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| The view from the balcony of the Old Rock House during So Many Dynamos' set on Friday night. See more photos here. |
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By many accounts, a Girls concert is an inert affair. This assessment is usually the result of sizing up the band's unusual biography against the near-universal appeal of its debut album -- and then seeing the band live. Anything less than the pale Nazarene himself taking the stage and playing guitar all night with his feet leaves folks feeling underwhelmed. After first accounting for the well-known Gargoyle Effect™ (poor acoustics, sauna warm, no sightlines, no beer, ferocious student b.o.), I would say that Girls delivered exactly the vibe you'd expect from its songs: warm, staid and fringed with panic.
Most of the show focused on lead singer Christopher Owens, whose woebegone manner and chessmaster-cool surround him with a nimbus wherever he travels on stage. While Girls has another half in multi-instrumentalist JR White, there is no question that Owens is the source of the band's draw -- as is his voice, which (at least last night) deepened like a coastal shelf over the course of the show. 
Photo: Todd Owyoung Girls last night at the Gargoyle. See the full concert slideshow here.
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| Photo: Todd Owyoung |
| Anvil last night at the Pageant. See the full slideshow from last night here. |
Todd Owyoung Someone Still Loves You Boris Yeltsin. Entire slideshow here.
REVIEW BY KELSEY WHIPPLE
A Someone Still Loves You Boris Yeltsin concert is like a quick lesson in controlled cuteness. Things never approach the levels of neo-power-poppers Rooney - the Springfield band is much too clever for that -- but the quartet skims pretty close to the heartfelt indie-pop of Voxtrot. When you think about it, it's hard to match the sunny nature of lyrics comparing a break-up to the Pangea theory of plate tectonics -- even as you wish you'd thought of it first.
Last night's show at the Billiken Club followed typical SSLYBY form: It involved local Missouri boys singing songs about Missouri local girls, earning local applause and spreading some universal good cheer. Two albums in and with a third in the works, SSLYBY has been there, done that -- which makes the general chemistry behind small Missouri homecoming shows like this one even sweeter.
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| Photo: Todd Owyoung |
| Flaming Death Trap last night at the Billiken Club. See full slideshow from last night here. |
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| Photo: Egan O'Keefe |
| Walsh and Borcherdt, pre-show. |
Context is everything. Tell someone you're going to see Prince's band circa the New Power Generation, and the night's cred is through the roof. But tell someone you're going to see the same band - but fronted by teenpop heartthrob Nick Jonas -- and suddenly the show has a very different connotation. The knee-jerk inclination for many is to scoff at or dismiss the collaboration. After all, how could this work?
Believe it or not, the pairing did work -- rather well. In fact, having an open mind was the best way to approach last night's very sold-out Nick Jonas and the Administration show at the Pageant. Naturally, piercing screams -- think a plane taking off about twenty feet above you -- greeted the lithe musician, as he stepped onstage a little after 8 p.m. and opened the show with "Last Time Around." Over the next 90 minutes, he worked his way through a few Jonas Brothers tunes, a medley of covers and plenty of new music written during the past year. 
Photo: Jon Gitchoff Nick Jonas at the Pageant last night. See a full slideshow here.
Related Content: See a slideshow of Nick Jonas at the Pageant.
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| Photo: Todd Owyoung |
| See the full slideshow from Saturday night here. |
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| Photo: Egan O'Keefe |
| See the full slideshow from last night's Lady Gaga after-party here. |
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| Photo: Nick Schnelle |
| Members of Nebula Funk Orchestra/Just Mike march out from the balcony at Off Broadway around 9 p.m. toward the stage to begin the show last night at Off Broadway. See more photos here. |
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| Photo: Egan O'Keefe |
| God Fodder at the Atomic Cowboy on Saturday night. See a photo slideshow from the show here. |
We reviewed a lot of shows this year -- nearly 100, judging by the number of posts in the "Show Reviews" archive. Deciding which 2009 concerts comprised the creme de la creme wasn't easy, to say the least. However, the following stood out from the pack. What did we miss? What were your favorites this year? (Oh, and don't forget to check out Top Concert Photos of 2009 slideshow!)
