Top Shows of 2011: Musicians
This first post is from St. Louis musicians and the shows that inspired them. Enjoy Melinda and Travis’ explanation of the same concert, Evan’s crazy Halloween night, and shows so good they made Stephen think about quitting music
Melinda Cooper plays bass, drums, and guitar for The Union Electric, Celia’s Big Rock Band and Town Cars.
Sebadoh at Off Broadway - 4/2/11
I would have paid $50 to see them in a crappy venue, but to get to see them at Off Broadway? For whatever under $50 amount it was? Even better. They played everything. And they played everything fast and hard. This show was one big manic superfan freak out after another. Seriously, any time you get to stand in front of the stage and sing/yell along with the band and several of your closest friends is, of course, always going to be the best show ever.
Bottoms Up Blues Gang’s 10th Anniversary Party at Venice Café – 8/20/11
BUBG is always a good time and Venice is surreal on a regular night. This combination on this night in particular was so.much.fun. Nobody cared that it was about 130 degrees Fahrenheit outside or about the jam packed-ness. There was a major Muppet Show vibe in the place. There were hipsters, bluesers, bikers, old couples, young couples, random Cardinals fans who wandered in – there was even a baby in a pair of big blue headphones up front. Some people were so into it they were using their 12” of room to “dance”, which was more along the lines of bumping into strangers while hugging. BUBG brought it, too. Jeremy and Kari were gussied up and gorgeous, perfectly on, and looked like they were having a total blast with a host of guest musicians ready to hop in and out of the set all night. I love this band.
Gillian Welch at The Pageant – 9/3/11
It was another 130 degree night. No power, no drinks, no air-conditioning…no kidding, it was really awesome. I got to sit with some dear friends whom I never get to see, got to hear great music and funny stories from Welch and Rawlings, and was part of a huge sing-a-long that got me all weepy. Then there was also the Bombara Bonus in the Halo Bar after the show which came complete with lights and a/c. Turns out I’d been in a big dark room with a bunch of pals all night and didn’t even know it. We spent the rest of the night singing along with Beth and recapping the unbelievable show we’d seen an hour earlier. I don’t mean to come off sounding this sappy about it, but it really was the shit.
Travis Bursik is one half of experimental electronic band Ou Où (http://ouou.bandcamp.com/) and one half of DJ duo Dub Wand. He likes bands that have the good sense to break up when they need to, and thinks second encores are embarrassing for everyone.
Benoit Pioulard, A Winged Victory for the Sullen, Ken Camden at Off Broadway – 11/5/2011
Three Kranky Records artists joined forces for a rare and woefully underattended show at Off Broadway. It was Benoit Pioulard’s first show in St. Louis and likely his last as he’s moving to Europe. His beautiful, delicate songs float atop a sea of Basinski-style tape loops and rippling echo. Last year’s “Lasted” is Pioulard’s most graceful and refined work so far, though I remember saying that about the album before that as well as the album before that. Sweeping, ecstatic performances from solo guitar player Ken Camden and string-and-drone group AWVftS helped create a lovely, memorable evening.
Disappears, .e at Billiken Club – 5/5/2011
Disappears is a band for people that think songs with three chords are too flashy. Featuring Brian Case (ex-90 Day Men) and Steve Shelley (from that one band), Disappears played their emphatic motorik garage rock with punch and clarity. Formed in 2008, they already have two singles, a live album, and two (soon to be three) records under their belt. They had just released their second album in January 2011 and were already playing new material, including a cover of Suicide’s “Radiation.” They make your favorite band look downright lazy by comparison.
Merle Haggard, Kris Kristofferson at Fox – 3/9/2011
Being able to see either Merle Haggard or Kris Kristofferson is rare enough, but to see them perform together was not an opportunity to be missed. Although Kristofferson was nursing a sore throat and a weak voice, the two singers drew from their fifty year catalogs and played just about everything you would want them to play. My wife was moved to tears when they closed with “Pancho and Lefty,” and it was as satisfying an experience as, well, as satisfying as hearing Merle Haggard close with “Pancho and Lefty.”
Sebadoh, Richard Buckner, Colour Revolt at Off Broadway – 4/2/2011
This year, the classic Sebadoh lineup reunited and proved that they still got it! By it, I mean their reputation as spoiled, petulant jerks. Seriously, what a bunch of babies. It was impossible to reconcile the Lou Barlow that sang his embarrassing and earnest teen poetry anthems with the Lou Barlow that berated the crowd and threatened to stop the show unless someone brought him some goddamn duct tape right goddamn now. Subtlety was never their strong point, and over the past fifteen years they’ve aged like fine whine. They dicked around through the rest of their set, taking their sweet time to tune, cast sidelong looks at each other and mutter under their breath. Richard Buckner performed a tasteful and solid opening set, but his efforts were no match for the extended temper tantrum that followed.
