January 2024 Recap: A Monthly Exercise in Critical Transparency

Screenshot of Oper Graz’s production of Giuseppi Verdi’s Macbeth by There Stands the Glass.

Top Ten Albums of January

1. Willi Carlisle- Critterland
Folk masterstroke.

2. Abdullah Ibrahim- 3
The octogenarian in peak form.

3. Piotr Anderszewski- Bartók, Janáček, Szymanowski
On an overgrown path.

4. Philip Glass- Solo
Greatest hits hits hits hits hits hits hits hits.

5. Kali Uchis- Orquídeas
Panoramic pop.

6. Betty Bryant- Lotta Livin’
My review.

7. Luis R Conriquez- Corridos Bélicos, Vol. IV
What border?

8. Danielle Nicole- The Love You Bleed
My audio feature for KCUR.

9. The Smile- Wall of Eyes
Frippery.

10. Behzod Abduraimov- Shadows of My Ancestors
Prokofiev, Saidaminova and Ravel.

Top Ten Songs of January

1. Joel Ross- “bach (God the Father in Eternity)”
Sanctified.

2. Brian Harnetty- "The Workbench"
A loving sound collage.

3. Mary Halvorson- “Desiderata”
Now that’s what I call shredding!

4. Idles- "Gift Horse"
Ugly as homemade sin.

5. Sleater-Kinney- "Small Finds"
Needles.

6. Sprints- "Heavy"
Gravity.

7. Erick the Architect featuring George Clinton- "Ezekiel's Wheel"
Cosmic slop.

8. SleazyWorld Go- ​​"32 Bars"
Shots fired.

9. Ana Tijoux featuring Pablo Chili-E- "Dime que"
Chee-chee-chee, lay-lay-lay.

10. Ufo361 featuring lucidbeats and Ken Carson- "RICK OWENS"
If the shoe fits…

Top Ten Concerts of January

1. Isata Kanneh-Mason and the Royal Philharmonic Orchestra at Helzberg Hall
My review.

2. UMKC Conservatory’s “Suor Angelica” at the James C. Olson Performing Arts Center
My Instagram photo.

3. Joyce DiDonato’s master class at Helzberg Hall
My Instagram photo.

4. Joyce DiDonato with the Kansas City Symphony at Helzberg Hall
My review.

5. Arnold Young’s RoughTet at Westport Coffee House
My Instagram clip.

6. Wire Town at Green Lady Lounge
My Instagram clip.

7. Bryan Hicks, Matt Otto and Charles Gatschet at the Market at Meadowbrook
My Instagram photo.

8. Cynthia van Roden at the Market at Meadowbrook
My Instagram clip.

9. Jun Iwasaki’s violin master class at Helzberg Hall
My Instagram photo.

10. Chamber Music Society of Lincoln Center’s master class at Rolling Hills Presbyterian Church
My Instagram photo.

The previous monthly recap is here.

Concert Review: Isata Kanneh-Mason and the Royal Philharmonic Orchestra at Helzberg Hall

Original image of Vasily Petrenko and Isata Kanneh-Mason by There Stands the Glass.

The rough patch I’m pushing through worsened when my aged Prius didn’t start on Tuesday, January 24. I discovered that jump-starting a hybrid ain’t easy. After overcoming the challenge, I spent much of the day in the waiting room of a car dealership.

An ace in the hole kept me on an even keel. I purchased discounted front-row tickets for a concert by Isata Kanneh-Mason and the Royal Philharmonic Orchestra at Helzberg Hall on Black Friday two months ago.

I caught the eminent talents for what I might have paid for lunch from the dealership’s vending machines had I not packed my own provisions. As long as presenters of classical music price front row tickets like worthless trash, I’ll continue to buy the undervalued treasures.

Sore neck aside, the primary disadvantage to sitting a few feet from the musicians is the distorted sound field. The proximity of RPO’s massive violin section sometimes drowned out the distant harp in the interpretation of Claude Debussy’s “Danse” that opened the concert.

I feared the Steinway piano perilously rolled out for Sergei Prokofiev’s Piano Concerto No. 3 might slip off the stage and fall into my lap. Instead, it helped provide an out of body experience. Accentuated by my extreme vantage point, Kenneh-Mason’s adept handling of the bonkers piece induced delirium. 

The hallucinatory quality of the riveting footage of Martha Argerich’s 1977 reading of the composition with the London Symphony Orchestra parallels my extraordinary encounter. The version of Sergei Rachmaninov’s ponderous Symphony No. 2 brought me back to  harsh reality. The symphony’s length compelled me to recall last month’s bucket list endurance contest.

