1. Feature

The Death of Father Kaiser

Was it a Kenyan assassin who killed the St. Louis missionary -- or was it madness? Seven years later, the verdict is in.

By Aimee Levitt

Published: October 24, 2007

Just before dawn on an August morning seven years ago, John and Henry Kanbo drove toward the market town of Naivasha to buy cattle. The Naivasha-Nakuru Highway is usually one of the...

2. News Real

Food Fight

Dogtown residents say the noisy Restaurant Depot has ruined their once tranquil neighborhood.

By Chad Garrison

Published: October 24, 2007

As far as junkyards go, residents of Dogtown say the auto salvage lot at 6455 Manchester was a decent-enough neighbor. It occupied the same twelve acres of land for four decades, making...

3. Unreal

Buck Wild

Unreal dresses up for Halloween, ponders getting electrocuted and entertains a bizarre fantasy about Joe Buck and Tim McCarver.

Published: October 24, 2007

FOX, the network that brought us Trading Spouses and Nanny 911, wants native son Joe Buck to host a late-night talk show starting in 2009. FOX hopes Buck, who followed hall-of-fame...

4. Letters

Digging Deep

An urban spelunker shares his English Cave jones and Steve Patterson's mother sets us straight on where her son went to high school.

Published: October 24, 2007

News Real, September 13, 2007 Cave kinship: Like many of my city cave-exploring brethren and the author of "Secret Passage," Aimee Levitt, I'm deeply fascinated by English Cave;...

5. You Are Here

You Are Here Enterprises Presents...

Dad's Halloween Costume

By Timothy Lane

Published: October 24, 2007

...

6. Ask a Mexican

Flirty Versus Filthy

Does it matter who's doing the cat-calling? Should it?

By Gustavo Arellano

Published: October 24, 2007

Dear Mexican: Why do so many of my peers assume I must have low self-esteem just because I'm dating a Mexican guy? I finally found someone with my same values and who treats me way...

7. Music

A Pug's Life

Menomena's manager is a bitch. No, really.

By Brooke Foster

Published: October 24, 2007

Look, the Billiken Club is the jam. Not only does the SLU venue book amazing bands (cf. The Twilight Sad), but the college-food court atmosphere lends itself to hilariously surreal...

8. B-Sides

It's Educational!

Esperanza Spalding helps polish some of this city's bright young stars.

By Dean C. Minderman

Published: October 24, 2007

As a graduate of Boston's Berklee College of Music, Esperanza Spalding had the benefit of attending one of the world's most prestigious schools for jazz musicians. However, when the...

9. Download

The White Stripes

Plus. get your on some Illegal Art

By Andy Vihstadt

Published: October 24, 2007

The White Stripes have cancelled the rest of this year's Icky Thump tour due to Meg White's bout with acute anxiety. To hear what you would have missed, hit up the band's fan site...

10. Critics' Picks

Minus the Bear

7 p.m. Thursday, October 25. Pop's, 1403 Mississippi Avenue, Sauget, Illinois.

By Shae Moseley

Published: October 24, 2007

Planet of Ice, the latest full-length from mathy Seattle tech-rockers Minus the Bear, still ties the neurological pathways in knots, thanks to its mind-bending rhythmic transitions...

11. Critics' Picks

Head of Femur

9 p.m. Thursday, October 25. The Bluebird, 2706 Olive Street.

By Christian Schaeffer

Published: October 24, 2007

In the past few years, Head of Femur has limned back its sound from the kitchen-sink freakouts of early tours to a more guitar-centric approach. Gone are the horn sections and glockenspiel...

12. Critics' Picks

Beatallica

8 p.m. Friday, October 26. Pop's, 1403 Mississippi Avenue, Sauget, Illinois.

By Ryan Wasoba

Published: October 24, 2007

Many bands have existed under the "Wouldn't-it-be-funny-if..." premise, but few subscribe to their own novelty like the world's only Beatles/Metallica hybrid, Beatallica. It's a solid...

13. Critics' Picks

Melt Banana

7 p.m. Saturday, October 27. 2 Cents Plain, 1114 Olive Street.

By Jaime Lees

Published: October 24, 2007

Not everything that comes from Japan is cute. In fact, Melt Banana seems to be doing everything it can to deny the naturally adorable output of its birthplace. Formed fifteen years...

14. Critics' Picks

Bald Eagle

9 p.m. Saturday, October 27. The Bluebird, 2706 Olive Street.

By Paul Friswold

Published: October 24, 2007

Too rockin' to be indie, too independent-minded to be punk, Columbia's Bald Eagle makes music that soars above the usual "we're loud, we're fast, now we're outta gas" rock & roll-isms...

15. Critics' Picks

Lyrics Born

8 p.m. Sunday, Oct. 28. Lucas School House, 1220 Allen Avenue.

By Dan Leroy

Published: October 24, 2007

If you don't know Lyrics Born's rhymes — and that possibility is diminished, thanks to the presence of his signature song, "Callin' Out," in Diet Coke and Motorola ads a couple...

16. Critics' Picks

Fiery Furnaces/Pit Er Pat

9 p.m. Monday, October 29. Blueberry Hill's Duck Room, 6504 Delmar Boulevard, University City.

By Christian Schaeffer

Published: October 24, 2007

On Widow City, the Fiery Furnaces continue to assume the role of the 21st-century Sparks — a pair of siblings creating keyboard-based, time-shifting pop songs with inscrutable...

17. Critics' Picks

Tony Bennett

8 p.m. Saturday, October 27. Fox Theatre, 527 North Grand Boulevard.

By Roy Kasten

Published: October 24, 2007

At 81 and with over 50 years of recordings under his belt, Tony Bennett is still swinging around that eternal American lamppost — and still keeping it lit with pop fire. But for...

18. Rotations

Jimmy Eat World

Chase This Light (Interscope)

By Shae Moseley

Published: October 24, 2007

The first lyric on Jimmy Eat World's new album Chase This Light is a very self-assured — if not presumptuous — one-word imperative: "stay." But an enormous wall of distorted...

19. Rotations

Nellie McKay

Obligatory Villagers (Hungry Mouse)

By Kristyn Pomranz

Published: October 24, 2007

Nellie McKay's third album Obligatory Villagers is only 30 minutes long — which is a mere hiccup when compared to her previous two lengthy albums. But while Villagers is short,...

20. Rotations

Manu Chao

La Radiolina (Nacional)

By Ernest Barteldes

Published: October 24, 2007

Trying to define the work of Manu Chao — who has finally followed up his 2001 disc Prxima Estacin: Esperanza — is certainly not easy. The Franco-Spanish musician challenges...