Sally Glass Going Away Party with The Party | Keith P | Prince William (Moosh, 2020 Greenville Ave.) To get it out of the way real quick-- Tommy Boy had to cancel tonight due to some personal issues. And as much as we'd love to hear one of his excellent sets, it might actually not be an entirely terrible thing on this particular night, considering that we booked a whole shitload of DJs for Sally's going away party. Well, what else did you expect us to do for her? Sally has been a great friend to all of us at WSJR over the past year, and her pictures have played a very crucial role in making this blog the unexpected success it has become. Thousands and thousands of people check out Sally's photos every month, searching for hot chicks, cheating boyfriends, strange clothes, assholes to laugh at, and some really great photos of the better shows happening in the area at any given time. Sally has gone out and taken pictures of just about everything we've ever wanted to see this year, and she's done it with an attitude that is so much more positive than anyone else in the crew that she has also become our ambassador along the way. So thanks Sally for being our friend, our photographer, and the lone friendly face of the blog as a whole. We'll miss you. But for tonight, let's act stupid. See ya there.
Richard Lloyd | Backsliders | Escort Service (Club Dada) Sigh. I'm really not rooting against Club Dada. Truly. I'd love it if another venue in Dallas would start to be fun to hang out at again. The bartenders are pretty nice, and honestly, the space itself is more than decent. But god, walking around Deep Ellum to get to Club Dada is just depressing, and frankly, being inside Club Dada is depressing more often than not. And these line ups sometimes, you know? Former Television guitarist Richard Lloyd is playing Dallas, and it's an exciting thing. But with Backsliders and Escort Service, it starts to seem a bit watered down, doesn't it? The Backsliders are a decent for a straight forward bar rock band I guess, but this is sort of like letting 311 open up for Snoop Dogg (which is actually happening tonight in Dallas as well), isn't it? Anyway, I was going to ask who the ad wizards were that came up with this line up, but then I remembered that one of Club Dada's owners is in Escort Service. NOW I get it!
Record Hop | Shiny Around the Edges | Bob White and the F Electrics (Rubber Gloves) Shiny Around the Edges tells us that they have a lot of new material, and I haven't heard the name "F Electrics" in a REALLY long time. Whatever happened to those dudes?
The Party's DJ Naturejust hooked us up with a nice dancehall mixtape we thought we'd share with you. You can hear a lot of this stuff during his weekly dance hall residency, Taxi Fare, Wednesdays at Zubar, but for those who haven't been yet, we thought we'd give you a little taste of something a little different, crammed with a lot of dancehall hits from the past several months. Here is the link, and here is the tracklist:
1. Taxi Fare Intro 2. Ricky Blaze - Cut Dem Off 3. Alliance - Deadly Alliance 4. Dark Again Riddim - Version 5. Chino - Punga Don A Pebble (Munga Diss) 6. Dr. Evil - See Dem A Pree 7. Vybz Kartel - Send Fi Mi Army 8. Mavado - Me and My Dogs 9. Sizzla - Too Much Gang War 10. Damian Marley - One Loaf of Bread 11. Munga - Flipping Rhymes 12. Voicemail - Let's Dance 13. Sativa Riddim - Version 14. Munga - Bad From Mi Born 15. Vybz Kartel - Floating By 16. Ricky Blaze - Cut Di Checks 17. Tremor Riddim - Version 18. Mr. Vegas - Blood Stain 19. Vybz Kartel - Campha Balla 20. Elephant Man - Drop Dead 21. Mavado - Amazing Grace 22. Bad Man Riddim - Version 23. Busy Signal feat Mavado - Bad Man Place 24. Bugle - What I'm Gonna Do 25. Collie Buddz - Blind To Me 26. Mr. Vegas - Killa Swing 27. Tarrus Riley - Pull Up Selector 28. Mr. Vegas - Mus Come A Road 29. Busy Signal - Nuh Guh Jail Again 30. Serani feat Bugle - DOH 31. Fabulous feat Jr. Reid - Gangsta 32. Mavado feat Serani - Dying 33. Shaggy - Church Heathen 34. Beenie Man - Back It Up 35. Ricky Blaze - Wifey 36. Mr. Vegas - Tek Weh Yuself 37. Vybz Kartel - Work it 38. Munga - Shake It Up 39. Mavado - Fuck Her Twice A Day 40. Munga - Wine Pon It 41. Ricky Blaze - Give I
After some time away to recover from the mental and emotional abuse of SR and DL, Discos is back. A high five to Richardson Heights for his excellent work the past three weeks- you will be seeing much more from him. Now onto the list:
THURSDAY
Sehnsucht (Light and Sie) Paintings of Ingrid Calame, David Reed and Dan Walsh, photography of Vanessa Beecroft, Todd Eberle, Thomas Ruff, Hedi Slimane and Jeremy Kost, and projections of Kimsooja and Joseph Dadoune.
