Skeletons | Sydney Confirm | Florene | h...n (Club Dada) Skeletons are a group that I've been listening to ever since I first stumbled across their debut in early 2004, and I'm still having trouble figuring out a way to describe them. This really isn't much of a surprise considering that many of their label mates on Ghostly International present similar problems, but pin pointing their influences can be a bit challenging. It isn't that their music is particularly inaccessible or unclassifiable, it just difficult to figure out what the group is really trying to be sometimes, and fortunately, this confusion is ultimately a good thing. You can hear a wide range of influence in most of their material, incorporating everything from the hyper psychedelic musings of Silver Apples to the quiet, electronica side of post rock a la Sea and Cake and the innocent wide eyed disco of Arthur Russell (probably the most pronounced influence) but what really stands out, aside from the group's dark, surrealist lyrics, is the overall pop bent that ends up erupting into the foreground of their best work. At the end of the day, a lot of this stuff ends up sounding like pure R&b sweetness, although perhaps on an acid come down. This is generally cheerful electronic pop that never forgets to remind you of the dark side of life, and I highly recommend it.
Doomhawk | Filth Mattress | Division of Power | Big Fiction | CsygnusPsyanide (Exploding House) Seattle's Doomhawk plays a very theatrical kind of metal (kind of liked a tripped out Dungeons and Dragons take on black metal) that should take on an oddly appealing character when witnessed at a house show. Exploding House is located in Ft. Worth at the corner of Hemphill and Page st.
MON: Skeletons/Sydney Confirm/Florene (Club Dada) TUE: Digable Planets/Strange Fruit Project (The Granada) WED: Q-Tip/The Cool Kids (House of Blues) WED: Murs/Kidz in the Hall/Rapper Big Pooh/Isiah (Hailey's) THU: Gang Gang Dance/Rainbow Arabia/Sydney Confirm (Lola's) THU: Danielson/Cryptacize/Mount Righteous (The Granada) THU: PVC Street Gang/Edie Sedgwick/Scuba Team Go (The Lounge) FRI: Torche/Black Cobra/Clouds (the Lounge) SAT: George Jones (Nokia Theater) SAT: Loretta Lynn (Billy Bob's) SAT: Conor Oberst and the Mystic Valley Band/The Felice Brothers/Rig 1 (Palladium)
FRIDAY Peaking Lights | Rival Gang | Florene | Bryce Isbell | Lil Foot (Majestic Dwelling of Doom, former 8th Continent, Denton) I've had the chance to listen to Peaking Lights several times this week, and I've been very impressed with what I've heard. In fact, I'm surprised this group isn't a much bigger deal on ye ole MP3 blog circuit these days. They are in the process of releasing some work on the respected Fuck It Tapes label, and their sound is really quite pleasant-- mixing influences from all over the place, everything from Bibio to Animal Collective to Pearls Before Swine to various noise collage artists, the group creates a quiet, elegant and dream-like echo that might remind you of what some of your favorite softer music sounds like as you doze off. I suppose you could literally call this electro-acoustic music, because it does seem to be equal parts electronic and acoustic based songwriting, but really, at its core its folk pop mixed perfectly with sound collage and quiet drone, leading to a wonderful atmosphere that might be perfect for our first real winter evening. The rest of the line up is quite solid too. Majestic Dwelling is where the 8th Continent used to be, 731 Texas St. in Denton.
Dub Assembly feat. Martyn (Green Elephant) Another edition of Dub Assembly is sure to be as solid as usual, with Dallas' own Jason Mundo on the decks after a successful European tour over the summer. DC's Martyn will headline, leaning towards the poppier side of Dubstep, drum n bass and heady hip hop a la Flying Lotus, who he has remixed in the past. Very solid stuff that will sound fantastic on Green Elephant's obscene sound system.
King Khan and BBQ Show (The Loft) King Kahn joins up with another contemporary garage legend, Mark Sultan. I caught these guys about a year ago up in Denton and their minimal stage set up absolutely does not disappoint or limit the punch they pack. Not sure about an opening act for this because I can't find one listed, but I'd be happy just seeing them myself.
