1. B-Sides

Fly Like an Eagle

B-Sides finds its religion with Fred Eaglesmith and traces Charles Walker's circuitous path from R&B obscurity to funk-soul innovator.

By Roy Kasten

Published: January 9, 2008

Fred J. Eaglesmith — farmer, gearhead, painter, songwriter, outlaw icon and businessman — has more hats than all the souvenir shops in Nashville. With his gruff Ontario...

2. Cafe

Just Ducky

Clayton's newest restaurant has style to burn — and the substance to back it up.

By Ian Froeb

Published: January 9, 2008

In 2006 the Chicago City Council attracted much attention — and not a little scorn — when it banned foie gras from restaurants. Foie gras is fattened duck or goose liver....

3. Critics' Picks

The Bohemian Rhapsody Orchestra

9 p.m. Friday, January 11. Off Broadway, 3509 Lemp Avenue

By Ryan Wasoba

Published: January 9, 2008

JJ Midnight is a 47-year-old St. Louis native who works in video production, loves wrap-around sunglasses and tucks his T-shirts into his jeans. What does he have in common with late...

4. Critics' Picks

Marcia Ball

8 p.m. Friday, January 11. The Sheldon Concert Hall, 3648 Washington Boulevard.

By Roy Kasten

Published: January 9, 2008

Geography partly explains the power and appeal of blues belter and boogie-woogie piano banger Marcia Ball — but only partly. Raised on the Texas border in the small southwestern...

5. Critics' Picks

Th' Legendary Shack*Shakers

8 p.m. Saturday, January 12. Throttle, 720 North First Street.

By Christian Schaeffer

Published: January 9, 2008

What the swamp-boogie badasses in Th' Legendary Shack*Shakers lack in fancy manners and social graces, they make up for in scope and ambition. Singer and harpist J.D. Wilkes refers...

6. Critics' Picks

Lloyd Dobler Effect

9 p.m. Monday, January 14. Bluebird, 2706 Olive Street.

By Annie Zaleski

Published: January 9, 2008

The effect of Lloyd Dobler, thanks to Say Anything: Men are totally fucked, because they will never live up to John Cusack's character in the movie. Helplessly in love with Ione Skye,...

7. Critics' Picks

I, Colossus

9 p.m. Wednesday, January 16. Bluebird, 2706 Olive Street.

By Shae Moseley

Published: January 9, 2008

On I, Colossus' self-titled debut, singer, songwriter, multi-instrumentalist and producer Matthew Sandstedt manages a challenging feat: He crafts songs that could satisfy the populace...

8. Drink of the Week

Blackberry Wheat

Wm. D. Alandale Brewing Company
105 E. Jefferson Avenue, Kirkwood
314-966-2739

By Kristie McClanahan

Published: January 9, 2008

Hey, Alandale. Thanks for meeting us here. Wow, this is so much harder than we thought it would be. But we both know this isn't working. First of all, you should know that you've...

9. DVDish

Boy Trouble

By Robert Wilonsky

Published: January 9, 2008

Joshua (FOX) George Ratliff's movie, a sort of satirical take on Rosemary's Baby, came and went upon its release; seems no one got the joke about how parents (Sam Rockwell and Vera...

10. Feature

Lock 'Em Down, Lock 'Em Up

Did Lock 'Em Down Records exec Dewanzel Singleton lead a well-choreographed double life, or did the DEA finger an innocent man?

By Keegan Hamilton

Published: January 9, 2008

The Lock 'Em Down Records bus sits on a set of bald Firestone tires beside a quaint white-shuttered house in East St. Louis. Even on a dismal, drizzly afternoon, nothing can dull the...

11. Film

Lock up the Kids

It's a hard-knock (and creepy) life in The Orphanage.

By Jim Ridley

Published: January 9, 2008

Having a child destroys your immunity to horror, real or imagined. Before the blessed event, you could laugh off The Exorcist, The Omen, or any of a thousand gory shockers with some...

12. Game On

Shift Happens

Indy Legends brings Brickyard history to life.

By Chris Ward

Published: January 9, 2008

When I was 12, the Indianapolis Motor Speedway totally screwed me over. After visiting the famed Brickyard and eagerly paying 10 bucks to take "a lap around the track," I was placed...

13. Homespun

LucaBrasi

LucaBrasi
(self-released)

By Christian Schaeffer

Published: January 9, 2008

A kind of super-group composed of St. Louis hard-rock lifers, LucaBrasi matches vocalist Matt McInerney (Ulcer Inc.) with the rhythm section from Adair and guitarist Jerry Jost, formerly...

14. Keep It Down

The Harlem Car Bomb

By Malcolm Gay

Published: January 9, 2008

If this primary season is showing the Democrats anything, it's that they're suffering an embarrassment of riches of sorts: Should they back a charismatic first-term senator from Illinois...

15. Ask a Mexican

Mormon Accents

The Mexican calls out Romney and explains how to type in Spanish.

Published: January 9, 2008

Dear Mexican: I feel that the more Mexicans who come to this country, the better. I am a Mormon, a member of the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter Day Saints. In our Book of Mormon,...

16. Music

More Than Meets the Eye

Rapper/producer Vandalyzm makes a major splash with his debut album.

By Keegan Hamilton

Published: January 9, 2008

In the world of Transformers geekdom, controversy surrounds the name "Megatron." Those who dislike the leader of the evil Decepticons interpret the name as an allusion to the character's...

17. News Real

Vanishing Act

Larry Cohn turned heads by making huge donations to St. Louis charities. Then he up and disappeared.

By Kathleen McLaughlin

Published: January 9, 2008

When Landmarks Association of St. Louis embarked on an ambitious plan to create a tourism-oriented architectural center downtown, Larry Cohn said he wanted to help and eagerly pledged...

18. Stage

Kid Creole

The Black Rep moves Othello to New Orleans. Does Shakespeare survive the trip?

By Dennis Brown

Published: January 9, 2008

It sounded like a good idea. The Black Rep's staging of Othello, the press release promised, was "to have Creole flair." Shakespeare's tragedy is fraught with references to mystery...

19. Stage

Sorry Morrie

See the Rep's production of Tuesdays with Morrie if you must — but see it for Bernie Passeltiner's performance.

By Dennis Brown

Published: January 9, 2008

The sentiment flowed early in Tuesdays with Morrie, the tearjerker currently on view at the Repertory Theatre of St. Louis, and it began with the applause that greeted the entrance...

20. Unreal

Book 'Em

Unreal relishes being among the nation's most literate and and gets close with the NuttyBuddy.

Published: January 9, 2008

To the shock and delight of St. Louis booksellers and librarians, a recent poll by Central Connecticut State University named us the sixth-most-literate city in America. "I was like,...