Rob Kindrick: Tintype Portraits (Afterimage) Modern day portraits done using tintype process.
Karen Garret(HGC Gallery) I'm going to extract this quote from her bio: "Her work is associated with the Blue Man Group, Elton John, and Billy Joel." I don't think so much name dropping has ever said so little about someone's work.
Gastronomia: erotica y estimulante (the MAC) Work about the love of food.
SATURDAY
The Program (Conduit) Richardson Heights has already plugged this series, which is the first installment of the Dallas Video Festival focusing on video and media art (the second installment of DVF starts Oct.3). This week will be the second exhibition at Conduit, with three more left. If you would like to see the full schedule click here. Reception with installations from last week starts at 7pm, seated screenings start at 7:30. By the way, it's free.
CHECK OUT
On Kawara (Dallas Museum of Art) I have no idea when this opened, but its going until Aug.26th. Kawara! In Dallas! This is a rare American exhibition of his work, so don't ask questions. Just go to it.
I'll just keep this brief, since we're all having such a constructive discussion today. See ya in the pit!-
Friendly Fire | Hoop Dreamz | Kaboom | Trifle Tower (Panhandle) Last minute show featuring Kaboom as a trio, even though they added a new guitarist. Friendly Fire is a little too "anthemic" for my tastes, but I'm interested in Hoop Dreamz though I can never find info on them.
The Helm | Electric Vengeance | Scoff | Gorge (1919 Hemphill) Brutal lineup of thrash, grind, metal etc. Gorge features members of Rocket To Ethiopia, who we'll discuss in more detail soon.
Mount Righteous is fucking adorable. If you don't believe me, just take a look at that picture over there to the right. The first thing you'll probably notice is the pretty girls with the melodicas and the stylish clothes. Very cute, very sweet. Also note that everyone in the group makes funny, goofy faces in their press photos, just in case you thought they took life seriously. They totally don't! You can also see that the band's line up features an accordion player, a tuba, a little drummer boy, and two different people who actually play the goddamn trombone, all of which helps to assure any curious parties that this isn't your average every day indie rock band.
Everything about this photo propagates Mount Righteous' image as a group of "young at heart" band dorks sitting in the back of the school bus fussing with their instruments. People who have a soft spot for Napoleon Dynamite and Say Anything will love this stuff for sure, and come to think of it, anyone who has a soft spot for pretty much anything is probably supposed to like this band, because Mount Righteous is all about soft spots. For example, take their "songbook" style CD insert that encourages listeners to sing and play along to their music as if it were an album of children's Christian tunes. Or how about their "joyful" audience participation shtick during live shows? There's also the bright, child-like art work on their album cover, the "sunny optimism" and "all together now" pseudo religious zeal scattered throughout their lyrics sheet, as well as the overtly "zany" collectivist vibe that the group projects at all times. All of these traits come together as part of Mount Righteous' overwhelmingly positive image-- one that is seemingly designed to wow people with the sheer audacity of happiness while warming their hearts with cuddly cuteness. This kind of hyper-positivity can either be grating or refreshing, depending on who you ask and who you're asking about, but when you consider the excited manner in which this group presents itself to the outside world, you might be inclined to believe that cute is the new punk rock. At least in Dallas.
Of course, the problem is that cute HAS been the new punk rock. Time and time again. Since, like, 1979. From Swell Maps to Shop Assistants to Television Personalities to The Pastels to Beat Happening, cute naivety and tongue in cheek innocence have existed as long standing image options for arty underground kids who didn't mesh with the perceived machoism that existed within a musical subculture that they weren't quite willing to separate themselves from completely. There isn't anything wrong with this approach on its face, of course, and it's true that all of the aforementioned artists have emerged as subculture legends, beloved by critics and fans alike for decades. And rightly so.
Beat Happening, for example, boldly embraced lo-fi recording techniques as an artistic choice while allowing the outward cuteness of their collective persona to cleverly but not fully hide a darker and more complex emotional and sexual undertone that secretly went home and listened to Cramps records after self aware sock hops in Olympia. Swell Maps experimented in punk rock, noise and the avant garde with the unbridled enthusiasm of children, and Television Personalities took innocence to a whole new level as they basically invented the concept of twee with their poppy take on early English post-punk. Oh, and one more thing-- all of these bands wrote and performed incredibly groundbreaking music, rendering their precious images just one part of their overall appeal-- an intriguing backstory rather than the whole story.
