Rivefron Times 9.23.15

SEPTEMBER 23–29, 2015 I VOLUME 39 I NUMBER 39

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P H OTO B Y J O H N H A R R I N GTO N

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City “Bombing” Could Mean Trouble for Paint Louis

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aint Louis — which brings street artists from all over the world to St. Louis for a city-sanctioned weekend of graffiti on the riverfront’s floodwall — might be in trouble.

The event’s organizer, John Harrington, says he fears the city may not reauthorize Paint Louis next year after some graffiti artists decided to “bomb the city” during the 2015 affair, held September 10 through 12.

The annual three-day event is thought to be the largest gathering of street artists in the world. Originally started in 1994, it was canceled in 2001 after artists left their sanctioned canvas 8

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and began painting all over the city.

It took Harrington, a former graffiti writer who was part of the crew that began Paint Louis, to bring the event back to life in 2011.

But he now fears for its future.

“Most definitely I’m worried,” Harrington says. “Some of those people I think did it on purpose because they’re like, ‘Fuck Paint Louis.

They didn’t put us on like we wanted to be on, or we didn’t get on at all — we’re going to go out and bomb the city and get the thing canceled.’”

Before Paint Louis begins each year, artists are asked to submit a rendering of what they would like to paint. Based on these submissions, the floodwall is sectioned off into parts, one for each writer.

This year, 200 writers were invited to participate, Harrington says, but approximately 375 showed up — some of whom were unhappy they did not get the respect they felt was

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Paint Louis invited 200 street artists to participate in 2015 — but another 175 showed up.

due. A number of locals were among this group, Harrington says — locals who did not go through the submission process but still expected to be given space.

Yet Bero, a local graffiti writer, said his aversion to the application process had less to do with entitlement and more to do with fear of police. Members of the painting community believe that undercover police officers hang around Paint Louis taking photos of writers and their work. After that, police can link writers to their tags in other parts of the city.

Whatever their reasons for not participating, a number of artists took it upon themselves to host their own party — painting unsanctioned areas all over town, or “bombing the city,” as Harrington and Bero describe it.

One motivation, Harrington says, was likely

the need for writers to “get up.” Getting up involves placing art on structures that can be viewed by other writers and the general public.

“You get up on places you can see from the highway,” Harrington says. “You get up on the places where the most people can see you — and that’s what they did.”

In painting parts of downtown, however, the writers drew the attention of one of the city’s revenue generators — the St. Louis Cardinals.

“We all know you don’t hit anywhere in Redbird land,” Harrington says. “You don’t hit anywhere on Seventh Street, you don’t hit Chouteau, you don’t hit Broadway, you don’t hit Market or Clark. You don’t hit anywhere around the baseball stadium because that’s where the city’s money comes from. So when you got the Cardinals continued on page 9

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Uber Comes to Town — Ready or Not n Friday, Uber announced it was going rogue — launching its ridesharing service in St. Louis even without the blessing of the area’s Metropolitan Taxi Commission, or MTC. So how’d that work out for everybody?

As it turns out, St. Louis-area passengers opted for the UberX service in high numbers.

More than 5,000 people took trips using the app, and just about 40 percent of those were between 10 p.m. and 3 a.m. — “top drinking hours,” in the words of Uber’s PR team. So many people opted for Uber that the company had to employ its controversial surge pricing, which charges passengers higher rates in order to get more drivers out on the road.

“We were prepared for a big launch, and a lot of demand,” says Uber’s Midwest general manager, Sagar Shah. “But there were still many more people seeking rides than we could serve. St. Louis is already embracing this.”

Despite the high volume, the weekend was low on drama. No drivers were cited for the company’s defiance of taxi commission regulations. And so far, no passengers have publicly reported problems after accepting rides from drivers who weren’t vetted by the MTC-mandated process (read: fingerprints, background checks by the highway patrol).

The lack of citations wasn’t a total surprise.

Mayor Francis Slay’s chief of staff, Mary Ellen Ponder, said Friday that, despite Uber’s public defiance, the mayor would not order police to arrest, or even cite, drivers. “I’m pretty confident that the police chief and

A L E X E Y B O L D I N / S H U T T E R S TO C K . C O M

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the police department have more important things to do than track down Uber drivers,” she told KMOX (1120 AM). And while County Executive Steve Stenger said St. Louis County would issue citations, even there law enforcement would not be operating a sting operation. Drivers determined to be working for UberX would only be cited if they were stopped on probable cause of another violation — speeding, for example, or failing to wear a

seatbelt. (Stenger, too, promised that they’d be ticketed, not hauled off in handcuffs.)

The weekend of low-key ridesharing followed Uber’s dramatic announcement at 10 a.m. Friday that the company was no longer playing defense with the taxi commission.

Instead, it was suing, alleging violations of antitrust law — and launching the UberX ridesharing service in defiance of regulators.

Even as the resulting media blitz had the

Paint Louis

people calling the city and the Cardinals people calling Brightside and then you got Brightside calling me.... It caused a big hubbub.”

Brightside, a local community-beautification group, began to receive complaints from businesses that had been painted, says executive director Mary Lou Green. And after Green contacted the mayor’s office, Harrington heard from the city.

Harrington has vowed to clean up the unsanctioned work. He says he told the city, “Send me the addresses or send me pictures of where it is, and me and the crew will go and take care of it. I got 30 people now on Facebook who are going tomorrow to help me clean it up because they want to see the event keep going.” Interviewed Friday evening, Harrington said he planned to get up early Saturday morning to begin the process of painting over any unsanctioned graffiti.

Harrington believes the sanctioned art created legally on the floodwall during Paint Louis has real value — and serves as snapshot of the community’s concerns at this moment in time.

“If you go down there,” he says, “you’ll see stuff that represents people’s lives.… You’ll see futuristic stuff, you’ll see a lot of old-school stuff, you’ll see things that deal with the judicial system, you’ll see stuff that deals with the ‘hands up, don’t shoot’ movement, you’ll get to see stuff that deals with the LGBT community — loving people and it doesn’t matter what your sexual preference is — stuff with color, race. I mean, it’s really a sign of the times.”

Though he did not officially participate in Paint Louis, Bero also says he hopes the event can sustain itself despite the actions of those who painted outside the floodwall.

“My initial reaction,” he says, “was that [they] fucked it up for the rest of us.”

“I paint St. Louis illegally year round,” he continues. But on the event weekend, he consciously limited his work to secret areas only 10

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J O H N H A R R I N GTO N

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Graffiti around the downtown area has since been scrubbed by Harrington and his crew.

known to graffiti writers, outside the view of the general public, in order to not jeopardize Paint Louis.

People within the community know to avoid certain places, including churches and schools, to prevent attracting too much attention from law enforcement. By painting graffiti across downtown, he says, some artists have led the event to a similar fate.

Maggie Crane, a spokeswoman for the mayor’s office, declined to say exactly where the event stands. However, she says, “past actions are always considered on any permit.”

Harrington is prepared for whatever the outcome might be.

“Hopefully we’re going to come back in 2016,” he says. “Maybe we won’t. But if we do come back, we’re going to invite specific people....

It isn’t a big deal to me, I’m not going to lose sleep over it either way.

I do this for the love. I’m not getting paid for it.”

— JEREMY ESSIG

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whole city buzzing, the MTC proceeded in its 10 a.m. meeting as though nothing had happened, voting seven to one to enact regulations requiring fingerprinting, and other hurdles, for anyone seeking to provide ridesharing services in the St. Louis region.

But while the company’s public-relations effort clearly won the day, and ridesharing got off to a good start over the weekend, the legal front may prove trickier. Uber’s request for a temporary restraining order was denied on Friday. The California-based company had asked U.S. District Court Judge Henry Autrey to bar the taxi commission from enforcing its regulations, shutting down the UberX service, or “otherwise engaging in any of the anticompetitive behavior” alleged in the company’s lawsuit.

Uber had argued that its plaintiffs — customers who depend on taxis to get around town and drivers hoping to work for UberX — would suffer “irreparable harm” if UberX was not allowed to enter the market. At this point, at least, Judge Autrey isn’t buying it.

“Purely economic harm,” he wrote, “is not irreparable harm.” He also noted that to date, Uber has not shown that it’s likely to prevail on the merits.

Judge Autrey seems to suggest that he probably won’t rule in favor of ridesharing even in the longer term. In his rejection of a restraining order, he went out of his way to defend the taxi commission’s regulations, writing that “the fingerprinting and licensing requirements are crafted to maintain the caliber and reliability of the drivers.”

But Uber is focused on the bigger picture.

Shah said Uber is no longer interested in working with the MTC; it plans to wait to see how the legal process plays out. “At this point we’re looking at the anti-competitive behavior of the MTC,” he says.

Uber has never previously sued any political or regulatory entity for antitrust behavior, Shah says. “It’s the first time anywhere in the world we’ve had to do that.” — SARAH FENSKE

HIV Positive? There’s an App for That

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NICHOLAS PHILLIPS

aron Laxton doesn’t mind telling people he is HIV positive. Sometimes he insists on it.

Otherwise, here in his native St. Louis, he could be considered a criminal.

Missouri is one of 32 states with a law that explicitly criminalizes exposing another person to HIV, according to the Center for HIV Law & Policy. Missouri’s statute was used by St. Charles prosecutors earlier this year to convict former Lindenwood University wrestler Michael Johnson (a.k.a.

“Tiger Mandingo”), who was sent to prison for 30 years for knowingly infecting one partner and exposing four others.

Laxton attended that trial, and the 36-yearold HIV-rights advocate found himself haunted by the “he-said-he-said” nature of the case. The college wrestler claimed to have warned his partners, but he had no proof of doing so. The jury sided with the accusers.

That verdict convinced Laxton that all it would take for any HIV-positive person to be investigated, charged and convicted was a jilted lover telling such a story — even if it wasn’t true.

So in June, Laxton teamed up with Guanyu Tian, an assistant professor of computer science at Fontbonne University who runs the app lab there. Together they created an app called “IDisclose.”

The app, which they say is almost ready for release on the Android platform, will allow an HIV-positive person to disclose his or her status and ask a sexual partner to acknowledge it digitally. The partner reads and signs a document on the discloser’s smartphone. The app then takes a photo of the partner’s face and sends the whole packet to the discloser’s inbox.

“I’m of mindset that these laws are not yet changing,” says Laxton, who lives in the Hill neighborhood. “So I have to do whatever I can to protect myself.”

Not everyone in the HIV/AIDS community supports the app, he says. Some have complained to him that it’s a capitulation to outdated laws that unfairly criminalize the illness.

In the ’80s and ’90s, many states, including Missouri, passed laws to criminalize HIV/AIDS exposure and transmission. At that time, the virus was considered a death sentence.

Much has changed in the intervening decades. “Thanks to better treatments,” says the website of the federal Centers for Disease Control, “people with HIV are now living longer — and with a better quality of life — than ever before.” Antiretroviral therapy, or ART, “can dramatically prolong the lives of many people infected with HIV and lower their chance of infecting others.”

But while medical knowledge has improved and the stakes of transmitting HIV have lowered, Missouri hasn’t softened its penalties.

For instance, it’s still a felony in this state for an HIV-positive person to bite an uninfected person, even though the CDC says that HIV cannot be transmitted through saliva. And condom use is not a valid legal defense under Missouri’s statute, even though the CDC says condoms are an “effective” HIV-prevention method.

Under the exposure law, it doesn’t matter if the risk of transmission is low, or if the HIVpositive person had no intention of transmitting.

Exposure without disclosure is still a felony, and if charged, “it’s 100 percent the responsibility of the defendant” to disprove it, Laxton says.

The Sero Project, a Washington, D.C., advocacy center, has documented 23 cases in which Missouri prosecutors used the HIVspecific law. Twenty of those, they claim,

resulted in convictions.

As recently as July, Robert B. Smith of St. Ann was charged in St. Louis County for “Attempted Exposing Another Person to HIV Infection.”

The county police wrote in a press release that Smith was using Craigslist to contact sexual partners, and in arranging a hook-up with an undercover detective, he denied having HIV, even though he’d been diagnosed in 2014.

Cases like that are troubling to Laxton.

After all, even by the police version of the story, there wasn’t sexual contact. A mere attempt at intimacy was apparently enough to net Smith a felony charge.

“The problem I see in that case is that there was no physical contact,” says Laxton. “They’re charging him with a thought in the mind.”

Laxton has a copy of the IDisclose app on his

phone, but says he hasn’t used it yet. He says he eventually wants Dr. Tian to write an iPhone version. (Laxton approached Tian for this project because the professor had developed other apps for Laxton’s employer, the Criminal Justice Ministry. Tian agreed to create the app pro bono and finished it in June.)

Sean Strub, executive director of Sero, believes that an app like IDisclose — just like the disclosure form offered on his nonprofit’s website — is “demeaning and dehumanizing.”

But that doesn’t mean he’s opposed to it. If it’s any kind of concession, he says, it’s only “a concession to the reality of legal risk for people with HIV, many of whom have been unjustly accused, prosecuted and convicted, even when they have disclosed or posed no risk of any threat.”

— NICHOLAS PHILLIPS

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St. Louis commuters can sign up for Citizens for Modern Transit’s new TRY & RIDE program. Experience what great transit is all about with a personalized transit package just for you.

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The Tillers,

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with special guests Blind Boy Paxton and Anna & Elizabeth

September 25 at 8 p.m.

Sam Bush Band

with special guests Finnders & Youngberg

September 26 at 8 p.m.

The 4th Annual St. Louis Folk & Roots Festival is presented in partnership with KDHX

Jazz at Lincoln Center Orchestra with Wynton Marsalis Friends of The Sheldon Benefit

October 3 at 8 p.m.

Part of the American Arts Experience-St. Louis Part of The Legends Series, made possible by The Steward Family Foundation and World Wide Technology, Inc.

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NIGHT + DAY ®

WEEK OF SEPTEMBER 25 — OCTOBER 1

F R I D AY |09.25

|

[THEATER]

VENUS IN FUR

Thomas is a writer-director who has adapted Leopold von SacherMasoch’s novel Venus in Fur for the stage. He’s spent a futile day trying to cast the right woman as Vanda, the main character; she’s the one who will seduce and dominate the audience even as she seduces and dominates the character of Kushemski. The novel is the origin of the term “masochism,” and today Thomas has suffered indeed. Then in walks one last actress — she seems wrong for the part at first, but somehow she already has a copy of his script, and begins her audition. More surprising is that she says her name is Vanda. Now Thomas and Vanda are locked in an increasingly tense audition process, one that Vanda begins to control through force of will and technique. David Ives’ Venus in Fur is a comic, psycho-sexual exploration of power and art. West End Players Guild opens its 105th season with the play. Performances are at 8 p.m. Thursday through Saturday and 2 p.m. Sunday (September 25 to October 4) at the Union Avenue Christian Church (733 North Union Boulevard; 314667-5686 or www.westendplayers.org). Tickets are $20 to $25.