Fizzy Dino Pop | Whoa! Coder | So Juicy | Ops/Super Robocandytron (J&Js) Fizzy Dino Pop's spazzy 8 bit dance music might remind you of groups like Crystal Castles, Boys Noize or even the more heavily electro moments of the Death Set or Japanther, but the guy really seems to be on to something all his own here, and it is quite good. Locals Whoa! Coder sort of operate on a more hardcore based, Eats Tapes level, and it works for them as well, particularly when they let a bit of their house and r&b influences shine through, such as on demo "Feather Your Bangs" on their Myspace page. Solid collection of relatively overlooked local electro groups, should be fun.
Of Montreal | Icy Demons (House of Blues) Everyone at WSJR HQ really hates Of Montreal except for me. I can totally see why I stand alone on this one, what with Kevin Barnes' strange rantings on capitalism and highly inconsistent output, but hey, when he's on he's on, and his latest record, Skeletal Lamping, has a few more gems to add to his list of triumphs. And PS, as much as you might not expect it, Of Montreal is actually very good live. Who woulda thought? Also, you might want to get there early for Icy Demons, especially if you're a fan of groups like Skeletons.
Uptown Fridays with Select (Zubar) I saw Select describe this night as a "non hipster dance party." Thank god.
Envy Model Search feat. Astronautalis | The Bright | Pikhasso (Granada Theater) Model search for Envy magazine? Ok. I'll just pretend that I went and like tons of girls talked to me and stuff. Hey, I can even pretend to like The Bright and stuff too if necessary, even if they fucking do a "sexy" cover "Kashmir." Who the fuck does that?
Prince William | Keith P (The Lounge) I haven't heard anything else about this show other than the fact that it is listed on various sites, so if this isn't going on anymore, someone let us know in the comments, will ya?
AIDS Wolf | Teenage Cool Kids | Orange Coax | Secret Bangs (Club Dada) Aids Wolf once described themselves in an interview as "a little bit no wave and a little bit hardcore," and if you're searching for the most concise way to accurately describe their sound, that's probably as good as it gets. People often seem to throw out comparisons to Arab on Radar, Lightning Bolt and the Locust when describing Aids Wolf's music, and although these are all accurate on certain levels, you can also hear hints of a lot of other stuff in there as well-- everything from the Germs to Teenage Jesus and the Jerks to some of the most arresting moments of Sun Ra's output. Of course, none of these references really hit home when it comes to describing the totality of this band's thrashing, atonal attack, but instead provide some parameters for readers to imagine what some strange amalgamation of the aforementioned artists would sound like. I've read all kinds of different reviews on their latest record, Cities of Glass, and although it appears that some of these writers would completely disagree with me, I think it is the most accessible record of their careers. Do I mean to say that Club Dada's Wilco loving regulars will dig it? No way. But the record leans decidedly closer to the lil' bit hardcore side than I think the band ever has before, and the small doses of cohesive rhythm that seem to creep into the tracks as a result is really a pretty welcome development. Again, Aids Wolf sounds crazy as fuck, and could in no way be considered hardcore, but the little touches of 1st wave American are just right. Oh and by the way, I'm thrilled that I got the privilege of seeing Secret Bangs and Orange Coax last Friday at our part. Both were fantastic. And yeah yeah, I know Orange Coax is on our label, but fuck it: they put on one of the best local shows I've seen all year. You can choose not to believe me if you want, but don't cut off your nose to spite your face, ok?
Be sure to check out CADD Art Lab and the Olafur Eliasson show- some really great stuff!
THURSDAY
More Than This (CADD Art Lab) 5-8pm A whole slew of great artists on this show: Anderson and Low, Scott Anderson, Frances Bagley, Scott Barber, Kevin Bewersdorf, Paul Booker, Candace Briceno, Trenton Doyle Hancock, Tracy Hicks, Terrell James, Tom Orr, Jennifer Rose, Carl Suddath, Takako Tanabe, Jackie Tileston, Erik Tosten, and Lizzy Wetzel.
The title “More Than This” refers both to the potential of objects to create meaning--whether calling into question the world around you or divulging an internal fantasy--and to the futility of it, as the Roxy Music song claims, “more than this/there is nothing.”
