Sublime Theatrical Event of the Year: Buran Theatre Homecoming Show at KU; Album Release Parties of the Week: Muscle Worship at Replay and Pale Hearts at Frank's

Readers, do you remember the LFK theatre scene of 2008, when Adam Burnett and his merry band of pranksters in the Buran Theatre company somehow managed to book the main auditorium at the Lawrence Arts Center to perform a play called "Nightmares:  An Artful Demonstration of the Sublime" which was full of VERY nude people having a lot of simulated sex?

If you don't remember, let this critique from L.com talkbacker "smerdyyakov" remind you:

"..while the foxy leading lady is continually presented fully nekked-perky breasts, nice butt, and shaven-ess for all to see, many times-her male counterpart is /not once/ so vulnerable on stage. He does shed his undies once (taking care not to reveal his bits and pieces to the audience) but really the whole production is no different than Hollywood's contradictory treatment of nudity."  

Read the original L.com piece and talkback here.

Anyway, the Buran gang (now based in Brooklyn, because they were FAR too hip for LFK even in 2008) will be back in town at KU's Inge Theatre this weekend and performing Nightmares once again, though it now sounds like a wildly revamped and maybe even more experimental version.  We can't promise nudity in this new incarnation but, even so, it still promises to be the weirdest thing you'll encounter on local stages this year.  It will be performed Friday and Saturday at 7:30.  Visit the group's website here for more info and some video clips.

Welcome back, Buran.  We miss the brief era of adventurous theatre in LFK!

Here's the kind of thing you might witness:





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Friday brings two major album release shows to LFK--one from Muscle Worship; one from Pale Hearts-- and the shows are a long drunken walk apart--one at Replay; one at Frank's.  So choose wisely. 

Check out the new Muscle Worship tunes via Bandcamp here .  They have some of our favorite titles of the year:  "Hans Christian Terrorist"; "A Firebreather Carefully Sobs"; "Don't Dang Doom."

Opening acts are Monsoon Lazer (featuring the JabberJosh boys) and Chicago's Truck or Dead Horse, who "play loud music for people that like loud music." 

Muscle Worship remains our personal pick for loudest band in LFK.  Could Truck or Dead Horse be even louder?  
 

 


And across the river at Frank's, Pale Hearts will have an album release bash for Hollowtown.  We wrote about the new tunes last week prior to their gig at Spring Into Summer (sadly, that gig did not happen) and here's what we said:

"The title track of their new record Hollowtown features one of Chip's favorite lines of the year so far, delivered in Rob's trademark howl: "And you're fucking a hole through your phonebook again."  "Breakheart Mambo" sounds like a lost track from Lynch's Wild at Heart and might even get a few drunk/stoned scenesters to grind around on each other a little.  And, dark though it is, "High Plains Disko" (great title) gives off a Talking Heads-vibe that would make the crowd bounce exuberantly if scenesters were capable of such behavior.  Brush up on the new stuff via Bandcamp here." 

Opening acts are Jocks (which we believe contains a Vigilante or two?) and Fake Surfers.

Here's a sweet flyer drawn by Pale Hearts' Rob:

Our Spring Into Summer Recap (Patio Portion): Y[our] Fri[end] , Naomi What? , and Approach / Plus, Bike-In Theater Returns to the Replay

Most of you who are reading this probably arrived at the Replay's Spring Into Summer Fest around 11:00 and found it reasonably packed, but we can assure you that the early-evening patio portion was (once again) woefully under-attended, proving that scenesters (as we forecast last week) will NOT show up early to anything, not even to hear their friends' bands.

So here's an unpopular idea that would actually draw people to the patio for the early part of the Fest (assuming that the Replay actually wants a crowd there):  book an unhip band like Truckstop Honeymoon whose fanbase is both diverse AND actually willing to show up before the sun sets.  That would still leave plenty of time after 10:00 for five or six bands with various combinations of Rooftop Vigilantes in them.

Despite the poor patio attendance (and it probably didn't help that 2 out of the 5 scheduled bands didn't actually play), there was plenty of fun to be had.

We watched Y[our] Fri[end], playing with just a drummer in this incarnation, riding a sweet psych-folk groove to kick off the evening.  Our excellent photography skills captured Taryn with her back to the crowd (Cat Power style!).

