W♥M

12/03/2021

A Jazzy Christmas

12/01/2021

We♥KC - December 1-15, 2021 Upcoming Shows (Kansas City / Lawrence / Topeka KS)

Read more Kansas City Music Guide.

The holiday season is here, but things still aren’t quite the normal we’d all been hoping. Despite a few more cancellations (see below) there’s still plenty to celebrate in the Kansas City metro in terms of live music before things wind down towards the end of the month.

As always, check the artist and venue social pages before heading out, in case of some last-minute change of plans.
Here’s what’s happening in the area for the First half of December

(a few recommended shows are highlighted below):

12/03 Neal Francis at Bottleneck

12/03 Orthodox at The Rino
12/04 Orthodox at Bottleneck

12/04 Beabadoobee at The Truman

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The Acacia Strain

For whatever reason, this show was originally listed with The Acacia Strain to headline. The truth is, the show is actually for darkwave band She Wants Revenge. …

Wednesday December 1

Trailer Park Boys, Uptown CANCELED

Jesse McCartney, The Truman POSTPONED

Thursday December 2

Kip Moore with Gabe Lee, Uptown. $35-$159

“The Price is Right” Live! Arvest Bank Theatre at the Midland. $29.50-$65

Niko Moon with Kylie Morgan, The Truman. $17-$34

Amahl and the Night Visitors, Lyric Opera, Dec. 2-12

Friday December 3

Travis Tritt, Ameristar. $59.50-$89.50

Monophonics, RecordBar. $15-$20

Patton Oswalt, Uptown. $47-$201

Neal Francis, Bottleneck - Lawrence, $15.
Lauded Chicago-based singer-songwriter-pianist Francis is out in support of his sophomore release, In Plain Sight (on ATO Records) produced by one of our favorites, Dave (Flaming Lips, Tame Impala, MGMT) Fridmann and its lead single, “Can’t Stop the Rain” features Derek Trucks. The Bottleneck show is one of only a few chances to see him in a small room before he heads off early next year to Mexico forWilco’s Sky Blue Sky weekend and then a tour of Europe.

Orthodox w The Acacia Strain, Kubli Khan, Dying Wish, The Rino- North KC
Fans of this Nashville-based band are celebrating, not only due to their recent signing to Century Media Records, but the chance to see them twice in the immediate area, with back-to-back shows in North KC and Lawrence. Their 2020 2^nd LP, Let It Take Its Course received critical acclaim in the hardcore/metal press and the third album looks to be a coming-of-age record for the band. With a solid three-band support lineup (two nights in St. Paul, MN follow), this tour has clearly hit the ground running.

Saturday December 4
Carrot Top, Ameristar. $30-$105

Beabadoobee with Christian Leave, BlackStarKids The Truman. $20-$25
aka Beatrice Laus, this Filipino/British breakout bedroom-pop artist put out a new EP, Our Extended Play, earlier this year, with lead single, “Last Day on Earth” co-written with The 1975. Billboard ranked her the Top New Rock Artist of last year, and this is a chance to see what the buzz is about.
Arrive early to see one of the metro’s most talked-about acts, BlackStarKids who recently released their debut album, Puppies Forever (on Dirty Hit Records) blending indie pop, hip hop and old skool riffs and rhythms, and any band with songs called “Jimmy Neutron” and “Time Flies When You’re Having Fun” is all right with us.

Tech N9ne, Arvest Bank Theatre at the Midland. $35-$45
Rising from the underground since 1991, the hometown hero returns for a holiday show. Collaborating with everyone including Eminem and Kendrick Lamar, Dwayne “The Rock” Johnson recently made his rap debut on recent track, “Face Off”.

Orthodox w The Acacia Strain, Kubli Khan, Dying Wish, Bottleneck - Lawrence
(see above)
Sunday December 5
Disney Princess: The Concert, Arvest Bank Theatre at The Midland. $29.50-$80

Ana Gasteyer, Yardley Hall, $35+
Expect some irreverence as this SNL alum performs on her “Sugar and Booze Holiday Tour”.

James Taylor & His All-Star Band with Jackson Browne, T-Mobile Center. $62.50-128
Two veteran light-rock legends join forces for some laid-back, 70s style good feelings.

