​Grizzly Bear's show in Brooklyn yesterday made waves yesterday due to the presence of Jay-Z and Beyonce in the crowd. (Judging by the Girl Talk remix of GB's song "Knife" -- which spliced together bits of the Clipse and Tears for Fears with the haunting tune -- the idea that hip-hop artists might be a fan of the band isn't that preposterous.) And now news comes today via Pitchfork that the Brooklyn indie-orchestral darlings have collaborated with St. Louis native Michael McDonald. The b-side
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 the near sellout crowd with its highly stylized blend of slick, ambient pop, echo-laden guitar effects work and danceable hooks. (Think Tears for Fears' studio-pop precision mixed with the spaced-out
Thanks to an excited reader for tipping me off that indie-weirdos Yeasayer are apparently coming to St. Louis next year, on April 26 at the Gargoyle. A publicist email confirms the date, although there's no sign of the show yet on Metrotix or the venue's website. The band's debut was a Talking Heads/Peter Gabriel hybrid -- insurgent percussion, atmospheric synths and psych-drenched vocals -- while its forthcoming album, Odd Blood, is even more out-there. A friend described Blood as being paralle
Curt Smith (left) in his younger days.File under news of the weird: Jake Wagman of the Post-Dispatch reported yesterday that political upstart Tommy Sowers -- a Democratic candidate for the U.S. House of Representatives in Missouri's 8th Congressional District -- had a number of famous donors on his 4Q 2009 financial returns. Although Wagman notes that these included "a West Hollywood talent agent and Manhattan record executive," he pointed out that one Curt Smith -- he of Tears for Fears
