Foo Fighters @ Scottrade Center

Photo courtesy of Danny Hommes

     A band as big as Foo Fighters typically has two openers so let's get that out of the way first.
     Mariachi El Bronx, the alter-ego of hardcore band The Bronx (it's a little confusing; they're not even from the Bronx, they're from LA), took the stage in their matching black and red mariachi outfits. While at first a little confused, I was pleased to hear their unique sound. They combined mariachi and punk music in a really cool way. Their drummer, a Buddy Holly look-alike, played a cocktail kit that sounded awesome. It was clear that the whole band was having a blast.
     What can I say about Rise Against? The bass player was solid. The singer had a lot of enthusiasm. That's the positive stuff. The drummer was weak. The songs sounded the same. The guitarist can kick his foot above his head and does so at EVERY POSSIBLE OPPORTUNITY. But, they made the Foos sound better. Gotta give them that.
     The band finally took stage and opened with "Bridges Burning," the first track of their new album. Playing a great mix of old and new songs, the set lasted three hours just as Dave promised. Many of the songs had extended endings and "Stacked Actors" featured a guitar battle between Chris Shiflett and Dave Grohl.
     Emphasizing on the epicness of their rock music, the stage had a platform that extended all the way across the floor of the arena. Have you ever been to Scottrade? It's pretty big. There was also a riser at the opposite end. It doesn't get any bigger than singing lead vocals for a band all the way across a stadium. They also had an awesome light show.
     "Young Man Blues" was covered by Foo Fighters for VH1 Rock Honors The Who in 2008. Since then, they've been playing it at most of their live shows including the one last night. They also led us in Tom Petty and The Heartbreaker's "Breakdown."
     At the beginning of the encore, Dave played a few songs on acoustic before being joined by the rest of the band. Finally, the best possible song to end the night, "Everlong." This is my favorite Foo Fighters song as well as that of many other fans. It has the amazing quality of meaning something great to everyone who hears it even though everyone hears a different meaning. If you enjoy any form of rock, go see Foo Fighters in concert. They're the most accessible great rock band on tour.

Sleepy Kitty - Infinity City

St. Louis local music always surprises me. Sometimes it's hard to believe that such good music can be made by people who live so close to me, people I see on the street or in the audience at concerts.
Infinity City starts out with "Gimme A Chantz!," a rocking song to start out with. Paige Brubeck has a great Nilsson-like way of harmonizing with herself that appears throughout the album.
"Seventeen" is a cover of the Beatles' "When I Saw Her Standing There." At six minutes long, it's not quite like the original. It's an intriguing jam of the classic hit.
"NYC Really Has It All" is a conversation with an old friend about how much their hometown has changed since they were young. This is a perfect anthem for reminiscing about your own childhood.
My favorite track, "Dykula," has vocals that remind me of Karen O. Her basic message in the song is clear: I wish I'd never met you. I also like the retro "shoobop's."
Lastly, the vinyl-only eleventh track, "Greetings From Cherokee St USA," is a simple song of piano and beautiful vocals. At certain points it is filled with street noise, presumably recorded from Cherokee Street. It is a beautifully written song about Sleepy Kitty's neighborhood. Like most vinyl-only tracks, it's only available on the vinyl copy, sadly.
Infinity City is out now on Euclid Records. I bet you can pick it up at a certain record store of the same name.

Buchers Boy - Skin and Bones

Country music is frequently filled with themes of sorrow, coffins, shotguns, and dogs. This album may not have those last three. As far as sorrow, it goes one step farther. Rage. This is country music that definitely seems to be more anger-fueled than woe-fueled.
Butchers Boy is a country-rock band with an emphasis on 'rock.' The vocals sound tortured at some points. I can't always understand them which makes me want to listen to them over and over again until I can understand the entire message.
The drums provide very innovative takes on well-known rhythms. Some of the guitar solos are especially mean.
Highlight tracks include the title track, "Skin and Bones," with a slightly sinister mood and brilliant guitar. On top of it all, my favorite part is the xylophone solo at the end. "Put On Your Jacket" starts out slow and then builds with tumultuous drums and some awesome breaks. The organ on "Wicked On Broadway" makes the song sound like a great party.
Possibly the coolest thing about this album is that all twelve tracks were recorded live in the studio and in only two days in August of 2007. That's a pretty difficult task to accomplish but it sure makes for a fun album.
"Skin and Bones" is out now on Grape Juice Records but it may be a little hard to find, especially for anyone outside of Chicago. That said, if you ever come across a copy of it, buy it.

