Entries Tagged 'Show-Me Blowout' ↓

This is kinda funny… one of the Show-Me Blowout nights got listed in the latest poll on Mayor Slay’s website under the heading “Which of the following concerts of 2007 drew the greatest attention in your house?”

So yeah, vote for The Cripplers at Off Broadway!

http://www.mayorslay.com/polls/20071227Year.asp

Thanks!

I’m taking a break from the whole TIRC Productions show-promotion/booking thing. Why? Well, I feel like Bill Streeter and I really busted our asses to promote the Show-Me Blowout, only to have it not meet our expectations. I don’t mean that in terms of the quality of the performances of each band (they were all fantastic, as expected), but due to the very poor attendance both nights at Off Broadway (not even close to what I was shooting for, as a matter of fact). There were also dozens of people that I fully expected to see there (some of them from actually TELLING me they’d be there) who, for whatever reason, decided not to come either night (or show up at the free barbecue at Apop, for that matter). I don’t mind working hard to promote things that people enjoy and/or support, but when you work hard to promote something only to have it fail time and time again (and lose money doing it), it just starts to lose its appeal. It’s just not fun anymore. So I’m tired of it, tired of the disappointments, and am simply going to take a break. So don’t be surprised if you don’t see me promoting (or showing up at) any shows for a while. I just need some time away from music promotion and the whole local music scene in general. Whether or not this break becomes permanent or not is yet to be decided, but no matter how much I try to remain positive about the rock’n'roll scene in St. Louis, I keep getting reminded of how much it really sucks ass. Those two nights at Off Broadway were big, daunting, humiliating reminders of this for me.

So the big question remains: Will there be a Show-Me Blowout 2? Don’t hold your breath.

Well, I’m happy to say that the Show-Me Blowout seemed to be a nice success. The bands were all fantastic and there were really very few complaints or problems, especially on Saturday night when some of the timing issues were corrected from the previous night. Unfortunately, the attendance for the two nights combined didn’t even reach 200 people, with the second night falling far short of expectations. This despite good press both in print and online and plenty of promotion. Still, a fun show, and Craig Moore really ripped it up on stage with The Nevermores and The Geargrinders on their covers of two classic ’60s garage punkers, “Doin’ Me In” and “Blackout of Gretely,” respectively. The Saturday afternoon BBQ Bash at Apop Records also went off without a hitch, and all four bands were great there as well. Lots of people enjoyed a keg of Schlafly Winter ESB (they were already out of the Oktoberfest), damned fine burgers and some of the largest, juiciest hot dogs the world has ever seen, all prepared perfectly on the grill by Bill Streeter of Lo-Fi Saint Louis. Were you there? Then please post your thoughts on how the whole thing shook down on the TIRC-STL google group.

That said, because of the lackluster turnout, I have a huge overstock of Blowout T-shirts available that I’m “blowing out” for just $8 plus postage. This basically means I’m making just over a buck on each shirt. Hopefully I’ll sell enough of these to break even, but somehow I doubt it. Oh, and I don’t care if you were there or not. I’ll sell a T-shirt to anybody, anywhere, anytime. Just send your money in via PayPal using the button below (and don’t forget to indicate your shirt size and include your snailmail address). Thanks!

Share your photos of the event here!

The Show-Me Blowout starts tonight! In case ya missed it, here’s the local press it received this week:

Jason Toon wrote a great piece on it for “B-Sides” in this week’s RFT:
Show Me the Garage Rock!

Matt Fernandes wrote about it on the Rock Candy blog on Wednesday:
Get dirty this weekend at the Show-Me Blowout!

And, as previously noted, Thomas Crone in the 52nd City blog:
Show-Me Blowout @ Off Broadway; Q/A with Kopper

Now here’s a little somethin’ somethin’ to help get ya in the mood… BOOM!!

More info? Check out the Show-Me Blowout on THE CIRCUIT.

Doors at 7pm, show at 8:00 (or shortly thereafter). See ya tonight! And tomorrow!! And tomorrow night!!!

Thomas Crone published a Q&A with me yesterday on his 52nd City blog. Click here to read it.

Thanks, Tom!

Hanging out at Blood Wall. The Cripplers will be headlining the first night of the upcoming Show-Me Blowout garage/rock’n'roll fest (Friday Oct. 12th at Off Broadway). It’ll be their first live show in over two and a half years. Click here to download their 2nd LP, Death of the Cripplers.

