TUESDAY, May 15th

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88.1 KDHX and Loufest welcome singer-songwriter Alejandro Escovedo to St. Louis. Alejandro’s show will be held at Off Broadway. Doors will open at 7pm.

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Anders Osborne, a long-time resident of New Orleans, is coming to St. Louis. Anders will be bringing his signature mix of rock and blues to Blueberry Hill. The show will begin at 8pm.

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Michael Trieb, a local folk/indie rock singer-songwriter, is playing a free show at Plush. The show begins at 8:30pm and is open to those 18 and up.

WEDNESDAY, May 16th

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Deer Tick, a folk/rock band, will be playing at the Firebird. Deer Tick is made up of five guys from Rhode Island and they have a reputation for playing a fantastic live set. Rock n rollers Turbo Fruits, a Tennessee trio, will be the opener for what promises to be a great show.

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Interested in a night of great local music? Then head down to the Gramophone to see three awesome local bands: Volcanoes, Bear Hive, and Union Tree Review. Volcanoes, a drum and bass duo, is throwing a Tour Kickoff Party before they leave on their two-week summer tour across the United States.

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The Harmed Brothers, an Oregon-based Americana/folk-rock/indie-grass band, will be playing at Plush. The free show begins at 8:30pm and is open to those 18 and up.

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Join Crack Fox as they celebrate Carrie’s big day with a Birthday Bash. Daymoths, a pop-rock duo from Minnesota, and Brown Bottle Fever, a local blues-rock band, will be performing. The party starts at 9pm. Just remember, you never ask a lady her age!

THURSDAY, May 17

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Indie artist Pat Grossi of Active Child is having a show at the Firebird with openers Balam Acab, a Pennsylvania-based indie band, and Superhumanoids, a LA-based pop group.

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Gregory Alan Isakov was born in South Africa, raised in Philadelphia, and currently lives in Colorado. His broad life experiences have clearly influenced his signature folk singer-songwriter style. Gregory will be playing a show at the Old Rock House for all ages.

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Canadian band, Memoryhouse, originally began as a multimedia art project; a combination of musical composition and photography. Memoryhouse has since become a fully-fledged electro-pop band, though they still strive to bring together the aural and the visual through their work. Memoryhouse will be performing at the Gramophone and doors open at 8pm.

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Portland’s Sallie Ford & the Sound Outside are coming to St. Louis. The vintage-influenced rock group is playing at Off Broadway with opener Carriage House, an experimental folk band from Missouri.

FRIDAY, May 18th

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Beginning on May 18th and continuing on through the 20th, St. Louis Mayfest is a giant festival of music, art, and food. On Friday, Mayfest hosts St. Louis’ largest ever outdoor Happy Hour while DJs, including Phoenix-based mash-up genius DJ Z-Trip, perform. On Saturday, there will be shows by War, Foghat, and renowned St. Louis musician and hotdogger Steve Ewing. On Sunday, various rock tribute bands will play. Art exhibitions and performances will take place all weekend, including Belle of the Ball, St. Louis’ custom entertainment company.

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Indie artist Katie Herzig of Nashville will be playing at the Old Rock House with fellow Nashville Indie artist, Matthew Perryman Jones.

SATURDAY, May 19th

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Show Me Shows presents the 2012 Show Me Show(case). Show Me Shows, which typically provides fans with acoustic, one-take videos, is putting on their first ever showcase of five talented, local indie rock and folk groups as well as two national acts. The local bands scheduled are Bo and the Locomotive, Dots Not Feathers, Pretty Little Empire, Last To Show First To Go, and Trotting Bear. Also performing will be Netherfriends, a k-pop group from Chicago, and Little Horn, a folk group from Atlanta. The showcase will be held at Plush and tickets are $5.

