Cold War Direction and Victoria -- New St. Louis Band Alert

On Saturday night, I went to check out the Cold War Direction and Victoria, two groups I had been hearing a lot about. Neither disappointed.

The former is best described as Lil' BRMC -- Black Rebel Motorcycle Club, that is. Woozy guitars, extended reverb-y jams and plenty of lazy, stretched-out vocals. Michael Wren even had the cool-cat look down, sporting floppy hair in his face, an all-black outfit and the requisite cigarette hanging from his mouth. Funnily enough, though, the band's grooves were way more interesting than BRMC's show here in May -- which perhaps should scare that band, since the Cold War Direction is opening for 'em in October in Springfield and Columbia, and in Europe in December. Congratulations!

Victoria, now, well, Victoria: Simply put, this is getting-laid music. Jon Spencer bluesy howls, Aerosmith boogie, Led Zeppelin roaring, a bit of T.Rex-styled glam swagger. People had been telling me to check these guys out for a while now, and I wasn't disappointed. The band's music was loud and raucous, in the best possible way. Right on; I look forward to their EP release in December.

What did everyone else do Saturday night?

-- Annie Zaleski