Designer Drugs | The Party (the Loft)
Iheartcomix approved Philadelphia based DJ duo Designer Drugs will take over the Loft this evening, just at the time when both their popularity and hip factor are rising about as fast as they are ever likely to again. Not a dis, just the way dance music always has been and always will be. Anyway, they have a solid batch of remixes circulating around the blogosphere these days, and much of their material seems to take root in the early 90's rave/post acid house/hard house sound that has suddenly become all the rage this year, much like the club kid clothes that everyone expected to go away but never actually did. Should be a pretty good time if you enjoy a mostly poppy DJ set with touches of the aforementioned old school, and really, almost everyone does.

Devin the Dude | Coughee Brothaz | Bavu Blakes (Granada Theater)
Houston legend that really needs no introduction, right? Any dude you've ever known who has been pulled over and busted for weed will probably be at this show, and why shouldn't they be?

Neil Diamond (American Airlines Center)

Riverboat Gamblers | Astronautalis | On After Dark (Rubber Gloves)
I'll give anyone five dollars if they can explain to me why anyone ever did or ever should give a shit about the Riverboat Gamblers. They're like that Fucked Up band minus the things that don't make them completely terrible. But anyway, like many shows I hate, I'm sure this one will be packed.

Bridge and Tunnel | O Pioneers | County Lines | Kids of Cons (1919 Hemphill)
Starts around 6pm, so if you wanna get there, you better go there.

80's Night with DJG (Hailey's)

THURSDAY
Brian Gibb: All that Glitters Isn't Gold (Magnolia Gallery) 8-10pm
A reception tonight from 8 to 10pm for Gibb's new show.

FRIDAY
Milk at Dawn (Chat Room)
This show is a collaboration between Metrognome Collective and the Chat Room to showcase the photography of Brittany Elidemir.

of multiple existence (Fort Worth Contemporary Arts)6-8pm

ADD: Modern 'til Midnight (Fort Worth Modern) How could I forget! The last night to check out Kara Walker.

SATURDAY

Andrew Bennett: Chasing the Drago and Marc Lüders(Marty Walker) 6-8pm

Fahamu Pecou: Stunt'd Like My Daddy (Conduit Gallery) 5-8 pm

William Steiger: Destination (Holly Johnson Gallery) 5-8 pm

Ted Larsen: Cold Comfort or Hamster Wheel (Pan American) 5-8 pm

John Albok (PDNB) 5-8 pm

House of Dang Anniversary Party (4221 Bryan St) 7-10pm
I'm listing this mostly because this is a good opportunity to catch the last week of Ludwig Schwarz at And/Or next door.

Photo courtesty of Conduit Gallery.

So I have to admit that I was pretty excited earlier this week when I heard from our new friends at the Inwood Theater concerning this weekend's Dallas premier of the Flaming Lips' long awaited Christmas on Mars. The film's U.S. Premier occurred earlier this summer, and it has now been distributed in a few select cities across the United States to be shown in a variety of interesting locations, including some sort of Ukranian Socialist Club in NYC.

Anyway, the Inwood will be doing the Dallas screening on both Friday and Saturday night this weekend at midnight, and they've been kind enough to provide us with three pairs of passes to give away to our readers. If you want to win them, please email us at weshotjrtix@yahoo.com any time between now and 5PM today (Thursday) with "Christmas On Mars" as the subject and your full name in the body. We'll choose three random winners. Good luck!

Opeth | High On Fire | Baroness (House Of Blues)
I was reminded of Opeth when writing up the Kayo Dot show yesterday. They're a pretty polarizing group, you can either deal with the softer, baroque/goth-folk passages, or not, and I prefer their harshest moments, which like most bands, usually appear earlier in their career. Anyone who saw High On Fire at Rubber Gloves will probably be disappointed to have to see them at House Of Blues, but that's the way it goes. Metal seems to be recession-proof.

Boston Spaceships Featuring Robert Pollard | High Strung (The Loft)
  Bob Pollard and Dressy Bessy in the same night, huh? It's looking totally 1996 up in here. Bob Pollard is one of the most frustrating songwriters in rock history, which he most deservingly found a place in, after clamoring and fighting for over a decade. Bob's work with Doug Gillard was really the end of GBV for me, they became much less unique after his arrival, add to that the departure of Tobin Sprout, who was kind of Pollard's McCartney if not his Grant Hart, and it was strictly his solo work for me at that point onward.  Minus the one with Gillard, of course.  Pollard managed to redeem himself through said solo work here and there, along with some unreleased brilliance with the "Suitcase" box-set release. Even with some subpar material, Pollard is always a joy live, and definitely worth seeing. If you can get your hands on the ultra-rare "Relaxation Of The Asshole," a live album that features nothing but drunken bragging, anecdotes and all other manner of Pollard's slurred show-banter collected in one place, I highly recommend it. It takes a special kind of guy to get up on stage and brag about how you made better records than your peers, (including Nirvana, as he once did in Dallas), and that recording perfectly captures that essence. I'm pretty tempted to see this show, despite the natural concern that it might not match some of the guy's better moments. Still, it's hard not to root for Bob Pollard. The High Strung scored some cred by touring our nation's libraries and landing themselves on This American Life. Not a bad idea, but not really the band I'd like to see in a library. I actually caught them at RGRS years ago, and didn't really enjoy it there either.  SHOW IS CANCELED TONIGHT... DONT GO THERE

UPDATE: There's a SEQUEL to that live album. Can't wait.

