Urban Pic of the Day - Front Porch

It amazes me how many people ask what my flag represents. And people who should know better.
If you don't have one up, go buy one and let's decorate the city. We already know you love your country, so take down your American Flag and replace it with the St. Louis Flag!

Urban Pic of the Day - Hope Springs Eternal

Hope Springs Eternal

Bates Street Boys

One of the things Maggie and I love about shopping at Soulard Market every week is the people that we see and talk to on a regular basis. From produce vendors, to proprietors of local shops to friends that we run into, there is a true sense of neighborhood. Even though we don't live in Soulard, we feel like we do on Saturdays. One of those folks that we see every week is Charles Haller.

No matter what the temperature is, on Saturday morning you'll find Charles sitting at the west end of Soulard Market, either picking his banjo or acoustic guitar, singing anything from century old folk tunes, to John Prine covers, to original compositions by him and his band, The Bates Street Folk'n Blues Band.

Charles doesn't always perform solo at the Market. He gets a lot of help from the many children that pass throught the market. Whether it's singing along, or helping to strum the banjo, he loves playing for the kids and introducing them to traditional folk music. Here he can be seen playing "Jesse James" off his latest cd, "Last Missouri Exit".

In addition to his band and street musician duties, he also gives lessons for a small fee. As his business card says, Bates Street Folk'n Blues Band plays music for all occasions - weddings, funerals, divorces, et. al. So if you're shopping at Soulard Market, make sure you stop by and listen to Mr. Haller, drop a few bucks in his jar, and buy one or both of his cd's, "Behind the Times" and "Last Missouri Exit". They're only 5 bucks each.

Urban Pic of the Day - Skeet

"Skeet"

Urban Pic of the Day - Dusk on Loughborough

This was taken as I was driving west on Loughborough approaching Gravois. Carondelet Park is on the right hand sight.

Urban Pic of the Day - West on Lindell

Sunset looking West on Lindell at Grand.

Urban Pic of the Day - Joyce's Corner

Joyce's Corner in Soulard Market. Where you can order breakfast, lunch or dinner any time of day they're open, and you can get an ice cold beer at 7 am if you desire.

Urban Pic of the Day

Here is a photo of a rehab in progress in the beautiful neighborhood of Lafayette Square. This was taken during 2004's Lafayette Square House & Garden Tour. According to their website, this year it's called the 2005 Spring House Tour "Through the Looking Glass", and is being held on June 4 and 5, from 10 am to 5 pm. Tickets are 12 bucks in advance, 15 day of.

Urban Pic of the Day

Ted Drewes on Grand This was taken just about a year ago. Too bad the Grand location doesn't open until Memorial Day weekend. They would've have had plenty of money from me by now. My favorite concrete ... the TedDad, vanilla custard with crumbled up Dad's Scotch oatmeal cookies. My favorite non-concrete ... the Root Beer Float.

Sinnin' With the Shriners

I had one of the most unique movie-going experiences of my life this weekend, as Maggie and I went to see Sin City at the Moolah Theater.

We got there early so we could check out the rest of the building which includes a bar, lounge area and a bowling alley, which is located in the basement. Maybe I'm spoiled with the decor of Pin-Up bowl on Delmar, but I was somewhat unimpressed with the look of the bowling alley. But hey, there's only 2 left in the city of St. Louis, so what's not to like?

The theater is another story. A 400 seat theater with a screen the size of a Drive-in and balcony seating, it is now the premier movie viewing site in the St. Louis area. the entire lower level is filled with cushy leather sofas, love seats and chairs, with a few regular movie seats toward the back. We sat in the second row, which was just a little close for my taste.

I know the theater's been open for several months, but I haven't really had the desire to see anything there yet, due too a less than impressive lineup of movies that have been shown there. So when I heard Sin City was playing, I was ecstatic. Sin City is unlike any movie I have ever see, and it was great to see in a theater unlike any I've ever been in!

Here are some more pictures of the interior.

Urban Pic of the Day

The old Virginia Theater
This photo was taken from my front porch. Yes, I have the pleasure of living right across the street from this beautiful building which is full of potential. I will have more on this building in another post, but for now enjoy the photo.

