Dear Best Friends,I have to go because my real job asked me to do something where I might get paid if I finish. Love,
Your Secret Admirer
Butthole Surfers | Golden Boys | Nervous Curtains (Granada) Yet another band from the "Our Band Could Be Your Life" crowd that reformed with its original lineup. The Surfers are probably more known for their antics than their spotty output, particularly their work in the 90's. Records like "Locust Abortion Technician" definitely have brilliant moments, and I'm sure this show will be a spectacle no matter what. Aside from his work in this group, drummer King Coffey will always be highly regarded for giving Texas its last label that, along with its roster, had an international reputation you didn't have to be embarrassed by. Pain Teens, Cherubs, and Bedhead records on Trance are now collecting eyebrow-raising prices at record conventions. I never thought I'd see the day...
Despite the fact that we planned and organized a great deal for our most recent party, it would be a little difficult for us to write a formal "review" of the event because, we, um, missed a lot of it. Well actually, I take that back. We didn't really miss much of anything on Friday night, but things sort of took on a life of their own at a certain point, without our control, and we pretty much just went with the flow and had a blast.
Here's what I mean-- the original location of the party was 907 Denton St., better known as Muscle Beach. Things were fairly calm over there for a while, but after about an hour or so, the crowd really started showing up in big numbers, the dance floor filled up, the first keg floated, and things started taking off. Of course, this meant that the Denton Police were sure to arrive promptly, and arrive they did.
After the police made their presence known and announced that things would be shut down permanently, the crowd dispersed, and we started trying to figure out what the hell to do. After hearing rumors about the party being moved to several different addresses simultaneously, we received word that we might be able to hit up our new friends over at Time Bandits, who were just wrapping up hosting a fantastic show of their own in what is probably the most unique and appealing performance space in Denton or Dallas at the moment (seriously, go to the next show at Time Bandits in order to verify that I'm not exaggerating-- you'll thank me). Upon our arrival there, the gracious hosts promptly agreed to host our acts and our beer and the large number of people that we were hoping would follow us there. Unfortunately, Time Bandits were finishing up their party with a fantastic acid house set from Shane English that was seriously blasting loud enough to sound like Fabric from a block away. And surprise surprise, the police arrived at Time Bandits and the party was shut down for good.
Finally, we received a call from a certain someone informing us that the kegs had been moved to the Fra House, along with all of our performers, many of whom hadn't had a chance to play all night due to a lot of early commotion and a few acts of interference from Denton's finest. We arrived over there shortly after, drank some beer, watched a nice crowd assemble, and then witnessed Damaged Goods take the stage (or I guess the kitchen) for a set that began around 245 AM and was well worth the wait.
Anyway, Mattie has posted some fantastic pictures of the event in our photos section if you'd like to take a look, and we'd like to take this opportunity to thank-- Austin Brown, the residents of Muscle Beach, Time Bandits, the residents of Fra House, Damaged Goods, Schwa, Alan Palomo, the people from 715 Pandhandle who helped us with sound stuff, and the many other people who helped us with so much that night. We truly had a blast, and we hope you did too. Thanks Denton.
Girl Talk | Grand Buffet | Hearts Of Darknesses (Palladium) After recently acquiring the new Chunklet, I expected that there would be a mix of rage and disbelief to the humor contained within, since so much has changed in music in the past three years, roughly the last time an issue of the magazine came out. The issue opens with commentary about the serious decline in show attendance, people actually buying records, people advertising in zines etc. Elsewhere in the issue is a brief and easy-to-miss shot taken at Girl Talk by the always quotable Brian Teasley, who rhetorically asks Gregg Gillis if he's ever heard of "Plunderphonics," which you may or may not have heard of. I'm sure DJ's, music dorks, and art students probably have. I thought it was a pretty funny and somewhat obscure reference, though I wouldn't take too seriously the discrediting of a mash-up DJ, especially one who seems as surprised at his own success as anyone. I do however, recommend digging deeper into the world of artists such as John Oswald and Christian Marclay, two composers who seem like unlikely innovators of sampling and turntable technique, but most certainly are. Oswald has a somewhat prophetic manifesto called "Plunderphonics, or Audio Piracy as a Compositional Prerogative," which he wrote almost 24 years ago and is still relevant.
Anyways, I wish that I had been at that Girl Talk show where the stage broke. I heard that was pretty cool. Grand Buffet mixes white and nerdy indie rap with Tom Waits. Get there late.
Disqo Disco (Fallout Lounge) This is an after party for the Girl Talk show. It's also DJ RedSean's 21st birthday, so make sure and give him a ride home.
Weezer | Angels & Airwaves | Tokyo Police Club (Nokia Theatre) I will admit that I saw Weezer on the "Pinkerton" tour back in tenth grade. I will also say that it was a really fucked up show, with tons of pushing, people slamming against the stage barrier, Weezer doing some Altamont-style pleading with the crowd etc. They stopped the show twice, if I remember correctly. I hated it. There was a time in Dallas where a local band covered Weezer songs and called themselves "Weener." They were really popular. And people wonder why I grew to be so grouchy about local music.
Bangs | The Fieros | Big Bang (Hailey's) Hopefully JC The Soundguy will give us a mini-review.
Hey guys, since we're running this contest at the last minute, we're gonna do it this way-- our friends at the Granada gave us three pairs of tickets to give away to the Butthole Surfers show Wednesday night, and we'll give them to the first three people who email us at weshotjrtix@yahoo.com with "Butthole Surfers" as the subject line. Maybe we'll start doing all of our giveaways like this so that it forces you people to check this website all the time... you know, sort of like how the Observer does it? What a bunch of amazing businessmen.
