All Aboard for Fun Times: St. Louis show highlights for February 3-4

All Aboard for Fun Times Train

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There’ve been a few additions to the venue scene of late, but I’ve neglected to note a subtraction: the days of touring acts at St. Louis University’s the Billiken Club are apparently over. It was rumored that the fall schedule would signal the end, and an open-mic is the only event posted for the spring.
 
I’m sure many fans of their free shows are bummed, but I appreciate having one less website to track; it’s becoming quite a task to follow all the ones on my radar. I think we’re easily at a saturation point with venues, absent a bunch of young folk following the leads of Pokey LaFarge, Paige Brubeck/Evan Sult (of Sleepy Kitty) and David Beeman (of Old Lights) by migrating here, along with most of our own sticking around.
 
Yes, Virginia, there really is a December show calendar still lingering on the Mangia Italiano website. If you know someone who’s gonna be playing there, better tell ‘em to self-promote extensively; the venue usually waits until the day of a show to do Facebook posts, which isn’t much help.
 
There are a reasonable number of shows worth recommending this weekend, although there’s nothing of interest on Sunday for a change. I guess the Super Bowl alternative concept is on hiatus.

Friday, February 3        
 
I should’ve mentioned this in the last edition, the Dr. Lonnie Smith Trio is this week’s act at Jazz at the Bistro (3536 Washington), playing organ-centric bop in the spirit of Jimmie Smith. Ryan Wasoba offers his impressions of them for the RFT.
 
Sets are at 7:30 and 9:30, with a $30 cover ($25 if you can make it to a Thursday set; $10 for students at all shows), attendees of early sets are often invited to stay for the second. Smoke-free.
 
Marleyfest 8 with Murder City Players and guests
Blueberry Hill Duck Room  6504 Delmar  9:30-1  $15  Smoke-free
 
It’s been a pleasant winter here, but it’s still warmer in the Caribbean, where MCP, our town’s reggae institution will take you (at least in your mind) as they lay down riddems for Prince Philip, Tony Rome and several guest singers in their annual tribute to Rasta Man #1. 
 
Miss Jubilee and the Humdingers
Beale on Broadway  701 S. Broadway  10-2  $7  Smoking, moderate to heavy
 
High-energy swing-jazz and R&B sounds from MJatH.
 
I assume this takes place indoors, which means it’ll be cramped, and probably quite smoky.
 
If you feel a need to do some cretin hoppin’ instead of swingin’ or groovin’, you can head to Off Broadway (3509 Lemp) to check out Punk Rock Isn’t Dead, It Just Smells Funny. Bass Amp & Dano headline, joined by the Haddonfields, Black for a Second and the Chill Dawgs. The show starts at 8, with a $7 cover (+3 20-under). Smoke-free.
 
Saturday, February 4
 
Jazz at the Bistro hosts the Dr. Lonnie Smith Trio for their last two sets, same details as Friday.
 
The Blind Eyes / Bo and the Locomotive / Mutts / Sleepy Kitty
Firebird  2706 Olive  9-1  $5 (+3 18-20)  Smoke-free
 
This show celebrates the venue’s third anniversary with a diverse bill. Soulful, jangly pop from TBE. BatL are fronted by Bo Bulawsky (son of Magic City frontman Larry), playing indie rock with a folk rock vein. Chicago trio M have a gritty, blues-rock sound that’s reminiscent of Black Diamond Heavies. It’s been a while since SK has played (to my knowledge), the duo offer a pop-rock base melded with improvisation via loops and effects.      
 
Swing DeVille

Schlafly Bottleworks  7260 Southwest  9-12  Free  Smoke-free
 
Fans of western swing or jazz artists like Django Rinehardt and Stephane Grappelli will dig SDV, sweet sounds from players with serious chops.
 
Marleyfest 8 wraps up night two at Blueberry Hill, same particulars as before.
 
Your humble servant,

Dick Caveat

Posted by | February 2, 2012 | Local, Music | Comment 

Thursday morning music news: Abigail Washburn returns from the Silk Road, Garbage and Jack White return (full stop) and Don Cornelius and King Stitt journey on

facebook.com/jackwhite

Farewell to the chief engineer of Soul Train. Don Cornelius has died.

Alan Lomax dreamed of a global jukebox of folk music and culture. That dream is about to come true.

Lana Del Rey has had a really bad couple of weeks. Or has she?

Coming to a theatre near you soon: Katy Perry in 3D.

