Get Smart!

Lawrence, Kansas trio Get Smart! formed in 1980 and during seven years of relentless coast-to-coast touring, earned a reputation for intense live shows and edged their way onto college radio playlists with their first two LPs, Action Reaction (1984) and Swimming With Sharks (1986). The original lineup reformed in January 2020, and released a collection of previously recorded (but never released) songs, titled Oh Yeah No. The group played 40th + 1 anniversary shows in Lawrence and Chicago in 2021 and were inducted into the Kansas Music Hall of Fame in 2023. Wichita’s The Embarrassmen (nope, there’s not a “t”) is original guitarist Bill Goffrier playing the song catalogue of The Embarrassment along with drummer Britt Rosencutter (The Buckthrusters, The New Wave Brothers), and bassist Eric Cale (The Censors, Aagarns). The Embarrassment formed in 1979 in Wichita and was active 1979–1983 and has reunited several times since. The Village Voice's long-time chief music critic Robert Christgau called them a "great lost American band". A feature-length documentary about the band, titled We Were Famous, You Don't Remember: The Embarrassment, premiered in 2022 and is now streaming. They were inducted into the Kansas Music Hall of Fame in 2020. The Mortal Micronotz formed in 1980 in Lawrence while they were all still in high school and quickly became a part of the Kansas punk cohort. Lead singer, Dean Lubensky, left the band in 1984. He was replaced by Jay Hauptli, who would remain the band's vocalist throughout the rest of their career and subsequent reunions. After releasing three albums and two EPs, the band broke up in 1986. This show will feature both vocalists, original members John Harper (guitar) and Steve Eddy (drums) plus bassist Matt Kessler (The Pedaljets, Von Bulows). It's gonna be an amazing show!