Backstage Pass

AFI w/the Explosion Mississippi Nights, April 19

As I shuffled into the sardine-tight throng gathered at Mississippi Nights on April 19, the first thing noticeable was that just about every type of person was represented: punks, goths, norms, metalheads, young-uns, thirtysomethings—everyone was there. All types of people gathered to support AFI touring their sixth album and major-label debut, Sing the Sorrow. The show sold out well in advance, despite sharing a weekend with Pigface, Thrill Kill Kult, Bile, and Ministry performances at nearby venues.

AFI vocalist Davey Havok said it best himself: "Luckily, we have a lot of people who just focus on the music and appreciate us for what we are. So we get fans from all different genres of music: the jocks, the spooky kids, skaters, college kids, punk rockers, hardcore kids, metal kids, all that."

Indeed they do. I walked in with no preconceived notions, and walked out feeling truly impressed with the energy and professionalism of their live show.

Upon my entrance, the Explosion had the stage. In reality, they neither exploded nor fizzled, but plugged away somewhere in between. The music was good, straightforward punk rock but the frontman seemed frazzled when momentary technical difficulties forced him to interact with the crowd longer than anticipated.

In sharp contrast, AFI hit the stage like the seasoned pros they obviously were. Simple yet effective white and blue lighting and smoke created a tightly choreographed ambience which was maintained throughout the band’s performance. This four-piece put out as much energy as expected from a band which came out of the hardcore punk scene, although the sound was undeniably mainstream, polished and overlaid with a gothic veneer.

Drummer Adam Carson pounded for all he was worth. Guitarist Jade Puget and bassist Hunter were entertaining to watch, with their synchronized Euro-smart suits and style of sharing a stage, constantly playing off the audience and each other. Havok ripped out the lyrics as of his life depended on it and gave one hell of a show, alternating expertly between screaming and singing. With his long black hair and pale face, he looked like a goth girl’s wet dream yet had the endurance of a machine and the agility of a monkey. Half the show he spent swinging from the ceiling pipes.

Many of AFI’s older fans at the show mourned the departure from their earlier punk sound. Yet for each disappointed fan, there were at least 50 enthralled ones who bounced and sang along to the set with a cult-like fervency. Overall, it was a good time provided by performers who truly know what they are doing. —Amy Bidz

Guided by Voices Mississippi Nights, April 25

You’re at a concert in St. Louis. Beatle Bob, wearing his vintage best, introduces the band with gusto. Five men in black shirts play a series of rock anthems, free of electronic elements, girlie vocals, or anything notably trendy or now. A guitarist raises his fist triumphantly between power chords. A man in his 40s downs beers with ease, executing drunken novice-style karate kicks and swinging his microphone on its cord in between slurred deliveries of husky, sometimes unintelligible vocals. And in the audience, rock hands are lifted, choruses are sloppily accompanied, and the band’s name is chanted rhythmically as beer sloshes onto the ground.

Are you at a classic rock revival show on the Landing? Close: it’s the seminal indie band/rock star fantasy camp, Guided by Voices. Following an angry set by the kids of …And You Will Know Us by the Trail of Dead, musical elders Bob Pollard and Sons closed the night with a set that demonstrates that people still make rock music that, at the risk of being unimaginative, rocks.

Guided by Voices’ umpteen-song set was heavily concentrated with the longer, tighter songs from their last three albums, including crowd favorites “Teenage FBI” and “Glad Girls.” But GBV fans eager to hear older short songs from the band’s lo-fi albums such as Bee Thousand were not disappointed. Perhaps one of the best parts of seeing GBV live is hearing songs like “Watch Me Jumpstart” and “Echoes Myron” pulse with an energy not found on the original home-brewed recordings. Occasional bsides (“Beg for a Wheelbarrow”) and a Robert Pollard solo track (“I Drove a Tank”) were tossed into the set list. The band also previewed some excellent songs off their upcoming album, Earthquake Glue, including “My Son, My Secretary, My Country” and “I’ll Replace You With Machines.”

Evidently, Guided by Voices doesn’t veer into foreign territory on this summer’s release. But there’s no reason they should. As they proved at Mississippi Nights, Guided by Voices likes what it does and does it damn well. —Jessica Gluckman

So Many Dynamos Rocket Bar, April 30

So Many Dynamos could have been any ordinary lyrical punk band, but instead the foursome cultivated their instrumental talent with a fearless creativity that will keep them floating in the vast pool of punky kid-next-door garage rock. Opening for Riddle of Steel and the Brooklynbased Panther at the Rocket Bar, the young Dynamos stole the show with their solid sounds and transparent love for performing the music they create.

