Its 24 hours later, and the SXSW hangover is still kicking me in the ass just a little bit. And its honestly not an alcohol hangover either, its just the feeling of being extremely tired of day parties, after parties, driving around looking for parties, and basically being a waste of space for several days. However, we were able to catch some great music down in Austin without spending a whole hell of a lot of money (more on that later), so things are pretty good at WSJR headquarters despite not being able to cover some of this past weekend's North Texas events like we wanted to. Here is some stuff for tonight, much of it involving metal:

PUNK BUNNY | Christian Teenage Runaway | Heartrapers (Hailey's-Denton)
Hmm. Punk Bunny's cartoonish, queer, Calvin Johnson meets electroclash meets new rave music is gimmicky to say the least and entirely thrown together and cheap at its worst, but I'm guessing there won't be too many people in the audience at Haileys tonight that aren't laughing and having at least a little fun watching them. There are some solid spots of cheese synth dance in their songs as well, and homeboy pictured above gets bonus points for being named Luigi and looking like a jerk. And with two solid local acts opening the show, you could do a lot worse this evening.

Giant Squid | Grayceon | The Hard Lessons (Doublewide)
Working with producers like Bill Anderson (who has produced records for Mr. Bungle, High On Fire and the Melvins) is certainly a smart move for a theatrical/proggy metal band like Giant Squid, but it doesn't really change the fact that at the end of the day, they kind of just sound like System of a Down with better influences. Ok, maybe thats not entirely true, but the thin line between quality and doucheness is a pretty thin one in metal, and these guys are just on the good side of that line. I'm sure its a better live experience anyway, and their keyboard parts kind of make the whole thing worth trying, at least for a night. Grayceon is a truly strange rock band to say the least, and one that has surely spent a few nights getting stoned and laughing their asses off at silly Mr. Bungle songs, which is something you have to do at least once if you want to be my friend. I'm going to go ahead and say yes to them. I'd show up a bit late and miss the Encino Man soundtrack music of The Hard Lessons, but thats just me. And you.

Death to False Metal: Stoner Rock Edition (Rubber Gloves)
Get stoned, get to Rubber Gloves, get a drink, get into some stoner rock. Get it?

GOOD RECORDS

1. Arcade Fire - Neon Bible

2. Menomena - Friend or Foe

3. Explosions in the Sky - All of a Sudden I Miss Everyone

4. Air - Pocket Symphony

5. Peter Bjorn & John - Writer's Block

6. Deerhoof - Friend Opportunity

7. Arcade Fire - Neon Bible Limited

8. Lily Allen - Alright, Still

9. Deerhunter - Cryptograms

10. !!! - Myth Takes

11. Bright Eyes - Four Winds EP

12. Clap Your Hands Say Yeah - Some Loud Thunder

13. Eluvium - Copia

14. Neil Young - Live at Massey Hall

15. Noah Georgeson - Find Shelter

16. Papercuts - Can't Go Back

17. Besnard Lakes - Besnard Lakes are the Dark Horse

18. Apples in Stereo - New Magnetic Wonder

19. Son Volt - The Search

20. Apostle of Hustle - National Anthem of Nowhere

OTHER MUSIC

1.Arcade- Fire Neon Bible
2.Air-Pocket Symphony
3.Peter Bjorn & John- Writer's Block
4.Neil Young- Live at Massey Hall
5.Of Montreal- Hissing Fauna Are You the Destroyer
6.!!!- Myth Takes
7.Deerhoof- Friend Opportunity
8.Amy Winehouse- Back to Black
9.Various Artists Eccentric Soul: Twinight's Lunar Rotation
10.Andrew Bird- Armchair Apocrypha
11.The Good, the Bad & the Queen- s/t
12.Michael Cashmore- Snow Abides
13.Various Artists- Si, Para Usted
14.Bloc Party- A Weekend in the City
15.Nico- Frozen Borderline
16.Panda Bear- Bros
17.Dean & Britta- Back Numbers
18.RJD2- Third Hand
19.Paper Cuts- Can't Go Back
20. Explosions in the Sky- All of a Sudden I Miss Everyone



Two albums that I honestly believe have the rare distinction of living up to the hype: Of Montreal's new one and any of the material off of Panda Bear's second full length (which is really a collection of singles released over the past year or so). Anyone that was at SXSW this year (or pretty much any year for that matter) knows that hype is cheap, but both of these albums have been pleasant surprises for me so far this year.

Hey everyone. We're down in Austin right now, and although we've had a good time for the most part, we had some real problems yesterday that prevented us from getting to a computer and throwing a weekend list together. We're sorry about that, especially considering the good shows we missed. However, since this is maybe like the third time we've missed a list in the past 15 months, we're not going to feel too bad about it. Anyway, we've listed some DFWd shows below, and we'll be back on Monday with some local show and album reviews, as well as some SXSW coverage. Oh, and its a real shame that Girl Talk won't be coming to Dallas any time soon, because that guy puts on one of the best DJ shows I've ever seen.

SATURDAY

WZT Hearts | Blues Control | Lexie Mountain Boys | Ecstatic Sunshine (House of Tinnitus)

Pelican is playing at the Ridglea Theater Fest thing, but the rest of the line up is more or less absolute shit. So attend with caution.

