1. Art

Deborah Aschheim transforms the ephemeral into the physical in Reconsider

By Malcolm Gay

Published: February 6, 2008

At 3:21 p.m. on what had been an unseasonably warm day in January, the balmy air was just yielding to a rapidly approaching cold front. The sky darkened as the first snowflakes arrived...

2. Art

St. Louis Art Capsules

Malcolm Gay encapsulates the St. Louis arts scene.

By Malcolm Gay

Published: February 6, 2008

All Systems Go and Meditations on Limitations/One-Hour Sculptures White Flag Projects exhibits two young artists from out of town. In the main gallery is All Systems Go, a suite of...

3. B-Sides

AA Bondy reinvents himself as an indie-folk artist

By Jaime Lees

Published: February 6, 2008

Though few outside of the indie circuit recognized Verbena, critics and fans hailed the group as the second coming of Nirvana. The comparison was easy to see — and not just because...

4. Cafe

Ian's got the skinny on the new Flaco's

By Ian Froeb

Published: February 6, 2008

I'm supposed to mention that Flaco's Cocina, which opened late last year in the Soviet Bloc-style strip mall and office complex at the intersection of Delmar Boulevard and I-170, is...

5. Cafe

Mystery Meat

Ian dissects suadero.

By Ian Froeb

Published: February 6, 2008

Gut Check, the Riverfront Times food blog, offers food and restaurant news, reviews of restaurants and food-related books — and lots and lots of stuff best classified as "other."...

6. Critics' Picks

Pétur Ben

9 p.m. Friday, February 8 and Saturday, February 9. Schlafly Tap Room, 2100 Locust Street.

By Shae Moseley

Published: February 6, 2008

Though already a star in his homeland of Iceland, Pétur Ben is probably not doing anything quite as groundbreaking as some of his otherworldly counterparts (e.g., Sigur Rós,...

7. Critics' Picks

Early Day Miners

9 p.m. Friday, February 8. The Bluebird, 2706 Olive Street.

By Ryan Wasoba

Published: February 6, 2008

American music and American geography have always gone hand in hand. But while many bands can recall Southern attitude or New York cool, very few bands evoke the wistfulness of Midwest...

8. Critics' Picks

Nina Nastasia

8:30 p.m. Saturday, February 9. The Bluebird, 2706 Olive Street.

By Roy Kasten

Published: February 6, 2008

At times Nina Nastasia comes on like the female Nick Drake; at other times, she resembles an introverted Feist; but most often, the New York singer-songwriter feels like a bracing...

9. Critics' Picks

Sleep State

8 p.m. Saturday, February 9. Lemp Neighborhood Arts Center, 3301 Lemp Avenue.

By Annie Zaleski

Published: February 6, 2008

Sleep State turned heads last year with the release of its Fuckin' Pervert EP, but the group's new full-length, U.S. Mint (which it recorded at Shine Studios with Peter Dycus) pretty...

10. Critics' Picks

Richard Thompson

8 p.m. Monday, February 11. The Pageant, 6161 Delmar Boulevard

By Roy Kasten

Published: February 6, 2008

Unless you're a Boeing shareholder or a John McCain strategist, you'll agree that the Iraq War hasn't been good for shit. Still, that five-year nightmare has sired some lyrical greatness...

11. Critics' Picks

Supersuckers

7 p.m. Monday, February 11. Pop's, 1403 Mississippi Avenue, Sauget, Illinois.

By Richard Gintowt

Published: February 6, 2008

Ten years ago, the Supersuckers grilled up a bacon-and-eggs country record on par with anything released by the country and/or alt-country establishment. Like Ween's 12 Golden Country...

12. Critics' Picks

Soft

9 p.m. Tuesday, February 12. The Bluebird, 2706 Olive Street.

By Annie Zaleski

Published: February 6, 2008

Scouring the Internet reveals very little biographical information about Soft. In fact, what background does exist — the quintet is from Brooklyn, has supposedly been a band...

13. Critics' Picks

B.B. King

7:30 p.m. Wednesday February 13. Family Arena, 2002 Arena Parkway, St. Charles.

By Dean C. Minderman

Published: February 6, 2008

Audiences first encountered blues guitarist and singer B.B. King in the '50s, thanks to relentless touring of the so-called "chitlin circuit" and a series of memorable recordings....

14. Drink of the Week

Feudo Arancio Nero d'Avola

La Gra Italian Tapas
1227 Tamm Avenue
314-645-3972.

By Kristie McClanahan

Published: February 6, 2008

We want to nap on the bar. We want to climb up on the black vinyl chairs and slowly, carefully, put one knee up on the bar, then the other, then lie face-down, our cheek pressed to...

15. DVDish

How the West was wasted: The Assassination of Jesse James by the Coward Robert Ford now on DVD

By Jordan Harper and Robert Wilonsky

Published: February 6, 2008

The Assassination of Jesse James by the Coward Robert Ford(Warner Bros.)Beautifully shot, masterfully acted, and 19 hours too long, Assassination is an uneven mix of the artful and...

16. Feature

From dot-com darling to disaster: The spectacular flameout of Andrew Gladney, Part 1

By Kristen Hinman

Published: February 6, 2008

"Though the boundaries of the chase are defined, the pleasures in the pursuit are immeasurable." —A.G. Epigraph on Andrew Graves Gladney's senior page in the 1980 John Burroughs...

17. Film

No treasure at the end of Fool's Gold, a terrible Matthew McConaughey-Kate Hudson mash-up.

By Scott Foundas

Published: February 6, 2008

When a friend recently told me that she'd been confused by the poster for the Matthew McConaughey-Kate Hudson fortune-hunting romp Fool's Gold adorning her local multiplex —...

18. Game On

Car lovers find a new flame in Burnout Paradise

By Chris Ward

Published: February 6, 2008

Long have we waited to be taken down to the Paradise City, where the girls are green and the grass is pretty, or whatever. Now, thanks to Burnout Paradise, we know what all the fuss...

19. Homespun

Homespun

Caleb Travers & Big City Lights
Blue Weathered Dreams
(self-released)

By Christian Schaeffer

Published: February 6, 2008

With a deep, sonorous voice and a satchel full of minor-key strums, Caleb Travers appeared on the singer-songwriter circuit about a year ago. Blue Weathered Dreams is his first album,...

20. Keep It Down

Dried Weaver Ants With Eggs

Weaver ants are a tad dry for Malcolm’s discriminating palate, but the Democratic presidential primary provides plenty to chew on.

By Malcolm Gay

Published: February 6, 2008

Sure, he lacked a convincing Iraq strategy. Money, too. His policy stands were standard populist, and he didn't have much support in Washington. He couldn't get media exposure without...