The Death Set | PVC Street Gang | Sydney Confirm | Tommy Boy (The Lounge) First of all, this show is completely FREE for everyone 21 and up, so even if you aren't too sure about the bands, you could at least give it a shot. Of course, I can think of a couple people on the WSJR staff who probably wouldn't go to this even if someone paid them, and I'm not really exaggerating. The Death Set has been something of a source of controversy around here for several months-- I like them, DL hates them, and no one else really seems to care either way. It seems that the main accusation that gets lobbed at the group is that they are some sort of Japanther rip off, and while the stylistic similarities are certainly apparent on some levels, it seems a bit trite to accuse one band of stealing pop punk aesthetic from another band. Ok, maybe they steal a bit more than that from Japanther sometimes, but really, The Death Set is a much more straight forward pop proposition than Japanther, and if they didn't hold their own on stage, record, or otherwise, then the critics might have a point. But anyone who has seen the Death Set live knows that this just isn't the case. Japanther is a post modern mash up that utilizes, or borrows, from all sorts of source material past and present, so if the Death Set borrows from them, aren't they essentially just doing the exact same thing? I don't know. They were voted best live band in Baltimore or something, so theres always that. Anyway, come early for PVC Street Gang, and even earlier to hear Tommy Boy.
MON: The Death Set/PVC Street Gang/Sydney Confirm/Tommy Boy (The Lounge) TUE: Girl Talk/Grand Buffet (Palladium) WED: Butthole Surfers/Golden Boys (Granada) FRI: Chinese Stars/El Paso Hot Button/Darktown Strutters/Cosmic Cocks (The Lounge) FRI: REM/Old 97's (Nokia) FRI: The Party (Zubar) FRI: MSTRKRFT (House of Blues)
Wow Denton. You have a nice little Friday night happening this week, and since we're involved in making it so awesome for you, I'm going to jump right to shows.... I can't do EVERYTHING for you people:
FRIDAY
WSJR Party with Vega | Damaged Goods | Schwa | Young Doc Gooden (Secret location, Denton) So you've obviously heard enough about this show around here at this point, and if you didn't RSVP, you're going to have to ask a friend for the address, because we aren't giving it out here. Sowwy. :-( Oh, and just to let you know, we WILL have free beer and other little treats for those 21 and up, but we suggest bringing your own stuff too, because we expect it to go fairly quickly. Stuff starts at 10, and if you feel like dancing tonight, you'd be dumb not to come. After all, we'll be featuring this year's WSJR winners in the categories of Best MCs/hip hop AND Best DJ. Come see why they won.
Dirty Diamond | Ribelle Scaltro | Mistress (Time Bandits) Fantastic line up for Time Bandits' first show. DL was the first one to tell me to check out Ribelle Scaltro, and I'm really glad he did, because she's honestly making some of the most interesting music in Denton right now-- disturbingly minimal beats backing otherwordly vocals that effectively hide any and all lyrical content while barely masking some pretty pop vocal melodies that are almost soulful at times, although you wouldn't really know it if you weren't looking for it. MP3 blogophiles will see similarities between Scaltro and groups such Nite Jewel, Gang Gang Dance, Memory Cassette, and even some of the more experimental output from Italians Do it Better, while record dorks will admire the choice early minimal electronica influences that abound throughout. Highly recommended.
CBGBs Tribute Night with Zanzibar Snails, Street Hassle, Deep Snapper and more (Hailey's) A tribute to a legendary New York venue that has somehow turned into a gift shop in Las Vegas or something. Anyway, check Hailey's website for the complete list of participating groups (sorry, time is of the essence here), but you'd be advised to catch Street Hassle as Johnny Thunders and members of Zanzibar Snails as Suicide. I'm not sure what those guys have up their sleeves, but I'd be very curious to find out-- how the fuck do you pull off live Suicide covers effectively? Something tells me they figured out a way. And correct me if I'm wrong, but isn't Vega playing our house party tonight? LOL OMG JUST KIDDING
The Frenz | Hacienda | It's Unamerican to be Sad | We The Sea Lions (The Lounge) No cover for this one. Only got to take a quick listen to San Antonio's Hacienda, but I would recommend them for fans of groups like Fleet Foxes, Saturday Looks Good to Me, My Morning, Big Star, El Guincho, and the less embarrassing parts of Elephant 6.
The Ting Tings (House of Blues) Kind of cute disco indie pop for teenagers that recently hit numero uno on the UK pop charts. Bring on the car commercials!
SATURDAY
Wolves in the Throne Room | Nachtmystium | Lychgate (Rubber Gloves) Shit yes. Wolves in the Throne Room is one of those bands that I was inexplicably interested in before I heard a single note of their music, and then once I did, I liked them even more. Many have probably heard rumors about the band's strange existence, what with the communal compound outside of Olympia, WA, as well as the sheer, spellbinding power of the group's sound, which falls somewhere between Black Metal and shoegaze, but leans mostly to the latter. Check back with us this weekend, as we might have a little goodie for you involving this show.
Strange Boys | Bad Sports | Fungi Girls | Uptown Bums (Muscle Beach, 907 Denton St., Denton) Great show at a cozy little Denton venue featuring some real Texas garage punk standouts. Just checked out Cleburne's Fungi Girls for the first time and kinda dug em.... especially the song "Crystal Roads" on their Myspace page.
While I'm sure most of our readers already know about our party this evening (you can RSVP here until 1PM today, Friday) we also wanted to let you know that our friends over at Time Bandits Vintage in Denton will be having a party of their own this evening featuring performances by:
with visuals from Martin Iles and DJ sets from Time Bandits and Shane English. Things kick off at 8PM, and I believe they'll have some drinks and other treats for you too. So why don't you be totally awesome and hit this party AND ours tonight, huh?
