1. Art

St. Louis Art Capsules

Malcolm Gay encapsulates the St. Louis art scene.

By Malcolm Gay

Published: February 20, 2008

Annual Faculty Exhibition Webster University's May Gallery kicks off 2008 with its annual faculty show. Featuring the landscape photography of fifteen photographers, the exhibition...

2. B-Sides

Bettye LaVette's an old soul, through and through

By Roy Kasten

Published: February 20, 2008

"Hopefully when I see you, I'll have this little Grammy thing," Bettye LaVette says, calling from a scratchy phone line two weeks ago. (She won't have it, however: The award for Best...

3. B-Sides

Spin the Black Circle

Watch the RFT DJ Spin-off finalists battle for a trip to Miami

By Annie Zaleski

Published: February 20, 2008

Come on out to Atomic Cowboy on Thursday, February 21, for the RFT's annual DJ Spin-off! Finalists Flex Boogie, DJ Karizma, Doctor Pong and Rob Gray will be competing to win a free...

4. Cafe

Curious Gorge: Ian tests the animal magnetism of Three Monkeys

By Ian Froeb

Published: February 20, 2008

It's a bitterly cold afternoon. The low, gray sky can't decide between a half-hearted snow and a miserable drizzle — call it a snizzle, and be sure to credit me when you do —...

5. Critics' Picks

The Toasters

7 p.m. Saturday, February 23. Off Broadway, 3509 Lemp Avenue.

By Roy Kasten

Published: February 20, 2008

Though the Toasters never had the hits or name recognition of its followers in the '90s ska scare, bands such as the Mighty Mighty Bosstones or even No Doubt would be lost without...

6. Critics' Picks

The Box Social

9 p.m. Saturday, February 23. Schlafly Tap Room, 2100 Locust Street.

By Shae Moseley

Published: February 20, 2008

The Box Social doesn't break any molds or follow trends based on well-timed hipster revivalism. Formed near Milwaukee in 2002 — when its members were still in high school —...

7. Critics' Picks

The Pink Spiders

7 p.m. Sunday, February 24. Pop's, 1403 Mississippi Avenue, Sauget, Illinois.

By Jonah Bayer

Published: February 20, 2008

We last heard from the Pink Spiders back in 2006, when the Nashville power-punk act released the album Teenage Graffiti and was performing its saccharine hit "Little Razorblade" on...

8. Critics' Picks

Rooney/Jonas Brothers

7:30 p.m. Monday, February 25. Fox Theatre, 527 North Grand Boulevard.

By Christian Schaeffer

Published: February 20, 2008

It's hard not to think of Rooney as a California band — and not just because the band hails from LA. Its logo is an appropriation of the state flag's famous grizzly bear, and...

9. Critics' Picks

Ace Frehley

7 p.m. Tuesday, February 26. Pop's, 1403 Mississippi Avenue, Sauget, Illinois.

By Michael Alan Goldberg

Published: February 20, 2008

When I spoke with former KISS drummer Peter Criss last year, he expressed hope that his lifelong pal, former KISS guitarist Ace Frehley, would put out a new album and hit the road...

10. Critics' Picks

J. Holiday/Trey Songz

8 p.m. Tuesday, February 26. The Pageant, 6161 Delmar Boulevard.

By Dan Leroy

Published: February 20, 2008

Saying you want to combine old-school soul and modern R&B has become boilerplate in the bio of just about every young urban crooner these days. That hasn't deterred D.C. native Nahum...

11. Critics' Picks

Peachcake/Foxy Shazam

7 p.m. Tuesday, February 26. 2 Cents Plain, 1114 Olive Street.

By Kristyn Pomranz

Published: February 20, 2008

"Are We Accidentally At A Party?!" is not only the title of a popular Peachcake song, but also the resounding sentiment heard at the Arizona group's shows. Like many great bands before...

12. Download

Clipse and Re-Up Gang

By Andy Vihstadt

Published: February 20, 2008

If Clipse and its Re-Up Gang collaborators ever get arrested, they might regret rapping about selling "more powder than Maybelline." Now signed to Columbia Records, the outfit is prepping...

13. Drink of the Week

Toulouse-Lautrec

Hammerstone's
2028 South 9th Street
314-773-5565

By Kristie McClanahan

Published: February 20, 2008

Oh poor, poor absinthe! For nearly a century it had been so unfairly marked with a scarlet letter, a capital "A," and outlawed by fear-mongering fun-haters since Prohibition. Even...

14. DVDish

Laughing Pains

By Robert Wilonsky and Jordan Harper

Published: February 20, 2008

Margot at the Wedding (Paramount) Margot (Nicole Kidman, or someone who looks just like her) is a fiction writer whose tales are based, uncomfortably and unkindly, on the real-life...

15. Feature

Ludo is fired up and ready to play on the national stage

By Kathleen McLaughlin

Published: February 20, 2008

[For additional outtakes from staff photographer Jennifer Silverberg's day with Ludo, click here]. A mass of arctic air has made its descent into Des Moines when Ludo arrives at...

16. Film

Teen comedy Charlie Bartlett could use a dose of mean

By Ella Taylor

Published: February 20, 2008

Like most wannabe heroes of the eager-to-please teen comedy, poor little rich boy Charlie Bartlett is charming and quirky. Too charming by half and not nearly quirky enough, as played...

17. Game On

Dante's inferno rages on in Devil May Cry 4

By Chris Ward

Published: February 20, 2008

Let's just get it out right now: "Devil May Cry" is a weak-ass name for a wicked action game. But what's in a name? In three previous outings, the brutal, hella-challenging series...

18. Homespun

Joe Eisenbraun

Selected Short Works
(Nice Noise Records)

By Christian Schaeffer

Published: February 20, 2008

Singer-songwriter Joe Eisenbraun re-mains a mostly unknown figure around town who plays a show only every month or two — even though the solid, varied LP Selected Short Works...

19. Keep It Down

Malcolm asks the eternal question: Why's my pork fat so mushy?

By Malcolm Gay

Published: February 20, 2008

"It is a solemn thought: Dead, the noblest man's meat is inferior to pork."—Mark Twain Solemn? Perhaps. I think it's comforting. Then again, when it comes to the porcine-person...

20. Letters

The many faces of Andrew Gladney

Published: February 20, 2008

Feature, February 7, 2008 That "Crazy" Gladney Just a little bit nuts: I wanted to thank Kristen Hinman for writing "7-Up Vs. Coke." I really enjoyed this story for somewhat personal...