Maybe not the easiest way to start your Monday, but what the hell:

(Contributions from SR and DL)

Whats the deal with Sunday being the shit this weekend?

FRIDAY

Black Mayonnaise | A Fail Association | TEF | SDS | Church Of The Apocalypse | Brokenizer/Goat/Blast Beat (House of Tinnitus)
Almost overwhelming lineup of varying degrees of extreme at Tinnitus tonight. Black Mayonnaise released a record on the venerable Emperor Jones label and are at times even more accessible than I expected. The music is crawling atmospheric doom-sludge with drum machines, bass rumbling and distantly ominous vocals. I read a review comparing it to Sleep if their production had been done by DJ Screw. Imagine that. The rest of the show features some of Texas' brightest sound manipulators. A Fail Association has some real ear-gouging insanity on their page with some impressive stop/start work occasionally rising from the din. SDS employs short-wave radio for their creations. I've even heard that a member of Denton's Burnt Sienna Trio will be participating which is somewhat surprising considering BST is about as far from noise as you can get. Hopefully, that will get some of the uninitiated out to Tinnitus. When one of the group descriptions is simply "all out war", you can at least count on not being bored even if noise isn't usually your thing. Don't be afraid.

Record Hop | White Drugs | How Hard (Secret Headquarters)
Record Hop's last show with their current drummer, which is a shame because he was excellent. White Drugs had the opening track on our Projection comp. last year and I hear they're a good dirty live experience.

Mugzu | Shaolin Death Squad | Knee Pad | The Timeline Post (Rubber Gloves)
Mixed feelings about this one. Mugzu is definitely a solid metal band and they will be missed as they have been around forever, are locally respected, and this is their last show. So that alone is reason to witness this performance. However, if you can somehow avoid seeing the tragically awful Shaolin Death Squad, please do. I mean, it's great that they can play their instruments well. That does display a certain amount of intelligence. Ted Kaczynski was intelligent. Don't use your skill for pure evil. I don't mean pure evil in a cool headbanger way. I mean it in the worse-than-a-war crime cheese prog novelty metal kind of way. Yeah, please don't do that.

Tame...Tame and Quiet | Radiant | The Paper South (Hailey's)
Yet another show where Tame...Tame considerably outclasses the rest of the bill. The Paper South features members of American Analog Set for fans of that band.

SATURDAY

Wild in the Streets will be doing a set of classic French pop at the DMA (In the Atrium) from 10-1130.

Silk Stocking | Warren Jackson Hearne(J & J's Pizza, Denton)
J & J's Pizza on the square in Denton celebrates its 10 year (!) anniversary with two of the darkest acts in North Texas. Makes perfect sense.

Stumptone | History At Our Disposal (Secret Headquarters)
History At Our Disposal is a somewhat hushed and sometimes experimental rock group that has mostly been a recording project and has played out sporadically. Stumptone is a psych influenced big guitar band that has one of the most ubiquitous logos in all of local music.

The Theater Fire (The Chat Room in Fort Worth)
A great place to catch The Theater Fire. I'm not a huge fan of hanging out in bars but I never mind spending an evening at The Chat Room. It's so comfortable and you can check your e-mail and read all the hateful letters and anonymous comments while sipping a Long Island Iced Tea. Paradise.

SUNDAY

Of Montreal | Elekibass (Gypsy Tea Room)
You know what? If Gypsy is actually going to close down at the end of March and transfer the balance of its events somewhere else, this show might be one of your last decent opportunities to head out there and say your good-byes (if you're the kind of person that likes to say goodbye to inanimate objects). And actually, it should be more than decent. Say what you want about a lot of Of Montreal's earlier work (much of it is less than great), but Hissing Fauna, Are you the Destroyer?, their latest, is pretty exceptional. Kevin Barnes has obviously grown into a complex and unique songwriter, and the new record does quite a good job of capturing the inherent contradictions that make Of Montreal shine when they are at their best. The exuberant indie pop elements of their music might be a turn off for some, but when you consider the interplay and push/pull between the compelling electro/synth and bad trip psychedelic paranoia that set them apart from many of today's fashionable popsters, you start to discover the uniqueness and worth of their sound. I'd give the new record a shot, even if you haven't dug their previous stuff, and if the past live perfomances I've caught from them are any indication, the show should be well worth your time.

Kevin Barnes will also be playing a solo set at Good Records.

