1. Art

St. Louis Art Capsules

Malcolm Gay encapsulates the St. Louis arts scene

By Malcolm Gay

Published: April 16, 2008

Opening Currents 102: Sarah Oppenheimer The Saint Louis Art Museum has given over to installation artist Sarah Oppenheimer one of the galleries that houses its modern collection....

2. B-Sides

Blue Mountain explores the Southern-rock roads less traveled while the Mars Volta tries to shed its bad voodoo on the way to releasing The Bedlam in Goliath.

By Roy Kasten and Shae Moseley

Published: April 16, 2008

The Mars Volta has always found a way to overcome difficult circumstances — such as the tragic deaths of bandmates and close friends — mainly by converting its hard luck...

3. Cafe

Heat Rises: Pappy's Smokehouse elevates humble barbecue to ethereal heights

By Ian Froeb

Published: April 16, 2008

Not even a minute after I first walked into Pappy's Smokehouse, the fantastic new midtown barbecue joint, I thought I was busted. I might as well have worn a T-shirt with "Restaurant...

4. Critics' Picks

The Cops

9 p.m. Saturday, April 19. The Bluebird, 2706 Olive Street

By Shae Moseley

Published: April 16, 2008

The Cops' sophomore effort Free Electricity accomplishes an interesting feat: It manages to deliver a brutal package of abrasive, dirty rock & roll — think the energy of the...

5. Critics' Picks

Coliseum

7 p.m. Sunday, April 20. 2 Cents Plain, 1114 Olive Street

By Andrew Miller

Published: April 16, 2008

Mellowness might be anathema to Louisville's Coliseum, judging by its reckless velocity and nihilistic harangues. "My lungs are filled with fumes...There's no air in this city/I need...

6. Critics' Picks

Rogue Wave

8 p.m. Sunday, April 20. The Gargoyle, on the campus of Washington University, 1 Brookings Drive

By Ryan Wasoba

Published: April 16, 2008

Geographically, Rogue Wave resides in Oakland, but musically, the band comes from the same sunny indie-pop hills as the Shins and Built to Spill, where glasses are half full and minor...

7. Critics' Picks

Anders Parker

9 p.m. Monday, April 21. The Bluebird, 2706 Olive Street

By Roy Kasten

Published: April 16, 2008

To look at the band Anders Parker assembled for his most recent album, 2006's Anders Parker on Baryon Records, is to misunderstand him entirely. Though surrounded by alt-country illuminati...

8. Critics' Picks

Enon

9 p.m. Wednesday, April 23. Billiken Club, in the Busch Student Center on the campus of Saint Louis University, 20 North Grand Boulevard

By Ryan Wasoba

Published: April 16, 2008

For ten years, Enon has been stirring a cauldron of electro-clash sonics, sassy vocals and garage-rock spunk. With last year's Touch and Go release, Grass Geysers...Carbon Clouds,...

9. Critics' Picks

Santana

7 p.m. Wednesday, April 23. Scottrade Center, 1401 Clark Avenue

By Dean C. Minderman

Published: April 16, 2008

Carlos Santana has a lot on his plate these days: He's launching a chain of Mexican restaurants, appearing in Macy's commercials to hype the line of women's shoes he's designed and...

10. Critics' Picks

The Matches/All Time Low/Sonny

7 p.m. Wednesday, April 23. Pop's, 1403 Mississippi Avenue, Sauget, Illinois

By Julie Seabaugh

Published: April 16, 2008

For two albums now the Matches have been toiling as under-the-radar mad scientists, suturing together various components of rock, punk, indie and cabaret to create a rollicking, exuberant...

11. Critics' Picks

Sworn Enemy

7 p.m. Tuesday, April 22. 2 Cents Plain, 1114 Olive Street

By Andrew Miller

Published: April 16, 2008

During Sworn Enemy's 2002 track "I.D.S.", singer Sal Lococo vows to remain tethered to hardcore tradition: "We won't stray from our ways/Stay true till the day we die." Fortunately...

12. Feature

The strange and violent world of St. Louis' bail bondsmen

By Keegan Hamilton

Published: April 16, 2008

On the evening of December 31, 2004, Jerry Cox was relaxing with his wife on his backyard patio in St. Charles, enjoying the outdoor fireplace he received as a Christmas gift a few...

13. Film

Leaving no gimmick unturned, that Super Size Me guy goes searching for Public Enemy No. 1

By J. Hoberman

Published: April 16, 2008

Morgan Spurlock, the daredevil documentarian who lived on Big Macs for a month and turned this exercise in "body art" into the 2004 hit Super Size Me, returns — this time expanding...

14. Film

Jason Segel uses his balls to great effect in Forgetting Sarah Marshall

By Robert Wilonsky

Published: April 16, 2008

Jason Segel is responsible for two of the most cringe-inducing, hands-in-front-of-your-face moments in the recent history of television, both of which occurred during the sole season...

15. Game On

House of the Dead returns for the Wii, stiff as ever

By Chris Ward

Published: April 16, 2008

If you don't remember a game called The Typing of the Dead, you're not alone. Released on the failed Sega Dreamcast system, this gory, hilariously titled arcade-style shooter was...

16. Gut Check

Days of Wine and Pizza

By Ian Froeb

Published: April 16, 2008

A few days after Food & Wine magazine named Gerard Craft of Niche one of its Best New Chefs for 2008, my colleague Kristen Hinman broke the news of another St. Louis connection to...

17. Keep It Down

Taco Bell Bowlz bring on a serious case of existential angst

By Malcolm Gay

Published: April 16, 2008

OK, I get it. This new slew of unrefrigerated ready-to-eat semi-perishables isn't new. We've been canning for nearly two centuries, and I'll bet not a day goes by that we don't down...

18. Letters

Was it Colonel Mustard or Professor Plum who killed MLK?

Published: April 16, 2008

FEATURE, APRIL 3, 2008 Colonel Mustard or Professor Plum? 'Cause it sure wasn't Raoul: I would suggest that readers look at the House Select Committee on Assassinations report on...

19. Music

Native-American healing and a Trans-Siberian Orchestra guitarist rejuvenate metal thrashers Testament

By D.X. Ferris

Published: April 16, 2008

Filled with spirits, prophecies and demons, Testament's music and story are better than most, although the mundane details of the band's twenty-plus year history are common. Popular...

20. News Real

Many St. Louis theater companies are homeless

By Aimee Levitt

Published: April 16, 2008

In the good old days, if Hollywood musicals are to be believed, all an aspiring impresario needed to stage a successful show was an abandoned barn and a dream. Of course, St. Louis...