— PAUL FRISWOLD [ART EXHIBIT]

ANDREW MILLNER: ROSE PARADE

The Tournament of Roses Parade still requires the use of real flowers on all floats. The visual spectacle of the 2012 parade inspired artist Andrew Millner to create his new show, Rose Parade.

Millner made close-up photographs of the flowers, drew the floral arrangements comprising the floats using a stylus on a digital tablet, and then created large-scale digital prints. In some instances, he drew on top of those prints using acrylic paint extruded through a cake-decorating tool; the results are handdrawn digital flowers that have both texture and weight to go with their rich, glossy color. Rose Parade opens with a free reception from 6 to 8 p.m. Friday, September 25, at William Shearburn Gallery (665 South Skinker Boulevard; 314-367-8020 or www. shearburngallery.com). The exhibit remains up through Friday, November 6, and the gallery is open noon to 5 p.m. Monday through Friday.

— PAUL FRISWOLD [FILM]

Sometimes, you just want to sit in a room full of smart and funny folks who are great at making fun of things. That opportunity presents itself in grand fashion at the Sham Film Festival this Friday and Saturday (September 25 and 26) at Webster University’s Moore Auditorium (470 East Lockwood Avenue; 314-968-7487 or www. webster.edu/film-series). At this hilarious fest, enjoy the works of filmmakers who’ve been given carte blanche to satirize and spoof everything from cheesy reality TV to overly dramatic movie trailers.

The filmmakers here (professionals, students, hobbyists, dilettantes) are competing for the coveted Palm’d Oar, the festival’s big prize.

The festival opens with a selection of short subjects at 7 p.m. Friday and 5 p.m. Saturday; feature films Bloodsucking Bastards (8:45 p.m.

Friday) Kittens in a Cage and Dude Bro Party Massacre III (7 p.m. and 9:15 p.m. Saturday, respectively) are also shown. Admission is $10 per screening, but single-day ($15) or festival passes ($30) are available.

— BROOKE FOSTER continued on page 26

ANDREW MILLNER

SHAM FILM FESTIVAL

Illusion, part of Andrew Millner: Rose Parade.

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S AT U R D AY |09.26

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[PERFORMING ARTS]

JOHANNES MÖLLER

If you love the incomparable, mellifluous tone of a classical guitar in full live voice, you need to be at the Ethical Society of St. Louis (9001 Clayton Road, Richmond Heights; 314567-5566 or www.guitarstlouis.net) tonight at 8 p.m. when the St. Louis Classical Guitar Society presents Johannes Möller. The young and extravagantly lauded Swedish guitarist has logged in excess of 500 concerts in Europe, Asia and both North and South America, but tonight’s concert marks his first in our musichungry, genre-inclusive town. What better venue to host Möller, too, than the warm, wood-appointed performance hall of the Ethical Society? Assuredly, this is your room in which to groove to those six nylon strings in excelsis Deo. Tickets are $28.

— ALEX WEIR

[LGBT]

[ART EXHIBIT]

MISS GAY GATEWAY MISSOURI AMERICA PAGEANT

THE ST. LOUIS SMALL PRESS EXPO

If you enjoy the campy splendor of RuPaul’s Drag Race, you’ll want to be in the audience for the Miss Gay Gateway Missouri America Pageant. This annual event celebrating “the art of female impersonation” is the lead-up to the Miss Gay Gateway Missouri America Pageant. Meet special guest Kyla Breeze (Miss GGMA 2014) and cheer on your favorite contestant in categories including evening gown, onstage question and talent.

Hosts for the evening are Karma T. Cassidy and Miss Gay Missouri America 2006 Jade Sinclair. The pageant starts at 7 p.m. tonight at the the Grey Fox Pub (3503 South Spring Avenue; 314-772-2150 or missgga.weebly. com). There is a $5 cover charge.

— BROOKE FOSTER

S U N D AY |09.27

Daring, sparkly, diverse, bad-ass and totally free are just a few ways to describe the St. Louis Small Press Print Expo. This year’s expo takes place from 11 a.m. to 5 p.m. today at the Central branch of the St. Louis Public Library (1301 Olive Street; www. stlouissmallpressexpo.com). With more than 60 vendors from comic artists to zinesters, attendees can peruse hundreds of independently published and crafted books and comics, plus unique literary projects both local and national. Catch the screening of Root Hog or Die, a documentary about John Porcellino of King-Cat Comics & Stories fame. Attend a hands-on workshop in collage, bookbinding, pressure printing and more. Mingling with artists challenging the political landscape and gender norms? That’s a Saturday well spent. DIY forever! Admission is free.

— ANGELA MALCHIONNO

LEVIN’S

[CRAF TASTIC]

STRANGE FOLK

The Strange Folk Festival, a fantastical handmade fair (www.strangefolkfestival.com), has followed its gnome mascot and trekked its way from the out-of-doors to St. Louis Union Station (1820 Market Street) — but that’s really not so strange, is it? After all, crafters often take items that are unused (or underused) and reimagine them, making something new and wonderful and beloved. Plus, an indoor festival ensures the weather can’t ruin the fun! From 10 a.m. to 8 p.m. Saturday and 10 a.m. to 5 p.m. Sunday (September 26 and 27), approximately 200 makers — artists, crafters and more — fill the former mall’s retail spaces, while local bands play and food trucks park outside. Admission to the festival is free, but donations are encouraged and rewarded — you could net yourself a coupon, a T-shirt

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Q IN THE LOU

Barbecue lovers’ taste buds will go hog wild at the inaugural Q in the Lou, a sizzling three-day fête of all meats sauced and slow-cooked. This festival of flavor offers sticky-fingered foodies an opportunity to pig out on plates created by nine of the nation’s prominent pitmasters.

In addition to live music and vendor booths, there are also tool demonstrations, a masters’ competition for aspiring grillers, and four master classes curated by celebrity meat mavens Brad Orrison, John David Wheeler, Mike Emerson and Haley Riley, among others. Q in the Lou is open from 4 to 9 p.m. Friday, 11 a.m. to 9 p.m. Saturday and 11 a.m. to 6 p.m. Sunday (September 25 to 27) at Soldiers Memorial (Fourteenth and Chestnut streets; www.qinthelou.com). Admission is free, but you’ll need

MICAH USHER

J O N G I TC H O F F

or another prize, depending upon how much you give to keep the festival’s future dreams alive.

— ALISON SIELOFF

money if you want to eat. VIP options ($75 to $164) are available.

— ROB LEVY

W E D N E S D AY |09.30

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[FILM]

THE IRON GIANT

A film with a soul as beautiful as its animation, The Iron Giant tells the tale of a massive robot who hurtles from space and lands in Cold War-era America. A young boy, Hogarth Hughes, hides the robot to protect him from the U.S. military and a federal agent intent on his destruction. This lovely film, directed by Brad Bird (who would go on to join the senior creative team at Pixar), appears in its remastered form at at 7 p.m. tonight at Wehrenberg Des Peres 14 Cine (12701 Manchester Road, Des Peres; www.fathomevents.com). Tickets are $12.50.

— BROOKE FOSTER

T H U R S D AY |10.01 [THEATER]

HEATHERS THE MUSICAL

High school is hard. Just ask Veronica. When you’re not playing croquet with your vapid Heather “friends,” you’re embarrassingly barfing at a party and (sort of ) accidentally murdering your classmates. What’s a smart girl dating an oh-so-bad boy to do? New Line Theatre offers St. Louis the first chance to share our collective greetings and salutations with Heathers the Musical after its premiere Off-Broadway. Based on the dark-comedy movie from the ’80s, the musical version brings catchy, naughty songs and everyone’s favorite lines to the stage, while underscoring the dangers of bullying and the darkness at the heart of teen life. Heathers the Musical is presented at the Marcelle Theater (3310 Samuel Shepard Drive) at 8 p.m. Thursday through Saturday (October 1 through 24).

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From the left: Dude Bro Party Massacre III, Johannes Möller, Miss Gay Gateway Missouri America Pageant and the barbecue of Q in the Lou. Tickets cost $10 to $25 (314-534-1111 or www. metrotix.com).

— ALISON SIELOFF Planning an event, exhibiting your art or putting on a play? Let us know and we’ll include it in the Night & Day section or publish a listing in the online calendar — for free! Send details via e-mail (calendar@riverfronttimes.com), fax (314-754-6416) or mail (6358 Delmar Boulevard, Suite 200, St. Louis, MO 63130, attn: Calendar). Include the date, time, price, contact information and location (including ZIP code). Please submit information three weeks prior to the date of your event. No telephone submissions will be accepted. Find more events online at www.riverfronttimes.com.

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DID YOU KNOW: 1.3M PEOPLE READ

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Bleak Mess SCOTT COOPER’S GANGSTER DRAMA HAS JOHNNY DEPP BUT NO PLOT, POINT OR DRAMA Black Mass Directed by Scott Cooper. Written by Mark Mallouk and Jez Butterworth from Dick Lehr and Gerard O’Neill’s book. Starring Johnny Depp, Joel Edgerton, Benedict Cumberbatch and Dakota Johnson. Now playing at multiple locations.

T

he classic gangster film is almost always the story of the rise and fall of its protagonists, but even at the height of the Hays Code and its “crime does not pay” rules, the romantic rise was usually more appealing than the inevitable fall. It’s a genre not about crime so much as social BY mobility, about seizing power ROBERT and struggling for a place in the world.

HUNT The lives of real-life gangsters aren’t necessarily as romantic. James “Whitey” Bulger, the subject of Black Mass, doesn’t seem to have any “top of the world, Ma” dreams like James

Johnny Depp and Mary Klug in Black Mass.

Cagney (although he lives with his mother until her death and remains in the same drab house afterward). Movie outlaws hit the road or move up into vulgar mansions; Bulger is fixed, tied to his South Boston neighborhood.

If he’s particularly powerful or wealthy, there’s nothing in the movie to show it; he’s just a disturbed and violent man with no emotion, no desire.

Although Bulger spent a dozen years on the FBI’s Most Wanted list — in the No. 2 slot just behind Osama bin Laden — I suspect that many people remained unaware of his criminal history until his 2011 capture, after sixteen years in hiding. Finally brought to trial for several decades of criminal activity — extortion, racketeering and nineteen counts of murder — new revelations of his monstrous deeds began appearing almost daily. One reason for Bulger’s relative anonymity, according to Black Mass, is that Bulger spent nearly two decades as an FBI informant, getting protection for his own crimes in exchange for his help in bringing down his criminal rivals.

Black Mass, directed by Scott Cooper, is a messy, confused film about Bulger (Johnny Depp) and his curious relationship with FBI

special agent John Connolly (Joel Edgerton), who shared his background and, at least in the film’s account, practically became his accomplice.

Or at least that’s what it seems to be about much of the time. The Boston accents and settings may evoke The Departed, but there’s no center here, no plot or character to push the story in any particular direction. Bulger is clearly the film’s most important figure (after all, it’s Johnny Depp!), but there’s no insight into his personality and very little explanation of his behavior. So much of the story is structured around the (simultaneous?) confessions of two Bulger associates that he remains a supporting character at best. His descent into corruption is the closest thing the film has to a plot, but it’s marginal. (The dual confessions also make a muddle of the film chronologically: When the FBI’s case against Bulger finally starts to come together near the end, it takes a second for it to register that the agents have only at that moment caught on to the story the audience has been following for more than 90 minutes).

The film isn’t altogether uninteresting, but even the occasional violent shocks and the benefits of a distinguished cast (Benedict Cumberbatch and Kevin Bacon are predictably riverfronttimes.com

appealing in supporting roles) only go so far in holding together a disjointed narrative.

Even Depp’s “comeback performance” as a serious actor, although not entirely without interest, suffers from inconsistency. Sometimes he’s channeling Jack Nicholson (Nicholson’s character in The Departed was inspired by Bulger); at other times he looks like an aging lounge lizard, or like he’s auditioning for a part in What We Do in the Shadows 2. At first I thought that the erratic makeup effects and mismatched features were intentional, an indicator of Bulger’s personality swings, but as the film went on, they simply became another sign of the film’s random, inconsistent approach to Bulger’s story.

Perhaps a headline-grabbing story like Bulger’s made this a high-concept film — but unlike comic-book movies or science-fiction epics, Black Mass can reach only as high as its real-life background. There’s no more insight than you might get following Bulger’s trial in the news. In fact, it’s almost identical to that experience: Brief, sensational incidents strung together with minimal contextualization. You can respect Cooper’s desire to strip away the romance of the gangster film, but he hasn’t replaced it with anything to give substance to what’s left.

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STILL ROLLING OUR ONGOING, OCCASIONALLY SMARTASS, DEFINITELY UNOFFICIAL GUIDE TO WHAT’S PLAYING IN ST. LOUIS THEATERS

AWE INSPIRING! It took my soul on a journey.

“

”

-VARIETY

There are two things that every critic agrees upon when it comes to Everest, directed by professional badass Baltasar Kormákur: First, that the film is beautifully shot and the closest most of us will ever get to being there; and secondly, that Mother Nature couldn’t care less if we live or die. Everest is based on an salma

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step is a life-or-death situation and something called the “death zone” makes breathing on your own deadly, the facts don’t need all that

Dylan O’Brien in Maze Runner: The Scorch Trials.

Duh-mazing THE SCORCH TRIALS IS A GENERIC, POSTAPOCALYPTIC TEEN FILM THAT FIZZLES Maze Runner: The Scorch Trials Directed by Wes Ball. Written by T.S. Nowlin from James Dashner’s novel. Starring Dylan O’Brien, Ki Hong Lee, Kaya Scodelario and Thomas Brodie-Sangster. Now playing at multiple theaters.

T

here was one thing about The Maze Runner that was ever-so-slightly original: the enormous and mysterious Maze that its cast of Lord of the Flies refugees was imprisoned in. It was a little bit of something fresh in a movie industry that lives off regurgitating everything that’s come before. But even here, you had to squint not to see the shades of Lost and The Hunger Games and half a dozen other better iterations of similar ideas.

Now, in its sequel The Scorch Trials, we don’t even have this to cling to. The Maze has been left behind, our young heroes having escaped from it at the end of the first film to discover a world ravaged by disease and disaster. And now they’re traveling across that dying world...and it is a place indistinguishable from countless other postapocalyptic-movies realms. This isn’t simply a generic afterscape: It’s every sci-fi afterscape.

The apocalypses have been piled on here.

There was, we’re told, a “solar storm” that created “the Scorch,” a newly desertified environment where skyscrapers are crumbling amidst sand dunes. But there are also rage zombies, or “Cranks,” who are infected with a virus called “the Flare.”

There’s also killer lightning, because why not? And there’s nasty alien-looking plant life, because once you escape from one horror, there’s gotta be something else lurking around the corner, or down the sewer.