Evan Sult sings and bangs drums for the acclaimed St. Louis duo Sleepy Kitty.
Some Fine Moments from 2011
There’s something about a show at El Lenador that lends itself to legend. For some dumb reason or other, Sleepy Kitty’s never even played there yet, but not for lack of love.
Halloween weekend was a crazy one for shows—we must have seen ten bands in the span of that seemingly endless stretch of costumes and cold snap. Monday night, though, the actual Halloween night, was the winner. We started out at the Firebird watching Mates of State, who were tearing it up with her dressed up as a cop and the rest of the band as her prisoners…. But we’d heard tell that Little Big Bangs were doing their version of the Velvet Underground at El Lenador, so despite the comforts of the Firebird we headed back to Cherokee. The crowd looked amazing, but the real story was the fucked-up spectacle of a confused and excited Little Big Bangs on stage. Their versions of “Head Held High,” “Inside Your Heart,” “Run Run Run” and “All Tomorrow’s Parties” were so electric and crazy, it felt more like I imagine a Velvet Underground show would have felt than if they actually sounded like VU. Which they didn’t, really. They sounded like the thing I like inside Velvet Underground songs, that tweaky gnashing nervous energy sizzling right through the chords. It felt like a real thing.
There were so many good shows this year! tUnE-yArDs blew my mind wide open at Off Broadway, So Many Dynamos and MSIF transformed Foam into a sweaty dance club, the Black Angels swept in on the tails of a dozen tornado warnings at Old Rock House, and one of our favorite bands from Chicago or anywhere else, Bailiff, opened for JC Brooks & the Uptown Sound at Off Broadway and claimed the room for their own (they’ll be back soon—don’t miss them). We got to open for Deerhoof at the Luminary! In the waning minutes of the year, Blind Eyes and Kentucky Knife Fight combined forces to make the new year timeless.
But even so… the sound I hear in the back of my mind goes “Buh-bub-buh-buh-buh-buh-buh-buh-buh-buh-buh-buh-buh-buh-buh-buh Bunnygrunt!” Warm Jets USA had just killed a set of other people’s songs to celebrate the release of their own new album. We’d been catching them every time we could, but the only cover we recognized this time was their blazing version of “Loveless.” Every song was a new flash of recognition that made me understand their roots a little better. I don’t remember if Googlplexia was a part of that show, but as far as I care it was because I always picture Rob in a smoking jacket and wireless mic weaving his way through that room singing some Frenchy thing or other. But the end of the night was the amazing thing. Bunnygrunt fired through their reliably super-excellent set of songs and kicked into an end-of-night jam that grew further and further out of control, til a guy probably everyone in the room knew but me picked up an abandoned mic and started his weird little band-name chant. It got big, then bigger, then bigger, then he got sort of nudged out of the way…but he came back with a whispered version of the chant while the band played on and half the crowd joined in on percussion, and it’s that irrepressible chant that Paige and I have been repeating to each other at odd moments through the rest of the year.
Another musical moment I’m thankful to’ve seen arrived via 2720. We caught the promising sound of a good band through the wall, so we checked it out and sure enough it was the Chicago band Cave, who we’d been hearing about but hadn’t gotten a proper listen to. Their set was good and we were enjoying it, but then they started into a piece that felt so damn perfect it was like I’d been waiting to hear it for years. The rhythms all curled around themselves in curving spirals and the patterns pinwheeled all around my head and it just went on and on and I couldn’t get enough. They’re a good band, but at the moment they are primarily the shepherds of this one perfect song, this 14-minute musical M C Escher trick, which they knew enough to call “This Is the Best.” I respectfully agree.
I’m sure, quite sure, that we heard and saw (and played) other moments as fine as these in 2011, but I’ve never been a keeper of lists, so I must rely on the flashes of light in the darkness. To 2011, to 2012—chin chin!
Stephen Baier- I am the guitarist/vocalist for Dots Not Feathers and an avid show-attender. When not at a show, I enjoy dominoes and hot tea.
1) Fleet Foxes at The Pageant – 7/19/2011
Being entirely truthful, Fleet Foxes is my favorite band in the world. Still, as giddy as I was, even I had enough sense to understand I was watching a truly transcendent performance.
2) St. Vincent at Old Rock House – 10/6/11
Simultaneously made me fall in love and quit music in one fell swoop.
