Culture

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CULTURE

[CONCERTS]

A Fat Lot of Good

New outdoor concert series with national acts seeks to revitalize Laclede’s Landing

Written by JENNA JONES

Drew Jameson and his company, Jamo Presents, have been trying to keep live music, well, alive throughout the COVID-19 pandemic. Last year, the group worked with the health department and city health officials to bring an outdoor concert series, called The Lot, to downtown St. Louis for seven weeks. That effort was followed by a slate of shows at City Foundry and an ongoing roster of events at Tower Grove Park.

Now, Jameson is venturing into new territory, he says, while also giving back to the community with a new outdoor concert series dubbed The Lot on The Landing. Jameson says he’s excited to bring attention to parts of the city that don’t get as much action as others — in this case, to Laclede’s Landing (1000 North Leonor K Sullivan Boulevard), right next to the riverfront.

The concert series is a joint effort between Jamo Presents and the STLMade campaign, an initiative of Greater St. Louis, Inc. The venue will reside on property owned by Great Rivers Greenway along the Riverfront Trail, part of a network of bike and running paths across three counties.

“The Lot on the Landing concert series is another step in the Landing’s next chapter as a comfortable and vibrant urban neighborhood on the doorstep of Gateway Arch National Park and downtown St. Louis,” Brian Minges, president of the Laclede’s Landing Community Improvement District, says in a press release. “We are excited that our friends at Jamo Presents are building on the Landing’s unique legacy for great music.”

From September 16 to October 10, guests can catch performances by artists including Lettuce, Talib Kweli and Cherub. There will also be food from Sugarfire cocktails from STL Barkeep and beer from Schlafly. ameson hopes to bring the special feelings of community he created through the success of The Lot last year to the new event.

“[The Lot] ended up being a really community-building, positive thing in a moment where I felt the city was really hurting,” Jameson says. “Coming in with the name The ot’ again is a fitting moment for us and also just, you know, doing some good for the community again.”

One band Jameson is particularly excited about is The Dead South, which will play the venue on September 25. Described by Jameson as a “viral YouTube phenom,” the Canadian band plays bluegrass music. Jameson has worked with The Dead South previously.

“It’s just a wild time, a really good show,” Jameson says. “A little behind the scenes, I’ve heard them doing their warmup songs, and they’re playing, like, Canadian metal music to pump themselves up to play these bluegrass hits. I love working with bands like that — it’s totally quirky and fun. They’ll be a really good time.”

Other can’t-miss acts, according to Jameson, include a Grateful Dead tribute with Keller Williams putting a bluegrass spin on the band’s music on October 1. Talib Kweli will be joined on September 18 by other up-and-comers for a “hip-hop showcase-type energy,” ameson says. silent disco finishes the series on October 10.

Jameson wants to add more local music acts to the lineup, as well. He hopes every show will feature some local act before the national ones take the stage.

“I think to try to bring in and continue the roots of this thing, drawing from community and local, even though we’re showcasing national acts, trying my best to balance out that act or lineup is important,” Jameson says.

Safety in the pandemic has remained important for Jameson, especially as he and his team watch how the Delta variant affects the region. Jameson said the series will continue to evolve to remain a safe space in the face of the pandemic. Since Jamo Presents faced “every obstacle possible” and a wide range of scenarios last year as it put on concerts, Jameson feels equipped to handle this series. As long as bands want to come and it remains a safe environment for guests, the show will go on.

The Lot on The Landing has been in the works since before the pandemic, so to see it come to fruition is exciting for Jameson.

“It took something as crazy as a pandemic for us to actually pull the trigger on doing it,” Jameson says. “It feels really great every single time, and this is going to be the biggest one we’ve done yet.”

Tickets are on sale at jamopresents.com, and shows are for guests 21 and older, unless accompanied by a parent or guardian. The tickets range from $13 to $100 for VIP service. n

Jazz-funk act Lettuce is just one of the acts set to perform at the Lot on the Landing this fall. | JAY SANSONE/HUMAN BEING MEDIA

The Pageant, Delmar Hall Requiring Vaccinations

Written by JAIME LEES

In matching posts shared Monday morning, The Pageant (6161 Delmar Boulevard) and Delmar Hall (6133 Delmar Boulevard) announced that either vaccination or a recent negative COVID-19 test will be required to enter the venues.

In addition to wearing a mask (which was already required) visitors must now show documentation along with their ID at the door to gain entry.

The announcement from two of the most successful entertainment venues in town continues a trend of bars, restaurants and other businesses in the St. Louis area requiring proof of vaccines as owners reevaluate how to keep their customers safe in the era of the Delta variant.

