St. Louis Music Blog

Whoa. Helmet just announced a show in St. Louis, at the Bluebird on July 25.

According to a MySpace tour update, Sigur Ros is playing Kansas City on Thursday, June 12 at the Uptown Theater. It's not on the venue's Web site yet, but soon, most likely. Yeah, I'm going. Sorry, Raconteurs.

[Update, 5:30 p.m. The Pitch has the pre-sale password here, for anyone interested.]

That's Wednesday, April 30.

I didn't have room in the paper to write about either band, but it's not due to quality. Oh, no. Neva Dinova has been a favorite of mine ever since I saw them open for Rilo Kiley at a 200-person club in Boston. The Omaha band's earliest albums were full of dreamy indie-pop; the new one, You May Already Be Dreaming, is straight-up indie-country, sad-sack twang in which to drown your whiskey sorrows.

Ladyhawk hails from Vancouver, Canada. Shots came out on Jagjaguwar last year, and is recommended for those who like '80s indie rock, Canadian-style country tunes and the following, as per the band's MySpace:

That one day in summer when you get up really early for some reason and you happen to catch the sunrise and it's so silent out and the streets are all empty except for little squirrels and you almost start to cry because everything is so beautiful, that's what Ladyhawk sounds like. Also, cashmere underwear!

I was mighty impressed with promising young local band the Sham the only time I saw them. Apparently I'm not the only one: The band is opening for White Rabbits at the Record Bar in Kansas City on June 1.

Anyway, in concert the quartet treads similar strummy-rock ground the Strokes did a few years back, but with much more verve and a decided lack of snotty boredom. "Roller Skates," a new studio creation, finds the Sham channeling the crinkly, wiry atmospheres of Modest Mouse, while Chris Phillips' vocals echo (but don't ape) Built to Spill's Doug Martsch and all sorts of indie dudes who can actually carry a tune.

Hear for yourself right here!

MP3: The Sham, "Roller Skates"

-- Annie Zaleski

St. Louis, I have a confession to make: Lately I've felt restless. Bored. In a rut. Perhaps this is spring fever talking -- although the heat I have to blast at home to stay warm begs to differ. (It's almost May. Why am I still wearing sweaters?) Either way, the whys and wherefores of my moods are beside the point.

aBut I am looking for the shock of the new, as it were. (Click on the link; it's an obscure new-wave song by Trees I love; I'll post the MP3 of it below.) What bands should I go to see? What places should I go to find new musical gems of all stripes? Are there any music stores, news nuggets or general community goings-on that I'm missing?

I'm being totally serious. I feel like I'm wearing a well-worn tread to the same places and seeing the same people. Give me some new places, people and sounds to experience. I'm all ears. Post in the comments what I should be seeing and doing, and where I should be going.

-- Annie Zaleski

On Monday night, Def Jam hosted a listening lounge for Ne-Yo’s upcoming album Year of the Gentleman at the Gramophone, the new venue on Manchester in the Grove. We snagged a quick Q&A with the singer/songwriter.

Kristy Wendt: You describe your upcoming album Year of the Gentleman as having a different sound than previous ones In My Own Words and Because of You. Will you describe what you mean?
Ne-Yo: Well, those first two albums are traditional R&B. I’ve been doing a lot of traveling lately, listening to new kinds of music, and I wanted to try something new. I stayed in England for a while recently, and I’m trying to bring some of that house culture and nightlife into my music, and I’m also trying to break out of the box with new lyrics. There’s a little more of a rock sound than before. It’s more organic in some places that way.

You hail from Arkansas. Any country influence?
I love country music. The storyline always seems so clear; there’s a clear beginning, middle,and end, and it enhances the beauty of it -- the beauty of a good story. I have a high appreciation of country music.

What was it like growing up in Vegas?
I went to high school in Vegas and it’s really divided into the strip versus the people who are living there. The trip of the strip is different than living there. It’s a tourist town, so friends that you have for a year will often be gone the next, and you have to learn to make new friends.

That sounds hard. Where were you when you got your “in”?
I was actually in California. I was in a group with three other guys called Envy. We had no money, no place to stay, and a plan. We were going to drive to the front of the Capitol Records building in a VW van and [stand on top of the van singing] until we got a record deal. [laughs] That didn’t work out so well. I was working small jobs -- McDonalds, Pizza Hut, you name it. And I got a job working for a production company called New Time Entertainment, who had signed Youngstown and they allowed me to start writing professionally for that group and others. [Envy] broke up, but I got a solo deal with Columbia Records.

