Late nights, synthesizers, and a bouncing club mixed a
powerful cocktail. La Guerre, Y god Y, Pala Zolo and a
packed Replay Lounge rode that high all night long.
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Podcast #474 hands the reins over to listeners chose
Dream Wife, Indigo De Souza, Savak, Turnstile,
Tierra Whack, Metric, Anna Calvi, & Lake Street Dive.
The Whiffs, Berwanger, and three DJs eager to share their
rares combined for a must-see night of power pop at the 8th
Street Tap Room.
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The Bralettes helped KC put the holidays in the rearview
mirror by joining forces with locals Apolkalypse Wow for a
pogo-worthy Wednesday night gig at Riot Room.
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Identifying the year's standout albums is tough for a singles guy.
It's easy to recognize the punch and immediacy of a song, but it's
harder to feel the genius of an album. While I'll always call out albums
that I love listening to (even if they're merely executing an
established blueprint), I also want to recognize the albums that felt
important. So, here's my list. Thirty great albums. Ordered, but
otherwise presented without commentary.
see the full list
And here's the list no one was waiting for, Too Much Rock's top 40 tracks of 2018. Are these the best? Who can tell. But these are songs that I love. Tracks that move me. And tracks that I was happy to revisit time and time again this year. Because this is a busy time of the year I've kept my thoughts short by sharing the one thing that I like best about each of the songs on my list. As a bonus, I've also included three tracks from 2017 that I just didn't hear in time to make last year's list, but they definitely would have made the cut if I had.
Podcast #473 counts down the top tracks of 2018 including cuts from
Wussy, The Speedways, Sloan, Screaming Females, Colour Me Wednesday,
Paul Collins, The Molochs, & Damien Jurado.
Big riffs, animal magnetism, and righteous rage all made
appearances on this all-local Riot Room bill featuring The
Sluts, Other Americans, & Lovergurl.
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Voltaire's late shows are quickly becoming the after-show
salon for Kansas City. On this night the hip gathered for
Giants Chair and New Obsessions.
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Podcast #472 continues the 2018 Christmas Spectacular with Aidan
Moffat & RM Hubbert, The Beths, Phoebe Bridgers, The Catenary Wires,
Brad Marino, Dad Brains, & JD McPherson.
Podcast #471 kicks off part 1 of the 2018 Christmas Spectacular
with yuletide tunes from The Monkees, Blaire Alise, Sam
Coffey, MxPx, Rat Fancy, Erik Voeks, Bill Botting, & Wavves.
Camaraderie was the real headliner as The Hillary Watts
Riot, Dead Ven, Good Saint Nathanael, and a packed room of
fans shared a Saturday evening at Records with Merritt.
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Podcast #470 breaks out the big guitars with Matthew Sweet, The
Rackatees, Dave Smalley & The Bandoleros, Gino and the Goons, Art Brut,
Chorusgirl, & Daniel Romano.
Podcast #469 doesn't care about snow, just great music
from Suzie True, Dyke Drama, Young Romance, The Stiffs,
Crashcaptains, Miss Rayon, & Darren Hayman.
Berwanger, Pink Royal and Mild Cats played an all-local
Monday-night bill in a welcoming all-locals restaurant.
>>view
2018's Apocalypse Meow benefit brought together Almighty
Trouble Brothers, Bacon Shoe, Eems, Chris Meck, Jen Harris,
Chase the Horseman, & Kelly Hunt for a great cause.
>>view
Podcast #468 gets down to business with new music from
Neurotic Fiction, Man Bear, Amyl and the Sniffers, Telethon,
Jabber, The Bottle Rockets, Robbie Fulks & Linda Gail Lewis,
& Pouty.
Midwest Music Foundation's annual Apocalypse Meow
fundraiser blasted off with big rock sets from Hot Suede
and The Whiffs.
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A delightfully curated benefit for Sharice Davids brought
Emmaline Twist, Amy Farrand, Mikal Shapiro, & Teri Quinn
fans out for a late night of entertainment for a good
cause.
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Podcast #467 ensures TMR has a target audience of one with
music from Ty Segall, Boygenius, Weakened Friends, Advance
Base, Will Oldham, Wanda Jackson, & Dead Can Dance.
Rhonda Lyne from the Midwest Music Foundation joins us on
podcast #466 to talk about Apocalypse Meow and spin tunes
from Hot Suede, Chase the Horseman, & Bacon Shoe.
Podcast #465 is going to let you decide about new music from
Kurt Vile, Calvin Johnson, Los Campesinos!, Elvis Costello
& The Imposters, The Dahlmanns, The Skodas, & Mogwai.
This late night bill featured the no-frills honesty of Dead
Voices, Worlds of Fun, & Man Bear.
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The Uncouth welcomed The Penny Mob and The Shame to town
for a night of music that celebrated the holy trinity of
Oi!: the working class, beer, and soccer.
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Podcast #464 rides that flow with help from Grrrl Gang, Doe,
Seasaw, Madness, Racey, The Peawees, & Spoon Fazer.
Podcast #463 digs in the crates to find music from The
Windbreakers, The Chills, Fred Thomas, Swearin', Occult
Chemistry, Ex Acrobat, & Pastel Ghost.
