One More Thing

Here's yet another thing for you kids in St. Louis to do tonight -- head out to Off Broadway to see 7 Shot Screamers and the Sex Robots. I know it's last minute, but that's just the way things are done around here.

MP3s:
7 Shot Screamers - Take It All
Sex Robots - Take Me Out Dancin'
Sex Robots - Jet Awesome


7 Shot Screamers - "Confusion":


7 Shot Screamers -"Lust":

Los Angeles Is Burning

Some Stuff

Here's some older stuff I've been meaning to get to for a while:

One of the friends I was with at The Hold Steady/Thermals show wrote a review of it for Playback, which you can read here.

Here are some pictures from the Apples in Stereo show a few weeks ago:

Dozemarypool

Dozemarypool, a great band from St. Louis, has finally released its first proper album, after a series of demos, CD-R's and EPs, called Three Pieces. The three pieces of Dozemarypool, guitarist Ryan Stoutenborough, drummer Andy Stoutenborough, and bassist Keith Mangles, create the sort of swirling, cascading and textured music that brings to mind bands like Ride, My Bloody Valentine, Doves, and even Radiohead.

They are playing a CD release party this Saturday at the Duck Room with Brain Regiment, another great St. Louis band. This show also serves as the farewell show for Brain Regiment, who are calling quits with a final album, Dissoulution. It's a shame, really, as the band has finally perfected its mix of jangle, fuzz, and jay farrar-isms. It'll be good times.



MP3's:
Dozemarypool - Curious The Cat Killer
Dozemarypool - Dream
Brain Regiment - South City L

Aqueduct

Aqueduct are playing this Saturday at the Biliken Club with Australia's Youth Group and Columbia, Missouri's The Foundry Field Recordings. Aqueduct's newest album, Or Give Me Death is a logical and impressive step forward from the band's previsou album, I Sold Gold. As anyone who saw them last year (or was it two years ago?) at Cicero's can attest, Aqueduct puts on a fun and engaging live show. The Foundry Field Recordings are a member of the Columbia, Missouri collective/label Emergency Umbrella, and play a hazy version of understated mid-90's indie pop. They are definitely worth catching as well.

MP3's:
Aqueduct - Living A Lie
Aqueduct - As You Wish
Aqueduct - Growing Up With GNR
Aqueduct - Hardcore Days & Softcore Nights
Youth Group - Sorry
Youth Group - Dead Zoo
Youth Group - Forever Young
The Foundry Field Recordings - Clones Were Made For Them But Not For Us
The Foundry Field Recordings - Assembled Hazardly
The Foundry Field Recordings - Battle Brigades
The Foundry Field Recordings - Archery Bots
The Foundry Field Recordings - Buy/Sell/Trade

Hey, look - it's been a week since I posted!

I know it seems like I post about Gentleman Auction House about every week, but I just wanted to quickly point out a great write-up the band got on their recent trek down to Austin, Texas, for South by Southwest (thanks to Annie Z and the RFT Blog for alerting me -- and everyone else -- to it). They even have a couple live clips of the band's performance. You can catch them this Friday night at the Duck Room with Shed Shot, the Bombshell Betties, and Jesse Irwin.

Spring Equinox

The fine kids of Gentleman Auction House are putting on a party at Off Broadway tomorrow night, March 21st, ostesibly to celebrate the Spring Equinox, with a pair of Asthmatic Kitty bands, the Castanets and Shapes and Sizes, and St. Louis' Laite. It's a great lineup and promises to be a dandy of a time.

MP3's:
Gentleman Auction House - Every One Has Taken Their Hat Off But You
Castanets - All That I Know
Castanets - Three Days Four Nights
Shapes and Sizes - Island's Gone Bad
Shapes and Sizes - Wilderness

The Hold Steady/The Thermals Pics

The Hold Steady and The Thermals put on a great show to a sold out crowd here in St. Louis on Thursday night. The crowd was definitely there for the Hold Steady, but The Thermals were great, too.

The Hold Steady:










Some chick that helped herself onto the stage. Craig was clearly annoyed, asking the crowd, "Which one of you is here with the drunk?":


The whole crowd on the stage during the last song:


The Thermals:










Rob Corddry was at the show, for some reason. I couldn't sneak a pic of him, so this will have to do:

Tonight

Don't forget to come out to Off Broadway tonight for what promises to be one of the best shows of 2007 yet, to see The Hold Steady and The Thermals.

