The Right Weirds in the Right Order, Reptar & Quiet Hooves @ The Firebird
Weekends can be tricky in a mid-sized city like St. Louis. Nationally touring acts tend to hit us midweek, leaving the weekends for local bands at the small venues and massive corporate bands at the arenas. This Friday night, we got a special treat at The Firebird. Athens, GA buzz band Reptar came to town to show us exactly why people won’t stop talking about their free backyard show at SXSW.
Reptar @ The Firebird
Reptar is a stunner live. The guys rigged thrift-store lamps and white rope lights behind and around the two percussionists so the back line was lit up, leaving the synths and guitars playing in the shadows. Comparisons to Animal Collective, even The Givers, fall away when the individual personalities of the performers start coming out. I can’t remember ever seeing a band so determined to make everyone in the room feel wanted and loved. Asking everyone to hold hands for a minute could have felt awkward and forced for another band, but it was a natural progression for a Reptar show, just like wearing the coonskin cap and sea captain hat fans handed up to them.
REPTAR
Ever hear a fantastic new album from a band you haven’t heard of, only to find out they came to town two months ago and you didn’t know? A whole lot of people will be feeling this folly on May 1st when Reptar’s first full length album “Body Faucet” (Vulgar Records) drops. This is a show review, sure, but it’s also a serious plug for this record, which might handily be the best thing you hear all year. There’s a sliver of something special missing from bands like Ra Ra Riot and The Arcade Fire, and Reptar, infused with genuine warmth and joy, eliminates the space between the audience and the stage. Being at a Reptar show is like being at a house party, no matter where they happen to be playing.
Notes:
I wish I had a video of Graham turning to William to ask him a question, and William replying in a string of non-sequiturs, perfectly enunciated, and perfectly absurd. Also, the progressively more elaborate (friendly) heckling from an audience member regarding the sexiness of the band, met with blushing and aw shucksing on stage. Adorbs. I have a ton more to say about this show, but I’m cutting it short to retain my dignity. Ask me if you want more gushing prose and I will deliver it personally.
Just to be clear, Quiet Hooves is weird. Often people throw Mark Mothersbaugh out as a description for Reptar, but his influence is far heavier on Quiet Hooves. As if sheer numbers (nine band members on stage, including two trumpeters and a sax player) weren’t enough for shock and awesome, front man Julian Bozeman donned a cheap, Barbie blonde wig held on with a headband.
Quiet Hooves
As a chamber pop connoisseur, it’s just not easy to pull it off live. As the result of nerves or inexperience, Quiet Hooves kind of sprinted through their material in a manic way that didn’t leave much time for processing or digestion. They were definitely weird, but intriguing, and their songs would have improved with a few more seconds between ends and beginnings and bit less of the theatrics. Do pick through their Bandcamp. You might just find something you like.
Guitar Wolf Redefines Loud @ The Firebird
First, let me just say, I’m not your mom. Maybe I hassle my friends for not wearing bike helmets and I refuse to put the car in drive until everyone’s buckled up, but when it comes to hearing protection, it’s your ears, man. You do what you need to do. That said, if you found yourself at The Firebird last night without some variety of hearing protection, you’re probably still half deaf, and that’s a bummer, since there are a ton more shows to attend before Holy Week wraps on Sunday.
Four bands last night, each remarkably louder than the next. We started with St. Louis’ own surf-punk trio DinoFight!
Silliness has never sounded so dangerous. While DinoFight!’s song topics range from vampires and zombies to UFOs and werewolves, there was no want for driving guitar riffs and complicated drum patterns. And their cover of Wayne’s World classic Ballroom Blitz was competent and classy. If you’re up for a road trip, you can catch them next at Red Fish Blue Fish in St. Chuck, on Thursday, April 19th, at 7:30.
