South-by-Southwest has come and gone (QRO recap), but April sees another great multi-venue music festival, even closer to the heart of the country, in the flyover state capitol of Kansas City, Middle of the Map. Head to the Westport area of KC Thursday-to-Saturday, April 3rd-5th:
THURSDAY, APRIL 3rd
Westport Saloon
6:45 PM – The Clementines
7:45 PM – Olassa
8:45 PM – Molly Gene
9:45 PM – Billy Beale
10:45 PM – John Velghe & The Prodigal Sons
11:45 PM – The Electric Lungs
12:45 AM – Wells the Traveler
Ernie Biggs
9:00 PM – Roman Remains
10:00 PM – Big Black Delta
11:00 PM – Gary Numan
Roman Remains come to Middle of the Map while on tour with Gary Numan (QRO photos on a bill with Numan).
Mellowdrone frontman Jonathan Bates has collaborated with all sorts as the space-rock Big Black Delta (QRO photos), and arrives at Middle of the Map behind last year’s eponymous full-length.
Lots of electronic music pioneers are finally getting their due, and no one is more due than Gary Numan (QRO live review). His chart-topping 1979 hits “Are ‘Friends’ Electric?” and “Cars” virtually introduced the world to electronic music, paving the way for New Wave and much more. Of course, pioneers get passed by those who stood on their shoulders, and the eighties saw Numan lose the limelight, before a shift to a more industrial sound revived his career in the more alt-friendly nineties. This century/millennium has seen virtually every artist who ever put a keyboard through a guitar pedal name-check Numan (Bowie, Beck, Blur, Basement Jaxx – and that’s just the B’s…).
Numan (QRO photos at a festival) comes to Middle of the Map behind his latest, Splinters (Songs From a Broken Mind), his twentieth studio album!…
Record Bar
7:30 PM – Actors & Actresses
8:30 PM – Ings
9:30 PM – Twinsmith
10:20 PM – Night Terrors of 1927
11:30 PM – The Colourist
Orange County’s The Colourist (QRO photos at a festival) are at Middle of the Map just after releasing their self-titled debut.
Riot Room
6:45 PM – Schwervon!
7:45 PM – Max Justus
8:45 PM – Nite
9:45 PM – Ski Lodge
10:45 PM – Snowmine
11:45 PM – Small Black
12:45 AM – Total Slacker
Brooklyn’s more impressive chillwave act Small Black (QRO photos in Brooklyn) come to Kansas City (QRO photos at a festival) behind last year’s exquisite Limits of Desire (QRO review).
Riot Room Patio
7:00 PM – Various Blonde
8:00 PM – Is Paris Burning
9:00 PM – Middle Twin
10:00 PM – Rooms Without Windows
11:00 PM – Loose Park
12:00 AM – Spinstyles
FRIDAY, APRIL 4th
Westport Saloon
7:15 PM – The Ready Brothers
8:15 PM – The Konza Swamp Band
9:15 PM – Victor & Penny
10:15 PM – The Naughty Pines
11:15 PM – Howard Iceberg & The Titanics
12:15 AM – Wayne Hancock
Ernie Biggs
7:15 PM – The Bad Ideas
8:15 PM – Hearts of Darkness
9:15 PM – The Tontons
10:15 PM – Har Mar Superstar
11:15 PM – Del the Funky Homosapien
Check out the pure energy of The Tontons (QRO live review)!
Somewhere between solo singer/songwriter, pop-star diva, and Ron Jeremy lies Har Mar Superstar (QRO photos). Sean Tillmann (QRO photos at a festival) adopted the persona to underground acclaim, especially in Great Britain, as well as becoming spokesman for Vladivar Vodka and Lynx Deodorant. He’s also written songs for the likes of Jennifer Lopez & Kelly Osbourne, and Britney Spears’ management’s rejection of “Tall Boys” only brought him to make his own version, for 2009’s Dark Touches.
A human of many hats, the alternative hip-hop artist Del the Funky Homosapien (QRO photos at a festival) has found success on his own (QRO photos outdoors), and has worked with everyone from Ice Cube (his cousin) to Blur’s Damon Albarn in Gorillaz (QRO photos of them performing together).