Danny And The Nightmares (Daniel Johnston) | FishboyHappy Bullets | Two Star Symphony (Granada)
One of the few artists to make the It List that would be considered a "legend". It's been a personal goal of mine to see Daniel Johnston and I'm glad to get another chance for the first time in years. Two Star Symphony is a string quartet and they had some enjoyable staccato-tinged instrumentals on their page. The bands getting to open this show should consider it an honor.

Quest Love | Yameen Allworld | Sober | Select | Neva Dug Disco (Minc)
This will probably be one of the most packed shows all weekend so go early. Sober, Select and Questlove. That might be the best lineup I've ever heard of at Minc.

Akkolyte | Tolar | Man The Conveyors | Expresion Clandestina (1127 N. Clinton Ave. Dallas, TX)
I saw some intense footage of Akkolyte playing Snake Eyes Vinyl in Austin from last week that made me even more excited to catch this house show than I already was. Grindcore/hardcore isn't for everybody but Akkolyte has earned many admirers that usually wouldn't attend a show like this through their almost unbelievable ability and diversity. A band that Dallas should be proud of. They did the bass and drums duo thing long before it was cool. Note: Show starts promptly at 6PM and ends sharply at 10PM.

Due to a computer freeze, we've had to do a bunch of work on the weekend list twice. We'll get it posted ASAP. In the meantime, you can go read the Observer's preview of the Trout Fishing in America concert or whatever the hell they previewed this week.

The typically wimpy congressional Dems are, for the first time, trying to do something to actually stop Bush's misguided, stubborn and ineffective Iraq policies as opposed to simply expressing their non-binding disapproval of them. We need more where this is coming from.

No time to write for you today, but here are some shows you might be interested in:

Eat Avery's Bones | Koji Kondo | Heart Rapers | MC Router (Rubber Gloves)

Oh No! Oh My!/RTB2 | Eaton Lake Tonics (The Cavern) w/ Zoo going on upstairs

80's Night With DJ G (Hailey's)
Lost Generation w/ Wanz Dover (Fallout)

Monsters Of Pot | The Mojo Spleens | 1-800-ZOMBIE | Judascow (1919 Hemphill)
Monsters of Pot is a Midwestern noise group that sounds like they'll most likely put on a deafeningly intense show. Their track samples consist of ear-ringing ambient frequencies and static-scapes complete with harsh yells reminiscent of Whitehouse. And as if their name wasn't warning enough, watch your weed ladies and gentlemen. The group has threatened to "smoke all of the weed in Texas" after the show. Tourmates The Mojo Spleens are a surf-rock band. Judascow is a local noisemaker who sometimes shows projections to accompany the chaos. 1-800-Zombie is an 8-bit electronic duo with cutesy "Wordy Rappinghood" sounding vocals. They're from Keller and I'm sure you're all aware of the ultra competitive Keller 8-bit scene. You're not? I guess you're not as hip as you thought.

Sober | Select (Clear Lounge)

Violent Squid | Phalanx | Adam Duc Trio | Final Fight | Heartrapers (Dan's Silver Leaf)
Violent Squid will be performing a set at this Habitat For Humanity Benefit at Dan's tonight with pizza provided by J & J's. Their music is constantly changing so it's interesting that they're playing in a "battle of the bands" setup. I'm usually opposed to such shows but it's okay since it's for a good cause. Don't know much about the other groups except that I wish Final Fight had a website since I've heard good things about them.

Sticky Buns And Friends Dance Party (Rubber Gloves)
It's Valentines Day and if you've given up all hope and have been contemplating death because you're completely alone, miserable, unloved, and unlovable then this might be a good place to get cheered up. Sticky Buns is sticky funz.



Flashlight Party (Hailey's)

Benefit show for The Family Gateway Center featuring The Black Angels | White Ghost Shivers | Shanghai 5 | The Tah-Dahs (Granada)
The Family Gateway Center is an organization that provides various services to the homeless and families in crisis. This show features some of the state's most beloved acts including the ever popular Black Angels. They will be playing their set while Hal Samples provides some background visuals. Film shorts by Samples will also be shown in between acts. White Ghost Shivers are another Austin group that have rather anachronistic influences and they've been impressively entertaining when I've seen them. Tickets for this show are $10 and $15 and doors open at 7:00. So if you go, don't show up at 1:20 in the morning like everyone else in Dallas.

