1. Feature

Big Man on Campus

Sit back and marvel as Rick Majerus hoists SLU basketball from the morass of mediocrity. (Just don't let him near your pizza.)

By Keegan Hamilton

Published: October 17, 2007

Rick Majerus bursts out of a stiflingly hot gym and into the narrow hallway outside the Saint Louis University basketball office. The combination of an unseasonably hot September day...

2. News Real

River Rage

The bizarre story of a 2006 summer melee on the Mississippi will soon unfold in a St. Charles County courthouse.

By Kristen Hinman

Published: October 17, 2007

At a felony trial set to begin November 14, Cheryl "Cheri" Hunter, a 43-year-old grandmother with no criminal record, will tell a St. Charles County Circuit Court jury how she found...

3. Unreal

Buckin’ Backhoes

Unreal does the "Thriller" dance, sips Starbucks with a fellow ex-barista and ponders the logistics of a backhoe rodeo.

Published: October 17, 2007

At last week's last minute, Unreal learned of an intriguing rodeo that would take place in Fenton on Friday, October 12. Staged by Luby Equipment Services, distributor of backhoes...

4. Letters

Star Clipper!?

Readers school the RFT on comics, history and English.

Published: October 17, 2007

Best of St. Louis, September 27, 2007 You gotta be kidding: I read RFT every week and I love it, especially this time of year, when the "Best of St. Louis" issue is published. This...

5. You Are Here

THWOMP!

(South Broadway Athletic Club, October 6)

By Timothy Lane

Published: October 17, 2007

A forearm across the chest that comes from out of nowhere — a tree branch that appears just in time to intercept the limp body slingshotting off the ropes. Clotheslined! Down...

6. Ask a Mexican

More Than a Beck Album

The Mexican gets to the root (word) of güero.

By Gustavo Arellano

Published: October 17, 2007

Dear Mexican: What is it with the Mexican hang-up on body parts? When General Antonio Lopez de Santa Anna was struck by a cannonball at the knee in one of his 8,000 wars, his right...

7. Music

The Ween Abides

Ten reasons Ween's better than your favorite band.

By Jordan Harper

Published: October 17, 2007

My Lord," you might be saying, "Ween is still around?" And how, brother. Dismissed for two decades as a joke band, Ween has labored in sorta-obscurity while somehow simultaneously...

8. B-Sides

This Year's (Re)Model

Is Elvis Costello's Aim still true? Plus, B-Sides rocks the Cradle of Filth?

By Phil Freeman, Christian Schaeffer and Andy Vihstadt

Published: October 17, 2007

Elvis Costello has taught us some hard lessons throught his 30 years in the business: Accidents will happen, girls talk and girls named "Alison" will bring out your inner stalker....

9. Critics' Picks

Jennifer Niceley

:30 p.m. Thursday, October 18. Lucas School House, 1220 Allen Avenue.

By Roy Kasten

Published: October 17, 2007

If you're still wondering what Billie Joe and his paramour threw off the Tallahatchie Bridge, here's an unexplored theory: It was the unborn blueprint for the music of Jennifer Niceley,...

10. Critics' Picks

The Avengers

7:30 p.m. Friday, October 19. Creepy Crawl, 3524 Washington Boulevard.

By Jason Toon

Published: October 17, 2007

Before hardcore injected testosterone into its bloodstream, punk was more open to female expression than the cock-rock world it fought against. Good thing, because otherwise we might...

11. Critics' Picks

Chiodos

7 p.m., Saturday, October 20. Pop's, 1403 Mississippi Avenue, Sauget, Illinois.

By Andrew Miller

Published: October 17, 2007

Songwriters commonly use the follow-up to breakthrough albums as vehicles for introspection, but Chiodos' Craig Owens gets intensely — almost uncomfortably — personal on...

12. Critics' Picks

Henry Rollins

8 p.m. Saturday, October 20. The Pageant, 6161 Delmar Boulevard.

By Jaime Lees

Published: October 17, 2007

Henry Rollins started as the howling, robust frontman of legendary punk band Black Flag. Those who are familiar with Rollins' vitality and exuberance won't be disappointed in his spoken-word...

13. Critics' Picks

Sea Wolf/Nada Surf

8 p.m. Monday, October 22. The Gargoyle, on the campus of Washington University at Forsyth and Skinker boulevards.

By Christian Schaeffer

Published: October 17, 2007

You would be forgiven for hating Sea Wolf based solely on its name: The great "wolf"-based band-name craze imploded in 2005, and the "sea" appellation seems tailor-made to capitalize...

14. Critics' Picks

Darren Jessee

9 p.m. Monday, October 22. Off Broadway, 3509 Lemp Avenue.

By Shae Moseley

Published: October 17, 2007

Darren Jessee spent most of the 1990s as drummer for Ben Folds Five. But his contributions to that band always went beyond simply pounding out a rhythm for Folds' songs. Not only did...

15. Critics' Picks

Charlotte Sometimes

8 p.m. Wednesday, October 24. The Pageant, 6161 Delmar Boulevard.

By D.X. Ferris

Published: October 17, 2007

Charlotte Sometimes actually copped her name from a British kids' book about time travel, not the Cure song. But the Cure is a telling reference: The NYC songwriter and her band possess...

16. Rotations

Bruce Springsteen

Magic (Columbia)

By Roy Kasten

Published: October 17, 2007

In his worldwide scoop on Bruce Springsteen's fifteenth studio album, Jean Paul Sartre expressed his nausea as the absence of "the significance of things" and the dissolution of "feeble...

17. Rotations

Young Marble Giants

Colossal Youth and Collected Works (Domino)

By Dan Strachota

Published: October 17, 2007

In the liner notes to this two-CD reissue, music critic Simon Reynolds suggests that the Young Marble Giants debut, Colossal Youth, was one of only five perfect post-punk albums. He...

18. Rotations

Ben Harper and the Innocent Criminals

Lifeline (Virgin)

By Michael Roberts

Published: October 17, 2007

Given the advances in digital studio equipment, cutting an album in analog can be both more difficult and more expensive. Ben Harper preferred the old-school experience, however, so...

19. Homespun

Nato Caliph

Cipher Inside (F5 Records)

By Christian Schaeffer

Published: October 17, 2007

homespun Cipher Inside takes backpacker hip-hop to its logical conclusion: Beginning with "Physics 720" and moving through lessons in "Applied Math 50" and "Political Science 380,"...

20. Cafe

Been There, Ate That

Ian experiences a disconcerting bout of restaurant déjà vu at Sage.

By Ian Froeb

Published: October 17, 2007

Sometimes, calling a new restaurant "a new restaurant" feels wrong. Not wrong in the sense of incorrect. Wrong like waking up hung-over in a youth hostel, not quite sure which former...