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The Folk School of St. Louis, which offers instruction and playing opportunities to students of all ages in various folk music genres, presents the first annual St. Louis Folk & Roots Festival. The festival will be held at the Atomic Cowboy and will go on from 2pm to 12am. Ten folk acts will perform at staggered times on three stages. The lineup features Big Smith, Ryan Spearman Band, 3 Penny Acre, The Tillers, The Lulus, Stripmall Ballads, Mound City Slickers, and others. Tickets are $15. Bi

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Looking to spend two days rocking out to some of the best local and national alternative bands? Then you need to head down to the Verizon Wireless Ampitheater for Pointfest 30. Presented by 105.7 The Point, this two-day event will be the only Pointfest held this year and thus, the lineup is filled with tons of awesome acts (and Incubus). Bands will be performing all day Saturday the 19th and Sunday the 20th. Pointfest 30 will also features Rob Zombie, Chevelle, Megadeth, Cypress Hill, 10 Years, and many more.

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Mariachi El Bronx is coming to the Firebird. Mariachi El Bronx is the Latin-influenced alter ego of LA-based punk band, the Bronx. The band created this alter ego when they were asked to play an acoustic set. Rather than cause an identity crisis, this two-sided band has done well. The show is open to all ages and tickets are $15. The opening act will be the grunge/punk influenced duo, Two Gallants.

SUNDAY, May 20th

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David Ramirez of Texas and Matthew Mayfield of Alabama are stopping at Cicero’s as part of their co-headlined acoustic tour. The opening act will be local band, State Road 5. The show is open to all ages. Tickets are $8 in advance and $10 at the door.

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The Old Rock House welcomes guitarist Steve Kimock with Bernie Worrell, Wally Ingram, and Andy Hess. The show is part of Steve Kimock’s Spring Tour, the first large-scale tour he’s done in two years. The show is open to all ages and tickets are $25.

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Curtis Weigel of The Wire Frames, an alternative pop/rock duo of brothers based out of Iowa and St. Louis, will be playing a free solo show at Plush.

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TODAY, May 8th

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It’s Union Tree Review‘s 2nd Birthday! It’s the two year anniversary of Union Tree Review’s first official show. Union Tree Review recently released a Show Me Show of their track “Skeletons” which was filmed in a truck outside of the Firebird. They’re playing tonight at Off Broadway.

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Star & Micey, an energetic pop-folk group from Memphis, and opener, Carolina Story, an Americana husband/wife duo from Nashville, are making their way to Plush for a show with real Tennessee flair.

WEDNESDAY, May 9th

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Join the staff of Eleven and the producers of Show Me Shows as we debut 8 never-before-viewed Show Me Shows videos. Taking place at The Gramophone, the event is open to all ages and the artists featured in the videos include Young Readers, Ian Fisher & The Past, The Skekses, and Bo & The Locomotive.

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Basil Kincaid and Black Spade Present Double Consciousness, an art exhibit and sound installation dealing with Post Traumatic Slave Syndrome and Drapetomania. The exhibition begins at 8:30pm and will be held at 2847 Cherokee.

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As part of the #THeGroovyTour, ScHoolboy Q will be performing at Plush with opener AB-Soul. Doors open at 7pm.

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Shpongle Presents The Masquerade with Phutureprimitive and Heezy. This electronica-filled show has been moved from Plush to Old Rock House.

THURSDAY, May 10th

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Midwest Mayhem 2012 is going to be one wild party. Your hosts at KDHX want to thank all their fans for their support of the independent radio station. And what better way to thank them than a party at the City Museum? Add 13 local bands, burlesque performances, a Photomaton photo booth, as well as food and drinks, and KDHX members and those who donated during their Spring Membership drive are going to have an amazing night.

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Support St. Louis’s own Royal Smokestacks as they play Plush this week. Though they were only started in 2011, Royal Smokestacks already have a great sound if you’re in the mood for some Americana rock.

FRIDAY May, 11th

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ARTCRANK is coming to St. Louis once again. Beginning on Friday and continuing through Sunday, ARTCRANK STL will present hand-made bicycle-inspired posters designed and created by 30 local artists. The event will be held at Atomic Cowboy and admission will be free though limited edition autographed copies of the displayed posters will be for sale for $40 a piece. Why the bike theme? Because the event coincides with the Missouri Professional Cycling Series. The MO PRO is three days of competitive cycling by some of the fastest professional cyclists in America. Beyond the bikes and the bike-related art, there will be family events and outdoor activities all Saturday.