(And I really should add: if you saw the Black Angels live like a year or two ago and didn't dig it, you might want to give them another chance. Their live show has improved greatly over the past 6-12 months, and the last time we saw them at Gypsy, they sounded incredible.)

Astro Jazz Quartet (Pearl)

Music is from 8-11. Show is free.

Bridges and Blinking Lights | Swim Swim | New Science Projects | Nouns Group (Club Dada)
So it's New Music Tuesday at Club Dada and here we have four bands and I'm not sure if any of them are all that new. Well, they might be new to somebody I suppose. Bridges and Blinking Lights is a pretty straight ahead rock group from Denton that has been around for what seems like forever. New Science Projects is another one of those acts that you can never tell if it's one person or a whole group and their page has at least one pretty memorable song with a dark almost cabaret type melody. Swim Swim plays poppy songs and will have an excellent opportunity to increase their local profile by opening up for The Polyphonic Spree in March. Nouns Group has a violin and a lot of yelling.

Here are some records and songs (new and old) that we've been listening to lately. If bands, labels or management would like any of these songs removed for any reason, please email weshotjr@yahoo.com and we will take them down.

STONEDRANGER:

Dungen: Tio Bitar

Just got my hands on this one less than 12 hours ago, and I really don't want to pass any kind of judgment on it just yet. I will say, however, that Ta Det Lungt is probably one of my 10 favorite records of the past five years, and I've been looking forward to this follow-up for quite a while. This record seems to be a bit less straight forward than the last one, and this track, "Familj," is my early favorite.
MP3

Wooden Shjips: various EPs and singles

A fairly new San Francisco psyche noise outfit that seems to be quite good at using "Sister Ray" as a starting point and building repetitive psychedelic grooves off of the kind of guitar shredding chaos that made the aforementioned track (arguably) one of the most important songs in rock n' roll history. The rough yet mesmerizing sound of late 80s London space rockers Loop is probably a fair comparison, and fans of the Black Angels and Psychic Ills will certainly dig this stuff as well. As an added bonus, your alt-country friends are sure to hate it! Their Myspace page is here.
MP3

Simian Mobile Disco: various EPs, remixes

Comprised of former members of the English dance rock band Simian, this Dj duo has recently been producing and remixing for the likes of Ladytron, Arctic Monkeys, and Klaxons. In addition, they've released a handful of successful dance singles on the fashionable French electro label Kitsune, and seem to be highly involved in the recent English/Euro rave/house revival. The following track, "Tits and Acid," (off their forthcoming debut) is full of infectious classic acid house beats and sure to please anyone thats into that sort of thing.
MP3

Electric Wizard: Dopethrone

Allmusic notes that this band is often referred to as the "heaviest band in the world," and although I'm not sure how official all these rankings actually are, I would say that they just might be one of the most powerful doom/stoner metal bands like, ever or something. The following track, "Vinum Sabbathi," is the first one off 2000's Dopethrone, which is regarded by many as the band's finest record. Their Allmusic entry notes a long hiatus the band took during their career that was probably the result of "crippling weed consumption." Good one guys.
MP3

Black Devil Disco Club: 28 Later

Another great set of pulsing and dark synth/Italo disco from this band (believed to have recorded in the late 70s) that no one really seems to know anything about. "The Devil in Us"
MP3

DEFENSIVE LISTENING:

Y Pants: S/T Discography

Old 99 Records band that might have been overlooked for being so strange, even by the standards of the NYC downtown scene at the time. Y Pants was a minimal trio that featured toy piano, drums and distorted ukelele. The way that the toy piano is utilized on this track is a glaring contrast to its poppy presence in the kitchen sink ambitions of today's indie rock groups. Here the instrument almost sounds menacing. Y Pants featured Barbara Ess who also played with The Static and is an accomplished artist working with video, installations, and photography. I recently saw a copy of her famous Just Another Asshole magazine anthology, under glass at the Austin Museum of Art's "Radical New York!" exhibit. This early track is called "Luego Fuego":
MP3

Colin Newman: A-Z

I had always heard that Colin Newman's first solo record after Wire was essential and I have to admit that I had been somewhat skeptical since I wasn't always impressed by his later post-Wire output. I was actually blown away by it upon hearing it recently and was surprised to find how much of it resembles Pink Flag and Chairs Missing as opposed to 154. This track, "& Jury", is accessible enough that it would have made a decent New Wave-era radio single.
MP3