Record Bar
7:00 PM – Oils
8:00 PM – Supernauts
9:00 PM – Chambers
10:00 PM – Milagres
11:00 PM – Lillies On Mars
12:00 AM – Fanfarlo
Fronted by Simon Balthazar (QRO interview), London’s Fanfarlo (QRO photos) were on the leading edge of the alt-folk collective movement in 2009 with Reservoir (QRO review), and have stayed there with follow-up Rooms Filled With Light (QRO review) and this year’s Let’s Go Extinct (QRO review).
Riot Room
7:30 PM – The Great American Canyon Band
8:30 PM – Little Legend
9:30 PM – Drop a Grand
10:30 PM – Dots Not Feathers
11:30 PM – Those Darlins
12:30 AM – S. Carey
Tennessee Appalachian trio Those Darlins (QRO photos at a festival) have managed to get serious attention in the indiesphere, thanks to connections like producer Jeff Curtin (QRO interview – of Small Black, see above, and also producer of Vampire Weekend – QRO live review), or ukulele-ist Nikki Darlin (QRO interview) failed engagement to Deer Tick singer/guitarist John McCauley (he even popped the question while Darlin was guest-spotting on stage with Deer Tick – QRO photos). But the lovely ladies’ (QRO photos) backwoods sound can more than hold its own, like on last year’s Blur the Line.
Once upon a time, Justin Vernon was just known as the touring guitarist for The Rosebuds (QRO spotlight on). But then he put out his own material as Bon Iver (QRO live review), and the rest is history (including his work in Volcano Choir – QRO live review – The Shouting Matches – QRO album review – and GAYNGS – QRO album review). S. Carey is best known as the drummer in Bon Iver, but Sean is a solo artist in his own right (QRO photos at a festival), with his excellent, recently released Range of Light (QRO review).
Riot Room Patio
7:00 PM – Forrester
7:45 PM – Jorge Arana Trio
8:30 PM – Monta At Odds
9:15 PM – Sleepy Kitty
10:15 PM – Wolf Eyes
11:15 PM – Dosh
12:30 AM – Body2Body
St. Louis’ Sleepy Kitty (QRO photos at a festival) proves the old adage that girl + guitar + man + drums = good times.
The Outdoor Stage in the District Lot
7:00 PM – Cowboy Indian Bear
8:00 PM – William Elliott Whitmore
9:00 PM – J. Roddy Walston & The Business
10:00 PM – The Get Up Kids
Roddy Walston brings the rock, both as frontman for J. Roddy Walston & The Business (QRO photos outdoors) and solo.
Kansas City was ground zero for the second wave of emo in The Get Up Kids (QRO live review), who of course broke up, and of course have gotten back together with 2011’s There Are Rules (QRO review), as good as ever.
SATURDAY, APRIL 5th
Westport Saloon
2:00 PM – The Vi Tran Band
3:00 PM – Maria the Mexican
4:00 PM – The Philistines
5:00 PM – Rev Gusto
6:00 PM – Pedaljets
7:00 PM – Let’s Use Teamwork
8:00 PM – Beau Jennings & The Tigers
9:00 PM – Loaded Goat
10:00 PM – AJ Gaither
11:00 PM – Twenty Thousand StrongMen
12:00 AM – The Hooten Hailers
1:00 AM – Jack Oblivian
Ernie Biggs
4:30 PM – The Kickback
5:30 PM – Mammoth Life
6:30 PM – Shy Boys
7:30 PM – Peelander-Z
8:30 PM – Me Like Bees
9:30 PM – The Weeks
10:30 PM – Crash Kings
11:30 PM – Reverend Peyton’s Big Damn Band
From the Z area of Planet Peelander comes the Japanese Action Comic Punk band Peelander-Z (QRO photos at a festival)! Think a cross between The Ramones and The Mighty Morphin’ Power Rangers.
Alt-rock straddles pretty much every line, even into Motown with Crash Kings. Discovered by songwriter/producer Linda Perry (Pink’s #1 “Get the Party Started”, among others), she signed the Los Angeles act to Universal Music Group’s Motown Records, and the band delivered on the alt-rock charts in 2009 with their self-titled debut, and its single “Mountain Man” – all without guitars!
Reverend Peyton’s Big Damn Band (QRO photos) channel pre-WWII country-blues, and have played everything from blues festivals to Vans Warped Tour to a gig as the house band on a Jerry Springer Pay-Per-View special.