Sunday - LouFest 2011

Ume rocking very hard

The retro rock of Old Lights started out the day. Their set reminded me of early Elvis Costello, definitely not a bad thing. Although their lead guitarist broke a few strings and experienced other difficulties, there was always another spare and the set continued just fine.
Jumbling Towers had a chaotic, unique keyboard based sound that my friends and I all enjoyed. The drummer was very talented and the singer looked like David Byrne of Talking Heads if you squinted. Definitely one of my favorites from sunday, I was disappointed to find a different sound on the free sampler they gave me. A drum machine? Where's that awesome guy? That said, I look forward to future releases from them.
Ume was the heaviest band of the weekend in my opinion. Their hardcore songs paired with Lauren's sometimes sweet vocals made a great combination. Her outfit was actually a great representation of the band's sound. A little black dress and combat boots. Also, she's the best headbanger I've ever seen.
Next up was the band I was most excited for, Lost In The Trees. Their set did not disappoint. The soft orchestral folk music was a stark contrast to Ume. The audience seemed quiet and respectful of their delicate sound. The set included brand new songs, a skeleton horse puppet being paraded through the audience, and a personal story about delivering pizza to the wealthy while on narcotics. Awesome.
The Low Anthem followed, being the only other folk band on the bill. The singer's voice sounded a whole lot like more recent Bob Dylan tunes.
Das Racist was definitely the wild card of sunday. The three maniac rappers took the stage and played much of the material from their forthcoming album, "Relax." Never taking themselves seriously, they told us how they planned to "do a couple more blues songs, some classic rock songs." They showed a lot of energy and I swear there must have been at least one of them talking at all times. They played Metallica on their laptop, air-guitaring heavily as they walked out.
!!! was one of the most entertaining bands of the weekend. How could you not enjoy watching the singer dance, dance with the audience, dance with a man in a wheelchair, dance on top of the speakers, and knock a row of lights right off the speaker while dancing? It was incredibly entertaining and created a great environment to hold an impromptu dance party with strangers. It started to drizzle a little bit near the end but that didn't stop anyone from grooving.
Cat Power doesn't play many live shows but for St. Louis, an exception. Her vocals sounded just as good, if not better, than they do on the album (which is pretty great.) The entire band experienced some issues with their monitors but it still sounded great from the audience. True to her discography, Cat Power played at least a few covers. In the middle of the set, an amazing sunset and a rainbow appeared. This would have been cool with any of the bands but it was an absolutely perfect visual for Cat Power's stunning set.
TV On The Radio had a noisy and rocking sound that has become their signature. Keeping with the theme of their new album (Nine Types Of Light) they had a great light show to go with the music. In my opinion, they could have mixed the audio a little better. It didn't ruin such a moving set however. I was particularly excited when they played my two favorites, "Repetition" and "Wolf Like Me," in a row. Dealing with the death of their bass player, Gerard Smith, this could be TV On The Radio's last tour. Whatever they do, I'm sure it will be in everyone's best interest. This set was really powerful and loud and a great way to end a great weekend in St. Louis.