Take your time: Olafur Eliasson (Dallas Museum of Art) This is a really exciting show I've been waiting for a long time. You can check out his work here and see some photos from the exhibit at the MOMA.
james ferraro: the clown prince of noise and bedroom pop
I'm not an expert on noise. I don't really like most of it, actually. I never really got into legends-in-their-own-time noise group The Skaters and why they are soimportant, and frankly I don't care. I do however enjoy the solo efforts of two of the group's memebers, Spencer Clark and James Ferraro, far more than their work with their most well known project... but please don't let me stop you from going into a long discourse about how The Skaters are going to cause the second coming of Christ through nothing more than practice amps, cheap mics, digital delays and throat noise .
The thought of trying to describe James and Spencer's music makes my head spin so I'm not even going to bother. I listen to this stuff for one reason alone: its fun ear candy. So don't be afraid, I won't bore you with the patented, "……this is the sound of being tele-ported through a transistor radio in your subconscious as radio jingles from hell stick toothpicks in your brain…..". I did read one review on some random blog that said, "James's music is like being on drugs in hell". I found that really funny. More important is the fact that I'm posting some of Jame's full length works for your listening pleasure, so take advantage of it and give it a whirl.
Most of the music from these two San Francisco based weirdos has been "released" (for lack of a better word) on limited copies of tapes and CDR's which have long been sold out. Some Lamborghini Crystal tapes have fetched as much as $200 on ebay. I can't imagine the type of person who would have $200 to burn on two stoners banging on pots and pans while screaming in front of a recordable boombox. Oh wait, I know-- an asshole, that's who. For now, I am only going to talk about James's projects. There is no telling how many hours of music he has put to tape (easily in the 1000s), so the projects I am posting only scratch the surface of his catalog. If I get around to it I will do a post on Spencer's Monopoly Child Star Searchers, which is excellent in its in own right.
James represents the more playful half of Skaters and that is immediately evident in the titles of his solo projects alone (each new project has a new name so it can be tough to keep up). He has recently finished up some more focused solo efforts actually titled, "James Ferraro"…..awww he's all growns up and he's all growns up.
Lamborghini Crystal: There are four or five full length tapes/CDr's of this stuff. Each one is slightly different but they are essentially pop rock sound collages. The last two minutes of Video Head Cleaner capture the essence of Lamborghini Crystal.
90210: This recent project is the perfect blend of the playful pop of Lamborghini Crystal and the more modal drone and noise James also delves into. It's one track, 30 minutes of synth and guitar. A very strong project from James and an easy, fun listen.
Postremo Mundus Techno Symposium: This new project moves to the other extreme with two twenty minute pieces of modal sounds. One of the most horrifying projects I have ever heard. James creates a hellish fantasy world and belches it out on a cassette. The drunk trumpet in the background blended with the muffled screams in the foreground is enough to give me the willies.
Edward Flex's Liquid Spring Break Skeletons: Okay…..let's go to the other end of the spectrum. By all indications (the title and cover art) this is the ultimate party album from hell. I think this project was a pre-cursor to Lamborghini Crystal but don't quote me on it. One very long 71 minute track of fun, sun, beer and steroids. I can only take about 40 minutes of this,tops, but its worth it alone for the hilarious "weight lifting" sequences at 7 and 19 minutes. The rock theme immediately follow the 2nd weight lifting "sketch" is actually very pretty. There are some really cool sequences in this and some not so cool ones too. James is a true original.
In closing, there isn't much info out there on James, Spencer or any of their projects. They don't have MySpace pages and from what I have read aren't really "into" the internet. I think a lot of their communication is done via snail mail and pay phones, so if anyone else out there would care to share anything about these two special and bizarre individuals, go for it. Enjoy!
We've been so busy this week that we almost forgot to say some thank yous to everyone who helped make our record release party such a huge success last Friday night.
It's really hard to do head counts at free keggers in Denton, but we estimate that more than a couple hundred people came by throughout the night to catch five great performances, and most of them stayed for quite a long time. We started getting a little concerned when 60% of the crowd seemed to disappear after the keg floated at around 1030PM, but we were pleasantly surprised when we realized that everyone had just taken a little trip over to Midway Mart to pick up their own stuff before returning to the party.
I still think that Time Bandits is easily one of the best places to see a show in the area, due both the uniqueness of the space and the general air of positivity that seems to permeate throughout it, and despite encountering a few of the sound issues that are practically a given at DIY shows, we couldn't have asked for a better location for our party, nor for more helpful people running the sound and helping set everything up.
So thanks to Time Bandits, Fight Bite, Darktown Strutters, Orange Coax, Shane English, Animal Forces, Secret Bangs, DL (what a guy!) and everyone else who helped us throughout the evening (including the Denton Police for showing up and deciding NOT to bust us for once.) Mattie has some pictures here if you'd like to see them.
Kevin Seconds | The Unit Breed | Benny Lenny | A Smile Full Of Ale/Featuring art by Joe Demaree (1919 Hemphill) This show features the ex-7 Seconds front-man playing music that sounds nothing like 7 Seconds. I was never too much of a fan, besides kind of liking an ill-advised cover of "99 Luftballoons." There will be projections during Unit Breed's set as well as other artwork by artist Joseph Demaree.
The Scoop (Fallout Lounge) Okay, so tonight is actually the last night of The Scoop.
I just want to thank the anonymous commenter who brought up that oft-overlooked genre of "Real Music" in the comments section today. I just love Real Music. You know what else I can't get enough of, "Live Music." Man, I just love Live Music. You know what I'm talking about, right? How about Real Music, performed live! Whadda ya get? Real Live Music, man. Just some dudes up there...you know, just playin'.
Disqo Disco(Fallout Lounge) DL totally shot his wad early on The Scoop, which is tomorrow night. Tonight is Disqo Disco.
The Blind Shake | Bad Sports (Bunker Hill, 2614 N. Elm St., Denton) Glad we caught this one at the last second-- only got to take quick listen to The Blind Shake, but I really liked what I heard-- sort of harsh psychedelic rock with clear hardcore influences. Should be fun. --SR
(As part of our ongoing collaboration with our friends at Austin Sound and Skyline, we present this month's edition of blog swap, courtesy of Austin Sound's Doug Freeman. We'll be posting an article of ours over at Skyline some time soon, and we'll switch it up again next month. The following is an Austin Sound review of an album by the Golden Boys.)
The Golden Boys – Goodbye Country (Monofonus) By Doug Freeman
Over the past few years, the Golden Boys have fostered their reputation as the apex of Austin bar bands, at least in the sense they will drink anyone under the table and unload one of the most raucous live shows while doing it. The quintet's fourth LP evidences the epitome of that sound – loose, unrepentant, and gritty – while also improving on the best elements of last year's Whiskey Flower. And the title, Goodbye Country, couldn't be more apt, for though some traces of their rootsier sound still survive, overall the album is garagy and rocking, with more emphasis on the sloppy psychedelic roll that they've pummeled into perfection
Opener "Mine Like a Diamond" surges forth with a massive drum beat, flash of horns, swirling organ, and huge riffs, while Matthew Hoopengardner vocals shout out with a rough swagger. The dip into a psychedelic haze near the end sets up everything to follow – the songs are built on immaculately infectious pop hooks, but always with an unexpected digression or edge. The ragged chorus of "Big Money" sounds like Hoopengardner's about to fall face first on the floor, but is held up by the punchy female call and response and sheer velocity of the tune. When he drops into the slurry soul bridge, he couldn't sound more unhinged or desperate – like the Rolling Stones drowned in a river of whiskey.
It's not all simply fast and lax though; the Boys clearly know what they're doing, and they do it without equal. The insane crash and burn of chaotic horns and guitars that continually interrupts "Pharmacy" cuts a straightforward rocker into some inebriated and dosed-up netherworld that finally ends with the odd call out to "Lucifer!" But those moments are offset by the easy sway of "James the Gentle Giant", deceptively simple garage pop that bursts into a kind of Mott the Hoople anthemic power, and "The Box", which lulls with darkly psych rhythms behind verses drawn with an eerily nasal croon reminiscent of the Violent Femmes.
Equally divergent though is the Tom Waits growl and accordion bounce of "Wrong and Right" set against the lazy lope and mournful dirge of "Shell of Some Guy," which slowly moves into an epic Pixies-esque crescendo. And closer "It's Not You, It's Me," is so brilliantly uncorked and haphazard that it scuffs its retro-prom pop with fake vinyl hisses and actually scratches itself off in mid-song. But undoubtedly the best offering on the album is the throbbing country-rocker of "Shortcut to Memphis," joining the disproportionate number of amazing tunes about the city. In fact, it's from Memphis that the GB's are appropriately given praise by former Tav Falco drummer Ross Johnson in the liner notes, and he may sum up the band best: "So shaddup and listen to the sound of some young men from Austin, Texas who are trying to lower standards for everyone everywhere. So far they've succeeded admirably."