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For a good time and to give to a good cause, head down to Atomicdust to check out the Face Off Against Hunger Gallery Show. The show is the result of a campaign where for anyone who came into their office, scanned their face on the photocopier, and let them post it on Facebook, Atomicdust would donate $5 to the St. Louis Food Outreach. Over 180 people lent their faces to the cause and now you have a chance to see the wacky pictures that resulted. They are asking for a $5 donation at the door but once again all the money will go to the St. Louis Food Outreach.

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Tennis is coming to St. Louis. The Denver-based band is rapidly growing in popularity and is bringing their loved minimalist rock to Plush. The show is open to all ages.

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The Firebird presents Royal Bangs with openers Heavy Times.With Tennessee’s Royal Bangs’ Japanese classical music-influence and Chicago’s Heavy Times’s grunge roots, the two bands are an unlikely team but together they will put out an awesome show.

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Welcome to Art Walk 2012! Hosted by the Grand Center, the Art Walk is an annual event where visitors are given a “passport” in which they can collect stamps from galleries and art museums. Collecting six of more stamps qualifies visitors for discounts at participating restaurants and venues. Art Walk is a fantastic time to enjoy the latest exhibits at various museums. One such exhibit is Analog, which will be opening during Art Walk. The Analog exhibition is the second exhibition by a group called The Transients. The exhibition consists of a variety of artists’ work displayed alongside mock ups of current or previous museum pieces.

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Local group, Burrowss, is releasing their first full length album, “Don’t Take It Slow”. Burrowss is having a CD release show at the Heavy Anchor. Buffalo 66 and All the Sad Young Men will also be performing. Matt Stuttler, one half of Burrowss, is a regular Eleven writer. Check them out on bandcamp: http://burrowss.bandcamp.com/

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Head down to the Gramophone to check out Missouri band, Mouth. This three-piece  funk and dance band is from Kansas City and they’ve made the not-so-long trek to St. Louis in order to get the crowd at the Gramophone moving.

SATURDAY, May 12th

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The centrepiece of the previously mentioned Missouri Professional Cycling Series, the Tour de Grove is the highest-paying one-day race in all of Missouri. Come down to watch the race as well as to enjoy the various family events and outdoor activities that will going on all day Saturday.

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Loufest Presents Maps and Atlases with openers So Many Dynamos and Sister Crayon at the Firebird. With the pop-influenced Chicago group, Maps and Atlases, headlining and local indie pop band So Many Dynamos as well as California-based Sister Crayon, this show promises to be one great night of music.

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Head down to Brennan’s Wine and Cigars Bar for the listening/release party for Adult Fur‘s new remix album. Rán, the new album composed entirely of remixes, features remixes by Née, CaveofswordS, OuOù, Loose Screwz, Trifeckta, StlLegend, Black James, Mr. Blair, Great Grandma, Eric Hall, Sacha Bernardson (France), and Sonictone (Iceland).

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April 21^st marks the 5^th year of Record Store Day, a day for supporting your local record stores. All over town, St. Louis’ record stores and local labels will be presenting live music and purchase specials.

Euclid Records, Vintage Vinyl, and Apop Records will all feature bands over the weekend.  At Euclid, Doom Town and Magic City kick off the weekend on Friday night, starting at 7pm.   Saturday – Record Store Day proper – sees This City of Takers playing bright and early at 10am at Vintage Vinyl, followed by a showcase from Tower Groove Records all afternoon.  Bunnygrunt, the Skekses, and Warm Jets USA will all play, starting at 1pm. Later that night, Catholic Guilt plays at 5pm at Apop and Sleepy Kitty at 7pm at Euclid Records.

Beyond the live music, Record Store has been embraced by anybody who really matters in music these days. Bands recognize more and more the importance of physical places for consuming music and of supporting the independent businesses who have always supported musicians. Accordingly, there are more exclusive releases this year than any year yet. It’s not just records either: Special-released CDs, DVDs and even cassettes are also available.

