Escher String Quartet

September 2023 Recap: A Monthly Exercise in Critical Transparency

Screenshot of Opéra de Lille’s production of Verdi’s Falstaff by There Stands the Glass.

Top Ten Albums of September (through 9/22)

1. Angelika Niescier- Beyond Dragons

Monstrous fire.

2. Yeule- softscars

Are friends electric?

3. Escher Quartet- Terra Incognita

Unexplored territory.

4. Tomas Fujiwara- Pith

With Patricia Brennan and Tomeka Reid.

5. Willie Nelson- Bluegrass

Pleasing redundancy.

6. James Brandon Lewis- For Mahalia, With Love

Wade in the water.

7. Mireya Ramos & the Poor Choices- Sin Fronteras

Possibly the year’s best non-jazz album out of Kansas City.

8. Irreversible Entanglements- Protect Your Light

My least favorite album by my favorite band.

9. Laufey- Bewitched

My review.

10. The Count Basie Orchestra- Swings the Blues

My review.


Top Ten Songs of September

1. Yahritza y su Esencia- "Rositas"

Cool kids.

2. Cultura Profética- "Para Mi"

My kind of Margaritaville.

3. Camilo and Diljit Dosanjh- "Palpita"

Culture clash.

4. James Blake- "Fall Back"

Tripping.

5. Tirzah- "Stars"

Outer space.

6. Tinashe- "Uh Huh"

Validated.

7. Earl Sweatshirt and the Alchemist featuring Vince Staples- "The Caliphate"

Haram.

8. DOE- "Holy Hands"

Sanctified.

9. Bad Bunny- "Un Preview"

Unstoppable.

10. Carrie Underwood- "Drunk and Hungover"

Formulaic fun.

Top Ten Performances of September

1. RP Boo at the Encore Room

My review.

2. Thee Sinseers, The Altons and Alanna Royale at Lemonade Park

My review.

3. Mahani Teave at the Folly Theater

My review.

4. Queens of the Stone Age, Viagra Boys and Jehnny Beth at Starlight Theatre

My review.

5. Alan Voss Quartet at Swope Park Pavilion

My review.

6. Dan Clucas at World Culture

My review.

7. OJT at the Prairie Village Jazz Festival

My Instagram clip.

8. Electric Blue Yonder at Tin Roof

My Instagram clip.

9. The Jazz Disciples at the Blue Room

My Instagram clip.

10. Hudspeth & Taylor at Ward Parkway Shopping Center

My Instagram clip.



The previous monthly survey is here.

August 2022 Recap: A Monthly Exercise in Critical Transparency

Screenshot of the trailer for Detroit Opera’s 2022 production of Faust by There Stands the Glass.

Top Ten Albums of August

1. Megan Thee Stallion- Traumazine

Obscenely fun.

2. Jimetta Rose & The Voices of Creation- How Good It Is

Rock of ages.

3. Julia Wolfe and Sō Percussion- Forbidden Love

The string quartet turned inside-out.

4. Mach-Hommy- Dollar Menu 4

Buffalo wings.

5. Barlast- Musik för scener

My review.

6. Larry June- Spaceships on the Blade

My review.

7. Danger Mouse and Black Thought- Cheat Codes

Swindled.

8. Second Nature Ensemble- Second Nature

My review.

9. Rod Wave- Beautiful Mind

So what if Post Malone fell off?

10. Al Foster- Reflections

A memento of a massive night I enjoyed in 2019.



Top Ten Songs of August

1. Ice Spice- "Munch (Feelin' U)"

Baddie.

2. Doechii with Rico Nasty- “Swamp B*tches”

Muggy.

3. Kevin Gates- "Major League"

All star.

4. DJ Khaled featuring Rick Ross, Lil Wayne, Jay-Z, John Legend and Fridayy- “God Did”

All is forgiven.

5. Blackstarkids- "Sex Appeal"

Magnetic.

6. Nicki Minaj- “Super Freaky Girl”

Street song.

7. Four Tet- "Mango Feedback"

Delicious.

8. Kiwi Jr.- "Parasite II"

“Someone down in the laundry room keeps shrinking all my shirts!”

9. Ronald Isley, the Isley Brothers and Beyoncé- “Make Me Say It Again, Girl”

Mr. Biggs and Queen B.

10. Jordan Davis- “Next Thing You Know”

I’m a sap.



Top Ten Concerts of August

1. Escuela Grind- Farewell

My review.

2. Flatland Cavalry- The Truman

My review.

3. Black Crack Revue- Westport Coffee House

My review.

4. Bob Bowman and Peter Schlamb- Second Presbyterian Church

My review.

5. Escher String Quartet- Polsky Theatre

My review.

6. Evan Verplough and Ben Baker- World Culture KC

My review.

7. The Summer Singers of Kansas City & Orchestra’s “Elijah”- Grace & Holy Trinity Cathedral

My review.

8. Making Movies- Nerman Museum of Contemporary Art

My Instagram photo.

8. Jenna Bauer, Daniel Dissmore and Desmond Mason- The Market at Meadowbrook

My Instagram photo.

10. Morgan Faw and The Flame- The Blue Room

My Instagram clip.



Last month’s survey is here.

Concert Review: Escher String Quartet at Polsky Theatre

Original image by There Stands the Glass.

A distraught man seated next to me in the second row of Escher String Quartet’s recital at Polsky Theatre never stopped staring at his phone during the concert on Wednesday, August 3.  The discourteous behavior would ordinarily enrage me.

Yet prior to the performance the Chinese national explained he was communicating with friends and family in Taiwan who were closely monitoring the Chinese military drills around the contested island.

Compositions by Joseph Haydn, Béla Bartók and Antonín Dvořák sounded especially consequential as my new friend frantically doomscrolled.  Might, as he implied at intermission, the event be among the last concerts on earth?  And how precisely would I want to go out?  

I consume gobs of reggaeton for the same reason other people swallow pharmaceutical mood elevators. Yet I’d be mortified if Bad Bunny was playing when the world ended.  Escher String Quartet would provide a far more suitable sendoff.

Even though one member of the acclaimed quartet committed minor flubs during the concert presented by the Heartland Chamber Music Festival, the gorgeous Haydn, queasy Bartók and sublime Dvořák works riveted the audience of about 300.  And at only $10 a ticket, the recital was an economical end-of-the-world bargain.