The Misses and the Shemps

Last August a car crossed a highway median and crashed into another car. It's a staple story, month after month, and every town, every highway, takes its turn. This time it was our turn. In one vehicle were St. Louisans Mike Shelton, Carrie Lindsay and their daughter, Emily, all of whom died in the accident.

Even if you did not have the pleasure of knowing Mike or Carrie, it should be enough to know that they were music lovers and tireless supporters of the St. Louis music scene. You don't have to have known Mike to get a picture of him closing the bar at CBGB, listening to "Raw Power" for the thousandth time. He's still there: in the cracked vinyl of the barstools, in the worn and stained counter tops, in the eyes and voices of friends who will gladly tell you his story. Mike loved the Stooges and St. Louis loved Mike, and this Saturday a who's who of local talent gathers to pay tribute to those two great loves.

The Shemps are a one-night-only alloy of Crazy Beats guitarist Craig Petty, along with bassist Steve Scariano and drummer Bob Trammel of the Love Experts, and guest vocalists from such seminal local acts as The Misses, the UnMutuals and Tory Z Starbuck. Their homage to Iggy & the Stooges means all Stooges, all night. It's a tribute to Mike's love of rock & roll, which lives on loudly, and a tribute to that love that lives in every music lover and, as every music lover knows, will never die.