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The 2012 version of LouFest is set to hit Forest Park on August 25th & 26th, and this year it promises to have the most balloons, confetti and laser beams ever. Both headliners, Oklahoma City’s fearless freaks The Flaming Lips and Pittsburgh’s mash-up genius Girl Talk, are well known for their over-the-top live shows that provide total sensory overload and never fail to leave the crowd grinning from ear to ear.

The rest of the lineup is equally strong, with local heroes like Son Volt and Sleepy Kitty and transcendent, ageless rockers in Dinosaur Jr. Of course, it also features a steady diet of “indie” rock, with bands like Dr. Dog and Someone Still Loves You Boris Yeltsin.

Check out the full lineup in the latest issue of Eleven, on stands now!

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Review and photos by Tara Pham
(click to enlarge photos)

Friday night saw the release of Water Liars’ much anticipated Phantom Limb at Off Broadway. Opening for the slow alt-country duo were Fred Friction and Bob Reuter’s Alley Ghost.

At roughly 9:15 with a mostly empty venue, Fred Friction took the stage. Clad in a white-on-white tie and shirt tucked into jeans on a skinny frame, Fred Friction seemed fittingly drunk to deliver his sad Western ballads, mostly about – you guessed it – scorned love and cheap sex. A few Stag bottles, lyrics forgotten, and song mistarts later, Fred Friction had established an audience split equally between charmed and bored. Fred Friction’s classic country songwriting became overshadowed by a likeness to the drunken depression of a truck stop open mic, seeming at once laughably entertaining and uncomfortably authentic.

By the time that Bob Reuter’s Alley Ghost was setting up, the Off Broadway crowd had filled out a bit more. A five-piece, including (of course) St. Louisan-to-the-bone and Bob’s Scratchy Records KDHX DJ Bob Reuter and Rum Drum Ramblers’ Mat Wilson, BRAG (fitting acronym?) exudes cool. The guys pull off sunglasses, cuffed jeans, dreadlocks, and old school hats – that is, paperboy hats and fedoras. BRAG achieves that brand of rock ‘n’ roll that you and your parents want to dance to; so, it didn’t take long for swing dancers to hit the dance floor. While Reuter belts a clear, melodic vox with rough edges in all the right places, his bandmates provide those choral echoes and spectacular instrumental solos that remind you what makes rock ‘n’ roll rock. Their set finished with a roar of cheers and whoops from a plenty lubricated audience.

After a teasing soundcheck from members Justin Kinkel-Schuster and Andrew Bryant, Water Liars began on the same feedback-laced, almost guttural guitar and drum blasts that kick off album Phantom Limb, on track “$100.” From that point on, the show was pure, creating that sense of connectedness between people that make these alt-country ballads so resonant. Much like he did in Theodore, Kinkel-Schuster performed a gut-wrenching, raw set that recordings can hint at but rarely capture.

Water Liars performed “Dog Eaten” and “Low & Long” to a dead silent, totally captivated audience. Through some of the harder, faster tracks like “Short Hair” and a cover of Hasil Adkins’ “Moon Over Madison,” the band hit every note and earned new fan after new fan.

The partnership between Kinkel-Schuster and Bryant is palpable. K-S has clearly found a platform that showcases his superb songwriting and haunting vocals. Quite frankly, he is demonstrating a skill that was always apparent with Theodore – but with Water Liars, it is not diluted by other members (who were powerful in their own right). K-S doesn’t need to share the stage with additional guitarists, bassists, horns, what have you. That said, there is a perfect balance with Bryant. Even at the back of the stage soaked in an anonymizing red light, Bryant commands a presence by way of his total passion for the songs. His committed snare and tom bangs punctuated graceful backing vocals and recurring grimaces wrought with the truth embedded in these songs. As they embark on a midwestern/southern tour, it’s safe to say that Water Liars will propel the national reputation of St. Louis music forward.

See it for yourself, when Water Liars plays an in-store at Vintage Vinyl on February 28th, at 6pm. The band will also be recording a Daytrotter Session on March 2nd, with a publication date TBA.