Joy Formidable w/Cuffed Up, Riot Room Postponed (new date TBD)

Monday December 6
David Sedaris, Kauffman Center. $58-70.
Always funny and interesting and usually stays and signs until the last person is served.

David Cross, Liberty Hall Lawrence CANCELED

Atreyu with Crown the Empire, Tetrarch and more. The Truman. $25-$50

12/08 Caroline Polachek at Liberty Hall

12/10 Anderson East at Madrid

12/15 Lindsey Buckingham at Uptown

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Caroline Polachek

After Chairlift broke up in 2017, lead singer Caroline Polachek decided to strike out on her own with her debut record Pang in 2019. Unfortunately, no long after the album came out, we were hit with the COVID pandemic …

Wednesday December 8
Gwar with Napalm Death and Eyehategod, Granada Lawrence. $30

Caroline Polachek, Liberty Hall - Lawrence, $25-28.
Still somewhat of a secret, this former Chairlift singer is worth catching is a small venue while you can and before she begins an opening trek for Dua Lipa. She’s also on the just released Charli XCX single, “New Shapes” with Christine and The Queens (now That’s a supergroup!)

Thursday December 9
Illenium, Cable Dahmer Arena - Independence

Friday December 10
Nane, Granada- Lawrence free w RSVP

The Driver Era w/ The Wrecks, The Truman, $25-$154

Anderson East, Madrid. $25-$89
The acclaimed Nashville singer-songwriter was just on “Ellen” and “CBS Saturday” and is out on his Maybe We Never Die Tour from the new album of the same name (on Elektra/Low Country). Filled with Southern soul, a tinge of giospel, country, Americana, and blues, we haven’t seen East since 2015, but know he’s sounding even better and more urgent.

David Benoit, Folly. $20-$55

Home Free, Uptown. $24.50-$87

Swallow the Sun w/Abigail Williams, Wilderun, Riot Room CANCELED

Saturday December 11
Shiner with Spotlights, recordBar, $17-20
A Kansas City post-hardcore staple since the early 90’s Shiner returned with a newfound passion in 2012 re-releasing acclaimed 2001 album The Egg and playing a handful of shows to celebrate. Last year, the band released new music in the form of Schadenfreude, their first new album in twenty years.
The venue has become a home away from home for the band as well, filming a Dec 2020 performance there as a streaming option for having to cancel shows for pandemic-related reasons, but the band is now happily back to playing before live audiences and Kansas City, (who knows them best) is likely the most raucous audience to be a part of.

Tony Orlando, Ameristar. $35

Tanya Tucker, Knuckleheads CANCELED

Monday December 13
Chris Isaak, Uptown. $35-$135

Tuesday December 14

Jim Brickman, Folly. CANCELED

Wednesday December 15

Lindsey Buckingham, Uptown, $35-$125.
After four decades with Fleetwood Mac, the legendary singer-songwriter has moved on to “go his own way” with September’sself-titled album (on Reprise Records), his seventh solo studio album and first new music in almost a decade. Keeping busy, Buckingham was also featured on The Killers’ “Caution” single and was even recently surprise spotted on SNL, alongside Halsey.

His knack for melody and singular finger-picking guitar work should be revelatory to see performed live, and expect a healthy helping of solo hits and new cuts, alongside many Fleetwood Mac classics in concert.

john (johnc@weheartmusic.com) ♥ weheartmusic.com ♥ twitter.com

Posted at 09:41 PM in Acacia Strain, Anderson East, Beabadoobee, Caroline Polachek, Chairlift, Fleetwood Mac, John, Kansas, Kansas City, Kubli Khan, Lindsey Buckingham, Neal Francis, Orthodox, Shiner, Spotlights | Permalink | Comments (0)

Minneapolis: December 17 to December 18

12/17 Yam Haus at Palace Theatre

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Yam Haus

Scrunchies, Gully Boys, The Carnegies, Static Panic, Annie Mack, Yam Haus, Faith Boblett First Avenue Fri 01/04/2019 …

11/30/2021

Nintendo Game & Watch: The Legend of Zelda

Nintendo Game & Watch: The Legend of Zelda

With a retro look, legendary flourishes, and the power to save Hyrule, the Game & Watch™: The Legend of Zelda™ system is a jam-packed tribute to 35 years of the Legend of Zelda series. Adventure through three iconic classics and enjoy all-new old-school fun with this stylish handheld system.

