The Top Fifty Performances of 2023

Original image of Yujia Shen at the Diastole Scholars Center by There Stands the Glass.

The accompanying image of Yujia Shen at Diastole Scholars’ Center encapsulates my year. Classical violin (and piano) provided default ambience throughout 2023. By arriving early and through financial outlays, I claimed spots up front at dozens of concerts. The books in the room are also meaningful. My evenings were devoted to reading when I wasn’t attending performances.

1. Hilary Hahn at the Folly Theater
My review.

2. The Smile and Robert Stillman at the Midland Theatre
My review.

3. Kassa Overall and Omari Jazz at Mississippi Studios (Portland)
My Instagram clip.

4. Samara Joy at the Folly Theater
My review.

5. The Metropolitan Opera’s Tannhäuser at Lincoln Center (New York City)
My review.

6. András Schiff at Helzberg Hall
My review.

7. Mike Dillon and Brian Haas at the Brick
My review.

8. Yujia Shen at Diastole Scholars’ Center
My review.

9. Jake Blount at the Folk Alliance International Conference
My review.

10. RP Boo, DJ Alphabeta and Whorxata at the Encore Room
My review.

11. Pretty Yende at the Folly Theater
My review.

12. Adam Larson, Matt Clohesy and Jimmy Macbride at Westport Coffee House
My Instagram clip.

13. Tim Bernardes at Mississippi Studios (Portland)
My review.

14. UMKC Opera’s Proving Up at Spencer Theatre
My review.

15. Bill Frisell, Greg Tardy, Gerald Clayton and Johnathan Blake at the 1900 Building
My review.

16. Boston Camerata’s Dido & Aeneas at Community Christian Church
My Instagram photo.

17. Hermon Mehari Quartet at the Folly Theater
My review.

18. Off!, Upchuck and Weaponize Chomsky at the recordBar
My Instagram clip.

19. Thomas Rosenkranz at White Recital Hall
My review.

20. Juan Diego Flórez at the Folly Theater
My review.

21. Devin Gray, Maria Elena Silva and the Extemporaneous Music and Arts Society at Firehouse Gallery 
My review.

22. DJ Lucas, Papo2oo4 and Subjxct 5, Lil Heavn, Paris Williams and N1n4 Freakqncy at Farewell
My review.

23. Thee Sinseers, the Altons and Alanna Royale at Lemonade Park
My review.

24. Willi Carlisle and Betse & Clarke at Knuckleheads
My Instagram snapshot.

25. CRAG Quartet, Joshua Gerowitz and the Extemporaneous Music and Arts Society at the Bunker
My review.

26. Artemis at the Gem Theater
My review.

27. Queens of the Stone Age, Viagra Boys and Jehnny Beth at Starlight Theatre
My review.

28. Rafael Lozano-Hemmer’s Listening Forest at Crystal Bridges (Bentonville)
My Instagram clip.

29. Miguel Zenón Quartet at the Folly Theater
My review.

30. Bob Weir at Louisville Palace (Louisville)
My review.

31. Bonnie “Prince” Billy and Michael Hurley at the Aladdin Theater (Portland)
My review.

32. Christian McBride, Benny Green and Gregory Hutchinson at the Village Vanguard (New York City)
My review.

33. Rod Fleeman Trio at Green Lady Lounge
My Instagram clip.

34. Nickel Creek and Gaby Moreno at Muriel Kauffman Theatre
My review.

35. Alien Nosejob, Citric Dummies and CKrit at Howdy
My review.

36. Danielle Nicole and Katy Guillen and the Drive at the Uptown Theater
My Instagram snapshot.

37. Pat Metheny’s SideEye at Muriel Kauffman Theatre
My review.

38. Janet Jackson and Ludacris at the T-Mobile Center
My Instagram snapshot.

39. Big Freedia at Boulevardia
My Instagram clip.

40. Jean-Yves Thibaudet at the Folly Theater
My Instagram snapshot.

41. Parker Quartet at Polsky Theatre
My review.

42. Eugene Friesen and Henrique Eisenmann at the 1900 Building
My review.

43. Chalis O’Neal at the Blue Room
My Instagram clip.

44. Booker T. Jones at the Folly Theater
My Instagram clip.

45. Rob Magill and Marshall Trammell, the Extemporaneous Music and Arts Society and Alber at Farewell
My review.

46. The Salvation Choir at Theis Park
My Instagram clip.

47. Hot Chip and Cadence Weapon at Wonder Ballroom (Portland)
My Instagram clip.

48. Randy Porter, Tom Wakeling and Todd Strait at the 1905 (Portland)
My review.

49. John Mellencamp at the Midland Theatre
My Instagram clip.

50 Kentucky Opera’s Cinderella at W.L. Lyons Brown Theatre (Louisville)
My Instagram snapshot.

There Stands the Glass’ top albums and songs of 2023 are listed here.

Last year’s concert rankings are here.

November 2023 Recap: A Monthly Exercise in Critical Transparency

Screenshot of the trailer of Opernhaus Zürich’s production of Richard Wagner’s Götterdämmerung by There Stands the Glass.

Top Ten Albums of November

1. Bertrand Chamayou- Letter(s) to Erik Satie

Correspondence with John Cage.

2. Sullivan Fortner- Solo Game

Two sides of the pianist.

3. 2 Chainz and Lil Wayne- Welcome 2 Collegrove

Duffle bag boys.

4. Yuhan Su- Liberated Gesture

Good vibes.

5. DJ Manny- Hypnotized

Superior footwork.

6. Viktor Orri Árnason and Álfheiður Erla Guðmundsdóttir- Poems

Icy.

7. Thandi Ntuli and Carlos Niño- Rainbow Revisited

Sunshine.

