Review: Theodore and Adult Fur at the Crack Fox 10/13/11

Review by Blair Stiles
Photography by Tara Pham

Sometimes ironic conflation, the combination of two sonically different forces, or two things that just don’t make sense together… winds up working. PB&J, ethereal whale sounds travelling through dense oceans, Gary Busey and Keanu Reeves in Point Break – all things that are inherently different but somehow come together perfectly. Harmony, people.

The juxtaposition of Adult Fur with Theodore at the Crack Fox last night was a puzzling one.

Plagued by a broken projector (and performing essentially in the dark – thus no photos), Adult Fur’s performance lacked the “show” necessary to give non-instrumentalist electronic music needs to pull off live performance to an audience. With white sheets hung up with black yarn in place of his planned women in white dresses, Ryan McNeely’s set felt like one of those “skinny” menu options. Still tasty, still interesting, but not enough to placate one’s hunger for something substantial.

If the projector hadn’t broken, if his back-up ladies had shown up, and if The Last Unicorn would have been playing on those blank white sheets to accompany Adult Fur’s set (a combination of Adult Fur and ii), undoubtedly the show would have come together. Both Adult Fur and ii are great albums, but rendered without any sort of manual performance, they fail to achieve enigma or art – key elements to live electronic music. And it begets the question: What could McNeely do if he set out to create a performance that comfortably combined the aural and visual? Is there a possibility for a performance art piece or an installation that would move a crowd? Those are things for the man at the helm of Adult Fur to mull over.

In contrast, Theodore took 20 minutes to set their stage up. The stage included just them, their instruments and their amps, and they proceeded to throw comfortable confidence and bravado at the audience with an opening Americana-cized “Ave Maria.” Before one verse was over, everyone in the place was silenced and at full attention. Sadly, this captivation is a rare feat for a local band in St. Louis, but Theodore is one that does not disappoint.

Theodore delivers a HUGE performance. Even the lead singer’s unbuttoned flannel became symbolic of the band’s comfort on stage. Theodore is a band talented enough to make the audience care. If you peered into the clusters of Crack Fox patrons, mostly affable, bike-riding, hash-smoking hipster-types and spritely but grubby looking, late-twenty- and early-thirty-something, eternally youthful romancers of wanderlust… you would have seen the majority craning their necks around one another to see and stamping their feet along with Theodore’s music.

Theodore’s music was well-constructed (and even their cover of Harry Nilson’s cover of “Save the Last Dance For Me” was nothing short of gorgeous. I can still hear that chorus), their performance enigmatic, nuanced, and irreverent. Theodore played like they owed it, to make the audience feel something. Singer Justin Kinkel-Schuster has a raspy howl that is emotional enough to help make sense of it all and feral enough to glide gracefully over the band’s enormous instrumental prowess. They could command a much larger venue, and I look forward to the day they hypnotize venues of 500+ audiences hanging on every note.

Which brings me back to this notion of the juxtaposition. Adult Fur and Theodore are two completely different acts: one deserving of space at The Pulitzer to provide the soundtrack for the night, and the other inching toward the marquee of The Pageant. Separately they are wonderful. Together, they fell flat.

If you’re interested in checking more from Justin Kinkel-Schuster, see him in Phantom Limb at the Billiken Club tomorrow, October 15th, opening for The Felice Brothers and Gill Landry of Old Crow Medicine Show. Eleven contributor Jarred Gastreich has put together a Show-Me Show of Phantom Limb, here:

Phantom Limb – $100 (A Show Me Show) from Jarred Gastreich on Vimeo.

This entry was written by Blair Stiles, posted on October 14, 2011 at 4:41 pm, filed under Live, Photo Gallery, Review and tagged adult fur, Crack Fox, review, Theodore. Leave a comment or view the discussion at the permalink.