3) Old Lights Like Strangers Release Show at Off Broadway – 7/15/2011
Simultaneously made me fall in love and quit music in one fell swoop. And getting to see the always impressive and jovial folks in the Blind Eyes solidified my deep adoration of this show. I left Off Broadway craving to go home and practice.
IWTAS Welcomes: Samantha Crain with Old Lights at Off Broadway
IWTAS hosts Samantha Crain w/ Old Lights at Off Broadway on 1/25/12.
So this isn’t technically a show announcement, as Samantha Crain’s St. Louis date with Old Lights at Off Broadway has been written on the venue’s website (and our hearts) for at least a month. However, we’d like to formally ask you to clear the schedules for about three hours on January 25th, 2011. You won’t want to miss this.
(Behold my favorite song from Crain’s 2010 release, You (Understood), “Santa Fe”.)
Crain is no stranger to our city, having played solo and opened shows for perennial favorites like Langhorne Slim earlier this year. Roy Kasten even called her an Oklahoma gem back in 2009. St. Louis’ unabashedly adored Old Lights will be a fitting musical companion to Crain’s twang-laced rock and roll that’s lucid and lyrical and plays much wiser than her twenty-some odd years.
We’re fortunate enough (after some light groveling/begging) to be hosting the show on the 25th, so stay tuned to IWTAS for updates, certainly a ticket giveaway, and maybe even some other games and/or prizes.
Odds ‘n Ends:
– You (Understood) is available on Amazon right now for a mere $5.
– Ms. Crain played at the KDHX studio in 2010 and this song turned out very beautiful and full of #feelings.
– RSVP to Samantha Crain and Old Lights at Off Broadway on January 25th here.
How to Succeed at Attending a Local Show Without Really Trying: A Miniature Concert Calendar
While going through my day planner (read: Facebook events) recently, I realized something very special was happening at the end of this week: a plethora of shows featuring some of my most favorite local musicians. Let’s sit here together and browse what’s going on December 7th through 11th, while I make short arguments in favor of your attendance at each event:
Wednesday, 12/7: Stag Nite feat. Old Capital Square Dance Club, Paper Dolls, the Fab Foehners, and Hooten Hallers (COMO) at El Lenador – $5.
Leave it to Johnny Vegas to allow a bill wherein the only mutual characteristic among the bands is “Goes real good with whiskey”. For a fiver this Wednesday, enjoy a bunch of good songs in a seriously relaxed atmosphere (think chairs, chatting, and whimsically inaccurate start times) at this blog’s favorite German pub/Mexican restaurant/Concert venue. Also, get the tacos el pastor.
One half of the cowpunk duo Hooten Hallers performing earlier this year at El Lenador.
Thursday, 12/8: The Union Electric and Time & Time with Scouts (KC) at Heavy Anchor – $5. We’ve talked about UE several times before (in our last post even). I’ve yet to see Time & Time perform live (I’ll be there Thursday so chillax). From what I’ve heard, I like Scouts, and not just because my aunt owns a pug who shares the same name (albeit in the singular form).
Friday, 12/9: Bo & the Locomotive and Middle Class Fashion with Santah (CHI) at Jefferson Warehouse – $5. Bo, Andy, and Steven released the full-length On My Way this year, assuredly to critical acclaim. I didn’t take the time to find out how the album fared with the local news outlets as I was too busy plummeting out-of-town friends’ mailboxes and inboxes with mixtapes featuring tracks like this:
We’re also pretty sure that MCF just got done havin’ their debut record all mixed up, so show up on Friday for tunes from that forthcoming piece of work.
Friday, 12/9: last to show first to go’s “Farmer John” EP Release Show at the Sheldon – $10 (includes a hard copy of the EP!). The notoriously well-dressed dudes and lady of ltsftg have stacked their EP release line-up full of local treats. Jump Starts, who released a spark plug of a debut album in 2011, will support ltsftg along with Treehouse.
Last To Show First To Go – Farmer John (A Show Me Show) from Jarred Gastreich on Vimeo.
Friday, 12/9: Cassie Morgan & the Lonely Pine and Insomniac Folklore with the Daredevil Christopher Wright and Caroline Smith & the Goodnight Sleeps at Lemp Neighborhood Arts Center – $5. Disclosure: The next few sentences are full of friendship #nepotism and fangirldom. I goddamn love Caroline Smith & the Goodnight Sleeps. They’ve been to St. Louis like five times in two years (I made that number and time span up), and their shows are traditionally drastically under-attended. They’re a group of happy, gracious, and kind touring musicians. Moreover, their new album, Little Wind, is as simple and moving as your favorite childhood holiday memory. Cassie and Beth (aka the Lonely Pine) are good friends who happen to be talented musical collaborators. They will rock ya real gentle-like.
