Book Review- Mississippi Nights: A History of The Music Club in St. Louis

This is my book review for Mississippi Nights: A History of The Music Club in St. Louis by Garrett and Stacey Enloe (The musical selection is from They Might Be Giants compilation Venue Songs which is pretty much what the title says- and appropriately enough, TMBG was the penultimate concert I saw at Mississippi Nights) Mississippi Nights was a nightclub in St Louis that closed this month 17 years ago. Because it’s the nightclub I most associate with youth as well as probably the one where I saw the most bands, it is my ideal layout for seeing live music. Having been to many venues now, though I still stand by that Then perhaps it just was, it entertained every genre of music and was both intimate and big enough for most national bands. Its parking lot the only place I can think of where I got into a fistfight as an adult. I was shocked when the place was closed down to make room for a riverfront Casino space. I mean I understand, and even now, I am a bit shocked and disappointed all these years later. The Enloes’ book is the tribute the club needed. A colorful coffee table book filled with anecdotes and ticket stubs. It is near perfect in that its main issue is that it could just go on forever with stories. As it stands, it’s probably the perfect size. The story of the St Louis music scene is woven throughout in a fair amount of detail. Author Garrett Enloe has a very vanilla taste of FM Rock bands, but is smart enough to fill in some of the other genres with guest contributors You will find unique stories throughout about Michael Stipe, Nirvana, Melissa Ethridge, Public Enemy, the Police and others. It is the nostalgia rush I needed. There’s also a reference of bands who played (I am pedantic so I noticed a couple of misses but it’s still nice to have). I saw a wide variety of bands there - Cramps, Ramones, Gwar, My Life with the Thrill Kill Kult, Type O Negative and it was nice to see some of those names referenced. My prime concert going years were 1993 to 2002 but the club ran from 1976 to 2007. The scope of a book like this is it likely won’t appeal outside of the St Louis area (I know there is probably a small secondary audience of people who just love musical venue history) but the club surely had the kind of impact that if you lived in the region and went there, this book will be meaningful And if you do fine the club meaningful then this book nails that memory. I would love to see a sequel though it would be pointless (this is the book to own) though there’s still probably enough St Louis history, the Enloes could find other routes to explore