The Top Fifty Performances of 2021

Original image of J.D. Allen, Eric Revis and Nasheet Waits at the Blue Room by There Stands the Glass.

The pandemic nixed my annual resolution to attend 365 gigs per year. I began making up for lost time after receiving my second vaccination shot on April 27. I’m extremely pleased to have once again caught up with road warriors like Pat Metheny and Richard Thompson and to have finally made it to shows by notable artists including Marc Anthony and Renée Fleming. Aside from a delusional period of post-vaccination euphoria in May and June, I wore a mask throughout every performance.

1. J.D. Allen, Eric Revis and Nasheet Waits- Blue Room

My review.

2. Mary Lattimore- Lied Center

My review.

3. Pat Metheny- Orchestra Hall (Detroit)

My review.

4. Anthony Roth Constanzo- Folly Theater

My review.

5. St. Vincent- Grinder’s KC

My review.

6. Erykah Badu- Midland theater

My review.

7. Irreversible Entanglements- Stephens Lake Park Amphitheatre (Columbia, Missouri)

My review.

8. Marc Anthony- T-Mobile Arena

My review.

9. Bird Fleming and Bill Summers’ “Voyage of the Drum”- Dunbar Park

My review.

10. Rod Fleeman Trio- Green Lady Lounge (multiple shows)

Fleeman is Plastic Sax's 2021 Person of the Year.

11. José James at Old Church Concert Hall (Portland)

My review.

12. Oleta Adams with Isaac Cates & Ordained- Old Mission United Methodist Church

My review.

13. Te Deum- St. Mary's Episcopal Church

14. Asleep at the Wheel- Muriel Kauffman Theatre

My review.

15. Eddie Moore, Ryan J. Lee and Zach Morrow- Charlotte Street Foundation

My review.

16. The Kansas City Symphony’s Mobile Music Box- The Jewish Community Center of Greater Kansas City

My review.

17. Thollem McDonas- 9th and State

My review.

18. UMKC Opera’s George Frideric Handel’s “Acis and Galatea”- White Recital Hall

My review.

19. Johnny Rawls- Gladstone Summertime Bluesfest

My review.

20. Jeff Kaiser, Kevin Cheli and Seth Davis- Charlotte Street Foundation

My review.

21. Mike Dillon and Nikki Glaspie- 1900 Building

My review.

22. Brentano Quartet- Lincoln Recital Hall (Portland)

My review.

23. Flooding- 7th Heaven

My review.

24. En Vogue- Hy-Vee Arena

My review.

25. Mary Gauthier- Knuckleheads

26. Joshua Bell and Alessio Bax- Helzberg Hall

My review.

27. Pistol Pete- recordBar

28. Second Nature Ensemble- Westport Coffee House

My review.

29. Dare- 7th Heaven

My Instagram clip.

30. The Kansas City Symphony’s “Coming to America”- Helzberg Hall

31. Renée Fleming- Helzberg Hall

32. Kyle Hutchins, Aaron Osborne, Seth Davis and Evan Verploegh- Charlotte Street Foundation

My review.

33. Guitar Elation- Green Lady Lounge (several shows)

34. Kansas Virtuosi- Yardley Hall

My review.

35. UMKC Conservatory’s “Jazz at the Playhouse”- University Playhouse

My Instagram clip.

36. Granger Smith- KC Live

37. Sentenced 2 Die- 7th Heaven

My Instagram clip.

38. Jackie Myers, Matt Hopper and Ben Tervort- Market at Meadowbrook

39. Summerfest Chamber Music Festival- Atonement Lutheran Church

My review.

40. Trinity Jazz Ensemble- Rolling Hills Presbyterian Church

My review.

41. Mike Stover- Campground

42. Richard Thompson- Folly Theater

My review.

43. Ben Tervort Quartet- Westport Coffeehouse

My Instagram clip.

44. Roman Alexander- KC Live

My review.

45. Béla Fleck- Arlene Schnitzer Concert Hall (Portland)

My review.

46. The Kansas City Chorale- Rolling Hills Presbyterian Church

47. Kian Byrne- Second Presbyterian Church

48. Everyday Strangers- Gem Theater

My instagram clip.

49. Lyric Opera of Kansas City- Meadowbrook Park

50. Paris Williams- Lemonade Park

There Stands the Glass also ranked the The Top 50 Songs of 2021 and The Top 50 Albums of 2021. Pat Metheny is this site’s Artist of the Year. Rod Fleeman is Plastic Sax’s Person of the Year. A list of There Stands the Glass’ top performances of 2020 is here.

October 2021 Recap: A Monthly Exercise in Critical Transparency

Screenshot of The Fugitive Kind by There Stands the Glass.

Top Ten Albums (released in October)

1. Fire-Toolz- Eternal Home

A noise supreme.

2. Lana Del Rey- Blue Banisters

Now That’s What I Call Adult Contemporary!

3. Craig Taborn- Shadow Plays

Standing on the shoulders of Keith Jarrett.

4. Daniil Trifonov- Bach: The Art of Life

Living large.