Honorable Mentions:
Photo: Todd Owyoung Karen O. of the Yeah Yeah Yeahs at the Pageant.
*Cursive, The Firebird, April 24
*Yeah Yeah Yeahs, The Pageant, June 2
*Matthew Sweet, Blueberry Hill's Duck Room, June 19
*Bob Dylan/John Mellencamp/Willie Nelson, GCS Ballpark, July 2
*Sheryl Crow, under the Arch, July 11
*Trashcan Sinatras, The Firebird, August 8
*Green Day and Franz Ferdinand, Scottrade Center, August 11
*Matt & Kim at Off Broadway, August 23
*St. Vincent, The Firebird, October 1
*Neko Case, The Pageant, November 5
*Camera Obscura, Off Broadway, December 1
*The Swell Season, The Pageant, December 4
Each year in St. Louis, the official kick-off to the holidays becomes more and more synonymous with the series of shows performed by the local Pink Floyd tribute act El Monstero y Los Masked Avengers. It's a seasonal reunion of sorts for the aging KSHE crowd who grew up with Floyd's haunting psychedelic rock -- but it's also a primer for college kids home for winter break who may have just recently delved into the band's mood-setting music.
The former probably had the chance to see Pink Floyd live and might fully understand the immense task that El Monstero takes on every year: It tries to duplicate not only these ambient classic rock overtures but also the spectacle, grandeur and theatrics that one expects from a Floyd show. Since 1999 the core group of musicians involved in this tribute has slowly and steadily built it into an epic St. Louis entertainment tradition that easily packs the Pageant for multiple nights. 
Photo: Jason Stoff El Monstero last night at the Pageant. See more photos here.
On Monday, we'll be counting down the top ten concerts of the year in St. Louis. (Thoughts? Add 'em below! Still compiling...) In the meantime, web editor Nick Lucchesi spent hours combing through slideshows and reviews and cherrypicked 50 of 2009's best concert photos. Whew. I had forgotten about many of these shows! Did you? Check out the entire slideshow here, and a few choice snaps below.
Huey Lewis, looking good at Tony LaRussa's annual Stars to the Rescue benefit on Sunday, January 19. Photo by Todd Owyoung. More photos!
On August 1, Lupe Fiasco performed as part of the Live on the Levee series of concerts. Photo by Steve Truesdell. More more more.
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| Photo: Egan O'Keefe |
| Doug Curts, the person behind London Calling (and those awful sunglasses). See photos from Saturday night's London Calling here. |
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| Photo: Nick Schnelle |
| Cobrangutang plays Saturday night at Ramp Riders. See more photos from Saturday night here. |
Just before Dillinger Escape Plan took the stage at Pop's on Saturday night, an ominous, low rumble emanated from the PA, rattling the entire venue and its contents with the force of a jet engine. The droning prelude was so enveloping that when the New Jersey mathcore vets launched into its first song, the sound coming from the stage was almost weak in comparison. But the intensity crescendo (not to mention the decibel level) soon left nothing to be desired. The quintet spun, jumped and whirled its way through an air-tight set of gems -- from recent, more straightforward material to older, more complex compositions.
This range, rage and intensity won over the audience early in the set. "Sugar Coated Sour," from the 1999 experimental mathcore masterpiece Calculating Infinity, was ripe with spastic fury and worked the crowd into a fist-pumping frenzy. But what made these explosions of energy work so well was placing them alongside straight grooves, as found on 2007's Ire Works. That album's "Milk Lizard," with its sleazy strut and chunky rhythm guitars, was the perfect antithesis to the mathy material, and kept the appreciative crowd held at attention for the entire set. DEP's newest member, 24-year-old drummer Billy Rymer, had no trouble tackling any part of the band's diverse, technical back catalog. 
Photo: Todd Owyoung Dillinger Escape Plan last night at Pop's. See more photos from last night here.