I’m not complaining about my position amid approximately 1,000 concertgoers. Counting the beads of sweat streaming down the face of the demonstrative conductor Vasily Petrenko and reading along with the violinists’ sheet music were sensational diversions.

The Top Fifty Performances of 2022

Original image of Blackstarkids by There Stands the Glass.

I’ve gone out to hear live music 123 times in 2022. I’m not done yet- I plan to hit a couple gigs this evening. Even without attending a single festival, I’ve taken in more than 225 performances this year. And yes, wise guys, I’ve been the oldest person in the room at a third of the shows listed below. You can’t blame a person for trying to make up for lost time. Unless indicated otherwise, the events took place in the Kansas City area.

1. Nduduzo Makhathini at the Blue Room

Review.

2. Joyce DiDonato at the Folly Theater

Review.

3. Little Joe y La Famalia at the Guadalupe Center

Review.

4. Logan Richardson + Blues People at the Ship

Review.

5. Blackstarkids at recordBar

Review.

6. Angela Winbush, Men at Large and Levelle at Juneteenth KC

Review.

7. Godspeed You! Black Emperor at the Roseland Theater (Portland)

Review.

8. Samantha Ege at the Folly Theater

Review.

9. Sparks at the Crystal Ballroom (Portland)

Review.

10. Flatland Cavalry at the Truman

Review.

11. Daniil Trifonov at the Folly Theater

Review.

12. Lucibela at Old Church Concert Hall (Portland)

Review.

13. Show Me the Body, Soul Glo, Wifi Gawd, Ebony Tusks and Piss Kinks at recordBar

Review.

14. FKJ and Ohma at the Midland theater

Review.

15. Livia Nestrovski and Henrique Eisenmann at the 1900 Building

Review.

16. Salvation Choir at Theis Park

Review.

17. Algara, P.S.Y.W.A.R. and New Obsessions at Farewell

Review.

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

Instagram photo.

19. Animal Collective and Spirit of the Beehive at the Truman

Review.

20. Adam Larson, Clark Sommers and Dana Hall at Westport Coffee House

Review.

21. Porridge Radio and Blondshell at Doug Fir Lounge (Portland)

Instagram clip.

22. Black Crack Revue at Westport Coffee House

Review.

23. High Pulp at recordBar

Review.

24. Escuela Grind at Farewell

Review.

25. Phillip Greenlief, Midwestern and the Extemporaneous Music and Arts Society at Bushranger Records

Review.

26. Steve Cardenas, Forest Stewart and Brian Steever at recordBar

Review.

27. Terence Blanchard with Turtle Island Quartet at Atkins Auditorium

Review.

28. Arnold Young and the RoughTet at the Ship

Instagram clip.

29. Marin Alsop and Orchestra Sinfônica do Estado de São Paulo at Helzberg Hall

Review.

30. John Hiatt and Lyle Lovett at the Uptown Theater

Review.

31. Bob Bowman and Peter Schlamb at Second Presbyterian Church

Review.

32. Mspaint at Nightjar

Instagram clip.

33. Babehoven at Farewell KC

Instagram clip.

34. UMKC’s Conservatory’s “Cosi Fan Tutte” at White Recital Hall

Instagram photo.

35. Live Skull and Still Ill at recordBar

Review.

36. Crystal Gayle at Ameristar Casino

Review.

37. Evan Verploegh and Ben Baker at World Culture

Review.

38. Keefe Jackson, Jakob Heinemann and Adam Shead at Black Dolphin

Instagram photo.

39. Cuong Vu and Ted Poor at Jack London Revue (Portland)

Review.

40. Ozomatli at KC Live

Instagram clip.

41. Gorillaz and EarthGang at the Moda Center (Portland)

Review.

42. Escher String Quartet at Polsky Theatre

Review.

43. Damien Sneed at the Folly Theater

Review.

44. John Waite at Ranch Mart Shopping Center

Instagram clip.

45. William Baker Singers at Grace & Holy Trinity Cathedral

Review.

46. Raven Chacon at Agnes Arts

Review.

47. Rod Fleeman at Green Lady Lounge

48. Ducks Ltd. at the Green House

Instagram clip.

49. Billy Cobham at Dolores Winningstad Theatre (Portland)

Review.

50. Roger Waters at the T-Mobile Center

Review.

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.