Review: Dots Not Feathers, Levi Weaver, and Aaron Long at Off Broadway, 10/05/11

After five years, I was very excited to see that Off Broadway had booked Levi Weaver to return to St. Louis. The show was listed as Dots Not Feathers headlining, which also excited me. (Although I had seen them play once before, my positioning in the crowd made it difficult to get a real sense of their presence.) And the other support was Aaron Long.

Aaron Long walked on stage for his set by himself.  The crowd was not very strong yet and it was a little awkward at first.  However, his music brought us all to silence.  There was magnetism in his vocals that hypnotized the audience, but what really caught my attention were his lyrics.  It’s generally hard to concentrate on lyrics throughout an unfamiliar artist’s set but not this time.  Every word resonated in my head and made the strangers surrounding me feel more like a community, than foreign faces.  “Streetlight Prophecies” made me want to grab a cup of coffee and pick Long’s brain on his life experiences and recoveries.  Suddenly, his lyrics were writing my resolution to even the tiniest problems.  Levi Weaver grabbed a couple drumsticks and snuck on stage beating out a rhythm that flowed perfectly into the acoustic guitar strumming.

Aaron Long-Tell Me

Participation in Long’s set was the perfect transition into Levi Weaver’s set.  It is not very often that I get giddy and antsy waiting for an artist to perform, but I was visibly shaking as Weaver wandered onto stage.  Weaver had the entire audience locked in on every chord change from the instant he strummed his first.  Researching his blog like the fan I am, I noticed that a pet peeve of his is when artists fill their song transition time with phrases like “This next song…” so I was paying close attention to his transition time and statements.  And I definitely noticed that without the abrupt “cliché” transitions, everything flowed very smoothly.   Weaver’s entire set felt more like a conversation with a close friend, where their story is so intriguing that you can’t wait for the next word (or note, in this case).  And his wonderful voice is a soothing mix of raspy and flowing.  The first time I witnessed Weaver’s talents, it was when he opened for Imogen Heap in 2006 (more about that in the interview following), and it was the first time I had seen someone dominate a loop pedal.  Specifically, his grace and subtlety in integrating it into a Radiohead cover of Idioteque.  And yet, this time, as if it was entirely unexpected, his ability to track each loop under the pressure of an audience blew my mind.

Levi Weaver- The Letters of Dr. Kurt Gödel

Next up was Dots Not Feathers.  I must say, I was a bit confused by the full-band finale, but I was not disappointed.  If I had not known better, I would have sworn the band was a super group.  Each band member is obviously a respected, vital piece in the mix.  Everything from the multiple vocalists, to the banjo, to the harmonica, to the keys expressed fine technique.  This was clearly a group of mature musicians who wanted the audience to enjoy music as much as they did.  Their energy was unimaginably contagious and even when I tried to stand stationary; I found that it was impossible.  The vibrato and clean harmonizing in the vocals complimented the technical instrumentals perfectly.  There were a few instances where it felt like the drums and female vocals were a bit overpowering, but besides that, they were a very fitting conclusion to the beautiful songs that previewed them.  Be sure to check them out at The Firebird on November 4, opening for Elsinore and Someone Still Loves You, Boris Yeltsin.

Realistically, this concert rejuvenated my passion for music, both local and national.  I heard my all-time favorite Radiohead cover, found a new “favorite” in Aaron Long, and a new respect for local musicians, Dots Not Feathers.  And all the while, I was witnessing it with a group of varying ages that came together to enjoy solid talent reflected thru two Nashvillians (as Long referred to them) and five local, passionate musicians.

Interview with Levi Weaver:

11: The first time we saw you was at the Imogen Heap tour in 2006.  Was that your first national tour?

Levi Weaver: It was…  Usually you have to work your way up to something like that and kill yourself for 10 years doing stuff like this.  But then you get the big break & then that happens.  But for me, it was quite the opposite.  Like, I had been doing my own thing for about a year.  And in 2006, I won a Myspace contest to open for her in Birmingham, England, which is where I lived.  And she really liked it and asked me to come on tour with her and play guitar for her during her set, and I got to open for her doing my own…  I didn’t know what I was doing and I totally mismanaged it from a music business standpoint, and kind of killed the momentum that I had…  I wish I had known then what I know now.

