Music/Art/Theatre
LIVE MUSIC
Live Music Events Calendar the Pitch
Some of the More Popular Venues
Jardines Restaurant & Jazz Club 4536 Main St (816) 561-6480
O’Dowds 4742 Pennsylvania (816)561-2700
Folly Theater 300 W 12th St (816) 474-4444
Crown Center Free Friday Night Concert 2405 Grand Blvd (816) 274-8444
Intercontinental Hotel – Oak Room 401 Ward Pkwy (816) 303-2936
Beaumont Club 4050 Pennsylvania Ave (816) 561-2560
Voodoo Lounge (Harrah’s Casino) 1 Riverboat Drive (816) 889-7320
The Record Bar 1020 Westport Rd (816) 753-5207
Riot Room 4048 Broadway (816) 442-8177
BB’s Lawnside Bar-BQ (Great Blues) 1205 E 85th (816) 822-7427
La Bodega 703 SW Boulevard (816) 472-TAPA
The Levee 16 W. 43rd (816) 561-2821
The Blue Room 1616 E. 18th St. (816) 474-8463
The 18th and Vine District may not be as hip as it once was, but the ghosts of cool cats like Charlie Parker still remain at the Blue Room. Part joint, part museum, this is the place to experience the best in local jazz. Ida McBeth appears here often, as does expert saxophonist Bobby Watson. The walls and the hollow glass tabletops hold a collection of commemorative pieces, including pictures, instruments and records from the 1920s and 1930s. Even though a jazz club without the haze of cigarettes seems unnatural, smoking is not allowed in order to protect the museum’s artifacts
Davey’s Uptown Ramblers Club 3402 Main (8160 753-1909
J.B. Morris, of local country-rockers Rex Hobart and the Misery Boys, calls this honky-tonk the “last great venue” in Kansas City. From tough-guy Dale Watson to the sweet and sexy Eleni Mandel, a variety of country and folk stars have been through Davey’s Uptown. The owners have let the grime accumulate over the years, giving the bar a working-class feel that makes the rockabilly crowd feel right at home. Retro cowboys who like to accessorize with wallet chains and greasy trucker caps love it here. The bar sells Schlitz in a can for $1.50, and though smokers aren’t exactly encouraged to throw their cigarette butts on the floor, it sometimes happens anyway. The stage area is partitioned from the barroom, so even when a hyped show has drawn newcomers from all over the area, a crowd of regulars is almost always staked out at the bar.
Ernie Biggs Dueling Piano Bar 4115 Mill (816) 561-2444
Westport ups its live entertainment quotient with the addition of Ernie Biggs Rock ‘n’ Roll Dueling Piano Bar, where rotating performers pound out hits from Alice in Chains, Stevie Wonder or Toby Keith. With three full bars, a spacious VIP lounge and several tables facing the stage, this a prime destination for birthday and bachelorette parties as well as corporate get-togethers. During the week, a relatively sparse local crowd enjoys cheaper drinks, but when the weekend hits, the line to get in is long. (The club takes reservations.)
Grinders 417 E. 18th St. (816) 472-5454
The brainchild of longtime starving artist Jeff Rumaner, aka Stretch, this art-gallery-turned-pizza-joint is pretty rough around the edges — but in a good way. Inside, the motley assortment of artwork, tattooed employees, mismatched condiment containers and various barflies makes for the perfect post-gallery stop. Any music playing will be at the discretion of the gregarious cooks and bartenders, resulting in a hodge-podge of heavy metal, rap, and Tom Petty. And the pizza’s exotic too, with pies like the Bengal tiger, which combines crabmeat, artichoke and tandoori chicken into a mystic delight. Another plus at Grinders is the backlot, a large, contemporary sculpture garden that doubles as an outdoor concert spot.
The Jazz 1823 W. 39th St. (816) 531-5556
The official motto at Jazz is “Laissez les bon temps rouler” — tres fitting because this loud and boisterous New Orleans-style bar and restaurant is definitely a good time and successfully avoids the usual cheesiness that can come with theme establishments. Jump and jive jazz bands play here six nights a week, and the patrons aren’t shy; they’ll whoop it up drinking and dancing even when there’s no band onstage. All kinds of Kansas Citians hang out at Jazz — the place has an authentic, rough charm and no-apologies attitude that appeals to (most) people, and the Cajun-Creole food is another huge draw — chicken ą la Mer, oysters and crawfish are served late until the night. Watch it with the Rumrunners, though — one too many (which would be two) can make even the most seasoned drinker wince at the words “Mardi Gras” the next day.
Kansas City Blues and Jazz Juke House 1700 E. 18th St. (816) 472-0013
Like any good juke joint, the Kansas City Blues & Jazz Juke House serves up good, cheap food and is located at a crossroads (18th Street and Highland) where blues bands play to packed houses on weekends. Unlike classic juke joints, this operation charges high covers, has expensive drinks and is squeaky-clean. The closest thing to a traditional bar in the 18th and Vine District, the Juke House fills up fast on weekends with an older, distinguished crowd. During the week, the outside patio is a good hideout spot, perfect for a happy-hour beer while watching the looky-loos drive down 18th Street.
The Brick 1727 McGee 816-421-1634
Sheri Parr’s beloved downtown hipster haven has rocked the music scene for more than five years. The small stage has featured national acts such as Enon and the Greenhornes even as it has been a breeding ground for the top local acts in town. (Roman Numerals played their first show here a few years back.) The Brick’s force is felt beyond the shaggy-hair and skinny-jeans syndicate, though; it’s also a popular lunchtime spot for employees of KC’s local rags and the site of busy ongoing happenings, such as a bluegrass open-mic collective called Rural Grit Happy Hour, a live trivia contest on Friday nights, and the all-day biscuit-and-gravy buffet and bloody Mary bar known as Saturday Brickfast
The Phoenix Jazz Club 302 W. Eighth St. (816) 221-5299
THE ART SCENE
Nelson Atkins Museum of Art (816) 751-1278 4525 Oak Street
Hilliard Gallery (816) 561-2956 404 East 18th
Kansas City Art Institute (816) 4415 Warrick
Blue Gallery (816) 527-0823 118 Southwest Blvd.
Bryon Cohen Gallery (816) 421-5665 2020 Baltimore
Leedy-Voulkus Art Center (816) 474-1919 20012 Baltimore
Bohemian Gallery (816) 221-1214 200 West 19th Street
Mojo Collection (816) 283-3444 2009 Baltimore
Kansas City Artist Coalition (816) 421-5222 201 Wyandotte
Kevin Sink Photography Gallery (816) 472-0711 1817 Grand
Savart Gallery (816) 753-8800 4750 Broadway
Shobobba International (816) 746-7830 425 Washington
THEATERS
Starlight Theatre (816) 363-7827 4600 Starlight Road
Uptown Theater (816) 753-8665 3700 Broadway
Kansas City Repertory Theatre (816) 235-2700 4949 Cherry Street
Unicorn Theatre (816) 531-7529 3828 main Street
Folly Theatre (816) 474-4444 300 West 12th Street
Lyric Opera of Kansas City (816) 471-4933 1029 Central
American Heartland Theater (816) 842-9999 2450 Grand
Kansas City Symphony (816) 471-0400 1020 Central Street
Theatre of Young America (816) 460-2083 30 West Pershing
Musical Theater Heritage (816) 221-6987 2450 Grand
