Solid weekend of shows. And be sure to check our MP3 section as we slowly but surely start to add more and more to it. Within the next couple of weeks, we hope to be posting multiple tracks a day. Shows:
FRIDAY
Night Game Cult | White Bitch | Violent Squid (Rubber Gloves) We've seen various squabbles in the comments sections concerning whether or not Silk Stocking will be playing this show, so for now, we're just going to assume that they aren't. But in more important news, Kyle Cheatham's Night Game Cult comes back to town sounding just as insane as ever but probably a bit more ahead of its time than many people gave the guy credit for when he was here. Seeing artists like John Maus, Kelley Polar, Strategy, Jeremy Jay and others blow up around blog land over the past year really makes me thing that Night Game Cult could have enjoyed some of the same success if it weren't for the fact that his music is, in many ways, quite a bit more daring than that of the aforementioned artists. Not to say that Night Game sounds much like Strategy or anything, but part of that same ingredient is present-- you know, the one where it is ok to take Pet Shop Boys and Naked Eyes seriously. Night Game adds a twisted lyrical innocence and an unbalanced outlook that is particularly nervous, especially in a live setting. The respected Matin Iles will also be doing some rather interesting video work for this show. Apparently he and Mr. Cheatham have been working together to prepare a video presentation designed to match every song in tonight's Night Game set. Based on some of Iles' previous work, I'm excited to see this.
Centro-matic | South San Gabriel (Dan's Silverleaf) Expect a packed house of devoted fans at a venue with a climate that seems tailor made for any project involving Will Johnson. Dan's devotees should feel fortunate tonight because they will get to see not one but two of Johnson's bands this evening, both of which are preparing to release new albums. In fact, they are both about to release the same album, or the same double album, entitled Dual Hawks, with each band given their own disk. I hear rumors that there might be some copies at the show, but I can't confirm this.
Marked Men | Teenage Cool Kids | Total Abuse | Back Stabbath (715 Panhandle) Fun, crowded, and sweaty show not to mention one of your last chances to catch The Marked Men in Denton for a very long time. The band is just coming off of a triumphant set at Chaos In Tejas that took place in Austin a couple of weeks ago, and I've been meaning to mention what a good time that event was. Bands as different as the spookily melodic Vivian Girls to the truly punishing Los Crudos played to packed crowds and there were better spirits and attitudes around the Red River area than I've experienced in some time. My only complaint was having to deal with after hours shows getting shut down or finding out about impromptu sets on my way back to Dallas, causing me to miss Limp Wrist. Oh, well.Back to the 715 business, even though Teenage Cool Kids and The Marked Men are the better known bands around here and they're certainly worth watching, I would wholeheartedly recommend the recently reunited Back Stabbath as well as as Austin's Total Abuse. The eleven seconds of Back Stabbath's "Hi Fives and Dumpster Dives" is exactly the kind of fucked up thrash I seek at shows like this, and there is nothing like the sight and sound of people losing it between every short burst. Total Abuse includes one half of Best Fwends (which might explain a review in Fader), but the hoarse fury of their Reagan Era hardcore replicas couldn't be more different. Barbecue at six. Show starts at seven sharp. Get there early.
Final Strawberry Fields Oak St. Concert (Strawberry Fields) The final concert to take place at Strawberry Fields' Oak Street location will be an all day, free affair starting at 1pm. Highlights include White Drugs at 7:30, Fight Bite at 10:30, and Drink to victory at 11:15. Check this thread on Denton Rock City for the complete schedule. It's sad to see this place go, but it always seems that just as one era of Denton DIY ends, another begins. We'll see what happens next.
Convextion | Total Vengeance | DJ G (Hailey's) This is going to be right up the alley of anyone who knows anything about good dance music. Convextion is perhaps the most underappreciated electronic artist in north Texas these days, evidenced by the fact that he just returned from a Eurpean tour which included a performance at London's legendary Fabric Club (not to mention write ups in highly respected publications such as Boomkat and Wire, among others). But dude doesn't sound like Black Tie Dyansty or PPT, so I wouldn't expect a write up in most of the major local music media outlets any time soon. Convextion will be focusing his set on 4AD and Detroit techno, while Total Vengeance, a part of That's What's Hot Productions, will be spinning acid house and Dutch electro cuts after a set of post punk and other rarities from DJ G. This is probably the most tasteful and exciting dance line up I've seen around here in months. Highly recommended.
Existence is Elsewhere featuring Yells at Eels | SUBkommander (Avenue Arts) The musical performances begin at 9pm, and this is one you aren't going to want to miss. Looks like this will be a very solid art show as well.
Lumberjack (Dan's Silverleaf) Check the schedule here, highlights include Gun Gun, Birth To Burial and Deep Snapper.