Is it just me or has this been like the shittiest Monday ever? Anyway, we'll have a wrap up from our show a little later, so check back:
Tim and Eric Awesome Show Great Job (The Loft) Doors are at 830 for this, and I can't tell whether or not there is any opening act, so I'd try to get there around 9. And yeah, I AM actually going to try to get there, because these guys create my favorite show on television right now, and maybe one of my favorite shows of all time. I won't try to get all intellectual about the show ( even though people throw terms like "dada" around when discussing it), but I will say that this sketch made me laugh harder than anything I've seen on TV in years, and I can think of a dozen other things they've released in the past couple years that have been just as funny. I'm hoping that their live show will be similar to some of the live performances I've seen on Youtube, which have featured the insane cast of vagabonds that they have recruited for their show. This could also end up being awkward and really bad, but secretly, that is kind of what I'm hoping for.
Minus the Bear | Annuals | 27 (the Loft) Here's an idea-- Annuals are pretty good and Minus the Bear are pretty bad, so why don't you go to the in store at Good Records at 7pm and call it a night?
Young Doc Gooden (Hailey's) Whats up with all the Monday night weeklies around here getting featured in national glossies lately? First the photo shoot at Cool Out last week, and now YDG being featured in URB? I get chills down my spine thinking about how much this pisses off all the tired old Dallas indie rockers.
Buckethead (Granada) Is this that dude with the KFC bullshit who played with Guns N Roses that one time or is it that techno shit from the late 90's? I didn't really care enough to find out.
Parade of Flesh hooked us up with a pair of tickets to this Thursday's Aids Wolf show at Club Dada, and if you want them, email weshotjrtix@yahoo.com any time between now and noon on Wednesday. Please title the email "aids wolf" and include your full name in the body. Got it? Good.
MON: Tim and Eric Awesome Show Great Job (The Loft) THU: AIDS Wolf/Teenage Cool Kids/Orange Coax/Secret Bangs (Club Dada) FRI: Peaking Lights/Rival Gang/Florene/Lil Foot (Majestic Dwelling of Doom, Denton) FRI: King Khan and BBQ Show (the Loft) FRI: Of Montreal/Icy Demons (House of Blues) SAT: Nouns Group/Shiny Around the Edges/Darktown Strutters/the Make Believers (Hailey's) SUN: Method Man/Redman (House of Blues)
Before we head up to Denton to drink all the beer before you guys get there, we thought we'd tell you about some of the 8.2 million shows happening this weekend. We don't have time to talk a whole hell of a lot today, but now that we're done with the label launch and the show planning, you can expect a major return to hard hitting local music journalism next week. Like reviews and feature articles and stuff. Cool? Here's why I hate live music:
FRIDAY
We Shot J.R. Records Party feat. Fight Bite | DarktownStrutters | Orange Coax | Secret Bangs | Animal Forces | Shane English DJ Set (Time Bandits Vintage) You already know that this is a free show with free drinks, and you should already know is that this is actually taking place in the lot behind Time Bandits, so if you show up in front of Time Bandits on the square, you'll need to take your ass around back to hear this totally kick ass music. Got it? Also, we scheduled this to start at 9pm, but since we have a pretty full line up, we are open to starting it a bit earlier (as early as 830) if enough people show up early. So, if you want this to start earlier, just show up earlier and make your voice heard! It's like voting except we give even less of a fuck about what you think. Oh, and you'll be able to purchase Fight Bite's new 7 inch at the party for $5.... help us move out of our moms' basements and buy one today!