Mount Righteous are clearly tapping into this three decade old twee/cute/whatever aesthetic to craft an image for themselves as a group of zany outsiders, and although it certainly isn't a common choice for north Texas bands, it's really nothing new in the grand scheme of things. Again, there isn't necessarily anything wrong with recycling or building on images of underground rock's past, and a relatively new local band can't be expected to start a revolution the way the aforementioned groups did. But if the group isn't breaking any new ground with their militantly positive outlook, then what is it about Mount Righteous that has so many Dallasites excited? After listening to When the Music Starts, the band's debut full length, it's pretty clear that the selling point couldn't possibly be the music. Could it? Really? Ok, fine. We'll talk about it.
The most simple way to put it is that Mount Righteous basically sounds like a marching band with singers. The obvious reference points here are Danielson Family, Sufjan Stevens and Polyphonic Spree (not to mention locals Teenage Symphony), but unfortunately, nothing Mount Righteous does is nearly as subversive, thought provoking or intellectually developed as the bands mentioned in the previous paragraph, nor is their work as proficiently poppy as that of the groups mentioned in this one. The record kicks off with "The Feeling You Bring," and its clearly the album's high point, delivering a kind of Latin/African High Life infused rhythm via a mariachi-like arrangement with hand claps and chaotic choral singing that declares "when the music starts we all get together/and we dance and sing and love one another." Whatever. It certainly sounds quite a bit different from just about any other local act currently performing, and it's catchy and messy enough to work rather well as an opener. The next track, "Sea Man," is probably supposed to be the album's first "single," and it's another fairly solid example of what the group does right, melding a catchy vocal melody with a somewhat charming lyrical narrative and a mostly effective, polka-like arrangement from Casey Colby and Joey Kendall.
After these first two mostly solid tracks, however, When the Music Starts takes a rather unfortunate turn for the worst, and it never really recovers. Everything starts blending together in a rather unpleasant way beginning with track 3, "Christmas Accordion," which actually contains the lyrics "You're a Christmas Accordion, according to me/counting your calories accordingly/pumpkin pie means something to me." Shit, I hope no one ever says that shit to me. As the bad lyrics, Fa La Las and handclaps continue to annoyingly overwhelm throughout the album's progression, it starts to become clear that Mount Righteous, at this point, is little more than a one trick pony. One or two cutesy, horn dominated happy pop songs are one thing, but 11 of them stacked back to back is more than a little much, especially considering the fact that John Congleton's ultra-clean, big room production permits the group no room to attempt anything even remotely sonically interesting. The only break comes in the form of "About the Things You Are," a relatively calm, quite love song that would come off as charming if you didn't have to sit through the seven tracks that proceed it.
Again, the problem isn't really with Mount Righteous' intentions, but rather with their execution. The group has borrowed heavily from the past to create their group persona, and that is fine. They're super positive, and that's fine too. Christ, even the marching band set up could work with the right songs and the right production. But as things are now, Mount Righteous is a band that has garnered respect due mostly to their eventful live shows, and their debut provides very little to add to their resume. If the music is grating and the imagery breaks no new ground, then you're left with something that could fairly be called gimmicky. And the only thing positive about that is that it leaves Mount Righteous a lot of room for improvement.
So help me out, DFW. Besides Disqo Disco with El Paso's DJ Czar, I kept finding a catch to every show I was going to post. I mean, I've been hearing about this "Minimal House" on Tuesdays, but then I discovered they were going to project anime along with the music tonight. I can't do that to you Dallas. I won't do that to you. Anime was never cool, and pairing it with dance music is feeding an age-old stereotype that is only fueling the inevitable detractors.
Then there was a show going on at another venue, but there was a pop punk band on the bill that I thought had broken up eleven years ago and I got a little depressed. They weren't even the headlining band (whatever that means) and they've been around forever. So I just couldn't bring myself to post the show.
Finally, there was a bigger act playing down the street but they were on Desoto Records. More often than not, that constitutes almost instant disqualification.
I was really flattered that our site was included in D Magazines's Best Of Big D 2008 issue. I even told my folks, which went something like this:
Dad: "So what I'm getting from this is that you're...feared and revered?"
DL: "I don't know, Dad. I wouldn't go that far."
You couldn't really tell by looking at his skeptical expression, but deep down inside I know he's really proud. So, I'd like to give a shout-out to, well, everyone. We can't do it without you. This was ten times better than SR getting nominated for "Best Music Advocate," an underhanded compliment if there ever was one.