Record Bar
2:00 PM – LA Price
2:45 PM – Ruddy Swain
3:30 PM – Gracie
4:15 PM – Eyelit
5:00 PM – Katy Guillen Trio
6:00 PM – Your Friend
7:00 PM – Nathan Phillips
8:00 PM – Good Graeff
9:00 PM – Caroline Smith
10:00 PM – La Guerre
11:00 PM – Spirit Is the Spirit
12:00 AM – WHY?
Jonathan ‘Yoni’ Wolf and his band, WHY? (QRO live review), combine indie, hip-hop, rock, pop, folk & more (QRO photos), most recently with 2008’s (somewhat underwhelming) Eskimo Snow (QRO review) and 2012’s Mumps, Etc., and now they (QRO live review) come to Middle of the Map.
Riot Room
2:00 PM – Bruiser Queen
3:00 PM – Psychic Heat
3:45 PM – CS Luxem
4:30 PM – Josh Berwanger Band
5:15 PM – The Sluts
6:30 PM – Upset
7:30 PM – Bummer
8:30 PM – Maps For Travelers
9:30 PM – Ghetto Blaster
10:30 PM – White Mule
11:30 PM – Hammerlord
12:30 AM – Reggie & The Full Effect
Riot Room Patio
2:15 PM – Mime Game
3:15 PM – The Dead Girls
4:15 PM – Bears and Company
5:15 PM – Anna Cole & The Other Lovers
6:15 PM – Scruffy & The Janitors
7:15 PM – Les Paul
8:00 PM – M34n Str33t
8:45 PM – Heartfelt Anarchy
9:30 PM – Steddy P
10:15 PM – Stik Figa
11:00 PM – Shabazz Palaces
12:00 AM – GEESACE
1:00 AM – Daniel Smith
2:00 AM – Swaj Mahal
Hip-hop collective Shabazz Palaces hail from Seattle (QRO photos at a Washington State festival) – that’s why their latest, Black Up (QRO review), was released by indie label Sub Pop, better known for starting the grunge sound from up there twenty-plus years ago.
The Outdoor Stage in the District Lot
2:00 PM – Not a Planet
3:00 PM – The Noise FM
4:00 PM – Outsides
5:00 PM – Palace
6:00 PM – Kishi Bashi
7:00 PM – !!!
8:15 PM – Kate Nash
10:00 PM – of Montreal
Under the moniker of Kishi Bashi, K Ishibashi is a founding member of Jupiter One (QRO photos at a festival) and has worked with the likes of headliner of Montreal (see below) and Regina Spektor (QRO live review). Wholly different from Jupiter One, Kishi Bashi composes whimsical tunes of psychedelic pop.
Sacramento dance-punk act !!! (QRO photos) – pronounced “chk chk chk” – were seriously blowing people away a few years ago (QRO live review) with Myth Takes (QRO review), then seemingly disappeared, only to come back (QRO live review) in 2010 with the somewhat derivative Strange Weather, Isn’t It (QRO review). But this year has seen the now-New York outfit (QRO live review in New York) back in force with last year’s great TH!!!ER (QRO review), and the band still knows how to liven it up live & outdoors (QRO live review outdoors), even at festivals (QRO photos at a festival).
Middle of the Map recruits That Grrl, west London’s Kate Nash (QRO spotlight on). The singer/songwriter (QRO interview) plays an indie-pop (QRO live review) that’s more than just charming, charting in both the U.S. and the U.K. with her first two records, debut Made of Bricks (QRO review) and follow-up My Best Friend Is You (QRO review), and singles such as “Foundations” and “Pumpkin Soup” (QRO video). Last year saw Nash (QRO photos) channel her inner Riot Grrl with Girl Talk (QRO review) and a correspondingly louder live show (QRO live review). Kansas City may not be “Paris” (QRO video), but the artist is sure to shine (QRO photos).
There are few acts that do a live show like of Montreal (QRO live review). Kevin Barnes’ epic orchestra (QRO photos at a festival) literally fills the stage (QRO photos at a festival) with a performance more akin to (the actually French Canadian) Cirque du Soleil than indie-rock (QRO live review). The band (QRO photos) emerged out of the Elephant Six Collective to reach serious heights, with 2010’s False Priest (QRO review), 2012′s Paralytic Stalks (QRO review) and extras Daughter of the Cloud (QRO review), and last year’s Lousy with Sylvianbriar (QRO review), but they have to be seen live (QRO live review) to be truly believed (QRO photos at a festival).
For festival website, go here: http://www.middleofthemapfest.com/