Kind of a boring night tonight, people. Points of interest include Disqo Disco at Fallout and a screamo heavy show at 1919 HemphillfeaturingGhost Towns | Gumbi | Sohns | Sinister Ghost. Can't really say I'd have any fun at that one, but hey, we're trying to stay fresh with the kids, you know? If anyone knows anything we missed, let us know. We have features ready to post some time this week, so get ready.
1. Dove Hunter - The Southern Unknown 2. Centro-Matic/South San Gabriel - Dual Hawks 3. Mount Righteous - When the Music Starts 4. Clint Niosi - The Sound of Dead Horses Beaten Against Cold Shoulders 5. Red Monroe - Red Monroe
LAST WEEK'S GOOD RECORDS OVERALL TOP 20
1. Beck - Modern Guilt 2. Dove Hunter - The Southern Unknown 3. Ratatat - LP3 4. Sigur Ros - Med Sud I Eyrum Vid Spilum 5. Abe Vigoda - Skeleton 6. Centro-Matic/South San Gabriel - Dual Hawks 7. Wolf Parade - At Mount Zoomer 8. Fleet Foxes - Fleet Foxes 9. Ratatat - LP3 (LP) 10. Hercules & Love Affair - Hercules & Love Affair 11. Albert Hammond Jr. - Como Te Llama? 12. Notwist - The Devil, You + Me 13. Bon Iver - For Emma, Forever Ago (LP) 14. Saul Williams - The Inevitable Rise & Liberation of Niggy Tardust (LP) 15. Stars Like Fleas - The Ken Burns Effect 16. Melvins - Nude with Boots 17. Steinski - What Does It All Mean? 18. Boris - Smile (LP) 19. Kink Khan & The Shrines - The Supreme Genius of... 20. Black Keys - Attack & Release
RECYCLED LOCAL SALES AND NEW ARRIVALS
1) Brave Combo – Let’s Kiss 2) Record Hop – Record Hop Snarky Puppy – The World is Getting Smaller 3) Delmore Pilcrow – Worn to the Weft Midlake – The Trials of Van Occupanther
New Arrivals:
AM Ramblers – AM Ramblers Cartright – Cartright Pinebox Serenade – Let the River Take Them Home Spider Mountain – Spider Mountain
To cut through all the bullshit, I'll just tell you: the mix Fight Bite has put together for us is incredibly diverse, accessible, and a lot of fun... the perfect soundtrack for a relaxing summer evening. You'll find a little bit of everything on here, from 60's girl pop to garage punk to twee to dance pop, and all of it is perfectly constructed with mood, track sequence and the element of surprise in mind. You can hear a lot of things that might have influenced Fight Bite's music on here, and a lot that absolutely didn't, but the balance of hits and rarities works very well together, and you'll be pleasantly surprised at how this collection of songs spans decades and styles yet remains quite cohesive and purposeful as a whole. Give it a try. Here is the download link and here is the tracklist:
1. Yesterday Once More, The Carpenters 2. All Dressed Up In Dreams, The 6ths 3. The Dum Dum Ditty, The Shangri-la's 4. He's a Rebel, The Crystals 5. The Three Bells, The Browns 6. Western Union, The Five Americans 7. Little Latin Lupe Lu, The Kingsmen 8. Tell Me, The Rolling Stones 9. Cocaine Blues, Luke Jordan 10. Two Faces Have I, Lou Christie 11. Someone I Know, Margo Guryan 12. The Kiss, Judee Sill 13. Somewhere in China, Shop Assistants 14. Final Day, Young Marble Giants 15. Don't Leave Me This Way, Thelma Houston 16. Vogue, Madonna 17. Cheese and Onions, The Rutles 18. Outdoor Miner (Long Version), Wire 19. Male Masturbation, Urinals 20. Thrash Me, Malaria! 21. So Young But So Cold, Kas Product 22. Your Silent Face, New Order 23. Joan of Arc (Maid of New Orleans), OMD 24. Like an Angel Passing Through My Room, ABBA
Hymns | Here, In Arms | Fancy Fist (Pastime Tavern) This Parade of Flesh show starts at 9pm, which I suppose is as good a time as any to bring your own liquor to Pastime Tavern and start thinking about what a complete mess your life must be if you're drinking liquor at Pastime Tavern on a Monday night Just kidding guys, keep partying! Hymns are a Brooklyn band with Texas roots who are back in the saddle for the next few weeks in order to record with Daniel Johnston. Their sound is sort of hard to explain because it's so easy to explain-- you could take the easy way out and call it twangy, country influenced indie pop, or