11: I thought your “Art Series” was a great way to get connected to your fans.  Was that the original purpose?

LW: It was.  Some of it to connect with fans and some of it to just promote some artists that I like.  I thought it would be cool because it’s a concept album, anyway… I tried not to let them hear the whole album.  I only wanted them to listen to that one song.  Because a lot of times, what I think happens is in a concept album, people get so sold out to the idea of a concept that the songs suffer because they’re like “no, this has to connect into the concept.”  And the songs don’t stand-alone once you hear the whole album.  I can appreciate that but I wanted each of the songs, with the exception of the 4 narratives, to stand-alone.  So, I said, “I want this song to be it’s own thing.  Can you do a piece of art for this song?” And then people would ask me “Well what are the other artists doing?” “No, you do what this song inspires.  Don’t worry about what the other people are doing.”  And I got some pretty cool stuff.  I was excited about how it turned out and it was good for me to keep that in the back of my mind.  Like, “don’t let it be such a concept album”- because sometimes people just like a song. And they just want to hear that song and they don’t care about the concept album.  I wish they did, but you have to recognize that they won’t always.

11: And how many tours have you been on since the first with Imogen in 2006?

LW: This will be the ninth in 5 years.

11: I noticed that you struggle with being told that you’re “talented,” whenever you see what “talent” is viewed as by the general public.  I was wondering if you have any advice for other artists that struggle with similar ideas?

LW: Not yet.  I’m still working through it.  You see people –I’m not gonna name names because I don’t want to be rude- but you see people that are… you just that someone would “Simon Cowell” them a little bit.  You don’t have to be rude about it but someone needs to tell them “this is not what you’re cut out to do.”  Some of those people are so sincere and such hard workers and you wish that they were good because they’re likeable people.  And then, at the end of the night, all their friends come up and either their friends don’t know what is good or they’re just being nice.

And then at the end of the night, it makes it really difficult for me to feel that when I get a compliment.  “Am I diluting myself and putting my family at risk by going on the road and doing this when maybe I should be doing something else? Maybe I’m that guy that everyone else that plays with is going ‘geez, such a hard worker but he needs to move on.’” Get back to me on that in a year or two and hopefully, I will have found something out.

11: Is your toddler son receiving and grasping the idea of you being gone on tour?

LW: I think so.  On that “welcome home, daddy,” sign that he made for me, (photos on his blog) there was all these sort of…things.  And what they had done was made a chain out of construction paper and each link had the name of the city I was in that night.  So every night, Heather (his wife) would take the link off and be like “okay, today daddy’s in Charlotte, NC,” and point to it on a map and show him where it is. So he maybe will kind of act out a little bit for the first few days that I’m gone and so that’s really maybe the most difficult for me.  Because not only is my wife at home taking care of him but he’s also misbehaving more when I’m away.

11: If there is one person, dead or alive, that could be in an audience that you play for, who would it be?

LW: Oh my gosh, that’s tough because a lot of great musicians- I would be so intimidated.  I don’t know that I would necessarily want to play for them.  There are guys that I would want to play with in hopes that they would take me on tour, I guess.  As far as who would be the best audience, (long pause) let’s go with King David from the Bible.  I think that would be interesting because he was like…he was definitely an artist.  He was a warrior but all the poems and stuff that he wrote, he had the artist mentality of when something went wrong, “evvverythingggg is wrong! The whole world is against me and God has forgotten my name.” I hope there’d be a translator so we could speak to each other about art and music and about writing lyrics.  I mean…he wrote Psalms.  That seems like such a Bible answer to give but of all the people in history- I wouldn’t want to play for Beethoven or Bach- “No thank you, you play, I’ll sit.”

