PRINTEditors’ Picks
These Vox-approved artists will be performing at Bluebird Music and Arts Festival
November 13, 2008 | 12:00 a.m. CST
Ha Ha Tonka
Friday 9 p.m. at The Blue Note
Related ArticlesThis Springfield product wears its Midwest pride right in its name. The oddball moniker is derived from the state park located near the band’s hometown in the Lake of the Ozarks. The band burst on the scene in 2007 with its debut album, Buckle in the Bible Belt, and shot to further fame this year with gigs at Lollapalooza and the Sundance Film Festival. Despite its hometown and album name, the group is anything but just the same old Midwest-Southern sound. They have a strong and extremely energetic rock vibe that when combined with its down-home lyrics, creates a quirky and slightly eerie juxtaposition.
Gentleman Auction House
Friday 10:15 p.m. at Mojo’s
St. Louis-based Gentleman Auction House’s upbeat and catchy songs “Call It Casual” and “The Book of Matches” hammer home the group’s self-classification of messy pop. The band’s quirky sound stems from its use of trumpet, flute and xylophone, instruments frequently left out of pop bands’ repertoires. Gentleman Auction House signed with local label Emergency Umbrella Records and released its latest album, Alphabet Graveyard, this summer. A new album is already in the works.
King Thief
Friday 11 p.m. at Eastside Tavern
King Thief, a five-piece rock band from St. Louis, will undoubtedly be one ensemble to bring out the
headbangers at Bluebird. The song “Red Light Reflex,” off of their 2007 release The Inferno provides audiences with a sample of King Thief’s mature sound, proving that it has evolved from garage band status. The band has been making waves in St. Louis and has shared the stage with like-minded rockers Breaking Benjamin and Story of the Year.
Let Lions
Friday midnight at Eastside Tavern
The group’s MySpace page says they sound like a haunted house. There might be no better way to describe Columbia’s own Let Lions, a band largely composed of current and former MU students. Amid contemporaries such as Underoath, Glassjaw and As Cities Burn, Let Lions combines its caustic sound with charismatic live performances. “If you come see us, you’re liable to see a head injury,” says Sam Hunt, Let Lions guitarist and vocalist.
Cindy Woolf
Saturday 8:30 p.m. at The Blue Fugue
Cindy Woolf does not travel alone. Quite the contrary, she will arrive at Bluebird accompanied by a full band, complete with banjo in tow. Woolf calls her band’s music folk and folk-rock but admits, “We get called pretty much everything. I don’t know where we fit, exactly. We do tend to blur those lines between genres.” Regardless of genre, Woolf’s voice is imbued with a youthful Southern twang present in much of her music, staying true to her native Arkansas roots.
The Bel Airs
Saturday 10:30 p.m. at Mojo’s
Who says old men can’t rock? The Pruitt brothers of The Bel Airs have been playing music longer than a lot of the band members at Bluebird have been alive, having formed the band 27 years ago. In addition to Dick and Dave Pruitt on bass and electric guitar, respectively, Michael Cherry completes the trio on drums. The Columbia-based band has played the Roots ’N Blues ’N BBQ Festival both years. Their music tends to have the full sound and vibrancy typical of their genre. Dick Pruitt’s powerful lead vocals remind audiences of a bygone time, and his voice matches the Southern feel of their songs.
Bockman
Saturday 11 p.m. at The Blue Fugue
This local band, which dropped the Euphio from its name, has been together for nine years and offers an unorthodox description of its sound. “We kind of play a blend of progressive pop and arena rock,” says guitarist Sean Canan. The band derived its name from a character in Kurt Vonnegut’s short story “The Euphio Question” and has a number of accomplishments to its name. Beyond playing at myriad festivals, including Wakarusa, 10000 Lakes and one they produced on their own, The Euphio Campout, Bockman has toured both coasts, been covered by Relix magazine and was nominated for a Jammy Award.
Photos courtesy of Rhymesayers Entertainment, Emergency Umbrella, King Thief, Let Lions, Cindy Woolf, Ha Ha Tonka, The Bel Airs, and Totoba Records