Cassie Morgan & the Lonely Pine. December 2010.
Friday, 12/9: The Mhurs CD Release with Scarlet Tanager, Navigator, Noise FM and O, Giant Man (KC) at The Firebird – $8. You might head to the Mhurs release if you’re looking for a good holiday gift for the local music lover or novice in your life. The headliner will obviously have brand new wares for purchase, but STL gems Navigator and Scarlet Tanager both released notable work in 2011.
5/6ths of Scarlet Tanager.
Sunday, 12/11: Celia’s Yuletide Xpress Secular Holiday Family Sing-A-Long at Off Broadway – $8 adv/$10 dos. Not so much a family concert as it is a St. Louis institution, Celia’s Yuletide Express returns to Off Broadway this Sunday afternoon. Be a hero in your kid/niece/nephew/great-grandkid’s eyes and take them to the show. I’ll be attending childless, but in full secular holiday regalia. There will be multiple sing-a-longs.
Artist Spotlight: Mic Boshans of HUMDRUM, Union Electric, AND née
Michael “Mic” Boshans plays drums in not one, but three, St. Louis bands. He also coaches high school wrestling and slings drinks of the hot and cold variety at Foam Coffee & Beer. This metropolitan man of mystery spent some of his precious free moments with me, answering reasonably difficult questions about music and morals. To make all this easier, do take a minute to familiarize yourself with Mr. Boshans many projects:
HUMDRUM - Powerful indie pop purveyors and makers of this author’s favorite local album of 2011.
At the Pageant with HUMDRUM. Photo by Corey Woodruff.
née - Professionally glittered and occasionally choreographed electro-pop from a certain dancing queen and her court.
With Kristin Dennis of née.
Union Electric - Dark, punk-edged and country-stained musical outlet for Tim Rakel’s history-laden, politically-charged prose.
With Melinda Cooper of Union Electric.
Who was the first person who encouraged you to play the drums?
I didn’t need much encouragement. I started begging my parents for lessons when I was like 6 years old. When I was 7, I started lessons with this leather clad, bleach blond, glam metal looking woman my mom met through a friend at work. She was so cool, especially if you’re 7 years old and it’s 1988.
I can only imagine.
She had two 8 foot long boa constrictors and a drum studio in her house.
Okay now you’re shitting me.
[Laughs] I know, it’s pretty ridiculous. BUT, I was into snakes as a kid, and I was also into glam metal because I have an uncle who’s 5 years older than me. That’s what he was listening to when he was a teenager and I was a tag-along. I got over it after a few years and started to develop my own taste in music.
How’d you end up playing in three different bands concurrently?
The short answer is I have trouble saying no…
As far as HUMDRUM, initially I was in two bands that were just getting started, one with Paul (my cousin) and Phil, the other with Dan. [Ed: Paul Maguire, Phil Strangman, and Dan Meehan are all current members of HUMDRUM]. Dan had asked me to help him work on lyrics and drums for some songs he was writing, while Paul was asking me to play drums for some songs he and Phil had written. I wanted to combine the two projects to avoid ending up in four bands at once. It just seemed like the two projects had a serendipitous connection. They meshed very well together and HUMDRUM was born.
Then, Glenn [Burleigh] asked me to play in Union Electric.
And finally, after seeing Kristin’s [Dennis, of née] live set at Tap Room I immediately wanted to play drums with her, so when she asked me it was a no-brainer.
What was it like to start playing on an electronic kit with née?
I never really liked electro drums, but after playing a show or two with “real” drums with née, I agreed with [Old Lights's David] Beeman’s assessment that it was the way to go. Playing with the click was the hardest part; that’s why I wear the headphones. Née was using a sampler with some pre-recorded tracks, so I had to be perfectly in sync with her and we couldn’t adjust to each other like most bands naturally do when they play live. I had a metronome in one ear and the sample in the other. The new, full band version of née is going to be a lot more fun.
Can you talk a bit about the new 4-piece configuration, now featuring Lex Herbert and Beeman on keys and guitar, respectively?
Beeman was there from the start as the producer/sound guy who helped us pull off the live show. Then he started playing guitar on “Hands of Thieves” and that sounded cool. Kristin wanted to bring in our mutual friend Lex to play some of the lead keyboard parts to free her up a bit.
In addition to being a very busy musician, you coach high school wrestling. It’s a sport that requires viciousness and also self-control…and grace to a large extent, too. It seems that drumming requires those same characteristics. What example to you try to set for the young people you influence, either through your music or your sport?