RIP King Stitt, reggae dancehall legend.

Abigail Washburn is back from a rather extraordinary tour of China, and she has the video and photos to prove it.

Fucked Up counters (not really) by streaming all of its Chinese New Year singles (really).

Adele is slated to appear at the Grammys. Ditto for Glen Campbell.

Dear Mr. Gingrich: Better luck with “Eye of the Newt” as a theme song.

Listen to “Love Interruption,” the new single by Jack White.

Fader shares a new MP3 by Vancouver’s Teen Daze.

UK acid housers Happy Mondays are reforming and touring. No US dates as yet.

So, you were probably wondering: “Just how many songs get shared on Facebook monthly?” About 1 billion.

Brooklyn Vegan shares a new song from the forthcoming Jim Jarmusch and Jozef Van Wissem album.

John Morthland profiles Don Robey and the Duke-Peacock label.

Village Voice Media has thought better of suing to keep control of two little words: “Best of.”

Was January 20, 1992 a really, really good day for Ice Cube? “Nice try.”

Neil Young and Crazy Horse set first live show in eight years.

Techdirt shares an infographic on the entertainment industry. Spolier: It’s a happy infographic.

Garbage (the band) is making a comeback. Shirley Manson speaks.

Patterson Hood and Mike Mills (and friends) take on Walmart, in video and song.

The Flaming Lips have a new band member. Her name is Siri.

The Black Keys’ Dan Auebach digs into Nashville cuisine with Bon Appétit.

Not to be a killjoy, but the Super Bowl is about money, not sport. Gary Glitter likes it that way.

Posted by | February 2, 2012 | Music, News | 1 Comment 

Marley / Volare: Bob Marley memories on the occasion of his 67th birthday

wikimedia.commons.org / Ueli Frey

Now and again in addition to co-hosting the reggae radio program Positive Vibrations on KDHX I do club spins. No chatter, just a lotta platter. Roots, dub, dancehall from eighties to present as long as the music’s conscious, or at least thoughtfully sexy and wittily worded, with a couple of shakes of rock steady.

One October Saturday night a couple of years ago, I did the early set, 6-10 p.m., at Atomic Cowboy. As regular denizens know, even among nightspots in the Manchester Grove, Atomic is set apart, a 3 a.m. nightclub-restaurant (better than average food, too) with music ranging from hip hop and house DJs to indie rock and jam bands. Servers can be expected to wear a mélange of leather, denim, piercings and tattoos, a point I mention only because of the contradistinction soon to appear. I was in their outdoor space on a raised stage in front of the patio and covered bar. A bonfire to my left would begin as soon as the sun went down.

The night was warm with a light breeze. First hour I came out with old time Treasure Isle, original riddims sliding into newer versions, same thing with Studio One, stirred and shaken with top-shelf dub. People arrived in trickles. Next hour I flicked the discs experimentally, Ernie Ranglin merging into Thievery Corporation, a Bob Marley “Stir it Up” running into a Nigerian tune with the same structure, and ran a sequence of new takes on old riddims, including Bob Marley’s “Coming in From the Cold” and Desmond Dekker’s “(007) Shanty Town.”

The real energy was at a picnic table, eight middle-aged folks of Indian descent hunched into each other, six on the benches and two on chairs on each end. A couple of the women wore saris, but the rest were in western attire. Several times I looked their way; the people didn’t seem perceptibly affected by the music. They ordered a full dinner and several rounds of drinks. Off to the side, purely for decoration, the bonfire was lit.

In the last hour I put on a dub and went to the bar so I could start tapping the $20 credit that came as part of the deal. One of the men from the picnic table was standing there, and I nodded at him. He began talking.

The man was sixty-ish, wearing the retiree’s regulation plaid shirt and a crisp haircut, and bore the aura of an immigrant freshly dispensed from the church van for an elderhostel lecture. He and his kin had heard my jams for a solid hour and a half, and I would have enjoyed being reggae ambassador for a minute but I had set the music loud. I could hear almost nothing beyond chin-kuhchun, chin-kuhchin of guitar, backbeat and the wicked Prince Jammy-produced crash of the cymbals.

I began thinking the man was a pharmacist, likely somebody unaccustomed to nightclubs. Maybe he and the missus originated in New Delhi early that morning and had been in transit all day. I began trying to imagine his story. They had just gotten off the plane, and the diasporan relatives had taken the weary couple directly to midtown St. Louis for their first night in America. To Atomic Cowboy for dinner and music. This must all seem very strange.