But never fear! There’s a rumored resistance, “the Right Arm,” hiding in the hills somewhere. If only these kids can make it through the abandoned shopping mall, then through the steampunk camp of 30

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ragtag mercenaries, and then through the end-of-the-world rave where the drugs make everyone forget it’s the end of the world.

The conceit of having all the story’s central characters suffering from induced amnesia — this was apparently part of the experimentation they were undergoing in the Maze — jumps to the fore as a narrative cheat, where so much of the “mystery” relies on characters not knowing basic information about their world.

We’re supposed to care deeply about the confusion of teen Thomas (Dylan O’Brien) as he tries to figure out just what the hell is going on. I imagine this was conceived as something that would make us sympathetic to him, as he slowly discovers the Truth about the world at the same time we do, but it only serves to distance us. Thomas’ world doesn’t make a whole lot of sense, and we don’t have anyone whose experience of living in it and accepting it for what it is can help us with that.

And while it might be a pleasure to see so many really good grownup actors making appearances — Aidan Gillen, Patricia Clarkson, Giancarlo Esposito, Barry Pepper, Lili Taylor, Alan Tudyk — they mostly inspire us to wonder what they, as actors, are doing here at all. What did they see in these generic roles? Most of them barely get what amounts to a cameo, and they’re gone before we get any opportunity to get inside their heads. This is a lousy way to tell a story, even if you’re sympathetic to the undercurrent motif of “Hey! All the grownups know what’s going on, and none of the kids do! The adults are keeping secrets! Don’t trust grownups!”

With two more movies to go in this franchise, this iteration of that theme is already treading water. We still don’t know what the purpose of the Maze was, or why it was populated only with boys, or how induced amnesia could possibly have aided with whatever “experimentation” was going on in the Maze. If these questions haven’t been forgotten, there’s no evidence of that here.

The Scorch Trials just asks new questions, but this time, they’re not even as mildly compelling.

—M ARYANN JOHANSON

much embellishing, which is nice — and terrifying. At long last the film reveals that the answer to “Why do you want to climb Mount Everest?” is, in fact, “Because I have an extra $70,000 burning a hole in my men’s Thermoball Triclimate Jacket by North Face.” ● It should come as a surprise to absolutely no one that The Perfect Guy is not a giddy flick about falling in love with a someone who always files income taxes on time, is great at packing a cooler and gives really nice hugs. But really, watching someone pack a cooler for 100 minutes would be infinitely more interesting than the predictable motions this Guy runs us through: Threatens pet? Check. A shower scene? Check. Improbable security breaches?

Check. Still managing to net some $41 million since opening weekend? Ugh. Check. ● Robert Redford, star of A Walk in the Woods, bought the rights to Bill Bryson’s travelogue of the same name way back in 2005, long before “hiking the Appalachian trail” became the best euphemism ever for cheating on your spouse with an Argentine (gracias, Mark Sanford!) and Reese Witherspoon made hiking crunchy-cool again in Wild. In the intervening ten years, walking-to-find-oneself is a path that’s frequently taken in film, becoming a subgenre all its own — with a popularity that suggests, when given the choice, most people would rather see the movie than even read a book about pushing the limits. Anything other than actual, physical activity. Such as hiking or climbing a mountain, to name just two examples.

— Kristie McClanahan

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the arts The Write Stuff STRONG PERFORMANCES AND ASTUTE DIRECTION DRIVE A NEW PRODUCTION OF THERESA REBECK’S SEMINAR Seminar Through October 4 at the Gaslight Theater, 358 North Boyle Avenue. Call 314-458-2978 or visit www.stlas.org.

he writers’ group meets in a lovely Upper West Side apartment; the tasteful furniture and the quartet of Robert Longo drawings from his Men in the Cities series tell you that much. The only inharmonious element is a six-pack of Bud Select that sits in the corner.

The four members — two female, two male — are here to workshop stories under the tutelage of the legendary editor Leonard, who can BY make your career or snuff PA U L it out before it even begins.

T h e r e ’s D o u g l a s , a F R I S W O L D budding Jonathan Franzen in a bow tie and black frame glasses; Kate, the Bennington University grad who loves Jane Austen a little too fervently; Izzy, blonde and fl irtatious and always texting when she isn’t talking; and Martin, whose backward Mets ballcap and love of Kerouac marks him as the guy who brought that incongruous six-pack to this first meeting.

And then there’s Leonard, the swaggering raconteur who swears and rants and loves to talk about Rwanda and Somalia, and all the nihilism he soaked up while there. He’s digressive, abrasive and combative — he’d call Norman Mailer a pussy to his face and outdrink Chuck Bukowski.

Theresa Rebeck’s Seminar follows the group through their ten-week course with Leonard. Each paid $5,000 to be advised (and abused) by this brilliant wordsmith, and each one of the quartet undergoes a painful awakening that may not be what they signed up for, but is perhaps what they wanted. The current St. Louis Actors’ Studio production of the play is interesting both for its performances and for Elizabeth Helman’s direction.

Performances first: John Pierson commands attention as Leonard. As written, he’s the most immediately compelling of the characters — antagonists often are — but Pierson plays him with a virile charm that’s hard to resist. He has a series of sharp-toothed smiles he uses on his students that range from open and friendly to condescending hostility.

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JOHN LAMB

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Director Elizabeth Helman gets — completely, entirely — what the playwright is laying down here.

He uses the latter most often on Kate (Taylor Pietz), who calls him out on his bullshit macho posturing until Leonard eviscerates her story as worthless based solely on the first five words. The feminist in the group, she’s cowed by his tough-guy dismissal and sulks on the couch for most classes after that.

Nathan Bush has a nervous energy as the eager-to-please Douglas, who has a famous writer for an uncle and annoying tendency to mispronounce words in the middle of his many flowery and overwrought speeches.

Most of them are directed at Izzy (Alicia Smith), who plays the ingenue with a giggling lilt in her voice and a host of seductive poses

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Douglas, left, takes still more criticism from Leonard as Kate and Martin look on in this Seminar.

— there isn’t a piece of furniture in the room she doesn’t drape herself across.

Martin (Jason Contini) stands alone as the aesthete. His writing is so precious he won’t share it with anyone, not even the group. He’s as needy and non-confrontational as Leonard is reckless and brash. Contini sinks into the corner of the sofa in many scenes, sneering at his peers and ducking any eye contact with Leonard — a true coward.

Observant audience members may find themselves with nagging questions as the play progresses, such as, “Is this really how Theresa Rebeck sees women — either as seductresses or overly sensitive, embittered feminists?” “Does she really think men are the Promethean heroes who steal fire from the gods and put it on the page for us unworthy mortals to misinterpret?” “Why do alcohol and meaningful prose go handin-hand?”

Helman marshals her forces well, but the first act feels a little unfocused as we pop in on each group meeting to see who Leonard can destroy this week. The second

act, however, redeems all.

Helman gets — completely, entirely — what Rebeck is laying down here. Seminar, which made its Broadway debut in 2011, is a sly parody of the male author archetypes.

Read her note in the program about how female playwrights who complain about representation in the theater are treated, and then really look at Leonard, and to a lesser extent, Martin. Sure, they’re suffering and brawling and drinking their way to an early grave and lasting fame as geniuses — but they are entirely creations of a woman playwright who is putting these ridiculous words in their mouths. It is a game. One she is winning.

The final twenty minutes of Seminar are gripping theater, easily worth the price of admission, as Martin and Leonard finally get it all out in the open. “Boys, boys, boys — you just never get enough of yourselves, do you?” Kate asks Martin late in the game.

Here they are, Punch and Punch, swinging their slapsticks willy-nilly at each other while Rebeck (and Helman) pulls the strings. Raise a glass to women who fight dirty.

■

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Southern Comfort THE CITY’S MOST HOTLY ANTICIPATED RESTAURANT, SOUTHERN, PROVES TOTALLY WORTHY OF THE HYPE Southern 3108 Olive Street; 314-531-4668. Wed.-Sun. 11 a.m.-4 p.m. (Closed Sundays).

W

hen news broke that Mike Emerson and Rick Lewis were teaming up to open Southern, you would’ve thought the city’s culinary intelligentsia had gotten a collective vision of the second coming. Emerson — or “King Midas” as he may as well be called — is about as revered a figure in the St. Louis food community as they come. The pitmaster of Pappy’s Smokehouse, Emerson and his trademark beard put our city’s barbecue on the world map. Celebrities stream BY into his midtown smokehouse to sample its ribs. MichelinC H E RY L starred chefs single him out as their pitmaster of choice.

BAEHR He has Adam Wainwright on

speed-dial.

Then there’s Rick Lewis. The beloved James Beard Award-nominated chef is basically the crown prince of the city’s next generation of chefs. He studied under fried-chicken guru Josh Galliano at the now-closed Monarch — a place that launched the careers of some of St. Louis’ top talent. He’s since been named Chef of the Year by our city’s daily. Under his watch, the south-side comfort-food spot Quincy Street Bistro went from a simple tavern to one of the hottest restaurants in town.

Which is why I had to take my mom to Southern. Not as a treat. Not as a thank-you for putting up with me through my teenage years. It was a way to keep me honest.

See, my mom is a total outsider when it comes to the restaurant scene, completely uncorruptable when it comes to dining hot spots. She’s the quintessential Campbell’s soup casserole mom who loves to watch The Pioneer Woman on the Food Network and counts Bob Evans among her favorite restaurants. When I reviewed Old Standard last year, she unironically chimed in that she, too, had fried chicken that night — from Lee’s. If anyone could keep me from getting caught up in the orgiastic fervor that is Southern — to judge it for what it really is and not get swept up in the

The hot chicken plate with Southern greens and Hoppin’ John.

can’t sit at those.” As for the Band of Horses hype — it’s Mom. And then the unthinkable happened: playing over the sound system, she was not Emerson and Lewis turned my mom into a impressed. “Why do they have to have that music blaring?” Mom was already proving to fangirl.

It didn’t happen immediately. While it’s be a tough nut to crack.

Then came the food. easy to be charmed by Southern, it’s not a comfortable family-style place like my At a lesser restaurant, the scent of smoked mother prefers. The fast-casual eatery is meats wafting through the air from the adjacent a marriage between the Pappy’s would be a siren song.

Nashville-style hot chicken Who could tuck in somewhere Southern shack of your dreams (think else after smelling that aroma, Deviled eggs ............... $6 the famous Prince’s) and a especially considering that the “The Dirty Deep South deli. The space restaurant is so close you could South” ................$10.75 has a haute-rustic feel, sort of reach out and pull a rib from Hot chicken plate, like a butcher counter you’d the smoker? But at Southern, half bird .............$13.50 find in the French Quarter: it’s unnoticeable once the food concrete floors, reclaimed hits the table. wood and metal tables and chairs, and sepiaAn order of deviled eggs proves why this colored vintage photos. A bright red sign that once-humble picnic stable has become a simply says “Eat” hangs from a corrugated mainstay on restaurant menus. Here, they metal wall. Diners line up — and, yes, there is are stuffed with velvety pimento cheese and typically a line — next to a glass display case garnished with two tiny, star-shaped slices of that showcases various housemade foodstuffs. pickled okra. Green tomatoes, dusted with But while it’s lovely, it’s also bordering on seasoned cornbread, are fried just to the point hipster, and that made it something my mom of crispness without sacrificing the texture of certainly did not appreciate. “Why can’t I sit the vegetables. They retained a perfumey snap, down before I order? It’s all high tables — I like fried sweet pickles. continued on page 36 riverfronttimes.com OB N ET R H 2X3X–X IV ER FR IM E S 351 riverfronttimes.com SEPTM EM - 2 9,X , 22001 0 5X RR IV ER FR OO NN T TT T IM ES

Deviled eggs with pimento cheese and pickled okra.

Southern

continued from page 35

Authentic MexicAn Food, Beer, And MArgAritAs!

2817 cherokee st. st. Louis, Mo 63118 314.762.0691 onco.coM r B L e iA r e u q A .t w w w 36

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Though the fried chicken hogs the spotlight at Southern, its sandwich offerings are every bit as excellent. The “Dirty South,” basically a fried green tomato BLT, pairs the tart vegetable with bacon so thick it could be mistaken for slices of ham steak. A handful of greens and a generous slather of Creole-spiced mayonnaise finish off this perfect sandwich. Meanwhile, mouth-puckering mustard cuts through layers upon layers of sugar-cured ham and smoked pork shoulder on the “Cubano.” Gruyère cheese and sweet bread and butter pickles add a pungent kick.

The “Gobbler” is the name of Southern’s turkey sandwich, though it could also be a reference to how we looked eating it. The combination of slices of gently smoked bird, stuffing, tangy peach jam and herbed mayo is far better than any post-Thanksgiving sandwich I’ve had. And speaking of feasts, the chicken and biscuit is a contender for best sandwich in St. Louis. A buttery biscuit no less than five inches in diameter is cut in half, then stuffed with gravy-smothered fried-chicken tenders and shaved ham.

I could have stopped here and declared Southern an exceptional experience, but then I would have missed out on the fried chicken.

Oh, that chicken — a study in everything that is right with food.

Southern offers it in several different styles: original; General Tso’s, which is ginger and soy-glazed; and Nashville-style, which can be ordered mild, medium, hot and “clucking hot.” (Nashville-style “hot chicken,” which is Southern’s raison d’être, refers to the chilieoil sauce that gets doused on the bird after cooking.) Regardless of how you order it, you’ll be treated to juicy meat and a thin layer of crunchy breading.

My mom, not one to embrace spice, had the original and reveled in its textbook-perfect seasoning, juicy meat and crisp exterior. I ordered mine as individual pieces à la carte so that I could ask for each piece sauced individually. This way, I got to experience the range of Nashville-style spice levels, and I can confirm that once you get past mild, all bets are off. At a hiccup-inducing medium, my mouth was burning. At hot, beads of sweat started to form on my forehead. When I got to “clucking hot,” there was probably smoke coming out of my ears.

What’s telling, however, is that though I was basically in pain, I couldn’t stop eating it. That’s because the spice was balanced by a subtle sweetness, as if the batter was sugar-coated. It wasn’t sticky in the least — just a wonderfully nuanced spice blend that allowed the dish to have flavor rather than one-dimensional burn.

Fortunately, I tried the side dishes before my palate was completely blown by the hot chicken. Mashed potatoes are rustic in style and covered in savory chicken gravy. The braised greens would make any Southern grandma proud. And the mac & cheese is outstanding — the creamy sauce and breadcrumb topping tasted as if pasta had been infused with the flavor of a Cheez-It. Heavenly.

We ended the meal with housemade banana pudding. The luxurious, vanilla-infused dessert was the texture of custard, and a few vanilla wafers added crunch and whimsy. It was the only thing that could calm my burning mouth.

As mom and I staggered out the door, we were so giddy we could barely speak in sentences. It was clear that she was a believer — not because of the hype but because of the unspeakably spectacular food.

If Emerson and Lewis ever open another place, I can’t take her as my voice of reason.

She’s completely under their spell.

■

DESIGN : RICK GOULD

We have NFL Sunday Ticket.

