Not a whole hell of a lot happening this weekend, but it's ok because none of you are really that cool anyway. Shows:

FRIDAY

Nouns Group | The Carrots | Daniel Francis Doyle | Fight Bite (Hailey's)
Most people reading this blog are probably familiar with Nouns Group, Dan Doyle and Fight Bite at this point, but some of you might not be aware of the Carrots just yet-- the Austin band, which includes both former and current members of future WSJR girlfriends Finally Punk*, performs light hearted 60's girl group pop about boys and stuff that is surprisingly NOT retarded. I usually assume the worst with this kind of stuff, but I caught them in Austin during SXSW and really enjoyed their set-- it's like the Ronettes and the chicks from the Fleetwoods skimmed through a copy of Maximum Rock N Roll right before they dumped you.... and you'll like it.

The Sword | Torche | Stinking Lizaveta (Lola's)
Austin's The Sword have certainly been blessed/cursed with the 'hipster metal" tag more than just about any other band I can think of this side of Wolfmother, but I've always wondered what it is, exactly, that makes a metal band "hipster" or "nigel" or whatever the members of Sunn0))) are currently pretending not to be these days. Is it their record label? Or their haircuts? Or the company they keep? Or their record collections? I'm actually asking here because I really have no clue, and frankly, I would think that whether or not members of this or that metal band went to art school should probably be rendered irrelevant if said metal band is actually good at playing, uh, metal. But hipster/legit debates aside, I've had several songs off of Torche's album Meanderthal stuck in my head all week long, and it's making me want to drive to Ft. Worth. If you haven't heard this record yet, you should really download it soon before Pitchfork gives it an 8.8 and ruins the whole thing. I suppose you could call it a "metal" record, but I wouldn't know how to break it down much beyond that-- no particular genre or subgenre comes to mind when I listen to it, but I do know that it is one of the most instantly memorable heavy albums I've heard in quite a while. It sort of sounds like something Headbanger's Ball would have played the fuck out of in 1993, with big fuzzy riffs, efficient solos and huge choruses that sort of go beyond any of the influences that crop up throughout the disk (diverse acts such as Kyuss, Soundgarden and even Queen come to mind). Anyway, Stinking Lizaveta is also well worth checking out, although they sound completely different from either of the other bands on this bill, with a sound that somehow seems more punk infuenced yet more classically metal. Maybe it's just the shitty recordings I heard, but I like it. The Sword are pretty good, but they are by far the LEAST interesting band on the bill.

Bitch Cat with the Scoop (Moosh)
Featuring Semantic Noise... I'm sure it will be hip hop, but I'm NOT sure what it will be beyond that. I'm guessing of the backpack variety.

Tame...Tame and Quiet | Deep Snapper (The Chat Room)
A benefit for the 89.3 KNON show Pagan Holiday, which airs Sunday night (technically Monday mornings) from midnight until 4am. $3 cover at an apparently cool Ft. Worth spot that I haven't had the chance to check out quite yet.

SATURDAY

Blood on the Wall | Record Hop (Lola's)
Pretty good match up between these two bands, as both seem to draw from the canon of smart 90's rock that slowly seems to be creeping its way back towards relevancy in an underground climate that has been celebrating anything BUT the 90's for the past few years. Blood on the Wall's newest record Liferz, is truly one of my favorite pop guitar records of the year, reminding me of everything from Helium to Sonic Youth to X to Mudhoney. It isn't rocket science, but neither is partying, brah.

Car Stereo Wars | Sydney Confirm | Genova (The Cavern)
Austin mash up dudes provide what is surprisingly the only relevant dance music in Dallas for the weekend. Their live sets are WAY better than their remixes, PS.

Street Hassle | Delmore Pilcrow | Wild in The Streets (Strawberry Fields)
Street Hassle CD release, starts at 9.

Sarah Jaffe | Emil Rapstine | Glen Farris | Jen Seman (Rubber Gloves)

SUNDAY

Wild in the Streets (Hailey's)

* they wish

Sorry this is a little late tonight...A couple of interesting openings going on Saturday. Check it out, son.

SATURDAY

Isabelle du Toit (Pan American) 5-8pm

There's No Place Like Home (PDNB) 5-8pm

Joan Winter (Holly Johnson) 5-8pm

Miroslav Antic, Carole Pierce, Bill Weaver (Craighead Green) 5-8pm

Archie Scott Gobber, In Loving Memory of You (Marty Walker)

Something Made Easy (500X) 6-10pm

24 Hour Video Race Registration (Magnolia)
May 16th is the annual Dallas 24 Hour Video Race. This Saturday will be the in-person registration at Magnolia from 12-2 with free screenings of past winners from 12:30-1:15. You can also register at the website. This years videos will screen May 20-22nd. More info on that later.

Picture courtesy of Marty Walker Gallery.

Still recovering from a busy Wednesday in Dallas last night. Sally Glass aka Fancy Fist played to a packed Cavern audience and charmed everyone with a couple of standards mixed in with a set of originals that won everyone over with her inspired yet vulnerable voice. Nature also had a really strong crowd to match a strong set for Taxi Fare, just down the block. With so much activity around Lower Greenville last night, you would have thought it was already that part of the weekend where you stand a good chance of getting in a street fight in the Taco Cabana parking lot.

