Spitalfield and The Forecast teamed up for a brief midwest blitz of shows, wrapping with vintage performances at Off Broadway in St. Louis.
Early on the undercard, but big in people’s minds, was the reunion of Bi-Level at this show. The St. Louis-area band had not performed live in “16 or 17 years” (nobody could be exactly sure) but showed no signs of rust when they took the stage to open the show. Given the lyric singing in the crowd, a large chunk of attendees wanted to make sure they caught this set specifically. The power-trio played 2003’s The Songbird in its entirety, with “Waving Goodbye” closing things out and getting some of the biggest cheers.
Peoria, IL’s The Forecast is no stranger to St. Louis. Since breaking out with 2005’s Late Night Conversations, the band has made many trips to the Show Me State. The band got their set going with “Seating Subject To Availability” from the previously mentioned Late Night Conversations. The Forecast’s signature sound is undoubtedly the vocal interaction between Dustin Addis (guitar/vocals) and Shannon Burns (bass/vocals). While Addis handles most of the verses, Burns’ layering of choruses and bridges adds an entirely different sonic tone to the songs. Not to be left out, lead guitarist Jonathan Lullo also takes his fair share of backing and layering vocal duties. There was no singing from drummer Tony Peck, but the St. Louis native (with the massive Busch Stadium chest tattoo) held down amazing rhythm over the 15-song set.Set highlights from the band included “APR” (“One of the first songs we ever wrote together”), “West Coast” (with its unparalleled bridge and outro), and “Good Journey” from 2024’s Good Journey. Addis mentioned the band has a backlog of songs written but needs to just “do the thing.” Whenever they do, they’ll have a crowd in St. Louis to listen.
Spitalfield wasted no time getting right into the heart of their catalog, starting their set with “Those Days You Felt Alive,” the lead track from 2003’s Remember Right Now. A long-time St. Louis favorite, Spitalfield is going through a bit of a renaissance after an extensive hiatus, and the band visibly shows how much they enjoy playing together again.Mark Rose (vocals/guitar) had a great connection with the crowd, inviting them to get involved with the singing duties whenever possible. Lead guitarist Dan Lowder was a joy to watch perform, seeming like he was almost possessed by the notes he was playing as he constantly moved around his little section of the stage. The rhythm section of T.J. Minich (bass/backing vocals) and Drew Brown (drums) provided a rock-solid foundation for the band. Minich’s backing vocals were an amazing accent of the performance, and Brown’s drumming has long been some of the best around.
An interesting side-quest arose as the band tried to figure out what on stage was playing Rob Zombie’s “Dragula” (it was Minich’s phone). Not to be thrown off their game, the band used the opportunity to lead a few separate sing-alongs of the song with the crowd. As they quipped, “It wouldn’t be a Spitalfield show if we didn’t have technical difficulties.”
The band ceded the stage to Rose for an amazing version of “Am I Ready?” which proved to be one of the best moments of the show. The biggest reactions of the night, however, were saved for the last two songs of the set. The band gave blistering performances of “I Loved The Way She Said L.A.” and the closer, “Make My Heart Attack.”
Rose mentioned that opportunities to play together “won’t last forever” but as long as Spitalfield keeps putting on performances like this, they’ll always be welcome in St. Louis.
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