you could go the direct comparisons route and say that they sound like the Shins doing Allman Brothers and Replacements covers. Or you could quote reviews in Spin Magazine, for instance, which claim that Hymns sound like a mixture of Pavement, Neil Young and the Flying Burrito Brothers. All of these make sense but none of them really describe what you'll hear on a Hymns recording, especially when they have their horns going. I think we might have "indie rock" on our hands here, everyone. Anyway, this group isn't anything groundbreaking, but they obviously have some solid, summer friendly pop numbers that I could see a lot of people enjoying this evening. And I'm curious to hear what they are working on with Daniel Johnston. Could be good. Elsewhere, I kinda wish Here In Arms would leave here and go somewhere else, but I'd recommend you get to Pastime early to see our friend Sally Glass start things off.... I can't believe I actually like her singing, btw. So long, superiority complex.
MON: Hymns/Here, In Arms/Fancy Fist (Pastime Tavern) THU: Hands Up! with Nacotheque and The Party (The Loft) THU: Simon Joyner/Sam Locke Ward/Sarah Jaffe/Delmore Pilcrow (715 Panhandle) SAT: Dub Assembly 2nd Year Anniversary feat. Hatcha (Green Elephant) SAT: Marked Men/Birthday Suits/Wax Museums/Bad Sports (Rubber Gloves) SAT: Jerry Seinfeld (Fair Park Music Hall) SAT: My Education/Zanzibar Snails/Hotel Hotel (Hailey's) SAT: Various Performances at the Dallas Observer Music Awards by Yells at Eels, Akkolyte, The Frenz, Hawatha, Cool Out, Matthew and the Arrogant Sea, Sydney Confirm (different venues on Greenville Ave.)
Hard Place | MVSCLZ | Tommy Boy | Fight Bite (Swiss House, 3114 Swiss Ave.) Fight Bite's morbid and morose lyricism might stick out a little here, but I'm sure it will be fine if you kind of bob your head and ignore the part where they talk about killing themselves...and killing "everyone else." Lighten up guys, Dallas ain't so bad! Mvsclz took me by surprise when I found out that it was the most recent project of Austin photographer Ben Aqua, the man behind the costumed, one-man metal shredding nightmare Assacre. Mvsclz is the complete opposite of Assacre, as the music is stark yet slippery disco beats and synths. Touring act Hard Place mixes equal parts melodrama and sleaze, sounding somewhat like Glass Candy if they started reincorporating the glam guitar of their early records into their current electronic sound. Tommy Boy continues to be one of the most intriguing figures in local music, occasionally causing you to stop and think, "Am I actually listening to this David Gilmour solo? Is that Europe? I don't know WHAT'S COOL ANYMORE!" And that's how I know someone's doing their job. (DL) PS-- Maybe the most interesting line up of any Swiss House show yet. (SR)
Mt. Righteous | The Unbearables | Magicfly (Space Studios) A Melissa's Delux Party featuring the current darlings of the Dallas Observer's music staff, Mt. Righteous. When was the last time the Observer broke a band, anyway? Moving on, I visited Space Studios a few weeks ago and I found it to be quite comfortable-- the space itself is large and inviting, and if they can work out a few of their sound issues, I'd say they are on their way to having a nice little venue over there. Now if only it weren't in Deep Ellum...
DarktownStrutters | Mistress | Florene | Dirty Diamond/Lychgate (Wisconsin, 731 Texas St. Denton) Excellent and varied local line up of some Denton groups who actually reward you for allowing them to take risks. We're not sure about the order these groups are playing in, so hopefully someone from the venue can post the set orders and times in the comments section. Guys? The three bands here with Myspace pages couldn't possibly be more different from one another, and people who are into stuff like Metro Area, Tussle, Syclops and old mutant disco stuff should certainly give DarktownStrutters a shot. Most of the bands nominated for Observer awards aren't even cool enough to THINK about sounding like them.
