Since we know everyone went to the grocery store last night for rations and emergency candles, let’s skip talking about the weather, shall we? And concentrate on the later half of this week, post-ice:
Daniel Durchholz wrote a really charming profile of young old-timey musician Pokey LaFarge and his band, the South City Three, for our February issue. (That piece will be posted soon.) This Thursday, they play the Schlafly Tap Room (2100 Locust) for free. This is remarkable for two reasons. First, as Daytrotter noted: “Pokey LaFarge is never home.” This is because he is always touring— people in Scotland and New York and France and Ypsilanti and San Francisco can’t get enough of him. The band is readying itself to roll out on another series of tours, so this could be your last chance to hear him play for a spell. And, as we noted, the price is right. The time’s a little late for a school night (9 p.m.) but you can’t have everything, right?
Unless you’re an architecture nut, you probably don’t know that at one time, our downtown riverfront had one of the largest collections of cast-iron buildings in America; most were razed for the Jefferson National Expansion Memorial. On Friday at noon, JNEM’s Chief Historian, Robert J. Moore, visits Landmarks Association of St. Louis (911 Washington) to give an illustrated lecture about “what we lost when we gained the Arch,” specifically blocks and blocks of beautiful old Victorian buildings. You can bring your lunch, but you can’t just drop in, because space is limited. Call Landmarks at 314-421-6474 to reserve a spot.
Also in our February issue, we covered GYA Gallery (2700 Locust) and the amazing women behind Yeyo Arts Collective. We’ll be posting that story later week, along with a full calendar of their February programming, but in the meantime, we wanted to call your attention to the fact that they’re hosting St. Louis alternative rap artist Thelonius Kryptonite at the gallery on Friday at 7 p.m. The cover is just $5, and he will be joined by a yet-to-be-announced guest poet. Find more details on their blog.
And not this Friday but the Friday next (February 11): The Dizzy Spell, which is not just what you get when you slip on ice and conk your noggin; it’s also the only after-hours spelling bee in St. Louis. This time ‘round, it takes place at one of the coolest bookstores in St. Louis, The Archive (3213 Cherokee) at 8 p.m. The cover is $10, includes two beers for those of legal age, and benefits Whats Up Magazine, a publication that advocates and employs St. Louis’ homeless community. But what do you win if I win, you may ask? Just like trivia, some cash (which could be, ahem, donated back to a worthy cause), and your name on an official Dizzy Spell cup. For more info, call 314-288-0712.