Look for exclusive releases from The Misfits, 311, Potugal. The Man, Lou Reed, Uncle Tupelo, Thievery Corp., Arcade Fire, Animal Collective, Artic Monkeys, Otis Redding; Aretha Franklin, Phish, Bruce Springsteen, Common, Dale Earnhardt Jr. Jr., Devo, Jay Farrar, Wilco, and many, many more.

For a complete list, check out the website: http://www.recordstoreday.com/SpecialReleases

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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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Friday March 16, 2012

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Vijay Iyer

Mr. Iyer concludes his 4 night run at Jazz At The Bistro with 2 shows tonight and two more on Saturday night.  If you’ve never heard of him, now’s the chance to learn.  Iyer is all that is right about modern jazz.   The pianist has one foot firmly planted in tradition and the other in the future.   He may be classically trained, but he is far from stuffy.

In the tradition of Miles Davis, here is Iyer’s take on a Michael Jackson classic:

Two shows, 7:30 and 9:30, Tickets are $30

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The Bottoms Up Blues Gang is back from their most recent jaunt on the road and they will be laying down the Blues in true St. Louis tradition tonight at The Venice Cafe. Is there any better place to be on a nice summer night than The Venice Cafe? Even if it’s March, it sure feels like summer!

The band starts at 9pm

Saturday, March 17, 2012 Happy St. Patrick’s Day!

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It’s not all shamrocks and shillelaghs today, so have no fear if that’s not your thing. Local stalwarts Aaron Kamm & The One Drops will be serving up their blues/reggae fusion at Broadway Oyster Bar and it’s sure to be a great time. They definitely create an interesting sound that gets the crowd moving. And I’ll bet B.O.B. will serve you a Guinness or 4 if you really need feel a little Irish

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And if that wasn’t enough Blues for you, you can check out The North Mississippi All-Stars at The Pageant. Rooted deep in the history and culture of southern Blues, the Dickinson brothers, Luther and Cody, lay it down with all l the passion and skill you’d expect from the children of producer Jim Dickinson (who was a legendary session player and producer at Muscle Shoals studio in Alabama – look him up!).

Tickets are $22.50 at the door and the show starts at 8pm with opener Power Mill

So have fun and be safe out there this weekend!

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Lousy Smarch Weather

Everyone here at the Eleven Office is still buzzing from the Yacht show at Plush last night, but now is no time hide from the hail, there is lots more going on this weekend.

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photo by canderson

The hard-rocking duo, Bass Drum Of Death brings their high energy show to St. Louis this week.  Sure, the obvious comparison is to the Black Keys or The White Stripes, right?  But Eleven would never go for the obvious comparison would it?  Would it?

The Old Rock House 8pm $10 with Up The Academy and Tone Rodent & The Airliners

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courtesy of Blind Pilot

As if Yacht wasn’t enough, Blind Pilot continues the stream of Portland bands flowing through Plush, though, they couldn’t sound any more different from the techno, dance, pop, harmonic sounds of Yacht.   The folksy, rootsy sound is right in St. Louis’ wheelhouse.  There is no reason that St. Louis shouldn’t be a huge base of fans for these guys and no reason for you to miss the show!   It’s just too bad there isn’t local support on the bill, as we at Eleven can think of a number of St. Louis bands that would be perfect for the task.

Plush 8pm $13-$15 with Cataldo

Saturday March 3rd, 2012

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The Blind Eyes are celebrating the 3rd birthday of their debut album, Modernity at Off-Broadway. Not only is the show guarentee to rock your socks off, the first 100 people who walk through the door will win themselves a free download card for the album, so you will never forget the experience every time you fire the album up on your iPod.   AND not only that, but if you are the first 100 people through the door, you get the added bonus of seeing two more of St. Louis’ best bands, Union Tree Review and Volcanoes!  It doesn’t get any better than this folks.

Off Broadway, 8pm, $8 with Union Tree Review and Volcanoes.

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Thursday, February 23rd

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Parking lot jungle.

Brooklyn based duo Talk Normal whip heavy drums and guitar into a heady froth of minimalist art that would make Richard Serra proud. Drummer Andyra Ambrio wails from her gut to produce a poised yowl similar to the respected Karen O that goes down easy into a progressively percussive song like Transmission Lost.