Urban Pic of the Day

I am introducing a new feature here at PrettyWarSTL. It is the pic of the day. The photo will be somewhere in the St. Louis area, mostly in the City proper, but sometimes, as today, in the inner-ring suburbs. Sometimes (as is the case today) the location will be obvious, other days it will be more vague. Sometimes I'll give info on the particular photo, other times I'll ask for info, ie. history of a particular building, etc... Today, let's go to the Loop, k?

Johnson Tribute by Berry at the Ed?

I hope you music fans got a chance to listen to local Soul Selector, Papa Ray's tribute to Johnnie Johnson on KDHX Friday night. It helped put in perspective the influence that Johnnie had not only on Chuck Berry, but on Rock'n'Roll in general. Chuck is still with us, and as you most likely know, plays at Blueberry Hill once a month. According to the New York Times (courtesy of the AP), Chuck is thinking about planning a tribute to his one-time collaborator.

Berry said he would perform a tribute concert in Johnson's honor, ideally at downtown St. Louis's roughly 70,000-seat Edward Jones Dome. ''We'll fill that sucker,'' he said.

I'm not sure he could sell 70,000 tickets at this point, but it would be great to see at The Pageant.

Okemah God!!

More good news on the music scene with St. Louis resident Jay Farrar's new version of Son Volt and the release of their new CD.

‘Okemah and the Melody of Riot’ the new album from Son Volt, will be released by Legacy Recordings on July 12. The album features Jay Farrar (vocal, guitar, piano, harmonica), Dave Bryson (drums), Andrew Duplantis (bass, backing vocal), and Brad Rice (guitar) with guest appearances from Eric Heywood (pedal steel), John Horton (electric slide) and Mark Spencer (slide guitar, slide dulcimer, organ, backing vocal). Anchored by Jay’s songwriting and propelled by a renewed rock and roll aesthetic catalyzed by a cast of new players, Son Volt’s 'Okemah and the Melody of Riot' was produced by Jay and recorded straight to analog tape in St. Louis during October 2004. Here is the album’s tracklisting:

Bandages & Scars
Afterglow 61
Jet Pilot
Atmosphere
Ipecac
Who
Endless War
Medication
6 String Belief
Gramophone
Chaos Streams
World Waits for You
World Waits for You (Reprise)

In addition to that, a "Greatest Hits" or Retrospective as it were, is due out on May 24th and it contains Son Volt material from 1995-2000, including some rarities. Here is that tracklist:

1: DROWN
2: WINDFALL
3: ROUTE
4: REX’S BLUES
5: LOOKING AT THE WORLD THROUGH A WINDSHIELD
6: TOO EARLY
7: BACK INTO YOUR WORLD
8: PICKING UP THE SIGNAL
9: I’VE GOT TO KNOW *
10: CREOSOTE
11: STRAIGHTFACE
12: TULSA COUNTY
13: DRIVING THE VIEW
14: AIN’T NO MORE CANE *
15: FLOW
16: HOLOCAUST
17: TEAR STAINED EYE (Four Track Demo) *
18: LOOSE STRING (Four Track Demo) *
19: MEDICINE HAT (Live – Acoustic Café) *
20: OPEN ALL NIGHT

Slo Tom's

It tickles me silly to bring you the following news... Come help Iron Barley celebrate their 2 year anniversary at MayFest 2005 with none other than ... The Bottle Rockets

The date is Sunday May 15th and the hours are 1pm - 7pm. For 25 bucks in advance, or 30 bucks day of, you get a commemorative Iron Barley Mayfest '05 7oz. sampler glass that you can fill with all of the Schlafly product you can consume in 6 hours.

You can also check out some stellar local music brought to you by Barb & Ted (from Hillbilly Thursdays at the IB), Mark Chechik of Waterloo, Kevin Butterfield, Gary & The Dynamics (who typically play at Slo Tom's) and The Bottle Rockets (who will hopefully play Slo Tom's - hint hint).

They will also have plenty of food available, so bring some extra cash, cuz it's not included in the price. The tickets go on sale tomorrow, 4/14/05 and there are only 400 available, so get 'em while they're hot. I'm told they are blocking off the street behind the Barley to accomodate the expected crowd. Anyone who knows me, is intimately familiar with my unconditional love for both Iron Barley and The Bottle Rockets, so to have them together in the same day is nothing short of heaven.