• Included are three Full Legend of Zelda games; The Legend of Zelda, Zelda II: The adventure of Link, and the Legend of Zelda: Link's Awakening.

• There's also a version of the Game & Watch classic, Vermin, starring Link, and a playable clock and timer.

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Nintendo Switch

I’ve wanted the Nintendo Switch since I first heard about it last October 2016. The system launched in March 2017, but it immediately sold out everywhere. …

Surprisingly, I’ve been really enjoying the recent Diablo II: Resurrected , that I pre-ordered on the PC … I loved it so much that I ended up re-buying it on the Nintendo Switch.

Speaking of Nintendo, I’ve recently added the latest Nintendo Game & Watch: The Legend of Zelda to my gaming collection. If you have last year’s Nintendo Game & Watch: Super Mario Brothers, then you know what to expect with this new Game & Watch.

One thing is for sure, Nintendo makes really good hardware. The Game & Watch is well-made, looks great with the new color scheme (gold & bright neon green), and the D-Pad and buttons feels good. The best part is that the battery life will lasts you weeks on a charge. I put the original Mario Bros in off mode and turned it on six months later and it still held a good battery charge!

The Zelda Game & Watch comes with three games: the original classic The Legend of Zelda, the sequel Zelda II: The Adventure of Link and the Gameboy The Legend of Zelda: Link’s Awakening.

Since I’ve never own the Gameboy, I never played the original black & white Link’s Awakening version… however, Nintendo re-made the game in 3-D and in color for the Nintendo Switch in 2018. I did buy and played the Switch version, however, I never beat it. I got to a point in the game that I didn’t know what to do or where to go, so I just gave up. I will probably re-visit this game in the future and hopefully win the game (or at least just play the original version).

As for the first two original Zelda games, yes, I’m proud to say that I did beat them both when I was very young. Our family was fortunate enough to own the original Nintendo Entertainment System (that came bundled with light gun and Duck Hunt)… so I know those original games very well. Beat Super Mario Bros, beat Zelda, heck, even beat Dragon Warrior (aka Dragon Quest).

The sad thing is that now that I’m much older, I don’t think I’ll have the time to actually play and beat Zelda again. I did started playing the first game again, by entering in a cheat code – holding down the A button for a few minutes and it will start the game with full hearts.

Using that cheat, I found and beat about three dungeons. At first the world can be overwhelming… but as I started to play, the world does seems much smaller than what I remembered.

Anyway, I’m having a lot of fun with it. I still have such fond memories of it… and playing it again for the first time in years, it just remind me of a simpler time.

I can’t say I would recommend the Game & Watch to anyone, only for those who grew up with the original classic Nintendo. I feel it’s overpriced at $50. This should be a $20 or $30 item… if it was in that lower price range, I would buy them as gifts.

Still, if you’re a Zelda fan, you need to have this. It’s small & light enough that you can just put it in a coat pocket.

Yours,

- Weekend Gamer

Nintendo Game & Watch: The Legend of Zelda

vu (vu@weheartmusic.com) ♥ weheartmusic.com ♥ twitter.com

Posted at 12:00 AM in Nintendo, Nintendo Switch, Weekend Gamer | Permalink | Comments (0)

11/29/2021

Minneapolis: December 14 to December 15

12/14 Houndmouth at Fine Line

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Houndmouth

Houndmouth is headlining First Avenue’s mainroom on Tuesday. Show up early to check out Frederick The Younger, touring in support of Human Child. ....

11/28/2021

Apple Watch SE

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Apple

The iconic iPhone 7 has been announced by Apple yesterday (September 7th). It is the latest and greatest from the company, and they are getting a lot of negative feedback about the lack of a headphone jack ....

I didn’t intend to get it, but after contemplating about the Black Friday prices for the new Apple Watch SE for about $200, I couldn’t pass it up. As you know, starting last year, Apple introduced their “budget” Apple Watch, the SE, which strips out some features.

