I've been enjoying the new free 10" from And/Or Gallery's Paul Slocum's Tree Wave. You too can have the free recording -- get you it here. The image at the right is by Dallas artist John Alexander Taylor, entitled Wheat House (6'x4', vinyl on etched plexiglass). More details about his opening this weekend are below.
"The work ranges from hybrid forms of painting to digital video, installation art to new forms of graphic design. The varied use of materials and the range of visual diversity is highly reflective of today’s young emerging artists."
Fuck I hate "young emerging artists". (It just sounds so groaty.) But if you're looking for "sweet young artists", I can definitely hook you up.
2009 Arts Faire Lakewood Summer Arts Faire 2443 Abrams Road, Dallas, Tx 75214 August 29 : 10:00 AM - 6:00 PM (cost $2.00)
Can't tell if this is pretty much the same thing as the Cottonwood Arts Festival, but hipper?
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TVAA Citation 2009 Art Centre of Plano 1039 East 15th Street, Plano, Tx 75074 August 29 : 7:00 PM - 9:00 PM
No artists listed. Lucky me!
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The Whole Show Kettle Art 2714 Elm Street, Dallas, Tx 75226 August 29 : 7:00 PM - 10:00 PM
No artists listed. Lucky me! Evidently this is going to be a silent auction "featuring a whole lotta Artists you should know and Love". Kettle Art is a quality organization down in the middle of it.
There is something definitely titillating about Haylee Ryan Yale's web site. Maybe it's that when combined with her name, the front page looks more or less like a porn profile. But from looking at her portfolio, she can definitely draw. She just needs to escape the shadow of recent art school graduation. This exhibition features Ms. Yale's paintings along with installation material by John Alexander Taylor. There is some really cool stuff here. His "work deals with high-contrast images of the industrial world made into black vinyl. His work is a journal of images that he has collected off the highways of North Texas". He seems to be a (n unknown?) local master of printmaking.
Image (sort of) courtesy of John Alexander Taylor.
Darktown Strutters | I Was A Lover, Delorean Was A Dealer | Transistor Tramps | Dj Baby Ruthless (the Lounge) Sort of a spotty line up at the Lounge tonight. I was a Lover.... has been compared in style to David Bowie in some of their press mentions, but in reality they kind of just sound like a more synth pop oriented Muse, and the results are fair at best, reminiscent of a band that would have sounded much more exciting much earlier in the decade. Transistor Tramps might have a slightly more coherent sound but are exactly like you'd think they are based on their name, and you'll probably be able to take it or leave it at most, although a few of their songs are, well, downright terrible. Darktown are unquestionably the highlight of this bill.
Weedeater | Dixiewitch | Blood Of the Sun (Doublewide) Southern Lord's Weedeater are an absolutely ferocious stoner metal that can easily be said to exist at the very top of that often confounding genre. Metal bands influenced by Pot isn't exactly the most brilliant sounding proposition of all time, obviously (says a guy with the dumbest stoner pen name ever), but with groups like Weedeater, the simplicity of the concept is a bonus, as the group does away with almost any sort of pretension in the interest of simply being punishing through and through. Austin's immensely respected Dixiewitch opens the show along with Blood of the Sun, a group that produces some interestingly theatrical yet rather effective metal that comes close to being over the top, even though the fact that that's kinda the point means that it mostly just rules.
Melvins (House of Blues) I don't know if I'm just a moron for missing this one all together, or if the show was just underpromoted. Either way, its immaterial, because even the "Stonebriar Mall" feel of the House of Blues' lobby won't take away from the power of King Buzzo and company's performance, which is consistantly amazing. Last time we caught them live at the Granada, Buzzo shared the stage with Dale Crover, duh, and newly permanent members Big Business, who are pretty incredibly loud and rude in their own right. The result was a punishing two drum attack and a flawless display from Buzzo, who seems to acquire more and more critical acclaim as each day goes by, especially over the past four years, which have seen quite a resurgence in interest in the band. Anyway, not sure if Big Business will play their own opening set, but even if they don't, anyone with even a passing interest in heavy guitar music of almost any kind would serve themselves well seeing this legendary group play this evening.
The Weight | The Heelers | Spooky Folk (Rubber Gloves) I saw some strange quotes today as I was reading some of the press material for The Weight's last record, Are Men. First came this phrase:
"Are Men reveals a sound and feel very much different from 2004’s 10 Mile Grace, which found the group working within the framework of earnest alt-country executed by post-punk kids"
And next came this one: "For the similarly post- jaded kids, and honest fans of Americana, Are Men sounds like the record you actually enjoy listening to."
Now maybe its just me, but its hard to think of something more smug than "earnest alt country executed by post-punk kids," especially when you consider the built in implication that they've somehow become "more mature" as a result of their adventure into the oh-so-respectable "alt country" field. Second, what the hell is a "post jaded kid?" Like does that mean someone who's totally over being jaded? Or someone who's jaded by the idea of "post" genres? Either way, both sentences come of as describing a band that seems very calculated and is neither earnest nor something I would "actually enjoy listening to," which isn't surprising considering that this comes from Brooklyn (by way of Athens) and I'm supposed to think its cool. As you listen to The Weight's music and read some of their reviews, you'll see and even think of names such as Waylon Jennings and David Allen Coe, but its hard to escape the fact that these guys come off as Am Appy clad scenesters who started having fantasies about outlaw country once they got bored of 80's dance parties or whatever. Even the above pictured album cover seems to scream out for an audition for Vice Records, an appeal to the label's "tough guy," ironically patriotic blend of punk rock and politically incorrect self awareness thats become just as tired as whatever the hell it was supposed to be a reaction to in the first place. Sometimes the band's approach works reasonably well, no matter how much you might not want it to, and you'll find some easily enjoyable tunes mixed in their catalogue. However, at the end of the day, as merely a casual fan of classic country music, I can't for the life of me figure out why this music is needed or why I'd ever want to listen to it, especially when I can just as easily seek out the real thing and get better songwriting and way less fashion baggage as a result.