Transona Five | Dovehunter(Good Records) Transona Five goes on at 3pm, and Dove Hunter goes on at 4 to celebrate the release of their new CD The Southern Unknown. This will be Transona Five's only local show for a while apparently, so if you're a fan, you should plan to catch them while you can.
Play N SkillzSummer Jam feat. Lil Wayne | Plies | Bun B (Nokia Theater) This is actually a small part of a larger 3 day event hosted by Play N Skillz, the Dallas based production team that recently started gaining media attention thanks to their production on a track on Lil Wayne's latest album, Tha Carter III, which was followed by a subsequent photo spread and article in the Source featuring PNS and their take on all things Dallas. Some pretty sweet shit in there too, including a shout out to Big T Plaza ya'll. In case you didn't know, Lil Wayne's latest record has sold almost 2 million copies in the last four weeks, which is pretty amazing, isn't it? When you actually sit down and listen to it, and REALLY think about what it is you're listening to, it sort of becomes clear that Tha Carter III is one of the strangest pop smashes of all time. Seriously.
Peter Murphy | Ali Eskandarian(House of Blues) Bauhaus' Peter Murphy is sort of doing a career retrospective on this tour, drawing his set lists up from older Bauhaus albums, solo material, and the most recently released Bauhaus record, which came out last Spring. Murphy's three piece band on this tour includes Queens of the Stone Age drummer Nick Lucero. The cool thing about Bauhaus is that most "goth people" are too dumb to get them, leaving plenty of room for me to go to this show without worrying about running into that one goth chick I knew in high school that... uh, nevermind.
Hot Flash Party (Fallout Lounge) Hot Flash Party welcomes new member Genova on Saturday night. Expect to hear everything from funk to house to disco.
SUNDAY
George Michael (American Airlines Center) I don't know if I would enjoy a George Michael concert at American Airlines Center, especially if I had to buy one of those expensive tickets, but I have to admit that I'm just a tad buy curious about this one. The guy has sold over 100 million records worldwide over the course of his career, and many of his most popular singles have to rank amongst the best of trashy, 1980's throw away pop. Wham! hits such as "Everything She Wants" and "Club Tropicana" have stood the test of time better than anyone could have possibly imagined back then, and the fact that Wham is sort of a cool reference point/influence these days is pretty astounding. His solo career was also peppered with great hits like "Freedom 90," "Careless Whisper" and "I Want Your Sex," all of which are enjoyed by a lot more people than are willing to admit it. It's true that dude has done some pretty lame shit in his day, and I've honestly never even attempted to listen to an entire George Michael all the way through, but hearing all these singles in person might be enough of a reason to go to this. I also have a secret free parking spot near American Airlines Center that none of you idiots will ever be able to find. Ha ha.
Sex Vid | Wax Museums | Koji Kondo | Secret Bangs (715 Panhandle) Exciting show at Panhandle tonight featuring the much discussed but rarely experienced Sex Vid, of Olympia, WA. Sex Vid garnered considerable acclaim, considerably quickly, by melding an enraged early 80's Midwest hardcore sound with the experimentally repetitive grit of acts like The Dead C (a band they have covered). The result is something that is immediately identifiable as hardcore, without necessarily slipping down the dogmatically sonic slope sometimes present in the genre. Mix in a complete aversion to the internet (no Myspace page, no website) and you either have a complete revolutionary phenomenon on your hands, or just another hardcore punk band. Depends who you are, I guess. The Secret Bangs kind of remind me of Nation Of Ulysses with a synth or the forward thinking 90's group, The VSS. I've heard a lot about them and will be looking forward to their set tonight.
The Frenz | Sean Kirkpatrick | The Flying Eyes (Club Dada) The Frenz will have Aaron Bartz from Tame, Tame and Quiet filling in on bass this evening, adding to the group's current approach consisting of a more guitar based attack. The Frenz will soon perform some of the Glenn Branca pieces that some of their members played with the composer himself in Seattle recently.