At first glance, the local Dynamos appear to attempt a level of cultural trend, clad in slightly too-small tees that accompany that dang shaggy hair, driving the girls to swoon. However, missing the mark slightly (though perhaps premeditatedly), they seem too pure to really care about their looks as long as their jeans have a little dirty fray at the heels.

With the start of their set, I stopped the image debate in my head and was turned on to one of the best things that could have come of two St. Louis band breakups. Composed of members from the defunct Children’s Audio and Saving Boy Wonder bands, the Dynamos create in each song their own sharp rhythms and styles, consistently keeping your attention with a speed change or intricate drumbeat, never allowing your mind to drift offstage. They showcase their mixture of musical movement in “This Can Be Useful in Rocketry” by utilizing multiple voices to create a choppy, a cappella echo effect toward the end of the song. All heads turned to the stage for the multilayered artistic effort.

Another standout stage performance was “Airtight,” from their forthcoming EP, Are We Not Drawn Onward to New Era? The song blends retro guitar sounds with strong lead vocals by Aaron Stovall, who also physically puts all of his being into the beat of his synthesizer throughout the length of the song. Stovall’s voice is easy to listen to and easy to fall in puppy love with, particularly when he holds onto notes for a melodic word or two while remaining within the punk persona.

After a short tour, the Dynamos will return for another show at the Rocket Bar on June 26. —Becky Gehling

Tonic Pop’s, April 30

Back in the late ’90s, it was rather difficult to listen to radio stations like the Point, the River, or KSHE for more than an hour without hearing a song by Tonic. As one of that period’s most popular and highest-charting modern rock groups, Tonic’s ability to consistently churn out hit after hit appeared to be virtually unstoppable. After their first two releases, however—1996’s platinum-selling Lemon Parade(A&M) and ’99’s Sugar (Universal)—the band faded into semiobscurity. But just as many of their fans had assumed that they disbanded, Tonic released their third CD, Head on Straight (Universal), in late 2002. Still maintaining their signature sound

Emerson Hart of Tonic does his thing at Pop’s. Photo by Jennifer Carr.

as well as most of their original lineup (drummer Kevin Shepard had left the mix), Tonic has officially become a trio, utilizing studio musicians on drums and keyboards for recording purposes. On their current headlining tour, which recently stopped at Pop’s, Tonic performed in typical rock band formation as a quartet (with a drummer), just as they always have done in the past.

The first half of their 75-minute set featured primarily new material, including the disc’s first two tracks, the current hit “Take Me as I Am” and the slightly more aggressive-sounding “Roses.” One of the older songs that did surface near the beginning was the song that originally put Tonic on the map, their first hit, “Open Up Your Eyes,” a great little power-pop tune that sounded just as strong as it always has. Lead vocalist/guitarist/songwriter Emerson Hart (who now sports a completely clean-shaven look) did very little speaking during early in the show, other than that almost obligatory band-posed concert question, “How’s everybody doing tonight?” During the set’s second half, however, he became much more communicative and explained to the audience that the three-and-ahalf-year lapse between their second and third CDs was mainly due to the band’s desire to take their time writing and recording what they felt was the absolute best material they could create. The band then began to serve up crowdpleasing hits such as “You Wanted More,” as well as a few non-hit selections off of their first (and still best) CD, including the title track “Lemon Parade,” “Wicked Soldier,” “Celtic Aggression,” and my personal favorite, the epicsounding “Mountain.” Then things shifted into audience-participation mode as the band launched into a Name That Tune–type game: they would play a few beginning notes of songs by Skynyrd, Def Leppard, Van Halen, and the Beatles, and the crowd had to shout out the original band’s name. Thankfully, just as this game was becoming annoying, the set closed out with energetic versions of two of Tonic’s biggest hits, “If You Could Only See” and “Casual Affair.” A two-song encore included the evening’s only cover, Fleetwood Mac’s “Go Your Own Way,”

after Hart explained how the Rumours album was one of the most influential records of his younger years.

Canadian four-piece Dakona opened up the evening with what the ruggedly handsome lead singer appropriately referred to as “a bunch of songs that you’ve never heard before.” Their style was similar to that of the Calling, only slightly edgier. Look for their debut CD to be released in July on the Maverick label. —Michele Ulsohn

Patty Larkin Generations, May 6

If there’s one thing that bums me out, it’s having a great artist come to St. Louis and get the absolute wrong impression. And if Patty Larkin got any kind of impression of our fair city on her May 6 tour stop at Generations in Sunset Hills, it wasn’t the right one. Or a good one. In fact, I almost feel compelled to offer Ms. Larkin an apology on our city’s behalf. First of all, she was booked to play on a Tuesday. (Okay, so that’s not our fault.) Second, there was borderline tornado weather on this particular night. (Suppose there’s nothing we could’ve done ’bout that, either.) Third, she was booked to play a venue that doesn’t suit her musical style. (Not continued on next page