The Luminary. 8 PM. $13 – $15. With Zola Jesus, who sings deceptively like Anna Calvi.

Friday, February 24th

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This is so Warhol-ian it ain't even funny.

Comprised of Theodore‘s former lead howler, Justin Kinkel-Schuster, and Oxford, Mississippi housed Andrew Bryant, Water Liars deliver a simple and studied take on folk-rock that cites The Black’s Keys‘ aggressive drum/guitar rampages ($100), and Harry Nilsson‘s knack for intimate, romantic vocals (Dog Eaten).

Thank Andrew Blank (OMG RHYMING) for the kick ass review of Water’s Liars’s debut LP, Phantom Limb in this month’s issue of Eleven. Not only was his assessment fair, it was accurate and intriguing. #JUSTSAYIN’.

Off Broadway. 9 PM. $7. With Bob Reuter’s Alley Ghost and Fred Friction.

Saturday, February 25th

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Dawg.

ONCE UPON A TIME…there was a baby monkey named Britches. He grew up hard, and he grew up fast in the cruel world of laboratory experimentation. It wasn’t until 1985 that he made his escape by personally phoning the Animal Liberation Front. An inspiration for captive stump-tailed macaques (pronounced: MAH-KAK!) everywhere, Britches went on to captivate the world with his woesome tale of sensory deprivation in the name of SCIENCE.

Whether his tale is one of animal cruelty, or one of a morally ambiguous science project for the betterment of mankind, remains unclear. Also on shaky ground: if the mask wearing, noise rock outfit Britches acquired their name from that little guy. For all we know, they could just be really into pants.

Lest I digress, Britches is a trio of possibly pro-furry lads who meld Lou Reed melodrama (“Stand Tall or Don’t Stand at All”) with the explosiveness of Brand New‘s f*$#ing great The Devil and God Are Raging Inside Me (“The Good Years”) into a concoction of hyped up weirdness that’s been thrown into a dumpster only to be crushed into a cube a-la Wall-e, them become broken apart and strewn about into a segmented version of its former incarnation. Yeah.

Schlafly Tap Room. 9 PM. FREE. With Global Distance, and Radiator Greys.

Sunday, February 26th

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Biodome, anyone?

Safer than a tanning bed, a nature to nature, and a Pauly Shore allusion (?), The Climatron is STL’s own synthetic summer. Escape the winter blues by stripping to your June-July-August best with a bunch of strangers and enjoy what is being dubbed a “Beach Party”. Right on, sister.

Missouri Botanical Garden. 12:30 PM. $4 to get into MOBOT if you’re a St. Louis citizen, $8 if you ain’t!

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Thursday, February 9th

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Harry Bertoia, Untitled, 235, ink on paper, c. 1950s

When taking the metrolink to UMSL, post-departing the platform and hesitantly crossing the tracks, a weary traveller will happen upon Gallery 210 and promptly walk past it. If you have time today, tomorrow, this weekend, whenever… check out the worm hole that is 210. Pocketed carefully by UMSL as a craftly means of capitalizing on contemporary art, as Curator Terry Shure chooses a variety of artists for his disparate galleries. Separated by inches, Galleries acutely labeled A, B, and C house national and local artists in objectively disparate roles. Shure rarely melds his  galleries together. He tends to have them stand on their own as his own means of making artwork.

See Harry Bertoia‘s 40 Years of Drawing, an original permutation of his monoprints, sculptures, and furniture at UMSL’s 210 until March 17th from 11 AM – 5 PM.

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Lone ranger, Dave Beeman.

David Beeman is the poster-child for music St. Louis. He’s fronted numerous bands, most recently Old Lights. There’s a little but of Tom Petty in Beeman’s delivery. The same concentration on the frontal lobe, he nasally woos the microphone. The kinda sound you wanna listen to after a stressful day.

See him play with Kit Hamon (of the recording studio Native Sound and Old Lights), for freeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeee, at PLUSH. 8:30 PM.

Friday, February 10th

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From their melancholic "Blue Period"

Before I had seen them, I had read about, heard about, and been bitched at about Little Big Bangs. Suffice it to say, they have penchant for mayhem. And if the rumors are true,  Little Big Bangs might just embody the danger missing from local rock n’ roll both on and off the stage.