Dressy Bessy | Farah | Bad Flirt (Hailey's)
I just listened to Dressy Bessy for the first time in years. Man, Elephant Six did not age well, that's about all I can say. At least Farah is playing.

Yeah Def (Rubber Gloves)
This set is free for 21 and up, and I wanted to mention Yeah Def's pretty interesting new website featuring a roster of contributors from around the globe, and covering various topics, from dance music, to a fairly nerdy obsession with Diablo 3.

Mount Righteous | Paper Bird | Laura Goldhamer (Swiss House)

Taxi Fare (Zubar)





Mako | Komarov | Hoop Dreamz | Dark Forces (1919 Hemphill)



Last minute show, heavy on the screamo.

Hey-- anyone who emailed us about the party will still receive an email from us, but for those who have yet to do, just go here and quickly type in your email address in order to get all the info for Friday night. Thanks!

Brooke Berman of the eponymous art gallery has been promoting emerging local visual artists for about a year and a half now. She sat down with WeShotJr in a hard-hitting interview for this week's installation of Greatness.

Richardson Heights: What's it like being an independent art dealer while the American economy goes up in flames?

Brooke Berman: Sales can only go up, right? I can only hope to break even. I’m content when the artists make money; it’s positive affirmation for them.

RH: If you could have run a gallery anywhere in time or locale, where and when would it be? And why!

BB: This is tough, I was initially thinking the 60’s or 70’s in NYC. I am glad I am doing what I’m doing in the here and now, even with this economy.

RH: What is a normal day of the business week like for you?

BB: I work at the gallery 3 days a week. I am always playing catch up. Accounting and emails, phone calls, etc. If it’s the two weeks prior to an opening, I’m striking the show and planning/prepping for the next. I also have a colony of cockroaches that make appearances from time to time, so you can also find me begging someone else to "handle" them for me.

RH: In your opinion, who are some of the most promising lesser-known artists in North Texas?

BB: Josh Fletcher, Josh Reames, Miryam Prodanovic, Lisa Nersesova, Dylan Reece, Brian McCalsky, Nancy Wallace Brown, Keith Larson, Travis Williams, and Alex Hamrick.

RH: What is the most recent person, thing, or event that made you laugh?

BB: This show on HBO called The Life and Times of Tim.

RH: What is your work environment like (desk, office, lighting, operating system preference)?

BB: I use Mac at home and at the office. My desk is from Ikea, I have two stacked crystal lamps and a very old Suzani hanging on the wall in front of me. It is peaceful and quiet and me.

RH: Can you describe your favorite art piece in your personal collection?

BB: My daughter Hannah, who is 3, makes drawings. She’s really into faces. She draws the circle (oval) then eyes, nose, mouth and squiggly lines she calls “nice curly hair”. Each drawing has such a personality, the little faces have names and they come alive.

Image courtesy of Hannah Berman. The Gallery will be hosting an opening of wood, steel, and found object sculpture works by Dallas artist Jeff Green this Saturday from 6 - 9 PM.

Sorry there's no neat picture today, Blogger wouldn't cooperate...

Kayo Dot | Trifle Tower | Great Tyrant | Vorvadoss (Rubber Gloves)
Kayo Dot are one of those bands that sound pretty suspect on paper; avant-metal mixed with Classical composition technique, decidedly non-rock instruments thrown in, someone in charge of gamelan etc. In fact it perfectly fits the description of what an old studio hand called "Duck Call bands," or any band on Tzadik that had John Zorn tacked onto their album credits, simply for adding duck call to one of their kitchen sink jazz-metal-classical recordings. To think there was a time, mostly in my teen years, where I bought ANYTHING on Tzadik or Avant.

You learn to break that habit the hard way.

Well, the good news is that Kayo Dot are not at all one of those cute, overly clever groups that really wants you to be impressed by the fact they can go from bossa nova to thrash in a nanosecond. We have more than enough of that music school dropout shit in the Lone Star State, though I won't name any names. Kayo Dot's music is actually interesting, the transitions in style and form, ominously ooze and stretch out of each piece over the course of eight or more minutes.

Add to that a diverse trio of groups featuring varying levels of darkness and complexity, and you have a fail-proof show.

Disqo Disco (Fallout)

As we started to plan events to coincide with this year's WSJR Awards, we couldn't help but think back to last year when our party at Fra House got busted by Denton's finest before things could really even get started. However, since we love the idea of a good house party, we figured we could try it again this year as long as we were a little smarter about it. So here is what we came up with:

-- THIS FRIDAY, OCTOBER 17th starting @ 10PM we'll be co-hosting another free house party in Denton along with our friends at Stay Cool Swag School that will feature performances by:

Vega (Dj set from Alan Palomo featuring new Vega material)
Schwa
Damaged Goods (link fixed, its the Dallas hip hop act, NOT some bad punk band)
Young Doc Gooden

As well as lots of free booze for everyone 21 and up.

-- Where in Denton will this party take place, exactly? If you want to know, simply email weshotjrparty@yahoo.com any time between now and Friday at noon. If you email us (you need not include your name or any other personal info) before the deadline, you'll recieve an email Friday afternoon in which we'll tell you the address and provide any other relevant info you might need to know.

-- Everyone is invited and there will be no guest list or anything ridiculous like that. We just wanted to make sure that we kept the address a secret for as long as we could.

Anyway, we're looking forward to seeing everyone out this Friday, and based on what we're expecting, we recommend showing up early, especially if you want some free drinks. And by the way, this is just the first phase of our plans for this year's awards celebrations, so stay tuned.