Bryan Webb of the Constantines
The good news for the Constantines is that on a Wednesday night in St. Louis, with no buzz and no promotional exertions, their draw is good for 100. That's double the attendance (I'm told) of their last show at the venue, some two years ago.
The bad news is their draw is good for 100.
Imagine, if you will, the worst possible way to spend a day at SXSW, one that doesn't involve an emergency colonoscopy or a Marnie Stern showcase, and then imagine something even more tedious and despairing, a day of utter humiliation and loathing. And then it really starts to go downhill.I should have spent the afternoon at Flatstock and the night shooting kamikazes in one of Austin's 43 slut bars.
(poster by Logan Alexander; original here)
The Hold Steady are playing Monday night at the Gargoyle on the campus of Washington University. It's a dry venue, meaning the only drinking patrons ever do there during a show there is in a bathroom stall or out of a water bottle filled with booze.Now, this situation is downright antithetical to the Hold Steady's partying nature -- seeing the band play without a drink in hand is like seeing the Osmonds at CBGB's. However, you could take your burg
In this week's paper, Christian Schaeffer reviews B&E's new CD, Chords to Live By. He has this to say:Chords to Live By is a clever title for B&E's first full-length, but it's a bit misleading: There's only one type of chord this quintet knows, and it's the power chord. The album delivers twelve funny, cynical rock songs full of supercharged guitars and knowing winks; in fact, the Hold Steady's Craig Finn will be pissed that B&E wrote a song called "Killer Riff" before he did. Still,