11: What went on with the venue you were battling over to keep open?

LW: It’s the Riglea Theater. The way it started was that my wife and I were married in that theater so we went home last summer and saw that Bank of America had it under contract to buy and they were gonna tear it down and leave up the façade and build a bank. So I said (to his wife) ‘yeah, we should get some investors and maybe see if we can keep it open.’  And she said ‘yeah, that’d be really fun- we should try it.’  So we kind of just jumped in with both feet.  The more we worked, the more we thought that people really thought it was a great idea.  But, we couldn’t just buy it. It was almost like walking into an old west town and there’s this Mexican drug lord that’s terrorizing the city.  And somebody goes “Somebody should just shoot that guy” and the entire city goes, “yeah, he’s gonna shoot that guy!” All right, here we go. And so we kind of jumped into it. And it all culminated with me standing in front of the city council in Fort Worth, telling them we’ve got a business plan.  If the Bank of America backs out, we’ve got the investors to do this.  There was a lot of smear campaigns that went on- “this is all just a big publicity stunt for his music” so I just went.  I shut down my website and said, “I’m on a hiatus, Sorry. What’d ya got now?”  They’re like “Well, he’s not from here- he’s from Nashville.  He just wants to swoop in.  He’s one of those heavy metal kids (it was originally open as a metal venue). “  So I was like “Actually, my dad is a cowboy.  I still have my Texas driver’s license.  My father-in-law works right down the street.  My wife graduated from Southwest High School.  And I went to Texas Wesleyan University.  I grew up listening to Johnny Cash and Willy Nelson. Next…” Meanwhile, If I have doubts about music and I work my butt off at that, you better believe I had some doubts about if I could actually keep a theater open and renovate it and do it.  So after I appeared in front of the city Council, Bank of America, the next day, issued a statement (after pouring 100,000$ into it) that they decided it was no longer economically viable for them to pursue it and backed out.  And the entire town was happy.  But the guys that owned the company were really upset and they viewed me as the reason that their deal with Bank of America had fallen through.  Truth be told, anybody could have done that.  It wasn’t me; it was an entire city.  And so the owners issued a statement that was more or less “yeah, we’ll still sell it but not to that guy (pointing at Weaver).” So, originally, the plan was “Can we keep this from happening?” And it happened…. It’s going to be opening as a music venue.  So I can always take my son by and say “ya know, that’s where we were married, and oh, by the way, let me tell you this story about how my life revolved around that for a year.” And in the meantime though, I just let my music career die for a year.  So it’s been kind of tough to get it back up off the ground.

This entry was written by Christyn, posted on at 3:20 pm, filed under Editorials, Live, Q+A, Review and tagged Aaron Long, Dots Not Feathers, Levi Weaver, Off Broadway. Leave a comment or view the discussion at the permalink.

Preview: Adult Fur and Theodore at the Crack Fox 10/13/2011

It’s Adult Fur’s new ‘Space Music’ video from Civil Ape on Vimeo!

//TONIGHT//

The name “The Crack Fox” should mean two things to you: a freaking hilarious Mighty Boosh sketch and a super cool dive bar on Olive downtown that appears to be fond of the color palette of Satan.

It’s FREE – be there!

This entry was written by Blair Stiles, posted on October 13, 2011 at 10:00 am, filed under Live, Upcoming, Video, What's Going On and tagged adult fur, preview, The Crack Fox, Theodore. Leave a comment or view the discussion at the permalink.

Live Review: Wilco at The Peabody Opera House 10/4/11

Wilco played the first non-Gala show at the Peabody last night, and all that can be said is WOW!

Eleven has discussed the Peabody itself at length both in the magazine and here on the website, so I’ll skip saying too much on the venue, except to say it was this reviewer’s first visit to the theater, and it is as awesome as the hype says. The acoustics are perfect, and the restoration is amazing.

