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It's a big week here in St. Louis, with Radiohead stopping by on Wednesday night and then Wilco settling in for a three-night sold-out residency at the Pageant starting on Thursday. We'll have comprehensive coverage of all of these shows, so stay tuned.

First up, though, is Radiohead. You'll want to come back here all week if you're a fan, as I'll be posting video, rare audio and (of course) a show review and photographs (I'm shooting the show!)

The band began its North American tour last week, and the setlists for the shows so far (included after the jump, and courtesy of the reliable At Ease Web, which I think I've been reading since high school, OMG) rely heavily on the quintet's output post-2000: Kid A, Amnesiac and the two-disc opus In Rainbows (with a bit of Hail to the Thief and the (more than) occasional nod to hits from OK Computer and The Bends).

Take a look at this amazing video of "Idioteque," from Tampa, Florida, on May 8. OMG! That light show! Thom Yorke's dancing!

That same YouTube user took video of the show from the second row. Here's "The National Anthem." Commence freaking out with joy.

Now read the setlists and geek out. What do you want them to play in St. Louis (Okay, I'll start: "Just"! "Idioteque"! "Electioneering"! "Bangers and Mash"! "Like Spinning Plates"! "There There"!)

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(Last week I was on vacation in Chicago; I saw a bunch of shows, including a rare appearance by Swedish electro phenom Robyn.)

Robyn’s self-titled album has been out in her native Sweden for a full three years. But amazingly enough, Robyn was just released in the U.S. a few weeks ago; it took the former ‘90s pop tartlet (“Show Me Love,” “Do You Know What It Takes?”) just that long to secure a distribution deal.

Then: Robyn, "Show Me Love":

Still, the wait for Robyn’s domestic release was well worth it. A glorious, witty distillation of ‘80s new-wave, modern electro, flamboyant gay disco and hip-pop, the disc proves that female musicians can be sexy, playful and smart – without dumbing down their music or cheapening their image.

Her set was all this and more last Wednesday at the Chicago club Park West. (With its curtain-lined stage and tasteful booths, along with open space near the front, the venue had the look of a modern jazz club; think a much larger version of the late club Finale.)

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Producer and emcee Black Spade played host to a who’s-who of underground talent in St. Louis for Friday’s show at the Gramophone. Prior to the concert, the room bustled with handshakes and hugs, as artists and DJs made the rounds to socialize, network and promote their latest projects. The atmosphere was unmistakably hip-hop, with DJs such as Agile 1 and Needles providing a mix of national and local tracks in the background.

When Black Spade took the stage around 11 p.m., the crowd had grown to near capacity as smokers filed in from the outdoor patio. Spade acted as master of ceremonies, introducing each act from the back of the stage. First to perform was Teresajenee, who sang an up-tempo R&B number and wasted no time in getting the audience to participate. The show proceeded with a mix of deejays and rappers including Family Affair, Plan B, Trackstar and Illspitta, among others. Each act played a short set (usually two or three songs), which gave the set a “mixtape” vibe, with a variety of different styles on display.

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Last week I met with Nelly at his Skybox restaurant on Laclede's Landing to talk about Brass Knuckles, his upcoming fifth studio album. We'll be unrolling these videos for the rest of the week, so stay tuned for more chatter about Kanye West, the state of hip-hop, the latest on the St. Lunatics and more. (For more segments of the interview, click here.)

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Black Spade

Been humming along all day to your recently pirated copy of Tha Carter III and need a hip-hop fix?

Check out tonight’s line-up at The Gramophone in the Grove.

Almost every artist nominated for best hip-hop act in the 2008 RFT Music Awards will be performing.

The bill includes Rockwell Knuckles (also nominated for best self-released album), Vandalyzm (also nominated for best live act), Family Affair, and Gotta Be Karim. If that’s not enough, two of the nominees for best hip-hop DJ, Needles and Crucial, are spinning.

The headliner is Lou ex-pat rapper/producer Black Spade, who might be the most talented of them all.

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Click the above pic for the press release, sent out this morning.

Tickets for the Tom Waits "Glitter and Doom Tour" stop at the Fabulous Fox Theatre on June 26 go on sale a week from today (May 16) at 10 a.m.

The tickets range in price from $70 to $102.50.