Whoa.
Yeah, it sounds like a big deal. And it was -- but it wasn’t -- but it was. If you come into the music business not knowing who you are, they will create you. And if you decide that’s not who you want to be, or you grow into someone else, then you get shelved.

So you’re happier with Def Jam?
Yeah. They’re letting me be who I am.

Ne-Yo presented six songs from Year of the Gentleman...

So, the RFT Music Showcase is merely a month away: It takes place on Sunday, June 1. The voting will go live on our Web site this week! Bands will be contacted shortly to play the showcase. The ballot? Still here.

Feel free to chime in with any questions/comments in the space below.

-- Annie Zaleski

I don't think this press release needs any comment.

COACHELLA organizers are offering $10,000 and four (4) festival tickets for life in exchange for the safe return of the two-story inflatable pig that broke loose during Roger Waters’ set on the final night (Sunday, April 27) of the 2008 COACHELLA VALLEY MUSIC & ARTS FESTIVAL. The pig escaped and floated into the desert sky just prior to the intermission between Roger Waters’ back-to-back sets--marking the only back-to-back COACHELLA sets by one artist in the critically acclaimed festival’s history.

Anyone with information on the lost pig, should email lostpig@coachella.com.

Oh wait, this totally needs a comment.

PIGS

IN

SPAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAACE!!!

Those expecting a grand piano on an empty stage at last night’s Alicia Keys As I Am tour stop at the Scottrade Center were mistaken; accepting Alicia Keys as she is only means yielding to legend. The concert included incredible lighting and stage production, weirdly fast costume changes, backup singers who could be professional dancers and one, Jermaine Paul, who is probably talented enough to make it on his own as a singer/songwriter.

(photo of Alicia Keys by Kristy Wendt)

Jermaine’s opening act seemed an embodyment of As I Am’s spirit; he stood alone with his guitar singing numbers he’d written himself. While not lyrically compelling, his songs were still good – and not coincidentally, I liked the ones that reminded me of something John Legend might crank out. Most impressive were “Talkin ‘Bout Love,” and notably, “Ready to Fall in Love” (both sampled on Jermaine’s MySpace page) which provided an instance when his gospel-influenced sound balanced the simplicity of sweetly hopeful lyrics.

It’s an understatement to say that I was less impressed with Ne-Yo.

Just announced! Co-ed dreampop duo Mates of State are hitting the Bluebird on Sunday, June 8. Here's a video for new song, "Get Better," from the upcoming Re-Arrange Us. RIYL Headlights, Velocity Girl.

You tired of me blogging yet? We making Monday morning entertaining? Hope so. Here's a fabulous photo of Alicia Keys, to preview Kristy Wendt's review of her show last night at the Scottrade Center, which will be up shortly. Kristy also took this photo.

Oh my. 2 p.m. Sunday, June 8, at the Verizon Wireless Amphitheatre.

Stone Temple Pilots’ Wicked Garden
featuring:

*Stone Temple Pilots
*Chevelle
*Saliva
*Ashes Divide
*Another Animal
*Copperview
*Cavo

I'll admit it: I had Core in middle school. (Who in the early '90s didn't?) Then I decided I was wayyyy too much of a snobby alterna-teen -- although pity the fool who would call me that, I was highly insulted by any such insinuation -- and sold it.

But you know what? STP had some great songs, in hindsight. "Big Bang Baby" was great glam-fuzz. The ballad "Sour Girl," from the later era, is fantastic. Even Scott Weiland's cover of Depeche Mode's "But Not Tonight" from the Not Another Teen Movie soundtrack is excellent. (And don't get me started on "Mockingbird Girl," a decent pop nugget from the Magnificent Bastards -- on the Tank Girl soundtrack, no less -- that featured Weiland.) I guarantee you 14-year-old me, mired in a huge Morrissey and R.E.M. obsession, would be horrified at 28-year-old me admitting some STP love in public.

Videos after the jump.

He sure did. Video right here. Apparently the rest of his set was absolutely insane as well. Sheila E was there playing drums! Morris Day showed up!

(See more photos here at this post.)

The Duke Spirit has all of the ingredients it should take to make a lasting first impression and win over new audiences. Liela Moss is a captivating presence, a confident lead singer with a classic voice that takes cues from Björk’s adventurous melodies and Nico’s dark sensuality. The quartet behind her was just as poised, laying off tight, raucous versions of songs from this year’s amazing Neptune.

