61revised.com

Act One - The Chapel

There is a new venue in town for musicians and artists: The Chapel, located behind Memorial Presbyterian Church on Skinker, across the street from Forest Park.  According to the website, The Chapel is not-for-profit venue, musician and artist centered, providing a venue (as well as beer, wine and soda) completely free of charge.  That means, if a band charges a cover to get in, they take home 100% of the money they bring in.  All in the spirit of supporting the arts and renewing the city of St. Louis.

Act Two - International Justice Mission

These guys are like the James Bonds of Christian missionaries.  International Justice Mission goes into the darkest corners of the world and does what it can to bring about justice.  In their own words:

International Justice Mission is a human rights agency that secures justice for victims of slavery, sexual exploitation and other forms of violent oppression.In the tradition of abolitionist William Wilberforce and transformational leaders like Mother Theresa and Martin Luther King, Jr., IJM’s work is founded on the Christian call to justice articulated in the Bible (Isaiah 1:17): Seek justice, protect the oppressed, defend the orphan, plead for the widow.

In practical terms, IJM does stuff like infiltrating sex trafficking rings and busts them up.  Amazing work that is desperately needed.

Act Three - The Cathedrals

Hailing from Chicago, The Cathedrals are Jon Baker and Rachel Stewart, who together create simple and intimate music, in the alt-folk tradition.  Two voices and a guitar, do you really need anything else?

Epilogue

So, how does this all come together?  Quite beautifully in fact.  Find out for yourself tonight, when you can see The Cathedrals play at The Chapel at 7:00pm as a benefit concert for International Justice Mission.  Admission is free, and beer, wine or soda (pick your poison) are included in the price of admission - but we hope that once you are there you will find it in your heart to contribute something to such a worthy cause.

Wait? Who is this? Has Hwy61 been invaded? Is the very fabric of our pleasant little universe unraveling!

No, it’s just a new writer. My name is Zach Haugen, and it’s very nice to meet everyone. I am one of the new writers here on Highway 61. If you’re interested to learn more about me please visit the author’s page, otherwise I just need to say thank you to Matt and the other writers for letting me express what it is that I do.

Wednesday night I got the opportunity to see Ferry Corsten live at Dante’s on Olive Street.The show was a rare 18+ event, and although the club isn’t my normal scene the chance to see Ferry Corsten was too good to pass. I was optimistic going into the event, but coming out of it, well one word sums up my experience seeing Ferry Corsten at Dantes……bass.

The level of bass was so high much that it vibrated the folds on my jeans and punched me in the stomach on every beat. Normally big bass is what attracts crowds to an event like this, but the bass last night was simply over powering. It was so consistently over bearing that it drowned out any melody that Ferry was probably playing. After about an hour all I could hear, besides the bass, was the same techno over and over again. Now I’m very sure that he was playing different songs the entire time, but it all seemed to drown together in a big bass ocean.

Seeing Ferry at Dante’s was still an interesting experience to say the least. The club is a scene I don’t find myself in much, and I met some very fun people while I was there. Still, I paid $20.00 to stand on a dance floor in my Pac-Man munchies tee-shirt having my rib cage throttled the entire night like I was a small child. Needless to say it was an experience I hope to not repeat anytime soon.

[youtube=http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=qwz5LcWD4KA]

The video above is a short trailer of the record release party for The Monads, who will release their second album “Ornery” on Big Muddy Records.  Watch it, I’ll wait.  From the looks of the clip above, it would appear more bad news lies ahead of the primary calendar for Hillary Clinton (watch the video again if you need an explanation of that). 

If “not even a robot Hillary Clinton” can stop this imminent release, you’ll know you’ll want to be at Off Broadway on March 28th around 9pm.  But get there early, because the first 50 paying guests will receive a complimentary copy of the CD, and our friends at Big Muddy promise surprises:

“Toenail clippings collected from everyone in the band is a possibility,” said Monads’ banjo player Jason Matthews. “Maybe even an essay I wrote on the proper way to tree a raccoon. You’ll just have to find out for yourself!”

To find that out you’ll need to bring $7 and one of them picture identification cards to prove you’re over the age of 18.  Getting age checked is just the start of your “Ornery” experience on March 28; alongside the bluegrass-styling of the Monads will be emceed by Clownvis Presley anchored by other Big Muddy favorites the Vultures and Pokey LaFarge.  Yep, see you there.

