Margaret BauerYou know it, you love it, you anxiously await its coming every semester. It’s the Cadenza Concert Calendar, jam-packed with shows upon shows for you to attend in the St. Louis area. It’s the only story that has more installments than the “Friday the 13th” and “Nightmare on Elm Street” franchises put together. Which is why in the future you can expect sequels like “Concert Calendar: The Final Chapter,” “Concert Calendar: H2O,” “Concert Calendar with a Vengeance” and “Concert Calendar vs. Mothra.” You don’t need instructions to rock this bad boy: Read on and enjoy!
Saturday, February 19
The Exies
Mississippi Nights
Doors open at 7:00, $6, all ages
Alternative rock and grunge that escaped the ’90s. Foo Fighters and Fuel fans feel free to frequent this fun fest.
Keane w/ the Zutons and the Redwalls
The Pageant
Doors open at 7:00, $17.50, all ages
Keane, a piano/bass/drums trio, plays expansive, melodious rock that’s reminiscent of British mates Coldplay and Travis. Their ambitious 2004 debut “Hopes and Fears” has won over many listeners with its well-crafted songs and epic feel.
Wednesday, February 23
Modest Mouse w/ Cass McCombs and Mason Jennings
The Pageant
Doors open at 7:00, all ages
For world-weary underground rockers Modest Mouse, most of their career has been a “long drive for someone with nothing to think about,” as one of their albums claims. 2004 brought massive success with “Good News for People who Love Bad News” and the hit “Float On,” however, and lispy lead singer Isaac Brock suddenly has a lot on his mind. For many, attending this show is a foregone conclusion. If you’re straddling the fence (and you want to try to scalp a ticket-the show’s sold out on paper!), you should definitely check out a band that’s naturally blessed with incredible songwriting skills and cryptic but catchy lyrics. Modest Mouse know how to turn trailer park philosophy, atheism (“God, if I have to die, you will have to die”) and modern life jadedness (“I’m gonna look out the window of my color TV”) into beautiful songs, and for that we should be eternally grateful.
Friday, February 25
moe.
The Pageant
Doors open at 6:30, $18 in advance/$20 at the door, all ages
While you might scoff at moe. as being another goofy, post-Phish hippie band, they’re practically synonymous with a good time. These road-tested jammers know how to write a fine pop song, then turn it on its head with 20-minute sonic explorations.
Tuesday, March 8
Kings of Leon
Mississippi Nights
Doors open at 7:00, $15, all ages
These four Southern gentlemen, three sons of a preacher and one cousin, want to make you boogie in your seat with their Dixie-fried rock ‘n’ roll. Surprisingly, their biggest fans so far have not been flag-waving Confederates but U.K. blokes. But hey, the Strokes were big in England first! For fans of Ryan Adams at his most country, Neil Young and the Rolling Stones.
Ted Nugent
The Pageant
Doors open at 7:00, $27.50, all ages
The Motor City Madman has decided to land his pickup truck of rock on St. Louis, and you’re all invited to an evening of “Cat Scratch Fever,” “Free-for-all” and “Wang Dang Sweet Poontang.” Come for the Nuge in all his loincloth-wearing glory, stay for instructions on wilderness survival and voting Republican.
Friday, March 11
The Pat Metheny Group
The Pageant
Doors open at 7:00, $37.50, all ages
Jazz guitarist Pat Metheny has become a legend in his own time. Come see his talented band flex their artistic muscles and show off their chops. For fans of guitar greats like John McLaughlin, Bill Frisell and Pat Martino.
Sunday, March 13
The Taste of Chaos Tour with Killswitch Engage, My Chemical Romance, The Used, Senses Fail and more
The Pageant
Doors open at 4:00, $25, all ages
For those who can’t get enough metal, the Pageant has your fix. Come thrash the night away with seven of the finest purveyors of monstrous rock ‘n’roll. The carnage continues on Monday!
Monday, March 14
These Arms Are Snakes w/ Fear Before the March of Flames
The Creepy Crawl
Doors open at 7:00, $8, all ages
For those who want their metal a bit more independent and artsy. These Arms Are Snakes, despite their bizarre name, deliver powerful rock along the lines of At The Drive-In.
Tuesday, March 15
Interpol w/ Q and not U
The Pageant
Doors open at 7:00, $22 in advance/$25 at the door, all ages
Break out the dark clothes and perfectly imperfect hair, the dark princes of independent rock are coming to the Pageant. Of all the recent bands who have mined the 1980s for its doom-and-gloom aesthetic, Interpol have put the most original spin on the trend. Fond of taut rhythms, pinpoint guitar lines, and basso, ominous vocals (courtesy of Joy Division-channeling singer Paul Banks), these four New York arty types should deliver an exciting live show. If you’ve ever thought that ’80s kids with their Cure and Smiths records were on to something, you’ll enjoy yourself. Openers Q and not U focus a bit less on self-absorption and more on punky politics, with a hard funk sound.
Wednesday, March 23
Guitar Wolf
The Creepy Crawl
Doors open at 7:00, $10, all ages
These Japanese punks want to show us how to do garage rock right. The self-proclaimed creators of the world’s loudest album, Guitar Wolf should rock the socks off the joint with some Ramones-flavored anthems.
Alicia Keys and John Legend
The Fox Theatre
Doors open at 8:00, $37.50/$47.50/$57.50, all ages
Two of the finest piano-playing singers to hit the R&B scene in years, Alicia Keys and John Legend should tear up the Fabulous Fox with their respective repertoires. Keys has sold millions with “The Diary of Alicia Keys,” an album that continues to pump out hit after hit, even after the success of “You Don’t Know My Name,” “If I Ain’t Got You” and “Diary.” With her soulful pipes and ivory-tickling skills, Keys represents a rarity today: a Top 40 artist with genuine talent. Perhaps John Legend will be counted among those slim ranks soon. The young singer was fortunate enough to get Kanye West as the producer of his debut, “Get Lifted,” and succeeded in combining hip-hop and neo-soul into one flavorful package. Propelled by the single “Used to Love U,” Legend has much to brag about and still more to prove.
Friday, April 1
The Drive-By Truckers
Mississippi Nights
Doors open at 7:00, $12 in advance/$14 at the door, all ages
This raw rock band personifies the phrase “American by birth, Southern by the grace of God.” Full of Alabama braggadocio and ready to drag their tunes “through the mud and the blood and the beer,” as Johnny Cash put it, the Truckers should have no trouble keeping Mississippi Nights awake. But they have a thoughtful side, too, exemplified by introspective songs that tackle the “duality of the Southern thang,” as front man Patterson Hood says. With winning albums like “Southern Rock Opera,” “Decoration Day” and “The Dirty South” under their belts (and belt buckles), the Drive-By Truckers prove that the spirit of Skynyrd is still with us.
Thursday, April 21
Maroon 5 w/ the Thrills
Savvis Center
Doors open at 7:30, $33, all ages
Everyone’s favorite precocious popstars will be bringing “This Love” and “She Will Be Loved” to the Savvis Center in April. If you’ve never heard Maroon 5, apparently the words “FM radio” and “ubiquitous” mean nothing to you. For all their lightweightness, though, the Maroons have a knack for enormously catchy melodies. Plus, they’re so dreamy!