popwreckoning

For a long time, it seemed like St. Louis was only going to purport its stereotype of being a rap and hip hop town. Nelly was the most recognizable act from this gateway city. If a music fan wanted to listen to some indier acts, they’d have to traverse to Chicago or even Kansas City. Bands seemed to skip by this place unless they were of amphitheatre magnitude, and without anyone to step up and organize an event to draw these smaller indie acts, St. Louis seemed helpless as to how to change this.

But the people started speaking up – showing their musical tastes to be more diverse than just Top 40 radio. And guess what? The city answered. Slowly there has been a trend where these smaller rising bands and even more established, but not-quite-amphitheatre-status groups started visiting the Lou. And then the biggest boost: this year, St. Louis was presented with the first (hopefully annual) LouFest.

LouFest, a two-day music festival in the beautiful Forest Park, featured over 18 acts this past weekend with Canada collective Broken Social Scene headlining Saturday and the band crush of many, She & Him, on Sunday. Though the line-up seemed to focus more on indie folk or garage rock, it found its diversity in other ways: Jeff Tweedy and Built to Spill brought a classic touch, while Fruit Bats and So Many Dynamos brought a newer touch. Carolina Chocolate Drops gave a bit of a musical history lesson, while Gentleman Auction House, Kim Massie and others showed the range of local talents.

Bottle Rockets had the honor of being the first band to play at the first LouFest. Though their set was rocking for this established act, the crowd was sparse that early in the day. People were either trying to beat the heat or the steep ticket prices (lower cost is the number one suggestion for the 2nd LouFest!) because the crowd didn’t start filling out until around 5 p.m. Which is a shame because some of the best bands of the whole festival played that early afternoon.

Stephaniesid‘s music seemed to be unfamiliar to most everyone, but by the end of her set she had made everyone feel like old friends. She had a bit of a country alt rock thing but with the adornment of little, almost jazzy, freestyle yelps. This woman knows how to own a stage – she danced with the decorative drapings, sang her heart out and even got the crowd to singalong and participate, which wasn’t easy in that heat.

St. Louis’ own So Many Dynamos took over the blue stage after Stephaniesid and they had surprises in store for their hometown crowd. The boys invited out the Funky Brass Butt Band to amp up their set.

Adam Reichmann on the yellow stage had a harder time finding an audience for his slower jams, not to say he and his band were bad, but at least in this setting, the music and jokes fell flat.

But Titus Andronicus didn’t have any trouble finding enthusiasm for their brand of punk indie rock. Perhaps it was the contagious smile of violinist/guitarist Alexi Crawford or the New Jersey quips or catchy lyrics of frontman Patrick Stickles, but this was one of the best performances of the entire festival and that was evident by the crowd’s reaction.

That energy was set to carry over into Lucero’s set, but unfortunately the lead singer was ill and they had to call things short despite an admirable effort to play a rocking set even with his weary voice. St. Louis understands, but come back soon?

Word is that when LouFest organizers put out a survey to see what bands the city wanted them to bring – the number one response was Airborne Toxic Event. This is the viola-wielding, piano beating band that brought radio “Sometime Around Midnight” with a hushed intro that grows into a screaming, guitars blazing end. Yeah, they’re undoubtably good, but the number one request for the fest? Turns out Airborne Toxic Event had never played St. Louis in their 370 or so shows since their inception. So they were well overdue for an appearance. The band must have been feeling a little guilty for their extended performance absence and they spoiled St. Louis by debuting a bunch of new songs, which feature the same dynamic drive that powers their radio hits. You won’t have to worry about sophomore slump with this band.

Built to Spill as classic indie rock staples drew a huge crowd not just from LouFest attendees, but also from bands curious to see live one of their primary influences.

Broken Social Scene swamped the stage with their many collective members trading off vocals and instruments. There really couldn’t have been a better headliner for the night. Brass, double drums, great harmonies and tons of energy from staple Kevin Drew. While most bands save their big stunts for a big set closer, Drew showed by the second song that they weren’t holding anything back; he jumped off the stage and was embracing the audience. If you’ve never had the chance to experience this band live, you must. Their recordings don’t do the live show justice.

Sunday’s bands would have to really pull out all the stops to top what was delivered Saturday.

Since Sunday is the lord’s day, the bluesy, soulful voice of St. Louis’ miss Kim Massie delivered a special Gospel set to start the day before Magnolia Summer and then one of the more buzzed about bands: Carolina Chocolate Drops. They’re perhaps best known for their cover of “Hit ‘Em Up Style,” but the americana trio is more than just a novelty cover. Though the instruments are untraditional to what the typical guitar-based band, this act is all about the traditions: water jugs, fiddle and banjo. It was a fun lesson for what really is American’s musical history. But, of course, the fun cover made this set perfect.

Gentleman Auction House was another act representing St. Louis. Two drummers, two keyboardists and the enrichment of brass. St. Louis bands aren’t afraid to break out a little pomp to boost the volume of their sets.

Cory Chisel & the Wandering Sons continued the trend of delivering feel good Americana songs, unfortunately, with such stand up acts before them, they didn’t stand out quite as much as they usually would have.

Fruit Bats continued the festival’s trend of delivering feel good folk music over on the Yellow Stage. It was a bit more lively than the preceding set and got people moving.