Before Wilco even hit the stage, the Peabody welcomed a legend. Nick Lowe, alone with an acoustic guitar, opened the show. “The Jesus Of Cool” showed everyone why he is so beloved by his fans and fellow musicians. Lowe has aged rather gracefully; his brown shaggy hair has turned grey, and he wore a pair of glasses inspired by his close friend and collaborator Elvis Costello. His voice sounded great as he rolled through a short setlist incorporating classics like “Cruel To Be Kind” and “(What’s So Funny About) Peace, Love & Understanding,” with songs from his latest album The Old Magic. Of course, “Peace, Love & Understanding” was made most famous when the aforementioned Costello covered it on his Armed Forces album in 1979, so in return, Lowe covered Costello’s “Alison,” a song that he produced for Costello. Lowe left the stage to great applause, but it would not be for the last time.

As the lights dimmed for Wilco, the stage design, which when not lit looked like someone TP’d the beautiful new venue, came to life. Using color projections, it created an almost psychedelic, Allman Brothers-type light show. It felt perfect for the song selection, which relied heavily on the noise-making, feedback-generating version on Wilco – as opposed the singer-songwriter version. The opening tune was, appropriately, a song that is dedicated to fellow St. Louisan Jane Smiley’s boyfriend. The long, winding number sounded crystal clear in the room. The crowd remained silent and seated to truly appreciate the long key nature of the song. That would be the last time most of the crowd would sit down as Jeff Tweedy led the band through rocking set of both new and old. The new songs from Wilco’s latest The Whole Love were intense and tight. For all the lineup changes that Wilco has gone through, the current band has been together for 8 years now, and it really shows. Listening to the songs live, it is hard to escape the feeling that The Whole Love completes a trilogy that started 10 years ago with Yankee Hotel Foxtrot and continued with 2003’s A Ghost Is Born. Even the songs the band plucked off the last two records, Sky Blue Sky and Wilco (The Album), were the noisier tracks.

Reaching back, Wilco touched on all eight studio albums over the band’s now 17-year career and even further back to Tweedy’s old band that used to play weekly in the basement of the old Cicero’s (now the Duck Room). Uncle Tupelo’s “New Madrid” was warming received by all the old school fans in the crowd. The biggest cheers of the night were saved, as they often are, for the songs from 2000’s seminal Wilco record Yankee Hotel Foxtrot. YHF will always be the touchstone album for many Wilco fans and it was well represented in the setlist. Songs like “Jesus, Etc…”, “I’m The Man Who Loves You,” and I’m Trying To Break Your Heart reminded the concertgoers why. Even the most casual Wilco fans in the crowd could sing along with the band to those and in the encore, when the band played “Heavy Metal Drummer”, cheers erupted for lyrics about heavy metal bands playing “On the Landing in the Summer.”

Before Wilco finished, Jeff welcomed opener Nick Lowe to the stage for two songs. Both songs came from Lowe’s solo debut record The Jesus Of Cool. The first was a cover of the Jim Ford song “36 Inches High,” and the second “I Love My Label” – sang as a duet between Lowe and Tweedy, which Wilco included on the deluxe version of The Whole Love.

Wrapping up, they launched into the St. Louis classic “Casino Queen.” Tweedy talked about the venue and how they are really looking forward to returning. Likewise, St. Louis can’t wait.

10/4/11
Peabody Opera House
St. Louis, MO

Setlist:
One Sunday Morning (Song for Jane Smiley’s Boyfriend)
Poor Places
Art Of Almost
I Might
I Am Trying to Break Your Heart
Bull Black Nova
One Wing
Handshake Drugs
Impossible Germany
Born Alone
A Shot in the Arm
Shouldn’t Be Ashamed
Rising Red Lung
New Madrid
War On War
Standing O
Jesus, Etc.
I’m The Man Who Loves You

Encore:
Via Chicago
Whole Love
36 Inches High (with Nick Lowe)
I Love My Label (with Nick Lowe)
Heavy Metal Drummer
Casino Queen
Outta Mind (Outta Sight)

This entry was written by Scotty, posted on October 5, 2011 at 12:23 pm, filed under Live, Review and tagged Nick Lowe, Peabody, Wilco. Leave a comment or view the discussion at the permalink.

