizetti Opera Festival’s staging of Gaetano Donzetti’s La fille du régiment by There Stands the Glass.

Top Ten Albums (Released in May, excluding 5/27 titles)

1. Mary Halvorson- Belladonna

My review.

2. Ches Smith- Interpret It Well

My review.

3. Bad Bunny- Un Verano Sin Ti

Summer soundtrack sorted.

4. Leikeli47- Shape Up

Fit.

5. John Scofield- John Scofield

Sublime solo set.

6. Shabaka- Afrikan Culture

Hushed Hutchings.

7. Daniel Villarreal- Panamá 77

International Anthem indeed.

8. Mary Halvorson- Amaryllis

My review of the companion album.

9. Andris Nelsons- Strauss

My review.

10. Kendrick Lamar- Mr. Morale & The Big Steppers

The transformation of King Kendrick into Captain Obvious is a hard pill to swallow.

Top Ten Songs (released in May)

1. Charles Stepney- “Daddy’s Diddies”

My favorite sound.

2. Tank and the Bangas with Lalah Hathaway and Jacob Collier- 

“Where Do We All Go”

Fulfillingness’ second finale.

3. Becky G- "Kill Bill"

Dead.

4. Dougie B- “I’m Back”

Bumpin’ me against the wall.

5. Flee Lord with Mephux- "Out the Mud"

True grit.

6. Hollie Cook- “Happy Hour”

Red Stripe special.

7. Ty Segall- “Saturday Pt. 2”

A stroll in Itchycoo Park.

8. Belle and Sebastian- "Do It for Your Country"

Ask not.

9. Flora- "Hey"

Ya.

10. Kevin Morby- “A Coat of Butterflies”

Hallelujah.

Top Ten Performances of May (and the last weekend of April)

1. Little Joe y La Familia at the Guadalupe Center

My review.

2. Samantha Ege at the Folly Theater

My review.

3. Logan Richardson + Blues People at the Ship

My review.

4. High Pulp at the recordBar

My review.

5. Isata and Sheku Kanneh-Mason at the Folly Theater

My Instagram snapshot.

6. The Lyric Opera of Kansas City’s “Tosca” at Muriel Kauffman Theatre

My review.

7. Kind Folk at the Black Box

My Instagram clip.

8. Drew Williams, Brandon Cooper and Seth Andrew Davis at Charlotte Street Foundation

My Instagram clip.

9. Brian Scarborough Quintet at Westport Coffee House

My Instagram clip.

10. Guitar Elation at Green Lady Lounge

The dueling guitars of Brian Baggett and Danny Embrey.

Last month’s survey is here.

June 2021 Recap: A Monthly Exercise in Critical Transparency

Screenshot of the trailer of Lili by There Stands the Glass.

Top Ten Albums (released in June)

1. Migos- Culture III

My post-vaccination party soundtrack, 1/2.

2. Billy F Gibbons- Hardware

My post-vaccination party soundtrack, 2/2.

3. Caroline Shaw and Sō Percussion- Let the Soil Play Its Simple Part

I love the elements I love more than I loathe the elements I loathe.

4. Anthony Braxton- 12 Comp (Zim)

My review.

5. Chris Thile- Laysongs

Anxious gospel.

6. Tyler, The Creator- Call Me If You Get Lost

Goblin grows up.

7. Julian Lage- Squint

A different type of power trio.

8. Wild Up- Julius Eastman, Vol. 1: Femenine

A vital conceptualization.

9. Mac Lethal- Winter Heartbreak II

My review.

10. Angel Bat Dawid- Hush Harbor Mixtape Vol. 1 Doxology

Ancient to the (lofi) future.

Top Ten Songs (released in June)

1. Megan Thee Stallion- “Thot Sh*t”

“Lit since brunch.”

2. Little Simz- "Rollin' Stone"

Quenched.

3. Rauw Alejandro and Anitta- "Brazilera"

Carnival.

4. Moor Mother- "Zami"

Traveling the spaceways.

5. Billie Eilish- "Lost Cause"’

Dead flowers.

6. Petra Haden- "Silence"

Song for her father.

7. Becky G and El Alfa- “Fulanito”

Rhythm nation.

8. Jennifer Hudson- "Here I Am"

Aria for Aretha.

9. Bfd Da Packman- “Wendy Williams”

“Back to Walmart.”

10. Brittney Spencer- “Sober & Skinny”

You got a fast car.

Top Ten Concerts (first monthly ranking since March 2020!)

1. Irreversible Entanglements- Stephens Lake Park Amphitheatre (Columbia, Missouri)

My review.

2. Johnny Rawls- Gladstone Summertime Bluesfest 

My notes.

3. Bird Fleming and Bill Summers’ “Voyage of the Drum”- Dunbar Park

My review.

4. Second Nature Ensemble- Westport Coffee House

My review.

5. En Vogue- Hy-Vee Arena

My review.

6. Mike Dillon and Nikki Glaspie- 1900 Building

My review.

7. Adam Galblum Quartet- Market KC

Django Reinhardt and Stéphane Grappelli revived.

8. Kian Byrne- Second Presbyterian Church

A singer-songwriter sweats it out under the setting sun.

9. Roman Alexander- KC Live

My review.

10. The Kansas City Chorale- Rolling Hills Presbyterian Church

Docked several notches for a clergyman’s abhorrent mask-shaming.

Top Ten Movies (viewed for the first time in June)

1. Jojo Rabbit (2019)

Gesundheit!

2. Lili (1953)

A French twist on The Wizard of Oz.

3. La ciociara/Two Women (1960)

Sophia Loren and Eleonora Brown suffer unspeakable trauma.

4. Polish Wedding (1998)

Love in Hamtramck.

5. Murder, My Sweet (1944)

Psychotropic noir.

6. I Accuse! (1958)

Straightforward depiction of the Dreyfus affair.

7. Lisztomania (1975)

Richard Wagner is Satan in Ken Russell’s gonzo freakout. 

8. Terri (2011)

Teen cringe.

9. The Shadow on the Window (1957)

And Jerry Mathers as the murder witness.

10. Small Town Crime (2017)

Negligible noir.

May’s recap and links to previous monthly surveys are here.