[Update, Sunday, May 11: The Metrotix link to the show has more info about the show; read it carefully below:]

PRIORITY SEATING:
The following are considered PRIORITY SEATING (subject to change):
* Orchestra Pit
* Orchestra Sections 2 & 5, rows A-U
* Orchestra Sections 3 & 4, rows A-Z
* Mezzanine

These tickets will ONLY be available for pick up at Will Call ON THE NIGHT OF THE SHOW. They will not be mailed to you in advance. The ticket purchaser must present photo ID and the entire party must enter the venue at the same time. Please read the restrictions below on picking up Will Call tickets BEFORE purchasing.

TICKET INFORMATION:
* Tickets are ONLY available at metrotix.com and by phone at 314-534-1111.
* TICKETS WILL NOT BE SOLD AT THE BOX OFFICE OR METROTIX WALK-UP OUTLETS.
* Tickets for selected priority seating areas (see above) WILL NOT be mailed, and must be picked up at at the theatre Will Call THE NIGHT OF THE SHOW. Detailed instructions on picking up tickets will be mailed to ticket purchasers shortly before the concert date.
* Tickets are non-transferable.
* LIMIT OF 2 TICKETS PER ORDER, ONE ORDER PER HOUSEHOLD/CREDIT CARD/ADDRESS. Duplicate/multiple orders will be cancelled.

WILL CALL PROCEDURE:
All Will Call customers must present the credit card used to purchase their tickets AND a valid government-issued photo ID. Immediate theatre entry is required after pick-up. Your entire party must enter the venue at the same time.

SERVICE CHARGES:
$15 per ticket

Tom Waits on Fernwood Tonight after the jump.

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A friend texted me the other night and said she heard a hip-hop song that sampled Spandau Ballet's sappy New Romantic hit "True." I texted back: "PM Dawn" -- but she said it wasn't it. I never did find out exactly what tune she meant (I suspect it was Soul:ID's "True") , but a little Google-fu tells me that Nelly also sampled the song, on "N Dey Say." In honor of Nelly week on the blog, I figure I'd make P.M. Dawn's 1991 #1 hit "Set Adrift on Memory Bliss" our jam of the week.

P.M. Dawn is a duo of brothers from Jersey City who are still together and touring -- although its last scheduled date was a gig with Boyz II Men in Youngstown, Ohio, last December. A new album is rumored to be in the works. But the following song is by far their most well-known tune.

P.M. Dawn, "Set Adrift on Memory Bliss":

Jeffree Star rules in the Internet – or at least MySpace – or so he would have you think. The cross-dressing singer who wails over an electro backing band certainly ruled the Creepy Crawl last night.

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Last week I met with Nelly at his Skybox restaurant on Laclede's Landing to talk about Brass Knuckles, his upcoming fifth studio album. We'll be unrolling these videos for the rest of the week, so stay tuned for more chatter about Kanye West, the state of hip-hop, the latest on the St. Lunatics and more. (For more segments of the interview, click here.)

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Friday, May 9
*The Hood Internet/Robb Steele, Bluebird
*Gotta Be Karim/Black Spade, Vintage Vinyl
*Black Spade and friends, the Gramophone
*Victoria/Hibernauts, etc., Pageant
*Vijoy Rao/The Takedown, Off Broadway
*Strata-G/Ruka Puff/County Brown, Duck Room

Saturday, May 10
*Breeders, Pop’s
*Sean Kelly (of the Samples)/Birdie Busch, Bluebird -- CANCELLED
*Band Scramble, Off Broadway
*MU330 Springtime BBQ with the Livers/My Boy Ox/MU330, Off Broadway (3:30 p.m.!)
*The Bel Airs, BB's Jazz, Blues & Soups
*Sex Robots, Mangia
*Fragile Porcelain Mice/LucaBrasi, Lucas School House
*My Other Side (CD release)/Models Need Sleep/Upright Animals/Superfun Yeah Yeah Rocketship, Cruisin' Rte. 66
*The Mirror Stage/Chapters, Duck Room

Sunday, May 11
*Coke Dares/Prizzy Prizzy Please, Bluebird
*Black Hollies/Blind Eyes/Nevermores, Off Broadway
*A Life Once Lost/Arsis/Lye By Mistake, Cicero's

Last week I met with Nelly at his Skybox restaurant on Laclede's Landing to talk about Brass Knuckles, his upcoming fifth studio album. We'll be unrolling these videos for the rest of the week, so stay tuned for more chatter about Kanye West, the state of hip-hop, the latest on the St. Lunatics and more. (For more segments of the interview, click here.)