Churchill Downs would be equal parts shocked and appalued by this comparison, but the band tears into each song like it’s the last turn before home at the Kentucky Derby. The intensity makes the audience roar louder after every song, push each other around, demand that the band play harder, and the band will return such feral behavior by running itself into an oblivion of muddy grunge riffs and coyote howls. If you want sweaty flanks, flared nostrils, and a drummer that beats. the. shit. out of his ride until it crosses the finish line, you have come to the right place.

Catch ‘em come unbrideled at The Boulder (3200 block of Knapp St.) with Scripts n’ Screwz and 18andcounting. 8PM.

Saturday, February 11th

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She's got leeee-eeeehhhhggggsssss. She knows how to uuussseee ttthhheeemmm!!!

Thought Hollerlujah was a riot? Wait until you see what we have up our sleeves this time around… We’re turning The Skatium into a discotheque complete with faux-70s garb, music, and the right to boogie down.

…and I’m just ganking the rest of this off our Facebook…

“Presented by Eleven Magazine, DJ Invisible Cola, & DJ Boogieman, with special guests M.S.I.F.

It’s cold outside. Stay warm in a pair of roller skates, as Eleven Magazine teams up with the city’s most in-demand disco DJ duo to bring you a night of grooves, moves, and booze.

That’s right, we’re getting down roller disco-style.

Don’t worry though: no previous skating experience necessary, only a willingness to boogie. If you’ve got a bad case of skate-fright, there’s plenty of room for roller-less foxy trot hustlin’. Be sure to wear your finest threads. Sequined and polyester clothes STRONGLY encouraged.

The magic maestros DJ Invisible Cola and DJ Boogieman will lay down the groove sound while you get funky and do the body-to-body boogie. M.S.I.F. will take center-rink at 10 PM for a special music & dance performance guaranteed to get you caught up in a one-night love affair.

Tickets are $8 at the door and include the cost of unlimited skate rental. Once you’re in, it’s $2 beers and $3 well drinks.

This is a 21+ event, so sorry to all the underage groovers and shakers!

M.S.I.F.’s choreography by Jo Morris. Special shout-out to Zoë Scharf for laying down the poster.”

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"Nature is a mutable cloud which is always and never the same." - Emerson

Navigator doesn’t sound like the same band live that they do on their record Bad Case of theVisions. Quiet, confused, and sentimental, when placed in a live setting, the band explodes out of the confines a 7-inch like an atom bomb. They blew the roof off Hollerlujah, changing the molecular chemistry of the night. We’re still brushing the atomic dust off out of our hair.

Accept the radioactivity and watch ‘em level Lemmon’s with Estevan, Potomac Accord, and I.O. Media at 9PM. $5.

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Cayetano Valenzuela licks starburst flavored colors onto canvases with the benevolence of a Lisa Frank spiral notebook. His brushwork is flimsy, his pencil work is flimsier, if not sophomoric. The whole deal is common, colorful, and a little pretentious. It’s almost like his unrefined hand lacks the know-how, or realization of its own rudimentary aesthetic. The only work that hints at formal training is Static Radio Behind the Train Tracks which incorporates acrylic under pencil to delicately maneuvers the folds of the subjects sweater. The clothing is done with such tenderness, it initially appears malleable. With that fraction excellence so confined within the bend of an elbow, Valenzuela eliminates the trivial motifs that charge Aisle 1 Gallery‘s walls. Nighttiming, halos, skulls, stiffly drawn figures are common within the work of uncommon Valenzuela. Overall, the exhibit is unimpressive, but, that minute moment of tenderness caught between the softness of a sleeve’s wrinkles, is enough of a reason to glimpse Valenzuela’s work and ponder its future.

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Presented: the allegorical transformation of Anarbor's extracurricular activities.

Anarbor is, above all things, a pop-rock band. More so, they are a cooperative of five friends who have been playing music together in the badlands of Phoenix, Arizona since middle school. Rare long-term compatability aside, Anarbor also happens to be one of the most potential-ridden bands to access the mainstream in a while. When listening to their major label debut The Words You Don’t Swallow, Cheap Trick charisma, and The Kink’s knack for smirk-inducing subject matter, make for an arresting aural experience.