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Sex is at the heart of Jane’s Addiction’s message. Beautiful sex, dirty sex, twisted sex, illegal sex – it’s all there. Wednesday night at the Pageant, as they launched their “Great Escape Artist Tour” off at The Pageant, it was again front and center. From the setlist to the stage design, sex oozed through the show. Being the first night of the tour, fans weren’t sure what to expect. In the Internet age, setlists and stage shows are rarely a surprise to many concertgoers these days, but this was completely fresh to everyone. In true JA style, there were both statues of naked women and actual nearly naked women dancers, in addition to the multiple video screens and even a life-sized stuffed bear. Perry Farrell may be 51 years old, but on stage he has the same presence he’s had since he was half that age. He has the same boundless energy, the same crackling charisma and while father time may have robbed Farrell of some of his range, it’s the same haunting voice, frail and powerful at once. It’s that voice that defines the JA sound, but the swirling guitar from Dave Navarro and hard-pounding beat from Stephen Perkins are just as important and both musicians are in fine form. Navarro is a rock star in every sense of the word, blaring his solos while posed as a rock god to Farrell’s right and Perkins has always been the driving force hidden behind his kit.

As the setlist showed, this is an album that Jane’s Addiction is very proud of. For the first time in years, through multiple reunions and various lineups, they look and feel like a happy, solid band. The brief, 14 song setlist was drawn mostly from the new album, The Great Escape Artist and from the legendary studio albums from their early days, Nothing Shocking and Ritual de lo Habitual; 2003’s Strays was represented by only one song, “Just Because”. The show opened with the first track of the new album, “Underground” and ended with the last song “Words Right Out Of My Mouth”. In between, the played the biggest hits, like “Been Caught Stealing” and “Jane Says” and well has the fan favorites, like “Mountain Song” and the show stopping, highlight of the night “Three Days”. In the middle, the band convened at the front of the stage for a 3 song acoustic mini-set that included “Classic Girl, “I Would For You” and the aforementioned “Jane Says”. While the show did feel a little short, time wise, the energy in the crammed-to-the-gills Pageant was off the charts and it did not let down once all night, culminating with the entire crowd belting out the lyrics the “Stop!” with Farrell near the end. And short or not, everyone in the crowd was surely left satisfied.

The Setlist:
Underground
Mountain Song
Just Because
Been Caught Stealing
Ain’t No Right
Ted, Just Admit It…
Twisted Tales

Mini-Acoustic set
Classic Girl
I Would For You
Jane Says

Irresistible Force
Three Days
Stop!

Encore:
Words Right Out of My Mouth

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Photo by Johnny Andrews | jandrews@post-dispatch.com

Clever title, right?

Since they’re known for the absurd amount of musical prowess displayed during their live shows, it’s no surprise Bo and the Locomotive would eventually shoot a live video. Carved out by STL Today‘s LISTEN division, the video shows some familiar faces around Cherokee being galvanized into a food fight by Bo’s enthusiastic performance.

See the video by hitting the link below:

\”On My Way\” – Bo and the Locomotive

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Up first is a show put on by St. Louis’s New Music Circle featuring legendary experimental musician Tony Conrad at 7:30 at White Flag Projects (4568 Manchester).

“For nearly fifty years, experimental sound and visual performance artist, Tony Conrad, has been making drone music and short films that re-examine and re-invent their form, content and structure.

Conrad was one of the early pioneers of New York minimalism and deep listening microtonal music. He worked in 1962 on LaMonte Young’s “Dream Music” project with the likes of John Cale and Angus MacLise (both moving on later to form The Velvet Underground). Since then, he has remained the purest and most ascetic of the minimalists.

Violin has remained his trademark instrument, although he has also manipulated sound through electronics, studio techniques, and projects with various collaborators.”

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After having your mind thoroughly blown by Conrad, talk a short stroll down to the Gramophone for Smoove,  a new dance party (with your’s truly getting it in on the 1s and 2s from 11-12) guaranteed to make you shake down the walls with a solid line up of disco, house, booty and moombahton.  Be prepared to get messy, though, because this is a glow paint affair, so plan your outfits accordingly – or just leave your outfit at the door, your choice.