Naomi What? (we love the question mark in the band name) resurfaced to play a jolly little set with songs about shopping at Costco and such:

And local rhyme-slinger Approach spent most of his impressive set stalking the dance floor ("I'm gonna own this area right here") to close out the pre-DJ patio portion of the evening.  Our friend Stix called his performance "the best thing that's ever been done at the Replay."  Approach chose to play in near-total darkness, so we didn't even bother trying to take a pic. But here's a nice crowd shot from earlier in the evening: the guy in front gets the prize for best hat but our friend King Tosser (holding court in the background) gets the runner-up prize.

Classic Replay moment:  free PBR tshirts and Boulevard tshirts were available to the first 100 guests to arrive, but the doormen didn't actually start giving them away until after there were 30 or more people already in the bar, so people had to go back up and request their rewards.

Classic Replay moment, Vol. II:   Approach ended his set by thanking all the hard-working bands who had played throughout the day "at 5, 6, 7, and 8," despite the fact that there were only two bands before him and the first one started at 7:30.

Now head over to I Heart Local Music here for reviews, pics, and videos from all the sets that were too loud for our gentle ears (sorry we had to miss The Regrets) as well as great use of the word "katamari," which according to the Urban Dictionary definition means "a giant rolling ever-expanding ball of crap that nobody ever notices, until it rolls them up."  

Chip:  "Though perhaps inadvertently, that's probably the best description of a Replay event that's ever been written!"


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Watching special screenings of old(er) movies is so hip these days, and the Replay's summer film series (Bike-In Theater) returns on Tuesday with Dazed and Confused followed by a DJ set from DJ Modrey Hepburn.  Instead of making an "all right, all right, all right" reference, let's go with another reference and say that this event would be a whole lot cooler if someone brought some weed along. The movie (supposedly) starts at 9:00.




And speaking of Linklater, we really think Liberty Hall should organize a screening of all three of his Before films to coincide with the impending release of Before Midnight, which we're hearing is a straight-up masterpiece!

"It is hard to think of anything quite like the Before triptych in the history of American movies." --Film Comment



Nice flyer:

More Weekend Music Picks: Laura Stevenson at Jackpot; Shy Boys at Bottleneck; Ween Cover Songs At Frank's; and a Special Appearance by the Anschutz Streaker!

Readers, it's graduation weekend in LFK, so prepare to stumble across some drunken scholars (and their drunken parents) as you make your rounds.

The weekend's scenester highlight is surely the Spring Into Summer fest at the Replay (read our preview here), but there are other musical options as well.

Laura Stevenson and the Cans hit the Jackpot tonight.  Pitchfork says that Stevenson "sticks to a neat scheme of metaphors to dress up her existential anguish." (full review here ). From what's we've read, that anguish translates into a pretty rocking live show.




Get there in time for openers Justin Klaas and Field Mouse.  They seem adorable.  Give Field Mouse a "like" on FB here .





If you're looking for pretty and polished pop tunes, you won't do better than the Ghosty/Shy Boys show at the Bottleneck on Friday.  Find a good Pitch piece on the Shy Boys here ("They play soft, harmony-laden pop songs with modern underpinnings — a little bit of the Association, a little bit of Real Estate").  Sandwiched in between these acts is LFK's decidedly more rough-around-the-edges OILS.  They're awesome too.  We caught 'em rocking a Replay matinee last Friday.

 


If you prefer your evening rowdier and funnier, head to Frank's on Friday for a night of Ween covers played by...well, we don't really know.  Anyway, the FB event page promises two sets and "36-ish" Ween covers, which sounds pretty sweet: details here . We're guessing it does not actually begin at 10:15 am, though that would actually be even cooler to kick off a Friday morning with beers and Ween at Frank's!





And on Sunday?  You'd think the Replay would offer up a matinee show to capitalize on all the drunken visitors wandering around Mass. Street after graduation.  But nothing is listed.  Maybe the bar is closed that day due to all the Spring Into Summer hangovers from the night before?

So maybe you should spend your day on the hill watching people graduate and hoping for another appearance by this week's instant local legend:  the Anschutz Streaker.   Local authorities are currently searching for this ass:
 

Picks for Geeks, Foodies, and Stoners: Jai Nitz's Dream Thief; Cat-Women of the Moon at Liberty Hall ; Wake n Bake Pizza at Fat Freddy's

It's a big day for local comic book nerds as Jai Nitz's Dream Thief hits the stands.  Nitz and illustrator Greg Smallwood are both at Astro Kitty most of the day (11:00-3:00 and 5:00-7:00) signing copies.  Go say hello before they are too famous to acknowledge you anymore and ask Jai to sign your comic with a bunch of swear words!  Visit the FB event page here for more info.