I never really made the connection before, but I like your comparison of drumming to wrestling. To be honest, I don’t really talk to the wrestlers about my music much. As far as being an example or a positive influence…believe it or not, homophobia and sexism tend to run rampant in this sport and I refuse to be complacent to such an egregious blight on society, especially in high school boys sports.
It’s hard sometimes when other coaches tend to be equal, if not worse, perpetrators. It’s so ingrained into that culture. I just had a talk with the guys yesterday though, and told them I have a zero tolerance policy about that kind of stuff and that if I hear any of that language they’ll wish I hadn’t.
So there you have it, folks. Great musician, even better dude. Catch Mic this Saturday at Heavy Anchor as HUMDRUM shares a ticket with two more local indie acts, The Potomac Accord and Navigator. He’ll return to Heavy Anchor on Thursday December 8th, when Union Electric hosts KCMO’s Scouts and STL’s Time & Time.
There’s No Peace, There’s No Rest: A Brown Bird Preview
Earlier this year, my wife and I were lucky enough to travel to Rhode Island for the Newport Folk Festival. As with most festivals we’ve attended, there were bands on the lineup that we were not familiar with. What we didn’t expect was to come home completely enamored by those unknown-to-us bands, but that’s exactly what happened.
Photo Credit: Mikael Kennedy
One of those bands is Brown Bird. Consisting of just two people, David Lamb and MorganEve Swain, Brown Bird pulls their influence from a variety of traditional genres, but their haunted sound is their own. Dark lyrics tell the stories of struggle and hard labor, of a life that’s not easy but rewarding. Lamb’s drum kicks and banjo plucks combined with Swain’s thumping upright bass will induce a foot stomping jig for those listening. Strong vocals and gorgeous harmonies from both will have you hanging on every word of those dark stories.
Ahead of their November 8th show at the Duck Room with Devil Makes Three (another stand out from the Newport Folk Festival), I had the extreme pleasure of a short Q&A with the band:
My first time hearing Brown Bird play live was at Newport Folk Festival this past summer and my fingers have been crossed for a St. Louis show ever since. Will this be your first time playing here?
This will be our first St. Louis show. Growing up in Southern Illinois I spent quite a bit of time there so it’ll be great to come back to see the city as an adult and to play music there for the first time.
The Sound of Ghosts and the recently released LP Salt for Salt seem to carry more energy compared to the previous albums. Was that a focused effort or did that happen naturally after trimming down to a duo?
We did set out to try and capture more of the energy that has been evolving in our music and live shows with these recent releases. We recorded them live in the studio with very minimal overdubs so that what you’re hearing on them is a lot like what you’ll hear at the live shows.
St. Louis knows and loves Deer Tick and The Low Anthem, both based out of Rhode Island. It seems like the music community up there would be fairly tight knit, is that the case?
The music community in the Providence area is pretty tight knit. There’s a very diverse array of really great bands there right now and you’ll find a good deal of collaboration and guest musicians showing up here and there. The other great part about the music scene there is that people go out and support bands of all different genres so you’ll see a lot of cross over from fans of noise, metal, indie and Americana bands out at lots of shows.
Brown Bird is opening for Devil Makes Three at the Duck Room this Tuesday (November 8th). I’ll be the one up front with the perma-grin.
Notes:
Brown Bird was recently featured as the cover story for Performer Magazine.
Pop Matters reviewed Brown Bird’s latest album, Salt for Salt.
Truth in Analog: An Interview with The Campfire Club
The creation of Campfire Club’s debut album, Tin Can Telephone, all began on January 1st, 2010. Now, over twenty-two months later, having experienced numerous line-up changes alongside technical hardships and 1-2 muggings, Ryne Watts’ motley crew crowds together in a South City recording studio and practice space, passing a plastic pint of whiskey. CC chatted IWTAS about crazy shows, recording on vinyl, and the importance of being earnest in songwriting.
Smilin' Ryne Watts of Campfire Club. Photo by IWTAS.
Talk to us about a memorable show here in St. Louis.
We played Petra, the tiny hookah lounge [on Grand]. It was absurdly loud and overwhelming, but everyone ended up dancing. We played with Middle Class Fashion, and they totally had a drag show in between the sets. It was awesome! The drag queens were helping to get everyone dancing.
I was leaning against the window and could feel it shaking. I think that makes the best kind for show for us. Whenever we play somewhere that we feel we don’t belong, it ends up being great. We kind of like ridiculous odds.
St. Louis men in St. Louis shirts. Photo by IWTAS.
What caused you guys to release Tin Can Telephone on vinyl, since it’s more expensive and laborious to produce?