We were able to get the Crowne Plaza Hotel downtown to give us a special rate of $89/room for the nights of October 12th and 13th. This is a savings of $20 off their regular room rate, so it’s a good deal, if not still a bit pricey (but hey, it’s a really nice hotel, too). But the big advantages of staying here is A) you’re downtown (lots to see), and B) you’re only 3.5 miles (less than 10 minutes) from Off Broadway. Just make sure you mention the Show-Me Blowout when calling in your reservation: (314) 621-8200

Now, if $89/night is still too much, we can also recommend the nearest Motel 6 at 6500 S. Lindbergh Blvd. in South St. Louis County, but that’s considerably further (9.4 miles to the venue) and isn’t really close to anything interesting, other than maybe Grant’s Farm. The normal single room rate here is just $51.99/night. They weren’t able to give us any sort of special room rate for this event, sorry. (314) 892-3664

Another thing you can do is to go to www.priceline.com and for a zip code type in St. Louis and then, after you search for hotels, look for the “name your price” link under “More Ways to Save” on the right side. Click that link, then on the next screen choose Downtown St. Louis, then either 3-Star or 2 1/2-Star Moderate-Plus. Then just put in $50 or $60 in the “Name Your Own Price” box and see what happens. You may end up at the Raddison, Ballpark Hilton, or the Sheraton. All nice hotels and downtown, which is cool, and within a few miles of the venue. Good luck.

I decided to dedicate the newest episode of my Savage Kick podcast to the 2-day all-Missouri garage/rock’n'roll fest that I’m putting on here in St. Louis next month. I wasn’t sure if anyone has ever thought to promote a festival with a podcast before, but I thought it couldn’t hurt… Click here to listen, and click here for the RSS feed.

Playlist:
The Cripplers - Feel I’m Gonna Explode!
The Cripplers - Boone County
Pink Socks - Everybody Wants To…
Pink Socks - Sit Down
Rich Boys - L.I.V.I.N.
Rich Boys - Toxic Wind
Modern Primitives - I May Be Your French Bread, But Not the Croissant
Modern Primitives - What’s Left to Say, But I Don’t
Left Arm - As Seen on TV
Left Arm - Human Bomb
The Geargrinders - Weather
The Geargrinders - She Shakes Too Much
Thee Fine Lines - I Wanna Feel Fine
Thee Fine Lines - Corrine
The Vultures - Obsolete
The Vickroids - Friday Night
The 75s - Finders Keepers
The Mad Titans - Overture in E Minor
The Von Hodads - Diamond Head
The Von Hodads - Shindig
Monte Carlos - Domino
Monte Carlos - Vampire
The Nevermores - Everyday
The Nevermores - I Lost Lenore

Thanks for listening. See you at the Blowout!
kopper

DOWNLOAD MP3 | SUBSCRIBE TO THE PODCAST

Big news! If you haven’t already heard, taking The Honkeys’ spot headlining the second night of the Show-Me Blowout will be the return of THE GEARGRINDERS featuring Jeff Hess with a new lineup, which just so happens to include three members of said surf/instro band (Jason Edge, Exene Cervenka’s hubby and also guitarist in The Original Sinners; Micah Edge on organ; and Cullen McGrane on bass) as well as Ben Wah, St. Louis native now living in L.A., who’ll be flying in to play. Ben Wah was also in Hippies in Flames (St. Louis/Seattle) and is the current drummer for the Feederz (currently on hiatus) and played with them on their 2002 reunion LP and 2003 tour.

Anyway, it’s gonna be huge. If you don’t have your tickets yet, you should get them now, because all bets are on that this thing will sell out.

The Geargrinders on MySpace:
http://www.myspace.com/thegeargrinders

The Geargrinders on The Circuit:
http://lofistl.ning.com/profile/geargrinders

Click here to buy your 2-day pass for just $15 (includes BBQ party at Apop on Saturday afternoon).

If that link doesn’t work, just go to TicketWeb.com and search for “Show-Me Blowout”…

Thanks!

Show-Me Blowout Update: The Honkeys have canceled. Jeff Positive got offered a gig to tour with a Thrill Jockey Records band in the UK the first half of October. Can’t say that I blame him, really, because it’s a great opportunity. I have to admit this bums me out a bit (this jockey isn’t the least bit thrilled, in other words), not only because I thought they really deserved to be on this bill (and would have good pull), but because I was away on vacation and missed their show at the RnR Prom and was just looking forward to seeing them perform again. Oh well, shit happens. So that means I’ll have to fill that void with another band. I have a few in mind, so I’ll let you know when everything’s confirmed and the updated lineup is ready to post.

The Mad Titans will be replacing Thee Hypnic Jerks at the Apop shindig Saturday afternoon.