Post-hardcore and screamo go hand-in-hand. Often the two are mistaken for one another, leading to drunken bar brawls over which band is what, but the perilous fight over genre conventions can be put to rest on Friday with Emery at the Firebird.
This weekend presents a choice: Pick from classic rock tributes at the Old Rock House or take on the newest crop of garage rock with Kansas City's Wet Ones over at Foam. Saturday is a songwriter's heaven with Chris Stapleton, the Decemberists and Nick Barbieri strewn all over town.
FRIDAY, MAY 29
Emery w/ Wolves At The Gate, Forevermore, Mariner Friday, May 29 The Firebird 6:30 p.m. | $18-$20 Roughly 99% of Emery's fan-base got on board after 2005's The Question, which helped to shape the face of post-hardcore for years to come. Now in 2015, the band celebrates that seminal record by performing it live from front to back for a ten-year anniversary tour. Expect a gaggle of opening acts inspired by the decade-old album.
John Mellencamp Friday, May 29 Peabody Opera House 7 p.m. | $42.50-$119.50 Chances are, you know who John Mellencamp is and you're either already going or you wouldn't be caught dead at this show. So allow us to share the most scathing article RFT Music has ever published about the man. Here's an excerpt from Six Terrible Bands I Would Fight if I Could, written by RFT contributor Drew Ailes:
When I hear one of his trite denim-shirt, gritty-voiced tales of total horse crap, I want to inject PCP into my eyeballs. I don't know if it's the hair, denim shirts or that Mellencamp's idea of making rock music means writing songs that sound like they're solely created for the purposes of being used in truck commercials, but something about this sonic abortion of a man makes me blind with rage. And because I can't quite articulate what it is that infuriates me about his music, we have no choice but to communicate using the primal language of cavemen: violence. All of this is your fault, Mellencamp -- remember these words.
Street Fighting Band - A Rolling Stones Tribute w/ The Brothers - Allman Brothers Tribute Friday, May 29 Old Rock House 8 p.m. | $15 In the internet age, where nothing is considered really original anymore, sometimes the best course of action is to pay tribute to those who came before. This is classic rock, tried and true, for the diehards who refuse to believe anything good has happened since the '70s.
Wet Ones w/ Platinum Boys, Bottom Feeders, Bad Dates Friday, May 29 Foam Coffee & Beer 8 p.m. | $5 Deep in the DNA of Wet Ones lies every good Kansas City punk band from the last two years. Ex-pats from Fag Cop, All Blood and Wayne Pain & the Shit Stains rush over a jangly mess of guitar built on trashcan drums. Bad Dates is best taken served in a dusty basement but Foam's little stage will do just fine for its hot-rod rock & roll.
SATURDAY, MAY 30
Chris Stapleton w/ Jack Grelle Saturday, May 30 The Firebird 8 p.m. | $15 Cars 2 soundtrack extraordinaire Chris Stapleton has bumped shoulders with the best in the country pop biz. From recording with George Strait and Darius Rucker to penning songs for Adele, Stapleton has climbed most every notable chart in his wheelhouse, leaving only happy fans in his wake. He's a legend in the making, that much is for sure.
The Decemberists Saturday, May 30 Peabody Opera House 8 p.m. | $30-$75 The Ren Faire set of country-rock crossover fans know the Decemberists well. How could they not? Though Colin Meloy's theatrical band seems custom fit for a niche scene, the Decemberists somehow hold the kind of mass appeal reserved for the dullest of cookie-cutter pop acts. Who's to say honest work doesn't make it in the mainstream?
The Humanoids w/ Hellachopper, Better Days, Ox Braker, Spirits and the Melchizedek Children Saturday, May 30 The Demo 8:30 p.m. | $8 The Humanoids are punk heathens that cut their teeth on the streets of St. Louis, serving up a heavy set of classy rock riffs. The band really has its own genre -- we call it bang-your-head-til-your-neck-breaks-punk. The whole lineup is crammed with jammers, from pop-punk heroes Better Days to Hellachopper, which plays its inaugural show on this night.
Nick Barbieri Record Release w/ the Kings and Queens of Clubs, Dug Out Canoe Saturday, May 30 Schlafly Tap Room 9 p.m. | Free In celebration of his debut record's release, local songwriter Nick Barbieri presents a full stack of acts at the Tap Room. Barbieri's own band brings lap steel, upright bass, harp and more instrumentation to perform original songs from Poetry Scored, which will be on sale during the show. The whole bill comes by way of Poetry Scores, a collective bent on translating poetry into other mediums. In addition to the record release, thirteen interpretations of poet Mary Dalton's piece "All the Clubs from Holyrood to Brigus: fictions, ruminations and riddles," will be played in various forms.
SUNDAY, MAY 31
Volbeat w/ Anthrax, Crobot Sunday, May 31 Pop's Nightclub 7 p.m. | $39.50 Dismiss the fact that legendary Danish metal band Volbeat is even playing St. Louis at all and we still have to call this show a "no-brainer." Admission sits right under forty bucks flat on a first-come, first-served basis, but that's a nominal fee to see Anthrax and Crobot on Pop's outdoor stage -- on the Lord's day, no less. With its latest, Outlaw Gentlemen & Shady Ladies, Volbeat enlisted the help of former Anthrax guitarist Robert Caggiano and even brought in King Diamond himself for a cameo appearance. The band might have shaved off a rough edge or two for more accessible songs, but the dark southern tinge remains, and is a credit to its enduring sound.
St. Louis Symphony: Lost in Space Sunday, May 31 Powell Symphony Hall 2 p.m. | $35-$65 Don't let the title throw you off, this isn't some live soundtrack to the original Lost in Space TV series or its horrid 1998 reboot. Instead, this event presents the St. Louis Symphony Orchestra performing pieces from Star Wars, Star Trek, 2001: A Space Odyssey and more, making for a far-reaching event that caters to the broadest of sci-fi enthusiasts. Also, a friendly reminder: We have a Grammy award-winning symphony orchestra right here in our own city.
Note: Though we wish we could, we can't feature every great show happening in town in just one post. Peruse the St. Louis concert calendar for more ideas, and let everyone know what else you're looking forward to seeing this weekend in the comments below. To be considered for coverage in RFT Music, submit show info online or drop us a line anytime.
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