Venue

Cicero's

6691 Delmar Blvd.

University City, MO

314-862-0009

http://www.ciceros-stl.com

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Open Mic Night Hosted by Todd Sarvies

Date/Time:Every week Monday, 8:00pm

Open Mic Night Hosted by Todd Sarvies

Christian Schaeffer

Open Mic Night Hosted by Todd Sarvies

Todd Sarvies, lead singer and songwriter for John Boy's Courage, has a voice made for modern-rock radio. His whisper-to-a-scream range can handle breathless confessionals and the occasional soul-unloading howl. The press materials accompanying The Fall Precaution refer to Sarvies' voice as "slightly unpolished" (among other traits), but nothing about this album lacks polish; the disc is as ordered and calculated as can be. Guitarist Chris Taggart, formerly of the hip-hop crew CORE Project, employs a dreamy, echo-heavy approach on Sarvies' songs, especially in the light groove of "Still." And while I'm wary of any rock musician besides David Byrne who employs a percussionist, Pete Hays adds tasteful, if often imperceptible, flourishes. The arrangements are clean and tasteful, if a bit anemic in places, but the instrumentation seems designed to keep the spotlight on Sarvies and his songs about bad break-ups and lost love.

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