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[FIRST LOOK]

Seven Zero Eight Opens on, Yes, Laclede’s Landing

short orders [CHEF CHAT]

For Jason Paul, His Tiny Restaurant Was a Big Leap of Faith

K

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J

ason Paul of the Little Dipper (2619 Cherokee Street; 314-625-3530) admits that he came to cooking out of necessity. “It’s no secret that my mom doesn’t cook,” he says.

“She’ll tell you as much. To give you an idea, one time she was cooking two gooey-butter cakes for a party and forgot to add the butter.”

Fortunately, Paul and his mother spent the first thirteen years of his life living with his grandmother, who taught him basic dishes.

“She showed me how to do very simple things, like cook eggs,” Paul recalls. “When my mom and I moved out, I had to make meals for myself all of the time — my mom worked a lot as a computer programmer. I got sick of cooking frozen microwave dinners, so I decided to experiment.”

The first test of his culinary skills didn’t go so well. Paul saw a package of ground beef in the freezer and decided to make hamburgers.

He thawed the beef under water, put it in the pan without any seasoning, and started stirring it around. “This tells you where I was at,” Paul laughs. “I just dumped the meat in the skillet.

I guess I thought it was going to form itself or something, but I ended up with this pan of brown mush. That’s when I knew I had to figure this out. It was my jumping-off point.”

Paul took odd jobs on the periphery of cooking — making custard at a custard shop, cooking at snack bars — until he had an opportunity to cook at a big-box store’s cafeteria.

“I had a job as the cart guy, and they asked if I wanted to pick up some shifts at their snack bar,” Paul explains. “They prepared simple food, but there were these two older women who showed me how to do some basic stuff.

Before them, I didn’t know the difference between cooking on high and low temperatures.

I thought ‘high’ meant it cooks fast and ‘low’ meant ‘slow.’ I just cooked everything on high.”

After five years working mainly front-ofhouse at Hammerstone’s in Soulard, Paul found himself with a full-time gig in the chemical soap business owned by the Hammerstone family. It was his job to sell cleaning products to the city’s restaurants. “Denny Hammerstone owned the company, and it was a great job. I loved the people I worked with, I made good money and had a lot of freedom,” Paul explains.

“But I kept finding myself in some of the best restaurants in town, and it really made me realize that I needed to do something that was more fulfilling and creative.”

Paul knew he had to put in his notice with the soap company, but it wasn’t that easy. His girlfriend is Hammerstone’s daughter, and they

The Little Dipper’s Jason Paul.

were basically family. “It was really hard,” Paul says. “I felt like I was letting down my family, but I had to do it.”

A few months after quitting, Paul got a call from a friend saying that the little shotgun space on Cherokee Street that he had always been eying for a possible sandwich shop came up for rent. Within days, he had toured the space, signed the lease and began making sandwiches for hungry south-city revelers.

Still, Paul doesn’t forget how it all started. “My friends and I, we were all kids of broken marriages. This is what helped us stay fed and out of trouble.”

Paul took a break from making his signature hot Italian beef sandwich to share his thoughts on the St. Louis food and beverage scene.

What is one thing people don’t know about you that you wish they did?

I’d rather be fishing.

What daily ritual is non-negotiable for you?

Work.

If you could have any superpower, what would it be?

The ability to stop time.

What is the most positive thing in food, wine or cocktails that you’ve noticed in St. Louis over the past year?

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I’m into the accessibility of some of the new spots. I like places I can take my mom.

It’s really cool that some of the city’s best chefs have these everyday kind of spots. It seems very organic, and it makes St. Louis a cooler place.

Who is your St. Louis food crush?

Right now it’s Supermarcado el Torito on Cherokee. I waste too much time there.

Who’s the one person to watch right now in the St. Louis dining scene?

Word on the street is that Byrd and Barrel is coming soon, so I’ve gotta go with chef Bob [Brazell] and his crew.

Which ingredient is most representative of your personality?

Sugar. It will make you fat.

If you weren’t working in the restaurant business, what would you be doing?

I guess I’d be a hobo.

Name an ingredient never allowed in your kitchen.

Never say never.

What is your after-work hangout?

Home. It’s where the girls are.

What’s your food or beverage guilty pleasure?

Stag. I have a lot of guilt.

What would be your last meal on earth?

My grandma Irvin’s fried chicken and cucumber salad. I haven’t had it in 25 years, and I can still taste it.

— CHERYL BAEHR

aterina Von Rocket and Eliot Winter should have been happy. Their burlesque troupe, Backlot Boudoir, was a big success in Fenton — drawing 1,000 people a night to quarterly performances at the Stratford Inn. But they wanted a venue of their own.

“We were getting frustrated,” Winter says.

“There were no cocktails, there was limited food, all these different things we cared about were missing.” Fenton, he admits, wasn’t his idea of a perfect location, either.

He and Von Rocket found themselves fantasizing about a part of town that most locals are quick to dismiss. Forget Wash.

Ave.; forget the Grove. They wanted to set up shop on Laclede’s Landing.

“We’re New Orleans people,” Winter explains. The old brick buildings and even older brick streets seemed to promise infinite possibility: “We wanted it to be like the French Quarter.”

That dream came true this month, as the renamed Backlot Bears of Seven Zero Eight take the stage at the pair’s sprawling new space on the Landing — Seven Zero Eight (708 N. 2nd Street, 314-833-4504). Formerly the home of Jake’s Steaks, it’s a vast 7,500 square feet of restaurant, theater, patio, even (eventually) retail shop and some sort of cool members-only-type space that Von Rocket plans to open in the basement.

They hope it won’t just be a home for their troupe — although it will certainly be that. They also want it to be a dining and drinking destination in its own right.

Brian McGrath, who previously worked at Basso and Truffles Butchery, has developed a menu of creative comfort food executed with high-end ingredients. And in addition to offering cocktails, Seven Zero Eight is striving to be a craft-beer destination, with 100-plus beers on offer. Its signature 708 Stout features notes of coffee, chocolate, vanilla, milk, orange and bourbon.

Winter and Von Rocket took possession in February, and while they originally planned to open in May, doing all the work themselves has taken more time than they anticipated.

Still, the space is a stunner, with numerous smaller rooms for dining (including a loft that overlooks the main dining area) fronting Second Street and a huge stage area that’s completely separate from it in the back. They imagine doing a brisk business for the tourists who wander through the Landing in the early evening, even as they’ll be packing in burlesque fans for two nightly shows at 8 p.m. and continued on page 40

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BRAD & DIANE JAZZ PIANO DUE SEPT 28 7PM WACK-A-DOO SEPT 29 7PM JOE BOZZI BAND SARAH JANE & THE BLUE NOTES JAZZ BRUNCH SEPT 30 7PM DAVIS NIX (ALABAMA) & NEAL LUCAS (GEORGIA)

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[FOOD CHALLENGES]

The (Sandwich) King of the Hill

C O U R T E SY O F J U S T I N B R U E G E N H E M K E

J

ustin Bruegenhemke is a man on a mission. The self-described “Dutch-German, displaced-Southerner living in an Italian neighborhood” is more than halfway to his goal of eating all 159 sandwiches on the menus of nine delicatessens and sandwich shops on the Hill.

Bruegenhemke is a software salesman by day, foodie by night. His passion for food led to his sandwich sojourn, which he’s calling The Hill Topper Project. “Whether barbecue, bourbon or sandwiches, all of which I’m a little geeky about,” he tells Riverfront Times, “people would ask me, ‘What’s the best one?’ I always replied, ‘Well, I don’t know — I haven’t had them all yet.’ So one day, I decided I would eat them all.”

By “all,” he doesn’t quite mean all. That would be impossible. He has limited himself to delis and sandwich shops in St. Louis’ favorite Italian neighborhood. More traditional restaurants on the Hill, even if they have sandwiches on the menu, are not included.

But that still leaves numerous options — the sandwiches at Adriana’s, Amighetti’s, Gioia’s, Mama Toscano’s, Joe Fassi Sausage & Sandwich Factory, Southwest Market, Eovaldi’s Deli, J. Viviano’s & Son, and Urzi’s.

“As with most kids that grow up in St. Charles County, my first memory of the Hill was of my parents drinking monster fishbowls of beer while I dunked toasted ravioli in marinara at Rigazzi’s,” Bruegenhemke says. Now that he lives in the neighborhood, though, he knows it has much more to offer.

And while his project is mainly about his love of sandwiches, he also hopes to bring some much-needed traffic to his neighborhood delis, as business has slowed with the recent closure of the Kingshighway bridge.

Justin Bruegenhemke: One man, one mission, 159 sandwiches.

He has a few contenders for best sandwich on the Hill, but isn’t sharing his favorites until the project is complete. Does Bruegenhemke know what sandwich will be No. 159? “I just told Alex at Gioia’s,” he says, “that ‘The Hogfather,’ a brand-new addition to their secret menu, will be the 159th.”

Bruegenhemke orders the sandwiches exactly as they are on the menu — no modifications. He isn’t a fan of mayonnaise, but that hasn’t been an issue thus far. Few sandwiches on the Hill come with the stuff.

He rotates restaurants and orders which-

ever sandwich catches his eye each day.

Even as he’s nearing the century mark of sandwiches, he hasn’t gained any weight.

(His wife is supportive of the endeavor, but insisted that he check his cholesterol at the halfway point.) You can follow him on Twitter and Instagram @jbruegs and The Hill Topper Project on Twitter @HillTopperStL. What has he learned from eating so many sandwiches? “If the question is, ‘Toasted on garlic cheese bread?’ the answer is always yes.” he says. Words to live by.

— JOHNNY FUGITT

Seven Zero Eight 10 p.m. every weekend. Burlesque karaoke takes place on Wednesdays.

And, yes, seating in the stage area will be full service. Order a cocktail, order dinner — no reason not to make your night out more than just burlesque and more than just dinner.

At this point, the menu is tightly curated and reasonably priced, with nothing topping $16 (that’s the price of the generously sized “708 Burger,” which features Kobe beef). For appetizers, there’s poutine made with house-cut fries ($8), Cajun street tacos studded with Andouille sausage, gator or shrimp ($3 each or two for $5), and decadent mac & cheese bites ($8), flavored intensely by their Gruyère and cheddar cheesiness.

There are also five burger options and three mac & cheese plates, as well as a half-dozen hand-held sandwiches (Caesar wrap, Cuban, po’boys). This is food you could eat on a date, but plenty of items on the menu would also work perfectly if you’ve gotten drunk on the Landing and need to sober up before going home.

After a hasty soft opening the first week of September designed to coincide with the Big Muddy Blues Festival, Seven Zero Eight opened for real on September 10, and so the day was a flurry of last-minute details. Even as McGrath showed off his menu, handfuls of tourists and nearby office workers stopped by to see what was going on. Everybody was curious about the vast new space opening in the neighborhood.

Winter believes that people are wrong to dismiss the Landing.

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SARAH FENSKE

continued from page 38

The Seven Zero Eight space has a New Orleans feel, complete with Mardi Gras beads looped over the staircase.

“People forgot it was here,” he acknowledges. “But they just needed to do something new — something to draw a crowd.”

He adds, “Fenton’s not anything special. If they’ll come to Fenton, they’ll come here.”

— Sarah Fenske

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Beer, Wine, & Full Bar Now Available!

dining guide

Breakfast Served All Day! CHEAPEST DRINK PRICES IN TOWN! St. Louis’ New Cajun-Creole Restaurant

The Phat Albert

1/2 lb. burger made of Ground Chuck & Ribeye, Country Slaw, topped w/Beef Brisket & Swiss.

Served with house chips.

255 Un i o n Bl v d .

St . L o u i s , M O 6 3 1 0 8 31 4.4 5 4.1 5 5 1

The Dining Guide lists only restaurants recommended

by RFT food critics. The print listings below rotate regularly, as space allows. Our complete Dining Guide is available online; view menus and search local restaurants by name or neighborhood.

Do w n t o w n L o c at io n C om i ng S umme r 2015!

Price Guide (based on a three-course meal for one, excluding tax, tip and beverages): $ up to $15 per person $$ $15 - $25 $$$ $25 - $40 $$$$ more than $40

4144 S. Grand

St. Louis, MO 63118

(314) 875-9653

Tuesday-Sunday

11am-9pm

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casual eatery. Pizzino serves two different styles of pies: thin, crispy and grilled; or the thick Roman-style pizza al taglio.

The grilled pizzas are made to order; diners either customize one from a list of toppings or choose from a list of suggested versions. Specialties include the “Margherita,” a take on the classic Neapolitan dish that consists of tomatoes, basil and fresh mozzarella. The “Cantina” is a satisfying steak pizza, topped with spicy whole tomatoes and Gorgonzola and Reggianito cheeses. The pizza al taglio is baked in advance in large sheet pans then sliced in large squares to order. The focaccia-like crust comes in three different styles: a vegetarian; a take on pepperoni; and the capicola and caramelized onion topped “Royal.” Pizza is becoming an increasingly crowded field in this town, but Pizzino stands out by offering something a little different. $ Whitebox Eatery 176 Carondelet Plaza, Clayton; 314-8622802. Whitebox Eatery elevates daytime eating for busy Clayton diners with its upscale take on breakfast and lunch fare. The restaurant offers breakfast and lunch on the weekdays, and Saturday and Sunday brunch, with items such as turkey meatloaf, brioche French toast and smokedsalmon tartine. Pancakes, covered with housemade granola, fresh berries and whipped cream, are a must, as is the breakfast salad — arugula, potatoes, bacon, feta cheese and crispy onions are topped with creamy herbed dressing and poached eggs. Whitebox Eatery’s freshly baked pastries are the restaurant’s highlight. Doughnuts, chocolate croissants, cheese Danishes and savory scones are a perfect end to the meal — or a tasty grab-and-go snack. $$

C L AY T O N

DOWNTOWN

801 Chophouse 137 Carondelet Plaza, Clayton; 314-8759900. 801 Chophouse’s super-size steaks are the most expensive meal in town — and that seems to be the point. The restaurant peddles opulence to holders of corporate cards, as well as regular folks who want to feel like royalty (at least for a day). For the price tag, diners will receive impeccable service, fine wines and shamefully large cuts of beef. Bone-in selections are the best offerings: The strip, rib eye, pork and veal all benefit from the extra flavor (and thicker cut). 801 Chophouse offers a variety of steak enhancements, from Oscar-style with crab and béarnaise to a bone-marrow bath.

However, the high-quality steaks and chops are delicious enough on their own. Seafood is incredibly fresh, and the oysters taste straight from the coast. Side dishes are served à la carte: The creamy scalloped potatoes and lobster macaroni & cheese are excellent options — just make sure to ask for a half order so you can save room for the Grand Mariner soufflé. $$$$ Avenue 12 North Meramec Avenue, Clayton; 314-727-4141.

