Universe Contest St. Joseph Poster

WHO’S PLAYING?  Cupcake (St. Joseph, MO) Universe Contest (Lincoln, NE) Missouri Homegrown (St. Joseph, MO)

WHAT TO EXPECT?  A show that will knock your damn socks off…

Cupcake has been called St. Joseph’s best band by many and after seeing them perform live it is hard to argue with. If you like FM radio hits and songs you can sing along to don’t bother looking into Cupcake’s music though, you won’t like it. This band doesn’t make music for the faint-hearted, they will make you work for it. A song for the group is like walking through a hedge maze; you think you have it figured out and you are certain of what is around the next corner but then your world gets turned upside down and you are once again lost. You struggle to make it through, attempting to understand the logic of what you have just experienced, you get frustrated and mad but after it is over you realize you feel as exhilarated as you ever have and you want nothing more than to do it again.

Cupcake sounds like: Modest Mouse, The Pixies, your inner child getting laid for the first time.

Universe Contest is another band that you won’t be able to figure out right away. As soon as their set starts you see the human beings that make up the group disappear as they get in touch with their primitive sides. The show will take place in a dark, enclosed space that will be filled with strategic lighting and smoke machines. It will leave almost everything to the imagination and make you take the music by the hand and let it guide you through the great unknown. It will be a sight and a journey you won’t soon forget.

Universe Contest sounds like: The Stooges, Pavement, getting an anal probe from aliens… and liking it.

Missouri Homegrown will be an interesting contrast after Universe Contest. If Universe Contest’s music takes you by the hand and guides you; Missouri Homegrown’s music punches you in the face and kicks you three times before you hit the ground. They will summon personal demons and tragedies and conjure them up in musical form to let you know how the other half lives. Their grittiness is only overshadowed by undeniably pop hooks and rustic guitar solos. PBR is not required to enjoy their set but it will help you understand the band better.

Missouri Homegrown sounds like: Drive-By Truckers, Tom Petty, a whiskey bottle being finished at 10am.

WHERE IS IT?  The Rendezvous, 619 Felix St  St Joseph, MO 64501

WHEN IS IT?  Saturday, February 1st, 2013; 9:00pm sharp, $3

WHY SHOULD I GO?

• 3 bands for $3… If you complain about that price you deserve to have your ass kicked
• There will likely be brief nudity and prolonged adult situations
• Cupcake will bring the weird, it might be whippets or just a hula dance, it’s really hard to tell
• Universe Contest is from out of state, you won’t see anything like their show anytime soon
• Universe Contest also brings a ton of merch, there is no telling what it will be
• You might get lucky and see Universe Contests tour bus, Dharma 2000 (ladies, you have a better shot than the gents at this)
• Missouri Homegrown will deliver their same hard hitting, unapologetic set
• I know, I know… The Paradox Theater opening is that night; you should probably just try to hit both at some point
• It’s a Saturday night in February; get the hell out of the house…