We have a pair of tickets to give away to this Friday's (June 13th) Frog Eyes | Evangelicals show at Club Dada. Want to win them? You know what to do. Email weshotjrtix@yahoo.com any time between now and Thursday at noon. Please make "Frog Eyes" the email subject and include your full name in the body. Good luck.
Gotta be quick today, but be sure to check out Sally Glass' pics from the La Vista block party on Saturday and last night's Sarah Jaffe house show in Denton. Mkay? They are to the right in the photo section.
Cool Out feat. Tommy Boy (The Cavern) Tommy Boy will be joining the Cool Out dudes tonight, and if you were smart, you would go. You won't hear another set like his in town, trust me.
Maria Taylor | Johnathan Rice | Nik Freitas (Granada) I discovered that Nik Freitas is on Team Love, and that is pretty much when I stopped researching this show.
1. Centro-Matic/South San Gabriel - Dual Hawks 2. Old 97's - Blame It On Gravity 3. Murry Hammond - I Don't Know Where I'm Going But I'm On My Way 4. Mom - Little Brite 5. Zanzibar Snails - Brown Dwarf 5. (tie) Mount Righteous - When the Music Starts
GOOD RECORDS TOP OVERALL
1. Fleet Foxes - Fleet Foxes 2. Centro-Matic/South San Gabriel - Dual Hawks 3. Weezer - Red Album 4. Ladytron - Velocifero 5. Spiritualized - Songs in A&E 6. Mates of State - Re-Arrange Us 7. Ting Tings - We Started Nothing 8. Peter Linck - Manifesto (book) 9. Radiohead - Best Of 10. Cool Kids - Bake Sale 11. Bonnie 'Prince' Billy - Lie Down in the Light 12. Control - Control (DVD) 13. Subtle - ExitingArm 14. Virgins - Virgins (LP) 15. Fleet Foxes - Fleet Foxes/Sun Giant (LP) 16. Pattern is Movement - All Together 17. Santogold - Santogold 18. Futureheads - This Is Not the World 19. Islands - Arm's Way 20. Black Angels - Directions To See a Ghost
NEW ARRIVALS AT RECYCLED BOOKS
Gashcat - Jesus Fever The Hope Trust - The Incurable Want The Night Game Cult - Union Makes Strength Uptown Bums - Uptown Bums EP (45")
Kyle also left four Night Game Cult t-shirts of varying colors and sizes.
WED: New Bloods/Hornet Leg/Daniel Francis Doyle/Rival Gang/Nouns Group (Rubber Gloves) THU: Weird Weeds/Shiny Around the Edges/Fight Bite/Verulf (Rubber Gloves) THU: RZA as Bobby Digital (Palladium) FRI: Frog Eyes/Evangelicals/White Hinterland (Club Dada) FRI: Joan of Arc/Tame...Tame and Quiet/Yellow Fever (Lola's) FRI: Vacation/Boats/TBA (715 Panhandle) SAT: Balmorhea/Mom/Hotel Hotel (Hailey's) SAT: Strange Boys/Coathangers/Wax Museums (Club Dada) SAT: Jukebox the Ghost/Via Audio (Swiss House) SUN: Last Red Blood Club Show (Red Blood Club) SUN: Chicago/The Doobie Brothers (Starplex) SUN: Rilo Kiley/Thao/Benji Hughes (Palladium)
The Cure | 65daysofstatic (American Airlines Center) Nothing says moody English post-punk/pop better than American Airlines Center, but I guess you pretty much have to take what you can get these days in order to see legends like The Cure perform in a place like Dallas. My knowledge of the group's recorded output since "Friday I'm In Love" consists mainly of thinking about listening to their new stuff and then realizing that I don't really feel like it, but this is in no way meant to underscore some kind of tepid dismissal of the group as a whole. In fact, the Cure were probably the first "cool" band I ever heard (as in not hair metal or top 40) back when this super cute babysitter I had told me that the Cure was the "coolest punk band ever." So I guess without The Cure and Elizabeth (the super cute blonde in the leather jacket and Cult t-shirt), there very well could be no such thing as WSJR. You people show throw her a fucking party or something. And yes, Boys Don't Cry is still one of my favorite albums of all time, even though Elizabeth made the unfortunate recommendation that I purchase Mixed Up first.