The long-time patrons who lamented the closure of Bryan Carr’s Pomme Restaurant and Pomme Café & Wine Bar can find respite at Avenue. The Clayton bistro, located just a few blocks away from its popular predecessors, combines the two concepts under one roof, but also allows Carr to up the ante on his classic French-influenced fare. The veteran chef keeps some of Pomme’s favorites on Avenue’s menu but also adds several successful new dishes, such as authentic cassoulet with white beans, duck confit, sausage and pork shoulder. The pork schnitzel, topped with brandy-sautéed apples, is another standout dish, and appetizers such as wild mushrooms served with buratta over crusty bread demonstrate Carr’s culinary prowess. Avenue has an excellent brunch, with offerings such as blueberry and lemon pancakes and an overstuffed ham, egg and Gruyere crêpe that doubles as a hearty breakfast wrap. Pomme may still be on everyone’s mind, but Avenue is a worthy followup. $$ Cantina Laredo 7710 Forsyth Boulevard, Clayton; 314-7252447. Cantina Laredo in Clayton is the first St. Louis location of the Dallas-based upscale Tex-Mex chain. The restaurant’s large contemporary bar has quickly become a happyhour hot spot, pouring stiff drinks for the area’s business clientele. On the food side, diners can expect modernized, fusion versions of Mexican and Tex-Mex dishes, anchored by a large selection of fajitas and enchiladas. The restaurant’s signature appetizer, the “Top Shelf Guacamole,” is prepared tableside, with accoutrements added to your preferences.

The “Enchiladas Veracruz” features two tortillas stuffed with a Mexican version of chicken spinach dip, and the “Costillas Con Fajita” is a gigantic, searing hot platter of ribs, steak and chicken, large enough for three diners. A must-try is the “Torta de Carnitas,” smoked pork topped with goat cheese, apricot jam and an over-easy egg. Though it’s difficult to save room for dessert, find a way to manage: The Mexican apple pie, finished with brandy butter tableside on a searing-hot cast-iron skillet, is a scrumptious end to the meal. $$-$$$ Niche 7734 Forsyth Boulevard, Clayton; 314-773-7755. Acclaimed restaurateur Gerard Craft has relocated his flagship restaurant, Niche, from Benton Park to a brand-new, stateof-the-art space in downtown Clayton. The menu from Craft and chef du cuisine Nate Hereford remains true to the ethos that made Niche so beloved among local diners: progressive modern cuisine with an emphasis on local, seasonal produce — and also with a playful side. Diners can order from the à la carte menu, but the new Niche also features a special chef’s table with an more extensive tasting menu.

While drop-in diners might find an empty seat at the bar, reservations are strongly recommended. $$$-$$$$ Pizzino 7600 Wydown Boulevard, Clayton; 314-240-5134. Pizzino owner Jim Zimmerman comes from a line of Lithuanian bakers dating back to the 1700s, so it’s no surprise that he has perfected not one, but two types of crusts for the fast-

Death in the Afternoon 808 Chestnut Street; 314-6213236. Death in the Afternoon is a culinary oasis set in downtown’s idyllic Citygarden. The weekday lunch spot — which recently added a limited dinner menu — is the brainchild of Adam Frager and TJ Vytlacil of the members-only restaurant and bar Blood & Sand. Death in the Afternoon features impeccably presented soups, salads, sandwiches and snacks.

From kimchi and pickled vegetables to housemade pastrami served on a pretzel, the menu offers something for everyone’s palate. The mahi mahi sandwich is spectacular: The fresh grilled fish is so moist it’s as if it were poached. Served with Meyer lemon and dill aioli, pickles and fennel salad, it’s an excellent lunchtime treat. The restaurant’s signature entrée is the tonkotsu ramen, a bowl of mouthwatering pork broth teeming with housemade noodles, mushrooms, pork loin and belly, a soft-boiled egg and garnished with black garlic oil. It’s comfort in a bowl. And lest the kids romping in Citygardens’ fountains have all the fun, Death in the Afternoon serves a rotating selection of cotton candy for dessert.

It’s a whimsical end to a perfect meal — a great way to kill an afternoon. $$-$$$ Eat-Rite Diner 622 Chouteau Avenue; 314-621-9621. “Eat Rite or Don’t Eat At All.” So it says on the coffee cups (and the souvenir T-shirts) at this no-frills 24-hour greasy spoon amid the industrial wasteland between downtown and Soulard. Folks come from miles around to fill up on the breakfast-and-burgers menu: bar-hoppers and club kids finally coming down from their late-night-into-early-morning highs; factory workers and blue-collars getting off graveyard shifts; curious newcomers who’ve heard about the bizarro vibe that pervades these cramped counter-only environs. To call the food at Eat-Rite cheap is an understatement — six burgers (real-size, not White Castle-size) run $4.50. And many swear by the Eat-Rite’s redoubtable slinger (for the uninitiated, that’d be fried eggs, hash browns and a burger patty, avec chili). $ Maurizio’s Pizza & Pasta Bowl 220 S. Tucker Boulevard; 314-621-1997. Dives usually aren’t this spacious; there are enough tables and chairs set up in Maurizio’s to make it look like a cross between a sports bar and a corporate cafeteria.

Dives also never boast menus this expansive: New York-style pizzas, strombolis, lasagna, manicotti, rib-eye steak, lemon chicken, pork steak, subs, burgers, salads and — the icing on the cake — tiramisu. And while getting tons of food at cheap prices is great, what makes Maurizio’s a don’t-miss is the late-night people-watching. Open till 3 a.m. seven days a week, Maurizio’s is the place to cap off a night of debauchery — and witness all walks of life in their after-hours glory. $ Rooster 1104 Locust Street; 314-241-8118. This charming crêperie brings a little bit of Paris to downtown. Savory crêpes feature both the hearty (“German-style” sausages, bacon, roasted sirloin) and the delicate (brie with roasted apples, egg with Gruyère). Fans of owner Dave Bailey’s Lafayette Square hot spot Baileys’ Chocolate Bar won’t be surprised by the excellent sweet crêpes, from a simple lemon one dusted with sugar to the indulgent “Peanut Butter Cup,” which is even richer than its namesake. The menu also features soups, salads and sandwiches, as well as Serendipity ice cream and Kaldi’s coffee. $ Tony’s 410 Market Street; 314-231-7007. In St. Louis, many restaurant discussions begin and end with Tony’s, for very good reason. The Bommarito clan, which owns the restaurant, is positively fanatical about perfection in every aspect of the meal. Entrées are not particularly elaborate but are perfectly balanced. Lobster Albanello is considered something of a signature dish, but nowhere will you find a better veal chop. There is generally something available either on or off the menu to please any mood, including a layering of roasted fresh vegetables for the non-carnivore.

Throughout the meal, patriarch Vince Bommarito wanders and schmoozes. $$$$

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music

B-Sides 46 Critics’ Picks 52 Concerts 55 Clubs

Life’s a Beach BALTIMORE’S BEACH HOUSE SOLDIERS ON, MAINTAINING FIERCE CONTROL OF EVERY ASPECT OF ITS ART Beach House 8 p.m. Sunday, September 27. The Pageant, 6161 Delmar Boulevard. $25-$27.50.

314-726-6161.

each House is the Baltimore-based duo of multi-instrumentalists Alex Scally and Victoria Legrand — but you probably already know that. For a decade now, and in front of ever larger audiences, the pair has been crafting fever-dream BY pop songs rich with Legrand’s JAMES ethereal vocals, shimmering organ tones and Scally’s dark, KANE brooding slide guitar. What’s remarkable is that in all that time, they’ve managed to maintain nearcomplete creative control of their project, seemingly at every level of production.

“We’re pretty control freak-y,” Scally admits from his home in Baltimore. “Nobody pitches us ideas.”

In keeping, the two write their own press releases, build their own set pieces and even handle their own album art. The cover for Depression Cherry, the duo’s fifth full-length effort (released August 28 on Sub Pop Records), comes encased in a field of solid crimson velvet, broken only by the band’s name and album title in white lowercase letters. The inner jacket features a picture of a fiber-optic rose. The photograph was shot by Scally, of course.

“We have a very big role in the design. The red velvet was our idea,” Scally says. “We’ve been, essentially, the designer for all of our records.”

Beach House’s drive to control the band’s presentation extends, by necessity, to the Internet as well.

“We get a lot of pressure — and a good kind, it’s a positive thing — we get pressure from our manager and record label to do stuff online. Everybody’s competing for this small amount of attention,” says Scally. “But it feels so cheesy when there’s not something important to say. In our minds, before the record, we thought, ‘What can we do using the Internet that’s exciting or cool?’”

Consider the beachhousebaltimore.com setlist generator, where fans in each city on the band’s tour route can vote for the songs they most want to hear. The top three will be played that night, without question.

“We change the setlist every night on tour — but what if we’re not playing a song someone

Beach House.

really wants to hear? Sometimes, randomly in a certain town, a random old song will get a bunch of votes. And it’s like, ‘OK, cool, we’ll play the song that night.’ You know you’ll make those 35 people happy.”

Scally is still preparing the stage design for the group’s current tour, which he describes as a work in progress. In the past, designs have taken a variety of forms — obelisks, pyramids and other geometric structures — with numerous shifting light schemes.

“It’s still evolving. It’s less a set piece, but admittedly, it’s looked set-like before. We have something — I don’t want to give out too much about it. The Pageant is a great stage for production, so we’ll be able to do something really nice.”

While the process of releasing, promoting and touring for the record has preoccupied the group for the last few months, its members put just as much energy into writing and recording the latest album.

“It feels a lot like the seasons,” Scally says.

“Recording is one season, touring another. You

enjoy parts and hate parts of them.”

It was a cold Baltimore winter when it came time to make a new record. The group packed a rented U-Haul with the contents of its practice space and fled south to Bogalusa, Louisiana, headed for the famed Studio in the Country.

“There’s all these great studios from the ’70s and ’80s, during the era of huge budgets, that are all kind of empty now,” Scally says.

“Stevie Wonder made a record there. Kansas recorded ‘Carry On Wayward Son’ there. It’s super hi-fidelity, sitting out there in Louisiana, not being used like it should.”

Scally says the duo already knew what they wanted to do when they arrived.

“We write completely before we get to the studio, so we know exactly what we need,” he explains. “There are very specific arrangements, and we work at them pretty hard. Before we say the song is done, we’ve worked on them for a long time. The songs don’t change a lot in the studio. Subtle things shift within them. Overall, energy or tones shift, but not big changes.” riverfronttimes.com

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But they made one spontaneous decision: the inclusion of vocal-music majors from the local Pearl River Community College.

“The studio has great engineers that work there — the guy there had connections throughout the area,” Scally says. “He hooked us up with the music director at that school, a friend of his. That guy got us in touch with the voice people. They were sweet kids, good singers, and we made a cool-sounding choir song.”

That song is the album’s final track, “Days of Candy,” and it features eight singers doing four parts in two octaves. It’s gothic cathedral music, haunting and spacious, and a fitting end to a great record.

Depression Cherry is vintage Beach House in the best sense. The instrument tones and arrangements, like each arpeggio in the standout “Space Song,” seem carefully curated, pored over, interlocking. The band went without a live drummer in the studio — unlike on its last two records, 2012’s Bloom and 2010’s breakout Teen Dream — and returned to the beat machine. It balances out the paced delivery of Legrand with perfectly timed, wellcomposed fills, as in “Levitation” and “Beyond Love.” The lyrical imagery in the latter song, as on most of the record, is dramatic and romantic, but distant — sweet, sometimes sad, but any specific meaning gets hazy around the edges: “The first thing that I do before I get into your house/ I’m gonna tear off all the petals from the rose that’s in your mouth.”

For a band so firmly in control, there was one thing it couldn’t help — the online leak of the new album nearly two months in advance of its proper release date.

Scally is surprisingly forgiving.

“We would’ve preferred it not to, because we had a vision of how we wanted to release it,” he told Rolling Stone in an August interview. “But it’s happened every single time we’ve put out a record. So, to some extent, it just seems completely normal. Once it leaks, it leaks. There’s no reason to be upset by that.

It’s just music, and I’m happy that people even care to listen to it.”

It’s clear the two members of Beach House invest enormous time and energy in every aspect of their band. For now, they’ve earned a brief respite from tour life — they’ll play 100-plus shows nationwide this year and are resting up before heading out on their next string of live dates, including a September 27 stop in St. Louis. But they wouldn’t have it any other way.

“We’re heading out in a week. It’s been a year of touring,” Scally says. “We’ve been so lucky to do this band now for all this time and have it be our life.”

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b-sides Putting the Lou in LouFest LOUFEST’S LOCAL ACTS SHARE THEIR THOUGHTS AFTER PERFORMING AT THE HUGE FESTIVAL

E

ach year since 2010, LouFest has attracted topflight national and international acts to St. Louis for a two-day, mid-September music festival in Forest Park — a nearby, less-hellish alternative to bigname festivals such as Lollapalooza, SXSW and Bonnaroo. But the prominence of LouFest’s headliners can sometimes obscure the handful of high-quality local acts lucky enough to make the bill. Past entrants include such regional heavyweights as Sleepy Kitty, Tef Poe, So Many Dynamos and Pretty Little Empire.

This year featured three homegrown invitees: the young St. Peters-based pop-rock power trio Clockwork; American Wrestlers, formed barely a year ago but immediately signed to Fat Possum on the strength of its debut self-titled release; and Pokey LaFarge, the elder statesman of the St. Louis delegation. The three acts diverge in history, style and approach, but performed admirably on one of the biggest stages our fair city has to offer.

Riverfront Times spoke to each band after its respective set about the experiences.

CLOCKWORK In the last three years, Clockwork has cut two fulllength records and made inroads on the national festival circuit. Former regulars at Blueberry Hill, Old Rock House and the Firebird, the group’s members have spent less time in St. Louis over the last year and only recently returned from the road. For them, LouFest felt like a homecoming.

“Starting out, we’d play St. Louis every weekend,” said Jordan Sloan (guitar, vocals), one half of the group’s sibling front-line with brother Logan (bass, vocals).

“Because we’ve been playing so much out of town, being able to bring out our family and friends and people we haven’t even seen in a year or two was really awesome.”

Rounded out by Logan Mohler on drums, the group took the LouFest stage Saturday at 2 p.m. (with dueling Rickenbacker six-string and bass guitars) like a young Beatles-Weezer hybrid — full of energy, buzzing distortion and strong vocal harmonies.

“This is a really cool step for us as a band,” said Logan Sloan. “We went from playing complete dive bars that no one’s ever heard of to playing a stage like this over the last three years. And that’s just a really, really cool thing for us as a band, is seeing ourselves growing.”

Brushing off some early acoustic guitar-related technical difficulties, the band pressed forward with a forceful, all-electric set.

“You never know what’s going to happen,” said Jordan of the technical snafus. “In the studio, in practice, you can control things so much more, but when you’re onstage, you’re in the heat of it — you have to just make decisions.”

After the set, band members said they looked forward to seeing a number of other festival acts.