DinoFight! Slays with teh Cute
Second to the stage, Desoto lifers Ded Bugs. I’ve seen Ded Bugs listed on RFT concert announcements since I was a teenager, but this is the first time I’ve seen them play. Cartoony and fun, but also pretty freakin’ loud. They got the crowd to howl for Guitar Wolf (it was a full moon, after all).
Ded Bugs Smash
At least I thought they were loud, until Transistors (from Christchurch, New Zealand) started in. I didn’t have a good line of sight to drummer Olly Crawford-Ellis from where I was standing, so when I could hear the lead vocals but couldn’t see anyone singing, I was pretty pleased. You know I love it when the drummer sings lead. Turns out lead vocals are split between and guitarist James Harding, but Harding’s microphone was barely on, so it didn’t even count. Paranoid, frenetic, and LOUD. They gave us the first and only busted drumstick of the night. Also, these guys are expert-level concert photo fodder. They never stop moving long enough to get a bead on them, at least not with my consumer-grade camera.
Okay, they stood still enough for this one.
The crowd filled in during Transistors’ set, and people started bouncing around a bit. But when Drum Wolf (Toro) swaggered onstage, his hair slicked back Fonzie style, wearing leather pants and dark sunglasses, the crowd kinda lost its collective mind. I don’t think Guitar Wolf (Seiji) was on stage two minutes before two or three people in the audience started slinging tall boys of PBR all over the place, soaking the drop ceiling in front of the stage so it dripped for several minutes afterwards. There was a little guy with long hair and a leather jacket whose main job was to run onto stage and pick up empty beer cans as they were tossed at the band (affectionately). For the next hour, whatever gauge I had for what loud was was obliterated.
Guitar Wolf, Full Moon, Shit Got Weird
Did you know Eric Friedl (Oblivians, Memphis TN) first saw Guitar Wolf play a garage band festival in Memphis and created the Goner Records label for the sole purpose of getting Guitar Wolf to an American audience? You probably did, but I did not. Seiji had a fat GONER bumper sticker stuck to his guitar, too.
Guitar Wolf GONER
I was hugging my favorite column on the floor, so I could see all the mayhem center stage, but I barely got jostled (like a BOSS). Every five or ten minutes, you’d see two or three photographers get shoved against the stage, holding their cameras up so they wouldn’t conk the monitors. I saw one guy with a bloody lip, but most people were cheerful and gentle in their moshing (stage diving is really dangerous, kids). The crowd was thick enough that if you went back to get more beer, you’d lose your spot, so the beer throwing was kept to a minimum after the initial baptism. You’d think it’d be confusing that the band doesn’t speak English and none of us spoke Japanese, but it didn’t really matter. Seiji would start some stage banter in Japanese and when we didn’t understand it, he’d say it louder. When he wasn’t pointing his guitar at us like it was an AK 47, he was holding his hand up in a wolf-shaped shadow puppet. It was pretty awesome.
Hooooooowwwwwwwl
Then Seiji pulled a girl on stage and gave her his guitar, coaching her through some vague directions based pretty much on mind reading. This took what seemed like 15 minutes, but wasn’t even annoying. I’m not sure how.
Universal Language of Kicking Ass
There was screaming, punching, crying, stage diving, the drummer took his shirt off, then there was a 2 minute break, and a high-octane encore just as fierce as the first half of the show. These guys are not young anymore, and I assumed they had done their worst. I was settling up at the bar when the second encore started, so I took a spot back at the soundboard to watch the remaining shenanigans. AND SHENANIGANS REMAINED.
Seiji and Billy started pulling people on stage to stage dive, starting with this tall lady in a corset and 12″ spiked mohawk. Another gal jumped off the stage chest first into an eager sea of hands that hadn’t seen second base in a long, long time. They pulled more people up, but then had them get down on all fours. It wasn’t until the second layer started that I realized they were building a pyramid.
It's a gotdamned pyramid.