It’s surprising and unfortunate, then, that the London quintet’s diverse, high-energy set on Friday night (where it opened for Black Rebel Motorcycle Club) wasn’t enough to rein in the wandering attention spans of the Pageant crowd. With a sound reminiscent of Pink Floyd’s early work with producer Joe Boyd, the Duke Spirit’s performance conjured images of ‘60s-London psychedelia, but didn’t rely on nostalgia or other throwback gimmickry for impact. Catchy single “The Step and the Walk” did seem to get through to the somewhat restless audience, and by the set’s end there was definitely a buzz in the room. Hopefully the band will give St. Louis another chance, as it would great to see them again on a headlining tour at a smaller club.

(BRMC, by Annie Zaleski)

Unlike its May 2007 St. Louis show (which was more or less a snoozefest), Black Rebel Motorcycle Club showed up and wasted no time in dialing up the intensity level: The Los Angeles trio blasted out of the gate with “666 Conducer” and “Berlin,” both from its most recent full-length release Baby 81.

During the opening song of Van Halen’s two-hour set – its version of the Kinks’ “You Really Got Me” -- David Lee Roth bellowed, “Better late than never!!!” This wasn’t typical Roth-ian hyperbole though: After two show cancellations in the past six months (one due to a scheduling conflict, another due to medical reasons), many disgruntled fans weren’t sure if Van Halen would make it to St. Louis for Saturday night’s gig – or even if the show would be worth it when the quartet did arrive.

The Scottrade Center concert exceeded all expectations, however, and proved that not all mostly-reunion tours by legendary bands have to feel creaky and cash-grabby. Credit first a stellar setlist, which seemed geared toward the fans, especially because it contained a generous amount of album cuts and favorites from VH’s 1978-1985 golden age. In other words, 1978’s Van Halen (“Runnin’ with the Devil,” “Ain’t Talkin’ ‘Bout Love,” “Little Dreamer,” “Jamie’s Cryin’”), Van Halen II (“Dance the Night Away,” “Somebody Get Me a Doctor”), Fair Warning (“So This Is Love?”) and of course 1984 (“Panama,” “Hot for Teacher,” “Jump”) were all well represented.

The enduring musical talent of the brothers Van Halen also inspired awe. Guitarist Eddie – looking like a typical California rocker, with red sneakers, hole-in-knee jeans and blond, spiky hair – impressed the most. Despite a trip to rehab and health problems (including a bout with cancer and a hip replacement – the latter of which didn’t stop him from leaping off the drum riser a few times anyway), he proved exactly why he’s one of the greatest guitar players of all time. At times it appeared like he had three hands, the meedlee-meedlee riffs and siren noises he unleashed were so lightning-fast; at other times, he conjured mournful blues melodies, channeled Hendrix’s elaborate solos and even coaxed out virtuoso-caliber symphonies. Heck, Eddie even played part of a song using a power drill– spurring Roth to say, “With all of this technology, Van Halen finally discovers the electric fucking carpentry drill.”

"Eruption" from the show, thanks to a random guy on YouTube:

None of these are by me. Here's a fantastic shot of the entire song "Unchained." At one point David Lee Roth tells a guy in front he's going to get lucky tonight -- cause he somehow obtained the sunglasses/top hat DLR was sporting a bit earlier!

Here's a clip of "Jump" that clearly shows how the band was off:

This Craigslist posting was passed along to me by a friend -- so, any guesses as to who this is?

Headline: Band needs hot groupies for inspiration (South city)
Body:
Hi, we're a killer band, but are sometimes uninspired to play. We've found something out about ourselves. We need chicks at our practices, so we have someone to play for. So, if you're a lady and like kick ass music played by good looking guys. Hit me back and I'll give you directions to our next practice. Guarantee ya you won't regret it.

Amazing what you hear when you go hang out in bars and drink, eh? For starters, Motorhead (with Testament opening; see our story here) will be playing at the Pageant on August 20. From what I gather, Motorhead has barely played St. Louis; a club appearance is even rarer.

[Update, Sunday night: According to my Motorhead uber-fan, here are the band's appearances in town. With dates.]

