All photos by Rachel Waters The Black Keys are currently on an arena tour promoting their latest album, Turn Blue, which debuted #1 on the Billboard 200 chart back in May, the band’s highest-charting effort to date. The Black Keys will be in St. Louis at the Scottrade Center on December 9th. Please enjoy these … Read more
All photos by Jason Gonulsen If you’re not familiar with Brooklyn’s Jillette Johnson, there are plenty of immediate ways to correct that, such as firing up her 2013 debut album, Water in a Whale. But a better idea would be to find her on the road, where she’ll be for most of 2014, including an … Read more
All photos by Jason Gonulsen Noah Gundersen covered Drake last night on keys while his sister, Abby, sang with him on the other end on The Demo’s stage. Of course, I’m just figuring this out now. “Hold On, We’re Going Home” was the song, and it fit nicely with the rest of Gundersen’s catalog. “Poor … Read more
All photos by Jason Gonulsen In a few years, when everyone knows about Chloe Chaidez and her band, KITTEN, she’ll probably sit back and laugh and think about how she’s been doing this for years. Her presence on stage is real — always moving, climbing speakers, jumping and sticking the landing, out in the crowd … Read more
Amos Lee (with opener Chris Kasper) was in St. Louis on Wednesday, performing to a sold-out audience at The Sheldon. Lee is touring behind his 2013 release Mountains Of Sorrow, Rivers Of Song. Please enjoy Tim Bottchen’s terrific shots of the evening, and be sure to visit his site here. CHRIS KASPER
All photos by Jason Gonulsen Valerie June is a huge talent, and she proved that last night at The Pageant where she played songs from her 2013 critically-acclaimed album, Pushin’ Against a Stone. Please enjoy our recent interview with Valerie here, and have a look at the full set of photos below.
ZZ Ward’s “Last Love Tour” made a stop at Plush Saint Louis last night where she and her band ended their set with a dance party in the name of “Blue Eyes Blind.” Please enjoy these photos from Jason Gonulsen.
All photos by Jason Gonulsen Sharon Jones & the Dap-Kings warmed up a frozen St. Louis last night, even inviting a lucky man on stage to get down with the queen herself. Please enjoy these photos from the evening.
Cage the Elephant and Cold War Kids performed at Pop’s in Sauget, Illinois this past Saturday. Please enjoy these shots of the show by Adam Schicker of Indie Image STL. COLD WAR KIDS
All photos by Chris Lay Last night at The Sheldon in Saint Louis, Toronto’s Cowboy Junkies played a full two sets (plus encore) that included selections off their recent Nomad Series, The Caution Horses’ “Witches,” Miles From Our Home’s “Those Final Feet,” and covers of Lou Reed’s “Sweet Jane” and Neil Young’s “Don’t Let It … Read more
All photos by Nate Burrell The Black Keys aren’t just a duo from Akron these days. They’re a band capable of headlining any festival known to man, and selling out arenas, which isn’t easy to do in Saint Louis if you’re not Springsteen or Pearl Jam. Last night they rocked Chaifetz Arena on the campus … Read more
All Photos by Aggie Donkar While we here at Speakers in Code are normally spotted hanging out in once smoky small clubs, every once in a while we don our finest pair of designer jeans and wash up that white part at the bottom of our Chucks to hit the town for one of those … Read more
Words and Photos by Agatha Donkar Glenn Boothe, who owns the Local 506, told me this great story a few years ago, one night when I was sitting at the bar and there were, at best, maybe 20 people there for the show — I couldn’t even tell you who was playing, that’s how empty … Read more
All photos by Agatha Donkar Delta Spirit is on the kind of roll that’s going to last for a bit. Their recently released self-titled album is a favorite of ours here at Speakers in Code, so much that we had to talk to the guys about it a few weeks ago. But, conversation wasn’t … Read more
All photos by Chris Lay From the opening “Artificial Nocturne” to the closing acoustic “Gimme Sympathy,” Emily Haines and Metric owned the Pageant’s stage on Tuesday evening. Pop, punk, rock, electronic — you name it — Haines proved to be a versatile leader of a band who knew no bounds. Their 2012 album, Synthetica, was … Read more
Photo by David Black It’s hard for me to write about Ryan Adams without getting slightly sentimental with regard to what his music has meant to my life. So, I’ll turn to the words of Neil Strauss, who once wrote this about Adams: “No one likes admitting to a guy who knows he’s a rare … Read more
All photos by Chris Lay A couple weeks ago, Grace Potter & the Nocturnals made a stop at The Blue Note in Columbia, playing a show before the release of their upcoming album, The Lion The Beast The Beat. Our friend Chris Lay was there to capture the rising band from Vermont.
