Riot Recommends: Kevin Greenspon with High Diving Ponies @ FOKL

The end of the year is quickly edging closer and closer, and with it comes a few final opportunities to unglue yourself from the couch, brush the Cheetos® dust off your sweatpants, and get out to see some live music performed by a few of the more intriguing local acts the city currently has to offer. Read on, fellow layabout, I urge you to make the drive out to Strawberry Hill on Dec. 3 for this one.

KC native Ben Straus opens the night, performing under his YYU moniker (listen here), a project that primarily uses ambient tape loops with chopped and echo-laden vocals, and a variety of sampled instruments strewn about to create some art that is increasingly being talked about.

Next up, High Diving Ponies (listen here) come out of hibernation to play songs from their recently released cassette Face Blindness, as well as a handful of new ones. I’ve written about the band here previously, but their live show is a cathartic wall of noise borrowing elements of shoegaze, indie rock, and grunge from the last two decades. Also, they don’t play often.

Big Waves of Pretty (listen here) hail from Madison, WI, and encompass a variety a sounds, some of which fall into the reverb-drenched sound you’d expect with a lineup such as this. The majority of their work is simply upbeat and occasionally fuzzed-out pop songs. LA native Kevin Greenspon (listen here) closes out the night with more droning, ambient tape loops and sprawling arrangements that combine various facets of experimental sub-genres.

Doors are at 8pm, cover is five bones. Bring extra cash to spend on records, cassettes, and such.