What’s missing from the SE is a faster/latest processor, no ECG and blood oximiter sensors, no always-on display, and lacking UWB or 5GHz Wi-Fi communication capabilities. If you absolutely have to one of those things, then you need to buy the new Series 7.

My biggest complaint is that you must have an iPhone to use with the Apple Watch. I believe you can only have one active watch at one time, so if you own multiple Apple Watches, it only works with just one.

The other complaint is that battery life is absolutely bad. You need to charge it every day. To be fair, most smart watches requires you to charge once a day. My Amazfit GTR 2 advertised battery life of 7 days, but in reality, it’s really only two or three days. So battery life just sucks all across the board.

My last complaint is there aren’t many watch faces officially available from Apple. I’m assuming that it will get better over time. There are many third party watch face makers, but none of them are very good. The really good one costs subscription fees, which I would rather not pay for. If they sell individual face for, say $1, I wouldn’t mind paying for one or two… but unfortunately, there’s not many choices.

Otherwise, I’m pretty happy with the new watch. I feel it’s “fast enough” for my needs, and it has all the health tracking abilities in other smart watches. My two health focus is sleep tracking and heart beats… but obviously, you can use it to track various other things, like standing up or walking/running.

One of the coolest thing going from my Amazfit watch to the Apple Watch is that Apple has some applications built for WatchOS… which Amazfit some some Android Watches don’t have. For example, I used the calculator on my watch (for tipping) and showed up the compass on the watch to my brother.

Another perk in the Apple brand that you may not be aware of, is all the many, many, many accessories you can get for the Apple Watch. Need a new wrist band ? There are a million bands out there. Don’t want to pay $100 for Apple’s Milanese Loop ? There are knock-offs you can get for $15 (which is exactly what I did for a similar Milanese Loop at Walmart).

So, if you’re keeping track, I’m officially 100% into the Apple Echosystem, owning the new iPhone 13, iPad Pro 12.9 (2021), Apple TV (HD), and, now, the Apple Watch SE (2021).

vu (vu@weheartmusic.com) ♥ weheartmusic.com ♥ twitter.com

Posted at 06:28 PM in Android, Apple, Black Friday, Site Update, Walmart | Permalink | Comments (0)

11/27/2021

Divinity: Original Sin II on the iPad

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Larian Studios

I have been hyped about Baldur’s Gate 3 since Larian Studios announced their teaser in August 2019. I’ve already mentioned that I was a massive fan of Black Isle Studios …

You know I’m a big fan of Larian Studios, the Belgium company that is currently developing Baldur’s Gate III (which I already pre-ordered) and the successful Divinity series. While I haven’t loved the original games from 2002, I came around with 2014’s Divinity: Original Sin and its sequel Divinity: Original Sin II.

Sadly, I haven’t beaten either of the Divinity: Original Sin saga, but from all my hours of gameplay, I love it. So much that I’ve decided to spend $25 to see how Divinity: Original Sin II will work on my iPad Pro 12.9. I saw that it supported Bluetooth controller and keyboard, but I will likely just use touch to play.

In the past, I’ve played around with Baldur’s Gate and Baldur’s Gate II on the iPad, but those games originally came out in 1998 and 2000 (and yes, I bought and played them back then).

With Divinity: Original Sin II, which originally came out in 2017, on the iPad, I was just eager to see a semi-recent, modern game on the iPad. We all know that Apple have never been known for video games… so I’m glad to see companies, like Larian, take a chance.

So, for some bad news, those with older iPads, they cannot run the game. The game will run on iPad Pro 2018 to 2021 (basically any iPad with the A12 Bionic chip or later). The other bad news is that the game will take up at least 18GB of storage, so if you have an 32GB iPad, it’s going to take up half your space!

Even many users might feel that $25 is expensive (especially for an iPad app), you have to understand that this is a first-class game. I’ve played the PC, I’ve paid $50 for the game originally, so $25 is really bargain, in my opinion…. But it’s true, $25 is a million times more expensive than the typical $1.99 iPad.