Scissor Girls: We People Space With Phantoms

Scissor Girls hailed from Chicago and and influenced everyone from the Providence noise rock scene to Japan's Melt Banana. Though their records were a far cry from the elegant Post-Rock coming out of Chicago at the time, this group was not without its own sonic nuances. Listen to the squiggling funk of the bassline on this track and the way it spars with the busy drumming and lead squeals. The song is entitled "Dedecation to Cronies and Goats".
MP3

The Jazz Butcher: The Gift of Music

Way back in the early 90's Comedy Central was formed as a merger between two rather unpopular comedy networks, The Comedy Channel and Ha!. I found Ha! to be especially bland but The Comedy Channel was full of really interesting nonsensical comedy programs. Mystery Science Theater 3000 was the station's breakout star, but there were other long forgotten gems like Higgins Boys and Gruber, The Sweet Life with Rachel Sweet, and Onion World hosted by comedian Rich Hall of Saturday Night Live and Not Necessarily The News fame, as well as author of the Sniglets book series. Onion World was decidedly abstract and wasn't much more than pointless clips and sketches thrown together. The show's theme song was composed by a British pop group called The Jazz Butcher who are somewhat obscure despite being better than a lot of other heavy handed British pop music from the same era. As much I love the Onion World theme I'm posting a link to another Jazz Butcher song I recently got ahold of that has brought with it a flood of memories. The song, "Partytime", has ridiculous lyrics bordering on novelty and was featured on the show as the background music to a clip that was just a shot of a goldfish opening and closing its mouth while peering out from the glass of its fishbowl. When accompanied by the song, it appeared that the fish was singing. Fucking hilarious.
MP3

Butterglove: The John Morand Session

Innovative late 80's band that predicted a lot of the math metal in the following decade and a half. This particular track, which starts off sounding like a Black Flag instrumental before cascading through several tempo and time signature changes, features Pen Rollings of Honor Role and Loincloth, who have recorded for Southern Lord Records. Rollings is probably one of the most underrated guitarists of the past 25 years with an instantly recognizable sound and approach. Few groups can match his crunching chug, though Neurosis sometimes comes close. This track is called "Waiting to Wipe".
MP3

It's no secret that the day shows and other unorthodox events lurking in the shadows of SXSW are one of the best things about the festival. In many cases it provides a chance for artists and attendees alike a chance to experience something especially memorable without the rigid structure and setup of such a large event. The show taking place on Saturday, March 17th at the very cool Chain Drive in Austin will be a chance to see more great acts under a single roof than you're likely to catch at several official showcases. The Strategies Of Beauty masterminds had the excellent idea to incorporate Austin artists into this event and there might even be a national act or two. If that's the case we'll let you know. The lineup as of right now:

Notes From Underground (Denton)
Shiny Around The Edges (Denton)
My Education (Austin)
The Zanzibar Snails (Denton)
Benko (Austin)
hotel, hotel (Austin)
Ghostcar (Denton)
Fires Were Shot (Austin)

Saturday March, 17th
Chain Drive
504 Willow Street
Austin, TX 78701
(near the Convention Center on Cesar Chavez)
1pm - 9pm (tentatively)

But check back with us for other content.

1. Bloc Party - A Weekend in the City
2. Peter Bjorn and John - Writer's Block
3. Shins - Wincing the Night Away
4. Menomena - Friend and Foe
5. Loney, Dear - Loney, Noir
6. Apples in Stereo - New Magnetic Wonder
7. Deerhoof - Friend Opportunity
8. Deerhunter - Cryptograms
9. Earlies - The Enemy Chorus
10. Of Montreal - Hissing fauna, are you the destroyer?
11. Sondre Lerche - Phantom Punch
12. Yoko Ono - Yes, I'm a witch.
13. Various Artists - Zac Crain for Dallas Mayor Compilation
14. The Good, The Bad and the Queen - s/t
15. Clinic - Visitations
16. Grizzly Bear - Yellow House
17. Brightblack Morning Light - s/t
18. Beirut - Lon Gisland
19. Lymbyc Systym - Love Your Abuser
20. Lily Allen - Alright, Still...

Haven't had time to make any adds until now, but an Open Mic Laptop Deathmatch will be going on tonight at the Amsterdam starting at 9pm... the show will be open, meaning that anyone who wants to perform can bring their computer to the Amsterdam and sign up for a spot on the bill, which will also feature free form video projection and performances by Deathmatch regulars Cygnus, Matthewmatix, Plutonium Jukebox and others.