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Looking for a good time (and not exactly the “good time” promised by the nebulous phone number scrawled in lip stain on the doors of The Jade Room’s bathroom stalls)? Walk, bike, drive, fly, or teleport down to Cherokee Street for Eleven‘s 11/11/11 event.  Or, “Eleven-Cubed” if you would like your tongue untied. Seriously, say it fast, “11/11/11″… it’s hard!

***Check out…***

4:45 – 5:45 // The Hobosexuals @ The Nebula
5:00 – 6:30 // Bootigrabbers Delight @ Black Bear Bakery
5:30 – 6:15 // CANCELED ***  Owen Pye @ Drew Henry Salon & Gallery
5:45 – 6:45 // Bredon of Last to Show First to Go @ The Nebula
6:00 – 6:45 // Caleb Travers @ PHD Gallery
6:00 – 6:30 // Spastic Plastic @ Aisle 1 Gallery
6:30 – 7:15 // Beth Bombara @ Firecracker Press
6:45 – 7:30 // Volcanoes @ Aisle 1 Gallery
7:00 – 7:45 // Kid Scientist @ Paper Boat Studios
7:30 – 8:15 // Last to Show First to Go @ The Archive
7:30 – 8:15 // The Campfire Club @ All Along Press
8:00 – 8:30 // Since 1902 @ Apop Records
8:45 – 9:30 // Kid Counselor @ Apop Records
8:30 – 9:30 // Arthur & the Librarian @ All Along Press
9:00 – 9:45 // PALACE @ FOAM
10:15 – 11:00 // Bear Hive @ FOAM

@ Off Broadway: STL LOUD 3 Release Show
- Fire Dog
- Funky Butt Brass Band
- The Reedling Gilly
- Rockwell Knuckles
- Superhero Killer
*Doors open at 8:00 P.M.*

@ 2720 Cherokee
- Stank Nasty
- Jon Eric “Electric Banjo Man”
- Justin Torres Loop Project
- Mikey Wehling
*Suggested $5 donation upon entry*

@ ArtMonster
- 18andCounting
- Dylan Hassinger

@ Fort Gondo (poetry series)
- Chris Martin
- Ted Mathys
- Mary Austin Speaker
*Starts at 7:00 P.M.*

*** Participating:***
2720 Cherokee
Aisle 1 Gallery
All Along Press
Apop Records
ArtMonster
The Archive
Black Bear Bakery
Cherokee Street Bikes
Drew Henry Salon & Gallery
Firecraker Press
FOAM
Fort Gondo
I Scream Cakes
Labeebee’s Mid-East Cafe
Off Broadway / STL LOUD 3
Paper Boat Studios
PHD Gallery
STL STyLehouse
*** … and more! ***

*** Consume… ***
Flowers to the People arrangements
The Tin Can food
Labeebee’s Mid-East Cafe food
Urban Chestnut beer
Sicily Streat food truck

*** … and more! ***

Shows on-going from 4pm. Schedules and maps available on the street!

The celebration kicks off in the afternoon at Eleven’s office in The Nebula, 3407 S. Jefferson, St. Louis, MO 63118.

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The night began with a set by local singer/songwriter Owen Pye.  Typically, I anticipate an acoustic set as being somewhat hypnotizing.  However, Pye was quite the exception.  His joking stage banter and active stage presence combined with the bold guitar parts and story telling lyrics (“He wants to give her time to think & catch up on some sleep, he needs some time to define our barriers.”) were the perfect distraction from the exhaustion of the week.

Next up was Caleb Travers.  The local music vet has by far released his most powerful and gorgeous ballads yet on Ain’t No Jukebox.  The strings and drums that accompanied him on the EP were also present for the set at Off Broadway and they added the perfect atmosphere to the evening.  The transitions were smoothly reflective of the mood of the tunes as they related to his experiences in the city, with his family, and other life encounters (“I’m tired of nothing being right, driving ‘til we see the light.”)

Vampires of This Town by Caleb Travers

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Residencies?  WHAT?  Bands have those?  Well, So Many Dynamos will at the beloved neighborhood coffee/beer joint FOAM!

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