I moved to Kansas City, Missouri from Portland, Oregon with some hesitancy. I’d never lived in the Midwest before, we didn’t know many people and our shows here over the years had rarely been amazing. But a chance to have our own apartment and enjoy a change of pace helped motivate us to pack our vans and head east. After about 10 months Kansas City has grown on me in surprising ways.
Here is my list of 5 Things I Love About Kansas City.
1. This is sports town. I get to go to Kansas City Royals games for a reasonable price. I can’t think of a better way to relax after a long day than watching a baseball game. I hope I can make opening day 2014.
2. The art scene is very vibrant here, more than I ever imagined. There is a lot of fine art (world class ceramics, free museums – the Nelson Atkins Museum) and the music scene is small enough that is easy to get to know people.
3. Our friends in Bent Left said this is a town you can make things happen in and I agree. If you want to build something in Kansas City you totally can.
4. There are two quality Ms. Pac-Man machines with-in walking distance of our house (Open Fire Pizza / Art Closet Studios & West Port Coffee House).
5. There are several good places to play in Kansas City less than a mile from our house @ Riot Room, Vandals (formerly known as Black and Gold & the News Room), Art Closet Studios / Open Fire Pizza (all-ages), Blarney Stone, Mustache Club, Mills Records, ect.
6. It’s centrally located for easy weekend tours and travel like this one:

I am doing a full band tour as Nate Allen & The Pac-Away Dots. The set will consist of mostly non-Destroy Nate Allen songs. I’ve never done this before. It’s exciting and scary. The songs I’ll be playing can be described in part as bluesy, folk-punk with a heavy dose of honesty, introspection, and accessibility. They have more of a straight ahead rock n’ roll feel than anything I’ve played in a long time.
March 29th @ Solace Music Venue – Joplin, MO 7 PM $5 all-ages.
March 30th @ OBEC – Springfield, MO 7 PM $5 all-ages
March 31st @ Vandals in Kansas City, MO 8 pm $5. 21+