Yours,

- Weekend Gamer

vu (vu@weheartmusic.com) ♥ weheartmusic.com ♥ twitter.com

Posted at 11:20 PM in Apple, Game On, Games, iPad, Larian Studios, RPG, Video Game, Weekend Gamer | Permalink | Comments (0)

11/26/2021

Minneapolis: December 8 to December 12

12/08 Sue Foley at Turf Club

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Sue Foley

Award-winning blues guitarist/singer Sue Foley released Pinky’s Blues in October. The album features several new original songs from Foley, plus some covers of old favorite blues and roots artists. ....

11/25/2021

Black Friday 2021

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Radiohead

Radiohead was called On A Friday in 1995 because that's when they met to rehearse. Oasis originally named themselves after a Beatles song called "The Rain" …

RADIOHEAD
radiohead.com

You know, Black Friday (the day after Thanksgiving), is tomorrow (Nov 26)… but the sales have been taking place all week (and even all month from some retailers). This used to be one of my favorite times of the year, but since the COVID restrictions… I haven’t been too enthusiastic about the shopping “holiday”. Since supplies are limited (products stuck in shipping containers), prices haven’t exactly been amazing.

As usual, the best deals are with large televisions, physical media, and games. Usually games released last year can be had for 50% or more. The typical digital game store fronts have their annual sale, such as Steam and GOG. The discounts are basically the same across the board, and this year, I might not get anything. There aren’t any games that I’m interested in playing.

I take that back, Mass Effect: Legendary Edition is on sale, and it’s a game (three games actually) that I’m interested in checking out the new “remaster”. It’s currently on sale for $35 on Amazon, but unfortunately, there’s no rush for me, as I played the original games when they first came out and I’m not exactly sure if I want to play the same story again.

If you don’t want to spend money at all, over at Epic, you can get Kid A Mnesia Exhibition for absolutely free. I love Radiohead, but Kid A and Amnesiac was a change in direction for their music. Although I appreciate those albums, I still prefer OK Computer-era Radiohead. Still, for $0, it’s worth checking out Kid A Mnesia Exhibition.

Read More

Troye Sivan

Teen idol Troye Sivan brought his Bloom tour to the State Theatre in Minneapolis on October 17th. First on the lineup was Carlie Hanson (who was a surprise as she’s not listed on the venue’s website). ..…

JORDY
jordymusic.com

Speaking of free, if you are in the area, stop by the world famous Mall of America, in Bloomington, to see Los Angeles’ Jordy and New Jersey’s WanMor on Black Friday, November 26th, for free. They’ll be performing an exclusive live performance at noon, on the Huntington Bank Rotunda. If you arrived early enough (before 10am), you can also receive special wristbands to meet and greet the musicians.

We’ve been to a few of these events, the artists usually play three or four songs. Check out more Mall of America coverages here.

Here’s additional details about the Jordy/WanMor event:

Join us for a special performance with Jordy + WanMor. Plus get the opportunity to meet the bands!

JORDY is an up +coming singer-songwriter now based in Los Angeles. Drawing influences from Lauv and Troye Sivan with catchy melodies and unforgettable hooks, JORDY has been releasing a steady supply of pop hits + features. He has been taking over media, first as one of Radio Disney’s featured artists with the release of his song “Tomorrow feat. OSTON,” + most recently on the Tonight Show with Jimmy Fallon where he participated in and won the Songwriter’s Challenge. With a heart-on-sleeve approach to modern pop music, JORDY’s music explores themes of rejection and loneliness through the lens of hope and empowerment, such as in Is It Love?’ which asks...

WanMor, a pop + R&B group from South Jersey, features 4 brothers, Big Boy, Chulo, Tyvas + Rocco. With their powerful sound + influence of music from Boyz II Men, they are taking the stage to perform at Mall of America.

Wristbanding for the meet + greet will begin at 10 a.m. Masks will be required to participate in the meet + greet. Please check Official Event Guidelines for details.

vu (vu@weheartmusic.com) ♥ weheartmusic.com ♥ twitter.com

Posted at 07:44 AM in Black Friday, Epic, Epic Games, Free, GOG, Jordy, Mall of America, Radiohead, Steam, Thanksgiving, WanMor, Weekend Gamer | Permalink | Comments (0)