Not obvious from this shitty camera phone picture, but second row from the top, on the right? That’s Kevin Schneider from The Blind Eyes. Seiji climbed to the top, his head and shoulders disappearing behind the drop ceiling, and he finished the song from there. As soon as the pyramid dismantled and the band left the stage, the club cut the power to the soundboard and turned the lights on. It was 20 minutes past curfew, and I don’t know who the really drunk dude was arguing with club management at the soundboard, but I think Guitar Wolf had at least two more encores left in them. Which is not sane. But it would have been cool.
Note: Earlier in the day, it was announced that guitar amp pioneer Jim Marshall passed away at 88 years old. Guitar Wolf’s show was definitely a fitting tribute to a man who spent most of his life helping musicians turn it up to eleven. RIP.
Ear Protection, People. It's not just for wussies.
Giveaway: Win Tickets to the LouFest 2012 Lineup Release Party
Sunburns…Sweat…Schlafly…Summer. God, I love LouFest.
And not because I blindly support any/all musical endeavors in our city, hoping upon hope that St. Louis will one day be Austin, or Brooklyn, or freaking Portland. I want mud and humidity and sincerity and worn brick and songs about river ghosts.
I don’t want St. Louis be anything other than itself.
Same goes for LouFest. It’s a boutique music festival with a goofy mix of established local bands who warm the two main stages for several buzz bands who warm the two main stages for the headliners. The snacks come from real St. Louis restaurants that serve real, quality food. The whole things feels like a big neighborhood Labor Day barbecue with a bunch of your friends (and some famous musicians).
There’s recycling. There’s free water.
LouFest is as unassuming as it has been successful over the last two years, which is very.
Bearing all this in mind, IWTAS has a pair of free tickets to the April 3rd LouFest 2012 Lineup Release Party at one of my favorite new venues, Plush. If you’re unfamiliar with the event, it’s basically a party wherein attendees get to be the very first to know which artists are playing this year’s LouFest. And as you all know, knowledge is [Internet] power.
Leave us a comment below (include a valid email) if you’d like to go to the Release Party next Tuesday – the LouFest folks have also secured The Blind Eyes and Morning Teleportation (KY) to provide music for the evening! Contest ends on Monday at noon. Good luck!
Giveaway: Win Tickets to See Jenny Owen Youngs at Off Broadway
Jenny Owen Youngs at Old Rock House last fall.
Jenny Owen Youngs returns to St. Louis this Sunday, and it would be a real shame to miss this tour, wherein JOY is playing behind her brand new full-length album, An Unwavering Band of Light. And I say this without hope or agenda: Jenny is a talented writer, musician, and occasional humorist who simply keeps getting better at what she does. I’ve spent the last couple of years witnessing her stage show improve, and I feel fortunate each time she’s able to make it to town.
If you and a friend or lover would like to go see JOY at Off Broadway for free, just leave us a comment below, RT us on Twitter, or leave us a Facebook comment (and your email address, duh). We’ll choose a random winner by 4pm on Friday. Godspeed.
IWTAS’ Bandcamp Directory to St. Louis Music
Hi. We gathered something for you.
Below, find 70-ish Bandcamp* links. We didn’t provide you with a genre or a RIYL guide. Be adventurous! Surprise your ears and yourself.
Adult Fur: http://adultfur.bandcamp.com
Allie Vogler: http://allievogler.bandcamp.com/
Andy Berkhout: http://andyberkhout.bandcamp.com/
Animal Empty: http://animalempty.bandcamp.com/
Beth Bombara: http://bethbombara.bandcamp.com/
Black for a Second: http://blackforasecond1.bandcamp.com/
The Blind Nils: http://theblindnils.bandcamp.com/
Bo & the Locomotive: http://boandthelocomotive.bandcamp.com/
Bo is his name, and mid-fi bedroom pop is his game.