Wanna go see Jay Reatard on Monday, August 4th at Club Dada? We have a pair of tickets to give away to the show, so if you want them, just email weshotjrtix@yahoo.com any time between now and Thursday at Noon for your chance to win. Make Jay Reatard the subject line and include your full name in the body. Good luck Reatards!
Monday It Lists usually take us like two minutes to write because Mondays usually suck around here, but today you're in for a treat because Denton is jumpin' this evening. Relatively speaking, of course. Check it:
The Coke Dares | Tre Orsi | Kaboom (Rubber Gloves) The Coke Dares consist of three members of Magnolia Electric Co., but they don't really sound like it. Instead, they sort of have a mid 80's hardcore mixed with west coast pop punk and The Replacements thing going on. They aren't shy with the massive rock riffs either. It's sort of like, um, I'm afraid to say it. Ok, I'll say it. Grunge. It's sort of like Grunge, like Mudhoney and Tad and stuff, like a more rocking version of something you'd hear on the Singles soundtrack (click the link to see a bunch of clothes that will NEVER be retro cool), except without that really terrible early 90's drum sound. Why the shit did they used to record like that anyway? It kinda ruins everything. I saw someone say Minutemen somewhere describing this band too, but I'm not buying it. The songs are too traditional. Anyway, solid line up overall, and Kaboom will be debuting new guitarist Ethan Hahn this evening as well.
Sticky Buns (Hailey's) Go check Sticky Buns out if you like what they play, because this is apparently their last show for a while, and possible FOR EV ER.
Listen Listen | Delmore Pilcrow | Dust Congress (818 Cordell, Denton) I love Denton. And I especially love rollin up to Denton with a big crew from Big D so that we can act like morons all night. Not that we do it on purpose or anything, but somehow it always manages to happen in Denton. I don't know why. Honestly, it's almost as fun as going down to Austin and being an asshole to people who just moved there from Carrolton and are already snobby about breakfast tacos or whatever the fuck people talk about down there. Just kidding, Travis County! Love ya! Anyway, one of the reasons I sometimes act unruly in Denton probably has something to do with cool BYOB house shows like this. Most of our readers are very familiar with the excellent Dust Congress and Delmore Pilcrow (Chris Garver) by now, and Listen Listen are a solid band from Houston who remind me of a lot of indie folk touchstones, particularly Okkervil River, with a horn section that sort of sounds like that found on Samamidon's latest recordings. Lot's of classic Americana and bluegrass influences can be heard too, as well as a distinct Pac NW folkie sound that comes from God knows where (think recent K Records stuff). Not entirely different from Theater Fire, but with vocals that sound more urgent and unsteady. Should be a fun show.
1. Matthew LaBrot - Someday ep 2. Centro-Matic/South San Gabriel - Dual Hawks 3. Dove Hunter - The Southern Unknown 4. Delmore Pilcrow - Worn To the Weft
OVERALL TOP 20
1. Sigur Ros - Med Sud I Eyrum Vid Spilum 2. Dr. Dog - Fate 3. Hold Steady - Stay Positive 4. Ratatat - LP3 5. Wolf Parade - At Mount Zoomer 6. Gentleman Auction House - Alphabet Graveyard 7. Beck - Modern Guilt 8. CSS - Donkey 9. Lackthereof - Your Anchor 10. Icy Demons - Miami Ice 11. MGMT - Time to Pretend 12. Lustmord - (Other) 13. Paul Weller - 22 Dreams 14. Matthew LaBrot - Someday ep 15. One Day As a Lion - One Day As a Lion 16. Fleet Foxes - Fleet Foxes 17. Dutchess & the Duke - She's the Dutchess & He's the Duke 18. Centro-Matic/South San Gabriel - Dual Hawks 19. Avett Brothers - Second Gleam 20. Jay Reatard - Singles '06-'07
MON: The Coke Dares/Tre Orsi/Kaboom (Rubber Gloves) THU: Sally Glass Bon Voyage Feat. The Party/Keith P/Prince William/Tommy Boy (Moosh) THU: Richard Lloyd/Backsliders/Escort Service (Club Dada)FRI: FRI: Social Junk/Big Nurse/Voyant/Dirty Diamond/Wu Fru De Luu & Ruuu P. Versus Space Dragon Killah (907 Denton St.) FRI: Hands Up with The Party and L.A. Riots (The Loft) SAT: Big Daddy Kane/Strange Fruit Project/Little Brother (Granada) SAT: Fantastes/The Frenz/Florene/Darktown Strutters (Hailey's) SAT: Violent Messiah/Tolar (Traphouse)
In case you don't read our comments sections and hadn't seen this yet, we thought we'd share this nice little video about WSJR that was created by reader Jimmy Aja. I'm glad someone other than you know who created it, because I was kinda creeped out for a while. Oh, and it is ABSOLUTELY NSFW:
Hey guys... the weekender is sort of in abbreviated form this week due to some time constraints I'm facing today. Sorry. Lots of shows, just a little commentary. Fear not, however, because we have a couple features ready to post early next week, as well as some other good stuff too. Check this shit out (if we miss anything, just add the show in the comments section. Why didn't you think of that?)
