Live In Concert: Little Pieces - Cicero's - St. Louis, MO - 05/27/10

 Yesterday morning I was getting my daughter ready for pre-school and she was not getting out of bed very easily. She has a clock radio/wave machine in her room so I turned off the waves and turned on the radio to see if that would stimulate her senses. I had the radio tuned KDHX 88.1. The show that was playing in the Thursday morning time slot from 5-7 a.m. is called Pop The Beat Bubble Burst, a show that plays various forms of Rock 'N'Roll including pop, jangle, power pop, etc. I was moving in and out of the room and I came back in and heard a familiar song playing and wondered to myself "Who is that band? I know that song." Sure enough it was a song called "Record Mine" by Little Pieces, a Seattle based trio! See the song list for the radio show here.

A few months ago my lifelong friend, drummer Rob Lloyd, e-mailed me asking about venues in St. Louis to play a show later in the year and some suggestions on sending a press kit to KDHX. I sent him back my thoughts and he ended up booking a show at Cicero's in St. Louis and sending a press kit with their full length debut album and new EP and a letter about the band and their upcoming show to Rich Reese at KDHX.

At midday Rob called to check in and see if I was going to make the show later that night. At that point I wasn't sure I was going to be able to make it and advised I would at least be seeing the show on Sunday in Collinsville. He was excited that their song had been on the radio earlier in the day and gave me the schedule of the two shows and we chatted about his trip. He recounted the story of one of his checked bags, including his snare drum and merchandise, not making the flight from Seattle to St. Louis. Luckily a stressful situation was avoided when the airline was able to deliver the bag later that same night.  He also revealed that the band may be splitting in the not so distant future with the possible move by singer/guitarist Herman Jolly from the Seattle area to Portland, OR.  Rob seemed at peace with this possibility which likely had a lot to do with his baby daughter and owning a small business.

After our phone call and then speaking with numerous friends, I found that most people were attending the show on Sunday as well so I felt I should show my support by going to the Cicero's show as well. Since this decision was made on a last minute notice I didn't show up to the venue until just before Little Pieces started their set. There were four acts on the bill - a rapper J. Coates, Little Pieces, Farewell Flight and Heroes Of The Kingdom which includes another longtime friend of mine, Christian Powell, on guitar. I had already missed the rapper who went on first, however, I saw a few old friends and acquaintances and settled into a draft of Anchor Steam to listen to the set.

Little Pieces played a tight set consisting of songs from their debut album from 2008 and a six song EP they released earlier this year. The sound guy got the mix of guitar, bass, drums and vocals just right without any of the components overpowering the other parts. Even with some borrowed equipment the band seemed at ease with the set up.  Singer/guitarist Herman Jolly had his black Epiphone Les Paul guitar sounding great playing through a borrowed Fender Twin Reverb.  The warm Les Paul sound was heavy in the small room, yet the higher stings had nice clarity without a lot of crunch keeping the pop feel intact. Bassist Grant Badger's bouncing lines cemented the back beat while adding color to the mix as a good bassist in a trio should. Badger shuffled around the front of the stage with a Fender bass through an Ampeg rig since he wasn't tied to the microphone stand like Jolly. Lloyd was on his game last night playing with ferocity like a man on a mission. His signature heavy, yet tight drumming style, complete with drum stick twirls, gave the pop tunes from the long player much more of a Rock vibe in the live setting especially on songs like "Hurricane" and "Wrote A Letter." On some of the newer songs like "Chessman" classic rock style fills dominated and his playing seemed liberated from the simpler beats of the full length LP. Lloyd's performance was about putting on a good show for the audience and it showed. The set only lasted 10 songs, roughly about 45 minutes, which seemed a little truncated, but a packed bill necessitated adhering to a strict schedule.