The Breaks: http://therealbreaks.bandcamp.com/
Britches: http://britchesbritches.bandcamp.com/
Bruiser Queen: http://bruiserqueen.bandcamp.com/
Bug Chaser: http://bugchaser.bandcamp.com/
Burrowss: http://burrowss.bandcamp.com/
Cassie Morgan: http://cassiemorgan.bandcamp.com/
Catholic Guilt: http://catholicguilt.bandcamp.com/
Campfire Club: http://thecampfireclub.bandcamp.com/
The Conformists: http://sounds.theconformists.com/
Cosmic Afterthoughts: http://cosmicafterthoughts.bandcamp.com/
The Dive Poets: http://thedivepoets.bandcamp.com/
The Dive Poets.
DJ Mahf: http://dj-mahf.bandcamp.com/
Doom Town: http://doomtownstl.bandcamp.com/
Dots Not Feathers: http://dotsnotfeathersmusic.bandcamp.com/
Dubb Nubb: http://dubbnubb.bandcamp.com/
Durango: http://durango.bandcamp.com/
Eric Hall: http://erichall.bandcamp.com/
ESCALADE: http://escaladestl.bandcamp.com/
Everything Went Black: http://everythingwentblack.bandcamp.com/
FarFetched (art+music collective): http://farfetched.bandcamp.com/
Firebrand Recording: http://firebrandrecording.bandcamp.com/
Firebrand's Bandcamp features a song or two from most of their artists.
Fister: http://fister.bandcamp.com/
Funky Butt Brass Band: http://funkybuttbrassband.bandcamp.com/
GaragePunk Records: http://grgpnkrecords.bandcamp.com/
The Gorge: http://thegorge.bandcamp.com/
Hidden Lakes: http://hiddenlakes.bandcamp.com/
HUMDRUM: http://humdrum.bandcamp.com/
HUMDRUM. Photo by Bryan Sutter: http://www.ishotguydebord.com/
I Hate Punk Rock Records: http://ihatepunkrock.bandcamp.com/
Io Media: http://iomedia.bandcamp.com/
Illphonics: http://illphonics.bandcamp.com/
it!: http://itmusic.bandcamp.com/
Jack Buck: http://jackbuck.bandcamp.com/
Jack Buck's 7" packaging is a thing of wooden beauty.
Jump Starts: http://jumpstarts.bandcamp.com/
Kid Counselor: http://kidcounselor.bandcamp.com/
Kid Scientist: http://kidscientist.bandcamp.com/
KWUR Radio (live sessions from local + national artists): http://kwur.bandcamp.com/
Lantern Lights: http://lanternlightsmusic.com/
LTSFTG: http://lasttoshowfirsttogo.bandcamp.com/
LTSFTG. Photo by Woody: http://www.coreywoodruff.com/
Leslie Sanazaro: http://lesliesanazaro.bandcamp.com/
Lonesome Cowboy Ryan: http://lonesomecowboyryan.bandcamp.com/
Mathias: http://mathias.bandcamp.com/
The Mhurs: http://themhurs.bandcamp.com/
Middle Class Fashion: http://middleclassfashion.bandcamp.com/
Jenn Malzone of Middle Class Fashion and Tight Pants Syndrome.
Mikey Wehling: http://mikeywehling.com/
My Molly: http://mymollymusic.bandcamp.com/
Navigator: http://navigatorstl.bandcamp.com/
née: http://neemusic.bandcamp.com/
New 4-piece née! Photo by Nate Burrell: http://www.beforetheblink.com/.
The Night Grinder: http://thenightgrinder.bandcamp.com/
Ockum’s Razor: http://ockumsrazor.bandcamp.com/
Old Lights: http://oldlights.bandcamp.com/
The Orbz: http://theorbz.bandcamp.com/
The Orbz's Jason Robinson.
Ou Où: http://ouou.bandcamp.com/
Peach: http://peach.bandcamp.com/
Picture Day: http://picturedaystl.bandcamp.com/
Pretty Little Empire: http://prettylittleempire.bandcamp.com
Justin Johnson of Pretty Little Empire.
