When it comes to a united live music scene, St. Louis was never an Omaha or an Austin. But through the years our small city has managed to hold its own with the big boys, with many influential national acts making St. Louis a stop on their tours. No one seems to want to comment, however, on what is slowly happening to those few places that local music lovers hold so dear. Is the St. Louis music scene living out its final death throes? If not, what venues will possibly be able to carry the torch?
The trouble began, in my opinion, in March of 2006 when the Creepy Crawl changed location from Tucker Avenue to a new site in the Grand Center. The Creepy Crawl is a Mecca for St. Louis metal, hardcore, and punk bands, and the atmosphere of the old Tucker location was ever so appropriate: walls completely covered with stickers and posters and a bathroom that was sure to give one tetanus if he touched anything. Seeing a band play there was an experience, not just because of the music but because the place fit so well with the scene.
The new location is, well, nice. It’s much larger and allows the over 21 crowd a much better chance at seeing the stage, but it just doesn’t have the ambience that the old location did. Where are the stickers? Where are the signs of all the bands that have at one time played that stage? I need those stickers.
A more solid blow came when the Hi Pointe closed in September of 2006. Some of my most memorable experiences in live music were seeing bands that I loved at a place as intimate as the Hi Pointe, dubbed St. Louis’s best “dive bar.” I was, at times, able to have actual conversations with band members because the place was just so completely chill. Unfortunately, with the sale of the building that the Hi Pointe operated in, it was forced to close its doors for good, and at this point there are no plans to reopen at a new location.
The final nail in the coffin came early this year when everyone’s favorite venue, Mississippi Nights, announced that it would be closing. On January 19th a final show was held where members of the St. Louis music community jammed on the famous stage for the last time, a stage that Nirvana, B. B. King, Willie Nelson, and Fugazi all once graced with their presences. If there was any shrine to St. Louis music, it was Mississippi Nights. It was large enough to draw quality national acts, but small enough to really be an intimate setting.
The one ray of hope lies in the fact that the previous owner of the venue has not denied the possibility that it may reopen somewhere else. They have even taken precautions to save all the precious memorabilia that graced the walls in the hopes that it may one day grace the walls of a new location.
The loss of Mississippi Nights is a grave one. St. Louis needs a venue of that size: Larger than the small bar-type clubs, but a more intimate setting that the massive Pageant on Delmar. I know some of you may be saying, “Well, you’re forgetting about the UMB Bank Pavilion.” And to you, I say, “Shut up.”
So what venues are left? I have seen many great shows at Off Broadway in the Lemp/Cherokee district. Their recent bookings of quality bands including The Hold Steady bode well, and I have a feeling that much of the slack left over from the loss of Mississippi Nights will be picked up by this small venue that the Riverfront Times continues to call “The best music venue in St Louis to hear live music.
Surprisingly, The Duck Room at Blueberry Hill on Delmar seems to be booking some more well known acts. I was surprised to learn that The Long Winters would be playing there, and am looking forward to that show. We’ll have to watch and see if this new trend continues.
WashingtonUniversity’s venue The Gargoyle has always had great shows, in my opinion, despite being nothing more than a room in the basement of their student union. Perhaps they can begin booking more of the bands that would have, in the past, played at Mississippi Nights or The Hi Pointe. One can only hope.
I don’t pretend to know what the answer is for St. Louis. I think one of the problems lies in the lack of commitment to a local music scene. Many will only go to see those bands that they know extremely well, missing out on all the great music that they may have just not have heard of yet. If music lovers started taking chances, and venues started making more money, maybe they could book better bands. At this rate, I think most bands tend to overlook St. Louis as a possible stop for their tours just because of lack of interest from the city.
I can’t say that it will be the answer, but it couldn’t hurt. Go out, support St. Louis’s local music scene. Go see local bands (I know, that sounds scary, doesn’t it?). There are a number of bands from St. Louis right now that are making awesome music: So Many Dynamos, The Feed, and The Gentleman Callers to name a few of my favorites. Check them out, and maybe this won’t go down as the year that “the music died.”