8. Nitai Hershkovits- Call On the Old Wise

Wisdom of the elders.

9. Blockhead- The Aux

Underground all-stars.

10. Sarah Davachi and Quatuor Bozzini- Long Gradus

Deceptive drones.

Top Ten Songs of November

1.Tokischa- "Candy"

Not so sweet.

2. Danny Brown featuring Kassa Overall- "Jenn's Terrific Vacation"

An unexpected update of 2011’s “Fields”.

3. Rico Nasty, NCognita, Simon Said. and Raedio- "Lackin"

Complete.

4. Björk featuring Rosalía- "Oral"

“I just don’t know.”

5. Atmosphere- “Traveling Forever”

Never-ending tour.

6. 070 Shake featuring Ken Carson- "Natural Habitat"

Uncaged.

7. Larry June, Cardo and the Alchemist- "The Great Escape"

Free.

8. Majid Jordan- "Eyes Closed"

Smooth operator.

9. Yahritza Y Su Esencia and El Yaki- "Nos Equivocamos"

We were wrong.

10. Willi Carlisle- “When the Pills Wear Off”

Reckoning.

Top Ten Performances of November

1. András Schiff at Helzberg Hall

My review.

2. Juan Diego Flórez at the Folly Theater

My review.

3. Rafael Lozano-Hemmer’s Listening Forest at Crystal Bridges Museum (Bentonville)

My Instagram clip.

4. The Danielle Nicole Band and Katy Guillen and the Drive at the Uptown Theater

My Instagram snapshot.

5. DJ Lucas, Papo2oo4, Subjxct 5, Paris Williams, Lil Heavn and N1n4 Freakquency at Farewell

My review.

6. Kelly Hall Tompkins at the Folly Theater

My review.

7. UMKC Opera’s “The Magic Flute” at White Recital Hall

My review.

8. Jackie Myers, Rich Wheeler and Sebastian Arias at the Market at Meadowbrook

My Instagram snapshot.

9. The Extemporaneous Music and Arts Society’s “Intersect & Interdependence” at Charlotte Street Foundation

My Instagram clip.

10. East Hill Singers at Rolling Hills Presbyterian Church 

My Instagram snapshot.

The previous monthly survey is here.

Album Review: Krista Kopper- Blessed Are Those Who Mourn

Krista Kopper has acted as the responsible adult in the room during the more than dozen times I’ve seen her perform with her peers in the Extemporaneous Music and Arts Society. Whenever her Kansas City colleagues flirt with excess, Kopper can be counted on to apply gentle persuasion to redirect their dissipation. The profundity of her new solo double bass album Blessed Are Those Who Mourn, consequently, isn’t surprising. Composed, performed and titled for women who were “assaulted and then killed while running,” the eight selections represent Kopper’s intention “to fight death with music.” Her tragically essential battle is a magnificently dignified triumph.

Concert Review: CRAG Quartet at the Bunker Center for the Arts

Original image by There Stands the Glass.

I didn’t include The Bunker Center for the Arts in the feature I recently wrote for KCUR about music venues in Kansas City.  Yet there was nowhere I would rather have been on Tuesday, March 14.

A stellar array of new music improvisers performed at the art gallery.  The three-part concert opened with a riveting set by saxophonist Benjamin Baker, guitarist Seth Andrew Davis, bassist Krista Kopper and drummer Evan Verploegh.  

Davis and Verploegh are the reigning Plastic Sax People of the Year.  Almost every time I hear the core members of the Extemporaneous Music and Arts Society of Kansas City- and that’s been about a dozen times in the past 12 months- I think it’s their best outing to date.  The simmering improvisation on Tuesday was no exception.

Guitarist Joshua Gerowitz and multi-instrumentalist Vinny Golia played next.  The serpentine extemporizations of the Los Angeles based artists were striking, partly because Golia possesses a swagger that makes him the free jazz version of Ronnie James Dio.

The touring band CRAG Quartet headlined.  Golia, violinist/composer Christian Asplund (violinist/composer), Steve Ricks (trombone/electronics) and Ron Coulter (percussion) made a stupendous racket that sometimes resembled an emergency siren.  And as with many of the most imaginative new music improvisers, their playing possessed a delightful undercurrent of humor.

Little Big Ears

Original image of Drekka at 9th & State by There Stands the Glass.

Attending the Big Ears festival in 2019 was revelatory.  I heard a score of monumental musicians for the first time in person.  Meredith Monk!  Evan Parker!  Caroline Shaw!  Leo Wadada Smith!  My wide-ranging taste in music makes me a freak in Kansas City, but in Knoxville I discovered I'm not alone.

Ambrose Akinmusire, Tomeka Reid and Patti Smith were among the luminaries who performed on the opening night of the 2022 edition of the forward-thinking music festival in the picturesque Tennessee college town on Thursday, March 24.  Marooned in Kansas City, I refused to pout.  A pair of uncommon shows allowed me to simulate the Big Ears experience in a minuscule way.

The longtime Kansas City jazz dissenter Arnold Young performed selections from his new album at The Ship.  (A Plastic Sax album review is in the works.)  Backed by his aptly named band The Roughtet, the drummer tossed out acerbic barbs as he introduced each wild and wooly selection.

A few blocks away in the West Bottoms, the Extemporaneous Music Society presented a pair of experimental touring artists at 9th & State.  Sitting at a low slung table, Timber Rattle created drone-like incantations that sounded like ritualistic pagan hymns to malevolent gods.

Small-scale application of fire and gymnastics made Drekka more visually provocative. Yet the New Age-ish evocation of earthly elements didn’t stir me. As a trio of Drekka devotees at a front table gave their hero a standing ovation, I exited the historic saloon into the lonesome Knoxvillian night.