Helio Sequence (The Loft) I have no info on opening acts for this show, but I do know that Helio Sequence could very well be the least offensive indie pop band on the planet. And I don't mean that entirely as an insult either, because they truly don't offend me in any way.
Mount Righteous | Fishboy | Death! To Doom Riders (Rubber Gloves) You pretty much know where you stand on cute indie pop: Either you listen to it zipping around in a neon colored VW Bug, or you want to vomit your lungs down the steps of The Angelika when said vehicle drives by. Mt. Righteous is a fairly new group that has been testing the knee jerk reactions of indie pop haters and lovers of late, and I've heard the confusion pouring out of every strip mall from Rowlett to Trophy Club: "They're good, but are they too cute?" "The songs are well crafted, but what about the lack of harmonic complexity?" And finally- "Whoa, hey, it sounds like some kids were held back at The Langley Schools Music Project!" So the debate continues. But there is no doubt that Mt. Righteous is eliciting a reaction, and I look forward to seeing what this will be like in their preferred un-mic'ed, acoustic setting. This is a release show for the group's new album, "When The Music Starts."
Tree Wave | Farah (House of Dang) This show at House of Dang conincides with the Art Show at And/Or Gallery next door, and the performances start at 8pm. Pretty much a perfect line up for the gallery set, although I hope Farah manages to freak a couple people out. I bet she does.
La Vista Block Party (corner of La Vista and Matilda, East Dallas) Ok, so this is basically an old school block party just east of Greenville Ave in the heart of East Dallas. People will be grilling and drinking and listening to music, in addition to many other incidental and entertaining events that will likely occur in such a setting. The thing starts at 6, and the bands start at 730. Confirmed performances include Fancy Fist (Sally Glass), Nouns Group at 9pm, and DJ Nature at 10 pm. Possible yet not confirmed performances are anticipated from Dust Congress and Sarah Jaffe at some point as well. This thing is free and BYOB, and you are welcome to bring some food to throw on the grills as well.
Candlemass (Lola's) Legendary Swedish Doom metal band Candlemass comes to DFW for what is apparently a rare performance in the area. I'm not personally familiar with the group's work, but they are apparently an absolutely essential doom metal act, serving as a major influence for countless subsequent bands. Their first record was released in the mid 80's, and much of their early work is considered legendary.
Realicide | Animal Forces | Mistress with PSOAS (907 Denton St.) Realicide is a label (under Realicide Youth) and collective founded by Robert Inhuman, who will be performing solo tonight and you should look up an interview with him if you want a good read. The group blends youth activism and furious idealism with a free-for-all approach to just about every gnarled branch of extreme music that you can name: noise, punk, gabber, hardcore, etc. The lyrics are often intelligent and entertaining to the point that you could take something from them whether they make you want to throw a brick through a window or not. Though this show is not at Tinnitus, it's worth mentioning that H.O.T. has hosted Realicide related groups like Xrin Arms and Hentai Lacerator in the past. Realicide will be joined by Mistress and the excellent Animal Forces who we'll discuss in next week's installment of "We Hate Your New Band Too." I won't even attempt to retype that last group's name, but I couldn't find anything out about them, they have a new record coming out, and they sound pretty interesting. (DL)
ADD: Martin Iles "Three On Sunday" Video Presentation (Dan's Silverleaf) Mr. Iles' impeccable taste will be on display in the form of three music related videos he'll show for free at Dan's, starting at 10:30. From the forgotten world of Black medicine shows, "Born For Hard Luck," to Target Video footage of enduringly significant synth-punks The Screamers, and finally "Black Sabbath: Live (1970-1978)," which is self explanatory. I still rewind certain parts of footage from that era over and over, trying to comprehend Bill Ward's fucking fills. Here's a preview.