Little Pieces Set List 5/27/10 - Cicero's - St. Louis, MO

• Key On A Kite
• Hurricane
• One Million Feet Below
• Record Mine
• Wrote A Letter
• Fit You Like A Glove
• After Me
• I'm A Bull
• Summertime In Space
• Chessman

After the show and the equipment was torn down, I exchanged greetings and talked with Rob for a while about the set offering him a Boulevard Wheat for his effort.  Later, I spoke with Badger and offered my thoughts on the set and asked him for a copy of their new EP. After I handed over my $5 we chatted about the band.  Badger told me that he and Lloyd have recorded another album's worth of material and only need to add Jolly's guitar and vocals to the mix. However, Badger also confirmed the news that the band's future is uncertain with Jolly possibly moving sometime soon, but also seemed okay with the possible end to the band.
For certain a rift is in the air, but time will tell what happens and all things are possible.

I caught a bit of the set by Farewell Flight, but Rob wanted to go out into the restaurant and talk so we left the twenty something band behind for the quieter quarters. I was not able to stick around to see the set by Heroes Of The Kingdom (sorry Christian) since I had to be up early for work the next day, but will likely catch a show in the near future since the band is based in St. Louis.

Little Pieces have a few more Midwest dates they are playing this weekend -

Champaign, IL - Mike & Molly's
Friday, May 28, 2010
9:00 pm
105 North Market Street, Champaign, IL 61820

Springfield, IL - Private Party
Saturday, May 29, 2010
Contact them if you would like to attend.

Collinsville, IL - Hurricanes Bar & Grill
Sunday, May 30, 2010
9:00 pm
222 West Main Street, Collinsville, IL 62234

Upcoming Concert Scheule

On Friday, I did some research of the concert schedules for the local music venues. Here are the highlights at what jumped out at me.  I am going to one of the Little Pieces shows this week and I just bought tickets for the Tom Petty & The Heartbreakers show in mid-July. Unfortunately funds and time will limit the amount of these shows that I actually see. However, my goal is to write reviews here of what I end up attending. Get out there and support live music!

May
Wed 5/26/10 – BoDeans – Old Rock House - $25 – Doors 7 p.m. Show 8 p.m.
Thur 5/27/10 – The Great Outdoors / Little Pieces / Heroes Of The Kingdom - $7 – Cicero’s – 8 p.m.
Sun 5/30/10 – Little Pieces – Hurricane’s – Collinsville, IL

June
Fri 6/4/10 – Mother Hips w/ Don Gallardo & How Far West – Old Rock House - $10 – Doors 8 p.m. Show 9 p.m.
Thur 6/17/10 – Jay Farrar – Old Rock House – $20 – Doors 8 p.m. Show 9 p.m.
Sat 6/19/10 – Marah – Blueberry Hill - $12 – Doors 8 p.m. Show 9 p.m.
Sat 6/19/10 – The Great Crusades, The Saps, Dana Anderson – Off Broadway - $8 Doors 8:30 p.m. Show 9 p.m.
Mon 6/21/10 – Blitzen Trapper w/ The Moondoggies – Off Broadway - $12 adv/$14 DOS – Doors 7 p.m., Show 8 p.m.
Sun 6/27/10 – Black Joe Lewis & The Honeybears w/ Hacienda – Off Broadway - $10 adv/DOS $12 – Doors 7:30 p.m. Show 8 p.m.
Mon 6/28/10 – The New Pornographers w/ The Dodos – The Pageant – $22.50 adv/ DOS & Balcony $25

July
Thur 7/1/10 – Henry Rollins – The Pageant - $23.00
Mon 7/12/10 – Minus The Bear – The Firebird –
Fri 7/16/10 – The Gaslight Anthem – Pop’s – $15 adv/DOS $17 – Doors 7 p.m.
Sat 7/17/10 – Modest Mouse – The Pageant –
Sun 7/18/10 – Tom Petty & The Heartbreakers w/ Drive By Truckers – Verizon Wireless Amphitheater
Sat 7/24/10 – Silversun Pickups w/ Against Me! & Henry Clay People – Live on The Levee – Downtown St. Louis - Free

August
Fri 8/27/10 – The Black Crowes – The Pageant - $49.50 floor/ $59.50 balcony
Fri 8/27 & Sat 8/28 – Lou Fest – Forest Park

September
Thur 9/2/10 – Johnny Winter – Voodoo Lounge
Fri 9/10/10 – Todd Rundgren – Roberts Orpheum Theater – 8 p.m.
Sun 9/19/10 – Farmer Jason Ringenberg Family Matinee – Off Broadway - $8 adv/DOS $10 – Doors 2:30 p.m. Show 3 p.m.