 


And who needs a new Abrams' Star Trek movie this weekend when Cinema a Go-Go returns to Liberty Hall on Friday with a double-feature of Cat Women of the Moon and Teenagers from Outer Space?  The hijinks start at 7:00. Visit the Retro Cocktail Hour/Cinema a Go-Go site here for full details.

 

According to the trailer below, Teenagers from Outer Space is "ten thousand times more terrifying than your maddest nightmares."

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And Chip offers up a special shout-out to BARRR this week for tipping us off to what has quickly become our favorite local meal:  the "Wake n Bake" pizza from Fat Freddy's which contains bacon, sausage, mozzarella, fried eggs, tater tots, and gravy.

Chip:  "The point where this idea went from good to great is when the chef said, 'Fuck it, I'm just gonna pour gravy right over the top of this thing.'"

Photo via BARRR and follow him on Twitter @BARRR for more fine dining tips!  Visit Fat Freddy's website here and order your 16"XL "Wake n Bake" right now for only $21.99! 

Our Spring Into Summer Fest Preview and Picks: Pale Hearts, Naomi What? , and The Regrets

Readers, it's Wiggins Day in LFK, so raise your PBR (or one of those nasty bologna-tasting Smoke on the Wheat beers at Free State) and celebrate the savior of next season's basketball team!

But most of our attention is on music this week.  The annual LFK rite-of-summer known as Spring Into Summer Fest hits the Replay on Saturday and of course we have some rather loud opinions.  Last year the fest brought in the terrific KC Afro-beat /funk collective Hearts of Darkness in an effort to transform the outdoor area into a huge dance party but... local scenesters responded by not arriving until 11:30 or so, long after the outdoor part of the Fest had wrapped up.  So this year's approach seems to be to avoid risk and mainly offer up a bunch of the usual LFK offenders, both early and late, though our guess is that scenesters will still arrive around 11:30 and miss favorites such as Y[our] Fri[end].    Visit the FB event page here.  So far, only 22 people are going.  This ain't exactly Bonnaroo (but we suppose that's a good thing).

One question:  where in the hell is Fourth of July on the line-up?  It's just not summer without them.

Outdoor picks: 

1) Pale Hearts:  We're hyped to see the Pale Hearts gang rocking the outdoor stage early in the evening (7:15).  The title track of their new record Hollowtown features one of Chip's favorite lines of the year so far, delivered in Rob's trademark howl: "And you're fucking a hole through your phonebook again."  "Breakheart Mambo" sounds like a lost track from Lynch's Wild at Heart and might even get a few drunk/stoned scenesters to grind around on each other a little.  And, dark though it is, "High Plains Disko" (great title) gives off a Talking Heads-vibe that would make the crowd bounce exuberantly if scenesters were capable of such behavior.  Brush up on the new stuff via Bandcamp here .

 

2)  Naomi What?   A Naomi What? appearance is always welcome in our book.  The name alone makes us laugh, and it's one of the few projects containing Rooftop Vigilante members that doesn't leave us deaf (in fact, it's acoustic and strummy and quite easy on the ears).  We're not sure if the band ever evolved online beyond a Myspace page (check it out here ) but there's a sort of retro element to Myspace now that makes it almost hip again!  So we recommend you revisit Myspace for the first time in years and listen to "Tonguing the Bird" and (our favorite) the very sweet "Can I Be Your Butler?"  Catch them at 8:50 on the outdoor stage.

Indoor Pick:

The Regrets:  The big treat of the evening for LFK rock historians is a performance by The Regrets, the legendary post-Vitreous Humor project of Danny Pound, Brad Allen, and Dan Benson.  They recently played the MOTM fest, but we're guessing most of their LFK fans didn't pay big bucks (by scenester standards) and trek to KC.  So this hometown reunion should be packed...assuming the fans can last till the 11:50 showtime.   Our friends at I Heart Local Music have a great piece on the reunited Regrets here .

The schedule: 

OUTSIDE!

6:30 Y(our) Fri(end)
7:15 Pale Hearts
8:00 The Basement
8:50 Naomi What?
9:30 Approach
10:15 G-Train/Approach DJ set!

INSIDE!

10:20 Dry Bonnet
11:00 Up The Academy
11:50 The Regrets
12:45 Mouthbreathers

And here's the big poster in the Replay window.  We love how the Replay defines "all day" as beginning at 6:30 pm.