Here's some live footage to get you ready/convince you:

The Hold Steady performing "Stuck Between Stations" on Letterman:


The Hold Steady - "Cattle and the Creeping Things":


The Hold Steady - "Your Little Hoodrat Friend":


The Thermals - "Here's Your Future":

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Bonus:
Mogwai performing "You Don't Know Jesus" live at La Route Du Rock 2001:

In the News

St. Louis' very own daily paper, the Post-Dispatch, has a couple decent articles on local bands that I often blog about. The first is a profile about local bands heading down to South by Southwest this week (something the Riverfront Times already did), including an interview with Waterloo's Mark Ray.

The second is piece on bands utilizing the "write it, play it, publish it, sell it, do it yourself" method of music promotion and features a mention of Dividng By Zero Favorite Gentleman Auction House.

Morrissey

So, I may have jumped the gun in November, but it looks like the Moz is now playing at the Pageant on May 22 with Kristeen Young.

Here's the video for Morrissey's "You Have Killed Me":

Tonight

I won't be able to make it, since I am in Florida on vacation... a vacation on which I have been working the whole time... but I thought I'd remind you of a great show at the Duck Room tonight - Margot and the Nuclear So & So's, Page France, and Canada.

New Releases

As I am sure you probably know, this week is completely loaded with new releases, including Arcade Fire, Air, !!!, Albert Hammond, Jr., Bright Eyes, Kaiser Chiefs, Son Volt, The Stooges, and My Brightest Diamond all releasing new albums. In lieu of actually writing about any of them, I leave you with some choice live cuts from Air:

Air - Sexy Boy:


Air with Phoenix, performing a very different version of "Sexy Boy":


Air with Phoenix performing a rocked-up version "Kelly Watch the Stars":

Someone Still Loves You Harry Potter

Someone Still Loves You Boris Yeltsin is playing with Harry and the Potters at Sunnen Lounge on the campus of Webster University tomorrow night (Tuesday, March 6th). The show is open to the public and starts at 8. I am a big fan of the Springfield, Missouri-based SSLYBY and their brand of indie-pop, and saw them put on a great show at the Creepy Crawl with The Changes a few months ago. I am not that familiar with Harry and the Potters, but they certainly deserve credit for the name. The band consists of two brothers and hails from Boston, Mass. And, yes, they sing about characters from the books.

MP3:
Someone Still Loves You Boris Yeltsin - House Fire

Ben Kweller & Magnolia Summer Pictures

On Wednesday night, I saw Ben Kweller and opening band Magnolia Summer. Magnolia Summer was, as usual, great. It was nice to see them well received by a crowd that was probably not that familiar with them. Ben Kweller was great, too. The band was tight and energetic. I wasn't expecting him to be so short. When he sat down at the piano, you couldn't even see the top of his head (the stage is only about three feet high). I was also really surprised by how funny he was in his stage banter. I won't try to re-create it, but he was quite funny and charming. They played everything you'd want to hear, including some more rarely-played songs, like "Down".

Here are some pictures.

Ben Kweller:








Magnolia Summer:






Edit: I forgot to put this video of Ben Kweller performing "Commerce, TX" at the show:

Tonight

Congrats certainly go out to the kids in Gentleman Auction House, as the pressing of their debut EP, The Rules Were Handed Down, recently sold out. That's 1000 copies for those of you keeping score at home. As a result, the band is having a "big sale" to celebrate (read: pay for) the second pressing. As Mike Tomko (guitar, vocals) recently emailed me, "All copies of the EP bought at shows, Vintage Vinyl or downloaded through our Myspace page will be just $5 from March 1st through the end of April." So, if you've only downloaded a free song here or there of the band,suck it up and support them by paying $5 for the EP -- it's well worth it.



If you can't make it to Vintage Vinyl and don't know how to use a computer, you can get a copy of the EP tonight, when they play live at Cicero's to celebrate the release of the Jumbling Towers' new CD. Also playing will be Say Panther (who I wrote about here) and Ghost In the Forest.

MP3's:
Gentleman Auction House - Every One Has Taken Their Hat Off But You
Say Panther - Chik Chika

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If you're in more of a post-rock-with-your-(post)-cock-out mode tonight, you can head to Mangia to see Riddle of Steel, who just returned from a grand tour of Europe and are currently preparing their third full-length album. Minneapolis' Story of the Sea will also be performing.

MP3's:
Ridlde of Steel - The Gaping Jaw
Story of the Sea - Karma

Query

Is it lamer to name your band "Very Special Guest" or "Free Beer"?