October
Sat 10/23/10 – Suzi Shelton Family Matinee – Off Broadway - $8 adv/DOS $10 – Doors 2:30 p.m. Show 3 p.m.
Fri 10/29/10 – Roger Waters – Scottrade Center
Sat 11/13/10 – Chris Smither – The Focal Point - $20

Happy Birthday Bob!

Today is Bob Dylan's 69th birthday so I felt compelled to go to my favorite independent record store, Euclid Records, and get a Dylan album that I didn't already own and check out what else was interesting.  On my drive to the store I was listening to Dylan's Tell Tale Signs release from The Bootleg Series on my iPod. An alternate version of "Most Of The Time" came up that I really liked so I thought I might look for his Oh Mercy album or possibly Slow Train Coming, Infidels or Before The Flood. As always I could have walked out of there with a stack of LP's and used CD's and dropped a few hundred dollars, but I restrained myself and only bought a few. Here's what I picked up...

Band Of Horses - Infinite Arms - $11.99 [New]
The Bottlerockets - Zoyzia - $8.99 [Used]
Bob Dylan - Oh Mercy - $8.99 [New]
The Hold Steady - Boys And Girls In America $8.99 [Used]
The Police - Ghost In The Machine [Remastered] - $7.99 [Used]
Silver Jews - Tanglewood Numbers $7.99 [Used]

I was excited to find The Hold Steady album as I only had a digital copy at home.  I was also excited to find the new Band Of Horses album for a reasonable price and I finally got the last Police album that I needed to replace my old CD copies with the remastered versions.

After I got in the car and headed back to work I was looking at the condition of the used compact discs that I had bought. When I opened up the cover on the Police album I noticed that I had not received the right disc in the package.  The clerk had given my Jerry Garcia's album Run For The Roses (Arista, 1982) instead.  When I got back to work I called and told them about the mistake and they apologized and advised that I could come back in and switch out when I was back in the neighborhood.

While I have been a longtime fan of the Grateful Dead I have never gotten around to checking out their solo work. So after I got home I made sure to download the Garcia album into iTunes so I could listen it to it soon.

All and all a good trip.

The Friday iPod Shuffle - 5/21/10

Bed Of Nails – Husker Du – Warehouse: Songs And Stories
Disappear – INXS – X
Bad Day – Juliana Hatfield – Bed
The Wake Up Bomb – R.E.M. – New Adventures In Hi-Fi
I’m Alive – Throwing Muses – Hunkpapa
Vengeance Is Sleeping – Neko Case – Middle Cyclone
Kick Me And Cancel – Robert Pollard – From A Compound Eye
Start Again – Catie Curtis – A Crash Course In Roses
Get Me Away From Here, I’m Dying (Live) – Belle And Sebastian – If You’re Feeling Sinister (Live)
Sudden Stop – Percy Sledge – The Ultimate Collection
Hey Nonny Nonny – Violent Femmes – Why Do Birds Sing?
O My Soul (Rehearsal) - Big Star – Nobody Can Dance
Silvertown – John Gorka – After Yesterday
Nature Boy – The Sea And Cake – Nassau
Straight Into Darkness – Tom Petty & The Heartbreakers – Playback
Off The Hook – Peter Frampton – S/T
Your Angel Steps Out Of Heaven (Live) – Elvis Costello – Almost Blue
Cypress Branches – Rachel’s – The Sea And The Bells
Never Mind – The Replacements – Pleased To Meet Me
Breakerfall (Live) – Pearl Jam – 10/11/2000 St. Louis
Theme To Barney Miller – Television’s Greatest Hits
Gotta Travel On (Live) – Flatt & Scruggs w/ Merle Travis – Flatt & Scruggs At Carnegie Hall
Day After Day – The Pretenders – The Singles
Broken Arrow – Buffalo Springfield – Again
The Lost Child – The Stripling Brothers – Down In The Basement - Joe Bussard’s Treasure Trove Of Vintage 78’s
Summer Baby (7” Version) – Pavement – Slanted And Enchanted: Luxe And Redux
Always On My Mind (Live) – Willie Nelson & Johnny Cash – Storytellers
For What It’s Worth [Stereo Version] – Buffalo Springfield – S/T
Goodbye Stranger – Supertramp –
Your Ghost – Kristen Hersh w/ Michael Stipe – Hips And Makers
Golden Slumbers – The Beatles – Abbey Road
Twenty Five Miles – Edwin Starr – Motown Legends
Clubhouse Stomp – The New York Hawks – Baseball: A Film By Ken Burns
Aquarium – Robyn Hitchcock – Eye
Get On With It – Letters To Cleo – Aurora Gory Alice
Almost Beating – Bill Janovitz & Crown Victoria – Fireworks On TV!
So What!!! – The Lyrics – Nuggets: Original Artyfacts from the First Psychedelic Era 1965-68
Fifty Miles Of Elbow Room – Iris DeMent – Infamous Angel
Goodnight Moon – Will Kimbrough –
Dear Madam Barnum – XTC – Nonsuch
No Depression – Uncle Tupelo – No Depression

