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The Weekender Things to do in between baseball

Kansas City Ballet Company Dancers, from left, Logan Pachciarz and Liang Fu rehearse for Kansas City Ballet company dancers, from left, Logan Pachciarz and Liang Fu rehearse for "The Three Musketeers," which opens Friday. (Credit: Kansas City Ballet)
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3 minute read

Don’t kid yourself. This weekend – and, with luck, most of the next few weeks – Kansas City nightlife will be completely dominated by the Royals’ playoff run. It doesn’t matter if you are promoting a rock concert, staging a ballet, or just throwing a birthday party, crowds are going to be real hard to come by. Most of the city will be obsessively watching our Boys in Blue. If, however, you want to do something this weekend besides watch baseball, you’ve got options.

COMPUTING

Kraftwerk is, quite simply, the most influential electronic music act of all time. Anyone who has ever used a computer to make music owes a debt to the German quartet. Saturday night, the reclusive legends will perform in Kansas City for the first time since 1975, bringing their 3-D Concert tour to The Midland. Tickets are $59.50 – $79.50. See them this weekend or wait another 40 years.

JAMMING

For music that’s a little more organic, hit up the day-long 18th & Vine Jazz and Blues Festival. Proceeds support cultural programming at the American Jazz Museum. Tickets are ten bucks.

There are two, count ’em two, benefit concerts this weekend at Crossroads KC. On Friday night The Elders perform their energetic Celtic pop to benefit the FOX 4 Love Fund. Saturday night you can help Harvesters fight local hunger at Fed Up Fest. The show features two stages and a fabulous lineup of local acts, including Pink Royal, Not A Planet, Beautiful Bodies and Wolf Alice. Tickets for the two shows start at $20 and $25, respectively, so there’s no excuse not to go dance on the chips.

SWORDFIGHTING

If you’d rather watch other people dance – and do a little dueling besides– consider opening night at the Kansas City Ballet. To begin their 57th season, KCB will present six performances of Prokovsky’s “The Three Musketeers.” The piece, choreographed by André Prokovsky and based on Alexander Dumas’ classic novel, features a ton of swordfighting in addition to obligatory pas de deux. And you won’t even need to miss baseball. The Royals play at 3:45 on Friday afternoon, while the ballet doesn’t start until 7:30 at night. Root for the Royals at Kauffman Stadium then dash to see the ballet at Kauffman Center for the Performing Arts. It’s a two-Kauffman day. Tickets for the latter run from $29-$119. Buy them at www.kcballet.org. For tickets to the MLB playoffs, however, you’re on your own.

FRIGHTENING

“Chainsaw: The Musical,” written by KC's own Forrest Attaway, premiers this weekend at The Living Room. (Credit: The Living Room)

“Chainsaw: The Musical,” written by KC’s own Forrest Attaway, premiers this weekend at The Living Room. (Credit: The Living Room)

If fencing is too tame for you, how about a musical about murder? “Chainsaw: The Musical,” inspired by the 1974 slasher flick, The Texas Chainsaw Massacre, premiers this weekend at The Living Room. It’s an original work, written by KC’s own Forrest Attaway and directed by Missy Koonce. If you go Thursday or Friday night, preview tickets are just $15.00. Be forewarned, though. Chainsaw is rife with adult language, adult situations and, pretty obviously, violence. In other words, it’s just the right play to get you in the mood for Halloween.

MORE FRIGHTENING

For yet more blood, stay downtown and head to the West Bottoms. Haunted house season is in full swing. If you are the sort of person who enjoys paying good money to be scared spitless, a visit to The Edge of Hell, The Beast, and Macabre Cinema should be on your list. Ticket prices vary by venue.

GIGGLING

After a night of faux-terror, you might need a real laugh or two. You can keep that laughter local by supporting some of KC’s best comediennes; Allyson Weldy, Maeret Lemons, and Andrea Caspari. The 8:00pm show is Saturday night at The Opera House Coffee and Food Emporium in River Market. Cover is $9.00 at the door, a lousy $5.00 in advance.

FESTING

Forget the calendar. Autumn starts when the leaves change, and the city trees are just starting to see the first streaks of scarlet and gold. What better way to enjoy fall foliage than Weston’s Irish Fest? There’s beer. And whiskey. And beer. Tickets (beer not included) start at just $5.00.

The Renaissance Festival is another solid bet. Yes, the event is a campy, a tad déclassé, and always rife with ludicrous anachronisms. The setting is pretty, though, the food is unrepentantly unhealthy, and your kids, should you have them, will love the cheesiness of it all. Advance tickets are $17.95, and there are all sorts of other packages to buy, like a Beer and Bacon tasting. Go Sunday morning, and you’ll be home in time to watch the Royals play ye olde Game 3 against the Astros at 4:10 p.m.

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