Minus the Bear

Win Tickets to See Portugal. the Man June 23 at the Pageant

Portland-by-way-of-Alaska's Portugal. the Man is playing the Pageant this Sunday, and we've got an extra pair of tickets to give away!

Out Every Night: The Best Shows in St. Louis from June 17 to 23

This week's show recommendations include visits from Mount Moriah, The Mountain Goats, Black Flag, and more. Also, be on the look out for the Skin Graft St. Louis Homecoming and a dual release show featuring Humdrum and the latest Tower Groove Records single. Read on for all that and more!

The Six Indie Rock Songs That Sound Most Like Ska Songs

Indie rock is the vaguest of all genres, sort of the "none of the above" of rock and roll. There are no hard and fast rules. In rare cases, the result sounds an awful lot like ska. Here are the six indie rock songs that sound most like ska songs. Let us know your favorites in the comments. Oi.

The Six Best Songs With Ridiculously Long Titles

Last week, Kieran Hebden from Four Tet announced a new single entitled "The Track I've Been Playing That People Keep Asking About and That Joy Used in His RA Mix and Daphni Played on Boiler Room." It's an okay track with an awful title, but you have to give Hebden props for taking the plunge. Here a ... More >>

Japandroids: How A Just Okay Record Became The Best Album of 2012

Japandroids' Celebration Rock is my favorite record of 2012 because I'm tired of albums that want to change my life. This is the simplest conclusion I can come to in my search for a deeper reasoning of what Celebration Rock means to me - or, more accurately, what liking Celebration Rock says about m ... More >>

The Six Best Boring Albums Of 2012

If "best" and "boring" seem contradictory, please know there's no irony or negativity intended in this list. Maybe some irony, as I am poking some fun at the perception that any song over four minutes long, any piece of music built on repetition, anything that requires patience of any form from a li ... More >>

The Ten Best Shows In St. Louis This Weekend: October 26 to 28

This weekend is Halloween weekend (Halloween-kend???? Nah, that sucks....) and as such there are plenty of sweet shows for you to attend in clothing that is not your own. Lucky for you -- and more work intensive for me, (you are welcome) -- we already wrote up a post regarding the best Halloween sho ... More >>

Minus the Bear and Cursive

8 p.m. Friday, October 26. Plush, 3224 Locust Street.

Out Every Night: The Best Shows From October 22 to 28

This week's list is a bonus-deluxe-super edition, with TEN shows instead of the usual nine, on account of this Tuesday getting twice its usual attention. There's good reason: Tuesday night features separate appearances by both ska legend the Skatalites and nihilistic post-punk pioneer Swans. They're ... More >>

Guardian Alien and Starring at The Firebird, 8/17/12: Review and "Setlist"

Guardian Alien | Starring | Kisser | Zagk Gibbons The Firebird August 16, 2012 The line between improvising and jamming is quite thin. None of the bands at The Firebird last evening were the archetypal Dead-head or Phish-phreak groups. Guardian Alien (subject of this week's RFT Music feature story) ... More >>

Out Every Night: The Best Shows From August 6 to August 12

This week's picks feature three rather large (as in a lot of bands) festival-type shows -- four if you count the 90s-fest happening at Verizon on Tuesday. On Friday, STL is the Movement 3 will go down at the Firebird; rappers Tef Poe, A-Game, Vega, Step or Get Left, Domino Effect, and ATG will perfo ... More >>

Russian Circles

8 p.m. Tuesday, August 7. The Firebird, 2706 Olive Street.

Minus the Bear, Deicide, Bomb the Music Industry! and More in This Week's New Show Announcements

Here again: every newly announced show for the week! On page one you'll find a quick list of shows that particularly caught our attention, followed by embedded YouTube videos; there, you can check out some of the artists you may not be familiar with. Page two contains our complete listing of new sho ... More >>

The Six Best References To Drunk Driving In Song

The trifecta may be sex, drugs, and rock & roll, but at some point you have to get from point A to point B. Against its better judgement, rock & roll has gotten behind the wheel while intoxicated several times. We are not endorsing such an activity, but the risk factor of driving while intoxicated h ... More >>

The Ten Best Shows In St. Louis This Weekend: June 1 to 3

This weekend is the big event: the 2012 RFT Music Showcase! Some eighty-ish bands will descend on Washington Avenue and fill the air with the sweet sounds of St. Louis music. A mere ten bucks buys you a wristband and gets you into all of the shows -- come check out the nominees for this years music ... More >>

"Laid Back" Local Band Various Hands Seeks New Drummer, Keyboardist

Local dance-rockers Various Hands (find their music here) are seeking dedicated musicians to fill their old drummer and keyboardist's shoes, having recently posted ads for both on Craigslist. The self-described laid back, easy to work with band has a few rather specific requirements though: - Must ... More >>

Win Tickets for Portugal. the Man at the Pageant

Update: Our winner! milwaukee hurt me sound guy ruined 'got it all' help avenge the song Original post follows. Portland-by-way-of-Alaska's Portugal. the Man is playing the Pageant this Sunday, and we've got an extra pair of tickets to give away -- contest time! Inspired by Haiku Lou, St. Louis ... More >>

Portugal. the Man

8 p.m. Sunday, April 29. The Pageant, 6161 Delmar Boulevard.

