THE DAVE STEPHENS JAZZ CIRCUS!!!

Last night The Dave Stephens Jazz Circus was one of the most amazing things I've ever seen and probably one of the best times I've had in my life . . . And that's not just blogger hyperbole.

I couldn't possibly capture all of the fun, excitement and awesomeness of being in the crowd but this photo essay provides a nice glimpse of how I saw things.



The Show started with a great skit featuring Jeffery White released into custody of Ring Master Dave Stephens. It's no joke that Jeff was in trouble with the law and was on special release for this gig but working it into the act was genius. Real Talk: Jeff was walking around for 15 YEARS without knowing he had a warrant on his record and a bit of volunteer work at a prison put him back in the clink for a couple of seconds.



The Strongman was ironically named Little and he was actually a pretty cool guy so I didn't want to challenge him to an arm wrestling contest considering the fact that I can bench press a small truck.







Jason the fire dude brought a bit of sizzle to the show.



As usual, Dave was ablaze on the stage.



Beena, our host and owner of Jardine's, was beautiful as always.



The crowd got an unexpected treat when Lonnie McFadden graced the stage.



Even better, Lonnie McFadden did a Louie Armstrong number that brought the house down.



Chicken Commercial break . . .



A bunch of big wigs were in the crowd last night including Screenland Owner Butch Rigby and New AMC Prez Gerry Lopez.



The sideshow ladies were definitely the highlight of the show for TKC.



Marissa MacKay was elegant as always.



Kat Kimmitz could Kansas City's hottest raven haired vixen.



Behind the scenes Jim manned the kitchen and the chef was responsible for serving up world class steak, salmon and crab cakes last evening. Seriously, I had the salmon and it was kinda like a religious experience.



After the show Dave offered a bit of detail on how he developed part of the act for the "Making whoopee" number and it was interesting but not quite as captivating as Marissa dancing in lingerie.





I'm leaving out a bunch of stuff but I would be remiss if I didn't at least mention a couple of great surfer tunes from Kansas City's own Beach Nuts. Special guest guitarist Rod Fleeman along with keyboarder Walter Bryant and drummer Jürgen Welge were the backbone of the Dave Stephens band which also included kickass trumpet player Barry Springer.

I don't know much about jazz and I haven't been a fan until recently but I do know something about showmanship and from what I saw last night The Dave Stephens Jazz Circus is one of the greatest spectacles in Kansas City.