Prince Ea: http://princeea.bandcamp.com/
Ra Cailum: http://racailum.bandcamp.com/
Rockwell Knuckles: http://rockwellknuckles1.bandcamp.com/
Scarlet Tanager: http://scarlettanager.bandcamp.com/
Shaved Women: http://shavedwomen.bandcamp.com/
Since 1902: http://since1902music.bandcamp.com/
The Skekses: http://theskekses.bandcamp.com/
Elly Herget and Evan O'Neal are The Skekses.
Sleepy Kitty: http://sleepykitty.bandcamp.com/
Spelling Bee: http://spellingbee.bandcamp.com/
STL DIY (hardcore/punk/noise/metal): http://stldiyradio.bandcamp.com/
STL LOUD: http://stlloud.bandcamp.com/
Superhero Killer: http://superherokiller.bandcamp.com/
Swords and Horns: http://swordsandhorns.bandcamp.com/
Tef Poe: http://tefpoemusic.bandcamp.com/
Teresa Jenee: http://teresajenee.bandcamp.com/
Thee Fine Lines: http://theefinelines.bandcamp.com/
Theresa Payne: http://theresapayne.bandcamp.com/
Tight Pants Syndrome: http://tightpantssyndrome.bandcamp.com/
TIRC Records: http://tircrecords.bandcamp.com/
Tok: http://tokandroll.bandcamp.com/
Trotting Bear: http://trottingbear.bandcamp.com/
The Union Electric: http://theunionelectric.bandcamp.com/
Union Tree Review: http://uniontreereview.bandcamp.com/
Tawaine Noah of Union Tree Review.
Various Hands: http://varioushands.bandcamp.com/
Via Dove: http://viadove.bandcamp.com/
VOLCANOES: http://hugevolcanoes.bandcamp.com/
The Warbuckles: http://warbuckles.bandcamp.com/
Yankee Racers: http://yankeeracers.bandcamp.com/
While I did spend hours going through the music tagged “St. Louis”, “St Louis”, or “Saint Louis” on Bandcamp, you’ll no doubt want to tell me which bands I inevitably missed. Please do, in the comment section below! I’ll (most likely) add them to this list for posterity.
* Why only Bandcamp? Because it’s a clean, user-friendly, ad-free way to legally stream and buy music directly from artists. There are also little bonus bits floating around on BC sites for concert calendars, song lyrics, etc. Nothing too fancy, just the good stuff. Like a meat and cheese sandwich.
Show Review: Water Liars @ Off Broadway
When you spend a fair portion of your time trolling for music news, show reviews, and up-and-coming new bands, you can quickly lose perspective on the definition of “obscure.” Late last fall, when I caught wind of Justin Kinkel-Schuster’s new music partnership with Mississippi multi-instrumentalist Andrew Bryant, it wasn’t through the normal local music channels. Misra Records (out of Dayton, OH) had just yank-started a publicity machine, churning out unhedged praise for this sludgy blues-folk-rock outfit that sprung fully-formed from 3-days’ seclusion in a house in Mississippi. After I caught their only show of 2011 at The Billiken Club, it became clear that whatever went down in 2012, this duo wouldn’t stay in St. Louis.
Friday marked the first night of Water Liars’ month-long tour and the official release of their debut album, Phantom Limb, at Off Broadway. It was a weird night; the show started wicked late and the audience was a little impatient, but Water Liars came correct and were flawless.
Who can pull off a suit jacket over a sweatshirt with the hood pulled up over a ball cap? Andrew Bryant.
My favorite moment of the night was the performance of “Fresh Hell/Is It Well?” The album track features a recording of Aleister Crowley reading his poem, “The Pentogram,” but live, Kinkel-Schuster recited it instead, humbly apologizing to the original author at the end of the song.
Fresh Hell/Is It Well? (Video shot and generously shared by Abby Gillardi).
