Vivian Girls For Free! Tonight! Billiken Club!

Courtesy of Vivian Girls

Before this year, Vivian Girls had never played a show in Missouri. Now, after April stops at Vintage Vinyl and the Firebird, the trio will make its third appearance in St. Louis tonight at the Billiken Club. Widowspeak will open. Doors are at 8 p.m. and the show starts at 9 p.m. It's free. Just wanted to make sure you knew.

We talked to Vivian Girls' songwriter Cassie Ramone before April's shows -- check out some highlights from the interview and the set lists from Mike Appelstein's review of both sets below.

Mike Appelstein: As you're around longer on the music scene, are you finding more genuine fans and less fickle Internet people?

Cassie Ramone: Absolutely. It's much more rewarding playing shows at this stage in the game than it was two years ago. You'd be pouring all of yourself into these performances, and people would be just there to judge you. I'm so not into that. At the end of the day I'm glad the hype cycle happened, because we might not have a career in music today if it never had. But at our core we are certainly not a band that panders to the media or cares about making a blog-worthy MP3.

As the recipient of said Internet buzz, what advice would you give to new bands?

Be yourself and don't over-calculate things. I cannot stress the importance of either of these things enough. Take every opportunity, except the ones you're ethically opposed to. Be proactive. Work very hard. Don't burn your bridges.

Vintage Vinyl set list. 4/21/11:
Never See Me Again
I Heard You Say
Wild Eyes
Lake House
I Have No Fun
Sixteen Ways
Before I Start to Cry
Dance (If You Wanna)
Tell The World

Firebird set list 4/21/11:
Never See Me Again
Can't Get Over You
I Heard You Say
The Other Girls
Wild Eyes
Take It As It Comes
Lake House
I Have No Fun
When I'm Gone
Death
Sixteen Ways
Survival
Before I Start to Cry
Dance (If You Wanna)
Tell The World