Photo by Jason Gonulsen I knew a kid once in high school, his name was Bob. Bob liked to order fries from the cafeteria and stuff them in his pants pocket, perhaps to store a few away for fifth hour when he got hungry. Sometimes, you would be talking to Bob and he would just … Read more
Photo by Chris Lay It’s around 10:35 pm at Off Broadway in Saint Louis, and I’m greeted heartily by a man who wants to be called Papa Joe. He’s got a PBR tall boy in each hand, and although Whitey Morgan & the 78’s haven’t played a note, he asks me, “They great, ain’t they?” … Read more
Photo by Jason Gonulsen I know that things can really get roughwhen you go it alone A part of me has always really wanted to love The Shins, but perhaps only in small doses. Because when the band led by James Mercer is on, they are fabulous, providing hooks and melodies that you shouldn’t deny. … Read more
All photos by Nate Burrell My Morning Jacket stormed the Peabody Opera House last night, playing a two-and-a-half hour set set that took us through their massive catalog. Jim James danced, swung his hair, and we sang along to jams like “Mageetah,” “Holdin’ On To Black Metal,” “One Big Holiday,” “Victory Dance,” “What A Wonderful … Read more
All photos by Louis Kwok Another LouFest is now behind us, and despite the occasional (and sometimes heavy) rain, record crowds gathered at the two-day festival at Forest Park in Saint Louis. We’d like to thank all the bands and organizers involved in giving our city an outdoor festival it truly deserves. And we’d also … Read more
All photos by Louis Kwok Day Two at LouFest in Saint Louis featured The Flaming Lips, and abbreviated sets by Dawes and Dr. Dog, only because of a sudden downpour. Unfortunately, the rain picked up right when Taylor Goldsmith of Dawes was absolutely killing it. Oh well, such is life. Once again, thanks to Louis … Read more
Photo by Jason Gonulsen If it’s the wish to run away Then I will grant it Take whatever what you think of While I go gas up the truck Pack the old love letters up We will read them when we forget why we left here There’s a fine line between being hopeful and admitting … Read more
For those of you who’ve never had the pleasure of spending an extended amount of time in Asheville, NC – lemme set the scene for you. Imagine every person that fits a musical image you’ve ever known, congregated in one place. We’re talking every pot one could be categorized in – hippie chicks, alt-country washtub … Read more
UPDATE: Download the show here. What you once were isn’t what you want to be anymore Things change, people change. There was a rather long period in my life where all I listened to was Neil Young and, to a lesser extent, Bob Dylan. And while Young is still my all-time favorite artist (just listen … Read more
Dear friend, as you know Your flowers are withering Your mother’s gone insane Your leaves have drifted away But the clouds are clearing up And I’ve come reveling Burning incandescently Like a bastard on the burning sea I first heard “Sleepyhead” in the beginning of a budding romance, and maybe that’s why I fell in … Read more
Stars | Photo by Aggie Donkar A big ‘ole indie rock & roll show moseyed into the Triangle area of NC Wednesday night, anchored by Canadian indie-pioneers of sorts, Stars, and two white-hot up-and-coming bands — Diamond Rings and California Wives. We sent our resident shutterbug Aggie Donkar out to the Cat’s Cradle to snap … Read more
All photos by Agatha Donkar The Gaslight Anthem stuck with their roots last Thursday, playing to a sold-out crowd at small capacity Cat’s Cradle in a final club tour before their latest release, the upcoming Handwritten, propels them to the bigger venues that the band is clearly ready to play. They stuck with their roots … Read more
All photos by Chris Lay UPDATE: Stream/download the full show here, courtesy of Chris Finn. If this was the Cold War we could keep each other warm I said on the first occasion that I met Marie There was no Cold War at Plush last night. It wasn’t “hospitalization hot” or “raining from the ceiling,” … Read more