Every once in awhile I get an e-mail or press release that is too good not to share publicly, even though it has been distributed to the public at large.  In this case I received an press release from my friends at Apop Records that needs to be shared, if only because it’s mostly decipherable only by the audience who would be attracted to these events in the first place.

Tonight, Thursday March 6th 9pm. XRIN ARMS: Soul samples crushed and toyed with like submissive prisoners into deconstructed fits of digital beat fury. Fans of Realicide & digital hardcore where are you?
Backing: Miscellaneous, Etc. & PLEKO.

Friday March 7th. JUSTICE YELDHAM: Madness behind glass. It is not a shield, separating the spectators into safety, but a tentative punisher and siren of suffering wielded by the madman. Don’t look away, you can’t.
Backing: Flower of Flesh and Blood, The Miracle Worker, The Lonely Procession.

Saturday March 8th 2 pm. Free instore from Chicago’s YAKUZA.

They like to call it Apopaganda. And I get the feeling there is going to be lots of art happening on Cherokee Street in the near future, or at least this weekend.

UPDATE: Apop Records has sent a correction, telling us that Yakuza has moved to Sunday March 9th for their free in-store performance.  In the future you can always rely on our Calendar to keep you updated.

Dividing by Zero has the rest of the info about these shows at the Gargoyle this week, which is brought to us by KWUR.  The shows at the Gargoyle are free to students of Washington University (with student ID), and will cost at least $5 to the general public.

Shows include:

• Wednesday 2/27: Nato Caliph, Serengeti, DJ Crucial, Earthworms, and Twilight Sentinels
• Thursday 2/28: Elsinore, Berlin Whale, and Jumbling Towers
• Friday 2/29: Water Bears and The Zydepunks
• Saturday 3/1: Say Panther, The Octopus Project and Pattern Is Movement ($10)
• Monday 3/3: Classical show at the 560 Building (Delmar and Trinity)

That last show, which will take place off campus of Washington University, might actually be free.  Hope we’ll see you out during midterms week, that is because all these shows are 18+.  And since KWUR is Washington University’s college radio station, you can almost be sure to hear something special if you tune in to 90.3 FM this week (or any, for that manner).

When you’re performing music in front of a crowd and you’re not sure which chord to play next you can’t press the reset button and start again from the beginning. But that’s exactly what local favorites The Helium Tapes and The 75s will assist in the process of during the Lo-Fi Saint Louis Reset Party. 

Considering the relative mystery surrounding last moth’s announcement of LoFi’s indefinite hiatus, which neatly coincided with their being a featured podcast on iTunes, everyone was asking what Saint Louis’ favorite son (albeit in terms of video podcasting) was going to do next.  All questions will be answered on Saturday March 8th at 8pm when Bill Streeter and friends show off their new look in the Mad Art Gallery.

Here’s how Bill Streeter put it in an e-mail he sent:

…As you may or may not know I took a little time off at the beginning of this year to revamp and rethink some of the things I’ve been doing with LO-FI. I also wanted to make some time to do some other projects, and generally just recharge my creative batteries. So I’m getting anxious to get things rolling again. And to promote the fact that I’m back with LO-FI (on March 1st) I wanted to throw a party. So you are invited to attend the RESET PARTY on March 8th (Saturday) at 8pm at the Mad Art Gallery. I’ve booked some great bands to play and there will also be some video and other entertainment. All the details can be found here. So I really hope to see you there!

Highway 61 (revised) also has some good news to celebrate, so we hope to celebrate with our friends as well at that party.  And don’t forget to RSVP with your favorite source, be it Myspace, Upcoming, or the Facebook, because there are no do-overs for reservations in spite of the party’s name.

With one foot firmly in the past and the other foot stepping forward, local phenomenom The 75’s are already releasing their first record, “Extra Fancy”, in style with a party this Saturday night (February 23rd).  And I say in the past very deliberately, because it remains a good possibility that as this flyer alludes to (conciously or not) you may someday get the same blank looks when you mention a Compact Disc in the future (but they might instictively know what a vinyl record is).

Formats aside it’s sure that this genre-bending Rock’N'Roll group has something to celebrate even without the CD release.  Since their first show a half year ago, lovingly documented by LoFiSTL, the band has arisen quick as one of Saint Louis’ most unique and catchiest bands.  You can start to understand their appeal by reading Mike Appelstein’s interview with the band in the Riverfront Times, or you could come out Saturday night and keep yourself entertained from 9pm until it’s closing time (around 1am). 

