La-dies and gentlemen, step right up! Hurry, hurry, hurry! For one night only, the Yard Dogs Road Show (www.eddyjoecotton.com/yarddogs.html) is in town to astound and baffle you with sideshow freaks and burlesque tomfoolery! No "fat man" or "shrunken heads" here, though -- instead, a funky and modern (re)introduction to vaudeville and burlesque theater. This underground traveling show wants you to know that carnivals and midways were not always about cotton-candy puke and portable thrill rides, so during this extravaganza you'll see tramp artists performing poems and songs inspired by both vaudeville tradition and the artists' own pick-up-and-go lifestyle. And a jug band provides the backing track for sword-swallowers, a fire-eater named Hellvis and Eddy Joe Cotton (King of the Hobos and a Yard Dogs founding member). This sideshow swings through St. Louis and stops at the Hi-Pointe (1001 McCausland Avenue; 314-781-4716 or www.hi-pointe.com) for one performance only at 7 p.m.; admission is $8. But be warned: The group's Web site proclaims, "It steals your chickens and drinks your wine/It sticks to the bottom of your shoe/It's the Yard Dogs Road Show/And it's coming soon/To a street corner near you." Indeed.-- Mia York
Is the Heart of Rock & Roll
Beating in St. Louis?
SUN 4/3
"One that won't make me nervous/Wondering what to do/One that makes me feel like I feel when I'm with you." Isn't Huey Lewis the greatest? He must've done something right to make us remember every single word to that song for so, so many years. Betcha thought you missed the chance to see Huey Lewis & the News perform live -- but you haven't. Thanks to the annual Bob Costas Benefit Gala at 7:30 p.m. at the Fox Theatre (527 North Grand Boulevard; 314-577-5605 for tickets), you can see Mr. Lewis and company (and comedian George Wallace) for a mere $35. Oh, and despite the name, this event isn't benefiting Bob at all -- the money raised actually goes to the Bob Costas Cancer Center at Cardinal Glennon Children's Hospital, a seemingly more worthy cause. -- Alison Sieloff
The Academy's Reward
How resilient is Bob "Bobcat" Goldthwait's career? It survived the graveyard of Hollywood careers, the Police Academy franchise, not once but thrice. Goldthwait didn't just survive, like his Police Academy 4 co-stars David Spade and Sharon Stone, he thrived. What hard-drinking, mime-hating misanthrope hasn't wet themselves with glee during repeated viewings of Goldthwait's epic Shakes the Clown? Who else has been banned from the Tonight Show for setting it afire (a humanitarian act by definition of the words)? And then there's that Windy City Heat mockumentary he was in, which was greatly enhanced by Goldthwait's portrayal of a director beaten down by the business and his cast. Through it all, Goldthwait has maintained his skills as a flinty standup comic, serving as the prototype for cranky ranters such as David Cross and Patton Oswalt. Goldthwait performs at the Fairview Heights Funny Bone Comedy Club (6900 North Illinois Avenue, Fairview Heights, Illinois; 618-624-4242) at 8 and 10:30 p.m. Friday and Saturday (April 1 and 2). Tickets are $20 to $25. -- Paul Friswold
Princess Time
TUES 4/5
Regardless of lineage, when it comes down to it, all young women are princesses. Unfortunately, though, not all royalty can afford to live the princess life, but you can help. Just bring a gently worn prom dress to donate to Meg Cabot's book-signing event (she's signing The Princess Diaries, Volume VI: Princess in Training) at 7 p.m. at the Ladue Crossing Barnes & Noble Booksellers (8871 Ladue Road, Ladue; 314-862-6280). And just so you know: Helping make someone else feel like a princess for a day is a true sign of nobility. -- Alison Sieloff
Nine lives of the Bobcat
