Emery

In his book about the spiritual journey of U2, Steve Stockman refers to a vacuous hole in rock music he calls the "Christian ghetto," a wasteland of self-proclaimed Jesus-loving artists who inadvertently pigeonhole themselves into the limiting Christian-rock genre. Luckily, Seattle's Emery has managed to gain fans on both sides of the spiritual fence. Although their lyrics seem decidedly religious to a Christian, the twentysomething rockers feel no obligation to make every song about their faith (namely by exploring darker themes of rejection and deceit). In addition, it's refreshing to hear a band match this smooth lyrical firepower with the occasional machine-gun blast of bloodcurdling screams. All of this means Emery can maintain enough general appeal to sell 55,000 copies of its debut release, The Weak's End, and develop a loyal following -- from the Creepy Crawl to the Christian music festival Cornerstone.

Doors open at 7:30 p.m. Tickets are $10 to $12; call 314-621-9333 for more information.