“I’m really excited to see Ludacris — I never thought that I would ever be able to say that I was on a bill with Ludacris,” said Jordan. “And Jessica Hernandez.

I was really excited about that. I continued on page 48

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P H OTO S B Y R O B E R T R O H E

Above: Pokey LaFarge.

Left: American Wrestlers.

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Lou in LouFest

Clockwork.

actually got nervous when I went to introduce myself because it’s a band that I’m really excited to see.”

“We fangirl so hard,” Mohler said, laughing.

“We’ll open for bands and I’ll see someone in the band and be like, ‘Do I look OK, do I look OK?’” Now that LouFest is done, what’s the next step for Clockwork?

“We have to decide what our real direction is because we’re at this crossing point,” said Jordan Sloan. “We need to decide if we’re getting ready for another record, if we’re getting ready for just heavy touring, and are we solid with the way that our sound is? Or do we have some things that we need to do some fine tuning with.”

“It’s not going to be until we release this third record that it truly shows who we are,” added Mohler.

AMERICAN WRESTLERS It’s been a wild year for American Wrestlers.

The band began last year as the unheralded solo project of Gary McClure, a Scottish native now living in St. Louis’ Benton Park neighborhood.

McClure’s self-recorded, self-titled record — made with found gear, inexpensive pawn shop guitars, a smartphone beat machine and a TASCAM eight-track — hit a nerve with the blogosphere, and the revered Fat Possum Records soon got in touch.

The onetime label of Andrew Bird, the Black Keys and many others offered McClure a two-record deal and the support of a team, and a live band was quickly pieced together via Craigslist ads, Facebook messages and marital connections — his wife Bridgette Imperial plays keyboard and guitar along with bassist Ian Reitz and drummer Josh Van Hoorebeke. The group has been on the road since, and only got back to town at 6 a.m. the day of its 1:45 p.m. LouFest set.

“It’s strange. I think our last show was at Foam,” McClure said afterward.

If you aren’t familiar with the Cherokee Street favorite, Foam’s coffee is great, but it’s

ROBERT ROHE

continued from page 46

tiny (or shall we say intimate?) for a venue. Even early in the day, LouFest was packed. Did the larger setting make a difference for the freshly minted Wrestlers?

“The whole thing is a challenge,” said McClure. He’s quick to answer with a joke, but admits it’s not your average show. “Festivals very rarely work. Every time it just sounds bad and is received badly and feels terrible. But this time, it felt like one of the best shows we’ve played.”

“You just never know what you’re going to get,” agreed Imperial. “And it’s a little bit different just because we’re not used to playing for people that we know; we’re used to playing for strangers.”

Still, they had fun with it and played a tight 45-minute set. The band has seen six drummers come and go in its brief lifespan and is admittedly a work in progress, but its songs, instrument tones and McClure’s high-

strung, warbly vocals and guitar licks are undeniable. If it’s experience the group needs, it will soon get it, as the band is on its way to the MidPoint and Pygmalion music festivals before another venturing out on the its first tour of the West Coast. A contractual blackout period for shows in St. Louis three months before and two months after LouFest means the group won’t be back in town until October 29 at the Billiken Club.

“I think it’s an all-ages show. It’s only $5, so there’s no excuse for people not to come unless they just think we’re crap,” McClure laughed.

POKEY LAFARGE Unlike the other two local groups at LouFest, Pokey LaFarge played the festival’s main stage, and proved his act worthy of the placement with a confident, raucous performance to one of the largest crowds of the weekend. Pokey & Co. have been rambling along across the globe for years now, and if you’re not familiar with

HOMESPUN L E S G R U F F & T H E B I L LY G O AT Les Gruff & the Billy Goat lesgruffandthebillygoat.com Les Gruff & the Billy Goat Release Show 7:15 p.m. Saturday, September 26. Off Broadway, 3509 Lemp Avenue. $10. 314-773-3363.

I

t’s best not to parse Les Gruff & the Billy Goat’s band name too much. The band is not a two-piece, nor is it the project of some dude named Les (or, for that matter, some Franco-American hybrid employing the French definite article “les”). The Billy in question is Billy Croghan, the singer and guitarist who fronts this largely acoustic, country-referencing combo. After 2014’s eighteen-track A Cup of Coffee, an Apple, and a Suicide, the band pared back and tightened up, spending much of 2014 playing in support of touring folk and roots artists while preparing its sophomore record. Les Gruff & the Billy Goat’s brand of Americana is more rooted in acoustic folk instruments than rangy Telecasters, though they appear from time to time.

Mandolin strums and sawing fiddle dominate many of these tracks, with Croghan’s acoustic guitar setting the pace. He has a knack for spinning tales of some of the usual Americana fodder — he’s especially fond of road songs and the trials of earnest but broken men. Often, as on opening track “Punched Your Ticket,” the two overlap.

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Croghan sells his tunes with a nice bit of wear and tear in his voice to match the grain of the roots-derived tracks. “Born Again” is built up as the album’s centerpiece, a chugging, minor-key tune that reveals layers of dirt on Croghan’s vocals and lead guitar. At nearly five minutes, the song pushes hard for some Silver Bullet Band gravitas but never quite locks in, either in composition or performance. The band is more relaxed on “Feeling Fine,” which fits the bonhomie of these six musicians; the track has the easy lope of a Saturday evening line-dance and the laid-back harmonies of a practiced band. (Final track, “Two-Steppin’ into Sin” takes a more yee-haw-ing approach to this same idea, with diminishing returns.) “Evil Dancers” wrings some old-world romance out of its lurching waltz tempo, suitably dramatic low-end piano and Sean Kamery’s mournful violin lines. It’s also the first track in the album’s sequence that truly shows Croghan’s range and affect as a vocalist; here, he channels Richard Manuel’s fragility on an arrangement that owes a little something to the Band. Nuggets like these help give definition to a group that can work within a tradition but does better when pushing past its hallmarks and limitations.

–CHRISTIAN SCHAEFFER Want your CD to be considered for a review in this space?

Send music c/o Riverfront Times, Attn: Homespun, 6358 Delmar Boulevard, Suite 200, St. Louis, Missouri, 63130.

Email music@riverfronttimes.com for more information.

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their brand of countrified, hot jazz originals and standards, please take note. Experienced studio players and festival circuit standbys in the U.S., Europe and Canada, the band’s members are no strangers to this kind of thing. But that doesn’t mean it’s routine.

“It’s certainly not any other gig,” said LaFarge after the performance. “Every show can be different, but a festival’s different than an indoor show. It’s not so much based around listening, so you really have to bring the energy to keep people engaged. You’ve got pretty ladies walking by, the beautiful day, you’ve got other stages going on. You have to bring a different approach.”

In front of a huge hometown crowd, LaFarge knows there are special circumstances to take into account.

“The fact that it’s a local show also just kind of makes it a special occasion,” he said. “I think what makes it a different show for us and me in terms of preparation, is also that you know that there’s going to be a number of people that have seen you perform before. And that’s becoming a nice challenge, actually.

“You have to continue and try to do different things. I’m also a person that wants to play new songs a lot, but I’m also hesitant to do that currently — play new songs in the current format — just because I want to save that for records to come. So you mess with the old songs you’ve been playing with for a while so that they’re new.”

LaFarge and his seven-piece group gave a command performance. He was full-throated, sure of himself and constantly engaging the crowd. The horn section blew a wide emotional range, from angry to sweet or funny — some of the melodies literally made the crowd laugh, as if they were being told a joke. Ryan Koenig (harmonica, vocals and washboard) elicited roars of applause with his lightning lip-work.

His homemade, Inspector Gadget-inspired washboard breastplate clinked and clanked in time with all manner of apparatus. If he and the band’s music is outside the mainstream festival, LaFarge is not concerned.

“I don’t really want to represent any kind of style. I certainly don’t attempt to, because my music is always changing and is going to change even more in the next year or two. You have plans, but some things aren’t planned; it has to be natural.

“With that being said, people have only a fraction of my creative side and my voice. It’s been successful, whatever it is I’ve done, but I do want to get involved and get deeper — even more so now that people think they have my classified in this certain thing. I’d want to work even harder to become even more original and break those classifications down.”

So is LaFarge ready to head back to the studio? What’s next?

“The act evolves, the show evolves, the music evolves, we evolve as people, and it’s important to stay in tune with all that,” he said. “Next year we’re taking a lot of time off. This year’s been insane, a lot of shows. So next year’s going to be only like 50 shows the whole year with festivals — writing and recording the whole year, a new record — and really just taking time off and trying to be a regular schmo. Ride my bike, work out, eat right, spend time with family, do all the stuff I never have time to do…. And watch a lot of ball games!”

–JAMES KANE

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10.27 GORGON CITY 10.28 ANDREW MCMAHON IN THE WILDERNESS / NEW POLITICS 10.29 SLIGHTLY STOOPID 10.30 MAT KEARNEY 10.31 SOMO 11.5 THE MAVERICKS 11.6 TIMEFLIES 11.7 JOHNNY RIVERS 11.8 NEW FOUND GLORY/YELLOWCARD 11.11 GOGOL BORDELLO 11.13 BIG FREEDIA 11.14 THE WONDER YEARS/MOTION CITY SOUNDTRACK 11.17 BEN FOLDS

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J A S O N S TO F F

critics’ picks

ST I L LWAT E R 9 p.m. Saturday, September 26. The Schlafly Tap Room, 2100 Locust Street. Free. 314-241-2337.

One of the great things about St. Louis music is that many of our beloved older bands don’t always stay broken up forever. Witness the reunions and rejuvenations of the last twelve months — bands such as the Three Merry Widows and Nadine have played shows after long absences, to say nothing of the second-coming fervor that attended the Urge’s reboot. Go ahead and add Stillwater to that list of born-again rock bands. After two records and some solid regional recognition, the trio hung it up in the late 1990s, though its guitar-heavy rumble became transmogrified in Chris Grabau’s next project, the long-running and amorphous Magnolia Summer. Grabau will reunite with bassist John O’Brien and Michael Rose for this free show, though time will tell if this appearance is more than a one-off among friends.

What’s Old Is Sort of New Again: Stillwater will be joined by fellow travelers Free Dirt, another reunited loud-twangyloud combo from St. Louis’ past, as well as Sherman S. Sherman’s outfit Peck of Dirt.

—CHRISTIAN SCHAEFFER

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AN UNDER COVER WEEKEND

Via Dove covers Aerosmith at An Under Cover Weekend 6, D.R.I. and Voodoo Glow Skulls.

8 p.m. Friday, Saturday and Sunday, September 25 through 27. The Firebird, 2706 Olive Street. $10 to $33.

314-535-0353.

An Under Cover Weekend has upped the ante to preposterous heights this year. In addition to its organizers’ expanding of the event into a third night, the bands involved are clearly getting increasingly ambitious with their choices of tributes — blame the spirit of friendly competition that always seems to arise from this affair. The Potomac Accord as Fugazi? Rusty Nail as Black Sabbath? The Langaleers as Creedence Clearwater Revival? These are legendary bands with wholly unique sounds — but if anyone is equal to such a task, it is the abundantly talented St. Louis music community. Each year An Under Cover Weekend packs the Firebird and creates lasting memories for all in attendance.

Expect no different this time around.

More and More and More: Bo & the Locomotive as Lou Reed? LifeWithout as Refused? This is going to be a hell of a weekend.

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—DANIEL HILL

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D.R.I.

VOODOO GLOW SKULLS

7 p.m. Sunday, September 27. Fubar, 3108 Locust Street. $15 to $18. 314-289-9050.

The legendary Dirty Rotten Imbeciles, better known as simply D.R.I., have finally returned. That’s not to say the band that created the crossover sound hasn’t repeatedly played St. Louis in the last few years — it has, certainly.

But it wasn’t until its most recent set in September of last year that the group really sounded right. Credit new drummer Brandon Karns, who handles the group’s lightspeed tempos with ease. Singer Kurt Brecht claims that Karns’ inclusion has been fruitful enough to yield new music, too, which is remarkable considering D.R.I.’s last record was released in 1995. The new songs the group performed at that show displayed great promise; here’s hoping something actually becomes of them.

Metal Up Your Ass: Grand Inquisitor, Path of Might, Guy Morgan and Absala open the show, making for quite the head-banging affair. Don’t you dare bring earplugs.

8 p.m. Wednesday, September 30. Off Broadway, 3509 Lemp Avenue. $13 to $15. 314-773-3363.

The most raucous live band in all of third-wave ska doesn’t seem like a title that makes a whole lot of sense, but in the case of the Voodoo Glow Skulls it most definitely applies.

VGS has always taken a punk-first, headlong approach to the genre, pushing its boundaries beyond those of its contemporaries — at times, the band has even delivered songs that could be defined as pure thrash, were it not for the horns. Fast tempos and unique, half-barked vocals add an extra-punk feel, and the group’s frantic onstage energy certainly carries over into the audience as well. In other words, watch your ass or get run over in a ska pit at Off Broadway, tough guy.

Brotherly Love: The trio of Eddie, Frank and Jorge Casillas has been at the core of the Voodoo Glow Skulls since its inception, leading the band for over 25 years.

—DANIEL HILL

—DANIEL HILL

UPCOMING EVENTS:

Fri. 9.25 - Sun. 9.27 What: St. Charles Oktoberfest When: 6PM Where: Frontier Park

Fri. 9.25 - Sun. 9.27 What: Q in the Lou When: Fri 4-9PM, Sat 11AM-9PM, Sun 11AM-6PM Where: Downtown St. Louis at Soldiers’ Memorial Not So Quiet Music Fest - 9.17.15

Fri. 9.25 - Sat. 9.26 What: Ferguson Streetfest When: Fri 4-11PM, Sat 12-11PM Where: 20 S. Florissant Rd.

Sat. 9.26 - Sun. 9.27

ScienceUncorked - 9.19.15

What: Strange Folk Festival When: Sat 10AM-8PM, Sun 10AM-5PM Where: St. Louis Union Station

ScienceUncorked - 9.19.15

For more photos go to the Street Team ScienceUncorked - 9.19.15

website at www.riverfronttimes.com.

Taste of St Louis - 9.19.15

Taste of St Louis - 9.19.15

Taste of St Louis - 9.18.15

Funk Fest - 9.19.15 riverfronttimes.com

S E P T E M B E R 2 3 - 2 9, 2 0 1 5

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A L L P H OTO S B Y S T E V E T R U E S D E L L

comic-kazi burlesque

A

saucy pop-culture mash-up took place Saturday, September 19, when Comic-Kazi hit the stage at Rbar. The burlesque revue showcased a ton of comic, sci-fi and cartoon characters in various stages of undress, naturally, was hosted by Charlotte Sumtimes and featured Bryce Bordello as “The Nerd.” RFT photographer Steve Truesdell was there for the best bits. See the rest at photos.riverfronttimes.com.