Here’s how management for the venues explained the move to fans:

“Effective Monday 08/09/2021, ticketed admission to both The Pageant and Delmar Hall will also require proof of at least one dose of a COVID-19 Vaccination or a Negative COVID-19 Diagnostic Test within the previous 72 hours. “Additionally, face masks will still be needed to enter either of our venues.

“While we believe that most of our patrons are already vaccinated, our continuing goal is to provide as safe an environment as practically possible.

“Proof of COVID-19 Vaccination or a Negative COVID-19 Diagnostic Test can be a physical paper copy or a snapshot on your mobile device, along with a matching photo ID, to display upon admission.

This policy will be in effect until further notice or, as a favorite Uncle of ours used to say: Not forever, just for now.” n

[FILM]

Rebirth

M. Night Shyamalan tries to make amends with Old

Written by JOHN ALLMAN

This review was first published in the RFT’s sister paper, Creative Loafing Tampa.

Hello M., my old friend.

It has been a while since we last encountered one another, and sadly, I was pretty heated at that time, having just seen “Glass.”

I might have maybe said some things I shouldn’t, and for that I am sincerely sorry, but that’s the problem with your particular brand of creative genius.

I don’t know if you’re aware, but your movies can be pretty divisive; however, when they really work, I consider myself one of your biggest fans.

That’s why my Top Twenty alltime favorites will forever include Unbreakable and Signs. That’s why I championed your return to form in 2015 with The Visit, even though the last ten minutes almost sank the entire endeavor, and I shouted from the mountaintop when you roared right back with Split.

So, here we are, you and I, back together again to talk about your latest mind-bender, Old, and though nowhere near perfect, at least it’s better, so much better, than Glass.

Old is a slyly subversive little cinematic experiment that probably should have been contained to an hour-long format better suited for an anthology show like The Twilight Zone.

Guy (Gael Garcia Bernal), Prisca (Vicky Krieps), their son Trent and daughter Maddox arrive in paradise for a tropical vacation. There’s clearly something simmering under the surface between Guy and Prisca, but they want their kids to have one last family hurrah.

When the resort’s skeevy GM offers them an exclusive opportunity to visit an off-limits, private beach on the other side of the island, they don’t say no, even as other guests get offered the same VIP treatment.

What no one, especially us faithful viewers knows at first is that this beach is private for a reason, and that reason is a strange anomaly whereby anyone who passes through its rune-like rock passage has their DNA irrevocably altered so that they immediately start aging in accelerated fashion.

As far as gimmicks go, M., you stumbled on a good one here because the central mystery is compelling enough that we don’t ask too many questions upfront, especially when you start killing off secondary characters quickly.

Gimmicks can be tricky, though, which you discovered yourself with The Village, which fell apart under the weight of its own ambition long before the final twist was revealed.

Maybe that’s why you felt the need to monkey with your central narrative in Old, by tweaking your third act and adding two unnecessary subplots about a shady, secret organization trying to capitalize on the island beach’s fantastical powers and teasing a possibly supernatural escape hatch that no other visitors had ever successfully reached.

You also featured a shady, secret organization in Glass, and we all know how well that worked out.

I wish you hadn’t felt the need to try and explain the anomaly, to justify the island’s ability to reduce an entire lifespan into a matter of hours, and instead allowed us, your faithful viewers, to fully invest in Guy and Prisca and the depth of their genuine love as we watched them age, along with their kids.

As it is, Old is an entertaining slice of escapism that’s almost instantly forgettable as soon as the credits roll.

I won’t be quoting any dialogue from Old years from now, not the way that I still say, “Swing away, Merrill,” whenever I’m faced with a seemingly impossible challenge.

But that’s OK.

Like I said, at least Old is better than Glass.

I feel better now, M. I hope you do too. Hopefully, we can set aside our past squabble and forget I ever told you to go eff yourself for ruining a movie I had waited almost two decades to see. n

M. Night Shyamalan returns with Old, which involves a supernatural island where people age at an accelerated clip. | UNIVERSAL PICTURES

As far as gimmicks go, M., you stumbled on a good one here because the central mystery is compelling enough that we don’t ask too many questions upfront.

John W. Allman has spent more than 25 years as a professional journalist and writer, but he’s loved movies his entire life. Good movies, awful movies, movies that are so gloriously bad you can’t help but champion them. Since 2009, he has cultivated a review column and now a website dedicated to the genre films that often get overlooked and interviews with cult cinema favorites like George A. Romero, Bruce Campbell and Dee Wallace. Contact him at Blood Violence and Babes.com, on Facebook @BloodViolenceBabes or on Twitter @BVB_reviews.