Out Every Night: The Best Shows From April 23 to 29

Did everyone survive Record Store Day weekend? Between the deluge of live music and the generous amounts of free beer -- not to mention the throngs of people -- we can understand how one might be tempted to take it easy this week. Please remember, though, that taking it easy is for square nerd loser ... More >>

Out Every Night: The Fifteen Best Shows From March 19 to 25

Last week we alluded to the fact that this March is a great time to be a music fan in St. Louis....this week we're driving the point home and then some. Unless you are capable of bi-location (or in some cases: tri / quadro), you are going to miss some good shows this week. We have Andrew Bird at the ... More >>

Narrows

8:30 p.m. Tuesday, March 20. Fubar, 3108 Locust Street.

Seven St. Louis Bands to Watch in 2012: What Are Your Picks?

Ed. In this week's print edition, we talk a bit about seven bands we're think will be worth watching in 2012. They're listed here -- please let us know what you're excited about in the comments below. Karate Bikini Though Karate Bikini has been in existence in some fashion for a few years, it has ... More >>

Seven St. Louis bands to watch in 2012

Poll: What Were Your Favorite Concerts of 2010?

Wikimedia Commons​A to Z goes out to shows. Many shows. In fact, this year alone we've reviewed... well, more concerts than we can count. Trying to figure out which ones we liked best has been a daunting task. I mean, Rush was fantastic -- but in an entirely different way than Minus the Bear o ... More >>

Tim Kasher

8 p.m. Wednesday, December 15. Off Broadway, 3509 Lemp Avenue.

Guster/Everest

8 p.m. Saturday, October 9. The Pageant, 6161 Delmar Boulevard.

Show Review: Minus the Bear, Everest and Mini Mansions at the Firebird, Monday, July 12

​On paper, Monday night seemed like an ideal night to stay in, recuperate from the weekend and avoid the unbearable mugginess and St. Louis heat. But the sold-out Firebird crowd was having none of that: Last night's Minus the Bear show was one of the most successful - and sweatiest - shows the ... More >>

Interview: Minus the Bear's Erin Tate on the band's latest, Omni

David Belisle Minus the Bear​It's always interesting to compare an artist's critique of his own work with critical evaluations. Minus the Bear's latest, Omni, has been put through the wringer for all of the most predictable reasons: It's an album of poppier songs by an experimental prog-rock b ... More >>

Minus the Bear

7:30 p.m. Monday, July 12. The Firebird, 2706 Olive Street.

Why Third Eye Blind became an alt-rock cockroach

Top Sellers at Area Record Stores: Week of May 31-June 6

* = coming to town, = local ​Euclid Records 1. Black Keys - Brothers* 2. Jack Johnson - To The Sea 3. National - High Violet* 4. Jayhawks - Bunkhouse Album 5. Band Of Horses - Infinite Arms 6. Bettye LaVette - Interpretations:British Rock Songbook 7. Roky Erick ... More >>

Show Announcements: Week of May 28

Kendall PavanDeer Tick has been sneaking in and out of town without much warning, but the Tick isn't up to any tricks this time around: It's playing a legit show August 5 at Off Broadway.​ Antarctica *Forest World, May 28 Blueberry Hill *Stevie Stone, June 18 Chaifetz Arena *Kid 'N Play, Mon ... More >>

Minus the Bear, Boris Add St. Louis Dates at the Firebird

The Firebird added two new shows this afternoon. First, Japanese rock geniuses Boris -- last seen in the area opening for Nine Inch Nails in Columbia -- will be playing at the venue on Saturday, August 14, along with Russian Circles and the Life and Times. Tickets are on sale Saturday at noon. On Mo ... More >>

Tonight! Mt. St. Helens Vietnam Band at Off Broadway

Ignore the missing apostrophe in the band's name: Mt. St. Helens Vietnam Band is totally worth checking out at Off Broadway tonight. The band's self-titled debut came out on Secretly Canadian subsidiary Dead Oceans, so you know it has some good old-fashioned '70s stoner-fuzz, but its tunes also don' ... More >>

Appleseed Cast

8 p.m. Saturday, February 28. Off Broadway, 3509 Lemp Avenue.

Video: The Natural Selection, "Down Elevator," Playing at Cicero's Tonight!

Tonight at Cicero's, I highly recommend going to check out the Natural Selection, a Denver-via-St. Louis band I wrote about in this week's paper. The band's playing with Say Panther and one other act, and the show starts at 9 p.m. Says I: Bassist Nick Jost, a graduate of SIUE's Jazz Studies program ... More >>

The Natural Selection

9 p.m. Thursday, December 11. Cicero's, 6691 Delmar Boulevard, University City.

Death Cab for Cutie, Narrow Stairs Review: A First Listen, Track-By-Track Analysis

2008 Bonnaroo Lineup Announced: Metallica, Pearl Jam, Sigur Ros, Jack Johnson, Death Cab for Cutie, more

Coachella 2008 Complete Line-up Announced: Kraftwerk, Roger Waters, Love and Rockets, Death Cab for Cutie, Jack Johnson

Minus the Bear

7 p.m. Thursday, October 25. Pop's, 1403 Mississippi Avenue, Sauget, Illinois.

Radiohead, In Rainbows: A Review, Upon First Listen, Track-by-Track Style

St. Louis Concert Calendar: September 18, 2007

St. Louis Concert Calendar: Tuesday, August 21

Minus the Bear / Chin Up Chin Up

7 p.m. Monday, May 14. Pop's (1403 Mississippi Avenue, Sauget, Illinois).

Russian Circles/ Minus the Bear

Monday, May 22, at 8 p.m. Creepy Crawl (412 North Tucker Boulevard)

Brandtson

Tuesday, April 25, at 8 p.m. The Hi-Pointe (1001 McCausland Avenue).

Bear with Them

On its new album, Minus the Bear grows up

Sounds Around Town

Week of August 20, 2003