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In this week's paper, Jaime Lees talks to the Breeders' Kelley Deal, in advance of the band's Saturday, May 10 show at Pop's. (The Colour Revolt opens.) In the following outtakes, Deal talks about festival shows, the Midwest and how she and sister Kim care for their mom, who has Alzheimer's disease.

(courtesy of thisisfakediy.co.uk)

(Breeders MP3s are streaming, Colour Revolt are downloadable; thanks to the band's management for permission!)

MP3: The Breeders, "We're Gonna Rise"

MP3: The Colour Revolt, "Moses of the South"

MP3: The Colour Revolt, "Naked and Red"

Jaime Lees: So, about St. Louis? What do you know? Cause we sort of feel like we have Midwest love with you. We sort of claim you as ours. You know, Ohio, Missouri, whatever.

Kelley Deal: I think it's great. Totally. Oh yeah. Totally. I think that's correct. I think that's absolutely right. I think you guys feel like that, cause i fell like that, too, with bands, if they're from the Midwest. Anyway, I completely agree with you.

Cause we're like "Oh yeah, these are our people."
Exactly! Yeah, I'm glad.

Dude, tell me about Coachella. How did that go? Do you get time to really see anyone else while you're there?
You know, I like the idea of it. The one really good experience with festivals that I've had was with Lollapalooza, 'cause it was like band camp. That was different. You traveled, everybody got to know each other. You all got to see other bands, you started to get used to the idea that you're playing at five o'clock. And it's bright out, and it's hot, and it doesn't feel very rock, and you just get a different mindset on. When you're doing a bunch of club shows that we're doing at night and you can smell the beer and it's dark and you can't really see anybody, when you get used to that and then you go play a festival and you're kind of like "Oh hi, everybody. How are ya?" It feels inappropriate somehow. Like, you're rocking in daylight, it just doesn't feel very rock. But you know, I do like it. and I got to see a couple of bands there and that was fun.

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It has been a wild few days for freelance photographer Nichole Torpea. The 22-year-old UMSL grad was shooting the My Chemical Romance concert at the Pageant for Riverfront Times this past Saturday night when, she says, she was assaulted by a member of the band's security team.

But she'll be shooting an MCR concert again this Friday at New York City's Madison Square Garden -- as a special guest of the band.

While taking pictures from the balcony of the Pageant during last Saturday's sold-out show, Torpea says, she was approached by a man she believes is a member of MCR's security team. The man, whom she later described to St. Louis police as six-foot-three, 210 to 230 pounds and dressed all in black, grabbed her arm, led her through a door to a stairwell and forced her to the ground. Torpea says the man paid little attention to the photo pass attached to her shirt.

"I was collapsing under his pressure," she says. "I had no idea what was going on. He had no ID and wouldn't tell me who he was. He kept saying, 'You know what you did. Give me the fucking camera.'"

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RFT/Keegan Hamilton

Just got an e-mail update from the man known as V-Majorz bringing me up to speed on a whole slew of new projects. Since it included free music, I thought I'd hit A to Z with some hips and hops while Annie is on vacation.

Here's what Van had to say:

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In this week's Homespun, Christian Schaeffer reviews Gotta Be Karim's Bean Pie EP. He has this to say:

Karim Hameed used to perform with Soul Tyde, and his love for old-school samples and smooth soul textures is made plain on “When You See Me.” The track, which kicks off Gotta Be Karim’s five-song Bean Pie EP, operates off of a stuttering, minor-key electric piano loop and sharp snare hits, and lets the emcee plant his feet and say his peace. And, like all great crate-diggers, Karim waits until the song’s end to pull back the curtain on the sample’s source: bossa nova take on the Bacharach/David classic “Walk On By.”

He'll be having a CD release show at Vintage Vinyl on Friday and also appearing with Black Spade -- the local boy turned good, who I hear is hitting Europe in a few months for some performances -- at the Gramophone later that night.

MP3: Gotta Be Karim, "Back on the Grind"

MP3: Gotta Be Karim, "Swagger Back"