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Constantines & Oakley Hall Welcome to the Duck Room in the basement of Blueberry Hill – a place famous for both Chuck Berry and snobbish staff (for no reason what’s so ever). You’ll be happy to know that the Duck Room literally has ducks along the walls in every shape and form. Besides from that, the Duck Room probably has the best sound I’ve heard in St. Louis – something strange given the completely non-acoustically beneficial square room (that is, again, in a basement). The opener for this night was Oakley Hall with their folk pop assault completely with an array of strings and various moods and shapes. Almost hippie indie rock, Oakley Hall’s male-female sound would have went way better if the crowd wasn’t so thin and lethargic. I don’t have much background on the group, but they gave it everything you could reasonably expect on a night like this. After a short break, Canada’s the Constantines took the stage to the starting beat of “Draw Us Lines” that slowly builds as lead vocalist Bryan Webb belts out intense raspy line after line. From the start, it became clear that Webb’s stage presence separates the Constantines from most other indie rock bands. Obviously, Webb is aided in great part in his showmanship by bandmates Steve Lambke (guitars/vocals), Dallas Wehrle (bass), Will Kidman (keyboards), and Doug MacGregor (drums). As the band pushed through their Weakerthans-meets-Wolf Parade indie rock sound, they offered gem after gem including the excellent “Soon Enough,” “Working Full-Time,” “Hotline Operator,” “Shine a Light,” “Nighttime/Anytime (It’s Alright),” and the mind-blowing “Young Lions.” Given the spotlight of attention on the indie rock scene in Canada, the Constantines have been criminally overlooked. As a band that successful makes their albums come to life, they are a band to catch next time through town.
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