Saturday - LouFest 2011

Kings Go Forth

The weekend began with Jon Hardy and the Public. I heard a rumor that they practiced the entire set fifteen times including turning off the AC at Jon Hardy's house to experience the predicted heat. It paid off because they sounded great. Near the end of the set, one of their guitarists had to quickly change clothes and go get ready for a set with his other band, Troubadour Dali.
Troubadour Dali rocked the house (err... lawn) with their psychedelic music. They definitely helped prove that St. Louis does in fact have great local music, something that everyone in this area should recognize.
Sleepy Sun played some of their heavy, long jams. The best way to describe this is 'epic.'
All nine members of Kings Go Forth appeared clad in white uniforms. Their funky soul music was a great contrast to Sleepy Sun, pouring out love and sunshine. It was incredibly danceable, as I quickly found out.
Dom was, although limited, very cool including a special cover of The Cure's "Boys Don't Cry." Not that it matters in the long run, but the singer totally looks like a girl. Girl hair, pants, and voice. It was a little awkward but contributed to the absurdity of their music.
Surfer Blood played a good combination of fun and dark songs including some new tracks that have yet to be released. The frontman needs to learn to not talk quite so much but still a very fun set.
Due to hurricane Irene, The Roots could not make it. However, ?uestlove graced us with his DJ set of awesomeness. Boasting that it covered 85 years worth of music, this was a great big dance party at LouFest.
Deerhunter appeared calm and cool on stage while they played many fan favorites. The bass player looked pretty stoned to me but it certainly didn't prohibit him from playing some amazing bass lines. After announcing to the audience that this would be the last song they played on tour for a long time, the singer realized they still had thirty minutes left in their set. This mistake caused some people to leave that area but didn't take away from a great set.
To end saturday, The Hold Steady took over the blue stage. The sun had gone down at this point, making the stage even more of a focus. Belting out lyrics like a dictator giving a speech, singer Craig Finn was full of energy, frequently repeating lines away from the microphone and moving his limbs around. They played a wonderful set despite last year's departure of their keyboard player. It featured a great combination of old and new material.

...soihadto... - Adventure Stories (Not Based On Fact?)

...soihadto... (that's their actual name) has created the soundtrack for an incredibly epic science fiction movie. Don't look for the movie online; it hasn't even been conceived yet. But I have confidence that it's a movie I will eventually take my grandkids to go see in the distant future.
This is made of songs that start out simple and then build until it's the most rocking thing you can possibly imagine. Until you go to the next track.
The drums are a fantastic foundation for epic guitar solos without being excessive. It never reaches that moment of "too much." The guitars have some pretty cool effects that are used sparingly and frequently in the background. I'm also pretty curious about the backwards voices on "Searching For The Cure" (I wonder who's dead this time?)
 I would call this a progressive album because of the long length of the tracks and the way that the songs can change within one of those tracks. On the other hand, some of the shorter songs have the raw energy of a punk band. Progressive punk? Is that a thing? Maybe it is now. Whatever it is, I like it.
Something that's fun to do, especially with instrumental music, is to close your eyes and visualize an imaginary movie that would go with the music. I do this at concerts sometimes. In my head this album is full of alien assassinations, cool cars, a lot of running, and shifty government contracts. I can't wait for it to be in theaters. What do you see when you listen to it? One could write a whole trilogy of films while you listen to this album.
"Adventure Stories (Not Based On Fact?)" is out now on Grape Juice Records.

Wilco - I Might

An acoustic guitar and a growling bass start off this single from Wilco's forthcoming album. The drum's create a real great stomp beat and the organ in the background makes me think of Elvis Costello's "My Aim is True" album. The lyrics on this song are abstract and beautiful in a style that is pretty signature Tweedy. This song makes me happy despite hearing Jeff sing "It's alright. You won't set the kids on fire. But I might." But, whatever, it's alright.
The B-side is a cover of Nick Lowe's "I Love My Label." This song is a new recording but if you close your eyes it just might take you back to 1977. This song is of course a tongue-in-cheek joke for Wilco. Having gone through much label trouble with the release of "Yankee Hotel Foxtrot," Wilco is finally on their own and Jeff Tweedy is his own boss. "We're one big happy family," he sings.
"I Might" is out now on dBpm Records and their new album "The Whole Love" is out on September 27th.