Forever Young

A while back we bought a book for my daughter titled Forever Young. The text is by Bob Dylan from the song of the same name and the illustrations are by Paul Rogers.  No, not the same Paul Rogers of Bad Company fame though. The illustrations begin by showing a fellow modeled after Woody Guthrie giving an acoustic guitar to a young boy in the honor of a long standing tradition.  The illustrations continue to show the boy playing at home to his parents, playing to a crowd in the park, playing in his room, daydreaming, walking and singing in marches, playing with a group of musicians in the park, and finally giving the guitar to a young girl. My daughter calls this book "the guitar book." We have been reading this book here and there for a while now. However, lately it's been in heavy rotation during our nightly bedtime stories.

Forever Young By Bob Dylan and Illustrated by Paul Rogers (Ginee Seo Books, 2008)

This past Saturday afternoon I found some time to pull my acoustic guitar from it's slumber and noodle around and strum along to some songs while my wife and daughter were out. When they came home my daughter was excited to see the guitar and wanted to strum the strings and play with the guitar pick.  I let her play around with what she wanted and answered her questions as she pointed to different parts of the guitar. 

A few months ago I taught her to talk into the soundhole of the guitar and hear her voice inside the guitar body.  On Saturday she spoke into the soundhole with her mouth up against the strings. Instinctively, I asked her "who's in there?"  Without hesitating and full of confidence my daughter replied back to me, "Bob Dylan!"  This response obviously made my wife and I  laugh heartily out loud.

That's my girl!

Classic.

The Friday iPod Shuffle - 5/7/10

Title: 2000-2009

Light Show – Robert Pollard – From A Compound Eye
More Of You – Laura Love – Fourteen Days
Charlemagne In Sweatpants – The Hold Steady – Separation Sunday
Are You Alright? – Lucinda Williams – West
The Charging Sky – Jenny Lewis & The Watson Twins – Rabbit Fur Coat
Good Eye – Bruce Springsteen – Working On A Dream
Asphyxiated Circle – Guided By Voices – Half Smiles Of The Decomposed
I Missed The Point – Neko Case – Blacklisted
Jolene – Bob Dylan – Together Through Life
Bling (Confession Of A King) – The Killers – Sam’s Town
I Can’t Stop – Al Green – I Can’t Stop
If I Give My Soul – Johnny Cash – Unearthed
Theologians (Live) – Wilco – Ashes Of American Flags
Alive (Live) – Pete Yorn – Live From Soho (iTunes Exclusive EP)
The Return Of Jackie And Judy – Tom Waits – Orphans
#1 Must Have – Sleater-Kinney – All Hands On The Bad One
Down On The Riverbed – Dave Alvin – West Of The West
Darken My Door – Lucero – 1372 Overton Park
Mirror, Mirror – Whiskeytown – Pneumonia
Breakin’ The Law – The New Pornographers – Mass Romantic
Phone Book – Jay Bennett – The Magnificent Defeat
Soul Of A Man – Ollabelle – S/T
Stay On The Ride – Patty Griffin – Children Running Through
Hollow Man (Live) – R.E.M. – iTunes Live: From London
You Want That Picture – Bonnie “Prince” Billy – Lie Down In The Light
These Eyes – Jarvis Humby – Assume The Position It’s…
Argument – Fugazi – The Argument
Amsterdam – Griffin House – Lost & Found
Rock ‘N’ Roll Singer – Mark Kozelek – Rock ‘N’ Roll Singer [EP]
Hollow Reeds – Lois Maffeo & Brendan Carty – The Union Themes
Rhythm & Soul – Spoon – Ga Ga Ga Ga Ga