Bob Log III | Possessed By Paul James | Scott Biram (Granada) I've always been kind of irked by the Bob Log III routine, but he sounds as harmless as Harry Connick Jr. doing standards compared to some of the annoying "crazy one-man band" shit he's inspired. Somehow that's actually a compliment, trust me.
Black Tie Dynasty | Grassfight | The Cut*Off (Lola's) Everyone wants to sound like Ian Curtis, but nobody wants to be like Ian Curtis. Go for the gold, m'man! Life's too long!
Our pal El Tocadiscos will not be able to attend to blogging duties for the next couple of weeks, so our new pal Richardson Heights will be taking over until Discos' return. RH is planning some new stuff for you as well, so look forward to being offended by that too. Here we go (SR)
THURSDAY
Lost/Found - A Collection of Visual Fragments (Reel FX Creative Studios) Opening Thursday, July 10, 7-10 pm Artwork and interactive installations from Dallas artists Danny DelPurgatorio (good web site) and Limbert Fabian (out of date website with potential to be good).
FRIDAY
Lisa Nersesova and Ma Teresa Gomez-Martorell (The Fort Worth Community Arts Center) Opening Friday, July 11, 6-9 pm I saw Lisa Nersesova's stuff for the first time a few weeks back in a group show at Brooke Berman. The paintings were super colorful and vibrant, kind of reminiscent of Chad Hopper at his most abstract, minus the social commentary. She also included a really neurotic set of ink drawings she evidently did in the car while commuting between Dallas and Denton. However, is that really her name? Anyone?
Shane Pennington (HCG Gallery) Reception Friday, July 11, 6-9 pm This is a dual exhibit with Michael Ledoux that half-opened last week. I have an explicit quote via email that this is "going to be good". Evidently Shane is an artist with artwork, but his site runs solely on Flash and has some long-ass introduction, and I had important things to do today, or something.
There's some show Friday night at Goss Michael Foundation featuring UK artists Tim Noble and Sue Webster that looks potentially interesting, but seriously. I refuse to look at another artist or gallery site that runs solely on Flash. Get the word out. At least do your basic navigation in html.
SATURDAY
Jack Kilby: The Eye of Genius (Meadows Museum) I've always been more of a Gordon Teal fan, but evidently the guy who invented the integrated circuit was also an avid photographer, leaving behind over 18,000 negatives when he died. Quote from the curator via the D.M.N.: "He eagerly captured people at work, cityscapes and industrial landscapes, and he also used various photographic processes to experiment with abstraction. In particular, he took a keen interest in laborers and their occupations, and photographed them from many trades and locations." Holy crap, you can also donate money towards a giant bronze statue of Jack Kilby handing a little boy a microchip in Great Bend, Kansas.
BAD ARTIST STATEMENT EXCERPT OF THE WEEK [game points are in bold]
"Who am I? I deny that I am a photographer or even an artist. The fact that I would even attempt an artist statement is an odd paradigm for me. Despite the fact that I deny being an artist I can not deny the fact that I indeed create works of art. I do not know what it is that drives me to create. What I create comes from deep within my soul, that which yearns to escape."
Score: 4.5 points (an extra .5 for denying being an artist twice)
Fancy Fist | Jessie Mayeux | DJ Baby Ruthless | DJ Ronin with Dance Your Face Off Upstairs (The Cavern) We're kind of worried that our friend Sally Glass, aka Fancy Fist, is going to get too big for us soon and leave us to drown our sorrows with bad beer and dumb opinions on local music as she enjoys the kind of fame and fortune that we could only dream of. After just a couple introductory gigs around town last month, Sally's calendar is now packed with upcoming shows, and she is just returning from her debut Austin performance last night at the Mohawk. I'm not sure how it went because I haven't heard from her yet today, but I'm not worried-- I'm pretty sure WSJR will always be on her speed dial. Right? Right guys? Sally? Hello?
