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Recent Articles By Roy Kasten

  • The Campbell Brothers
    8 p.m. Friday, February 15 and 11 a.m. Saturday, February 16. Edison Theatre, 6445 Forsyth Boulevard
  • Nina Nastasia
    8:30 p.m. Saturday, February 9. The Bluebird, 2706 Olive Street.
  • Richard Thompson
    8 p.m. Monday, February 11. The Pageant, 6161 Delmar Boulevard
  • Parachute Musical
    9 p.m. Friday, February 1. The Bluebird, 2706 Olive Street.
  • Giant Bear
    9 p.m. Wednesday, February 6. Off Broadway, 3509 Lemp Avenue.

Recent Articles By Dean C. Minderman

  • B.B. King
    7:30 p.m. Wednesday February 13. Family Arena, 2002 Arena Parkway, St. Charles.
  • Chris Botti
    8 p.m. Friday January 18 and Saturday January 19. Touhill Performing Arts Center at the University of Missouri-St. Louis, One University Boulevard.
  • Smooth Operators
    Schoolhouse Rock's songwriter celebrates a few special birthdays in St. Louis while we pit Kenny G vs. Trans-Siberian Orchestra in a fight to the holiday death.
  • Preservation Blues

    Local niche labels keep the music coming.

  • Backstoppers Benefit
    7 p.m. Sunday November 4. The Pageant, 6161 Delmar Boulevard.

Recent Articles By Andrew Miller

  • Tesla
    7 p.m. Saturday, February 16. Pop's, 1403 Mississippi Avenue, Sauget, Illinois
  • Oh, Sleeper
    6 p.m., Monday, January 7. Creepy Crawl, 3524 Washington Boulevard.
  • Light This City
    6 p.m. Monday, November 26. Pop's, 1403 Mississippi Avenue, Sauget, Illinois.
  • The Action Design
    8:30 p.m. Wednesday, November 28. Cicero's, 6691 Delmar Boulevard, University City
  • Xasthur
    Defective Epitaph

Recent Articles By Christian Schaeffer

Recent Articles By Brooke Foster

Recent Articles By Ben Westhoff

  • Being Darryl Strawberry
    Baseball's bad boy is now doing the Lord's work in O'Fallon, Missouri. How long will that last?
  • Doomsday Disciples
    Be it nuclear holocaust, quake or hurricane, St. Louis' Zombie Squad is ready for anything — even an attack from the living dead.
  • Vokal Critics
    In the cutthroat world of urban fashion, there's lies, damn lies — and sales statistics.
  • Yo! RFT Raps
    Week of February 8, 2007
  • Yo! RFT Raps
    Week of January 18, 2007

Recent Articles By Annie Zaleski

  • Sleep State
    8 p.m. Saturday, February 9. Lemp Neighborhood Arts Center, 3301 Lemp Avenue.
  • Soft
    9 p.m. Tuesday, February 12. The Bluebird, 2706 Olive Street.
  • Lloyd Dobler Effect
    9 p.m. Monday, January 14. Bluebird, 2706 Olive Street.
  • Career (Remix)
    The trials and tribulations of R. Kelly.
  • The Aviation Club
    9 p.m. Friday, January 4. Off Broadway, 3509 Lemp Avenue.

Recent Articles By Malcolm Gay

Recent Articles By Kristie McClanahan

Recent Articles By Kristyn Pomranz

Recent Articles By Jaime Lees

National Features

7 Shot Screamers
www.7shotscreamers.com; www.myspace.com/7shotscreamers
Most rockabilly acts focus on hollow-body guitars and perfectly coiffed pompadours, and scrimp on vocals and decent lyrics. Not so with the 7 Shot Screamers: The thumping upright bass and slick licks are in place, but singer Mike Leahy croons smoothly above it all, mixing a little Bryan Ferry in with Brian Setzer. With the just-released In Wonderland, the Screamers have given their weight to the fledgling label Big Muddy Records, a cross-generational swap sure to please fans of all rockabilly varieties. (CS)
Midnight, Halo Bar

The Vultures
www.stlpunk.com/thevultures; www.myspace.com/thevulturesmusic
Few young bands have caused the type of stir that the Vultures have produced over the past year. Barely legal but fully styled, these three south-city kids mix their love of raunch & roll with elements of Motown, surf-rock and rockabilly. On "Don't Stop Lovin Me," bassist/vocalist Ashley Hohman lets loose an unholy howl of greaser-chic love and fidelity, while chipper male voices harmonize behind the din. It's a perfect union of rage and restraint, all under the unrelenting beat of loose-limbed, pre-Beatles rock & roll. (CS)
1:30 p.m., Market in the Loop Outdoor Stage

The Trip Daddys
www.tripdaddys.com; www.myspace.com/thetripdaddys Don't label the Trip Daddys "neo-rockabilly"; there's nothing "neo" about them. For eleven years now, Craig Straubinger has led this trio from dirt bars to concert halls and back again and never wavered from the holy trinity of rockabilly: fast cars, fast women and big guitars. Always a great live act, the 'Daddys are now a St. Louis institution — although as the scene's elder statesmen, they'll face some competition from the youngsters that they've inspired this year. (CS)
11 p.m., Halo Bar

