We have a pair of tickets to give away to the following three shows, so if you want them, simply email us at weshotjrtix@yahoo.com by the deadlines given below (we will choose a random winner for each pair). Please include the name of the artist you want to see in the subject line. Good luck, and thanks to the Granada and the Loft for the hook ups:
1. The Melvins/Big Business (this Thursday at the Granada- email by TOMORROW at noon)
2. Man Man (this Friday at Palladium- email by Thursday at noon)
3. Caribou (this Saturday at Palladium- email us by Thursday at noon)
Aside from the norm (Cool Out at the Cavern, Jazz at Amsterdam), I don't see a lot happening that I'm interested in tonight. More to come later this evening.
According to a post from Scott Porter on Denton Rock City, Secret Headquarters is being forced to shut their doors permanently, effective immediately, due to an act of vandalism that occurred late Saturday night. We have no details on who might have done it, but there was speculation that some of the materials used by the vandals came from SHQ itself. We'll give you more details when we get them, or maybe someone in the know can explain further in the comments. I'm not sure I understand exactly why the SHQ, as a tenant, is being blamed by their landlords for vandalism on the property, but I bet we'll find out soon enough.
WED: Kimya Dawson (715 Panhandle) WED: Peter and the Wolf/Matthew and the Arrogant Sea/Violent Squid (Rubber Gloves) THU: The Melvins/Big Business (Granada) THU: Hentai Lacerator/Yatagarasu/PDAF/Voyant/Xathax/Church of the Apocalypse (House of Tinnitus) FRI: Man Man (Palladium Loft) FRI: Modern Till Midnight with St. Vincent/Peter and the Wolf/Mom/Sober (Ft. Worth Modern) FRI: Thomas Function/Chronic Seizure/Party Garbage (715 Panhandle) SAT: Caribou/Born Ruffians (Palladium Loft) SUN: Qui/Record Hop/Red Monroe (Hailey's) SUN: Gogol Bordello/Dub Trio/DJ Dubta (Granada)
Very slow weekend as far as the number of quality shows, but there are some really good ones happening:
FRIDAY
Carl Craig (Minc) I'm actually embarrassed that I forgot to add this to our "Shows of Note" list for the week, because Carl Craig's apparent Dallas debut (according to one flier I saw) is a pretty big deal in my book. After starting his career as a protege to the legendary Derrick May (and indirectly of Juan Atkins, both of Cybotron fame), Craig has become well known for the diversity of his musical endeavors and his many names, which he has used to create such a variety of electronic dance music that listing it all here would be pointless. The guy is a critical legend of the Detroit techno scene, and he is still creating cutting edge dance music today. This isn't just a "hey, check out this old legend to up your indie cred" show, this is a "hey, its friday, lets have fun" show.
Timbaland (Palladium) If you listen to Movin' 107.5 as much as I do, then you're probably well aware of the influence that Timbaland continues to have over urban top 40 radio. The funny part is that ten years ago, his profile was just about as high as it is today, making him the rare hip hop producer with the longevity to sustain a career for a decade and the talent to keep expanding his musical horizons. Of course, Timbaland has released some crap in his day, and will probably continue to do so, but I think you do have to admire his ability to take fairly strange songs and shoot them to the top of the charts. Lets put it this way: pretty much ANY Timbaland song is just as or more interesting sound-wise than pretty much ANY hit "indie" rock song (looking at you Feist). This show is free, and you can get your name on the "guest list" by rsvping at Scionevents.com
BIrth To Burial | Medicine Window /Douche (Secret Headquarters) Birth To Burial never played a proper "last show", so the sorely missed act gets their chance Saturday night at SHQ. The group's hiatus left a gap in quality local bands that wrote catchy, fast-paced rock songs that were devoid of cliched riffs and stupid lyrics. Another Denton-rooted rock act, Medicine Window, also seemed to disappear off the face off the earth around the same time. Medicine Window isn't as speedy in their delivery as Birth To Burial, but they share some of the same pummeling influences. No official word on whether these reunions continue past Saturday, as they often do. Douche is a newer band mining Chicago/DC hardcore territory a little more harshly than the reunion acts, and they're brilliant live.