The Fun Is In The Hunt...And The Deal

Two new albums that I have anticipating this spring were being released today. At lunch I went looking for these new releases and see if there were any other deals. My friend Eric gave me money if I found the new album by The Hold Steady and I headed out into the beautiful weather.

I first went to Best Buy and they had a couple of the albums I was looking for but not everything on the list.  This particular location has consolidated their racks in the last few weeks and you can tell they aren't ordering as much stock.  The selection is not as bad as Borders, but it's not very good either.

After walking around Best Buy a while I decided to leave without buying anything and head over to Target. I parked at the edge of the parking lot and walked past all the stay at home moms to the electronics department. My expectations were low going in, but I was pleasantly surprised by what I found.

Court Yard Hounds - S/T [Columbia] - $9.99 (for Mary)
The Hold Steady - Heaven Is Everywhere [Vagrant] - $9.99
Minus The Bear - Omni [Dangerbird] - $6.99
The New Pornographers - Together [Matador] - $7.99
She And Him - Volume Two [Merge] - $9.99

The Court Yard Hounds and The New Pornographers records at Best Buy were $11.99 each.  I checked Amazon and found I could have saved $2 each on The Hold Steady and Court Yard Hounds albums but would have spent $5.00 more on the Minus The Bear album so I actually saved $1.00 - pre-tax of course.  Besides I also picked up greeting cards for Mother's Day...something I would never buy online.

Overall, not bad for brick and mortar. Now if I could only buy these albums that cheaply at my favorite record stores instead of the box stores.

New Music - Release dates for May and June

Since I have been buying some music lately I figured that it was time that I made a list of new albums that I needed to get or check out in the upcoming weeks and months. Although I have already bought new albums by Spoon, Johnny Cash, Drive By Truckers, and Patty Griffin there have been quite a few albums that I have missed already.  Most are by favorite artists or ones that that I follow. This could be a very good year for music if the first few months are indicative of the entire year!

Bettie Serveert: Pharmacy of Love [Second Motion]
Broken Bells - S/T
Carolina Chocolate Drops - Genuine Negro Jig
The Nels Cline Singers - Initiate [Cryptogramophone]
Jakob Dylan - Women And Country
Roky Erickson With Okkervil River - True Love Cast Out All Evil
Juliana Hatfield: Peace and Love [Ye Olde Records]
John Hiatt - The Open Road
Robyn Hitchcock & The Venus 3 - Propellor Time [Sartorial]
Sharon Jones & The Dap Kings - I Learned The Hard Way
Ted Leo & The Pharmacists - The Brutalist Bricks
Natalie Merchant - Leave Your Sleep [Nonesuch]
Midlake - The Courage Of Others
Allison Moorer - Crows
Robert Pollard: We All Got Out of the Army [GVB Inc]
She & Him - Volume Two [Merge]
Iggy and the Stooges - Raw Power: Legacy Edition [Columbia/Legacy]
Peter Wolf - Midnight Souveniers
Various Artists: The T.A.M.I. Show - Collector's Edition [DVD] [Shout! Factory]


To further that sentiment the month of May starts out with a bang and holds up pretty well through June so far. This week some of the albums I have been anticpating all year are coming out (e.g. Hold Steady and New Pornographers) and the trend keeps going each week into the middle of June. Here's what I am looking forward to in the next couple of months.
 
