Press photo
Marquise Knox will perform at BB's Jazz, Blues and Soups this Friday, October 28.
This weekend sees a stop from Steve Albini's legendary post-hardcore act Shellac — performing at the Firebird on Sunday — as well as up-and-comer Margo Price, whose latest was released on Jack White's Third Man Records (Saturday at Off Broadway). Umphrey's McGee brings a two-night stand to the Pageant on Saturday and Sunday, too. Check out our full picks below.
FRIDAY, OCTOBER 28
Aaron Kamm & the One Drops
8 p.m., $10-$15. Delmar Hall, 6133 Delmar Blvd., St. Louis, 314-726-6161.
By Ryan Wasoba
Aaron Kamm and the One Drops primarily deal in reggae and its various offshoots, playing with an authenticity that can appease Marley fans and Jamaican ska traditionalists while also appealing to Sublime diehards. Interestingly, the group is best when it veers from its roots; in its expansive moments you can hear traces of the Dead, the Police, Dylan and even Black Sabbath. The band’s combination of well-oiled tightness, near-psychic communication and the variety of a modern hippie’s Spotify playlist make Aaron Kamm and the One Drops a major player in the regional jam-band market.
Marquise Knox Band
10 p.m., $5. BB's Jazz, Blues & Soups, 700 S. Broadway, St. Louis, 314-436-5222.
By RFT Staff
Though the renewed interest in pre-WWII blues among some younger musicians has produced some interesting music over the last couple of years, many blues purists still see singer-guitarist Marquise Knox as the most likely candidate to push the music forward in the future. Immersed in the sounds of Mississippi, St. Louis and Chicago blues since his birth, Knox was mentored as a teenager by, among others, the legendary Henry Townsend, who knew Robert Johnson and recorded in every decade from the 1920s to the 2000s. Heralded as a potential star since before he was old enough to have a driver's license, Knox now is showing every sign of being able to deliver on that promise.
Old Salt Union w/ Head for the Hills
7 p.m., $12-$15. The Ready Room, 4195 Manchester Ave, St. Louis, 314-833-3929.
By Christian Schaeffer
Old Salt Union is everything you would want in a song-driven, pop-friendly bluegrass combo. The members of the Belleville-based quintet are dexterous on their chosen stringed instruments, with short flashes of virtuosity amid more lyrically driven songs. All five members share the mic, and even if the harmonies aren't quite celestial, it adds to the communal-campfire feeling of these songs.
The Vigilettes w/ Pirate Signal, Ish, Squircle The Destroyer
9 p.m., $7. The Heavy Anchor, 5226 Gravois Ave., St. Louis, 314-352-5226.
By Christian Schaeffer
The Vigilettes are informed in large part by alternative rock from the mid- to late-'90s. Guitarist and singer Catlin O'Toole lists bands such as the Breeders, the Pixies, the Cranberries and the Pretenders as personal favorites, though the influence of those acts is often more subtle than overt. "It wasn't necessarily what I had in mind, it just evolved that way," O'Toole says of the sonics deployed on September's 4,3,2,1! Opening track "86 on the Fly" kicks off with a rat-a-tat drum beat and the thudding thwack of overdriven guitar. Like the best kiss-off songs, it delivers a whip-smart chorus that is equal parts honey and vinegar.
SATURDAY, OCTOBER 29
Margo Price
8 p.m., $15. Old Rock House, 1200 S. 7th St., St. Louis, 314-588-0505.
By Roy Kasten
Margo Price found national attention this year on the strength of a clever, gritty honky-tonk single "Hurtin' (On the Bottle)" and the backing of Third Man Records. Skeptics still can't get past the imprimatur of Jack White's hipster star factory, but skeptics are silly. On her full-length album, Midwest Farmer's Daughter, the Northwestern Illinois native belts out seething and sinewy lines like a riot grrrl-era Loretta Lynn, draws on a lifetime of true and near-true stories, and swings a Waylon Jennings-esque country-rock sound. Whether rewinding the "cruel hands of time" or cutting through music biz bullshit — "It’s not who you know, but it’s who you blow who will put you in the show" — Price has no fucks to give and a lot of honky tonks to burn down.
Umphey's McGee
8 p.m. Saturday and Sunday, $30-$35. The Pageant, 6161 Delmar Blvd., St. Louis, 314-726-6161.
By Christian Schaeffer
Getting into jam band music is like making love to an elephant: You either stay on top of it or get crushed. Fans of the genre don't just listen to the music; they ingest it with an almost methodical glee. With memorized setlists, nonstop tape trading and endless debates on Phish's definitive era, it's a culture that breeds completeness as much as carefree joie de vivre. Umphrey's McGee is most certainly a jam band, but the group serves as a good point of entry for those curious about the genre. Sure, the Chicago band's solos are long, and its concerts are epic, but its songs have less to do with instrumental virtuosity and more to do with simple, satisfying rock grooves. Listen closely and you can hear the Police's pop-reggae rhythms, Yes' prog-rock overtures and Lynyrd Skynyrd's Southern-rock boogie.
Salt of the Earth Record Release
8 p.m. Free. The Gaslight, 4916 Shaw Ave. 314-496-0628.
By Christian Schaeffer
For Salt of the Earth, a long-running folk quartet whose songs tend toward the spiritually ruminative and slice-of-life introspective, the stage has proven a more conducive environment from which to share its songs and stories. Its newest album, Unspoken, presents thirteen new original songs as recorded in concert at the Riverfront Cultural Society in New Haven, Missouri. Lynne Reif, who plays guitar and, along with Mike Schrand, splits lead singing and songwriting duties, describes the venue as "one of our favorite places to play." Not unlike Maplewood's Focal Point — where Salt of the Earth recorded its last live set in 2012 — Reif calls the Society "a music listening room. People come there to listen. It's this old rustic space, with wooden chairs and wooden floors, and it has that earthy, down-home feel to it. The crowd couldn't have been more receptive."
SUNDAY, OCTOBER 30
Shellac w/ Shannon Wright
8 p.m., $15. The Firebird, 2706 Olive St., St. Louis, 314-535-0353.
By Matt Stroud
Luckily for Shellac fans, not much has changed with the band's intense post-punk instrumentation in its near-25 years of activity. Steve Albini's guitar holds its savage treble crunch. Todd Trainer's drumming carries meandering tempos and time signatures with booming crispness, and Bob Weston's bass lines chug underneath it all. The Chicago post-punk trio doesn't come to St. Louis often — you'd be wise not to miss out.