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Posted by | February 1, 2012 | Culture, KDHX, Local, Music | 3 Comments 

Buddhas and Beeps playlist

Kate Estwing

I really enjoyed working on this playlist and presenting it alongside Reflections of the Buddha at the Pulitzer Foundation for the Arts. Some artists and labels that sprang to mind immediately, played heavily into the final mix, such as artists Four Tet, Tycho and Moby; and labels like Ghostly International, Warp, and Om.

Peruse the setlist below and please support the artists if you enjoy what you hear. Reflections of the Buddha continues to run through March 10.

Sound Waves, a collaboration between the Pulitzer Foundation for the Arts and 88.1 KDHX

Thursday, January 26, 6-9 p.m.

(Playlist as Artist “Song” from “Album” on Label)

Chad Valley “Reach Lines” from “Equatorial Ultravox” on Cascine - listen

Birds & Batteries “Sneaky Times” from “Up To No Good” on Eightmaps - listen/download

Flying Lotus “Zodiac Shit” from “Cosmogramma” on Warp - listen/video

Massive Attack “Inertia Creeps [Album Version]” from “Inertia Creeps” - listen/video

Porcelain Raft “Tip Of Your Tongue (Keep Shelly in Athens Remix)” from “Tip of Your Tongue Remix EP” on Acephale - download

Kodak to Graph “Zagroz” from “Visio’l EP” on Bad Panda Records - listen/download

Orbital “Halcyon (7″ Version)” from “Work 1989-2002″ on FFRR

Four Tet “Circling” from “There Is Love In You” on Domino

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Posted by | February 1, 2012 | Culture, Music | Comment 

Breaking: Van Dyke Parks in St. Louis at the Luminary Center for the Arts, April 5, 2012

Howard Stanbury

This just in from the Luminary Center for the Arts:

On April 5th, The Luminary welcomes the legendary composer Van Dyke Parks to the Elevator Music Series. Over the course of a 50 year career, Parks has worked with the Beach Boys, Joanna Newsom, Ringo Starr in addition to his own celebrated releases. Join us for this very special seated performance in The Luminary’s gallery space. Seating is limited to 250, so we recommend purchasing in advance.

Very exciting, and who knows when he was last in town? Tickets available through Brown Paper Tickets.

Posted by | January 31, 2012 | Music, News | Comment 

Pop! The Beat Bubble Burst expands its Black History Month celebration

The Beatles and Little Richard, 1962. Photo by Les Chadwick for Mersey Beat.

Pop! The Beat Bubble Burst covers many genres and sub-genres — British Invasion, Mersey beat, folk rock, garage rock, power pop, jangle pop, pub jock — but without the influence of African Americans it’s doubtful that many of those genres would exist, and if they did they would most likely not merit our attention.

It is because of this that I will be recognizing and celebrating those contributions by setting aside the four February shows (February 2, 9, 16 and 23) on P!TBBB.

This year I’ll be expanding said celebration. During the show’s first three years, the month featured three weeks of the bands that appear regularly on P!TBBB covering blues, soul R&B and other material either written by or performed by African Americans. The last show of the month has featured selections from the first three shows performed by the songs’ originators.

This year valis from Trip Inside This House will be joining me and providing the music for the February 2 show. Trip Inside This House is valis’ weekly exploration of the last 40 plus years of psychedelia; he will be bringing that expertise to P!TBBB. The show will feature two hours of music by the likes of Jimi Hendrix, Sly Stone, Muddy Waters and the Temptations, which will showcase the  contributions African Americans have made to psychedelia.

The remaining three shows will revert to the format from the last three years of Februaries. Those shows have not been finalized yet, but will no doubt mine selections from the following: Georgie Fame and the Blue Flames, Cliff Bennett & the Rebel Rousers, the Kinks, the Searchers, the Rolling Stones, the Beatles, Tony Jackson, Manfred Mann and many more. You can expect to hear original versions by bands and performers like: Brenda Holloway, the Supremes, Little Richard, Chuck Berry and Otis Redding to name several.

So, please join me (and valis) and celebrate Black History Month as we pay tribute to and celebrate the unique, dynamic and undeniable contributions made by African Americans to the music of Pop! The Beat Bubble Burst (and beyond).

Pop! The Beat Bubble Burst airs Thursday mornings, 5-7 a.m. Central on 88.1 KDHX.