Ladytron | Datarock (Palladium: Their music is less charmingly nervous and claustrophobic and has grown into more of a big, booming pop sound, but Ladytron is perpetually popular and even dubious collaborations with Nine Inch Nails can't slow them down. Another headlining caliber act, Datarock, will be opening and though they also play electronic pop music, their approach and attitude is decidedly more light hearted in sort of a smug, shitty way. But that's what they're going for, so that's not really an insult.
Telethon | Blixaboy | The Rape Ape (Double Wide) Wanz first Thursday to not do Lost Generation finds him stepping out in his minimal dub persona. Note The Fall reference there, Wanz.
80's Night With DJ G (Hailey's) Have you guys heard about this? It's on Thursday nights in Denton and this DJ, DJ G, spins 80's records. Sounds cool. You should think about going.
I was really glad I got to catch the New Media lecture at CADD last weekend. I might have a crush on Kevin Bewersdorf, whose work I honestly wasn't familiar with until the lecture. I hope you got to check out the gallery exhibits as well. It was nice to see some old favorites from Theresa Chong, James Nares, Justin Quin, along with some other names I didn't write down, and pieces I hadn't gotten to see yet. Here's the weekend in art:
FRIDAY
Brad Cloepfil, architect of the new Booker T. Washington High School, will speak at 7pm at the DMA.
SATURDAY
Cory Arcangel + Olia Lialina and Dragan Espenschied (And/Or) Go to this, please! This is a big show for And/Or, and if you don't go for Cory Arcangel then go for Treewave and Farah. There is a walk-through with the artists at 7:30. Music starts at 8pm.
A little reminder that the excellent Kehinde Wiley exhibit at the Modern closes on Sunday.
French Kicks | Frightened Rabbit | Bridges and Blinking Lights (Granada) Ah... the French Kicks.... I honestly didn't know they were still around. I thought they had faded away with a lot of those other New York early 00's bands when that shit didn't blow up like Seattle. Guess they didn't. The real highlight here is Scotland's Frightened Rabbit. Honestly, they do nothing special-- you could label their music something like "indie power pop," mention REM and the Shins, and be mostly correct. And if you were being honest, you would also have to admit that their singer sort of sounds like dude from Counting Crows. But they are still pretty damn good for some reason. Can't explain why. Just listen for a sec.
Detroit Cobras | Holy Moly | Record Hop (The Loft) In many ways, the Detroit Cobras are nothing more than a glorified cover band. In fact, they are a glorified cover band almost by definition since they do not ever play original material (they cover old rock, blues and soul songs) yet still receive constant praise from critics and fans. Of course, the songs they choose to cover are usually solid and you probably haven't heard most of them, but they are simply that... covers. I caught them live once and I thought it was good for like the first ten minutes, ok for the next five, and then I went home I think.
It's What We Get or something else?(Haileys) So there is a bit of confusion as to what is going on at Hailey's on Wednesday nights now since Alan Palomo left for New York. Austin Brown, the guy behing Stay School Swag School, tells us that he'll be playing a set of dirty south stuff and crunk early in the evening before someone else takes over.... he just doesn't know who. Mkay ya'll?
Taxi Fare with DJ Nature (Zubar) One of the most surprisingly fun dance nights in Dallas...duh.