May 22, 1981 Checkerdome (support for Ozzy's 'Blizzard Of Oz' tour)
July 25, 1998 Riverport Amphitheatre (headlining second stage at Ozzfest)
May 14, 1999 Pop's (first true headline show in StL area ever)
April 16, 2002 Pop's (last St. Louis area appearence)

No ticket info yet, but I do know it's an off-date of the two bands' arena tour with Judas Priest and Heaven and Hell. And why isn't the full package of bands coming here? Perhaps because the yet-to-be-announced alleged Nine Inch Nails show at the Scottrade Center is also on August 20.

Now, after the jump is a ridiculous RUMOR I heard. Again, I repeat, this is STRICTLY RUMOR. I don't normally spread around unconfirmed information -- I try to be a reliable source for shows and such, after all, and I don't want to look like an idiot -- but it was so insane and would be so amazing that I had to say something on the off-chance it's true...

I neglected to mention that tonight at the Lemp Neighborhood Arts Center are the New Bloods, a Kill Rock Stars band from Portland that's reminiscent of all the best skronky grrl-punk.Go see 'em.

Also, tomorrow night, did you know that electro-weirdo Cex and Ecstatic Sunshine (who I believe was supposed to open for Dan Deacon last fall) are playing there? I didn't, until I saw it on Music Sucks, even though I read the Lemp Web site all the time. Anyway, if you're up for some off-kilter synthpunk insanity on a Monday, go check that show out.

(Also, I am so old that I saw Cex open up for Death Cab for Cutie and the Dismemberment Plan in the year 2000.)

The cough-syrupy elixir of Red Bull and vodka was a necessary evil at around 11 p.m. last night at Dantes, while the decently danceable opener Bernard Jones throbbed in the background and kept “that one guy” (okay, periodically four guys) boogieing until Kaskade began his set after midnight.

(photo by Kristy Wendt)

Red Bull’s saccharine charge wasn’t unlike the cerebral experience of Kaskade’s remixes; these were beats that tripped the insulin receptors and bypassed the digestive system in an artificially sweet high suitable for a Saturday night. Kaskade is irrefutably pop-influenced, and uses vocal segues well, suspending them between beats so that they hang unaccompanied, like an expectation, before the synthetic pop of a familiar tune is mixed in -- most notably during the night’s hit, the melody to Eurythmics' “Sweet Dreams (Are Made of This)” dubbed with Timbaland’s “Apologize.” This particular combination of old(er) and new pop seemed like an ultimate nod to Kaskade’s influences, and I would have liked to have heard more, especially considering how clever and contagious (and crowd-pleasing) it was.

While the crowd at 11 p.m. was sparse...

Review coming very soon, but in the meantime check out some of my snaps from the show. Being able to sit down = Annie can actually take clear photos. Click on any picture for a larger version; a slideshow is also coming soon.

Black Rebel Motorcycle Club's Robert Turner:

Black Rebel Motorcycle Club's Peter Hayes:

The Duke Spirit's Liela Moss:

Hayes:

Speaking of the Hood Internet (read the comments), they'll be at the Bluebird on Friday, May 9. Clear your calendars. The Hood Internet are mash-up geniuses. All links from that Web site there; you can listen to songs or download them.

Van Halen vs. the Notorious B.I.G., "Notorious DLR"

Lil Mama vs. MSTRKRFT: "Shawty Got the Looks"

Pitbull vs. Neon Neon, "Go Raquel"

-- Annie Zaleski

Here are some choice outtakes from the Livers feature running this week. The band plays at the Bluebird tonight, with Yea Big & Kid Static, Robb Steele and Jason and the Beast.

MP3: The Livers, "2 Legs to Dance" (download)

MP3: The Livers, "Autistic Girlfriend" (download)

MP3: The Livers, "She Wolf" (download)

MP3: The Livers, "Humble Plight" (download)

Do you always sing lead on the ones you write? Scot Freeman: Yeah, we do, but there's a lot of universal themes going on. It's kind of a weepy bastard theme, which is really played out but it never really gets tired. Yeah, we've definitely got some hang-ups. Like, everybody has one or two breakup-y things that they'll never get over. And we've written some songs about that shit. But, I don't know. We're trying to, like, ease out of that into a little less obvious territory. Luke Roulston: [teasing] Scot, are you going into Elliot Smith land?

On why they go humorous:
Roulston: Have you ever watched a band where they spend way too much time talking in between their fucking songs? Part of a show is, like, making sure your guitar is in tune and that everything is okay and all that kind of stuff. It's like, "Why not at least make people fucking laugh while you're doing that stupid shit?" It seemed like a necessary element for our stuff to just make funny movies.
Freeman: We have a tendency to go to funny, cause that's what we like to do: to make each other laugh all the time. It's always about poop and pee and whatever, but, uh, we also try to make things that are cool and not just cats and stupid jokes.
Roulston: (joking) Yeah, let's do drama!

