SLU’s new Billiken Club may share space with a burrito stand, but it’s booking some of the best shows in town.
Story and photograph by Thomas Crone
It’s not an outrageous comment, really: Saint Louis University hasn’t been known as one of this town’s catalysts of hip entertainment. True enough, a few bars have settled within walking distance of SLU’s Frost Campus, but those nightspots have generally been of the sporty variety or carried a certain Midwestern, drink-and-be-merry vibe. In the early ’90s, though, there was a brief period when the on-campus Reinert Pub served as a magnet for not only SLU’s resident population of hip kids, but even a few off-campus regulars, who enjoyed the low-cost music and suds of the fairly Spartan club.
For the past few semesters, the Billiken Club has been channeling the spirit of that late, lamented Reinert Hall institution, but it’s done so in a bigger room and with a better sound system, plenty of student support and even a pinch of administrative goodwill.
Admittedly, the first thing you notice about the venue is the fact that it shares space with Salsarita’s, a Mexican chain eatery that draws a healthy number of student diners, who snack on burritos while the Billiken Club’s bands are making their way through soundcheck. Unfortunately, you can’t fully ignore that fact, though the members of SLU’s Next Big Thing Committee are giving it a shot, transforming Busch Student Center’s ground-level space as best as they can.
A large velvet Elvis painting hints that the back corner’s got something creative going on. And when the shows start, large black sliding curtains cordon off the music room. The bands are the key to the operation, of course, and in the last year, the room’s hosted a variety of notable national acts like Richard Buckner, John Vanderslice and the Ponys, and a host of local acts, both opening and headlining.
Asked whether certain bands were thought to be more like sure things for a SLU crowd, outgoing Billiken Club booking agent Grace Woodward says, “I thought so initially. We sort of assumed the dancier bands would do better. But the turnout at Richard Buckner changed my mind.”
That gig drew a capacity 350, only partly attributable to the room’s cover-free policy. Instead, big-name artists and the club’s growing reputation as a place to catch up-and-coming talent is primarily responsible for what have generally been solid turnouts.
The organization makes sure acts are treated the same way they would be if playing a club date somewhere else in town—maybe even a little bit better. Beyond a professional sound mixer, the Next Big Thing crew handles everything from night-of-show hospitality to press requests. Bands are also paid a fair wage, no matter the turnout. The local support bands can’t help but be pleased with their $100 guarantee.
“That pays for a nice chunk of studio time or a lot of CD covers,” Woodward observes dryly.
Overseeing the operation is Chris Grabau, a longtime SLU staff member who’s long followed his own musical pursuits. In fact, well before his days as the leader of local group Magnolia Summer, he was a SLU undergrad, playing the Reinert Pub with his nascent Americana band, Stillwater.
Aside from cracking that he’s not a fan of smoke machines and wouldn’t (ever) book a band with pyrotechnics, the room’s open to any kind of music and style. With brightly colored, collectible posters by Firecracker Press and a host of positive play in local press circles, the word’s gotten out that the Billiken Club’s not just a hangout for burrito-loving SLU undergrads. “For all intents and purposes, we’re an open venue,” says Grabau, who concedes that some shows draw a heavy nonstudent audience.
In that process, the room may have pulled even with Washington University’s long-running concert room, The Gargoyle. Not that the SLU kids are interested in throwing any cross-city verbal bricks.
“Far from it,” says Christine Sanley, a senior who handles promotions. “It’s not a rivalry. We’d like to work with them—even co-sponsoring shows.”
For information on shows, check the venue’s MySpace page at myspace.com/thebillikenclub, or call the Billiken Club Hotline at 314-977-2020.
October shows at the Billiken Club
All shows are free and begin at 8 p.m.
Peter & The Wolf (October 1). Last year, Red Hunter and his band toured the county by sailboat, gigging in cemeteries, barns and abandoned houses. His newest CD’s title, The Ivori Palms, came to him in a dream. Do Make Say Think (October 2). Ambient band has been featured on the soundtracks of The Corporation and Syriana.
The Twilight Sad (October 5). Mag Drowned in Sound says this Scottish band will soon find itself “terrorizing the mainstream with their accessibly melancholic but mightily tumultuous racket.” Film School opens.
Dan Deacon (October 11). A member of the Wham City artists’ collective in Baltimore, Deacon tweaks electronic music by combining rock ’n’ roll volume with humor, unabashed sincerity and Fred Flintstone T-shirts.
That 1 Guy (October 16). Eric Silverman plays “the magic pipe,” an instrument of his own invention: a metal loop with electronic strings.
Menomena (October 30). This Portland band uses a computer program to loop samples from guitars, glockenspiel and saxophones; Pitchfork called Friend or Foe “the first great indie record of 2007.”