5. Maxo Kream- Weight of the World

“Record deal off a pill!”

6. Charlotte Greve- Sediments We Move

My review.

7. Artifacts Trio- ...And Then There's This

Chicago’s finest.

8. Sylvie Courvoisier and Mary Halvorson- Searching for the Disappeared Hour

The pianist and guitarist clear the room.

9. Jpegmafia- LP!

A firehose of mutinous ideas.

10. Steddy P- SOS: Toxic

KC’s rapper’s convincing comeback.

Top Ten Songs (released in October)

1. Céu- “Chega Mais”

Come closer.

2. Tainy, Bad Bunny and Julieta Venegas- "Lo Siento"

Dream collaboration.

3. Orquesta Akokán- “Guajira Del Mar”

Havana.

4. Badbadnotgood- "City of Mirrors"

Deep reflections.

5. Adele- "Easy On Me"

Drowning.

6. Harriet Krijgh and Magda Amara- “Les chemins de l'amour”

The paths of love.

7. Emily D’Angelo- "A Thousand Tongues"

“Nine and ninety-nine lie.”

8. Angel Du$t with Tim Armstrong- "Dancing on the Radio"

“Like there’s no tomorrow.”

9. Conway the Machine- "Piano Love"

Tuned.

10. Remi Wolf- "wyd"

Preposterous pop.

Top Ten Concerts of October

1. Pat Metheny, James Francies and Joe Dyson- Orchestra Hall (Detroit)

My review.

2. St. Vincent- Grinders KC

My review.

3. Erykah Badu- Midland theater

My review.

4. Marc Anthony- T-Mobile Arena

My review.

5. Asleep at the Wheel- Muriel Kauffman Theatre

My review.

6. Joshua Bell and Alessio Bax- Helzberg Hall

My review.

7. Rod Fleeman- Green Lady Lounge

The guitarist’s weekly matinee is among my favorite things in Kansas City.

8. Flooding- Vinyl Underground

My review.

9. Jeff Kaiser, Kevin Cheli and Seth Davis- Charlotte Street Foundation

My review.

10. Everyday Strangers- Gem Theater

My Instagram clip.

Top Ten Films (viewed for the first time in October)

1. The Fugitive Kind (1960)

My new favorite movie.

2. Höstsonaten/Autumn Sonata (1978)

Excruciating generational trauma.

3. The Emperor Jones (1933)

Paul Robeson in an adaptation of Eugene O’Neill’s play.

4. Where East is East (1929)

Lon Chaney, Estelle Taylor and Lupe Vélez don't need sound.

5. Mamma Roma (1962)

The continuation of the decline and fall.

6. Flesh and the Devil (1927)

Greta Garbo as femme fatale.

7. Hollywood Barn Dance (1947)

Walkin’ the floor with Ernest Tubb.

8. SAS: Red Notice (2021)

Precisely what I want from a big, dumb action flick.

9. The Seventh Victim (1943)

Kim Hunter confronts a satanic cult in Greenwich Village.

10. The 100-Foot Journey (2004)

Amuse-bouche.

September’s recap and links to previous monthly surveys are here.

Concert Review: Erykah Badu at the Midland Theatre

Original image by There Stand the Glass.

Erykah Badu recited several of her self-anointed sobriquets during her concert at the Midland Theatre on Tuesday, October 13.  Nicknames like Serra Bellum and Fat Belly Bella provide insights into Badu’s mindset, but rightfully proclaiming herself the spiritual heir of Billie Holiday, Nina Simone and Abbey Lincoln might have been more helpful.

She clarified her role in the jazz continuum in a headlining appearance at the Sprint Center in 2018.  While she performed large-scale cosmic jazz at the notorious concert, Tuesday’s presentation was entirely different.  The shapeshifting star and her ten-piece ensemble focused on electro-funk for much of the nearly two-hour- and relatively punctual at a mere 70 minutes behind schedule- performance.

Dual drummers and keyboardists occasionally canceled one another out.  A more compact group would probably have produced cleaner music, but Badu basked in the intentionally muddy wall of sound.  The politics she espoused were no less convoluted.

In speeches long and short, she expressed contradictory philosophies associated with Ayn Rand, Che Guevara and Salvador Allende.  Badu warbled “I am so dizzy right now” after spinning about like a lithe version of Thelonious Monk.  Her politically-minded admirers undoubtedly suffered doctrinal disorientation.

Badu vogued to the audience favorite “Tyrone,” beamed up to the mothership at the conclusion of “Window Seat” and auditioned the promising new song “Angels in the Afterlife.”  After proclaiming “I feel like getting real juke-jointy,” Badu led the band in dazzling versions of Willie Dixon’s blues standard “Wang Dang Doodle” and her risque jam “Annie (Don’t Wear No Panties).”

Adhering to Baduizm mandates accepting the good with the bad.  The same traits that make Badu one of the most vital musicians of the past 25 years also make fandom challenging.  Yet on Tuesday, every dubious decision was countered by several moments of brilliance.  Buying a ticket to see Badu is akin to purchasing a lottery ticket.  The approximately 1,200 people at last night’s concert won big.