Posted by | January 30, 2012 | Culture, KDHX, Music | Comment 

Discovery: Charlie Parr drives a mean ‘Gospel Plow’ (MP3 download)

charlieparr.com

Charlie Parr is a Duluth-based country blues musician, a juxtaposition of location and genre which is only surprising if you haven’t heard of Bob Dylan.

At the deepest core of Dylan’s music, in all its peregrinations, is, quite simply, the blues, especially the country blues, a point Dylan punctuated with his two mid-’90s albums “Good as I Been to You” and “World Gone Wrong.”

Charlie Parr’s career, which goes back to the early 2000s, has always stayed close to the howling, hieratic vernacular of Furry Lewis, Son House, the Mississippi Sheiks, Dock Boggs and Dave Van Ronk. Greg Brown, another Midwestern, contemporary country blues-based musician, has sung Parr’s praises.

Just listen to Parr’s take on “Gospel Plow” and you’ll hear why.

Recorded in a baptist church in St. Paul, Parr’s new album is “Keep Your Hands on the Plow,” and features the talents of fellow Minnesotans Alan Sparhawk and Mimi Parker (of Low), among others. It’s hard-scrabble, joyous and profound — the way country blues should be.

You can catch Charlie Parr, live in St. Louis, at Off Broadway for a 7:30 p.m. seated show on Thursday, February 2.

“Gospel Plow” – Charlie Parr

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Posted by | January 30, 2012 | Downloads, Music | Comment 

‘Flights of fancy’ An interview with Tara Young, Artistic Director of Michael Jackson: The Immortal World Tour

cirquedusoleil.com

Michael Jackson the man may have left us, but his musical legacy lives on through his fans and his numerous hits, spanning across five decades.

Local MJ fans will have a chance to experience his music up-close and personal when the Estate of Michael Jackson and Cirque du Soleil present Michael Jackson: The Immortal World Tour at the Scottrade Center on February 7 and 8.

The show, written and directed by renowned pop concert director Jamie King, combines Michael Jackson’s music, moves and message with a sensory feast of more than 60 international Cirque du Soleil dancers, musicians and acrobats.

The show’s Artistic Director, Tara Young, took some time out for a quick interview about the production.

Amy Burger: What can Michael Jackson fans expect to get out of this show?

Tara Young: The true Michael fans will be touched to hear his voice and his words. Watching this performance, they will feel all sorts of emotions. They might feel like dancing, but may also shed a few tears. This show appeals to everybody, not only Michael Jackson fans. Our audiences have been simply amazing since we have started.

Is there live singing, or does it use Michael’s recorded music with live choreography?

The show is driven by Michael Jackson’s voice. Musical Designer Kevin Antunes had access to original recordings of Michael’s music. He isolated his voices and rearranged the music with Musical Director, and longtime Michael Jackson musician, Greg Phillinganes. During the show, it is Michael’s voice leading the way, but the rest is live. We have an incredible 12-piece band onstage — nine musicians and three singers. It is a very experienced band; five of them have performed with Michael Jackson himself.

How is this show unlike other Cirque du Soleil shows?

Unlike any other Cirque show is the right way to describe it. This show is probably closer to a pop rock concert, nothing like previous Cirque creations you may have seen. You will get Jackson’s signature moves and Cirque’s reputation for flights of fancy and astounding acrobatics. We have an incredible group of talented artists, some of the best dancers, the best acrobats and the best musicians all coming together to pay tribute to Michael’s legacy.

What role did the Jackson family have in the development of this tribute?

This production is the first ever tribute to Michael Jackson being authorized by The Jackson Estate. The Jackson family was consulted during the creation, but they weren’t directly involved. They have been extremely supportive since it started in Montreal this past October. Michael’s mother, Katherine, his three kids and some of his brothers attended the Montreal premiere, as well as our Las Vegas premiere. They have had only kind comments about the production.

What message do you hope the show conveys to the audience about Michael and his legacy?

There was a lot of pressure creating a production paying tribute to Michael’s music, legacy and his messages of peace and unity. We hope that our audience will leave the show having a better understanding of who Michael Jackson really was as a human being. Michael’s music has touched, and continues to touch, audiences of all colors, ages and genders. We are always amazed to see such diverse crowds every night.

Michael Jackson: The Immortal World Tour will be at the Scottrade Center, February 7-8.

Posted by | January 30, 2012 | Interviews, Music | Comment 

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