Lead singer and bass player, Slade Echeverria slings two syllable words like “women” (wuh-mhhhnnn’s more like it) out of his gullet with a wild west passive-aggressiveness that a secure talent can provide. He just sounds like the guy who purrs into your ear all night, then leaves the bed cold in the morning after he’s done cleaning his pistol in the sink. If a one-night-stand had a voice, it’d be Echeverria’s.

When performing live, he brings the same Jesse James-swag to his front-man position while members Mike Kitlas, Adam Juwig, and Greg Garrity comfortably handle the stage terrain like mustangs that have managed to escape the clutches of fun sucking cowhands.

Notes are hit, guitars are swung, fun is had. See Anarbor at The Firebird around 8 PM with these people and ask yourself why they aren’t the headliners.

Sunday, February 12th

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Where's the E?

I watched a lot of the documentary Hoop Dreams when I was trying to figure out whether or not I wanted to quit basketball in my Junior year of high school. The tale of two boys struggling to access the higher floors of the sporting industry was more relatable for me, an underfed-over aggressive giraffe with a daring J, than Basketball Diaries or He Got Game. Given my familiarity with the doc of Chicago players William Gates and Arthur Agee, I never thought I’d see the film’s title, a postcard for their troubles as poor, young African American men become a track for synthful- electronic act Teen Girl Fantasy.

See ‘em for $5, or free if you have the money to attend Wash U, at The Gargoyle. 8PM.

Monday, February 13th

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That poor penguin.

If being previewed in this month’s Eleven wasn’t enough,  it’s time to brace the “why” in “why you need to see” Talkdemonic.

A grind-producing hybridization of folk and electronic, Talkdemonic are a muse for a smokey-night by the pond in summer. Their live show rest lax restraint on the ambient echoes of a slow moving current towards floatation. Get a raft, lay down, mold to it in the water, and you have Talkdemonic’s loving sound.

Check ‘em with locals Navigator (I though fishes could hibernate?) at The Gramophone. 8 PM. $12.

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Thursday, February 2nd

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Is this not a fantastic photo? Golly!

Jubilee is not only a badass player in the X-Men game, but the stage name for another righteous lady coming to STL to bring a special blend of authentic hot jazz and swing music. Miss Jubilee combines playful stand-up bass with vocals that sound like they come right off your record player. Songs like “All of Me” bring energetic vocals akin to Miss Patsy Cline (think “Stupid Cupid“) with a the constant rhythmic trotting of a Hackney Pony.

See her 8 PM – 11 PM at The Schlafly Tap Room. Free, or so it seems.

Friday, February 3rd

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 The Skekses are a duo of Elly and Evan who bring the sleepy-pretty to Nashville sound. Acoustic compositions like “Mattress Truck” have the quiet composure of timeless country music without the cacophonous twang associated with contemporary songs. Just don’t ask me how to pronounce that name! Need more music? Peep their 9-track album, Collapse of an Alternate Universe here.

Also playing: Spoken Nerd (“satirical indie hip hop” = deft white man’s rhymes) and HUMDRUM. At The Schlafly Tap Room from 9 PM – midnight. Fo’ Free!

Saturday, February 4th

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Yeah, their lives shows are kinda like that...but bigger.

Bo and the Locomotive have garnered a lot of attention from STL music connoisseurs. To site a few recent instance: they make a video for STL.today’s LISTEN, their drummer Steven “interviews” Pretty Little Empire for KDHX as part of the ongoing Show Me Shows project,…oh!, and some publication I’ve never heard of called The Riverfront Times deemed their album “On My Way” as one of the best local releases of 2011. Not to mention, some of us (OKAY ME) at Eleven have this super professional propensity for getting drunk and seeing them live while simultaneously having the time of their lives…but whatever. Passionate, loud, exciting, and pretty damn talented, the group has a relatability and pervasive energy that make you feel at so at home, that you forget they’re not your house.