Sondre Lerche/Willy Mason/Thomas Dybdahl (Gypsy Tea Room)

Public Enemy/X Clan/The Banned/Heet Mob (Gypsy Tea Room)

SUNDAY

The folks from House of Tinnitus told us that they will be working with the 8th Continent guys to make it possible to see both of the big Sunday night Denton shows. The show at 8th Continent will start at 8pm and features:

Apes | Monotonix | Chief Death Rage | Eat Avery's Bones

They're going to try to wrap things about around 10 or 1030 over there and send everyone to House of Tinnitus to see:

Noxagt | Chief Death Rage | Brokenizer | Nouns Group | Kaboom

Both shows will be great, and its fantastic that they've planned accordingly.

Also, if you're staying in Dallas, you can check out Menomena and Treewave at the Cavern. Should be incredible. We saw Menomena at the Pitchfork SXSW thing yesterday, and they rocked a packed Emo's like I never imagined they could. You should really see them live.

Sorry we couldn't do more for the list this weekend. But you know how it is, don't ya?

Sorry dudes, don't have time for links or anything today... we're having some issues around here to say the least. We're going to try to post what we can as far as shows and things like that today and tomorrow, and we should have some kind of weekender for you late tomorrow afternoon or early evening, so check back for that. This is really the best we can do right now:

Green Milk from Planet Orange/Akimbo/The Capitol Years (Rubber Gloves)

Chris Garver/Praise the Twilight Sparrow (SHQ Denton)

Lost Generation with Wanz and some of the Laptop Deathmatchers (Fallout Lounge)
Will feature some live laptop performances.

Scissor Sisters/Dj Sammy Jo (Palladium Ballroom)

The Trashies/Druids on Parade/Girls Rise with Heat (1919 Hemphill)

If anyone has anything else noteworthy, please mention it in the comments section

Thanks a lot all you shithead bands and SXSW people. For the rest of this week, doing these lists is going to be a fucking marathon, so excuse us if our writing on each show isn't the most detailed (and sometimes not there at all). Plus, we've got what is probably the biggest Mavs game of the season tonight, so needless to say, we're going to be busy. Here's the early list:

Hella | Dirty Projectors | Who's Your Favorite Son God? (Rubber Gloves)
Absolutely stellar line up at Rubber Gloves tonight, as in a can't miss. I first heard the strange and distrurbing experiments of Dirty Projectors a couple of years ago, and although they didn't completely move me that first time, the band has become more and more of a force since then, creating some very unsettling moments on a pretty regular basis by combining quiet acoustic passages with highly effective vocals and all kinds of fuzzy sound experiments. You should really check out the song "Two Young Sheeps" if you can find it. Its like if the Minutemen were a drugged out lounge band that somehow involved James Chance. I know that probably doesn't make sense, and it certainly doesn't describe much of the rest of their music, but thats all I got. And what can I say about Hella? I expect a packed house and an ass kicking performance tonight.

Aqueduct | Beach House | Dios (The Cavern)
Should be a great place to catch the excellent Beach House, since a small venue is probably where the band's music is most at home. I'm not sure if this show will be able to match the stunning atmosphere of their performance at New Amsterdam earlier this year, but I bet the performance will be just as good.

The Mary Timony Band | Georgie James | Nouns Group (Ridglea Theater-Ft. Worth)
I know next to nothing about Mary Timony's recent solo career, but I was a big fan of Helium, like I'm sure many of you were, and I would want to go see this show purely out of respect for that somewhat forgotten 90's Matador band. And I still haven't accomplished my goal of seeing Nouns Group live, but the few tracks I've heard from them are very good, and I'm looking forward to hearing more.

Chris Garver | Praise the Twilight Sparrow (SHQ Denton)
SHQ continues their excellent week of shows with the psychedelic folk influenced Praise the Twilight Sparrow, a great match for the soft, hazy work of Chris Garver. Should be a subdued but powerful show.



RJD2 | Busdriver | Happy Chichester (Gypsy Tea Room)

Fun | The Cheat | Koji Kondo | The Extraordinaries (1919 Hemphill)
I've heard a lot of good things about Fun, and the Cheat sounds quite good as well. If you're anywhere near Ft. Worth early this evening, I would suggest making an effort to go see this, especially with Koji Kondo rounding out the bill.

Andrew Bird | Cold War Kids | Elvis Perkins in Dearland | Tokyo Police Club | Delta Spirits (Gypsy Tea Room)
I honestly can't stand Cold War Kids, and I can really take or leave Tokyo Police Club, but I do like a lot of what Andrew Bird does.

Thinks you're a major fag. See for yourself.

Driving around in all this crappy weather today has really made it a pain in the ass to get to a computer, so the guy that just wants us to list shows and not write about them is going to get his wish today (kind of). Good for him! We've got some good stuff coming at you this week, so stay tuned ya jerks.

Psychedelic Horseshit | Pink Reason (SHQ-Denton)
Promise this is going to be a good one. If Daniel Johnston ever got laid, he would probably write songs like "Quasar" on PH's Myspace page. Both of these bands sound fantastic, but Psychedelic Horseshit sounds fucking brutal.

Catfish Haven | American Werewolf Academy | Minmae | Brimstone Howl (Club Dada)
Brimstone Howl is the clear highlight here (although Catfish Haven is pretty good too), so I'd get there early.

Sean will be spinning house, 80's and hip hop at Bent Lounge in Ft. Worth tonight... never been there before, but you know, whatever. Could be good.

Lions in the Street | Be/Non | Imperial Battlesnake (Doublewide)