Kansas.com: Music

Irish vocalists Celtic Woman hoping for even more success

Alan Sculley — Sun, 08 Nov 2009 00:07 CST

As singer Alex Sharpe sees it, the timing for Celtic Woman's "Isle of Hope" tour couldn't be much better.

The show, which began last spring and goes through this fall, took on new meaning that couldn't have been anticipated when it was conceived.

"With a new president in office in America, I think a lot of people there are very inspired and full of hope," Sharpe said in a recent phone interview. "I think the theme of the tour goes in harmony with the hope that America has with a new president and ... with the hope that the Irish had coming to America, the hope for a better life. There's kind of a synergy there."

First Friday line-up

Fri, 06 Nov 2009 00:07 CST

November's First Friday music crawl will showcase a cross-genre sampling of Wichita music talent at a dozen venues. Additionally, the Rokict anniversary party and Web site relaunch will take place at Rock Island Live tonight.

Rokict founded the music crawl earlier this year.

In addition to live music, local art will be displayed by Stacy Renee, Deb Gardner, Mary Streepy, Travis Hinnen and Zee'ana Lynn. The Gyro Cart will sell meat and vegetarian gyros outside Rock Island Live, 101 Rock Island.

ICP has the last laugh

Brian McCollum — Fri, 06 Nov 2009 00:07 CST

In 1994, a New York record executive caught a glimpse of a Detroit music kingdom in the making.

Jeff Fenster, a vice president with Jive Records, had jetted into Detroit for a show by Insane Clown Posse, a rap duo with a fetish for Faygo and painted faces. He was struck by the sight: hordes of Michigan teens decked out in ICP gear, many in wicked-clown makeup like the group's Violent J and Shaggy 2 Dope.

"We just watched these kids at the merchandise table, buying multiple T-shirts for a band most of us had never heard of," he says. "They were ponying up to buy into this culture."

Singer Jewel no longer tours nonstop

BOB CURTRIGHT — Fri, 06 Nov 2009 00:50 CST

The singer known simply as Jewel used to be on tour two years at a time.

These days, including for her upcoming stop at the Orpheum, she prefers to tour only two weeks at a time so she can have a real life.

"I sing 14 concerts in 14 cities and then go home," Jewel said by phone from her home in Stephenville, a town of about 15,000 in north-central Texas.

Death a dream world in 'Bones'

Rachel Abramowitz — Mon, 02 Nov 2009 23:05 CST

After young Susie Salmon is murdered by the local pedophile in "The Lovely Bones," she ends up in a place easily mistaken for heaven, but what she discovers is that this magical terrain is actually an in- between state, "a place she's caught in until she can resolve the issues of her death," says co-writer Phillipa Boyens. "This in-between world is a 14-year-old's idea of what an ideal world can be."

Boyens, along with Fran Walsh and director Peter Jackson, is part of the Oscar-winning troika that wrote Jackson's epic "Lord of the Rings" trilogy. Now the three return, with Jackson directing, to bring to the big screen Alice Sebold's bestselling novel about Salmon, played by Saoirse Ronan ("Atonement"), who watches her family grapple with her death from her perch in the hereafter. The film, which opens Dec. 11, also stars Mark Wahlberg, Rachel Weisz and Susan Sarandon.

In Sebold's novel, this vision of the afterlife is presented comically — Susie's dream world consists of a 1960s suburban high school, much like the one she would have attended, and she lives in a duplex with her roommate.

Moving on with Miley Cyrus

Jon Bream — Sun, 01 Nov 2009 23:02 CST

Look at the tags on those Miley Cyrus dolls. Read the fine print on her CDs. Check the label on those Miley jeans you bought at Wal-Mart.

There is a limited warranty on teenage stardom. Miley has been in the spotlight for 3 1/2 years. Her reign as the Queen of Tween may soon expire. With the Disney darling set to turn 17 on Nov. 23, it's time to think about how Miley can reposition herself for the next phase of her career.

She's well aware of the situation. When she released her new EP "The Times of Our Lives" in August, she told the Associated Press that this is a "transitioning album." In that same interview, she talked about her image-changing star turn in a 2010 dramatic film titled "The Last Song."

WSU playing leading role in 'Mikado'

Chris Shull — Sun, 01 Nov 2009 00:04 CDT

It's a busy time at the School of Music at Wichita State University. Mark Laycock, director of orchestras, will conduct the school's production of Mozart's "Cosi fan Tutte" in Miller Concert Hall in three weeks, then turn around and lead Menotti's "Amahl and the Night Visitors" with Opera Kansas on Thanksgiving weekend.

Paul Brodene Smith, assistant professor of voice at WSU, will spend the coming days helping young singers prepare for debuts in the upcoming shows.

Across the street in Jardine Hall, Rodney Miller, dean of the College of Fine Arts, will toil at administrative duties, office work necessary to keep the School of Music and other departments running.

Grand scale typical of Trans-Siberian Orchestra

Alan Sculley — Sun, 01 Nov 2009 00:04 CDT

For the past five years or so, fans of Trans-Siberian Orchestra have been hearing about the impending arrival of the rock band/symphony's newest work, "Night Castle." They've even been teased on the past couple of holiday tours as TSO has played a few of the songs that were to be featured on the CD.

Finally, last week, just as Trans-Siberian Orchestra began this year's edition of its extensive holiday tour — which includes Wichita on Monday — the long-awaited "Night Castle" arrived in stores. And it appears that the group's founder and chief songwriter, Paul O'Neill, was determined to make it worth the wait — on a couple of different fronts.

On a musical level, "Night Castle" has grown from rather modest beginnings into a work of epic proportions.