Review: Caroline Smith and the Goodnight Sleeps @ Off Broadway, 9/22/2011

Review and photo by Hallie Applebaum

See photo here.

The indie folk band from Minneapolis returned to the stage at Off Broadway to play old favorites from their debut release, “Backyard Tent Set,” and new material from their second album, “Little Wind,” released earlier this week. Great stage banter and infectious energy left the crowd dancing.

This entry was written by Tara, posted on September 23, 2011 at 4:38 pm, filed under Live, Review and tagged Caroline Smith and the Goodnight Sleeps, Off Broadway. Leave a comment or view the discussion at the permalink.

Live Review: Foo Fighters at Scottrade Center, 09/17/11

Review by Dakota Hommes
Photo by Danny Hommes

The Foo Fighters had two openers, so let’s get that out of the way first.

Mariachi El Bronx, the alter-ego of hardcore band The Bronx (it’s a little confusing; they’re not even from the Bronx, they’re from LA), took the stage in their matching black and red mariachi outfits. While at first a little confused, I was pleased to hear their unique sound. They combined mariachi and punk music in a really cool way. Their drummer, a Buddy Holly look-alike, played a cocktail kit that sounded awesome. It was clear that the whole band was having a blast.

What can I say about Rise Against? The bass player was solid. The singer had a lot of enthusiasm. That’s the positive stuff. The drummer was weak. The songs sounded the same. The guitarist can kick his foot above his head and does so at EVERY POSSIBLE OPPORTUNITY. But, they made the Foos sound better. Gotta give them that.

The Foo Fighters finally took stage and opened with “Bridges Burning,” the first track of their new album. Playing a great mix of old and new songs, the set lasted three hours just as Dave promised. Many of the songs had extended endings and “Stacked Actors” featured a guitar battle between Chris Shiflett and Dave Grohl.

Emphasizing on the epicness of their rock music, the stage had a platform that extended all the way across the floor of the arena. Scottrade is pretty big. There was also a riser at the opposite end. It doesn’t get any bigger than singing lead vocals for a band all the way across a stadium. They also had an awesome light show.

“Young Man Blues” was covered by Foo Fighters for VH1 Rock Honors The Who in 2008. Since then, they’ve been playing it at most of their live shows including the one last night. They also led us in Tom Petty and The Heartbreaker’s “Breakdown.”

At the beginning of the encore, Dave played a few songs on acoustic before being joined by the rest of the band. Finally, the best possible song to end the night, “Everlong.” This is my favorite Foo Fighters song as well as that of many other fans. It has the amazing quality of meaning something great to everyone who hears it even though everyone hears a different meaning. If you enjoy any form of rock, go see Foo Fighters in concert. They’re the most accessible great rock band on tour.

This review adapted and published from Dakota’s blog, Anti-Formula Review.

This entry was written by Tara, posted on September 18, 2011 at 4:26 pm, filed under Live, Review and tagged Foo Fighters, Mariachi El Bronx, Rise Against, Scottrade Center. Leave a comment or view the discussion at the permalink.

Live Review: Bon Iver at The Pageant, 09/11/2011

Review by Annie-Rose Fondaw
Photography by Jarred Gastreich

The Bon Iver origin fable of isolated cabins and the frozen forests of Wisconsin has long framed the band’s aura of reflective solitude. While Sunday’s concert at the Pageant had moments of Bon Iver’s iconic hushed intimacy, Vernon and his eight-piece band commanded a broad spectrum of dense, lushly orchestrated sounds. From reverberating lashes of percussion to spiraling harmonies and schmaltzy synthesizer, the performance highlighted Bon Iver’s ability to bring a dizzying variety of textures and tones to their artistic scope—all while remaining rooted in the emotional sincerity that endears them to so many listeners.