Anavan | Dazzler | Sydney Confirm | Blixaboy (Fallout Lounge) First of all, forgive us for overlooking the fact that Anavan also played Hailey's yesterday, and tonight at Fallout will probably be a much different set than last night when you consider the differences in atmosphere, size, and crowds between the two clubs. In short, this will be a much more "intimate" affair. Tuesdays at this venue often ride on the strength of Disqo Disco, but tonight will be a little different due to the mostly live bands that will certainly be pushing the limits of the often small sound setup (compared to many clubs), though that's not a complaint. In fact when I saw Stefan Gonzalez spinning an excellent set of hardcore music here recently, I wasn't exactly straining to hear anything.
Anavan tours constantly and it seems like I just previewed them last week. They are often written off as "one of those Smell bands," and they perhaps live up to the stylistic description more than most artists that might be written off as such, though it's hard to tell if people mean that as an insult or a compliment sometimes. I prefer them to touring mates, Dazzler, which is the project of Neil Schuh, formerly of Totally Radd!!. This project is not all that different from his former, and I am often reminded of the oft-overlooked contributions of breathtakingly annoying and now defunct cartoon act, Bis, when I hear some of this stuff. Here is a funny story about Schuh getting in a fight with the lead singer of Les Savy Fav. I love wimpy indie fights.
I'm not sure if it's his debut with the group, but I do know that artist and musician Fred Holston recently joined Sydney Confirm on keyboard duties, so give him a warm welcome tonight.
Nothing but the usual stuff going on today, other than our announcement of the Neon Indian show, which you can find below. I guess this is a good thing because I have other shit going on tonight, alright people? Anyway, be sure to check out Cool Out at The Cavern, excellent Jazz at the Amsterdam or Mayhem Mondays at Fallout, featuring Stefan Gonzalez and friends spinning crust, grindcore, death metal and more.
TUE: Anavan/Dazzler/Sydney Confirm (Fallout Lounge) THU: Darktown Strutters/I Was A Lover, Delorean Was A Dealer/Transistor Tramps/Dj Baby Ruthless (the Lounge) THU: Weedeater/Dixiewitch/Blood Of the Sun (Doublewide) THU: Damaged Goods/Sober (the Cavern) FRI: Back to Coooool with Vega/Bangs/Yeahdef/more.... (Hailey's) SAT: Depeche Mode/Peter Bjorn and John (Starplex)
There are a few good shows this weekend, but shit... not a whole hell of a lot seems to be going on. That's ok because I feel like garbage. Hope I'm not too mean with my short little weekender today:
FRIDAY
Church of the Apocalypse | Divorce | Lil Foot | wu fru de lu | Welby/Colossi (Wasted Words Collective, 2404 S. Fielder Rd, Arlington) Still haven't had a chance to travel out to Arlington to the Wasted Word Collective, but there's something so right about harsh noise, drone and avant garde at a DIY space in Arlington that I'm seriously going to give it my best effort this evening. If you go, you'll hear harsh noise, drone, field recordings and all other kinds of stuff.
Slobberbone | Macon Greyson | Danny Balis (Granada) It's Granada's 5th anniversary, and they're celebrating like its 1992 up in this! Still haven't heard the Danny Balis record, but I'm such a Ticket fan that I'll have to give it a listen at some point, right? Sorry sensitive thugz, I like sports, ok?
SATURDAY
Dungen | Woods | Matthew and the Arrogant Sea (The Loft) When Dungen's first record was released back in 2004, it somehow took on an "instant classic" status in a lot of circles, and I remember the first conversation I ever had with DJ Nature revolved around how amazing that record was. After several years and several more releases, Dungen's image hasn't been tarnished, even if some of the later material has been less than perfect, and if the two previous times I've seen Dungen live serve as any indication, this will be a very good show. And Woodsist's much buzzed about Woods might kinda come off as hipster Neil Youngs at first, but many subsequent listens to their 2009 release Songs of Shame have revealed it to be one of the more exciting releases of the year. Featuring members of Meneguar and Wooden Wand, as well as the founder of Fuck It Tapes, their underground credentials are excellent, and their music is even better, as long as you can hang with that high pitched voice, which you probably can if you know what's good for you.
Convextion | Blixaboy | Fur | Ops (Rubber Gloves) This FREE show is certainly one of the more challenging and rewarding electronic bills you'll see in Denton, and despite the seeming lack of interest in tasteful electronic/dance music in DFW, Convextion is way more well known and respected around the world than like Matthew and the Arrogant Sea or something, ok? All jokes and insults aside, however, this is a great line up well worth checking out, and I didn't even think about the fact that Fur, AKA Bryce Isbell, used to be in Matthew and the Arrogrant Sea until after I wrote that.... anyway, if Basic Channel or Detroit techno or general minimalism appeal to you at all, be sure to to stay for local unsung hero Convextion.
SUNDAY
Lil Wayne | Young Jeezy | Soulja Boy (Starplex) Um, do I really have to explain how fun this show will be? And as an FYI to the friends I was discussing this with last night, YES, this show is tomorrow... not last week. I should drink less.