Over the past few months, we have noticed a surprising influx of quality new local bands emerging throughout the area, and we wanted to say a few words about some of them in a format other than an It List. There are so many artists we wanted to talk about, in fact, that this post, which we're calling "We Hate Your New Band Too," will be the first in a new series in which we bring your attention to some of the newer local acts we've been listening to. Although some of the bands we'll feature in this series aren't completely new, most have only been covered briefly on WSJR (if at all), and we thought you might be interested in learning something about them beyond what we usually have time to tell you in daily show listings. Anyway, round one is below, and you'll see round two next week:
Fizzy Dino Pop: I'm sure many of our "in the know" readers anticipated that there would one day be a local band that would successfully incorporate some combo of the Crystal Castles/Dan Deacon/Death Set/8 Bit Sound into something worth listening to, and Fizzy Dino Pop might just be that act. Consisting of just one member, FDP tackles the spastic, fast, and danceable yet noisy sounds of the aforementioned groups minus the use of vocals, which pushes the intriguing song structures and blasting beats into the foreground with a good deal of success. All of the Fizzy Dino Pop tracks we've heard have come off like the sound of fuck all reckless joy, recalling an 8 bit Nintendo game soundtrack sped up to the point where it is just about to fall apart, which is probably perfect for a kid at the peak of a sugar rush. But if youthful exuberance at hardcore inspired breakneck speeds is the foundation here, what really makes this music worthwhile is the dance element that almost forces you to imagine yourself at a particularly fun house show whenever you hear it. Although some of this music comes off a bit silly upon first listen, it is hard to deny the excited danceability of the instrumental Ghosthustler reworking "Someone Else's Ride," nor the fun yet emotionally provocative power of standout Motoric Mathematics remix "Everything on eBay." Fizzy Dino Pop sounds like a project that could be taken to all kinds of interesting places, but I hope dude stops off at a couple 08 summer house parties on the way. (SR)
Stick Up Kids: So a couple of the guys from Neva Dug Disco had our eyes rollin' the other day when they handed us a copy of Stick Up Kids' latest mixtape, The Worst Day of Your Life. I mean come on, we don't have time to listen to some BS Dallas wanna be MCs acting like they're from Houston, right? Well, if you're as cynical about Dallas hip hop as I've been for most of my tenure in town, then you too may be in for something of a shock when you pop in Stick Up Kids' latest mix tape. Avoiding the disparate but common local hip hop traps of being either too backpack or too cartoonish street, Stick Up Kids bring it with both production and flow on one of the most surprising local releases of any kind I've heard this year. These guys aren't reinventing the wheel here, but that's not the point. This is a straight up party tape that compares favorably with many of the recent hip hop mixes I've heard from more reputable artists in more respected hip hop locales, forcing me to wonder whether these guys might be a slightly bigger deal if they were from Houston or New Orleans. Never dumbing it down or getting too cute, Stick Up Kids' three members, Molek Ular, Wordlife and E-Wize, seem to possess the kind of swagger and skill that might get people talking both within and outside of our little local music bubble. The mix tape covers a lot of ground, from chilled, old school inspired grooves to harsh, urgent street tracks and party starters that blend together as well as you could possibly expect from such a diverse group of sounds. The combo of gritty street appeal and imaginative, quality production is far too rare in this city, and the fact that the MCs actually have more than a respectable presence on the mic makes it even better. (SR)
Roy G and the Biv: What the fuck am I supposed to do when I kind of like something that almost reminds me of Jamiroquai? I'm guessing a response akin to "get a life" would be your suggestion, but fortunately for all of us, things aren't quite so simple with Denton's Roy G and the Biv, and the Jamiroquai reference was kind of just a joke. Sorry, it was the first thing that popped in my head when I heard these tracks. The second thing that popped in my head is that Roy G's lyrics are pretty cheesy. In fact, they suck. And I'm also pretty sure that the dude has listened to more than his fair share of Chromeo, Chic, Wham! and The Gap Band, as his initially audible influences are quickly discernible. But dig a bit deeper and you'll hear a bit of the earnestness of Skylarking era XTC, a touch of old school soul, bold flashes of disco and some well crafted 80's synth funk/r&b, all of which adds up to pretty catchy tunes that can be admired on their own merits. In fact, if the above mentioned reference points are at all appealing to you (not that you would ever admit to liking a Jamiroquai song, of course), then I think you might be in for a treat when you cruise by the Myspace page and check out a couple tracks, particularly "Nicotine," a goofy, oversexed and mid tempo disco/ 80's soul number that sounds like a coke head come on just before last call. Translation: purposefully disposable but highly accomplished pop that you'll have a hard time denying. And the guy is apparently just getting started. (SR)
Sunnybrook: When I first stumbled across Sunnybrook's Myspace page as I was getting ready to complete a brief write up for a Weekender, I was immediately struck by how mature and thoughtful this seemingly young artist sounded at what I believed to be a very early stage of his project. It turns out that I was right about his age, but wrong about his experience-- Paul North, the lone member of Sunnybrook (and younger brother of Mom's Joel North), is only 20 years old, but he's actually been recording songs under the same moniker for five years. Initially inspired by the music of Elliot Smith, North began writing songs at age 15 while learning to play and sing on his own through the kind of open minded trial and error that is often as useful for revealing what an artist doesn't like as it is for setting any kind of true foundation for a particular musical direction.