Deerhoof | Experimental Dental School | Flying | HawnayTroof (Granada) The last time I saw Deerhoof live, they played in the Tea Room and enforced their very own smoking ban in a club that typically allowed smoking. Who the fuck do these San Francisco liberals think they are coming down here and telling us when we can and can't smoke? Ok, you're gonna be in a club, and you might get a little smoke in your very creative and talented lungs. Boo hoo. Fucking deal with it. I'm about as far left as a person can get politically, but sometimes I can really see why conservatives think these people hate freedom. Anyway, aside from said obnoxiousness, I really enjoy all the bands playing, with the possible exception of the goofy noise hop of HawnayTroof, and I'm not even sure that I really hate them. Oh wait, I just heard their cover of "Hollarback Girl," and now I'm pretty sure I do hate them. Anyway, my favorite parts of most Deerhoof songs are surprisingly the most traditional, classic rockish. I guess the more strange, abstract songwriting that surrounds Deerhoof's meatier riffs make them so much more of a pay off when they actually happen. Get there early for the excellent Experimental Dental School as well.
The Pharmacy | Death to the Doomriders | Tides (1919 Hemphill) Pretty big grab for Hemphill, as the Pharmacy have spent the past couple months building quite a name for themselves on tour and the web.
Diplo | Abe Vigoda | Boy 8 Bit | Telepathe (the Loft) Go see this Mad Decent show not only for the great variety of sounds or so that you can take a listen to the guy who basically started every major hipster dance trend of the past five years (MIA, reggaeton, Santogold, etc.), but also to catch the much buzzed about Telepathe, who might just be worthy of the praise they've been getting lately. Also, if you haven't already, you should really check out Diplo's latest Top Ranking mix tape with Santogold.
Martin Iles Videos (Dan's Silverleaf) This free show starts at 1030PM and will feature videos selected by Martin Iles. Here is what he'll be showing--
Unknown Denton Parades Courtesy of the Denton Public Library, 1940s (11 min.)
Transferred from 8mm film, this film footage features WWIl-era parades and public events surrounding the downtown square in Denton, Texas. Includes a parade of white clad physicians, a monkey riding a horse, a dancing donkey, and appearances by Roy Rogers and Gabby Hayes.
With music selections from "I Don't Feel at Home in This World Anymore" (Mississippi Records).
Doin' Time in Times Square Charlie Ahearn, 1992 (39 min.)
"Doin' Time in Times Square documents the view and action outside Charlie Ahearn's 43rd Street apartment window from 1981 to 1983. Ahearn, whose 1983 film Wild Style was a cult hip hop hit, was 'blessed' with a generous view of the sleaze emporiums up Eighth Avenue and down 43rd. His window provides a view into midtown New York's street brutality in the dark years before it was 'cleaned up'... capturing rip-offs, drug sales, police stake-outs and fist fights."
And This Is Free Mike Shea, 1964 (50 min.)
"During its heyday in the early to mid-1900s, the Maxwell Street Market area represented one of the most fascinating chapters in American urban history. People congregated there by the thousands to shop for bargains in junk stores and on pushcarts... They went, too, for the street musicians, hucksters, rousing preachers, and street entertainers."
Mike Shea's only film, "And This Is Free" was recorded over sixteen Sundays on Maxwell Street in 1964.
Yacht | Prince William | Top Secret Robot Alliance (Club Dada) One time I was sitting over at this girl's house listening to Yacht on some crappy computer speakers. It was her idea. As we listened, I realized that I really dug the guy's beats and the way he put together his songs-- kind of an 8 bit, lo-fi synth pop vibe with nods to house and even, gasp, hardcore, all thrown throughtout a reckless but highly danceable record. The funny thing is that the piercing and hyperactive nature of a lot of Yacht's material probably secretly borrows from hardcore more than any of the aforementioned genres, which might be the guy's dirty little trick, especially given how unfashionable early 90's hardcore is compared to, say, house or disco. So anyway, we keep listening and the song "It's All the Same Price" eventually comes on. It's my favorite song on Yacht's debut, and it features Eats Tapes, another group I like quite a bit. About half way through, when the Jack House pulses start to get really intense, the girl turns to me and goes "turn off this trance music!" I tried to calmly explain that this absolutely was NOT trance, and that even if it was, it wasn't my fault because it was her goddamn itunes in the first place.... but she didn't listen. Typical. So the moral of the story is that: 1) Yacht is dance music for people who don't really know about or listen to dance music; 2) thats perfectly cool as long as they don't call it trance music; and 3) this show will be fun, and you should probably go as long as you can ignore the cutesy hipster goof ball lyrics.... and as my above story kinda proves, its easy to ignore stuff for the sake of fun, right? And one more thing-- how did I miss the fact that Yacht is on DFA now?
