If you're not sure that country music is cool, then Hayes Carll has a sound thay may convince you.

Alvin Youngblood Hart wrapped his hand around the neck of his guitar as though there wasn't a better thing to hold on to. He played the blues, and that's all there was to it.

Monday night at the Firebird was full of deja vu, with bands performing that I had either seen many times before or could have sworn I had.

St. Louis has it good. Good beer, good music and good venues. And Saturday night local was king at the Pageant in celebration of Schlafly Beer's 21st year in operation.

The Hobosexuals kept it simple and clean at Off Broadway on Sunday evening with a set of folky blues.

The Nevermores were the first of three opening bands and were very vocal about how much they appreciated the early birds.

As of 8 p.m. last night at Off Broadway there were only a few bodies scattered in the chairs as Joe Kile drifted to the stage. It was a quiet night and Kile's stories echoed just above the click of boot heels and the occasional whisper from the crowd.

Kentucky Knife Fight cut into Thursday night with a vengeance. The local punk/blues/all-around-gritty-rock-n-roll band set the tone for the night that was thankfully met by Heavy Cream.

In addition to band names starting with S, husband-and-wife collaborations were the name of the game at Off Broadway Saturday night.

What a fine, fine night of rock 'n' roll it was Saturday night at the Pageant. Street Fighting Band pulled out all the stops and played a three-hour marathon of Rolling Stones songs.