(Photo and review by Roy Kasten)

Non-smoking shows are all the rage. I wouldn’t argue against them; I would retain Split Lip Rayfield as barristers.

The easily sold-out show at the Duck Room on Thursday night was non-non-smoking, a gloriously eye-burning, lung-choking, clothes-stinking, pit-sweltering morass of first and second-hand self-destruction. Plus: Banjo.

It’s sick, of course, as SLR guitarist, singer and songwriter Kirk Rundstrom pretty much smoked himself to death. He’s been gone for over a year now, and the Kansas trio has smoked on -- in the case of mandolinist Wayne Gottstine literally. In the case of its fan base, the same.

If you leave race out of it (and I know you can’t), rock crowds don’t get much more diverse than a Split Lip show. Skinheads, buzz cuts, sk8rs, pony-tailers, hippy twirlers, unredeemable punks, faux-trailerites and the real deal, dreads, and steroidal frat bros and their dates, moms and a grand dad or three. I counted 98 SLR t-shirts. Tattoos were legion.

Acoustic trio Drakkar Sauna opened, with a sound reminiscent of the Holy Modal Rounders, only punk, as if the band once knew how to play their instruments but then forgot. The band’s not nearly as jammy as its name suggests. It sings of hysterectomies and Lord praising, with sharp, high voices, the kind of voices that might flow from from jaws jammed with Wrigley’s tinfoil wrappers and tobacco. They showed no fear of maracas. When SLR’s Eric Mardis joined in for one last number, the five-stringed instrument in his hands inspired wild shouts of delight—and it wasn’t even International Banjo Bonfire Day.

After a fair amount of feedback and sound issues, Mardis, Gottstine and gas tank bassist Jeff Eaton, got down to the bluegrass ass-whipping they did not invent, but which they’ve perfected, even without their thrasher soul brother Rundtrom. You could say some power was missing, some wicked attack, but that would be nit-picking, especially since the un-power trio can pick and slap like a hillbilly bitch-slapping machine set to louder than God.

And they still know only two speeds:

Jimmy Buffett performed on Thursday night in St. Louis for the first time in eight years. Tickets for the Verizon Wireless Ampitheater sold out in record time. Read the below show review and check out our slideshow of Parrotheads in the Parking Lot.

4:35 p.m. Tuesday: Find out the RFT will not get press passes from Live Nation to Jimmy Buffett. Tickets have been sold out for a month. Take a deep breath and convince myself it's not that big of a deal. Hell, we haven't listened to any Buffett music for days. Maybe it's just a twenty-year phase and we're over it now.

4:38 p.m. Tuesday: Who are we kidding? Our father/daughter dance at our wedding not three weeks ago was the kind of random ''Little Miss Magic.'' Crap.

4:42 p.m. Tuesday: Against our better judgment, we troll Craigslist.com. We're excellent judges of character, and will pick a legit buyer. Or end up raped and killed after going to meet some dude in a parking lot with a fistful of cash.

4:43 p.m. Tuesday: Seriously doubting the legitimacy of the sellers on Craigslist. That's two T's in Buffett, people. Geez.

9:06 p.m. Tuesday: Have sent an inquiry to a person whose e-mail address is Dark Café. Was hoping for someone with a name like SunshineHappiness7 or LegitBuffettFanNotSerialKiller1. Hey, sometimes in life you have to take chances.

10:04 a.m. Wednesday: Dark Café has e-mailed back. Thinking.

7:06 p.m. Wednesday: Find another Craigslist posting from a dude who says he's been to fifteen Buffett shows. Requests interested buyers to call his cell phone in the morning.

9:32 a.m. Thursday: Call guy from Craigslist. He says he has two tickets he'll sell at face value ($90 for the pair). He says he works out near Westport and asks if we can meet him in the parking lot across from McDonalds. ''My name's Robert,'' he says. ''Robber?'' we respond. ''No. Robert.'' Robert says he has a blue Chevy Avalanche. We call one of our friends to tell her the make and model of the car lest we are never seen or heard from again.

9:40 a.m. Thursday: We call new husband and tell him we have tickets. We try to make meeting a stranger in a parking lot for a money exchange sound not at all unsafe. He's not buying it and says he's coming with us. Awww.