Burning Brides | Middle Class Rut | True Widow (Club Dada) We've been pretty big fans of John Iskander's Parade of Flesh shows ever since we interviewed him last year, but I'm not sure I really get this one. Burning Brides are one of those bands who actually list The Beatles, Jimi Hendrix, Nirvana and Smashing Pumpkins as influences on their Myspace page, and I usually try pretty hard to stay away from groups that do stuff like that. However, in the interest of not being a total dick, I spent some time with some of their music this weekend, and after several songs I realized that I was right all along-- this basically sounds like modern cock rock to me. And I mean "modern" like "alternative" here. Same goes with Middle Class Rut, making locals True Widow the automatic highlight here with their DGC era Sonic Youth meets shogaze, britpop and Brian Jonestown Massacre sound. Some fairly decent stuff here and there. Anyway, there is a reason we expect more than this from Parade of Flesh shows, and Iskander's upcoming birthday party at Club Dada with Health provides a pretty good example of what we're used to from him.
ADD: And how could we forget: Earth, Wind and Fire are at Nokia. I've been jamming to their 1983 album Powerlight like all summer basically. And David Banner is at House Of Blues.
So if you've ever seen anything we've written about Dallas based dubstep producer Jason Mundo and his monthly Dub Assembly parties over the past year and a half, then you've probably recognized that the theme of these writings can be summed up in one word: underappreciated. As a producer and a DJ, Jason Mundo has received a good deal of international critical praise over the past couple of years, but you'd never know it if your only source of info was mainstream local media. We'll have a lot more to say about all of this coming up in the next week or so as the Dub Assembly crew prepares to celebrate their second anniversary on July 18th at the Green Elephant, so for now, we'll give you a little taste of what they're all about with this live mix, pulled from a recent Mundo and Lifted MC performance at Dub Assembly. All of the tracks are either original Mundo tracks or Mundo remixes, and they provide a bit of insight into what is going on at Dallas' live dubstep events. Here is the download link, and here is the tracklist:
Admiral Bailey - Jump Up (Mundo Remix) Cutty Ranks - Limb by Limb (Mundo Remix) Mundo - Hear Youts (from Dub Assembly 007) Mundo - Whose Gonna F**# With Us Mundo - Tempest Mundo - Sound Go Dead Mundo - Punisher Rayvon - No Guns No Murder (Mundo Remix) Mundo - Foundation Mundo - Souljah DJ SS - Lighter (Mundo Remix) Mundo - R3LOD 91 Cutty Ranks - Stopper (Mundo Remix) Mundo - Gunshot Corrosion Mundo - Drum Machine Funk Pendulum - Tarrantula (Mundo Remix) Santogold - Les Artistes (Mundo Remix) Dawn Penn - No No No (Mundo Remix) Barrington Levy - Here I Come (Mundo Remix) Sister Nancy - Bam Bam (Mundo Remix) Bun B - Draped Up (Mundo Remix)
Cougar Den | Pools | Planets | Mans | Healers | Division Of Power (1919 Hemphill) Mostly screamo-styled hardcore show, and I should mention that Pools will be a releasing split seven-inch with Cleric this weekend.
Dirty Water Disease | Verulf | Gifts From Enola | Magnets (J and J's Pizza) Dirty Water Diesease is the improvisation based project of Gutterth founders, Michael Briggs and Brent Frishman. Gifts From Enola is on tour all the way from Virginia, and Magnets is a local band, but they share post rock/instrumental similarities. Some of Magnets' busier pieces are pretty interesting.
Robert Plant and Alison Krauss with T. Bone Burnett (Nokia Theater) Well I can't say I was shocked to find that Plant and Krauss' record was produced by T. Bone Burnett (who's most famous recent production credit is the O Brother, Where Art Thou? soundtrack) because what I've heard from their release sort of reminds me of the aforementioned soundtrack in the sense that it comes off as "authentic American music" for people who drive Volvos and shop at Whole Foods. The Plant/Krauss collaboration album received almost universal rave reviews from traditional music media, however, and the brief time I spent with some of its tracks wasn't completely dismal-- it's just that I can't imagine having fun seeing this live, and the fact that this annoying middle aged guy in my office hasn't figured out a way to shut the fuck up about this show all day long hasn't helped either. Fans should consider themselves lucky that this concert is taking place at Nokia as opposed to a larger and more oppressive venue such as American Airlines Center. One thing I think you can say about Nokia-- for a venue its size, the sound is quite solid.
