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Weekend recap: This Is Energy at Cafe Acoustic

You knew this was one of those weird mismatches between venue and band before the St. Louis pop rockers This Is Energy played a single note at Cafe Acoustic Friday night.

Review: Liverpool Legends at Missouri Theater

Beatles tribute incorporates history and oustanding visuals into show

Maybe I wasn't alive for Beatlemania, but I feel like I know more about the band than the typical person. I've seen the six-hour "The Beatles Anthology" DVD, I own and routinely play "The Beatles: Rock Band" and my Zune is filled with many of the Fab Four's hits and lesser-knowns. With that in mind, the Liverpool Legends tribute is as close as I or anyone under the age of 30 will ever come to seeing The Beatles live. The tribute group put on a great show Friday, Feb. 5 at the Missouri Theater in St. Joseph.

Concert review: MUTEMATH at the Beaumont Club

Electro-rock quartet earn crowd response with visual and sonic stunners

When it comes to seeing a band live, different want people want to see different things. Some people want the flawless execution of their favorite tunes they've cranked up on their iPods. Others revel in getting a unique transformation of those songs when they hit the road. All of them would like to have that "Holy Crap!" moment that has them fumbling for their digital cameras and camera phones so they can show their friends.

Concert review: Brand New and Manchester Orchestra at the Uptown Theater

It was difficult to tell who was the main headliner at last night's show at the Uptown. Sure, Brand New was the last to take the stage and got the loudest crowd response. But the group was outperformed by Atlanta's Manchester Orchestra. Either way, both bands rocked hard and gave emotional performances.

Weekend in review: June 12, 2009

A young post-hardcore group and two distinctly different brands of country were all to be found last weekend

Sound, Scene, Delivered: Video Edition

What I saw in May 2009

Concert Review: The Decemberists at the Uptown Theater

Prog rock opus, fan favorites and confessions of a camel

I walked in to The Decemberists concert at the Uptown Theater Wednesday night as a reporter and a somewhat objective critic. In the name of full disclosure, I am a pretty big fan of the Portland-based literary folk rockers. But by the time it was over, I ended up being a camel for approximately three minutes. I'll explain later.

Concert review: Blake Shelton and Joey + Rory at the Civic Arena

A mostly good mix of solid tunes from two country music extremes

As popular music, country has grown to resemble a giant umbrella that encompasses a variety of genres, personas and personalities. And the two artists that came to St. Joseph Thursday night couldn't be on more opposite sides.

Weekend recap: Flee the Seen's final show at the Uptown Theater

Kansas City's post-hardcore all-stars Flee the Seen had talent and drive that left them destined for greater things. Unfortunately, when it comes to destiny, reality can get in the way.

Weekend recap: Sawyer Brown and Bucky Covington at Civic Arena

Two fun-loving country acts help Joetown cut loose

Judging by the appearance of at least half of the 1,700 country fans that showed up for Sawyer Brown and Bucky Covington performance Friday night, it appeared that St. Joe was in a T.G.I.F. mindset, ready to kick back and cut loose to a few tunes they knew by heart. For those fans, the two headliners happily obliged in each of their loose, playful sets.

Weekend recap: Madahoochi at Hammerjacks. Jean Claude Van Halen at The Vous

Two performances on opposite ends of the spectrum for St. Joe's craziest party weekend

As I walked into Hammerjacks on Friday night during Madahoochi's first set break, I had to wonder what the band was thinking. The St. Louis jam quartet, primarily known for playing the funk/blues/jazz/rock amalgam that jam band fans adore, was drinking as death metal played over the jukebox and the male bartender entertained patrons by blowing flames. I would bet that this isn't their ideal venue, but the skilled musicians won most of the crowd over with an excellent choice of covers and some bouncy originals

Weekend recap: Aliaz at The Vous

St. Joe's lone hip-hop ambassador delivers energetic show

Some people can't see that St. Joe has an original hip-hop music scene, but that's because there's really only one guy carrying the torch. Lucky for us, Brandon Smith a.k.a. Hollywood Aliaz proved during a solo show at The Rendezvous Friday night that he carries it well.

Concert review: Slipknot at the Sprint Center with Coheed & Cambria and Trivium

Shoving was mandatory, bodysurfing was recommended, and the smell of a certain illegal substance was in the air. One thing is for sure: The Sprint Center had yet to see a show as insane as Slipknot's.

Live Review: Smashing Pumpkins at Midland Theater

The Billy Corgan Show delivers banter, obscure tracks and loose performance on second night in KC

For the fans of '90s alt-rock icons Smashing Pumpkins who decided they would take a beer or bathroom break any time they heard an obscure song, they probably missed a majority of the two-and-a-half hour plus performance by the band at the Midland Theater Tuesday night, their second of two straight performances in Kansas City. At times, they may have been better off for it. But most of the night, they got a taste of lesser-known tracks mixed with a few Pumpkins hits that let people know why the band is alive, kicking and relevent.

Live review: Metallica at Sprint Center

Thrash metal titans deliver powerhouse performance

A common theme in Metallica's latest album "Death Magnetic" is the inevitable demise we all face, living life with death hanging overhead. And a symbol of death was literally hanging overhead during Metallica's performance at the Sprint Center in Kansas City Saturday night, where nearly 14,000 people witnessed an old-school metal show where the rock icons performed the genre with maximum toughness and precision.