Other Americans brought dance floor jams to Rino bill
already stacked with Seasaw and Pink Royal.
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Podcast #462 feels those cool nights coming on w/ Paul Collins,
William Elliott Whitmore, Kristofer Astrom, Princess Chelsea,
Greensleep, Single Mothers, & The Mo-Dettes.
Sona, Ex Acrobat, & Knife Crime delivered casual and
confident sets built from decades of experience.
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Podcast #461 stirs the pot with music from The Passions,
Flowertruck, Alpaca Sports, Muncie Girls, Free Cake For
Every Creature, & Future Usses.
Podcast #460 is the comforting sort w/ help from Giant Sand,
Alien Boy, Sona, Frankie Valet, The Boygirlfriends, Those
Unfortunates, & Watoo Watoo.
Nothing like a late-night, midweek, rock 'n' party in the
still-lawless West Bottoms. See what happened when The
Whiffs, Smokescreens, & The Molochs made themselves at home
at Voltaire.
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Openers Mysterious Clouds and Sona kicked things off ably,
but the night belonged to Emmaline Twist and its new debut
album.
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The Life and Times delivered a jaw-dropping performance to
cap off the excellent night of music begun by Youth Pool
and Knife Crime.
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Podcast #459 celebrates some fine singles from Patsy's Rats,
The Young Rochelles, Best Coast, Fresh, Our Girl, Say Sue Me,
& Papa M.
Podcast #458 shares the many moods of TMR with help
from Emmaline Twist, Young Scum, Sports, Darkle, Midnite
Snaxxx, Criminal Kids, Corner Boys, & Low.
Lawrence on a weeknight in summer can be rough, but La
Guerre, Dentist, and Mourning Ritual were all game for this
diverse bill.
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The skies cleared just long enough for Nashville's Thelma
and the Sleaze to titillate everyone on the Riot Room patio
with its libido-driven rock 'n' roll.
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Podcast #457 checks in on some old friends including The Beths,
Duck & Cover, Outtacontroller, Don't Sleep, The Smittens, Heidi
Lynne Gluck, & Katie Ellen.
Podcast #456 looks back w/ help from The Rolling Stones,
Shy Boys, The Molochs, Pink Floyd, Cock Sparrer, Duck &
Cover, & Kylfingar.
Too Much Rock is proud to release the eighth installment of its vinyl singles series featuring singer/songwriter Heidi Lynne Gluck. Gluck is an immensely talented multi-instrumentalist, sought after for her skills as a veteran player and session musician, and known for her work in Juliana Hatfield's Some Girls, Margot & the Nuclear So and Sos, The Only Children, and many others. However, it is her own vision that inspired Too Much Rock to spotlight her as part of the single series.
The new single features the Gluck-penned "Party Line." A confidently-strummed guitar introduces the cut, before Gluck's understated vocals and unflinching lyrics quickly define the song. As her narrative unfolds, the arrangement is haunted by the appearance of piano and lap steel. For the B-side, Gluck recasts the Camper Van Beethoven feel-good staple "Good Guys and Bad Guys" as a strikingly beautiful, world-weary treatise. Thirty years later and Russia is still on everyone's mind. The limited-edition single is available at area record stores and online retailers as either black (430 copies) or pink (104 copies) vinyl.
singles series, accouncements, Heidi Lynne Gluck
Three bands with a point of view but little interest in
pigeonhole genres kicked off their package tour in KC.
Click for my photos and video of Lemuria, Katie Ellen, &
Dusk.
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Podcast #455 is gonna need you to open your mind to
Idol Lips, Diners, Heidi Lynne Gluck, The Rolling Stones,
Optiganally Yours, The Blues Busters, & Party Fridge.
While the first night of 2018's Field Day Fest raged all
around Lawrence, I held steady at The Bottleneck for a
great lineup featuring HighWesthus, The Dead Girls, Deco
Auto, Hannah Norris, Duncan Burnett, & LK Ultra.
>>view
Upcoming shows I care about:
1/18 Bowie Tribute @ recordBar
1/19 Bowie Tribute @ recordBar
1/21 Corrosion of Conformity @ Riot Room
1/25 Hank Von Hell @ Riot Room
1/25 Nan + the One Night Stands @ Brick
1/28 Peter Murphy @ Truman
1/31 DeVotchKa @ recordBar
2/1 Radar State @ recordBar
2/12 Lucy Dacus @ Bottleneck
2/13 Mr & The Mrs @ recordBar
2/26 Soccer Mommy @recordBar
2/27 Kurt Vile @ Truman
2/27 Kiss @ Sprint
2/27 Cherry Glazerr @ recordBar
3/9 Dentists @ Replay
3/10 Descendents @ Liberty Hall
3/26 Pixies/Weezer @ Sprint Center
4/3 Laura Jane Grace @ Riot Room
4/6 Durand Jones @ recordBar
4/7 Coathangers @ recordBar
5/1 Pedro The Lion @ recordBar
5/6 Pup @ Granada
5/10 Neko Case @ Uptown
7/9 Priests @ recordBar