May 4
Broken Social Scene: Forgiveness Rock Record [Arts & Crafts]
Court Yard Hounds - S/T [Columbia] (w/ Bonus Tracks & DVD)
The Hold Steady - Heaven Is Whenever [Vagrant]
Greg Laswell - Take A Bow
Minus The Bear - Omni [Dangerbird]
The New Pornographers - Together [Matador]
Josh Ritter - So Runs The World Away [Pytheas Recordings]

May 11
Keane - Night Train
Hot Tuna - Live At The New Orleans House -Berkley, CA - Sept. 69
Jim Lauderdale - Patchwork River
The National - High Violet
Poco - Live At Columbia Studios Hollywood 9/30/71
Johnny Winter - Live At The Fillmore East - 10/3/70

May 18
Band Of Horses - Infinite Arms
The Black Keys - Brothers
Cheap Trick - The Doctor
Crooked Still - Some Strange Country
The Jayhawks - S/T (AkA The Bunkhouse Album)
Otis Redding - Live On The Sunset Strip
The Rolling Stones - Exile On Main St. (Deluxe Edition)
Jon Spencer Blues Explosion - Controversial Negro

May 25
John Prine - In Person And On Stage
Hank Williams III - Rebel Within

June 1
Tift Merritt - See You On The Moon

June 8
Blitzen Trapper - Destroyer Of The Void
Nada Surf - If I Had A Hi-Fi
Grace Potter & The Nocturnals - S/T
The Roots - How I Got Over
Teenage Fanclub - Shadows

June 15
Cowboy Junkies - Renmin Park
The Gaslight Anthem - American Slang
Chris Isaak - Live At The Fillmore
John Mellencamp - On The Rural Route 7609 [Box Set]
Tom Petty & The Heartbreakers - Mojo

June 22
Bruce Springsteen & The E Street Band - London Calling: Live In Hyde Park [Blu-Ray/DVD]

June 29
Alejandro Escovedo - Street Songs Of Love

July 13
Sun Kil Moon - Admiral Fell Promises

Lunch Hour Finds - Antique Mall

Found some more 45's at the antique mall today at lunch.

The Beach Boys - Little Deuce Coupe (Capitol, 1963) [LP]
The Beach Boys - Little Saint Nick b/w The Lord's Prayer (Capitol, 1963) [Green Vinyl]
The Beatles - Nowhere Man b/w What Goes On (Capitol, 1965)
KISS - Tears Are Falling b/w Any Way You Slice It (Mercury, 1985) [Picture Sleeve]
John Lennon - Happy Xmas (War Is Over) b/w Listen, The Snow Is Falling (Capitol, 1971) [Green Vinyl]
Motley Crue - Looks That Kill b/w Piece Of Your Action (Elektra, 1983) [Picture Sleeve]
Poison - Talk Dirty To Me b/w Want Some, Need Some (Enigma/Capitol, 1986) [Picture Sleeve]
The Rolling Stones - Start Me Up b/w  (   [Picture Sleeve]
Jimmy Ruffin - What Becomes Of The Broken Hearted b/w  (Soul, 1966)

Afterwards I went through the drive thru at McDonald's next to the antique mall.  I got in line and placed my order and was advised to pull forward to the first window.  As I was paying a young girl asked me "is that vinyl?" while pointing to the passenger seat. I affirmed her query and she went on saying that her "parents made me listen to vinyl copies of their albums as a kid." I advised that I do the same with my daughter with our jukebox and 45's.  She went on to say that her parents had a turntable and she had listened to the likes of John Denver and other 70's artists.  I advised that many bands are releasing their new albums on vinyl and she should pick up her new favorites on vinyl with digital downloads.

I had fun trying to convert the masses and I had a smile on my face all the way back to the office.
_______________

Later in the evening my wife, daughter and I went to Borders and I found a few more cheap finds. Ever since Borders (and the other big box retailers for that matter) decided that books were more important than music and movies in their business plan I have not had as enjoyable experience shopping in the store. But as we walked up to the store there were racks outside the front door and a large pink cover emblazoned with the words "The Clash" caught my eye instantly.  I walked up to the rack and checked out the book and was shocked that they were selling this book for $5.99! This hardcover book was normally priced at $40.95.

