Goings On This Weekend in St. Louis

Since when did tonight become the night that everything happens? There is so much going on in Brick City tonight and through the weekend, it’s almost enough to make up for the complete dearth of quality entertainment we’ve had since Sonic Youth experimentally jet set and trashed the riverfront back in July. So let’s dispense with the pleasantries and cut straight to the meaty details. To start:

Thursday

A.K.A. tonight. The buzz de rigueur seems to be centered around Cicero’s, where both The Antlers and The Hood Internet will be performing as part of the PLAY:stl Fest (complete schedule here). It’s an admittedly odd pairing, but for fans of both meditative post-rock and hipster-approved jock jams, this is the place to be. I previewed the Antlers for the RFT in this week’s paper, and here’s a lovely video for their song “Two.”

I’m a creature of habit, however, and I’ll be at the Firebird tonight. Cincinnati’s Pomegranates are playing, and as I’ve said before, they’re absolutely fantastic. Their new record Everybody, Come Outside! is one of the most pleasurable, adventurous, and honest-to-goodness exciting indie pop records I’ve heard all year. Lots of trembly guitars and innocent vocals, with surprising detours into homemade afro-funk and uplifting shoegaze. Here’s a song from that album that I included in the Post-Rockist summer birthday mix:

Pomegranates – “Southern Ocean” (buy)

If that’s not your speed, Daniel Francis Doyle will be at Lemp Neighborhood Arts Center. He’s kind of a cross between Cole Porter whimsy and Half Japanese anarchy. Alternately, the SLSO are giving a free performance in Forest Park, if you’re in the mood for “Moon River,” the theme from Star Wars, and other MOR selections that would appeal to free concert-goers in Forest Park.

Or, if you hate live music but love supporting local music, The Hibernauts are raising money for their newest record since Chad Rogers’ mustache joined their ranks by bartending at Maggie O’Brien’s.

And there’s always the season premiere of It’s Always Sunny in Philadelphia to fall back on.

Okay, moving on:

Friday

The Republic Tigers from Kansas City are playing at Cicero’s (again, part of PLAY:stl Fest). I don’t know much about them, but I’m told I would like them. So there’s that.

Saint Louisans Troubadour Dali are having their CD release party at the Firebird. I haven’t heard anything off the new record, but the last time I saw them I thought they sounded exactly like The Warlocks and I was totally okay with that.

Saturday

This is a no brainer. I’m sure there are other shows going on Saturday night, but I don’t know what they are and I’m not going. Bradford Cox is one of the most astonishingly brilliant forces in indie rock today — dynamic, inventive, prolific, and responsible for two of the best albums of 2008. (Obviously I’m a total geek for the guy, so I apologize for the hyperbole.) Atlas Sound, his solo moniker, is performing at the 560 Music Center as part of the PLAY:stl Fest. Your guess is as good as mine as to what this venue is all about. The show is “presented” by the Gargoyle, but it’s not at the Gargoyle… so, that’s a good thing?

I included the much-ballyhooed and blogged-about song “Walkabout” (w/ Noah Lennox, a.k.a. Panda Bear) on my mix earlier this week, but here’s another stunning track off last year’s Another Bedroom EP:

Atlas Sound – “Another Bedroom” (buy)

Sunday

Another toss-up. It’s either Ra Ra Riot, who sound like this:

playing at the Firebird,

or it’s The Books, who do weird shit like this:

performing at the Luminary Center for the Arts. Honestly, I might head over to the Luminary Sunday night, not only because I’m curious to check out the new venue, but because I may be desperate for some non-rock band action by that point.

Whew! This was a really long and poorly organized post! If you’re looking for a really long and highly organized essay about the past, present, and future of indie music (including a plainspoken dissection of the tensions between bread’n'butter indie rock groups [e.g., Ra Ra Riot] and noisier, experimental artists [e.g., The Books]), then I would strongly recommend you read this piece.