Annie Zaleski

Gokul Indian Restaurant Now Open in the Delmar Loop

Annie ZaleskiNow open just east of the Loop: an all-vegetarian Indian restaurant.​ We were ridiculously excited to try Gokul, the new all-vegetarian Indian eatery that just opened on Delmar, a few blocks east of the Pageant Theatre (6101 Delmar Boulevard; 314-721-1888). For one thing, we loo ... More >>

Nato Caliph Celebrates His Birthday, Releases REACH EP

photo by Annie ZaleskiNato breathes life into the mic​If the rap gods have any sense of justice, Nato Caliph will go down in history as St. Louis' equivalent to Common. Both artists spit conscious rhymes with charisma and an intense -- yet tender -- flow. Each tells stories in their songs in a way ... More >>

Review Photos Setlist: Paul McCartney Defies Age at the Sprint Center, Kansas City, Saturday, July 24

Annie Zaleski​Among other things, the members of the Beatles have taught us that we should never take them for granted. While their (relatively) brief time as being part of the world's biggest band cemented them as musical untouchables, as human beings John, Paul, George and Ringo are (or were ... More >>

Show Review Setlist: New Pornographers and the Dodos Spawn Pop and a Marriage Proposal at the Pageant, Monday, June 28

Annie ZaleskiNew Pornographers last night at the Pageant​When the RFT recently spoke with New Pornographers frontman Carl Newman, he admitted that Neko Case breaking her ankle before the band's April 2008 appearance in St. Louis affected his mood. "It really pissed me off that she was gone for ... More >>

May Opening and Closings

Annie Zaleski​The good news? The only May closing (of which Gut Check is aware) is actually a holdover from April.The bad news? This month also saw the temporary closing of Gut Check favorite Monarch, as the restaurant renovates and reworks its bar menu.Openings include The Wood (pictured right), ... More >>

Review Setlist: Aging Gracefully with Girl-Group Pioneers the Bangles at the Pageant, Sunday, May 2

Annie ZaleskiBangles vocalist/guitarist Susanna Hoffs while singing "Eternal Flame" at the Pageant last night.​The Bangles saved its mega-hit, "Walk Like an Egyptian," for the last song of the encore. The three principal members of the Cali group - vocalist/guitarist Susanna Hoffs and sisters ... More >>

This Week in Gut Check, Regurgitated

Annie Zaleski​This week, Gut Check donut lovers rejoiced to learn that the Kirkwood Dunkin' Donuts is open for business. Not only that, but another location is set to open soon. What else did we do this week?   Dinner and a Movie followed the white rabbit to Alice in Wonderland ... More >>

FoodWire: Mangia Italiano Goes Non-Smoking on Monday, 3.1

My colleague Annie Zaleski reports that as of Monday, March 1, Mangia Italiano (3145 South Grand Boulevard; website) will be completely non-smoking, ten months before the new smoking bans goes into effect in St. Louis City and County.What impact will the smoking ban have? What are the potential loop ... More >>

KDHX Keeps Talk Shows, Moves All of Them to Monday Night

​A quick follow-up to a post from back in June. As RFT music editor, Annie Zaleski, reported yesterday on A to Z, community radio station KDHX (88.1 FM) has decided not to do away with its evening talk shows. Following a review of programming last summer, the station had considered removing the we ... More >>

Setlist Review Photos: Paramore and Paper Route at the Pageant, Tuesday, November 3

Annie ZaleskiHayley Williams of Paramore. Entire set here.​ By the second song of opening act Paper Route's set, it was clear that last night's Paramore show at the Pageant was going to be extremely loud and very in your face. The Nashville act (which is friends with the headliners) enveloped ... More >>

Photos Review Setlist: Trashcan Sinatras and Brookville at the Firebird, Saturday, August 8

Better Than: Sitting at home listening to the Postcard Records discography. The Trashcan Sinatras had no idea how prescient the title of its early '90s hit single, "Obscurity Knocks," would prove to be. Nearly twenty years later, the Scottish band has endured bankruptcy, label mergers, label disint ... More >>

Review Photos Setlist: Guster at Live on the Levee, Under the Arch, July 31

The cloudless, nearly cool Friday evening cleared a space that could only be filled by a free outdoor concert. And so there was Guster to answer the call and cozy up under the Arch as part of Live on the Levee, with its sunshine-y, fan-friendly folk-pop. Annie Zaleski​ Since forming as an aco ... More >>

Show Recap Photos: Bottle Rockets at the Pageant, July 26

Annie ZaleskiBottle Rockets at the Pageant​ First, good news for anyone who missed the Bottle Rockets opening for the Wallflowers last night: The band announced after the show that it's playing two nights at Blueberry Hill's Duck Room in October (the 9th and 10th, to be exact). Those are in additi ... More >>

FoodWire: The Wedge Officially Doneski

Pizza joint, restaurant and bar the Wedge has closed, reports my colleague Annie Zaleski at A to Z.

Lots More Info on Citygarden

Only tangentially food-related, but worth your time: My colleague Annie Zaleski has written an extensive look behind the scenes of the new Citygarden sculpture park downtown, which will include the Terrace View, a new restaurant from Jim Fiala (Acero, the Crossing, Liluma).

