Twista / Nappy Roots

The possibilities and the realities of mainstream America were on display Friday night at the state fair.

While Wonder Bread poster teen Hilary Duff was at Freedom Hall, proving that cartoons can sometimes come to life, Twista and Nappy Roots came to Cardinal Stadium to show what can happen when hard work is applied to basic, occasionally inspired talent.

Nappy Roots, the pride of Bowling Green's hip-hop community, hit the stage after a stirring introduction -- which had to be repeated after they comically missed their cue.

They almost didn't need music. Between consistent shout-outs to Kentucky and especially Louisville, one might think that they were natives of Louisville instead of Bowling Green.Nappy Roots worked hard at being the most popular guys at the block party. While Twista sold himself as a benevolent "classic pimp," Nappy Roots were confident enough to just be real.

When you've got a handsome R. Prophet in a cowboy hat, taking off his shirt to reveal a muscular chest, dripping with sweat in near 100-degree temperatures, the ladies don't care what song you're playing.

If, at the same time, you've got the heaviest member of the group, Big V, taking off one of his dripping shirts, assuring the male portion of the audience that they're not in such bad shape after all… well, we can all relax.

Their stage show was well-paced, though occasionally contradictory. Some tunes seemed to require the type of choreography usually seen performed by pop boy bands, while others required random wandering.

A freestyle portion of the show, seemingly well-scripted, served mostly to highlight the abilities of the preppily attired Skinny DeVille, the most likely candidate for solo stardom.

The rousing song "Roun' the Globe" had the majority of the large crowd on their feet, bouncing and shouting along to the sort-of locals done good.

All that, and they even risked losing the momentum of their non-stop to set to stop for a few minutes and promote literacy.

And proud we are of all of them.




Twista, crowned the world's fastest rapper by the Guinness Book of World Records, is enjoying the late-blooming success he's found in recent years. The 15-year Chi-town veteran commanded the stage and continued to receive the love that the crowd had shown his openers, despite being in the second hour of a very hot -- in more than one meaning of the term -- concert.

Twista rapped extremely fast. He rapped moderately fast. He performed "Slow Jamz", his hit tribute to the subgenre known to get you in the mood. The crowd, both young and old, responded with dance moves appropriate (and, in some cases, not so appropriate) for their age groups.

He also paid tribute to fallen hip-hoppers. He sampled Ozzy Osbourne and Luther Vandross. He pulled out some old school material. Then he pulled out another jam "for the ladies," "So Sexy."

Despite using an unimpressive bullet sound effect between songs, Twista kept it mostly family-friendly. In fact, the whole show was an impressive display of how to give a large range of people a fun night of dancing and singing without having to rely on shock value – or on a manufactured TV star better known for her smile than for her musical talent.

Kern's Korner

An ol' charmer
Kern's Korner is a home away from home

Address: Kern's Korner, 2600 Bardstown Road, across from the amazing Homemade Ice Cream & Pie Kitchen.

Small print: Open daily from 9 a.m. to around midnight, later if the crowd is good. Forget the Bambi Walk -- if you really want to impress and/or scare me, spend all 15 hours here one day!

Why you should go: Do I have to tell you why you should go home? No, you go because you love your family and they love you, even though you're a no-good screw-up who hasn't given them grandkids to dote on yet.

Just like at home, they'll feed you at Kern's; it ain't gourmet cookin' here, no no no, but it sure does taste good, like when you were 10 and all you cared about was playing basketball in the driveway with Nick and Charlie and Momma called you in for supper.

The sign outside reads, "Kern's Korner Sandwiches," but I pity the salesman traveling through who misses out on the burgers or the chili. Now isn't that Louisvillian of them, to throw you off track and be humble about their claim to fame? Your meal just might come back on you 20 minutes later, but that's part of the fun … right?