ADD: Giuda | Giraldo | Rocket for Ethiopia(Bar of Soap) Just heard some solid new tracks from Carrolton's Rocket for Ethiopia-- pretty nice example of the kind of slop garage meets bonehead hardcore that I dig. The tracks are posted on the Myspace page if you want to check them out. Anyway, they'll be opening for Italian hardcore band Giuda.
1. Matthew LaBrot - Someday EP 2. Mom - Little Brite 3. Mount Righteous - When the Music Starts
LAST WEEK'S GOOD RECORDS TOP 20 OVERALL
1. No Age - Nouns 2. Fleet Foxes - Fleet Foxes 3. Sigur Ros - Med Sud I Eyrum Vid Spilum 4. Wolf Parade - At Mount Zoomer 5. Hercules & The Love Affair - Hercules & The Love Affair 6. No Age - Nouns (LP) 7. Death Cab for Cutie - Narrow Stairs 8. Matthew LaBrot - Someday EP 9. Black Angels - Directions to See a Ghost 10. Steinski - What Does It All Mean? 11. Adele - 19 12. Crystal Castles - Crystal Castles 13. Black Keys - Attack & Release 14. Wold Parade - At Mount Zoomer (LP) 15. Coldplay - Viva La Vida 16. Supergrass - Diamond Hoo Ha 17. No Age - Weirdo Rippers (LP) 18. Cut Copy - In Ghost Colours 19. National - Virginia EP/A Skin, A Night 20. My Brightest Diamond - A Thousand Shark's Teeth
RECYCLED JUNE LOCAL SALES CHART AND NEW ARRIVALS
1. Delmore Pilcrow - Worn to the Weft; Oso Closo - Rest
2. Daniel Folmer - A Leaf; New Science Projects - Crocodile!
3. Bubba Hernandez - Dancing en Fuego; Dust Congress - Egg Tooth; Stumptone - Gravity Suddenly Released LP; Theatre Fire - Everybody Has a Dark Side
MON: Robert Plant and Allison Krauss/T. Bone Burnett (Nokia Theater) WED: Earth, Wind and Fire (Nokia Theater) WED: David Banner (House of Blues) THU: Sex Vid/Wax Museums (715 Panhandle) FRI: Actually Huizenga/MVSCLZ/Tommy Boy/Fight Bite (Swiss House) SAT: Darktown Strutters/Mistress/Florene (Wisconsin, 721 Texas St. in Denton) SAT: Peter Murphy/Ali Eskandarian (House of Blues) SAT: Transona Five/Dove Hunter (Good Records)
Richard Bishop and Alan Bishop of Sun City Girls (Granada) There is no easy summary of The Sun City Girls' career, though highlights include their noisy start in the skate punk wasteland of Phoenix's early 80's scene, collaborating with Moe Tucker, and their improbable venture into sprawling psyche double-albums loaded with high concept references to the music of Southeast Asia and The Middle East. They have been wildly unpredictable and enigmatic to say the least. One performance had them eating dinner at a Seattle restaurant with a jazz record playing over the house speakers. Tonight's show will be a tribute to late member Charles Gocher, and will feature his video experiments before the live performance begins. The remaining members will then play out of the vast back catalog as an acoustic duo. Highly unique and recommended show.
Fleet Foxes (The Loft) Riding a wave composed purely of hype saturation all the way to The Loft tonight, the Fleet Foxes have piled up a steady stack of virtual press in the past six months. Their most known track is entitled "White Winter Hymnal," and that's fitting since it sounds like rather cold church music performed by white guys. The reverb, layers, harmonies and Jack Nitzsche-style arrangement make it understandable why people seem to be taking to this group, however some of their tracks sound like the throw-aways between the "Y" tracks on a CSNY album. Hopefully they do better at the Loft than their attention -rich contemporaries No Age did earlier this week.
