Time for another round of concert selections, running from now until mid-April.  I'll follow this one up shortly with another that deals specifically with April 21st – 24th, which is basically the best concurrent four days of concerts I've seen since I've come to St. Louis.  Anyway, this Show Selector is dedicated mostly to garage rock, because I fucking love garage rock and there's a ton of it coming our way.  More after the jump.


Photo credit: Bekah Cope

March 31st: Ty Segall w/ Flight – The Gargoyle [event info]

I've been all over the Gargoyle this semester, but, like, they're consistently bringing excellent shows to campus (JEFF, Dan Deacon, Menomena, anyone?).  Anyway, I caught Ty Segall in Nashville a few weeks ago, and it was one of the rowdiest shows I've ever been to: people crowd surfing on top of people crowd surfing, beer everywhere and on everything, Ty fighting the crowd with a bar stool (as pictured above).  So you can't drink in the Gargoyle and it's hard to crowd surf, but whatever, get drunk beforehand if that's your thing and come bang your head.  Also, rumor has it that this will be a rare solo show; he used to play everything himself but now plays with a backing band, so this is a rare opportunity. 

Flight, a newish band from Mississippi that plays real wobbly, crunchy rock and roll with a twist of Jesus and Mary Chain, are opening.  If you like Wavves (earlier stuff), come early and catch Flight, because they're better in my opinion.

April 1st: Pokey LaFarge and the South City Three (Record release) – Off Broadway [event info]

Recent KWUR Week alumni Pokey and his South City Three are playing a show to celebrate the release of their Jack White-produced 7", out now on Third Man Records.  This show kind of speaks for itself, but in case you've not heard of Pokey, he plays Riverboat Soul, which is a mix of "early jazz, string ragtime, country blues and western swing."  Live, this translates to a foot-stomping, enthralling and often-hilarious time. 

April 17th: Bass Drum Of Death – The Firebird [event info]

Another killer band from Mississippi, very much in the vein of Flight but a little less lo-fi and grunge/a little more Ty Segall or Black Lips-style snottiness.  Trax posted to myspace indicate that I will likely enjoy seeing Bass Drum of Death live, and if it's your thing, you might too.  Also, is there something going on in Mississippi rock'n'roll-wise that I'm missing out on, or is it simply a coincidence that there are two awesome MS bands coming to town right on each others' heels?

April 19th: The Fresh & Onlys w/ Crocodiles – The Billiken Club

Jesus, how much garage rock can we fit into a few weeks?  Actually, to be fair, The Fresh & Onlys have veered more toward psych-pop on their newest record, "Play It Strange," and the shift sounds real good.  Here's to hoping it translates well to the stage, but I'm guessing that it does, seeing how they're playing the massive Primavera Festival in May.  Also, the West Coast – specifically, S.F. – has got it going on (Ty Segall, Thee Oh Sees, TF&O's, Sic Alps, many others), and it's nice to see some of these bands hitting up the Midwest.  I've seen Crocodiles here once before, and it was a disastrous show (but a fun interview).  I'm going to give it another shot because I enjoy their records, and everyone deserves a second chance.

Other shows of note:

March 27th: Mount Kimbie – The Luminary Center for the Arts [event info]

March 28th: Destroyer w/ War on Drugs – The Luminary Center for the Arts [event info] (this shit's about sold out so grab yr tickets now if you wanna go)

April 8th: The Raveonettes w/ Tamaryn – The Firebird [event info]