As he grew older and slightly more adventurous musically, North began making regular trips up to Denton to visit his brother and fellow Mom member Bruce Blay, and it was those visits that changed the direction of his vision. Aside from introducing North to artists such as Godspeed! You Black Emperor, Steve Reich and Spiritualized, the members of Mom also included him in the recording sessions for their debut EP Little Brite, allowing the younger North to assist in backing vocals and noise making as he soaked up the ideas and techniques that the band brought to their production.
Many of these more adventurous influences have made their way to the foreground of Sunnybrook's music, and it is all the more compelling for it. Sure, many will probably hear similarities between Sunnybrook and newer indie folk acts like Bon Iver, Grizzly Bear and Phosphorescent, and truthfully, those are probably the most relevant and accurate comparisons to make (along with references to groups like The Books and Boards of Canada). But beyond the obvious is where this music truly stands out in sea of comparable local acts-- whereas "ambient" is often used as a substitute for "boring," particularly when the word is used to describe acoustic acts who have just discovered that electronic music isn't evil, North truly utilizes the concept to his advantage, creating interesting textures and atmospheres that are initially compelling but also rewarding as a slow revelation. The song that caught the ears of WSJR and a handful of other blogs a couple weeks ago is "Waving Hands," a bittersweet and introspective acoustic piece with sugary, reverby layered vocal tracks that play off one another to create a compelling wall of distant harmonies that never stray too far from a traditional melodic core. All of Sunnybrook's tracks, whether it be the instrumental toy piano atmosphere of "Walking" or the more sing songy "Strangers," contain hints of the kind of artistic sophistication that you might not expect from such a young artist, especially one who has barely played a gig. (SR)
Darktown Strutters: One of the more unexpected acts I've stumbled across so far this year, Darktown Strutters consists of two roommates that met appropriately enough on Friday The 13th, a fitting date to match the delightful gloom cast over the duo's music. Their overall image and sound smartly teeters on a thin line between camp and an undeniable dark confidence over masterfully fucked grooves, and it must be taken seriously.
Organist and vocalist Kara Jean spends most of her time in the lower reaches of a voice that is both melodramatic and monotone, but can shriek her way into a nasty falsetto when necessary. A sparse yet catchy little organ riff with plenty of negative space will open a song, allowing for Wes Darrin (also of Faux Fox) to lay down very inventive and varied beats on an electronic drum kit that's doused with delay. The array of presets and sounds on Kera's Electone MR-500 mixed with disco beats and lyrics referencing Kenneth Anger make for a live experience that's hard to shake. The group cited very few influences, early Christian Death being one of them, though Malaria! is one of the first groups that come to mind when I hear them.
"Jovan White Musk" is the only posted track on their page, but its nine minute plus running time is a good, long intro to the unclassifiable creep of the Darktown Strutters music. You had to be lucky to have scored one of their limited edition cassettes on local label Asex Tapes, and I'm hoping there's more where that came from. (DL)
Not much to say today. The news right below this post is much more important.
The Bellrays | Hello Lover | Architects (The Cambridge Room) The Bellrays are a blues punk band that magically transformed into the greatest band of all time after a brief preview listen of the opening acts.
we shot jr presents: richard and alan bishop of sun city girls
We Shot JR is proud to present Richard and Alan Bishop of Sun City Girls on July 3rd at the Granada Theater. As many of you might already know, the current incarnation of what used to be called Sun City Girls features 2/3 of the original line up (founding members and brothers Bishop), and the tour is functioning as a tribute to the late Charles Gocher, the third founding member of the group. The show will start with a 40 minute presentation of Gocher's experimental videos followed by two sets of music by the Bishops, who will be performing Sun City Girls songs as an acoustic duet.
