REVIEW BY BOB MCMAHON; PHOTOS BY NICK SCHNELLE
Jimmy Vavak, Riddle of Steel bassist. More photos here
Notes were flubbed, lyrics were dropped and it was sometimes hard to hear the bass melody, but damn if it wasn't great to see Riddle of Steel play again. The group spent most of this decade rocking St. Louis with extended chords, rapid-fire drumming, tricky guitar/bass interplay and the occasional hypnotically beautiful ballad before calling it quits last September. Fortunately, the trio
Tonight, Tilts -- the band fronted by Andrew Elstner of Riddle of Steel and featuring ex-Shame Club members Ken McCray and Andy White -- is playing its first show at the Firebird. Caporetto and Engine Orchestra are also on the bill. The band's MySpace describes its sound like this:
The Immigrant Song meets Dukes of Hazard while listening to Brown Sugar in the General Lee somewhere in the year 1984. So sexy.
Judging by the below MP3s, Tilts loves Van Halen ("It Helps") and Queens of the Stone
