For every show on this list, there are at least two or three omissions we had to make. For instance, the Luminary hosts a panel on women working in contemporary music this Thursday night while garage-pop duo Bruiser Queen plays a free show across town at the central branch of the St. Louis Public Library. Both events start at 7, so show goers have a hard decision to make. The same goes for every night of the week, but that's why we're here — to help navigate the wealth of art and music in St. Louis. We'll go into some of those alternative options on Friday in our weekend roundup.
MONDAY, NOVEMBER 16
Intronaut w/ The Gorge, Alan Smithee
The Demo
8 p.m. | $12
By Joseph Hess
These L.A. natives hit every chug and double-kick item on the prog-metal checklist with vocals that flip between vicious screaming and straight-up singing. If Intronaut's video for "Fast Worms," released only three days ago, is any indication, the band veers right off the beaten path by applying an oddly dark aesthetic as opposed to stumbling around drunk on testosterone. The songs are technical but not without meaty hooks that swing between melodic and discordant, never married to one particular sound. Intronaut's well-rounded noise comes punctuated on this night with local openers Alan Smithee and the Gorge.
TUESDAY, NOVEMBER 17
Guttermouth w/ Blacklist Royals, the Fuck Off And Dies
Fubar
8 p.m. | $15
By Daniel Hill
Huntington Beach, California's Guttermouth has been steadily churning out punk-as-fuck tunes for over 25 years now, inciting controversy every step of the way. Snotty and irreverent in its approach, the band has no time for sacred cows or, sometimes, even simple manners. Guttermouth was infamously booted from the Warped Tour in 2004 for making fun of the other acts from the stage (Yellowcard and My Chemical Romance, in particular, were subjected to singer Mark Adkins' disdain), and even found itself banned from Canada for a full year in the late '90s after Adkins performed onstage in the nude. Couple this behavior with lyrics about donkey shows, slaughtering household pets and how “everyone's an asshole” and it becomes clear that the band's moniker is not just a clever name.
WEDNESDAY, NOVEMBER 18
Mike and the Moonpies w/ Jason Boland & the Stragglers
Off Broadway
8 p.m. | $18-$30
By Aaron Davidoff
From Austin's Mike and the Moonpies Keep Pushing: Mike Harmeier doesn’t stop. Except that one time when he got married and those other times when he needed to record an album. Matrimony and records aside, the Austin-based singer-songwriter has been on the road with his band, Mike and the Moonpies, since 2007. “We’ve been perpetually touring for over five years,” Harmeier says. “We haven’t taken a Thursday through Sunday off in three or four years. Whether we’re working in Texas or Oklahoma, or headed out on longer runs, this is all we do. We just stay on the road. And there’s no end in sight for this tour we’re on now.”
THURSDAY, NOVEMBER 19
Bruiser Queen
St. Louis Public Library, Central Branch
7 p.m. | free
By Bob McMahon
From Garage Rock: Meet the 2014 RFT Music Award Nominees: Even for a band accustomed to hard work, Bruiser Queen is having an insane year. Somehow, the garage-pop duo released an acoustic EP, a seven-inch split and finished an upcoming full-length, despite a nonstop concert itinerary. But it's best to stay busy when you've hit your stride. The kicky and catchy songwriting approach its members employ is still as simple as their guitar and drums setup, which works because Morgan Nusbaum and Jason Potter know their way around a killer hook. New songs feature '60s girl-group influences and a greater variety of tempos, but they are still powered by Nusbaum's rich voice. With a coo that's equally arresting as her bellow, Nusbaum's pipes are Bruiser Queen's not-so-secret weapon, pushing its songs into the stratosphere.
FRIDAY, NOVEMBER 20
Dropkick the Robot w/ Adult Fur, DJ Agile One
Off Broadway
9 p.m. | $8
By Christian Schaeffer
If you recognize the name Dan Mehrmann, chances are you know him as a local recording engineer and producer. His Jettison Studios, located on a bucolic patch of land in southern Illinois, has hosted artists including Beth Bombara and the Reverbs, but Mehrmann and partner Kara Baldus make their own brand of synth-heavy, highly danceable pop music as Dropkick the Robot. In the past few months, the pair has released a few fun covers of songs by the Cars and Madonna that nod heavily at their influences, but the just-released “Good Together” stands on its own. With a heavy breakbeat and shimmering keys as backdrop, Baldus deploys a feathery touch on a track that shows both a retro sheen and a fluency with pop-radio dynamics. Pick up a vinyl flexi version of the single at this week’s show for maximum ’80s effect.
SATURDAY, NOVEMBER 21
So Many Dynamos Album Release Show w/ 18 and Counting, the Free Years
Off Broadway
9 p.m. | $10
By Ellen Herget
From this 2013 interview with So Many Dynamos singer/keyboardist/guitarist Aaron Stovall: So, what's happened in the last few years? Between lineup changes (Nathan Bernaix of Target Market took Ryan Wasoba's place as guitarist in 2009 — Wasoba is now a frequent RFT Music contributor; Travis Lewis replaced Griffin Kay on guitar and keys in 2011) and the passage of time leaving the members' teenage years a decade behind them, So Many Dynamos has gone through what Stovall feels is a natural progression for all musicians. "I think all people realize...it's just as important to listen to your influences' influences. It's nice to throw all of that together and make something that is you." He cites "when funk turned electro-funk" as one of his current interests.
See also: Here's a Look at So Many Dynamos in the RFT Over the Years
SUNDAY, NOVEMBER 22
Iris Dement
The Sheldon Concert Hall
7:30 p.m. | $30-$35
By Roy Kasten
At times the voice of Iris Dement seems other-worldly, as hieratic and strange as a cantor from the long-gone past. But the Arkansas native, who now makes her home in Iowa, has always been rooted in our time, our towns, our stories and our struggles, whether spiritual or political. This year she put the rural gospel and country timbre of her keening voice in service to the poetry of Anna Akhmatova, a major figure in modern Russian literature. The results, as heard on the album The Trackless Woods, have a spare and searing immediacy. Dement still sounds like no other singer alive.
Note: Though we wish we could, we can't feature every great show happening in town in just one post. Look for plenty more recommendations this Friday in our weekend shows post, peruse the St. Louis concert calendar for more ideas and let everyone know what else you're looking forward to seeing this week in the comments below. To be considered for coverage in RFT Music, submit show info online or drop us a line anytime.
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