54

RIVERFRONT TIMES

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riverfronttimes.com

M O N T H X X–X X , 2

concerts THIS JUST IN After Nations: W/ TradeWinds, Frigid Air, Better in Theory, Fri., Oct. 16, 8 p.m., $10. The Demo, 4191 Manchester Ave, St. Louis, thedemostl.com.

Alternative Outcome: W/ Words Like Daggers, Foreverandnever, the Former Me, Mon., Sept. 28, 7 p.m., $8-$10.

Cicero's, 6691 Delmar Blvd., University City, 314-862-0009, ciceros-stl.com.

Angel Vivaldi: W/ Scarred Atlas, the Cambion, Outcome of Betrayal, Sun., Nov. 8, 6 p.m., $12. Fubar, 3108 Locust St, St. Louis, 314-289-9050, fubarstl.com.

Arthur Lee Land: Fri., Oct. 16, 8 p.m., $7-$10. Cicero's, 6691 Delmar Blvd., University City, 314-862-0009, ciceros-stl.com.

Benyaro: W/ Slow Down Scarlett, Fri., Oct. 30, 8 p.m., $7$10. Cicero's, 6691 Delmar Blvd., University City, 314-8620009, ciceros-stl.com.

Black Tide: W/ Exotype, Open Your Eyes, Boys of Fall, Texas Blvd, Sat., Oct. 31, 6 p.m., $15. Fubar, 3108 Locust St, St. Louis, 314-289-9050, fubarstl.com.

Blackfoot Gypsies: W/ Brother Lee and the Leather Jackals, Sun., Oct. 11, 8 p.m., $10. The Demo, 4191 Manchester Ave, St. Louis, thedemostl.com.

Blood on the Dance Floor: W/ Another Day Drowning, Will F.M., Sun., Nov. 15, 6 p.m., $15. Fubar, 3108 Locust St, St. Louis, 314-289-9050, fubarstl.com.

Brian Regan: Fri., March 4, 8 p.m., $42.50-$65. Peabody Opera House, 1400 Market St, St. Louis, 314-241-1888, peabodyoperahouse.com.

Caskey: Tue., Oct. 13, 7 p.m., $15. Cicero's, 6691 Delmar Blvd., University City, 314-862-0009, ciceros-stl.com.

Christmas with Amy Grant and Michael W. Smith: Fri., Dec. 11, 7 p.m., $30-$75. Scottrade Center, 1401 Clark Ave., St. Louis, 314-241-1888, scottradecenter.com.

Coin: W/ Colony House, Wed., Oct. 28, 8 p.m., $16. Blueberry Hill, 6504 Delmar Blvd., University City, 314-727-4444, blueberryhill.com.

The Delta Saints: W/ Rat Rod Kings, Sat., Dec. 5, 9 p.m., $13-$15. Blueberry Hill, 6504 Delmar Blvd., University City, 314-727-4444, blueberryhill.com.

Dr. Zhivegas 20th Anniversary Show: W/ Queens Blvd, Fri., Nov. 27, 8 p.m., $15. The Pageant, 6161 Delmar Blvd., St. Louis, 314-726-6161, thepageant.com.

Eidola: Tue., Nov. 10, 6 p.m., $10-$12. Fubar, 3108 Locust St, St. Louis, 314-289-9050, fubarstl.com.

Eli Young Band: W/ Locash, Sat., Dec. 5, 8 p.m., $22.50$25. The Pageant, 6161 Delmar Blvd., St. Louis, 314-7266161, thepageant.com.

Farout: W/ Ecid, Scotty WU, Sat., Oct. 31, 9 p.m., $7-$10.

Cicero's, 6691 Delmar Blvd., University City, 314-862-0009, ciceros-stl.com.

Gary Schoenberger: Fri., Oct. 16, 8 p.m., Free. Cicero's, 6691 Delmar Blvd., University City, 314-862-0009, cicerosstl.com.

Genevieve (formerly of Company of Thieves): Wed., Oct. 14, 8 p.m., $12-$15. Off Broadway, 3509 Lemp Ave., St. Louis, 314-773-3363, offbroadwaystl.com.

Ha Ha Tonka: W/ the Yawpers, Fri., Nov. 27, 8 p.m., $15.

Off Broadway, 3509 Lemp Ave., St. Louis, 314-773-3363, offbroadwaystl.com.

The Hillside Barons: Sat., Oct. 10, 8 p.m., Free. Cicero's, 6691 Delmar Blvd., University City, 314-862-0009, cicerosstl.com.

The Hooten Hallers: W/ Dead Soldiers, Sat., Oct. 24, 9 p.m., $10. Off Broadway, 3509 Lemp Ave., St. Louis, 314-7733363, offbroadwaystl.com.

Horace Pinker: Sat., Nov. 21, 8 p.m., $10-$12. Fubar, 3108 Locust St, St. Louis, 314-289-9050, fubarstl.com.

Ice Nine Kills: W/ Wage War, White Noise, Torn at the Seams, This Is Me Breathing, Tue., Nov. 17, 6 p.m., $15-$17. The Firebird, 2706 Olive St., St. Louis, 314-535-0353, firebirdstl. com.

Jason Isbell: W/ Shovels & Rope, Wed., Feb. 17, 7 p.m., $34.50-$49.60. Peabody Opera House, 1400 Market St, St. Louis, 314-241-1888, peabodyoperahouse.com.

J.D. Hughes: Fri., Nov. 13, 8 p.m., Free. Cicero's, 6691 Delmar Blvd., University City, 314-862-0009, ciceros-stl.com.

Kevin Gates: Sun., Nov. 29, 7 p.m., $25-$30. Pop's Nightclub, 401 Monsanto Ave., East St. Louis, 618-274-6720, popsrocks.com.

Larry Krone: W/ Diamond Stud, Sun., Oct. 4, 8 p.m., $5.

Blueberry Hill, 6504 Delmar Blvd., University City, 314-7274444, blueberryhill.com.

Lera Lynn: Tue., Oct. 13, 8 p.m., $15. Blueberry Hill, 6504 Delmar Blvd., University City, 314-727-4444, blueberryhill. com.

Locals Only Showcase: W/ Coalition, Big Rook, Full Circle, Stein, E Nash, Rudeboii Brandon, StL Boogie & Zo St Lou, Theator a.k.a. Davy Jonez, J2 iLL, Thu., Nov. 5, 7 p.m., $10.

Fubar, 3108 Locust St, St. Louis, 314-289-9050, fubarstl. com.

Mariner 5 Meets the Scooter People: W/ DJ Lammy, Fri., Oct. 2, 9 p.m., $5. Off Broadway, 3509 Lemp Ave., St. Louis, 314-773-3363, offbroadwaystl.com.

Mason Jennings: Fri., Nov. 13, 8 p.m., $20-$22.50.

Blueberry Hill, 6504 Delmar Blvd., University City, 314-7274444, blueberryhill.com.

Micawber: W/ Tyranny Enthroned, Animated Dead, Alan Smithee, Thanatos Eternal, Tue., Sept. 29, 8 p.m., $8.

Fubar, 3108 Locust St, St. Louis, 314-289-9050, fubarstl. com.

Misery Index: W/ the Lion's Daughter, Hallow Point, Absala, Mon., Nov. 2, 8 p.m., $12-$15. Fubar, 3108 Locust St, St. Louis, 314-289-9050, fubarstl.com.

Mountain Sprout: Sat., Dec. 12, 9 p.m., $10-$12. Off Broadway, 3509 Lemp Ave., St. Louis, 314-773-3363, offbroadwaystl.com.

Mouth of the South: W/ Reconcera, Ends of Infinity, Thu., Oct. 29, 6 p.m., $10-$12. Fubar, 3108 Locust St, St. Louis, 314-289-9050, fubarstl.com.

Nappy Roots: Tue., Oct. 27, 8 p.m., $15. Cicero's, 6691 Delmar Blvd., University City, 314-862-0009, ciceros-stl.com.

Natural Child: Sun., Nov. 22, 8 p.m., $8-$10. Off Broadway, 3509 Lemp Ave., St. Louis, 314-773-3363, offbroadwaystl. com.

Necronomicon: Sun., Nov. 8, 8 p.m., $10-$12. Fubar, 3108 Locust St, St. Louis, 314-289-9050, fubarstl.com.

New American Classic: W/ Captains Courageous, IO, Equal Squeeze, FJ, Sat., Nov. 21, 8 p.m., $10-$12. Cicero's, 6691 Delmar Blvd., University City, 314-862-0009, ciceros-stl.com.

No Man's Law: W/ Typhoon Jackson, Apex Shrine, Sat., Oct. 3, 9 p.m., $8. Blueberry Hill, 6504 Delmar Blvd., University City, 314-727-4444, blueberryhill.com.

Pageant: Sun., Nov. 1, 7 p.m., $7-$10. Off Broadway, 3509 Lemp Ave., St. Louis, 314-773-3363, offbroadwaystl.com.

Psychosomatic: W/ Smooth Talkin' Perverts, Reptile Lord, Planet Eater, Tue., Sept. 29, 8 p.m., $8. Fubar, 3108 Locust St, St. Louis, 314-289-9050, fubarstl.com.

Punk Tribute Night: W/ We're A Happy Family (as the Ramones), Sour Grapes (as the Descendents), the Apemen (as the Kinks), Walk the Walk (as Face to Face), Horror Business (as the Misfits), Fri., Nov. 20, 8 p.m., $7. Fubar, 3108 Locust St, St. Louis, 314-289-9050, fubarstl.com.

Roger Clyne & the Peacemakers: Fri., Nov. 20, 8 p.m., $18-$20. Blueberry Hill, 6504 Delmar Blvd., University City, 314-727-4444, blueberryhill.com.

Saul Band: W/ Nervous Pudding, Nothing Set in Stone, As Each Second Fades, One Day, Sun., Oct. 11, 5 p.m., $10$12. Cicero's, 6691 Delmar Blvd., University City, 314-8620009, ciceros-stl.com.

Shores of the Saint: W/ Danny Perry, Conman Economy, Bad Cover Band Sam, Away From Reason, the Monocles, Sat., Sept. 26, 4 p.m., $10. Fubar, 3108 Locust St, St. Louis, 314-289-9050, fubarstl.com.

Shorty Da Prince: Wed., Oct. 28, 8 p.m., $12-$15. Fubar, 3108 Locust St, St. Louis, 314-289-9050, fubarstl.com.

Sirens: W/ Taking Dreams, Thu., Oct. 22, 6 p.m., $10-$12.

Fubar, 3108 Locust St, St. Louis, 314-289-9050, fubarstl. com.

Steve Poggi: Mon., Sept. 28, 8 p.m., $8-$10. The Firebird, 2706 Olive St., St. Louis, 314-535-0353, firebirdstl.com.

Straight Line Stitch: W/ Signals From Saturn, Murder Machine, Outcome of Betrayal, Fri., Nov. 6, 7 p.m., $12-$14.

Fubar, 3108 Locust St, St. Louis, 314-289-9050, fubarstl. com.

Tre Serpenti CD Release: W/ Goldtooth, Witch Doctor, Sat., Oct. 17, 8:30 p.m., $8-$10. Cicero's, 6691 Delmar Blvd., University City, 314-862-0009, ciceros-stl.com.

Urge Overkill: Sat., Oct. 31, 9 p.m., $20. Blueberry Hill, 6504 Delmar Blvd., University City, 314-727-4444, blueberryhill. com.

Vanessa Carlton: Sat., Nov. 7, 8 p.m., $25. Blueberry Hill, 6504 Delmar Blvd., University City, 314-727-4444, blueberryhill.com.

We Bite!: W/ Scene Of Irony, Life on Mars, Stinkbomb, Sat., Oct. 31, 8 p.m., $10. The Firebird, 2706 Olive St., St. Louis, 314-535-0353, firebirdstl.com.

The Wind & The Wave: Mon., Nov. 30, 8 p.m., $10. Off Broadway, 3509 Lemp Ave., St. Louis, 314-773-3363, offbroadwaystl.com.

The Wombats: W/ Tidal Volume, Tue., Dec. 1, 8 p.m., $10.57-$12. Blueberry Hill, 6504 Delmar Blvd., University City, 314-727-4444, blueberryhill.com.

FILM WITH LIVE SCORE

OCT 30-NOV 1

Fri at 7:00pm, Sat & Sun at 2:00pm

Return to a time when Marty McFly, ‘Doc’ Brown and Biff Tannen were household names in the past, present and future! Celebrate the 30th anniversary of the pop classic Back to the Future on the big screen with the STL Symphony performing the score live at Powell Hall. ™ & © Universal Studios and U-Drive Joint Venture.

314-534-1700 stlsymphony.org

Arrive early to take photos with Marty McFly and a DeLorean!

riverfronttimes.com OB N ET R H 2X3X–X IV FR IM riverfronttimes.com SEPTM EM - 2 9,X , 22001 0 5X RR IV EE RR FR OO NN T TT T IM EE S S 551

FIND ANY SHOW IN TOWN...

“Out Every Night” is a free listing open to all bars and bands in the St. Louis and Metro East areas. However, we reserve the right to refuse any entry. Listings are to be submitted by mail, fax or e-mail. Deadline is 5 p.m.

Monday, ten days before Thursday publication. Please include bar’s name, address with ZIP code, phone number and geographic location; nights and dates of entertainment; and act name. Mail: Riverfront Times, attn: “Clubs,” 6358 Delmar Blvd., Suite 200, St. Louis, MO 63130-4719; fax: 314-754-6416; e-mail: clubs@ riverfronttimes.com.

Schedules are not accepted over the phone.

Because of last-minute cancellations and changes, please call ahead to verify listings.

T H U R S DAY The Go Set: w/ Captain Dee And The Long Johns, Forgetting January 8 p.m., $10. The Demo, 4191 Manchester Ave, St. Louis, 314-833-5532.

I Could Sleep In The Clouds: w/ The Danaides, Cinema Verite 9 p.m., free. Schlafly Tap Room, 2100 Locust St., St. Louis, 314-241-2337.

Ibeyi: 8 p.m., $18-$20. The Ready Room, 4195 Manchester Ave, St. Louis, 314-833-3929.

Slum Village: 8 p.m., $10-$12. 2720 Cherokee Performing Arts Center, 2720 Cherokee St, St. Louis, 314-276-2700.

Veridia: 8 p.m., $12-$15. The Firebird, 2706 Olive St., St. Louis, 314-535-0353.

F R I DAY Dirtfoot: 9 p.m., $10. The Bootleg, 4140 Manchester Ave., St. Louis.

Eric Slaughter and Glen Smith: 8 p.m., Free. Thurman Grill & Provisions, 4069 Shenandoah Ave., St. Louis, 314772-8484.

Freaker's Ball 2015: w/ the Hobosexuals, Arr!, Frontal Lobe, Mold Dogs, TypeTim Jordan 9 p.m., $10. Off Broadway, 3509 Lemp Ave., St. Louis, 314-773-3363.