See a slideshow from last night's Dillinger Escape Plan and Thursday show at Pop's.
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| Photo: Stew Smith |
| Grace and Ryan Cornett of Wentzville came out to enjoy their first Star Wars concert. See more photos from last night. |
Last night, rapper Nelly hosted his annual Black and White Ball at the Chase Park Plaza. Stars such as Jermaine Dupri, Jackie Joyner-Kersee and Cardinals president Bill DeWitt III all attended the black-tie gala. Photographer Angie Knost was there and took in the scene. The entire slideshow is here, but check out a few choice shots below.
Angie Knost Nelly. View more photos here.
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| Photo: Egan O'Keefe |
| Daniel LeDisko of LA Riots last night at Sol Lounge. See more photos from last night. |
I've got some incredible people on the album -- Kelly Rowland, Kid Cudi, Akon... it really gets that balance between [being] a bit melancholy and a something that is a bit happy and hopeful.Photographer Egan O'Keefe was at Home last night and brought back these 31 photos from the party. Below are a few of them.
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| Photo: Egan O'Keefe |
| See more photos from David Guetta's performance last night. |
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| Photo: Todd Owyoung |
| All Time Low last night at the Pageant. See more photos from last night's show here. |
Japandroids do a lot with a little. Last night at the Billiken Club, singer/guitarist Brian King and singer/drummer David Prowse--just two affable fellas, neither equipped with show-off skills--para-tagged lo-fi pop and fuzzy punk in a way that muscled up their likeable debut, Post-Nothing. The pair played fast and it played with vigor. Most important, of course, Japandroids played - its songs beg to be performed by musicians who can do slam-bang all evening without once lapsing in energy. To see Prowse's spastic womps and King's air-guitar heroics (and he was playing guitar) is to understand why the music was made in the first place. This was an understanding made intelligible, too, by the small, but dedicated, band of mosh-pitters who materialized during "Rockers East Vancouver" and every song thereafter.
Jason Stoff Japandroids at the Billiken Club, last night. Entire slideshow here.
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| Photo: Jason Stoff |
| Brian King of Japandroids. See more photos from last night's show in our slideshow. |
It didn't take long to realize that Rob Zombie was cranky last night. By the third time or so he admonished the media ecology of cameras and cell phones snapping pictures and recording videos, he appeared almost stupefied. "This is not Miley Cyrus," he growled. "You're supposed to be animals!" Had he his trident handy -- he must own one -- Zombie might have picked off the front row.
At his sold-out Pageant show, Zombie was less a scold than a good-natured curmudgeon who's been around long enough -- he's fast approaching Rock and Roll Hall of Fame eligibility, after all -- to remember when outstretched arms held only clenched fists. A certifiable cult metal figure and now a certified Hollywood commodity, Zombie exuded a relaxed depravity on stage, where his loping simian steps and Rockette kicks punctuated a show thick with sleaze, heavy on portent and dense with noise. Age has not withered nor custom staled his infinite vulgarity. For sensation and titillation, you could have done no better last night with your clothes on.
Photo: Todd Owyoung Rob Zombie last night at the Pageant. See more photos from last night's show.
Todd McKenzie Bjorn!
Peter Moren and Bjorn Yttling are a study in contrasts.
Bjorn, disheveled and in black, lumbers slowly across the stage. When he approaches the microphone, he drapes his mustachioed upper lip directly on the device, as if it would be too much effort to step back a few inches and project. He's aloof, unperturbed and totally chill. Bjorn is the bassist, naturally.
Peter, meanwhile, is the showman. Clean-cut and buttoned-up in a dapper beige jacket -- later discarded in an overheated fervor to reveal a pressed cream shirt (soaked through) and suspenders -- this was clearly a man accustomed to the limelight. He feeds off the adulation of the crowd. No matter how stark or rhythmically barren the tune, he would jump and jerk his body around, extend his arms out to the crowd, pantomime -- anything, really, to let us know that he wanted our attention. Peter is the guitarist, lead vocalist, egg shaker, harmonica player and, when appropriate, James Brown dance impersonator.