The isolation and raw introspection of Phantom Limb should make it a difficult sell for a live show, but the guys’ default kindness and gratitude, and obvious respect and affection for each other, make up for the sadness of the subject matter. The songs are smart, the voices sweet, and there’s plenty of noise to complicate the simplicity of a guitar-and-drum duo. If you get the chance to catch them on their tour, please do, and keep an ear out for their upcoming set on Daytrotter (recording on March 2nd). With NPR mentions, SXSW gigs, and a shit-ton of blog attention, Water Liars won’t stay obscure, in any sense of the word, for much longer.
Be sure to read Eleven Magazine’s review of the show, with Tara Pham’s far superior pictures.
Frank Turner at Off Broadway, or Thank You Sir, May I Have Another?
Off Broadway, St. Louis
2/21/2012
I’m no punk. I don’t understand what makes a person think, “This performance is so good, I have to slam into a stranger to properly convey how excited I am right now.” But I’ve been to some crazy shows where I’ve gotten hit, punched, kicked, and pushed. I’ve had beer spilled on me, beer poured on me, entire cans of beer tossed at me (not on purpose, but still). I’ve been to a few shows where I’ve feared for my personal safety, and at least one of them, I left a few songs in to keep from winding up a casualty of the pit. Last night, however. Last night was the first time I’ve ever feared for my life with a smile on my face.
If you weren’t standing near the center of the wooden part of the floor at Off Broadway, you just don’t know how close you were to ending up on the news. Yes, Frank Turner and his entire band, with their coordinated collared button down shirts translucent with sweat, gasped for breath in the thick heat of the room. Everyone in the room and even up in the balcony heard the British folk punk band plow through seventeen gorgeous songs of protest, pride, agony and angst, and they all heard Turner serve up a steady stream of faultless witty banter between his bad ass bar songs. But what you couldn’t know if you weren’t on that floor near center stage, was that every single time a song got loud, the fucking floorboards bowed like they were made of rubber. At least eight times, I fully prepared myself for the inevitable chaos that would ensue when my sober ass crashed into the basement with all these drunken bastards.
And yet, I never considered leaving. As everyone around me shouted lyrics, punched the air (and my head, by accident) and waved their cans of PBR in the air, I absorbed the pushes and shoves with glee. When the encore was over and the band left the stage, my socks were soaked with spilled beer and I had a buzz from the leftover adrenaline rush you only get when you think for a few minutes you might die. No, it wasn’t the first time I’ve gotten beat up at a show, but it was indeed the first time, and probably the only time, I’ve ever enjoyed it. It was Mardi Gras, in a city named after a French saint, in the middle of middle America. It was the night before Christians have to admit their mortality and start the soul cleansing Lenten season, and Frank Turner got a hundred plus people to clap and sing THERE IS NO GOD.
Yeah, 2012. Top That Shit.
Interview: Justin Kinkel-Schuster Opens Up About His New Project, Water Liars
If you even casually follow music media in or around this town, you’ve seen a blurry, black and white photo of two shirtless, (literally) smoking dudes popping up all over the place as of late. The two young men in question are Justin Kinkel-Schuster and Andrew Bryant of the new duo, Water Liars, who release their debut album this Friday at Off Broadway. JKS answered a few of my questions about Phantom Limb and what’s in store for the band.
Credit: Rachel Sleeman/Misra Records
Tell me a little about how you and Andrew came to be Water Liars. What’s it like to be living and working together in separate states?
Andrew and I became Water Liars sort of by accident. He and I have been friends for a long time, and about a year ago I asked him if I could come down for a weekend to visit and have him record some songs I’d been working on. Andrew’s always recorded all of his own songs in his house in Pittsboro, MS, and I’ve always loved the way his songs and records sound. I wanted to see what would happen if he worked on my songs. As it turned out, he and I basically share a brain and as soon as we started recording, it was clear that we were onto something that at least the two of us though was pretty alright.
When Andrew had some rough mixes, I sent those to Leo DeLuca over at Misra and he was as excited about them as Andrew and I were and wanted to release them properly, at which point Andrew and I decided that we ought to be a band.
