The In-Store

Neon Memes • Coming, as it does, from a writer who once pounded a music-related beat for four-plus years, this admission may approximate apostasy: I'm increasingly relishing live musical performances less at traditional venues like nightclubs than at music stores. Insider lingo categorizes the latter sort of performance as an "in-store," and this admission follows my attendance this past Saturday at just such an in-store at Webster Groves' Euclid Records (601 E. Lockwood Avenue, 314.961.8978). Rocking the house that afternoon were New York's incendiary Steve Wynn & The Miracle 3, who that evening also took the stage at Off Broadway (3509 Lemp Avenue, 314.773.3363). And all other things being equal, I dug the earlier gig more than the later one. In general, an in-store, it seems to me, enjoys the advantage of being looser but less louche. In any comparison between even a semireputable club and a store, of course, the former will likely best the latter on audio quality. The in-store, however, will draw roughly the same true devotees but far fewer scenesters, meat marketeers and first-daters seeking a handy social Petri dish wherein to test the potential for a second date. I believe I can live with that compromise. ―Bryan A. Hollerbach, Managing Editor