If you haven’t seen them live, you kinda owe it to yourself to get on the bandwagon and get down to The Firebird at 8 PM. It’s a $5 show so bring enough money for beer and celebrate The Firebird’s 3rd Anniversary with Bo and the Locomotive, Mutts, The Blind Eyes, and Sleepy Kitty.

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These team names are unreal...M-80s?! I love it!

Are you a fan of Drew Barrymore‘s feature length directorial debut, Whip It but always questioned the legitimacy of roller derby? Pontificate no more. STL’s Arch Rival Roller Girls are heading into their playoffs and demand you to come screaming and cheering for the packs of women haulin’ around a rink crackin’ skulls and scorin’ points in order to make their championship dreams come true.

See the action in Queeny Park’s Midwest Sport Hockey Rink around 7:30 PM for $15. No one said watchin’ chicks sweat and kick ass was free!

Sunday, February 5th

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I'd date Donald.

Head on over to CAM to check out Christodoulos Panayiotou‘s One Thousand and One Days exhibit. Themed on what cultural ceremonies says about a place, the exhibit of mainly black and white photographs (including some stunning full-color sunsets) explores different rituals of our domestic cultures and those foreign to us.

The photos are strikingly literal, you’ll wander around and see some familiar faces (Santa Clause, for instance), and moments of foreign tendencies that’ll make you scratch your head. A little incongruous, mostly intriguing, the photographs spark a conversation about how our cultures can relate to one other through what were commonly thought of as idiosyncratic moments of custom.

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Thursday, January 26

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In the Locals get LOUD feature of last month’s publication, we educated you on the ways of the STL LOUD crew. The LOUD Label is an extension of R&R Music Labs, a home-grown studio with its hand in the cookie jar of accessibility. Every so often they put together these compilations of unreleased music by local artists and have a release show per compilation. These local advocates have a goal to give St. Louis peeps and outsiders a taste of the music STL has to offer. Well, their latest release is up and ready to be celebrated. Look for Rum Drum Ramblers, Rev. Matt, and The LuLus can be found at Off Broadway. 7:30 PM. FREE!

Friday, January 27

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Last shows are always kind of a bummer, but at least this one brings hopes of a rekindling. Jailbox‘s Andy Tranz and Joseph Bassa have a relocation in the works, so they’ll be absent from the St. Louis music scene for a while.  Favoring “more slow songs than fast songs” (or so their FB says), tracks like “Baltimore” favor fragile guitar and a sweet vocal delivery. See ‘em at Plush. 8 PM. $5.

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I’m confused and frightened by this image.

Promising what seems like fun, “down and dirty drunken rock & roll from SPACE”, to be exact, The Browncoats‘ music certainly alludes to the extra terrestrial. “Space Age Loser” takes on Beck‘s token theme of loneliness and loser-dom and turns it into a reason( littered with grunge-inspired classic guitar riffs) to celebrate. See them at The Crack Fox with Gold Tooth and The Krank Daddies. Show 9 PM. $8.

Saturday, January 28

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I bet that thing still flies…

The enigmatic band formerly known as Ping Pong, Pillow Talk describe themselves as “noisy, weird, weird”. Good enough for me. The Winchester. Shaved Women. Black Panties.

See ‘em at Lemmons. 8:00 PM. $5.

QUICK QUESTION: Who, when they read “Black Panties”, thinks about this scene from 10 Things I Hate About You? BB JGL 4 LYFE!).

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The hat and pallid epidermis seal it for me.

Our Editor Tara has been blasting Michael Franco all afternoon after interviewing venue mate Cartweel for Eleven’s blog. From what I’ve gleaned, he’s worth a look and listen. Ambient hip-hip beats under Billy Holiday vocal samples? Heck yes! Watch him work at Off Broadway (and in this video) tonight at 8:30 with Adult Fur and Cartwheel. $7.

Sunday, January 29

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Nice space, Adam!

With a unique set of pipes (think a restrained Tim McIlrath), flowing acoustic guitar, and a base of ambient tones, Adam Arcuragi is a nice reprieve from the cloying clutches of most singer-songwriters (with the exception of Drake Bell, dang it!).

See him at Cicero’s. 8PM. $8.

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