Aesop Rock is one of the biggest names in independent Hip Hop and I don't mean to be pointlessly contrary on this subject but I have to agree with Stonedranger on a lot of these acts. Indie Rap tends to prize the geek over the gangster, and though that might be respectable, it's not always a better listening experience. Making as many obscure references as Dennis Miller in a really nerdy voice is not really how I get down, though some of the production on these records make them worth a listen or two. DJ Signify for example, is obviously talented but the minute someone like Buck 65 starts in on it, I quickly lose interest. Black Moth Super Rainbow has been compared to Air, and whenever I hear one of their almost too obvious mournful little chord progressions I want to hate what follows, but never do. For that alone, they're actually much better than Air. I'm a sucker for treated vocals over huge beats.
Good thing The Dwarves cut their sets so short and usually destroy something leaving no hope for an encore, because their music has devolved into in-joke pop punk that's much more offensive than any of their album covers. They do put on a quite a live show, so if you're into spectacles, by all means go. I'm assuming Lyin' Btich And The Restraining Orders is a Ronnie Dobbs' reference. Red Blood Club has had some good lineups lately and is one of the only reasons that people I know have to go to Deep Ellum.
Meat Puppets(House of Blues) Of all the older groups playing out this weekend, The Meat Puppets are probably your best bet, if the general reaction to their last visit to North Texas is any indication.
Stereo On Strike(Minc) This free show marks the first time Stereo On Stike will headline Minc. Wanz says he'll be playing a batch of music spanning his interests in various genres, with an emphasis on Fidget.
All of the Bakesale proceeds from this show will benefit the Denton Community Food Center. I believe the patchwork nature of this lineup is the result of both SHQ and Fra House no longer hosting shows. Fight Bite opens the show and features members of C!TR and Teenage Symphony. The group's sound is very melancholy with lots of organ, keyboard percussion and airy vocals. Tame...Tame and Quiet and Tre Orsi approach some similarly thoughtful sonic territory, though Tre Orsi comes off as less prog-rock and seem heavily influenced by The New Year and Shellac. Fierce Perm are from Olympia, Washington and sound like the sort of agitated rock that Olympia became famous for. Douche is one of the loudest and fiercest of all local groups and Shiny Around The Edges is a high concept act that always mixes it up with barely recognizable feedback-suffocated covers, so I won't pretend to know what they might do at this show. I do know that they often feature local talent to accompany them onstage.
Queen Majesty is here to make up for her last Taxi Fare appearance that unfortunately fell through. Central Booking have very quickly made up for it by having the Reggae Vinyl archivist back in town, and at The Loft as opposed to Zubar. Promoter/DJ June D has made a name for herself not just in New York, but has mixed at countless parties across the US, heavy on Ed Banger and other French Electro stuff. And of course rounding things out will be The Party. This all-ages show is only $5 before 11 pm.
Listening to Helmet's more recent material was a very similar experience to finding out what the aforementioned Dwarves have turned into. I remember this band being able to pull out the occasionally stunning block of riffage, and though that's still intact in the overall sound, any quality moments are ruined by dreadful modern rock radio crooning. In fact, I'd take Record Hop over any of these touring acts.
Sondre Lerche | Dan Wilson (Club Dada) This will probably be the biggest Dada show since Ghostland Observatory packed the place last year, and this artist is considerably more popular and internationally recognized. Sondre Lerche is one of those artists that plays it so safe and middle of the road, which has ironically made him the lightning rod of many a music argument I've heard in the past few years. In fact, I think the opinion is fairly split around We Shot JR Headquarters. If you've made up your mind, get to Club Dada early as this might sell out. I've been waiting a long time to type that sentence.
Chin Up Chin Up | Handbrake | The Ponys (Rubber Gloves) I've never quite understood the appeal of Chin Up Chin Up. There's something a little too overwrought about the singing, or the fact that they basically make "Emo For Smart People" or something along those lines. The Ponys are a slightly better Chicago act with more dated influences, and some of their work for In The Red rocks just enough to be noteworthy, except when the Jagger/Richards wannabe tendencies get out of hand. Actually, that goes for a lot of almost decent bands. Handbrake performs somewhat sporadically and I've missed them on too many occasions now. Their music has a very nice treble-encrusted sound that I'm sure is murder on the ears live, but that's okay. Most people's ears deserve to be murdered every now and then.
ADD: Sorry, forgot to throw this one up there--
San Serac | Keith P | Wanz Dover (Fallout) Should be a big show for Stereo on Strike this evening as the somewhat buzzed about San Serac invades Fallout Lounge. The work I've heard from him has ended up reminding me of the highly respected and MUCH buzzed about French producer Kavinsky-- sort of a spaced out, highly stylized throwback early 80's synth pop thing that recalls everything from the synth funk of Dirty Minds era Prince to Gary Numan to Yellow Magic Orchestra to mid period Human League and Heaven 17. It's really pretty quality stuff, and I think the accompanying DJ sets will go nicely with it. It's nothing you haven't heard before, but whatever. (SR)
A super secret inside source from the Dallas Observer confirmed in an email to us this morning that Jonanna Widner was fired as Music Editor yesterday. A retrospective on her role in the highly regarded local cover band | dudes with birds nest hairscene is forthcoming.
None of the details are available at this time, but I bet someone will send us something soon. Stay tuned.