His final 'Thriller'

Chris Lee — Sun, 25 Oct 2009 03:03 CDT

Short of someone inventing Smell-o-Vision before Tuesday's global rollout of the feature documentary "Michael Jackson's This Is It," fans will never get to know one of the most visceral aspects of working with the King of Pop.

"He had this amazing fragrance," said Mekia Cox, one of 11 backup dancers who worked with Jackson between April and June on "This Is It," his series of 50 sold-out concerts scheduled to start taking place at London's O2 Arena over the summer. The shows would have marked the superstar's return to performing after a 12-year touring absence.

Another dancer, Daniel Celebre, referred to Jackson's singular musk as "the love potion," recalling its ability to trigger an almost Pavlovian response in people downwind.

Art galleries, museums

Fri, 23 Oct 2009 00:09 CDT

Today

Closing reception, 5:30-7:30 p.m., for the Friends University Alumni Art Show, Riney Fine Arts Gallery, Riney Arts Center, Friends University. Free. Information, 316-295-5537.

Opening reception for "Hues on First: Colorful Paintings by Elly Fitzig and David Friday," 7-10 p.m., Commerce Gallery at the Go Away Garage, 508 S. Commerce. Free.

Concerts & Dances

Fri, 23 Oct 2009 00:04 CDT

Today-Saturday

Square Dance Festival, 7:30-10 p.m., Cessna Activity Center, 2744 S. George Washington Blvd. Admission $8 daily to dance; spectators free.

Saturday

Ben Folds tries to write songs that draw you into a moment

Ed Condran — Fri, 23 Oct 2009 06:22 CDT

Ben Folds is regarded by his fans as one of the most clever, amusing performers in pop-rock.

The vocalist-pianist, who will perform Sunday at the Cotillion, talked recently during a phone interview about what's missing in pop music and his approach to songwriting.

You've always been adept at painting a vivid musical short story. In that regard, you have more in common with Billy Joel and Neil Young than many of your contemporaries.

Bon Jovi to play new arena in March

DENISE NEIL — Fri, 23 Oct 2009 06:28 CDT

Add legendary New Jersey rockers Bon Jovi to the list of performers scheduled to play Intrust Bank Arena once it opens in January.

Arena officials announced on Thursday that the group, known for hits such as "You Give Love a Bad Name" and "Livin' On A Prayer," will perform at the arena on March 11.

The arena has yet to determine what tickets will cost and when they will go on sale.

Regional concerts

Fri, 23 Oct 2009 00:04 CDT

Wichita

* CENTURY II , 225 W. Douglas. Tickets available at www.wichitatix.com, 316-219-4TIX. Information, 316-264-9121.

Celtic Woman, 7:30 p.m. Nov. 10, Convention Hall. Tickets $25-$60.

Violinist shines with symphony

David Baxter — Mon, 19 Oct 2009 00:05 CDT

This weekend marked the second concert of the Wichita Symphony's classical season, presented in Century II Concert Hall and led with great skill and flourish by Maestro Andrew Sewell. The orchestra took the audience on an exhilarating ride through a landscape of musical colors more vibrant than the brilliant foliage of fall.

The journey began at breakneck speed with Hector Berlioz's Corsair Overture. The strings were breathtaking as they flew through the opening with clarity and precision. Berlioz was noted for his orchestration, writing a book on the subject that is still studied today.

In its most pedestrian form, orchestration is a matter of deciding which instruments should play the parts of a piece. Taken to the level of art, a composer such as Berlioz utilizes the instruments of the orchestra in combinations that yield beautifully unique sounds and textures.

Rockin' at the Hall of Fame

JOHN PRICE — Fri, 16 Oct 2009 00:05 CDT

"The Rock and Roll Hall of Fame Live"

$119.96; available online at www.RockHallDVDs.com or www.TimeLife.com

The nine-disc set "Rock and Roll Hall of Fame Live," being released Tuesday, is the Smithsonian Institution of music DVDs — fascinating, sprawling, inspiring, exhausting. Way too much to see and hear in one visit.

Art galleries, museums

Fri, 16 Oct 2009 00:05 CDT

Today

Closing reception for the Wichita Surrealfilm and Art Exhibit, 7-11 p.m., Commerce Gallery at the Go-Away Garage, 508 S. Commerce. Free.

Today-Saturday

Halloween on stage

Fri, 16 Oct 2009 06:38 CDT

Wichita Community Theatre opens its 2009-2010 season with Agatha Christie's comedy/thriller "Spider's Web." Here are details about the performance:

1) Christie wrote the play in 1954 and it premiered on London's West End at the same time that two other popular Christie productions also were playing there: "Witness for the Prosecution" and "The Mousetrap."

2) The play revolves around a female character by the name of Clarissa Halisham-Brown who discovers a murder in her own home and must figure out a way to hide the body and solve the case before her diplomat husband comes home with a distinguished guest.

Road next step in musical journey

Jason Dilts — Fri, 16 Oct 2009 00:05 CDT

If you frequent Wichita coffee shops or bars, odds are you've seen Tony Ngo. He's the affable singer-songwriter clad in plaid flannel or sporting a hip, ironic T-shirt.

With a guitar strapped around his shoulder, the acoustic musician has drawn audiences to venues large and small with his voice. Now with a band and an EP recording under way, he plans to take his talent on the road.

Ngo began playing solo on the open mic circuit, frequently playing at places like Clifton Square's Bay Leaf Cafe and the Riverside Perk. He says that his musical career took off after he met bass player Derek Tucker through a mutual friend.

eVENTs

Fri, 16 Oct 2009 00:05 CDT

Today

Midwest Beerfest Dinners, 7 p.m., with Schlafly Beers at Wichita Marriott, 9100 Corporate Hills, and Tallgrass Brewing Co. at Larkspur, 904 E. Douglas. Reservations, 316-682-5502. Menus online at www.midwestbeerfest.com.

Today-Sunday