TICKET GIVEAWAY: We're doing an early giveaway for this show, so if you're interested in winning a pair of tickets, just email weshotjrtix@yahoo.com any time between now and this Thursday at noon. Please make "Sun City Girls" the subject line and include your full name in the email body. We'll have more on this show in the coming weeks, so stay tuned, and if you want to buy tickets, grab em here.
EDIT: We have learned that Richard and Alan Bishop do not refer to themselves as "Sun City Girls" any longer due to the death of Gocher, so we've made changes to reflect that.
It'll be nice to get an extended break from your garbage. Sexism didn't beat you, and neither did media bias. You beat yourselves by standing for nothing and failing to take Obama's movement seriously until it was way too late. Let's move on to the general election, please.
We've added a bunch of new tracks to our MP3 Section if you want to take a look... it's just below Sally's photos on the right. Here we go:
Rob Viktum | Mr. Dibbs (Fallout Lounge) It's pretty clear these days that Def Jux sort of created an underground hip hop culture all on its own a few years ago, and many of the people who took inspiration from that scene seem to be suburban white dudes who can't ever shut up about "real hip hop" while using words like "sell outs" and "corporate" and "old school" to describe what they believe to be the sorry state of current hip hop as they ponder the era of retro to which it should return in order to save itself. I don't know if either of these performers, both respected staples in Dallas' turntablist DJ scene, adhere to the aforementioned beliefs, but man, some of those dudes can be really annoying sometimes, especially when you consider how musically risky and downright strange some "commercial" hip hop has become when compared to the jazz/funk based stuff you'll hear many of these backpack hip hop heads support. Didn't Gang Starr and Tribe and Guru and Pete Rock already master most of that stuff like 15 years ago? Anyway, this isn't a dis on this unannounced show, considering that I don't know exactly what these dudes will play over the course of their sets (which have gained respect from most in the local hip hop community), but it just reminded me of my beef with backpack... for some reason.
Cool Out (The Cavern) Sober will join Big J at Cool Out this evening.
1. Old 97's - Blame It On Gravity 2. I Love Math - Getting to the Point is Beside It 3. Pyramids - Pyramids
Begs the question... if you were sent to hell and had to spend the rest of eternity at an Old 97's or I Love Math Show, which would you pick and why?
TOP OVERALL
1. Old 97's - Blame It On Gravity 2. Bonnie 'Prince' Billy - Lie Down In the Light 3. Local H - 12 Angry Months 4. Spiritualized - Songs in A&E 5. Black Angels - Directions To See a Ghost 6. Old 97's - Blame It On Gravity (Ltd) 7. Mates of State - Re-Arrange Us 8. Murry Hammond - I Don't Know Where I'm Going But I'm On My Way 9. Islands - Arm's Way 10. Portishead - Third (LP) 11. Ratatat - Shiller/Maholo (7") 12. Half-Handed Cloud/Ariel Pink - Unusual Animals Vol.3 (7") 13. Kills - Midnight Boom 14. Health - Health/Disco 15. Crystal Castles - Crystal Castles 16. Breeders - Mountain Battles 17. I Love Math - Getting to the Point is Beside It 18. Pyramids - Pyramids 19. Mount Eerie - Black Wooden Ceiling Opening 20. Death Cab for Cutie - Narrow Stairs
WED: French Kicks/Frightened Rabbit/Bridges and Blinking Lights (the Granada) THU: Ladytron/Datarock (Palladium Ballroom) FRI: The Cure/65daysofstatic (American Airlines Center) FRI: Helio Sequence (The Loft) FRI: Singer/History at Our Disposal/Zest of Yore (Hailey's) SAT: Zanzibar Snails/Great Tyrant/Mistress/Nouns Group (1919 Hemphill) SAT: Treewave/Farah (House of Dang) SAT: Death is Not A Joyride/Tiger Moth/i Kill Cars (Pastime Tavern)