The Clash by The Clash [Book]

Hardcover: 384 pages
Publisher: Grand Central Publishing (November 4, 2008)
Language: English
ISBN-10: 0446539732

After we went in my wife found the book she had come looking for we meandered back to the music and kids section with our daughter in tow. Every Borders store has severely reigned in the floor space of the music department and now the shopper is relegated to new releases, best seller back catalog titles or some diamonds in the rough if you will. These albums that I found fall into the third category. 
Jeff Beck - Truth (Bonus Tracks) (Epic, 1968) [CD] - $8.99
Tom Waits - Swordfishtrombones (Island, 1983) [CD] - $6.99

On my way out I saw that Uncut Magazine, a music magazine published in the UK, had a feature about "The 50 Greatest Lost Albums."  I didn't pick up the magazine right away, but I'm going to need to go back for that one.

St. Louis Record Collector Show - May 2nd

Yesterday, I went with my friend to the St. Louis Record Collector Show at the American Czech Hall 4690 Landsdowne Avenue in South St. Louis.  I haven't been to this show in well over 10 years, but there is always an interesting assortment of stuff available. The show has been running for 31 years and mostly all at this location. See this article in last week's RFT about the show. The show runs about every other month only on Sundays from 10 a.m. to 3:30 p.m. Admission is $2.50. (8:30 a.m. early bird entry: $5.)

Since my friend is not a morning person we agreed to leave about 10:30 which would put us at the hall about 11:00 a.m. We arrived and found a pretty decent crowd milling about.  I heard one seller exclaim that one guy had been at his booth earlier and dropped $400!  Most of the sellers were selling vinyl on LP or 45 RPM or CD's and DVD's.  I did not see anyone selling posters and such, but maybe there were a few floating around.

I went to the show mostly looking for 45's for the jukebox and was not disappointed. I came away with about 35 records plus blank sleeves and bags for 45's and LP's. The first booth that stopped at had a couple of boxes for $1.00 a piece and I found about 14 from this seller. Later, another seller I found on the other side of the hall said he had bought a large lot of 45's from a guy in Louisiana and had not even cracked 12 of the boxes.  He was selling them three for $1.00 and the quality ended up being pretty good.  I ended up going through what amounts to one box and found 21 titles to buy. I was also excited to find many of the original basic sleeves for the records.  I got the guy's phone number to maybe buy the rest of the boxes for $25 per box. 

Meanwhile, my friend found a Devo DVD, but not much else so he was ready to go pretty quick. I could have stayed another hour or two, but since Scott was ready to go I figured I wouldn't leave him bored and get going too. Since my wife was still out with her sister, we grabbed some lunch at Qdoba afterwards and headed home.

My friend Tom, who couldn't go to the show this time, said that he's ready with his truck and trailer for next time. He might need it! The prices were pretty reasonable if you look around. I probably could have found some more rare singles had I been able to look a little harder.  The records I did find were good and decent quality, but not overly exciting. I think that I will try to get to the show a little earlier next time though. (By the way...Thanks goes to Tom for the tip on the article).

Here's what I found on Sunday...