John drums.
By the time Black Crowes frontman Chris Robinson sauntered out onto the Pageant stage last night, most of the capacity crowd had worked itself into a slightly tipsy (but good-natured) frenzy. (Or maybe that was just a contact high.) Robinson, who was sporting a long beard and brightly shining "poncho of many colors," was the perfect ringleader for this circus -- and he was all smiles as he, his five band mates and two back-up singers launched into "Good Morning Captain," the first track from the band's latest album, Before the Frost...Until the Freeze. The head-bobbing groove and slithering, slide-guitar work was a warm-spirited way to start the night and set the mood for a show full of soulful anthems and gospel-revival spirit.
Photo: Todd Owyoung Chris Robinson of the Black Crowes last night at the Pageant. See more photos from last night's show.
Neko Case's show last night at the Pageant wasn't that different from her September 2008 appearance at the same venue. However, the comfortably crowded show was, shall we say, loose. Not musically - oh no, Case throws her head back, shakes her tomato-red mane and out pours her sweet, unadulterated voice, like clockwork. And her backing band - which includes long-time vocal foil Kelly Hogan and pedal-steel wizard Jon Rauhouse - helps her gently replicate the studio versions of her songs. 
Photo: Todd Owyoung Neko Case last night at the Pageant. See more photos from last night's show.
But Case was clearly in a goofy mood, from the second she stepped onstage, wearing simple blue jeans and a T-shirt. The show began with the big reveal that she and the band were comparing bad song lyrics before the show started. The winner? According to Case, it's the line, "I feel the horses coming gallopng," from Hole's "Malibu" - which she shared via a bellowed Courtney Love imitation.
It's too easy to take AFI for granted. The Bay Area hardcore-turned-take-your-pick-of-genres band is such a strong live act -- and makes such smart music -- that it's easy to forget that nobody else out there sounds like it.
Photo: Todd Owyoung AFI last night at the Pageant. See more photos from last night's show.
But the quartet reaffirmed its brilliance at last night's crowded show at the Pageant, with a dynamic set. Bathed in deep blue night, bassist Hunter Burgan strode onstage, teasing the audience with some eerie rumbling before the rest of the band exploded into the gothic-Nintendo "Torch Song." Wasting no time, AFI then launched into manicured-punk fan favorites "Girl's Not Grey" and "The Leaving Song, Pt. 2.," which spawned massive sing-alongs and set the energetic tone for the night.
Annie Zaleski Hayley Williams of Paramore. Entire set here.
By the second song of opening act Paper Route's set, it was clear that last night's Paramore show at the Pageant was going to be extremely loud and very in your face. The Nashville act (which is friends with the headliners) enveloped the near sellout crowd with its highly stylized blend of slick, ambient pop, echo-laden guitar effects work and danceable hooks. (Think Tears for Fears' studio-pop precision mixed with the spaced-out vibe of Massive Attack or M83 with the thickly layered percussion breakdowns of indie-rockers like Arcade Fire.) The band's sound was enormous, but the flawless and emotive dual lead vocals from J.T. Daly and Andy Smith always lofted over the top. In the end, Paper Route held the audience's attention like few opening acts ever manage to do.
When Paramore took the stage, the energy level in the room rose. The quintet made its presence felt in a big way, with a bombastic tour intro that featured a double-drum attack that literally sounded and felt like the Pageant's sound system was poised to burst. But when spunky vocalist Hayley Williams, sporting a tousled blond mop of blue-streaked hair, strutted out to take hold of her candy-cane-striped microphone stand, the crowd erupted into even more of a frenzy.
Riddle's Penultimate Café & Wine Bar
University City, MO 
Growlers Pub-Creve Coeur
Saint Louis, MO 
Syberg's-Gravois
Saint Louis, MO 
Shakespeare's Pizza
Columbia, MO 
Bar Louie
St. Louis, MO 
Ameristar Casino
St. Charles, MO 
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