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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 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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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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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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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 the first two segments of the interview, click here.)

"I did a lot of collaborations on this album; probably more than I ever have."

"This was like, early '98... Kanye was in New York...He was just getting his grind on and I came up and met him...and we talked and found he was from Chicago and I was from St. Louis...he always said he was going to be exactly where he's at, maybe in a different way, but he knew it. No one believed in himself as much as he did."

Uh, ignore the fact that it's sideways. (Maybe I'll figure out how to fix it. Maybe not.) Just revel in Fuck Buttons' insane sound drones.

Fuck Buttons at the Billiken Club, May 1, 2008 from annie zaleski on Vimeo.

Just a lil' snippet I took of the insane drumming by the band. Awesome.

Caribou at the Billiken Club in St. Louis, May 1, 2008 from annie zaleski on Vimeo.

Produced by Jermaine Dupri. This will be important later today, so keep reading.

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!

By Lauren Winchester

Click here for more photos of the show.

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:

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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:

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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"

Tonight at the Way Out Club: Wooden Kites, That's My Daughter and straight from Denton, Texas, Fishboy!

The out-of-towner sounds like the Apples in Stereo, with a bit o' quirky folk, a la Rats and People. Go see it!

Fishboy, "Parachute (Using The Ghost Of Buddy Holly As A)":

In this week's paper, Jaime Lees gets the skinny on the Livers, a RFT 2008 Best New Band nominee and one of the city's most unique groups, a "quartet" who only has two members, Scot Freeman and Luke Roulston.

Read our story to find out how the band manages to pull this off. And below find two exclusive videos from the band, detailing its origins and including elusive, rare live footage of the group. Stay tuned for MP3s and interview outtakes tomorrow.

YOU KNOW YOU NEED TO SEE THE SECOND ONE! CLICK!

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The above interview has footage of the party at Vintage Vinyl and the record store's co-owner, Tom Ray, talking about the state of his record store in the midst of the iTunes and YouTube generation.

Independent record stores like Euclid Records and Vintage Vinyl here in St. Louis celebrated the first National Record Store Day on Saturday. The aim of the day was to celebrate music, records -- and the fact that their doors are still open.

See pictures here.

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