Phil's BBQ- Located on Gravois in South County, this popular restaurant is always filled. Maybe it's the pig decorations or the service, but my money is on the food quality. The owners of Phil's are Italian and know how to make a mean spaghetti; my advice: order spaghetti as your side to your rib eye or pulled pork and you will not be disappointed.  They could have a larger selection of beers, but beggars can't be choosers - they practically let you eat a feast fit for a King on a peasant's salary. The one thing I notice about Phil's that makes it stand out is that the barb-b-que seems to be a tad vinegary tasting which adds a nice zing. If you are looking for a tangy bbq and awesome spaghetti, Phil's is your kind of place.

The Oddity Faire: A Mutated Mini Fest was just as much as it was anticipated to be:  weird, amusing, interesting and of course - a unique experience.  For those who did not attend the tour stop at our own Pageant right here in St. Louis on March 17, 2009, you missed a crazy night.

Currently Les Claypool is touring for the remainder of this month (majority of this tour was through out this month) and along with him are a variety of other opening bands/groups that also deserve the title of "oddity." In St. Louis, these oddities were:  Secret Chiefs 3, Saul Williams, and Devotchka - 2 of which are good friends of Les Claypool.

If you were to look up the term "hipster" in a dictionary, the definition might include a map of South Grand, the hipster's primary habitat. Located in South St. Louis City, on Grand south of Arsenal, lies the area locals commonly refer to as "South Grand". Although somewhat fairly stereotyped as an entertainment district teeming with Mopeds, indie/mod/punk kids, kinkiness, cooler than thou clubs, dirty bathrooms, art school drop-outs and extreme liberals, South Grand is so much more than that one-dimensional image.

"Everyone Knows I'm in Over My Head"...planning three and a half months in advance, for a concert  that is. If you haven't caught the reference yet,  The Fray, will be at St. Louis'  very own Verizon Wireless Ampitheater in Maryland Heights this summer, bringing all of their hit songs and some other numbers from their top selling albums.  I'm not sure about knowing "how to save a life" but I can at least give you a heads up - radio presale tickets go on sale March 20^th,   general public sales start March 21 at 10:30 a.m. and lawn seats (best seats in the house for dates  and groups of friends anyway!) are running at $14.00. Tickets are sure to go fast, so grab yours!

Coming soon to the Pageant near you...LES CLAYPOOL! The former Primus band member,  Leslie Edward Claypool will be gracing us St. Louisians with his electrifying sounds and die hard fans.  Be prepared to be blown  away with his strumming, finger-tapping, string slapping technique.

His original sound is worthy of tickets with prices ranging from $50-$100 (even though the Pageant is General Admission).  So far, the cheapest online ticket vendor for this event is http://www.wegoplaces.com/ and the cheapest price over all is $24.99 at the Pageant box office. Grab yours now so you can jam out to Les Claypool's wicked bass sounds on St. Patrick's Day! (His new album also comes out the same day: Of Fungi and Foes)