Are you trying to create a sound that’s different than [now defunct] Theodore? What, if any, elements of the old band do you plan to maintain?
I’m not trying to do anything with Water Liars other than just be simple. Not overthink anything. Just do the best I can to follow my instincts without making myself or anyone else insane. To let the work stand for itself and either live or die by the songs and our voices.
I think the songs will sound similar [to Theodore] to most people, just because that’s the way I tend to write and I’m not really interested anymore in trying to force songs into any shape other than what they seem to ask for.
Do you have a favorite track off the record? Why is it close to your heart?
This whole record is close to my heart in that it’s the one and only time in my life so far that I have felt such an unrestrained and simple and unpremeditated joy in making music with my friend, and it came at a time when I really needed to find out if that was possible.
After the release show, what’s next for Water Liars?
After the record release, we’re playing at Vintage Vinyl on 2/28 – the official release date – and then hitting the road on March 1st through the 31st, making our way down to SXSW and around the Midwest and mid-South, with stops at Daytrotter and a couple other festivals in there as well. Then more touring, etc. Trying to make it work and pay the dues, if not the rent.
Photo Courtesy of Misra Records.
Notes:
– KDHX recently a debuted a new pre-release streaming feature on their website, Hear and Now. The first spotlight is on none other than Water Liars and their Phantom Limb. Check it.
– The Riverfront Times just reviewed the album for its Homespun series.
– More information on Friday’s show at Off Broadway can be found here.
Giveaway: Win a Pair of Tickets to Black Joe Lewis & the Honeybears at Off Broadway!
I beseech you, don’t miss out on the chance to see a kick ass (there’s no better way to describe it) show this Wednesday at Off Broadway. Austin’s Black Joe Lewis & the Honeybears are riding into town, and they’re poised and ready to rock/punk/blues your socks off.
www.blackjoelewis.com
Touring in support of their 2011 release, Scandalous, the band shows glimmers of so many different styles of music that critics have been hard pressed to shove them into a single category; listeners are all the better for it.
Opening the night is our own Warms Jets USA, fronted by musician/producer/all-around STL booster Jason Hutto. An unassuming hero of local music, you’ve heard Hutto’s contributions all over - the show will be a chance to experience his talent in person.
Warm Jets crafts sturdy, loud songs, so if you’re expecting b.s. or weirdness for weirdness’ sake, you’ll be sorely disappointed. But if you’re one who likes standing in the middle of a rock club, feeling the pulse of a song in the center of your chest, Warm Jets USA is a band just for you.
Off Broadway’s been kind enough to gift IWTAS with a pair of tickets to Wednesday’s show. All you have to do is leave us a comment below or on Facebook. Don’t delay – this is gonna be a big one. Deadline entry is Tuesday, February 14th at noon. Remember to include a real life email address.
For more info to the show, and to RSVP, go to here.
Pretty Little Empire Releases Video for “All I Know”
We live in an age dominated by one-take shoots, where everyone and their baby sister has access to digital SLRs and #feelings. So St. Louis music fans should be pleasantly surprised by this slick new music video, which is Pretty Little Empire‘s second in as many years. Both were directed by Justin Hayward. “All I Know” was recorded at R&R Music Labs.
Those who know singer and songwriter Justin Johnson (a movie buff, lover of film, and documentary director in his own right) shouldn’t be surprised that PLE has spent so much time, energy, and resources on the creation of their music videos. Awash in black and white and shot with intentional choppiness, the “All I Know” video might be the closest one can get to understanding what a Pretty Little Empire show is really like (my comment is directed, of course, at the dozen or so St. Louisans who’ve yet to see them play live).
PLE performing at I Went To A Showcase. Photo by Nate Burrell.
As far as updates go, PLE has been recording at Native Sound (preview a new one, “Gold on the Radio”, on RFT Music) and laying a bit low as drummer Evan O’Neal has been recovering from ACL surgery. Expect to see their faces out in public as a band again real soon.