Rooney | Locksley | The Bridges (House Of Blues) Locksley should realize that nobody ripped off the Beatles better than The Rutles. All you need to know about Rooney is that they implore you to vote them in a "Radio Disney" chart topping contest.
FRIDAY
Stay Cool Swag School (Block Party + Rubber Gloves) This two part event starts off with a block party at the intersection of Mulberry and Bernard in Denton and I have not heard a better reason for showing up to an event since I started writing for this blog than this: UNLIMITED FLAVOR ICE. I am ready to get at that, especially blue. Also appearing is DJ Bangs and yeahdef, followed by a "fireworks bike ride" at 9:30. The party then moves on to Rubber Gloves where there will be free champagne, and appearances by Young Doc Gooden as well as the metalcore brutality of My Son, My Executioner, featuring members of Plano hardcore legends, Terms Of Grey. Man, these dudes must all really love 'merica.
RTX | Imaad Wasif with Two Part Beast | Bob White and the F Electrics (Hailey's) Underground legend, fashion icon, RTX's Jennifer Herrema is many things, and though every time I've ever seen her perform it's always been vastly different, I can tell you that she will never be boring in a live setting. Her music and persona has always been both everything cool and everything unhealthy about an extreme obsession with rock and roll. Click on that link to see what I mean.
RTB2 | Escort Service | Backsliders (Lakewood Bar and Grill) I usually don't post shows at Lakewood Bar And Grill, because I always forget it's a venue. It might have something to do with the fact that to this day, it is the only place that has ever turned me (along with three friends) away at the door. Not Suite, not some exclusive dance club, but Lakewood Bar and Grill. Totally not 'core. I refuse to ever even glance at this place again.
Pat Green (Winstar Casino) Ever wonder what your personal version of hell will be when you die? Mine will be reincarnation as a cocktail waitress at this event for all of eternity.
Grand Funk Railroad (Texas Motorplex) Their version of "Locomotion" is in the running for worst song ever, top five definitely.
SATURDAY
Ulrich Schnauss | A Shoreline Dream | Soundpool | Experimental Aircraft (Hailey's) In early 2007, Ulrich Schnauss released his third album, Goodbye, to some pretty solid critical acclaim. However, the buzz surrounding the album seems quite subpar once you listen to it and realize that Schnauss quietly released one of the best shoegaze records since, well, shoegaze was an actually "genre" back in the early 90's. Schnauss' stuff leans closer to Slowdive's elegant atmospherics than to My Bloody Valentine's overwhelming noise assault, but his electronic based ambient interludes actually go a lot farther than most of Slowdive's experiments, and the touches of IDM from this former programmer add an entirely new element into the mix. I have yet to hear any of his new material, but last year's overlooked gem should really be experienced in person. Highly recommended, especially to anyone who has been digging this year's far more celebrated (but arguably less interesting) effort from M83. (SR)
Brent Best | Deep Snapper | Starhead | Hand of Onan | Ryan Thomas Becker (Dan's Silveleaf) This cover-only themed show has been the subject of much debate in Denton this week. Local bands covering other local bands? Cool or not cool? I think it's always best to go with a surprise attack even if it's an entire set. If the crowd is really pissed or really happy at the end, either way, you win.
Teenage Cool Kids | Trifle Tower | Nouns Group | Fancy Fist (715 Panhandle) This is the tour send-off for Teenage Cool Kids and Trifle Tower, as they make their way up to Lewiston, Maine and back. Though the Cool Kids are much more poppy than their skramz-heavy tourmates, this should be a fun double bill across America featuring two distinct takes on punk. The ever-charming and lone WSJR diplomat Fancy Fist will open the show. I think I almost wept when I saw her perform Madonna's "Borderline" at the Cavern. It was the first time, I like, really "got it."
SUNDAY
Gravy Train!!!! | Harlem | Bridez (Rubber Gloves Rehearsal Studio) The only group with more "!" than !!!, Gravy Train are actually kind of trailblazers in the stream of dance pop raunch that's caught on since they first formed. The funny thing is they sound downright conservative compared to a similar group like Punk Bunny.