The Beach Boys - I Get Around b/w Don't Worry Baby (Capitol)
The Beatles - Get Back b/w Don't Let Me Down (Apple)
Big Brother And The Holding Company - Piece Of My Heart b/w Turtle Blues (Columbia)
J.J. Cale - Crazy Mama b/w Don't Go To Strangers (Shelter)
Ray Charles - Hallelujah I Love Her So b/w What Would I Do Without You (Atlantic)
Bobby Darin - Splish Splash b/w Judy, Don't Be Moody (Atco)
Deep Purple - Woman From Tokyo b/w Super Trouper (Warner Bros.)
Dion - Runaway Sue b/w Runaway Girl (Laurie)
Dave Dudley - Where Does A Little Boy Go b/w I Keep Coming Back For More (Mercury)
Everly Brothers - Wake Up Little Susie b/w Maybe Tomorrow (Cadence)
Fleetwood Mac - Rhiannon (Will You Ever Win) b/w Sugar Daddy (Reprise)
Eddie Floyd - California Girl b/w Woodman (Stax)
Eddie Floyd - Why Is The Wine Sweeter (On The Other Side) b/w People, Get It Together (Stax)
The Fortunes - Here Comes That Rainy Day Feeling Again b/w Bad Side Of Town (Capitol)
Ferlin Husky - Flat River, MO. b/w One Life To Live (Capitol)
Johnny & The Hurricanes - Red River Rock b/w Buckeye (Warwick)
Billy Joel - Piano Man b/w You're My Home (Columbia)
Jean Knight - Mr. Big Stuff b/w Why I Keep Living These Memories (Stax)
John Lennon - Stand By Me b/w Move Over Mrs. L (Apple)
John Cougar Mellencamp - Jack And Diane b/w Can You Take It (Riva)
Tom Petty & The Heartbreakers - Don't Come Around Here No More b/w Trailer (MCA)
Wilson Pickett - Land Of 1000 Dances b/w You're So Fine (Atlantic)
Otis Redding - Respect b/w Ole Man Trouble (Volt)
Run DMC - My Adidas b/w Peter Piper
The Seeds - Pushin' Too Hard b/w Try To Understand (GNP Crescendo)
Carly Simon - You're So Vain b/w His Friends Are More Than Fond Of Robin (Elektra)
Sir Douglas Quintet - Mendocino b/w I Wanna Be Your Mama Again (Smash)
The Staple Singers - City In The Sky b/w That's What Friends Are For (Stax)
Edwin Starr - War b/w He Who Picks A Rose (Gordy)
The Stone Ponys - Different Drum b/w I've Got To Know (Capitol)
Sugarloaf - Green-Eyed Lady b/w West To Tomorrow (Liberty)
The Supremes - You Keep Me Hangin' On b/w Remove The Doubt (Motown)
Little Johnny Taylor - You're Savin' Your Best Loving For Me b/w What Would I Do Without You (Ronn)
The Temptations - Papa Was A Rollin' Stone (Vocal) b/w Papa Was A Rollin' Stone (Instrumental) (Gordy)
Jr. Walker & The All Stars - Mutiny b/w Home Cookin' (Soul)
Larry Williams - Short Fat Fannie b/w High School Dance (Specialty)

Lately, I have been buying some records at the local stores too and thought I would tack that on the end of this post.

Euclid Records - April 30

Andre Williams - Rib Tips Part 1 b/w Rib Tips Part 2 [45 RPM]
Various Artists - A Tribute To Woody Guthrie (Warner Bros.) [Vinyl]
The Clash - Super Black Market Clash [CD]
Jesse Malin & The St. Mark's Social - Love It To Life [CD]
Palace Music - Viva Last Blues [CD]
Various Artists - Live At KDHX Vol 7. [CD]

Record Exchange - April 23

The Beach Boys - Wouldn't It Be Nice b/w God Only Knows (Capitol)

The Box Tops - The Letter b/w Happy Times (Mala)

The Byrds - Mr. Tambourine Man b/w I Knew I'd Want You (Columbia)

The Byrds - I'll Feel A Whole Lot Better b/w All I Really Want To Do (Columbia)

Bob Dylan - Just Like A Woman b/w Obviously 5 Believers (Columbia)

The Kinks - All Day And All Of The Night b/w I Gotta Move (Reprise)

The Kinks - Tired Of Waiting For You b/w Come On Now (Reprise)

The Kinks - Autumn Almanac b/w Mr. Pleasant (Pye)

The Kinks - Father Christmas b/w  Prince Of The Punks (Arista) [Picture Sleeve]

Drive By Truckers - The Big To Do [CD]

Upcoming St. Louis Record Collector Shows

American Czech Hall

4690 Landsdowne Avenue 

St. Louis, MO

10 a.m. to 3:30 p.m.

Admission is $2.50. (8:30 a.m. early bird entry: $5.)

Sunday, July 11

Sunday, September 12

Sunday, November 7