PHOTO BY CHRIS HALL

Being locally owned for decades, they love the horses, as we all do. The proud display of old photos led my dining companion, Jefrey, to announce, "The picture of the horse being washed is kinda sexy. …" Seeing the reaction upon my face, he added, "Not to me, though," with a nervous weasel laugh.

The clock behind the bar tells you one thing about the regulars: I'm not sure why Viagra made a bunch of clocks and distributed them, but it gave me something to ponder.

At Kern's, I feel like a child again, not just because of the home-cooked charm of the food, but because most of the lunch crowd is old enough to be my father. I don't think Ed Asner and Norman Mailer were in town recently, but their doppelgangers were.

At night the crowd gets younger … but not by much. Friendly thirtysomethings not quite ready to try their pick-up lines at Jim Porter's practice them here on the weekends. If your hair's not too big, don't worry, they'll let you be.

Bottom line: Kern's Korner is an ol' charmer, a li'l slice of Germantown for those closer to the southern end of Bardstown Road. If anything I said about it sounds like anything less than high praise, well, that's your fault. I'm just glad they didn't name it "Kern's Korner Kafe."

Todd Hildreth with Craig Wagner & Chris Fitzgerald

Todd Hildreth Accordion Trio
(Groovy Todd)

Yeah, that's right, accordion.

Todd Hildreth, the pianist renowned for his jazz performances, has two new recordings. One’s a piano jazz trio, but this one is what it says it is.

This is lady and the tramp sharing spaghetti music. This is cotton candy at the State Fair music. Post-modern cartoon music. Comparisons are unavoidable, albeit unfortunate. This is serious music, played with whimsy and a lack of inhibition.



Bassist Fitzgerald provides nimble, consistent support, especially on Blue Monk". Wagner stands out on guitar: almost as good as Django, if not quite AS beautiful.

The trio speeds through "You and the Night and the Music", landing somewhere between polka and bluegrass. Hildreth's accordion playing on "The Days of Wine and Roses" suggests a saxophone, Dexter Gordon alone in Paris. All three shine equally on a contemplative “Stella by Starlight”. Crowded House's “Don’t Dream It's Over” is a nice try, but suffers without vocals. "Body and Soul" might have been better served by a piano but is still romantic.

c. 2005 LEO Weekly

Boozseller at the Executive West

Living up to its name
Hotel's Boozseller is a charming throwback

Address: The Boozseller at the Executive West, 830 Phillips Lane

Small print: Open daily from around 2 p.m. until midnight or 1 a.m., depending on the crowd.

Why you should go: It's like going back to the womb … the sexy, sleazy, drunken womb.

The Boozseller has been inside the Executive West for 30-odd years. Apparently it's retained the original furnishings, making it equally thrilling for lovers of architecture and design and lovers of vintage kitsch. It's like a ski lodge, but if you go outside you'll see our airport instead of the mountains of Ketchum, Idaho.

The chairs are old, thick, plush and red. There's a fireplace -- it's fake, but when the Boozseller was considering removing it, the regulars complained.

That's right, the bar in the hotel next to the airport has regulars. I think I'm becoming one of them.


PHOTO BY JAMIE RHODES

I haven't even seen Randy Meyers yet. Apparently he's a one-man band who plays on a stage behind the bar. The setting brings to mind the Country Bear Jamboree, only this is Charles Bukowski's Disneyland.

The room is large -- big enough for a wedding, bar mitzvah or Lebowski Fest.

If you want to get romantic, there are some booths tucked away in the back that are very good for getting to know someone better, or planning a coup (or, if you're extremely romantic, both).

The service is excellent. As I sat down, the bartender offered me the TV remote, something that that sullen character at Freddie's would never consider. When his replacement came on, she immediately announced that she was having a bad day: "I was about to kill my man."

Regardless, it did not affect her performance.

Bottom line: The Executive West is a family-owned business surrounded by chains. The hotel's Web site brags of visits from everyone from Foghat to Patrick Swayze to President Nixon. The Boozseller is as weirdly enjoyable as the name suggests. It's an awesomely American institution that deserves another visit.