Margot and the Nuclear So and So's | Matthew and the Arrogant Sea | Red Monroe (Rubber Gloves) You know, someone in one of the comments sections (I know, I'm bringing them up a lot today) remarked that Margot and the Nuclear So and Sos might have THE dumbest band name in the world, and the more I say it to myself in my head, the more I think I agree. It's the kind of name that the quirky bff in My So Called Life would come up with, and I think they might want to take a little naming advice from Linkin Park-- be strategic about it, people. Of course, the band's music sounds much better than their name would lead you to believe, but that isn't saying a whole hell of a lot. It kind of reminds me of Coldplay and Travis and various other Radiohead water downers hiding behind the aesthetic fashion sense of indie pop marquee names like The Shins, Rogue Wave and Arcade Fire (and possibly Starlight Mints). The lead singer refers to a girl in one of the songs as a "Calico queen." Does that tell you enough already? This is another example of a show where the local openers far outshine the headliner.
SUNDAY
Starhead | Dark Valley Harvesters | Fancy Fist (Dan's Silverleaf) Our friend Sally Glass will be performing on the biggest stage of her career this evening... don't screw up, Sally! Also, I hear rumors of a cool cover by Fancy Fist, and I kinda have the inside scoop on that shit, yo.
Scarily Terrible | Peace Corpse | Falkens Maze | Farah (the Cavern) Fara will be opening up this show before she heads off to Los Angeles to play some Italians Do it Better shows. I still love how mad people around here get every time they're reminded that she has music released on a cool label and they don't. Keep being a "real" musician, brah. It'll get you places, I swear. Anyway, I hope Farah teams up with Johnny Jewel on some new tracks some time in the near future. The rest of this line up leans heavily towards the goofy retro variety of electro, with Peace Corpose the highlight in my mind. And although the name Scarily Terrible sounds like a band name that an Observer staff writer would pick for a Forever the Sickest Kids opening act, they are better than you might think.
Lost Generation (Fallout Lounge) This will be the very last Lost Generation DJ night with Wanz, like, ever, as the Fallout Lounge has decided to try a new hip hop night on Thursdays. Based on the many times I have stopped by Fallout on Thursday nights over the past couple of years, Lost Generation rarely pulled in a big crowd, making the awkward Fallout "dancefloor" even more difficult to dance on than normal, but Wanz Dover certainly should be given props for spinning some of the most diverse and forward thinking dance/electro sets to be heard anywhere in Dallas. Playing everything from rare funk to post punk to German minimal to tech house to French Disco to no wave/noise, Wanz was usually full of surprises and generally void of the blog house remix remixes that dudes in girl jeans like to "spin" on their ipods. Stop by and say goodbye to Wanz, and you might get a chance to hear a little bit of the following segement of his playlist for tonight:
Gang of Four, Sun Ra, Alice Coltrane, Modeselektor, The Boredoms, The Meters, Theoretical Girls, Scratch Acid, Ricardo Villalobos, James Chance, Portishead, Silver Apples, Aphex Twin, Kurtis Blow, Siriusmo, The Damned, Autechre, The Ruts, Midnight Juggernauts, (new) Ellen Allien,(new)Anja Schneider, Atari Teenage Riot, James Brown, Suicide
The CADD Art Fair is this weekend, as you may have read in Sally Glass's (no relation to Ira or Phillip, sadly) news post earlier this week. The fair will feature work from And/Or, Barry Whistler, Conduit, Craighead Green, Gerald Peters, Holly Johnson, Marty Walker, Pan, American, Public Trust, Road Agent, and Valley House Gallery and Sculpture Garden. Some bands will play, some people will speak, you'll see some crazy shit. Keep reading for details.
Also, a few closings this Saturday at And/Or, Barry Whistler, 500X, Fort Worth Contemporary, and Jeanette Kennedy. The Centraltrak show closes on Tuesday.
CADD Art Fair Preview Party (333 First Ave) 7-11pm I'll be straight up- this little bash will cost you $45 in advance, $60 at the door. This fact probably means that most of you reading this will not be in attendance. For the trust fund babies out there, this event is hosted by Modern Luxury Dallas and Shapes Have Fangs are playing at 9:45.
Tony Bones, "Mug Shots" and Bill Daniel, "Who is Bozo Texino" (Webb Gallery)
SATURDAY
CADD Art Fair (333 First Ave) 12-8pm Paige West, curator, owner of Mixed Greens Gallery, and author, will speak at 2p.m. Tickets for Saturday and Sunday are $10, or $5 for students. I believe one ticket will get you in both days.
I-35 Biennial Invitational 2008 (Dunn and Brown) 6-8pm Work by 8 artists under 35.
SUNDAY
CADD Art Fair (333 First Ave) 12-5pm At 2pm is the New Media Panel with Lauren Cornell, Executive Director of Rhizome and Adjunct Curator at the New Museum of Contemporary Art; Paul Slocum, from Treewave and And/Or Gallery owner; and Kevin Bewersdorf. The discussion will be moderated byDallas artist and SMU professor Noah Simblist. You can read our interviews with both Paul Slocum and Noah Simblist in our interview section. At 3:30pm is the Dallas Issues: Care and Conservation discussion with John T. Campbell from the Nasher Sculpture Center; Lyzanne Gann, conservator of photographs; and Shannon Phillips and Tish Brewer, from the Center for Art Conservation. