Eileen Tilson

​The biggest two shows in St. Louis tonight pit headliners that haven't exactly had a history of friendship. The heat has long since faded, but Ryan Adams, particularly in his Whiskeytown days, was known to have a bit of an attitude about the Old 97's and frontman Rhett Miller in particular. Jesse Hughey, writing for the Dallas Observer, remembers one particular scene from a show in 1998:

Between songs, Adams needled frat guys with remarks about renting friends. Then he put on a pair of black-framed glasses, forced a buck-toothed smile and picked up his acoustic guitar. "Look, we're the Old 97's," he said. "What a nerd!"

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Don't be fooled, she's feeling extra skanky today.

​At last, our third favorite holiday is upon us: Skanksgiving. It doesn't have the earthy cachet of 4/20, nor the heartwarming appeal of the Day You Finally Get Your Tax Refund Day, but Skanksgiving is still one of the happiest days of the year. After donning your holiday glad rags, it's time to get debaucherous and not just a little drunk; possibly even drunk enough to hook up with that high school crush you've been Facebook stalking. There's nothing like the threat of uninterrupted family bonding time to bring out the slutty little pony in you.

So, where can you get plotzed tonight?

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Courtesy of the artist

​Paul Simon's So Beautiful or So What tour makes a stop tonight at the Fabulous Fox Theatre -- check back tomorrow morning for a full review and setlist from the show.

Paul Simon is among the best songwriters folk music has ever had, and at his worst you could still never accuse him of complacency. After a Brian Eno-assisted divergence on Surprise, he returned this year with So Beautiful Or So What. It employs the lessons learned from forty years of experimentation, but more than that it finds Simon's conversational melodies and subject matter effortless and effective in a way that neither has been in years.

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The one-man money machine known as B.o.B. is in St. Louis tonight for a slew of promotional appearances: He's hitting the Z107.7 studios, meet n' greeting at the City Museum with 20 lucky guests, and then debuting a new mixtape at the Loft. We've searched high and low for the particulars on how you, dear reader, can score one of 200 spots at the listening party, and all we've come up with is...nothing!

There is literally no information about his appearances anywhere, save for a spot on his website that erroneously states he'll be in St. Louis tomorrow. Nope, it's today, and here's what we do know: The guy behind "Airplanes" and "Strange Clouds" will be clownin' at the City Museum from 6-7pm, and then he lands at the Loft (3112 Olive Blvd.) from 8 to 10pm. Come get your peep on, and stay tuned tomorrow for an interview and photos from the event.

​Editor's note: The first person to email me (kiernan DOT maletsky AT riverfronttimes DOT com) with the completed puzzle attached wins a prize pack grab bag that may or may not include Rockabye Baby! Lullaby Renditions of Van Halen and/or Rockabye Baby! Lullaby Renditions of the Police, both of which contain thematic baby food recipes. And yes, I will absolutely only accept submissions with proper capitalization.

If you, like us, are stoked about the tUnE-yArDs show this evening at Off Broadway (or if you're bored at work and have access to a printer) we have a way to channel that excitement: our exclusive tUnE-yArDs Sudoku puzzle! When solved, every box, row, and column will contain the letters that spell the band name with no repeats. Have fun!

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Anna M Campbell

​tUnE-yArDs, your presumptive early frontrunner in the Year End Listgasm Sweepstakes, is playing at Off Broadway tonight. But the thing to note here is that the album (w h o k i l l, naturally, because the incredible talent behind all this, Merrill Garbus, ain't doing anyone any typographical favors) is a tape-loop diamond, possessed of at least three get-out-there-and-be-somebody ragers. Ryan Wasoba, writing about the show in this week's print edition, notes her elastic, gymnastic vocal personality, saying, "she is a soul diva, a shouting punk, an early-'80s beat girl and a reggae hypewoman, often shifting personas within one song (see: 'Bizness')."

Consider this our highest recommendation. The party's at Off Broadway tonight. Pat Jordache opens, tickets are $12 (plus $2 if you're a minor) and doors open at 7:30. Now, about that bizness...

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Courtesy of Curren$y

​Tonight, the Smoker's Club Tour (headlined by Method Man, Big KRIT and Curren$y) comes to the Pageant. Calvin Cox wrote about the show in this week's print edition, saying, "The Smoker's Club Tour returns to St. Louis this month, once again featuring two of the most popular names in underground hip-hop. New Orleans weed-rapper Curren$y has built a large following over the past few years for his mellowed-out rhymes and spacey instrumentals, releasing a string of solid albums and mixtapes at a nearly inhuman rate. Meanwhile, Mississippi's golden boy Big K.R.I.T. has positioned himself into a major-label deal, thanks to his unique brand of substantive Southern Rap -- much of which he produces himself. This installment of the tour will also include a performance from legendary rapper/actor/smoker Method Man, with Fiend, Smoke DZA, The Pricks and Cornerboy P rounding out the bill."

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Angela Boatwright

​Tonight, Chromeo brings the party to the Pageant. Previewing the show in this week's print edition, Christian Schaeffer says, "You need a healthy dose of nostalgia, either real or imagined, to get down with Chromeo. The Montreal-based duo is made up of guitarist/vocalist Dave 1 (David Macklovitch) and keyboardist/beatmaker P-Thugg (Patrick Gemayel), and their love of '80s-derived synth-funk and electro-pop is so retro-minded that the band may as well travel by a uranium-fueled Delorian. Last year's Business Casual continued the band's uptempo, uptown flavor with Dave 1's white-boy soul croon and P-Thugg's manipulation of vintage synths and his ever-present talkbox. Picture a band somewhere between Hall & Oates' blue-eyed soul and Zapp & Roger's mutant funk, and Chromeo starts to make a lot more sense."

The show is at 8 p.m. tonight and tickets are $25 to $30. Check back tomorrow morning for a review and photos from the festivities.

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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.

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​For a guy who makes some of weird sounding shit, Tom Fec is a pretty normal dude. He exercises. He dreams of giving up, getting fat and going bald. He loves the '80s, but not in a lame, ironic way. But Fec crafts day-glo hallucinogenic pop with Black Moth Super Rainbow, and drops bass like a fisherman under his chosen nom de costume Tobacco. He's released four albums since 2007, switching gears between Tobacco and BMSR, which has left him psychically fatigued and turning to prank calling Yinzers from his native Pittsburgh for fun. We caught up with him Friday night after soundcheck in Madison, Wisconsin to answer some burning questions, like whether or not he's ever going to release another album (seriously) and why we're heading for a "crazy revolution" or widespread creative devastation. Take a little time to get to know Tobacco, and then see him with the whole Black Moth Super Rainbow gang tonight at Off Broadway.

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