A couple of us in the band are kind of audiophiles. Once we decided we wanted the record on vinyl, we also wanted to make it analog, or as analog as possible. So we drove to Texas and bought this tape machine and went for it. Plus, [band member] Daniel is an audio engineer. Trying to get the best product we could using older methods of recording was a good challenge, and it lent itself to the type of music Campfire Club makes.
There’s songs on the album that are just meant to sound a little old-timey. And honestly, when we got the test pressing and heard that first crackle, hiss, and pop, we just got really giddy. It was a lot of fuckin’ work, but we think it was worth it.
Daniel of Campfire Club. Photo by IWTAS.
Ryne, explain the inspiration behind the songs on the record, which vary from sarcastic and a bit playful to pretty gut-wrenching.
[Laughs] IT SOUNDS LIKE FREEDOM!!! No, but seriously, I feel like I want to represent that laid back, Midwest attitude.
[Band member interjection --->] But not white trash.
No, no! Not that laid back. It’s true, we live in a big little city and so many people are connected. Every song I’ve written is the truth. Real songs about my real life…with a bit of poetic license, of course. I mean, I’m broke all the time and I don’t care [laughs]. I drink, and smoke, and party, and write songs. And sure, there are sad songs on there; you can’t fully realize the actuality of joy without experiencing some pain.
Storytelling Ryne. By Annie McCance.
That said, I don’t take life very seriously. I mean, I’ve been robbed three times in recent memory. The last time was like four days ago. They stole my wallet, my cell phone, my guitar and ALL the posters for the release show. So I just wrote a song about it. Hey, do you wanna hear it?
Ryne wrote a quick little tune about gettin’ robbed. Check out our bootleg edition.
Campfire Club – Untitled (Ryne got robbed)
Jaffa plays bass and uke in Campfire Club. Photo by IWTAS.
Notes:
On Saturday, Campfire Club releases Tin Can Telephone at The Heavy Anchor with special guests Scarlet Tanager and The Skekses. Details here.
The Riverfront Times’ Christian Schaeffer reviewed TCT this week.
Check out more photos from our time with the band on Flickr. We hope to see all you on Saturday!
Tin Can Telephone. Photo by IWTAS.
Preview: Someone Still Loves You Boris Yeltsin @ The Firebird
You might remember the last time Springfield pop rockers Someone Still Loves You Boris Yeltsin graced our city, way back last January. We’ve had a lot of time to think about them since then. And they’ve had time to put out what is essentially the best possible introduction to a 10-year old band, Tape Club, a compilation of a decade of demos, b-sides and rarities that are just as amazing as anything they’ve recorded for real.
It looks like Polyvinyl’s all out of the limited edition 18o gram marble vinyl, but they’re only selling 3k of the CD/ t-shirt, too, so get on that if you’re buying. But this is a preview! On Friday, November 4th, Someone Still Loves You Boris Yeltsin returns to St. Louis, this time, as headliners! The Firebird is hosting a full evening of Midwestern mayhem with St. Louis cuties (and 2011 RFT Best New Band winners) Dots Not Feathers and Champaign-Urbana hotstuffs Elsinore.
Things this Friday night show will be better than:
- Getting your braces off before school picture day
- Putting on underpants fresh from the dryer
- Waking up thinking you slept late, then realizing it’s Saturday
- Finding out there’s no such thing as a brain cloud and you’re going to be fine
Huddle up, cats and kittens. Here’s the thing: This might be the last time you can see SSLYBY in a club venue. They’re blowing up nationally. They’re on a pretty big tour and they’re spreading the love from sea to sea. The bandwagon still has room right now, but we’re not saving seats, so see you there!
IWTAS on the Road: Avett Brothers with Social Distortion at Bridgestone Arena
We like to keep our talented friends close…we also like when they go far away and bring back the spoils of their victories in the form of ridiculous concert photos and spot-on reviews. Today, we bring you a special IWTAS on the Road feature from our friend and your favorite Corey Woodruff. He shot and reviewed the unique double-bill of the Avett Brothers with Social Distortion, and he had a pretty fine time:
Photo by Corey Woodruff.
For the life of me, I couldn’t figure out why cowpunk legends Social Distortion were tapped to support the Avett Brothers last Friday in Nashville, but I’m sincerely glad they opened the show. Mike Ness and company were in stellar form, plowing through original staples like “Bad Luck” and rocked-up takes on country classics.
Photo by Corey Woodruff.
Sure, they may have been performing on a huge stage in a cavernous hockey arena with a lighting rig and sound system that would do Bono justice, but the sacred stage of Ryman Amphitheater was just a hundred feet away and Ness paid fitting tribute in that huge arena to the legends that graced the original home of the Grand Ole Opry.