Weekend Sights and Sounds: Cowboy Indian Bear at LAC; Give Take Give at Percolator; Truckstop Honeymoon at Replay / Early Week Scenester Picks: American Craft Beer Week, Naked River Readings, and The Silos

We stopped by the LAC on Friday where hometown heroes Cowboy Indian Bear celebrated the end of their tour with an album release party featuring a massive sound (a 9-piece band that amped up the harmonies and percussion) and an epic backdrop of kick ass projections (why can't more bands perform shows with nature footage in the background?).

Larryville's "Give Take Give" project, a chronicle of the treasures found in LFK's most beloved dumpster, culminated Saturday in a "show and tell" event in which locals told stories about their favorite discoveries.  Our favorite of the stories involved a dumpster full of 70s-to-90s era Playboys.

Chip:  "That's great, but a dumpster full of Hustlers would have been even better. Of course, no one is stupid enough to toss out their Hustlers."

Make sure to pick up the free 60-page Give Take Give book which is full of powerful photos and testimonies.

Photos:  project mastermind Dave Loewenstein and the dumpster-art backdrop of the evening.

Sunday brought the most pleasant weather LFK has experienced since at least November of 2012, and hippies packed the Replay patio for Truckstop Honeymoon's Mother's Day show.  A recent highlight of Truckstop shows has been the woman who joins the band for a few songs to provide sign language and interpretive dancing.  She's a treat!

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American Craft Beer week kicks off today and we'll be putting aside our PBR at least long enough to sample the yearly collaborative brew between Free State, 23rd Street, and Top City's Blind Tiger.  This year's brew is called Smoke on the Wheat.   Here's a great description from a recent LJ-World piece :

"Light as straw and crisp as Perrier but with a roguish smoky overtone — and as 23rd Street head brewer Bryan “Bucky” Buckingham notes, a little baloney on the nose (...or maybe it sounds better to say charcuterie?) — Smoke on the Wheat is in the style of a 14th century Polish Grätzer ale."

Did he just say this beer smells like baloney?  We WANT this!   See you on Free State patio this evening if they haven't run out by then (we can't figure out the tapping-times so far).

 

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During this morning's LFK-research, we stumbled across a new literary group called Naked River Readings, whose members will be offering up some "rants against humanity" and "slightly disturbing essays" at Frank's North Star tonight.   Let's go and see if they're really naked.  Give them a "like" on FB here .






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On Tuesday, hippies will gather at the Lawrence Arts Center for the weekly Tuesday Concert. This week showcases our friends Tasha Haas and the Silos (we like to call them the "Sly Hos").  They'll be playing some "cowgirl-inspired folk rock" and it starts at 7:30.  Visit the Tuesday Concert site here .  Sadly, no beer is served at these events, but you can probably take a toke with them in the alley before the show (they refer to the alley as "the green room").   Note:  Tasha's band also contains a flautist and someone who refers to himself as King Tosser.

Here's Tasha:

Weekend Picks: Cowboy Indian Bear Album Release at LAC; Dean Monkey Doo-Wop at Replay; The Bourgeois at Jackpot; Mother's Day Events

Tonight's the big night:  Cowboy Indian Bear hits the LAC for their Live Old, Die Young album-release party, performing as a 9-piece band.  We're not sure what to expect, but our best guess is a big, soaring, Arcade Fire-y type of sound, though Chip is personally hoping they've merely added five scantily-clad back-up singers.  Spirit is the Spirit kicks things off at 7:30.  Free State Beer will be poured. 



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If sultry indie-pop is not your thing of if you don't have the $10 bucks for CIB, our doo-wop pals Dean Monkey and the Dropouts are rocking the Replay patio matinee this evening with CS Luxem and Oils.  And it's not even going to snow tonight!  Drop by their Bandcamp site and learn the lyrics to "Love Load" before you go.  You'll be glad you did.




And don't forget to support our new Tulsa friends The Bourgeois at the Jackpot for your late-night boozing needs.  Reread our interview here. 




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The Love Garden hosts a major noisefest on Saturday with Bloodbirds and Nature Boys.  We hear that food from Terrebone will be served.  Please let there be a huge bucket of hushpuppies circulating.







 Even scenesters love their mothers, and Sunday brings several Mother's Day-themed event.

Liberty Hall's Film Church is probably the darkest of these events:




And Truckstop Honeymoon takes the Replay patio stage for a Mother's Day matinee.  Truckstop doesn't bother with any kind of flyers for their Facebook events.  They're too busy with the kids!