Opening with “Perth,” Vernon’s raw falsetto arched over a simple guitar melody, gathering intensity and instruments until finally erupting in a rousing chorus. The pattern held over through much of the set, starting off with sparer arrangements and moving towards kicked-out jams with a cacophony of instruments. A stand-out rendition of “Blood Bank” (on a stage bathed in red lights) brought a flurry of horns and brass, while “Creature Fear” ratcheted the audience up to a fever pitch during Vernon’s guitar licks. Though a divisive track among fans, the live incarnation of “Beth/Rest” more successfully transcended its saccharine-sweet 80’s synthesizer, becoming instead an ethereal swell under Vernon’s lilting voice.

The performance’s softer moments brought equal appreciation from the audience, who sustained a warm relationship with Vernon throughout the show, often singing along to the plaintive refrains. The final song, “Skinny Love” had the audience clapping and singing along with the band, who abandoned their instruments to gather around two microphones. Vernon, standing at the edge of the stage with his guitar, finished the mournful love song with a grateful bow of his head. And even with all the bright stage lights and the writhing audience, it was hard not to feel the stillness and quiet of a cabin up North.

This entry was written by Tara, posted on September 12, 2011 at 6:23 pm, filed under Live, Review. Leave a comment or view the discussion at the permalink.

Lollapalooza 2011 – a quick summary

You can’t rain on Perry Farrell’s parade. Lollapalooza returned this year with enough momentum (the festival was sold-out with 90,000 fans/day) and a solid lineup to blast through some stormy weather which plagued the final day of the weekend’s activities. I caught a few photos during the festival, which will guide you through a quick Lolla recap. (more…)

This entry was written by Jonathan Fritz, posted on August 12, 2011 at 3:45 am, filed under Live and tagged Chicago, Lollapalooza 2011. Leave a comment or view the discussion at the permalink.

Review: Cults at Firebird 08/03/2011

Last night we caught a triple bill of distorted fuzz rock from Cults, Guards, and Writer.

With all of the buzz around their latest self-titled release, it was no surprise that Cults played to a packed Firebird last night. Similar to the both openers Guards and Writer, Cults mesmerized the crowd with enough distortion and loudness to send each and every concertgoer home with ringing ears.

And although I still can’t hear out of my left ear, my mind and body are entirely fixated on the triple-bill I just experienced.

Cults’ frontwoman Madeline Follin wooed every man (and woman) as she gently held onto each side of her dress, swaying back and forth as she poured out her heart through her high-pitched, girl-next-door vocals. Her timid stage presence felt fitting as she, Brian Oblivion, and their backing band played through a 35-minute set of cutesy ’60s girl group-style tunes.

The crowd went into a down-right boppin’ frenzy during “Bumper.” (Imagine a dance number by a modern-day cast of Grease who follow Pitchfork and Eleven, religiously). However, cutesy cannot be the only adjective to describe Cults’ live presence. Their modern-day take on the AM Gold sound is heavy in distortion and rock’n'roll energy.

Guards, notably the loudest act of the night, immediately dimmed the lighting, turned the fog machines on full blast, and played through a stunning set of vintage ’60s-style rock meets modern indie pop. Led by Madeline’s (of Cults) brother Richie Follin, the band’s style doesn’t stray far from that of Cults, though a much more masculine take on the era. Most impressive was Guards’ performance of “Long Time”, a trippy, hypnotic track combining shredding guitars and bass with vocals sang in unison.

San Diego duo Writers started off the night, energizing the crowd with their gritty, lo-fi fuzz pop. Their sound can be best described as a more toned-down version of Wavves that’s more suited for a makeout mixtape. In fact, the couple standing next to me agreed. Lip-locked with live music, those two definitely left The Firebird a happy pair.