Photo by Corey Woodruff.
The band’s version of Hank Williams’ “Six More Miles” followed an introduction that involved Ness betting on Williams over Sid Vicious in a fight, and the Orange County troubadours closed their set with a snarling version of the Cash classic, “Ring Of Fire”.
Photo by Corey Woodruff.
Never having seen Avett Bros. live, I wondered how the young folk-pop group could possibly follow the wall of sound that preceded them. But when I emerged from the backstage media room to shoot their set, I was greeted with a huge painted curtain draped across the front of the stage that obscured a candle-lit set adorned with flowers. And when the curtain dropped as they took the stage, I could tell from the roar of the enthusiastic (some might say, obsessive) crowd that I should expect something special.
Photo by Corey Woodruff.
Throughout their two hour(!) set, the band mutated on stage from a five-piece, banjo-fueled pop powerhouse (“Go To Sleep”, “January Wedding”) to a stripped-down acoustic duo featuring Seth and Scott Avett crooning weepers (at times solo) behind a single mic at the apron of the stage (“Ballad Of Love And Hate”, “Murder In The City”).
Photo by Corey Woodruff.
The show’s energy revved back up as cellist Joe Kwon and drummer Jacob Edwards returned to the stage for a soaring version of “And It Spread” before the band finished their set with “Head Full Of Doubt” and “Talk of Indolence”.
Photo by Corey Woodruff.
The three song encore predictably featured the poppy “Kick Drum Heart” and heart wrenching “I And Love And You” before the Avetts were joined by bassist Bob Crawford as they gathered together for an a capella version of the gospel standard “Down In The Valley To Pray”. It was a beautiful way to end a night of music that evoked every human emotion possible.
Photo by Corey Woodruff.
A Very Local Halloween Show Round Up
Our favorite aspect of Halloween might be the time-honored tradition of grown ass adults squeezing into all manner and color of synthetic fabric to celebrate one night (or weekend, or week even) of alcohol and candy-fueled debauchery. Luckily, a ton of local bands have set up shows in an effort to provide musical accompaniment to your creepy, costumed jaunts around the city.
Below, IWTAS has rounded up several concerts happening over the next week that have an especially local feel (the hyperlinked dates will provide all the pertinent show-going info). Whether you’re dressed up or dressed down, we bet you’ll end up dancing.
MONDAY, 10/24 at Off Broadway – Union Tree Review opens for Peter Wolf Crier, in what will be UTR’s last show until December. Every time I see Union Tree live, I’m reminded what an intense, sincere stage presence they’ve built for themselves over the past couple years from tirelessly touring and playing out.
TUESDAY, 10/25 at The Firebird – Bo and the Locomotive plays in support of Moonface (aka Spencer Krug of Sunset Rubdown and Wolf Parade). Bo and Co. have spent the last several months touring the country in true future music star fashion. Expect to hear them as sharp as ever on Tuesday, and if your Halloween Week costume of choice happens to be Dorothy from The Wizard of Oz, do us all a favor and tell them that there’s no place like home :)
WEDNESDAY, 10/26 at El Lenador – Come to this Stag Nite if only for the bizarre mix of music on tap for five bucks. St. Louis mainstay Bob Reuter and Alley Ghost will take the stage (errr, side of the dining room area…only at El Len), as will expertimental pop artist Escalade and Chris Baricevic with Chris Powers.
Theodore performs on Thursday at Off Broadway for "STUMPED: A Benefit for the Rebuilding of Pete Stein".
THURSDAY, 10/27 at Off Broadway – South City resident and friend-to-all Pete Stein was in an accident earlier this year in which he lost both of his feet. Therefore, close pals and caring musicians have created an event to raise money for Pete’s medical bills. Theodore, Alley Ghost, The Funs (CHI), and Nrml Ppl will all perform at STUMPED – there will also be a silent auction and raffle prizes. Whether or not you know Pete, come support a noble cause while surrounding yourself with great tunes.
THURSDAY, 10/27 at The Firebird – LouFest alums Ume return to St. Louis on Thursday, this time at F-bird with support from Peach and False Moves. You might have been introduced to False Moves, the new(ish) project from Mike Cracchiolo and Ryan Sears, when the band killed at Under Cover Weekend as Interpol. This triple bill all but guarantees a show that’s loud, dark, and awesome.
THURSDAY, 10/27 at Foam – The Secret Sound Society is presenting us with a series of very special opportunities to see So Many Dynamos in an intimate setting. The ‘bros four week residency at Foam begins on the 27th, and each performance will feature support from a different St. Louis band or artist.