Stars Of The Lid | Mom | Balmorhea (Granada)
Stars Of The Lid is definitely one of the most popular drone acts of all time, and it's especially surprising considering how inaccessible their music is to most. Their set might be a good surreal contrast to the fairly posh Granada atmosphere. The moody yet much more structured groups Mom and Balmorhea also perform.

We Love Techno (Fallout Lounge)
Featuring live sets by Wanz "Blixaboy" Dover and fresh off a show at London's Fabric, Convextion. There will also be DJ support from Riga Sprats of Total Vengeance and That's What's Hot.

Thrones | Akkolyte | The High Cost Of Living (Double Wide)
Tonight's show will be the first in a series of recordings that Akkolyte will use in putting together their upcoming LP, and I'm as excited about that as I was after first hearing a seven inch scored by a friend at a Moon Tunes show, earth-tones era in Dallas, maybe around 2000.

Stay Cool Swag School Presents-- Midlake DJ set/Young Doc | Totally Trash | Markus with a K (Rubber Gloves)
We'll have some giveaways at this show, because it's about time that we give a little something back to the community that has provided us with so many special little moments spent wondering who hates us so much. Peace.

80's Night With DJ G (Hailey's)
Overheard with DJ G:

Hailey's Patron: "Will you play some ABBA?"

DJ G: "FUCK, NO!"

Lapel | Fancy Fist | Juli Dieterich DOWNSTAIRS and Dance Your Face Off with Genova and Indo UPSTAIRS(The Cavern)
Yeah, so two things are happening at the Cavern tonight, and you might like both. Downstairs our friend and photographer Sally Glass will perform as Fancy Fist, and although we always tease her about never listening to her songs, I'm looking forward to hearing them live. We'll have a play by play critique of each song tomorrow, including a drunken analysis of all lyrical content. Upstairs will be the first installment of Dance Your Face Off, a new weekly featuring Genova, who has played with the likes of Ghosthustler and Sydney Confirm. Not sure what they will be playing up there, but Genova's Myspace might provide some idea. Should be a good time.

Femme Fatality | Screaming Mechanical Brain | Fire Nation(Rubber Gloves)
Femme Fatality are probably exactly what you think they are-- off kilter 80's obsessed electroclashish dance music. Some of it is ok, but I can't help pointing out that this band sort of reminds me of Hillary Clinton campaigning in West Virginia this week. Unnecessary. Probably a lot more fun though.

It's What We Get (Hailey's)

Taxi Fare with DJ Nature (Zubar)

Parade of Flesh was nice enough to hook us up with two pairs of tickets to each of the following shows:

1.  Thrones/The High Cost of Living/Akkolyte (Thursday at Doublewide)

2. Ecstatic Sunshine/CEX/Alan Palomo/Schwa (next Monday, May 12th @ Kettle Art)

Want them?  Then you know what to do.  Email weshotjrtix@yahoo.com any time between now and THURSDAY at NOON.  Name of the show as the subject line, your full name in the body.  Got it?  Do it.

The Breeders | Colour Revoult (House Of Blues)
I still haven't figured out what I think of the new Breeders record. It's interestingly minimal and a fairly dark departure from their last record, which wasn't exactly chipper either. There are some real gems mixed in with awkwardly up front and dry percussion parts and the usual slurred, treated vocals. Overall, it's worth going back to and I'm looking forward to the band conveying their intentions on one of the most hated stages in the city (or in any city). The Breeders are a terribly charming live act, though it's doubtful this will top the Amps performance at Trees I caught at an already jaded fifteen years of age. I just want to talk about liking The Breeders so I won't say much about Colour Revolt, other than to say at least Deathray Davies aren't opening this time. At least they were kind of funny.

DJ Jazzy Jeff (Ghostbar)
Innovative, scratch-heavy DJ and producer that is still capable of greatness, with a recognizable style that hasn't succumbed to every little stylistic change in Hip Hop. It's consistently annoying that such venues score respectable acts. That's kind of a running joke in DFW.

Disqo Disco (Fallout Lounge)
Despite suffering from some unfortunate equipment theft woes, Disqo Disco will still be going on tonight.

Photo by Ryan Olbrysh

Boo Hoo. Due to a combination of security issues, landlord issues, and being forced to get everything together at the last minute issues, we've decided to postpone this Thursday's Obama Fundraiser. However, Lil Wil fans shouldn't start crying just yet, because we'll be doing this same show with the same line up at a new location some time within the next couple of weeks. We'll keep you posted.

Sorry, my server is all screwed up today, so I'm lucky I can publish anything at this point. Hopefully it'll be fixed soon, but for now, some quick links are below. Better than nothing:

Cool Out (The Cavern)
Cinco De Mayo celebration.

Paul Slavens (Dan's Silverleaf)

Last Men | Algebra of Need | Drink to Victory | Clap Party (Rubber Gloves)