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Twista [KANSAS CITY PICK]

The man who held the Guinness World Record in 1992 for fastest rapper in the world is coming to Riot Room, and while he may have been in his prime ages ago, I’m guessing Twista can still pronounce 598 syllables in 55 seconds. That’s insane, but no exaggeration. His ninth studio album, The Dark Horse, is in the works as of 2013, he’s appeared on several artists’ songs as of late, including Lady Gaga’s “Jewels N Drugs” on ARTPOP. Even at age 40, this rapper has no intention of taking a break from the game.
Thursday, Jan. 23, at Riot Room, 4048 Broadway, 8 p.m., $20.

Railroad Earth

This six-piece Americana folk-pop band just released latest album Last of the Outlaws during January, showing off a more mature range of what they can now do, 12 years since their start. Melancholy, deep and resonant tracks driven by primary songwriter and frontman Todd Sheaffer capture the world they live in and how life has affected each of the six members. The album with seamless arrangements of moving melodies and ever-changing emotions was recorded by the band in a remote, private home studio in New Jersey. Their biggest strengths really come through on the three-year-awaited album: layers of rich harmonies, acoustic picking and long storytelling songs.
Friday, Jan. 23, at Granada, 1020 Massachusetts, 8 p.m., $22 in advance.

Patty Griffin

A record that was ready to be released 14 years ago, one that has been said to the best of Patty Griffin’s 20-year career, was just released in October 2013. This “lost album” titled Silver Bell sat on the shelves of Universal Music, somehow “conveniently” forgotten about during Universal’s takeover of her then label A&M. Silver Bell has gotten more attention now than it probably would have gotten at the time, but that doesn’t change the heartfelt, powerful and confrontational spirit of these folk-rock songs. And now Griffin has won a grammy. Better late than never?
Saturday, January 25, at the Bottleneck, 737 New Hampshire, 8 p.m. SOLD OUT.

The Perfect Pursuit

“Perfection is an abstract and theoretical concept. It is not a destination that can actually be achieved. But nonetheless, it’s the goal in mind. We all have our own ideas of what perfection means and our own ways of pursuing it. That pursuit is idealistic, but it’s a fundamental part of our humanity.” Starting in 2009, The Perfect Pursuit has found that describing their particular style is similar thoughts (stated in quotes) on defining perfection. Both are too great to put into words. Based in Hays, they draw influences from punk, pop, alternative and progressive artists, creating atmospheric melodic tracks with dual vocals (male and female vocalists).
Saturday, Jan. 25, at Jackpot Music Hall, 943 Massachusetts, 10 p.m.

Various Blonde

Kansas City’s Various Blonde is a dark, psychedelic, alternative, progressive-style band that formed in 2008. The trio was the brainchild of Kansas native and vocalist Joshua Allen who conceived a sound drawing from an interesting blend of a wide array of musical influences including Radiohead, Blonde Redhead, Mike Patton, Iggy Pop and The Stooges, The Rolling Stones, The Beatles, Led Zepplin and several others. Much of what they have created has been claimed to come from trial and error experimentation. It’s probably working for them, since they’ve opened for numerous national acts including as Murder By Death, Russian Circles, Thursday, and The Electric Six. While performing live, there are known to make it a unique experience with hints of jazz, soul, improv and metal.
Tuesday, Jan. 28, at Replay Lounge, 946 Massachusetts, 10 p.m., $3.

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