FRIDAY, 10/28 at The Firebird – RFT Music blog is comin’ at you hot with its second installment of the new in 2011 concert series, “RFT Music Presents”. This line up seems to be less genre-mixed than the last outing at Off Broadway, and features Mathias, Teresajenee, Scripts n Screwz, and Lavelle Spitz.
Pretty Little Empire will open for Eleanor Friedberger this Friday at The Luminary.
FRIDAY, 10/28 at The Luminary Center for the Arts – On Friday, St. Louis darlings Pretty Little Empire will warm things up at the Luminary for Eleanor Friedberger of Fiery Furnaces. PLE is a band that gets my blood pumping at high speeds regardless of where they’re situated on a bill, and paired with Friedberger’s mesmerizing voice, the only thing spooky about this show is how awesome it’ll be.
FRIDAY, 10/28 at Off Broadway – FIRE DOG loves costumes all year round, so I can only imagine how excited they are for their show with Oakland, CA piano slayer Zoe Boekbinder (of Vermillion Lies). We interviewed the joyful FIRE DOG back in April just before they released their Wait to Die 7″.
SATURDAY, 10/29 at Schlafly Tap Room – The Paper Dolls love a party. And why wouldn’t they? Blessed with St. Louis’ best female vocalist, PDs play smart, sarcastic pop tunes. This weekend they’re hosting what they dubbed a “Super Awesome Halloween Party” with the bad ass ladies of Dinofight! and Chicago’s Bring Your Ray Gun.
SATURDAY, 10/29 at Mangia Italiano – Tenement Ruth is playing at your and my favorite hotspot for local songs and 2am nightcaps, Mangia, alongside a brand new St. Louis Americana outfit, Field Animals. Saturday’s show will mark Field Animals’ live performance debut – go be a part of history!
MONDAY, 10/31 at Upstairs Lounge – For those who fancy themselves part of the hip hop crowd, head to Upstairs Lounge on Halloween for King Kong Magnetics with Less and Escalade. KKM is working on not one, but four new mixtapes at the moment, so expect to hear seasoned favorites alongside new beats and new energy.
MONDAY, 10/31 at The Heavy Anchor – Rats & People Motion Picture Orchestra is teaming with The Heavy Anchor on Halloween night to screen Nosferatu, the 1922 horror film, with score provided by R+P MPO. If you’ve never experienced the venue side of Heavy Anchor, Monday would be a perfect chance as they’ll have their monster projector screen out and, we imagine, their old school theater seats.
Rats & People Motion Picture Orchestra play The Heavy Anchor on Halloween.
Ticket Giveaway: Peter Wolf Crier w/ Union Tree Review & No Bird Sing at Off Broadway
Back in March, Peter Wolf Crier came through town to play the Billiken Club with locals Cassie Morgan and the Lonely Pine and Thankful Tree.
What Dave, Julie, Annie, and I remember, though, is Peter Pisano and Brian Moen playing an opening set to a sold out crowd eagerly anticipating the Freelance Whales performance at Off Broadway almost a year earlier in June of 2010. People around us were looking back and forth at one another – “Who are these guys again?” “They’re kind of awesome.”
Peter Wolf Crier at Off Broadway, 6/8/10. Photo by IWTAS.
The duo sat flush across the stage, Moen punishing his kit in sleeve tattoos while Pisano appeared to exorcise personal demons by way of a guttural, growling vocal delivery. And Peter Wolf Crier was awesome, surprising the audience with their intensity and musical chops as much as FW surprised us with their greenness and charm.
Peter Wolf Crier at Off Broadway, 6/8/10. Photo by IWTAS.
I assume it was PWC and Freelance Whales’ first time in St. Louis, and both groups were equal parts shocked and humbled by the size and enthusiasm of the crowd. A couple songs in, Whales’ Judah Dudone, already covered in sweat, even smilingly asked us, “Where did you all come from?!”.
(I’ve listened to ”Settling It Off” 17 times this week:)
On Monday Peter Wolf Crier returns to Off Broadway in promotion of their 2011 release Garden of Arms, this time as the headliner with our own Union Tree Review (last show until December!) and the Twin Cities’ No Bird Sing setting the tone for the evening.
SO WOULD YOU LIKE TO WIN A PAIR OF TICKETS TO THE CONCERT? BECAUSE WE WOULD LIKE YOU TO WIN A PAIR OF TICKETS TO THE CONCERT.
Just leave a comment down here, an @ reply on our Twitter, or a post on our Facebook page by 4p today. The winner will be selected at random.
(You can RSVP here.)