Short Attention Span Theater with musical guests, Dana Falconberry and Seth Sherman (Rubber Gloves) Dana Falconberry has collaborated and performed with Peter And The Wolf, but her music is less pretentiously exotic and features none of that group's kitchen sink approach to instrumentation (aka strumming on antique shop instruments you don't really quite grasp or understand.) Instead, Dana's music relies mostly on the strength of her strong yet endlessly aching voice as she sings on a variety of cryptically archaic topics. Seth Sherman is an experimental guitarist strongly influenced by the work of Sandy Bull and John Fahey. The difference between Sherman and say, the people on that John Fahey tribute album that Vanguard Records put out last year is that he can actually pull some of that tricky alternate tuning and speed-of-light finger picking material off convincingly.
Bleach Boys | Rageous Bros | The Wayward Boys | Duane Peters Gunfight (Darkside Lounge) I believe this show was originally at Red Blood Club, but switched venues at the last minute due to the horrific stabbing situation of last weekend. Tonight marks the debut of the hilariously named Rageous Bros, a new thrashy blast beating hardcore group with members of Trifle Tower. Their demos sound pretty insane and I'm hoping to catch them soon. The Bleach Boys call themselves "Denton Surf," but that's impossible. According to St. Vincent, there isn't a single body of water anywhere near Denton.
The Hold Steady | Art Brut (Palladium) Art Brut has long been compared to The Fall, and they even acknowledge this on their web page. They reassure their Myspace visitors that they actually sound like Pulp. A couple of thoughts on this: 1. Don't ever compare your band to an inferior band if you disagree with the artist you're most commonly compared to. 2. Nobody really sounds like The Fall. Also, nobody really seems to like The Hold Steady, even people with questionable taste.
Goddamn it man. Two great shows tonight, and unless you drive really fucking fast, you'll have to pick one (post written by Stonedranger)
Architecture In Helsinki | Glass Candy | Panther (Hailey's) For some reason, every time I hear Architecture in Helsinki, I think about Fiery Furnaces. Perhaps its the manic, hyper short attention spans of both of these bands that causes it, but whatever the reason, I always come to the same conclusion: Fiery Furnaces are overrated, and Architecture in Helsinki are not. I know I know, they aren't really similar enough to compare in this way, but I just like taking shit. I mean talking shit. To me, Architecture's songs often seem to border on gimmicky, but the underlying chaos of their work is often refreshing thanks to a solid emotionally provocative core that ties most of their music together. Its tempting to dismiss some of their more restless material as little more than throwing shit against a wall to see what sticks, but for me, more careful listens have revealed something more happening beneath the surface, which is something I don't find in the work of, say, Fiery Furnaces. Glass Candy returns to the area after quite an upswing in media recognition over the past few months. In addition to playing a major role in making the Italians Do it Better compilation After Dark one of the more thrilling dance releases of the year, GC's Johnny Jewel has also earned quite a bit of praise for the Chromatics album Night Drive, which came out a few weeks ago. If disco for heroin addicts sounds appealing to you, then you'll probably enjoy taking in the Italo/Eurodisco/synth pop influenced sounds of Glass Candy, who despite what you might think at first glance, put quite a bit more thought into what they do than the average hip dance act. Panther is obviously the least substantive of the three groups here, and although I'm not crazy about his record, I've heard so many things about his shows that I would be interesting in checking him out.
Jens Lekman | Sarah Jaffe (Granada) Maybe it was because the first Jens Lekman review I ever read was written by an annoying dork, but for some reason I sort of ignored this guy until like three or four months ago when I heard his single "Maple Leaves" for the first time and was completely blown away. Lekman's combo of audacious samples, over the top crooning and twee inspired smart ass love lyrics might all be pretty awful on their own, but they certainly come together to produce some moving and genuinely funny pop songs for people that would never really listen to funny pop songs. His latest record, Night Falls Over Kortedala, contains so many strong moments that it is a bit hard to take in one sitting for the first time, but Lekman's charm, which seems to draw from Morrissey and the sweet yet cynical energy of bands like the Pastels, makes it a pretty easy listen after a while, and one of the better pop albums I've heard this year.
And Fishboy is playing a free show at Good Records at 630.
Also, URB magazine will apparently be hanging out at Cool Out tonight, meaning that those people who always look like they're posing for pictures will really be posing for pictures all night. But don't let that freak you out-- Cool Out has an atmosphere that takes after its namesake: cooled out.
You've also got Bernard Wright at Gezelling and Bad Ass Jazz at New Amsterdam if you're into that.
TUE: Architecture in Helsinki/Glass Candy/Panther (Hailey's) TUE: Jens Lekman/Sarah Jaffe (Granada) WED: The Hold Steady/Art Brut (Palladium) THU: The Ponys/Chin Up Chin Up/Handbrake (Rubber Gloves) THU: Sondre Lerche/Dan Wilson (Club Dada) FRI: Aesop Rock/Black Moth Super Rainbow (Palladium Loft) FRI: The Dwarves/13th Victim/Lyin' Bitch and the Restraining Orders/Screaming Red (Red Blood Club) SAT: NOVEMBERFEST with Nouns Group/Tame...Tame and Quiet/Shiny Around the Edges/Tre Orsi/Fierce Perm/Douche/Rival Gang (Rubber Gloves) SAT: Hands Up with Queen Majesty/June D/The Party (Palladium Loft) SAT: Helmet/Burning Bridges/Totimoshi/Record Hop (Ridglea Theater)