12:04 p.m. Thursday: Have tickets in hand! Am not raped and/or killed! Which is a huge bonus! Tickets seem real. I mean, the guy was already wearing a Margaritaville Polo shirt, so that's got to mean something.

By request. Montell Jordan hit # 1 in 1995 with this jam called "This Is How We Do It." Hear it once, doubt you'll get it out of your head.

Believe it or not, Jordan is more active than ever as a musician. (In fact, he seems to be performing in Zurich this weekend, if you're there.) His MySpace (linked on his name above) touts a new official Web site, www.montellbumpages.com, which says Jordan's seventh album, Pressure, would be out in fall 2007. A link to this site claims you can buy Pressure, but I haven't been able to determine if it's been released.

"This Is How We Do It"

Friday, April 25
*Black Rebel Motorcycle Club/The Duke Spirit, Pageant
*Yea Big + Kid Static/The Livers/Robb Steele/Jason and the Beast, Bluebird
*La La Land/Via Dove, Off Broadway
*Sevendust/Saliva, Pop’s
*Family Affair/Nite Owl/12-6 Movement/Fufops/Perfect Strangers, Duck Room

Saturday, April 26
*Black Diamond Heavies/Kentucky Knife Fight/Wormwood Scrubs, Off Broadway
*Van Halen, Scottrade Center
*Martin Sexton, Pageant
*Nite Owl w/40 ‘Til 5, Track Vandals, James Cristos, Plan B, Upright Animals, Duck Room
*Tenement Ruth, Schlafly Tap Room
*Tripdaddys, Skinny Jim and The #9 Blacktops, the Lindbergh Babies, Way Out Club

Sunday, April 27
*Alicia Keys/Jordin Sparks, Scottrade Center
*Sterilize Stereo/Red Water Revival, Off Broadway

Plus Bonus Monday, April 28!
*Tim & Eric, Off Broadway
*Bitch + the Exciting Conclusion, Bluebird

Hot off its summer tour with R.E.M. and the National, Modest Marr Mouse is returning to St. Louis for a Pageant show on Tuesday, July 1. Ticket info as I have it.

"Tiny Cities Made of Ashes," from 2001:

These days, it seems like St. Louis underground hip-hop is popping up on the national radar everywhere you turn. Even controversial hip-hop bible The Source is listening. In its most recent issue, the magazine devoted some column inches to most recent 9 Wonders mixtape by NYOIL -- a release hosted by DJ Trackstar. (Check out the article, including a scan of the album artwork, after the jump.)

A fan since hearing NYOIL’s song “Y’all Should All Get Lynched” in 2006 – “It’s an amazing song, very thought-provoking,” Trackstar says – the local hip-hop advocate contacted the Staten Island musician via MySpace and asked him to host one of his frequent mixtapes.

Oil eventually hosted Trackstar’s Boogie Bang 12 (which we reviewed here; download at the link here) -- and then, to Trackstar’s surprise and excitement, decided to return the favor.

“He asked me to help him with hs project,” Trackstar says, which turned out to be the mixtape DJ gig. “I wasn’t going into it looking for a partnership, [and] I don’t know what the future holds, but I’m definitely looking forward to working with him for awhile.”

Head on over to nyoil1.ning.com to download the free mix, which according to Trackstar’s weekly newsletter “features all nine tracks from the 9 Wonders EP: NYOil vs. 9th Wonder, plus highlights from the Hood Treason album as well as some unreleased treats."

Rap pioneers EPMD performed at the Old Rock House in St. Louis on Wednesday night, as part of Scion’s free concert series “Metro Live.” The venue offered a lot more space than Blueberry Hill’s Duck Room, where the series has been held in the past, although despite the size of the venue, most of it was closed off until around ten p.m. The crowd started to get restless as people had to stand on top of each other in a small bar area during the sound check. Eventually, the velvet ropes were moved and people were free stake out their tables or spots on the dance floor.

After a forgettable set from a rap-contest winner from Houston, the L.A. band Connie Price and the Keystones quickly made up for it with an engaging set of acoustic soul and funk. Covers of songs like AWB’s “School Boy Crush” and Digable Planet’s “9th Wonder” (mixed in with some original music) brought the crowd to life. The Keystones were then joined by its Stones Throw Records labelmate Percee P. The industry veteran performed a strong set, accented by a rhythmic, a capella verse. Percee acknowledged acquaintance and local emcee Lyfestile in the crowd before making way for the main event.