(with contributions from SR and DL)

FRIDAY

The Party w/ Sober, Select, Prince William (Zubar)
Three genre-hopping DJs whose sets tend to emphasize, hip-hop, hyphy, bmore, touches of dubstep, house, late 80s old school and just about everything else under the moon. Come see why these guys are so in demand that I can't even creep around the food court at North Park without hearing one of their sets blasting from a store.

Octopus Project | Kingfish | Tha Bracelets
(Hailey's)
Octopus Project is somewhat of an Austin institution and I'm sure the show will be packed. This gem from the Kingfish bio confused me: "Kingfish challenged the standards of Rock music...". Interesting. I wasn't aware rock music had any standards. Judging by most of these Myspace pages, you'd be hard pressed to make such a case. If there is in fact a standard, I'm not sure if this is the group to "challenge" it. I can only guess. See for yourself at Hailey's tonight. The impossibly happy Bracelets also play and are sure to play a typically energetic live set.

Sarah Reddington | Teenage Symphony (Secret Headquarters)
Teenage Symphony will be an excellent fit for the very intimate Secret Headquarters. Last time the group performed it was a semi-acoustic show on the floor of Club Dada. So tonight they won't even have a stage to shun. At their best, the band's sad almost creepy psyche-pop is the sonic equivalent of a manila paper watercolor soaked with a child's tears. Trust me. Sarah Reddington's melodic country rock will be a good pairing.

The Baptist Generals | Theater Fire | Bosque Brown | Doug Burr (Granada)
Some heavy hitters at the Granada tonight with a headliner that has kept everyone waiting on a followup full-length for I believe, about seventeen years now. Bosque Brown is like a Fort Worth Sam Phillips, and that's okay since I'm big fan of both. Theater Fire might be the only local group to play both the Granada and 1919 Hemphill. Correct me if I'm wrong.

Bob White and his F-Electrics | Ghost of Ria... | Deep Snapper (Rubber Gloves)
Deep Snapper has members of Birth to Burial and is definitely one of the better local no-bullshit rock groups. They utilize a lot of up-tempo chug rhythms, cutting guitars and group shouting all delivered in a very sophisticated style completely devoid of any anthemic cheesiness.

SATURDAY

Lemonheads | Vietnam | The Hero Factor (Palladium Ballroom)
Does anyone remember what a cultural phenom Dando was in the 90's? Hard to imagine now. I remember a Rolling Stone magazine article where he gave advice on how to smuggle drugs on airplanes. What an arrogant jerk. Anyways, he could definitely write a memorable melody but it's strange to find myself typing about the Lemonheads in 2007. I remember Vietnam playing with The Rapture about 5 years ago, and I'm surprised it's taken so long for them to get this popular. If anyone knows anything about the Palladium as a venue, let us know.

Current Leaves | Stanton Meadowdale
(J&Js-9pm-free)
Interesting setting for the polished Current Leaves to perform. I always prefer to see bands out of their element.

Raised By Tigers | The Grass Fight (Secret Headquarters)
Raised by Tigers is a veteran Denton group with pleasantly soft vocals over some complex, almost-virtuoso backing tracks. The Grass Fight are yet another group of dark brooding rock influenced by mopey 80's keyboard bands. I'm sure Ian Curtis relives his hanging for eternity because of how much he's mimicked. Thanks, bands.

Druggist | Sean Kirkpatrick | Tame...Tame and Quiet (The Cavern)
Cue hail from Austin and play atmospheric "chamber rock" and a lot of weepy violin. Sean Kirkpatrick is from The Paperchase but you wouldn't know that from his somewhat subdued sets. Tame...Tame and Quiet rock at such weird angles you'll have to cock your head to understand it. But it's a really enjoyable confusion. NOTE: Cue is not on the bill, so that part about them is just like a joke and shit.

Happy Bullets | Red Monroe | Hendrick/J Price (Wreck Room-Ft. Worth)
Two darlings of the Dallas scene drive all the way to Fort Worth for this one. Red Monroe always seems to pick up glowing reviews. Catch this show at a venue that's supposedly shutting down, meaning Fort Worth is not immune from the closing venue disease.

SUNDAY

Check back with us all weekend for updates and such.