Megan Gilliland

Heartless Bastards' Arrow comes out next Tuesday.

​Heartless Bastards has moved from Dayton to Austin in the course of a career making dusty rock. Its newest release, Arrow, is its most refined work to date. You can listen to it now a week ahead of its proper release through NPR's First Listen series.

The band stopped by the Firebird last night, and photographer Megan Gilliland was there to capture the mood. Her shots are below -- if you're looking for some accompanying live cuts, head over to KDHX; the band played an in-studio on Chris Bay's Gold Soundz show.

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Todd Owyoung

Uliana Preotu of Me Talk Pretty isn't the only one who talks pretty.

​Me Talk Pretty is on the up-and-up, and a big reason seems to be the band's live show, which features singer Uliana Preotu lending her considerable charm to win whatever crowd shows up on a given night. Todd Owyoung was among those at Pop's Nightclub in Sauget to capture the human tractor beam in action; highlights from his set are below.

View a full slideshow of Me Talk Pretty at Pop's

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The Darkness saved Samsung's ad from spiraling down into forgettable territory.

​Let's be blunt. This year's Super Bowl was dismal for Midwesterners.

Sure, there were exceptions. Transplants from Boston, New York City or New Jersey may have enjoyed the game. Some may have had a rooting interest in Chad Ochocinco's David Carr's quest for a pity Super Bowl ring. And who knows? Maybe some people just watched to see the artist who made this video dress up in a cheerleader uniform and flick off America.

In any case, this year's slate of commercials attempted to fill a void. And like every year, many of the ads incorporated popular music to snag the attention of the masses.

Which spots succeeded? And which fell flatter than Rex Grossman's performance in Super Bowl XLI? Here's an unscientific take on some of Sunday's most memorable advertisements:

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Todd Owyoung

Basking in the glow of Big Head Todd & the Monsters.

​Big Head Todd & the Monsters came from Colorado to tell the crowd that the Pageant is its second favorite venue behind the legendary Red Rocks. High praise indeed, and mellow rock enthusiasts were treated to a set from the veteren band touring in support of its eleventh studio album. Kansas City's Trampled Under Foot opened; Todd Owyoung was there to document the scene.

View a full slideshow of Big Head Todd & the Monsters at the Pageant.

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Courtesy of Voodoo Glow Skulls

The pride of Spanky's Cafe.

​Voodoo Glow Skulls | Authority Zero
The Firebird
February 3, 2012

Punk/ska fans got a great bang for their buck at this weekend's concert at the Firebird, which brought Voodoo Glow Skulls, Authority Zero and Sky Fox to town and threw on locals Snooty and the Ratfinks and Scene of Irony for good measure. The night culminated in triumphant, crowd-pleasing performances by the headliners that made sure everyone went home happy.

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Todd Owyoung

​Steve Aoki brought his globe-trotting, taste-making self to St. Louis last night for a show at the Pageant. And he had no plans to simply jockey discs. There was champagne sprayed, shirts removed, dancing and general mayhem. Datsik, Terravita and Cor(E)yography opened. Photographer Todd Owyoung was there; a few highlights from the shoot follow.

Related Steve Aoki Talks Hipsters, Hardcore and the Moment Electro Went Punk

View a full slideshow of Steve Aoki at the Pageant

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Ryan Adams is refusing all photo pass requests on this tour, so Sam Washburn went to illustrate the show instead. More of his work appears below.

​Ryan Adams | Jason Isbell
Peabody Opera House
January 31, 2012

Ryan Adams has had a troubled relationship with himself and with his music, which forms much of the the narrative of his later career. Many of his fans have held similarly ambivalent opinions about his work. It has been difficult to be invested in his many wildly divergent projects, which have been more restless than artistic. Still, many have remained hopeful.

Hopeful of what? The more recent material that Adams produced with the Cardinals, while often lacking depth, was certainly not bad. It was often very good. And the shifts and stutters of his personal life, while keeping us whispering, had little impact on the sounds coming out of our car speakers. We have always been hopeful that at some point we could again experience the intimate clarity and escape provided by the scarred romantic idealism of Adams' early career. His latest album, Ashes and Fire, seemed to indicate that he too wanted to get back to that place. The album is more settled and confident than his later work, while still recalling those early records. And if Ashes was a hint of this intent, his solo performance at the Peabody Opera House last night was an open proclamation.

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Todd Owyoung

Rhett Miller works up a sweat

​Alt-country hero the Old 97's returned to St. Louis last night, playing for a pleased crowd at the Pageant (6161 Delmar Boulevard, 314-726-6161). Todd Owyoung was ready to capture frontman/dreamboat Rhett Miller in all his sweaty throes of honky-tonkin' -- check out some highlights, including a glimpse at opener Cailtin Rose and a certain St. Louis familiar face, below.

View a full slideshow of the Old 97's at the Pageant.

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Michael Dauphin

​The Lemonheads
Old Rock House
January 28, 2012

Between Evan Dando's Lemonheads set at Old Rock House on Saturday and the Ryan Adams show at the Peabody this Tuesday, St. Louis is being paid visits by two of the more mercurial personalities in alternative rock n'roll. Both have let fits of erratic behavior over the past several years -- largely due to self-destructive demons -- get in the way of their genius within. And without taking for granted the beauty of their work, it's hard to walk into either one of their shows without wondering which Dando or Adams you're going to get.

But when the news came that the Lemonheads would play its flagship 1992 album, It's a Shame About Ray, in its entirety, it actually made sense. Perhaps the best way to keep Dando on point is to confine him to playing songs in the exact sequence they were recorded; there's less of an opportunity to meander too far off.

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Jason Rosenbaum

WWE wreslter Sheamus is elated after winning the Royal Rumble on Sunday, January 29, 2012, at the Scottrade Center. The Irish-born wrestler will get a title shot at Wrestlemania 28 in Miami, Florida.

​Pro wrestling and arena concerts may seem like vastly different species. But they're not that far off.

World Wrestling Entertainment camped out Sunday at Scottrade Center for this year's Royal Rumble, arguably the mega-federation's second biggest pay-per-view of the year next to its annual Wrestlemania extravaganza. Pro wrestling has a long and storied history in St. Louis, as evidenced by Albert Samaha's recent profile of legendary grappler Harley Race.

It would be a stretch to say that pro wrestling and arena concerts are one and the same. Performers as concerts don't get injured as much as wrestlers, with notable exceptions. But there were some commonalities between the two entertainment vehicles, as evidenced by what we observed Sunday at Scottrade:

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