Best Hard Rock/Metal

Cross Examination
www.geocities.com/cross_exam; www.myspace.com/crossexamination
Crossover pioneers like D.R.I. made it possible for old-school-punk-sounding groups such as Cross Examination to contend for headbanging honors. But what's most metal about these guys is their undisputed attitude: Whereas similar-sounding early-'80s D.C. outfits espoused a straight-edge lifestyle, Cross Examination touts its membership in the "Awesome Party Squad." And instead of calling for the impeachment of Bush, Cross Examination campaigns for the decapitation of Beatle Bob. With both metal and punk becoming as serious as by-the-book college deans, Cross Examination casts itself as the mischievous campus prankster. (AM)


www.harkonin.com; www.myspace.com/harkonin
Released in August, Harkonin's third full-length record Ghanima merges haunted-forest atmosphere with rock dynamics. But while they incorporate all crucial elements of black/death metal — hissed vocals, blast beats, an archaically ornate band-name font — Harkonin also emphasize melody, and their accessibly linear song structures allow them to recruit listeners outside of Satan's army. The group's technicality is impressive but not prohibitively intimidating, because their solos serve the songs rather than just showcasing skill. (AM)
6 p.m., Halo Bar

Head On Collision
Head On Collision features former members of Very Metal — and while this thrashing-mad group certainly deserved to commandeer that moniker, their new name works well with the highway-accident-gruesome artwork on 2005's Arise from the Wreckage demo. Their dual guitarists play lockstep full-speed riffs, like chained-together sprinters racing to the manic beat of Jason Brooks ' drums. Singer Todd Robbins sounds like a demon-possessed version of Mighty Mighty Bosstones' Dicky Barrett, gruffly enunciating lyrics about grave topics. Should Head On Collision claim this category, their reign will be bloody. (AM)

Ornament of Disgrace
www.ornamentofdisgrace.com; Even if they don't win this category, Ornament of Disgrace have already landed one hell of a consolation prize: the local-support slot for October's St. Louis appearance by the legendary Celtic Frost. With a core group (guitarist Andy McKay, drummer Paul Collier, singer John Kingdon) that first formed in 2001, Ornament of Disgrace have perfected their musical chemistry, enabling them to concoct unfathomably complex death-metal compositions that only improve when re-created live. OoD is currently completing a full-length, though fans might still be parsing their dizzying 2005 EP, Christ Fails. (AM)


LoFreq
www.myspace.com/lofreq; www.lofreq.net
Many in town thought that the prolonged silence from LoFreq — i.e., its lack of shows and new music — meant that the band had broken up. But in reality, the power trio fond of describing itself with the adjective "thunderboogie" is alive, well and recording new tunes (vocalist/guitarist Gary also helps out at Tension Head on Cherokee Street). Judging from past recordings, there's no reason that future LoFreq tunes will be anything but stoner-sludge gems amped up on AC/DC riffage. (AZ)

Best Hip-Hop Artist

Earthworms
www.myspace.com/earthworms
The Earthworms don't pretend to be hardcore. Well, OK, they pretend, but nobody believes them. Instead, their hopeful, positive, surreal lyrics expose them for what they are: really nice guys. Kama and Mathias, formerly of Core Project, share the mic with Black Patrick, and the turntables are manned by DJ Mahf, who is almost as talented as he is cute. The production shines on their debut, No Arms, No Legs, Just a Head and a Body, but see their live show for the chance to hear DJ Crucial's remix of their song "OneTwo" — and to see Mathias cutting a rug in his own unique way. — Ben Westhoff
9 p.m., Blueberry Hill's Elvis Room

Spaide R.I.P.P.E.R.
www.spaideripper.com; www.myspace.com/jnpromomiami
Spaide R.I.P.P.E.R. still isn't signed, but could he still be the self-proclaimed "people's champ" if he was on a label? We don't think so. Fact is, we like Spaide's status as the biggest St. Louis rapper no one outside of town has heard of. We like his growl, his braids and the way he doesn't curse in his songs. (Sure, he talks about cutting suckas up, but you can't have everything.) On second thought, it may be rude for us not to wish Spaide the national success he so covets, so we'll just say this: Don't forget us when you're famous, homey. (BW)
10 p.m., Blueberry Hill's Elvis Room

Big Will/Da SLU Cru
www.myspace.com/slucru
Saint Louis University is known for many things, but being a hotbed of freestyle rap isn't one of them. So while it's curious that Da SLU Cru rep their hometown school, these fellas don't turn out backpack rap. Frontman Big Will is a six-time champ on BET's 106 and Park "Freestyle Friday" competition, throwing down an easy, slightly menacing flow. Big Will and his partner, Tyrant, rhyme over fuzzed-out Funkadelic riffs and minimal beats, threatening to create a new style of St. Louis rap. We'll see what they come up with. (CS)
8 p.m., Blueberry Hill's Elvis Room

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