This entry was written by Ryan Marian, posted on August 4, 2011 at 2:46 pm, filed under Live, Review and tagged cults, firebird, guards, Writer. Leave a comment or view the discussion at the permalink.

What’s Going On: 8/3 – 8/6/11

We at Eleven just wanted to get something up about just some of the AMAZING shows happening all week.

TODAY – WEDNESDAY, August 3rd

//1//

Local indie heroes Pokey LaFarge and the South City Three play the finale show of the Missouri Botanical Garden’s Whitaker Music Festival. The Garden opens free to the public at 5:30pm and will be chock-full of picnickers and old timey Americana folk fans. Fresh off their July release Middle of Everywhere, Pokey and company will be a delightful soundtrack to your garden exploration and lazy snacking.

Here’s their NPR Tiny Desk Concert:

//2//

Cherokee Street’s beloved Apop Records brings the Coathangers, with Skarekrau Radio, Pink Sock, and Escalade. All we can say is: Prepare to have your face rocked off. Full details here.

//3//

Cults and Guards play the Firebird. Cults will bring you undeniably catchy lo-fi twee to bop around to. Guards rock, a la Portugal the Man or Suckers – definitely a band to check out.

THURSDAY, August 4th

//1//

Atlanta pranksters The Black Lips bring their shenanigans to the Firebird. Local openers Flaming Death Trap and Seattle’s Night Beats will get the mosh pits started.

Here’s Flaming Death Trap’s Stack Session at KWUR 90.3FM, St. Louis Underground Radio:

//2//

On the folkier side, Frontier Ruckus grace The Gramophone with their banjo-laden mountain music. Perfect to sip a craft brew to.

FRIDAY, August 5th

//1//

Screw Lollapalooza. We’ve got a show at the Gramophone with ultra-groovy Gardens and Villa, The Reeling Gilly, and Spectator. Enjoy the show for a chance to win LouFest tickets. RSVP here for free admission.

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Off Broadway brings The Pains of Being Pure At Heart, with Craft Spells. The Pains’ yummy twee jams and Craft Spells’ tasty synth tunes will feed your music cravings.

SATURDAY, August 6th

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Holy cow. Troubadour Dali throws their release show with The Blind Eyes, Ocean Rivals, and Secret Colours – new music bonanza! Troubadour Dali’s new album Let’s Make It Right kicks psychadelic-pop ass (we got it early from Euclid Records). The Blind Eyes just released their With a Bang in June, and have been playing a lot of shows to spread their ’60s pop vibes. Ocean Rivals also recently released Summer’s Dogs, in April, and their mellow guitar-heavy rock screams America. Secret Colours fits the bill, consistent with the psychadelic-tinged experimental rock of the night.

Here’s the Blind Eyes from inside one of the haning cages at the City Museum!

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See some of hip-hop’s hardest, when Tech N9ne plays Pop’s with Krizz Kaliko, Kutt Calhoun, Big Scoob, and Jay Rock. It’s undoubtedly going to be a wild show… slash dance-off?

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If you’re in the mood for a short road trip, the legendary Blue Note in Columbia celebrates 31 years with a show with emo-folk sweetheart Bright Eyes. Here’s a Connor Oberst classic:

Now get out there, St. Louis. 

This entry was written by Tara, posted on August 3, 2011 at 12:30 pm, filed under Live, Upcoming, What's Going On and tagged apop, big scoob, Black Lips, blue note, Bright Eyes, craft spells, cults, escalade, firebird, Flaming Death Trap, frontier ruckus, gardens and villa, gramophone, guards, jay rock, krizz kaliko, kutt calhoun, kwur, night beats, Ocean Rivals, Off Broadway, pains of being pure at heart, pink sock, Pokey LaFarge, secret colours, skarekrau radio, south city three, spectator, tech n9ne, The Blind Eyes, the coathangers, The Reeling Gilly, tiny desk, Troubadour Dali, whitaker music festival. Leave a comment or view the discussion at the permalink.