That priveledge will only set you back a $5 cover charge, for which you’ll recieve aural enjoyment from the likes of The Blind Eyes, Kentucky Knife Fight, and of course The 75s themselves.  But you’ll probably want to bring a little extra change for a cold beverage. Or at least bring $7 to buy a copy of your host’s recorded likenesses, for which the night’s coronation is being held at Lemmon’s in south Saint Louis.

Of course you already knew about this show, because you’re subscribed to the Highway 61 (revised) calendar.  I promise I keep plugging it for a reason (because you can use it, and we did the work for you).

According to AtoZ blog’s highly reliable Annie Zaleski (who is sick with the Flu), the DJ Spin-Off at the Atomic Cowboy is still going on tonight in spite of the inclement weather.  So if you want to slide, try to keep it on the dance floor starting at 8pm tonight and until midnight. 

Some of St. Louis’ best DJs will be spinning their best sets as they compete for the honor to win a free trip to Miami for the Ultra Music Festival.  Annie has taken the courtesy to provide detailed interviews (and even some mp3 mixtape action!) for each of the finalist contestants in the Spin-Off for tonight:

• Rob Gray
• DJ Karizma
• Flex Boogie
• and Doctor Pong

Keep up with events before we get time around to write about them: subscribe to the Highway 61 (revised) calendar.  It also has one of those SMS text alert thingies, if that’s what you’re into.

So it’s a little misleading to suggest that today, or Friday the 15th of February, is the official birthday of Saint Louis city.  Fortunately this isn’t a history blog, so we’ll accept the nit picking of dates like the  middle of the month Pierre Laclede sent his 14-year old stepson Auguste Chouteau in the winter of 1844 to build up the city grid on the banks of the levee.  Wikipedia be damned, because our research indicates this city was actually built on rock and roll.

So what better way to celebrate that tradition (and our blatant disregard for historical accuracy) that to rock that night, February 15th, starting at 8:31 pm until 1:00 am the next day with some of your favorite music.  And what better a place to celebrate our rich cultural history than in the City Museum, where they are still celebrating their 10th birthday all year long. 

Of course if the rock regalia of 7 Shot Screamers, The Monads, and DJ Mark Lewis doesn’t sound like your ideal birthday bash, you can always pick a brawl with the Arch Rival Roller Girls on the third floor Old Circus Space.  This is assuming that you’re over the age of 18, and/or over 21 birthdays past to toast the town with an adult beverage, in which case the show is free after paying ordinary admission to the museum (about $10).

Check the Highway 61 (revised) events calendar for this and other events you want to know about.

Within the last week my friend described Cod as the least desirable, most tasteless of all catch fish after seeing it on the menu of a local restaurant.  And considering that it’s the most likely fish you’ll see battered in beer and deep fried, that reputation would seem well deserved.  I’d like to be proved wrong.

Just such an opportunity to be proven wrong has presented itself within this same week, as the Schlafly Tap Room presents their Cod & Cask festival.  “You’ll believe in cod once you’ve enjoyed the talents of Icelandic Chef Hakon Oervarsson, who is flying in for the occasion,” promise the fine PR staff from the Saint Louis Brewery.  But in order to compliment an event that their would be understandable doubt in the power of this exceedingly affordable catch, Schlafly is offering Real Ale that is carbonated in the cask, hand pumped at the bar, and will be served at cellular temperature to compliment the fish and chips. 

And should the Icelandic experience alone not be authentic enough, award-winning musician Petur Ben and his band will be performing his unique sound straight outta Reykjavík.  They’ll be joined by local favorites Walkie Talkie USA on Friday night, and on Satuday night by Gentleman Auction House.  It’ll all take place from 5-12pm on Friday-Saturday February 8th and 9th, with Petur Ben (of “White Tiger” fame) playing a solo set this Thursday February 7th around 8pm.

So besides rethinking the least considered fish on the plate, we’re sure the servings of Icelandic flavor ought to catch your attention as they had ours.  Something is indeed fishy about Cod’s reputation (to say nothing about Iceland’s use of geothermal energy), so bring a friend this weekend and an open mind (or at least an open growler).