Alejandro Escovedo was an artist that I hadn’t really heard, but had heard a lot about. Everything from “classic” to “best guitarist” ever were some of the excited boasts I had heard. However, while the music was good, it was too laid back to really take a grip. Perhaps Alejandro was just a little overhyped.

Jeff Tweedy might be St. Louis’ favorite son. Actually, earlier that day, the mayor had proclaimed that day “Jeff Tweedy Day,” to which Tweedy responded in true rebellious son fashion, “That’s the dumbest thing I ever heard.” The Wilco front man appeared without his usual band mates, but that didn’t stop him from performing the Wilco hits with his acoustic guitar. This set really was a treat for the Tweedy/Wilco fan, but for first time listeners, they might have had a hard time getting into – be patient, keep giving the music a chance and start with Wilco recordings before returning to the solo stuff would be my advice to those people.

Jeff Tweedy

She & Him closed off the weekend, but honestly, I could have done with an encore performance from Broken Social Scene. Sure Zooey is the band crush of many, but she didn’t really engage with the audience. M. Ward tried and I have to admit, I liked his songs about more for their rocking edge. I really enjoyed the cover of “Roll Over Beethoven,” that they closed with. But with how much praise this indie duo gets, I have to say that it was a bit of a letdown to see them deliver their set with lackluster energy and then short the audience of 20 minutes of performance with an early departure. Bring back BSS, please!

Though I found some of the 2nd day a bit more dry in the quality of performance, LouFest still did a great job and I can’t wait to see what they have in store for next year.

Brendon Benson and Cory Chisel share a holiday poem:

Twas the week before Christmas in Motion City Soundtrack‘s camp, so they wrote this holiday poem and offered this holiday video highlighting the deluxe edition of their upcoming release:

Sam Phillips and the Section Quartet perform “Away in a Manger”:

This Is Your Brain on Xmas is a special project of the Rondo Brothers that you can stream.

Stream The Singing Saw at Christmastime by Julian Koster. If you like the tunes, buy directly from Merge.

Celebrate “Christmas with the Jews” from Elizabeth and the Catapult.

Christmas with the Jews from Elizabeth & the Catapult on Vimeo.

And of course, check out the end of Manchester Orchestra‘s 12 Days of Christmas at their site.

In celebration of President Elect Barack Obama, Cory Chisel has recorded a cover of Sam Cooke‘s “A Change is Gonna Come”.  Arcade Fire used the song in support of  Obama’s nomination for President of the United States and other notable artists who have covered the song include Bob Dylan, Aretha Franklin, Billy Bragg, the Fugees, Cold War Kids, Otis Redding, Tina Turner, and The Supremes.

It’s been a long time coming, but tonight, because of what we did on this day, in this election, at this defining moment, change has come to America.
-President Elect, Barack Obama

Those words, spoken on the night of November 4th by Obama, were instantly recognizable to most Americans listening intently to our next President’s victory speech. A paraphrase of the chorus from the 1964 single “A Change is Gonna Come” by Sam Cooke, Obama drew on his campaign’s “Change We Can Believe In” slogan to include a song that’s been applied to numerous American struggles over the past 40+ years.

A live heartfelt version of this song is presented by singer-songwriter Cory Chisel. Likened to a modern Dylan, Chisel’s soulful vocals and spare guitar seem to have been made to play this song.

“A Change Is Gonna Come”

Cory Chisel: website | myspace

This year’s Monolith Festival held September 13th and 14th in Morrison, CO at Red Rocks Amphitheatre has an amazing line-up. Check out Saturday’s schedule now:

Esurance Main Stage
*10:30 PM :: DeVotchKa
8:45 PM :: Silversun Pickups
7:15 PM :: Vampire Weekend
5:45 PM :: The Fratellis
*4:30 PM :: Cut Copy
3:15 PM :: Superdrag
*2:00 PM :: Foals
1:00 PM :: Dressy Bessy

New Belgium Stage
*9:45 PM :: Atmosphere
*8:00 PM :: Del tha Funky Homosapien
6:30 PM :: Mickey Avalon
*5:00 PM :: Holy Fuck
3:45 PM :: John Vanderslice
2:45 PM :: The Muslims
1:45 PM :: The Veils
12:45 PM :: Electric Touch

WOXY.com Stage @ Southwest Airlines Heart of the Rock Theatre
*8:30 PM :: White Denim
7:10 PM :: Pop Levi
*5:10 PM :: Liam Finn
4:40 PM :: The Hood Internet
3:10 PM :: Cameron McGill & What Army
2:00 PM :: Port O’ Brien
1:10 PM :: Lovelikefire

Rock Room Stage
*9:10 PM :: The Presets
7:50 PM :: The Night Marchers
6:30 PM :: A Place To Bury Strangers
5:10 PM :: The Photo Atlas
3:50 PM :: Blitzen Trapper
2:30 PM :: The Morning Benders
1:30 PM :: Colour Revolt

MadeLoud.com Acoustic Stage
10:00 PM :: Rob Drabkin
8:15 PM :: Cory Chisel and the Wandering Sons
*6:45 PM :: PWRFL POWER
5:15 PM :: Scratch Track
4:00 PM :: Rock Plaza Central
2:45 PM :: KaiserCartel
1:15 PM :: Noah Harris
12:30 PM :: Erin Ivey

Monolith Festival: website | customize schedule | buy tickets

*check these sets out for sure!