1. Feature

Double Down

Gary Kaplan put all of his chips on BETonSPORTS and drew the worst hand of his life. Now he’s making tuna casserole in a St. Louis jail.

By Kristen Hinman

Published: October 10, 2007

Never one to bet on football games or squander time and money at the track, Gary Kaplan was still one serious gambling man. In fewer than five years' time, the 48-year-old high school...

2. News Real

Law and Anarchy

St. Louis Police Chief Joe Mokwa and his officers may stand trial for violating the civil rights of “anarchists” in 2003.

By Chad Garrison

Published: October 10, 2007

St. Louis Police Chief Joe Mokwa and a handful of police officers could face a civil-rights trial should the United States Court of Appeals uphold a lower court's decision. In his...

3. Unreal

Zombie Road

Unreal plays superhero matchmaker, takes a trip down Zombie Road with some ghost busters, checks in with a parachuting local blogger and talks back to "Town Talk."

Published: October 10, 2007

Next Monday, October 15, the Paranormal Task Force takes to the small screen in a straight-to-DVD release of Children of the Grave, an "action-oriented hard-documentary" about child...

4. Letters

Cheesehead Chatter

The Best of St. Louis? Not everyone thinks so.

Published: October 10, 2007

Best of St. Louis, September 27, 2007 Long live Provel: The RFT did a hatchet job on the creamy deliciousness of Provel in the backhanded award "Best Use of the Worst Cheese." The...

5. You Are Here

Notes From a Second Class Citizen, Part 8

Week of October 11, 2007

By Timothy Lane

Published: October 10, 2007

...

6. Ask a Mexican

Refried Dreams

Why don't Mexicans shoot for more?

By Gustavo Arellano

Published: October 10, 2007

Dear Mexican: We were in a restaurant the other day eating some refried beans and green chili, when I overheard some gringos in the next booth making fun of Mexicans. One thing they...

7. Music

In the 'Driver Seat

Adam Franklin cruises into town with a whole new cast riding shotgun.

By Shae Moseley

Published: October 10, 2007

Although Adam Franklin spent most of the 1990s fronting the seminal Brit-rock act Swervedriver, he hasn't spent much time since then gazing at his shoes — or thinking much about...

8. B-Sides

Show Me the Garage Rock!

B-Sides highlights must-see acts in this weekend's Show-Me Blowout.

By Jason Toon

Published: October 10, 2007

Along with river otters, meth tweakers and John Ashcroft, Missouri is richly populated with a dazzling variety of garage-rock bands. And in a moving spectacle reminiscent of the big...

9. Critics' Picks

Dionne Warwick

8 p.m. Thursday, October 11. The Sheldon, 3648 Washington Boulevard.

By Christian Schaeffer

Published: October 10, 2007

It would be easy to talk about Dionne Warwick only in terms of her work with Burt Bacharach and Hal David. As the muse-in-residence of the songwriting duo, Warwick's voice — high-reaching,...

10. Critics' Picks

We Versus the Shark

9 p.m. Thursday, October 11. The Bluebird, 2706 Olive Street.

By Jonah Bayer

Published: October 10, 2007

Athens, Georgia, has a legendary musical history ranging from R.E.M. and the B-52's to the Drive-By Truckers and Neutral Milk Hotel. The latest addition to that elite group could be...

11. Critics' Picks

Anais Mitchell

Friday, October 12. Mad Art Gallery, 2727 South 12th Street.

By Roy Kasten

Published: October 10, 2007

On first listen, Vermonter Anais Mitchell seems to join the parade of over-studied, over-hyped indie folkies whose little girl voices and fabulist lyrics inspire prepubescent nostalgia...

12. Critics' Picks

Paolo Nutini

8 p.m. Sunday, October 14. Pageant, 6161 Delmar Boulevard.

By Roy Kasten

Published: October 10, 2007

Paolo Nutini's star has risen so fast in the last year that one wonders what industry-media-street-team conspiracy the kid has on the payroll. Even if Atlantic Records thinks it's...

13. Critics' Picks

Portugal. The Man.

8:30 p.m. Monday, October 15. Off Broadway, 3509 Lemp Avenue.

By Jonah Bayer

Published: October 10, 2007

Perhaps it has something to do with the fact that they initially started out in Alaska, or maybe it's because they can actually play their instruments — or maybe it's just that...

14. Critics' Picks

Underoath

7 p.m. Tuesday, October 16. Pop's, 1403 Mississippi Avenue, Sauget, Illinois.

By Andrew Miller

Published: October 10, 2007

Last year, Underoath appeared on Alternative Press' cover, posed unsmilingly above the phrase "Our future is at stake." The group had just dropped off the 2006 Warped Tour, defaulting...

15. Critics' Picks

That 1 Guy

9 p.m. Tuesday, October 16. Billiken Club, 20 North Grand Boulevard.

By Kristyn Pomranz

Published: October 10, 2007

Music critics are quick to compare That 1 Guy (né Mike Silverman) to Dr. Seuss, just because he plays a self-constructed instrument called the Magic Pipe that resembles a luleelurah....

16. Rotations

Oakley Hall

I'll Follow You (Merge)

By Justin F. Farrar

Published: October 10, 2007

Defining rock music as a common language for the American masses is the stuff of fiction, not the people's actual history, which tells us that rock has always been a fragmented tribe...

17. Rotations

Okkervil River

The Stage Names (Jagjaguwar)

By Jonah Bayer

Published: October 10, 2007

Forget Andrew Bird and Sufjan Stevens — Okkervil River's Will Sheff is a much stronger songwriter. With 2005's critically lauded Black Sheep Boy and its subsequent appendix EP,...

18. Rotations

High on Fire

Death Is This Communion (Relapse)

By Michael Alan Goldberg

Published: October 10, 2007

Already regarded as one of modern metal's most face-meltingly fantastic bands, High on Fire further solidifies its reputation with its fourth (and most commanding) album, Death is...

19. Homespun

The High 5's

One Track Minds (self-released)

By Christian Schaeffer

Published: October 10, 2007

homespun On their full-length debut, One Track Minds, the High 5's retain the off-the-cuff, tossed-off feel of their early demo recordings. There's a lack of polish on these eleven...

20. Cafe

Stick a Fork in It

Grip it and dip it: Ian puts Simply Fondue to the test.

By Ian Froeb

Published: October 10, 2007

Not much is simple about a meal at Simply Fondue, which opened in June in the loft district as the first St. Louis outpost of a small, Dallas-based chain. Choose the restaurant's...