SUNDAY
Tech Support with Wanz Dover, Ineka and Robert Taylor (Zubar) They'll be focusing on a Berlin style mish mash of tech genres at this one, with what I'm guessing will be a focus on things like space disco, IDM and minimal. It will probably be the most contemporary elctro weekly in Dallas, so those who crave something new should be sure to swing by.
Dust Congress | Zanzibar Snails | Nouns Group (The Public Trust) A rare Dallas appearance for these three acts. This is the official CD release show for Denton band, Dust Congress. The EP is self released by the group with old school silkscreen packaging and a handful of concise yet layered somber folk-pop songs. Zanzibar Snails has strayed somewhat from its ambient beginnings and gotten noisier lately by adding viola and extra guitar to its improv noise drone sets. Not much is known about Nouns Group except that they have fans who often post about the band in the comments section even when they're not playing, and some have even made some really cool "fan art", inspired by the band. The Austin Chronicle says they're the only band in the Universe without a Myspace page. Sounds like somebody needs to grow up and get with the times!
Mark Farina (Ghostbar) San Francisco legend Mark Farina has been releasing House music records for almost twenty years and has been featured on countless compilations, so it might be tough getting into Ghostbar to catch his free show tonight. Sounds like it might be a Suite type of situation. He's playing another free all-ages show tomorrow in front of American Airlines Center at 5 if you aren't connected enough to get in. Hopefully, one doesn't have to be connected to get into the American Airlines Center parking lot.
The Itch (1919 Hemphill): I won't go so far as to say the Itch are as original as the description on their page would have you believe, but I thought some of the music was nicely choppy, performed with unabashed zeal, and will probably be good live.
Blackheart Society | The Foxes (Double Wide) Apparently Blackheart Society has had some lineup changes but it's yet to be seen (or heard) if this will drastically change them as a band. The Foxes are from England and their inoffensive and standard rock music sounds kind of like Canadian act, Sloan. This early show starts at 9:00.
I'm glad Ghosthustler finally got some press from Dallas' "alternative" weekly (a mere four months after Spin wrote about them, way to go guys!), but I'm not sure I understand what this article is supposed to be about. I've been able to gather: "blogs," "retro," "future," "80's," and something talking about how Radiohead isn't rock n roll. Someone want to explain this to me?
Lazy Magnet | Work-Death/Superior Human Vomit | Yellow Crystal Star | Doug Ferguson (House of Tinnitus) Those who might tend to be get a little scared whenever they think about going to a House of Tinnitus show might want to give Yellow Crystal Star's quietly mesmerizing instrumental pieces a chance. Their stuff is relatively formless, but the way everything seems to come together is far from random and quite stimulating. I haven't had much luck locating a lot of information on the other performers for the evening, but House of Tinnitus is one of the few places in DFW that is just like Motown once was-- whatever they've got, it's probably pretty cool.
Gito Gito Hustler (Secret Headquarters) This Japanese girl garage rock band would probably only seem "cutting edge" and "totally crazy" to a Dallas Observer music editor, but to their credit, they've been doing this stuff for more than ten years, and the small bit of material I've encountered from them certainly makes Gito Gito sound like a band that should be experienced in a live setting rather than on record. And that isn't an insult necessarily, just a fact.
Taxi Fare with DJ Nature (Zubar) Nature's dancehall reggae night is a great change of pace for Dallas electro fans and a hell of a lot of fun for anyone willing to give it a shot. As a bonus, watching hipsters try to move to dance hall is quite humorous, especially when they're doing it amongst people who actually DO know how to dance.
Adam Franklin | Pleasant Grove | Stumptone (the Cavern) Adam Franklin, former lead singer of Creation Records band Swervedriver brings a pleasant if rather subdued set of pop songs to the Cavern that really aren't half bad for the most part, as long as you don't mind the word "alternative" popping into your head during a set. I don't mind that every once in a while.
Astronautilus | PPT | A-B Theory (Doublewide) No, I'm not amazed that Astronautilus can take lyrical suggestions from the crowd and turn them into songs. It's called freestyle, and any MC worth talking about can do it and do it well. Thats not a criticism of Astronautilus either, but just a reality check for everyone that feels the need to tell me about it every time his name gets brought up. The guy seems to have a lot of fans around here though.