Show Review Setlist Photos: Aerosmith at the Verizon Wireless Amphitheater, Wednesday, June 10

A spectacular lightning storm delayed the Aerosmith show by about 45 minutes, which likely explains why the quintet's tour kick off was somewhat shorter than it should have been. But did the wait kill the buzz of the crowd at the Verizon Wireless Amphitheater? Hell no -- not even when most of the la ... More >>

Photos Review: Cursive at the Firebird, Friday, April 24

Cursive killed it on Friday night at the Firebird. The Omaha quintet kicked off its latest tour with 75 minutes of cathartic material that struck a nice balance between new tunes from its latest, Mama, I'm Swollen ("From the Hips," "I Couldn't Love You") and back catalog ("Dorothy at 40," ... More >>

Last Night: The Rosebuds at Lemp Neighborhood Arts Center, Beach House at the Billiken Club

Raleigh, North Carolina's Rosebuds made what it said was its first stop in St. Louis (really? wow) last night opening for Megafaun at the Lemp Neighborhood Arts Center. The quartet's set was loose and house party-like, as it ran through a short set of gothic synth-folk. Annie Zaleski K ... More >>

Show Review: A.C. Newman and the Broken West at Blueberry Hill's Duck Room, Sunday, March 22

A.C. Newman's solo show at Blueberry Hill's Duck Room last night was better than the New Pornographers show last year at the Pageant. There; I said it. The differences between the concerts were small, but important. For starters, Newman and his five-piece band were clearly having a ton of fun - from ... More >>

St. Louis at SXSW: The Pragmatic, Black Spade, Theodore and more

Going into SXSW this year, I was curious to see how the economic meltdown was going to affect the festival. I had heard that fewer labels were having showcases, and fewer journalists and label employees were attending. More people I know personally went down to Austin on their own dime, with no plan ... More >>

Photos: Whigs/Dead Confederate at Fubar, Headlights/Cut Off Your Hands at the Firebird

Saturday, March 14: The Whigs and Dead Confederate, FubarDead Confederate -- which we've written about quite a bit -- once again destroyed eardrums and song structures. Keyboards appeared higher in the mix, making the set feel much more like Explosions in the Sky embracing its inner angsty grunge te ... More >>

This Week's RFT, March 5-11

Riverfront Times Volume 33, Issue 10 (a.k.a. this week's paper!) is on news stands today. Below are a few of the highlights you'll find both in print and online.Unreal chews the fat with Tracie Sanderlin, a south county woman who blogs about her amazing 200-pound weight loss. Writer Matt Kasper prof ... More >>

Photos Review: Flogging Molly at the Pageant, Wednesday, February 25

I am too beyond tired to write anything coherent about the show, but rest assured that St. Patrick's Day came early to St. Louis, thanks to Flogging Molly. The always-reliable Irish-punk band didn't disappoint, with a 90-minute set full of equal parts boozy pub pogos and pensive folk ruminations. An ... More >>

St. Louis Non-Smoking Bars/Clubs/Venues: What Are They?

I've received some really positive feedback so far on my new year's resolutions piece (thanks to those of you who emailed -- I'm catching up on all of that stuff this week), but one letter I received seemed appropriate for a blog entry. A man wrote in and asked me for recommendations on venues and b ... More >>

The Bluebird in 2009: New Look, New Approach, New Name

Earlier this month, a mysterious message appeared on the Bluebird's MySpace page: "Last Bluebird Show Ever" -- followed by a note that says, "Closed for Remodel." Because the town needs another club closed like it needs a hole in the head, I got in touch with proprietor Mike Cracchiolo to get t ... More >>

Caption This: The Cover of Morrissey's New Album, "Years of Refusal"

Related: The thread on morrissey-solo about the typeface, photo and the cover's place in album cover/font history is high comedy. Also related: Morrissey's website is called itsmorrisseysworld.com. According to long-time fan site true-to-you.net, Moz will be touring the U.S. next year (yes!) and has ... More >>

The Hard Lessons at Euclid Records, Sunday, November 23

Just a reminder that Detroit's the Hard Lessons are recording songs for a seven-inch at Euclid Records on Sunday, November 23 at 1 p.m. (The band is also playing at Cicero's on Saturday night.) Euclid's Joe Schwab tells me the band is doing a cover song and a new tune it's written -- that's about St ... More >>

New Hip-Hop Night in St. Louis: H2 Cafe

After a far-too-long hiatus, there will again be a hip-hop night in St. Louis. Called the H2 Cafe, the event will be held at Cusumano's (7147 Manchester, Maplewood) every Monday starting on December 1. The MySpace announcement promises freestyle open-mic (with battles welcome) and live performances ... More >>

R.I.P. Descendents Co-Founder Frank Navetta

Show Changes: D Numbers Moved, Cory Chisel Cancelled

The Wedge: Opening Tomorrow

Interview: Kai Huang, CEO of RedOctane, a.k.a. The Company Behind Guitar Hero

Who's Performing Tonight at the Pageant?

Tonight! Brimstone Howl, Crusaders of Love at CBGBs

Nashville Singer-Songwriter Will Hoge in Stable Condition After Scooter Crash

KDHX Has a New Program Schedule

Free Music: Whole Sick Crew and the Baysayboos

Backstoppers Benefit: Saturday, August 2 at Stone Spiral

Spend $5 on the new Walkmen CD, Help a Kid Fight Cancer

The Pomegranates at the Lemp Neighborhood Arts Center, Tonight!

Gentleman Auction House on Daytrotter

The Blind Eyes The Livers Tonight at Atomic Cowboy! Free!

Ludo's on The Tonight Show with Jay Leno Tonight

Soulstice: Rooftop Party Tomorrow Night, July 12

Music Awards Presentation Ceremony: Tonight at the Pageant, 7 to 10 p.m.

Stream All Three of Wilco's St. Louis Shows

The Weekend That Was: The Non-Wilco Edition

World Exclusive: So Many Dynamos, "New Bones" MP3

Yes, The Link to the Music Awards Poll is Not Working

What You Missed This Week -- And What's in Store Next Week...