Great Peacock: 8 p.m., $10-$12. The Demo, 4191 Manchester Ave, St. Louis, 314-833-5532.

Small Time Napoleon: 7 p.m., $5. BB's Jazz, Blues & Soups, 700 S. Broadway, St. Louis, 314-436-5222.

St. Louis Folk and Roots Festival: w/ the Tillers, Blind Boy Paxton, Anna & Elizabeth, Sam Bush Band, Finnders & Youngberg 8 p.m.; Sep. 26, 8 p.m., $60. The Sheldon, 3648 Washington Blvd., St. Louis, 314-533-9900.

Terrapin Flyer: w/ Alice Drinks the Kool-Aid 9 p.m., $10-$12.

Old Rock House, 1200 S. 7th St., St. Louis, 314-588-0505.

An Under Cover Weekend Night 1: w/ Various Hands, Karate Bikini featuring Brian McClelland, Search Parties, the Lonely Mountain String Band, the Langaleers 8 p.m., $10.

The Firebird, 2706 Olive St., St. Louis, 314-535-0353.

Within The Ruins: w/ Noesis, Signals From Saturn, A Beginnings End 6:30 p.m., $15. Fubar, 3108 Locust St, St. Louis, 314-289-9050.

PHOTOGRAPHER: TODD OWYOUNG BAND: SLEEPY KITTY

R R

ts/

out every night

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With our new and improved concert calendar! RFT’s online music listings are now sortable by artist, venue and price. You can even buy tickets directly from our website—with more options on the way! www.riverfronttimes.com/concerts/

RIVERFRONT TIMES

S E P T E M B E R 2 3 - 2 9, 2 0 1 5

riverfronttimes.com

S AT U R DAY Andy T. and Nick Nixon Band: 10 p.m., $10. BB's Jazz, Blues & Soups, 700 S. Broadway, St. Louis, 314-436-5222.

Bruxism 11: 8 p.m., $5. Foam Coffee & Beer, 3359 Jefferson Ave., St. Louis, 314-772-2100.

Christian McBride: w/ Cyrus Chestnut, Gregory Hutchinson, Russell Malone, Terell Stafford, Tim Warfield Sep. 24, 7:30 & 9:30 p.m.; Sep. 25, 7:30 & 9:30 p.m.; 7:30 & 9:30 p.m., $45. Ferring Jazz Bistro, 3536 Washington Ave, St. Louis, 314-571-6000.

Florida Georgia Line: w/ Thomas Rhett, Frankie Ballard 7:30 p.m., $30.25-$65. Hollywood Casino Amphitheatre, I-70 & Earth City Expwy., Maryland Heights, 314-298-9944.

Les Gruff and the Billy Goat: w/ Marie and the Americans, the Desert Fringe, Ben Sturdevant 7 p.m., $10. Off Broadway, 3509 Lemp Ave., St. Louis, 314-773-3363.

Lo Luciano CD Release: w/ Crook3dmuziC, JAY SMOKA, Kokane The Rapper, Key Lo Da Don, Reup Von Wolfgang, No Sleep Gang, Kasze 7 p.m., $5-$8. Pop's Nightclub, 401 Monsanto Ave., East St. Louis, 618-274-6720.

Radkey: 7 p.m., $10. The Demo, 4191 Manchester Ave, St. Louis, 314-833-5532.

Shores of the Saint: w/ Danny Perry, Conman Economy, Bad Cover Band Sam, Away From Reason, the Monocles 4 p.m., $10. Fubar, 3108 Locust St, St. Louis, 314-289-9050.

The Steepwater Band: 9 p.m., $10-$12. The Bootleg, 4140 Manchester Ave., St. Louis.

An Under Cover Weekend Day 2: w/ Blackwater ‘64, Bo & the Locomotive, Rusty Nail, Aquitaine, the Resounding 8 p.m., $10. The Firebird, 2706 Olive St., St. Louis, 314-5350353.

The Van Ella Band: 8 p.m., $15. Casa Loma Ballroom, 3354 Iowa Ave, St. Louis, 314-282-2258.

S U N DAY Atomic Blues Festival: w/ Marsha Evans & the Coalition, Eugene Johnson & Company, Larry Griffin & Eric McSpadden, Big Mike & the Blues City All-Stars, Joe Pastors Legacy Ensemble, Paul Niehaus & Friends , Bob "Bumble Bee" Kamoske, Ethan Leinwand, the Bottoms Up Blues Gang, MC Marty Spikner 3 p.m., $10. The Bootleg, 4140 Manchester Ave., St. Louis.

Beach House: 8 p.m., $25-$27.50. The Pageant, 6161 Delmar Blvd., St. Louis, 314-726-6161.

Buffalo Rodeo: w/ Clearance 8 p.m., $5. Foam Coffee & Beer, 3359 Jefferson Ave., St. Louis, 314-772-2100.

D.R.I.: w/ Grand Inquisitor, Path of Might, Absala 7 p.m., $15$18. Fubar, 3108 Locust St, St. Louis, 314-289-9050.

Josh Garrett Band: 8 p.m., $10. BB's Jazz, Blues & Soups, 700 S. Broadway, St. Louis, 314-436-5222.

An Under Cover Weekend Day 3: w/ the Hush List, LifeWithout, the Potomac Accord, Early Worm, Giant Monsters on the Horizon 8 p.m., $10. The Firebird, 2706 Olive St., St. Louis, 314-535-0353.

The Vibrators: w/ Life on Mars 7 p.m., $10. The Demo, 4191 Manchester Ave, St. Louis, 314-833-5532.

M O N DAY Alternative Outcome: w/ Words Like Daggers, Foreverandnever, the Former Me 7 p.m., $8-$10. Cicero's, 6691 Delmar Blvd., University City, 314-862-0009.

A Night of Soul Searching: 8 p.m., $10. BB's Jazz, Blues & Soups, 700 S. Broadway, St. Louis, 314-436-5222.

Public Speaking: w/ Eric Hall 10 p.m., $5. Foam Coffee & Beer, 3359 Jefferson Ave., St. Louis, 314-772-2100.

Steve Poggi: 8 p.m., $8-$10. The Firebird, 2706 Olive St., St. Louis, 314-535-0353.

Taylor Swift: 7:30 p.m.; Sep. 29, 7:30 p.m., $36.50-$197.

Scottrade Center, 1401 Clark Ave., St. Louis, 314-241-1888.

T U E S DAY Ethan Leinwand & Matt Wilson: 7 p.m., $5. BB's Jazz, Blues & Soups, 700 S. Broadway, St. Louis, 314-436-5222.

Five Finger Death Punch: w/ Papa Roach 6 p.m., $39.50$45. Family Arena, 2002 Arena Parkway, St Charles, 636-896-4200.

Heartless Bastards: w/ Alberta Cross 8 p.m., $20. Off Broadway, 3509 Lemp Ave., St. Louis, 314-773-3363.

Levi Parham: w/ John Calvin Abney, Beth Bombara 8 p.m., $5. Foam Coffee & Beer, 3359 Jefferson Ave., St. Louis, 314-772-2100.

Psychosomatic: w/ Smooth Talkin' Perverts, Reptile Lord, Planet Eater 8 p.m., $8. Fubar, 3108 Locust St, St. Louis, 314-289-9050.

Taylor Swift: Sep. 28, 7:30 p.m.; 7:30 p.m., $36.50-$197.

Scottrade Center, 1401 Clark Ave., St. Louis, 314-241-1888.

ZZ Ward: 7 p.m., $22.50-$25. The Pageant, 6161 Delmar Blvd., St. Louis, 314-726-6161.

W E D N E S DAY The Agonist: 7 p.m., $15. Fubar, 3108 Locust St, St. Louis, 314-289-9050.

Arcane Haven: w/ Zealot, Scarred Atlas, Our Last Words, Ends of Infinity 6 p.m., $10. The Demo, 4191 Manchester Ave, St. Louis, 314-833-5532.

Big Rich & the Rhythm Renegades: 7 p.m., $5. BB's Jazz, Blues & Soups, 700 S. Broadway, St. Louis, 314-436-5222.

California Honeydrops: 8 p.m., $10-$12. Old Rock House, 1200 S. 7th St., St. Louis, 314-588-0505.

Der Weg Einer Freiheit: w/ Barishi, Alan Smithee, Xaemora, Thanatos Eternal 7 p.m., $10-$12. Fubar, 3108 Locust St, St. Louis, 314-289-9050.

Gene Ween: 8 p.m., $20. Blueberry Hill, 6504 Delmar Blvd., University City, 314-727-4444.

Papadosio: w/ Mouth 8 p.m., $17.50/$20. The Pageant, 6161 Delmar Blvd., St. Louis, 314-726-6161.

Voodoo Glow Skulls: w/ the Phenomenauts, Pinata Protest 8 p.m., $13-$15. Off Broadway, 3509 Lemp Ave., St. Louis, 314-773-3363.

savage love Friends with Violations Hey, Dan: I’m a 26-year-old single bi woman.

Sometimes my roommate/best friend and I have drunken threesomes with men. We’ve had some great one-night stands (less scary with a friend!), but recently we slept with a man I’ve been (drunkenly) sleeping with over a period of months, my “friend with benefits.” I shared my FWB with my roommate because she wanted to have sex, and I shared my BY roommate with my FWB because he wanted to experience DAN a threesome.

I told my roommate afterS AVA G E ward that I wouldn’t like it if she slept with my FWB on her own, and I told my FWB that we should have discussed having a threesome before it happened. We went out drinking another night, I left early, and they wound up sleeping together. I was upset with my roommate, because she knew how I felt. But I am disgusted and angry with my FWB because he had to “work” to convince my roommate to get her into bed. I have forgiven my roommate — she says she is mad at herself and at him — but it’s hard to blame these two friends for hurting me because people make mistakes when they’re drunk.

Still, this whole ordeal has made me reconsider my friendship with my FWB. He thinks we’re just friends, but I have now realized that I have deeper feelings for him. I’ve been pretty open with him about my feelings, but he hasn’t shared how he feels. Can I continue being friends with my FWB? Or do I need to break off my friendship with my FWB because I actually want something more with him? What can my FWB do to mend this? What can I do?

Best Friend Fucker

I had to read your letter three times to figure out who did what — and I had to shorten it considerably (and edit for clarity) — and honestly, BFF, I’m still a little fuzzy on the violations. But I think it goes like this: You asked your roommate not to fuck your FWB in your absence despite having already invited her to fuck him in your presence and your roommate went ahead and fucked your FWB anyway (violation No. 1), and you told your FWB that a threesome with your roommate without prior discussion was a misdemeanor so he should’ve known that initiating a twosome with your roommate would be a felony but he went ahead and twosomed the shit out of your roommate anyway (violation No. 2).

Taking your questions one at a time: Can you continue being friends with your FWB? That depends on what your roommate means by “work.” If she means your FWB overcame

her initial reluctance to fuck him solo with some flirty talk and assurances that you wouldn’t mind, then, yeah, you can continue to be friends with your FWB. People have managed to salvage friendships out of relationships that imploded much more spectacularly, BFF. If someone can get past an infidelity or a betrayal or a child conceived with a piece-on-theside and remain on friendly terms with their cheating, lying, breeding ex, you should be able to work through this. But if what your roommate means by “work” is that your FWB coerced her into having sex, you shouldn’t want to salvage a friendship with that rapey POS. Do you need to break off your friendship with your FWB because you’ve realized you want something more from him, i.e., a committed relationship? Someone in a FWB arrangement wanting to be more than friends is the leading cause of death for FWB arrangements. And while normally the friend who wants to keep things casual is the one who ends the arrangement, BFF, if you want more and you know he can’t give it to you, or if you fear you can’t trust him around current and future roommates, then feel free to end it. But if you really like him — despite the violation and, emphasizing this again, only if the “work” he did on your roommate wasn’t coercive or rapey — then go ahead and ask him to upgrade your FWB arrangement to GF/BF relationship.

What can your FWB do to mend this? He can apologize to you and your roommate and toss his dick around more considerately.

What can you do? You can try to see this for what it was: Two people who’d already fucked — two people who fucked in front of you at your invitation — got drunk and fucked again. You can choose to see that encounter as a violation that requires drastic retaliatory measures (friendships ended, leases broken), BFF, or you can choose to see it as the messy denouement of an ill-advised/rushed threesome that you set in motion.

Hey, Dan: What does it mean when you find a pair of tit clamps in your “vanilla” boyfriend’s dresser?

Told Him I’m Not Kinky

It means he’s the pope — what the fuck do you think it means? It means he owns a pair of tit clamps. It could mean he’s slightly less vanilla than he’s let on, THINK, or it could mean he has a kinky ex who left a pair of tit clamps behind, or it could mean he got a pair of tit clamps as a dirty Secret Santa gift and isn’t phobic about being perceived as even slightly kinky so he tossed them in a drawer without a second thought.

On the Lovecast: It’s the dick show!

Listen at savagelovecast.com. mail@savagelove.net @fakedansavage on Twitter riverfronttimes.com OB N ET R H 2X3X–X IV IM riverfronttimes.com S E PTM EM - 2 9,X , 22001 0 5X RR IV EE RR FF RR OO NN T TT T IM EE S S 571

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COMPUTER-Sigma-Aldrich Corp.

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To apply, submit resume to: Don Zundel, Sr. Mgr - HR, Sigma-Aldrich, Corp., 3050 Spruce St., St. Louis, MO 63103.

120 Drivers/Delivery/Courier ! Drivers Needed ASAP !

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145 Management/Professional Neurologist-St Louis. Med degree/foreign equiv, immed eligibility MO license, completed 36 months Neurology res.

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500 Services

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400 Buy-Sell-Trade 420 Auto-Truck

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600 Music 610 Musicians Services MUSICIANS Do you have a band? We have bookings. Call (314)781-6612 for information Mon-Fri, 10:00-4:30 MUSICIANS AVAILABLE Do you need musicians? A Band? A String Quartet? Call the Musicians Association of St. Louis (314)781-6612, M-F, 10:00-4:30

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www.LiveInTheGrove.com 315 Condos/Townhomes/Duplexes for Rent SOUTH-CITY $695 314-223-8067 Spacious 2BR, 2BA townhouse, spiral staircase, ceiling fans, D/W, disposal, fridge & stove , full bsmnt, W/D hkups, off st prkg

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Controlled access bldgs, pool, fitness, business ctr. Pets welcome JENNINGS $550 (314) 395-8800 6040 Goodfellow: Move in Special! $250 Moves You In! LAFAYETTE-SQUARE $685 314-968-5035 2030 Lafayette: 2BR/1BA, appls, C/A, Hdwd Fl MAPLEWOOD $405 314-443-4478 Cambridge Apts-studio, all electric, appl, laundry room.

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575

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300 Rentals

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riverfronttimes.com

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59

BUYING JUNK CARS, TRUCKS & VANS 314-968-6555

R

314-754-5966

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WED-

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The choice of a lawyer is an important decision and should not be based solely on advertising.

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