FRIDAY
Fight Bite | Glass Gown | Chirp Chirp (Fra House) A big weekender for Fight Bite as they play the first of two CD release shows in the area after a week of hugs and kisses from the national online press. It's nice to see that Fra House is still hosting a show every now and then too... I don't remember the exact address of Fra House (maybe someone can add it in a comment), but I do know that its on Oak St. in Denton, a couple blocks past the light at Jagoe. Ja know?
Death to False Rock II: The Steely Dan Years (Rubber Gloves) : Mike Seman of Shiny Around the Edges hosts this special tribute to 70's soft rock that will also double as his birthday party.
Fight Bite | Darktown Strutters | Street Hassle (Chat Room) Fight Bite's second CD release show with the excellent dark disco of Darktown Strutters and Street Hassle's urgent, messy 60's garage stuff. We really haven't talked much about Street Hassle on here, but I think I've pretty much enjoyed everything I've heard from them recently. Black Lips/King Khan/Mark Sultan fans will dig this stuff for sure.
Stay Cool Swag School feat. Young Doc Gooden (Rubber Gloves) Doc Gooden plays a lot of chopped and screwed stuff, but I'm sure he'll be bringing all kinds of party shit for this, the regular night he hosts.
1 800 Zombie | Naxat | Iayd | Sievert (1919 Hemphill) Alex Atchley hosts an impressive video game music show. Yes, the phrase "video game music" sounds retarded, so maybe I should call it 8 bit electro or something. Either way, there is some pretty solid and unique stuff here if you're interested. Keller's 1 800 Zombie is certainly worth checking out.
As some of you may already know, Dallas' favorite photographer, singer/songwriter and Zionist oppressor Sally Glass will be leaving us in a few days to travel to Israel. She'll be there for five months participating in an education program based in the city of Ramla, where she hopes to teach photography to children. Aw, how sweet! She'll be keeping in touch with us via Flickr slideshows from Israel, and we'll be teasing her about all the cool parties she'll be missing while she, uh, has the experience of lifetime. We're sad to see her go, of course, and we figured we might as well throw her a party before she leaves so that she knows what she'll be missing. So please join us, party people:
Thursday, July 31st @ Moosh (2020 Greenville Ave.), 930 PM-2 AM
Health | Sydney Confirm | Stag Film | Pet Hospital (Club Dada) Parade of Flesh founder John Iskander is celebrating his birthday tonight with Health, a band that seems to have been on constant tour for the past 7 or 8 months as their music has gained more and more visibility thanks to their Health Disco remixes album and their tour appearances with Crystal Castles. I feel like I've seen these dudes play like 8 different times in the past few months (and if you count SXSW, that number is probably fairly accurate), but it truly is enjoyable each time. Sydney Confirm makes sense in this line up when you consider Health' s tendency to flirt with dance music via their remix alliances, but the other bands here-- eh, not so much. Should be a fun show though, and if more than 50 people show up, it will help fuel the Observer's "Deep Ellum is making a comeback" storyline. And we all know how important THAT is!
Wolf Parade | Wintersleep (Palladium Ballroom) Despite what you might have guessed, I am NOT a member of the "I hate Wolf Parade" club. I enjoyed their debut EP and full lengths when they came out way back in 2005 (feels like a different era, doesn't it?), and apparently a lot of other people did too: how many bands in the city of Austin alone right now sound like they created their ENTIRE sound by listening to Wolf Parade and the first Arcade Fire album on repeat? Wolf Parade could very well be the mid 00's answer to the early 90's Pearl Jam-- a lot of idiots have made a lot of bad music because of them. Anyway, their 2008 follow up, At Mount Zoomer, is certainly a decent indie pop record in most respects, and it even seems to have kind of a prog influence that makes things a bit more interesting. However, none of the material really comes close to the initial excitement and quality of their debut, despite the fact that the songs are arguably more interesting on many levels. Is Wolf Parade doomed to be a one album indie wonder? Uh, I don't know. Isn't everybody these days?
80's Night with DJ G (Hailey's) I think I saw a dude dancing around with puke on his shirt the last time I was there, and for some reason this confirmed to me that 80's Night might be the most commercially successful weekly DJ residency in the history of Denton. Couldn't have happened to a more divserse and educated DJ either.
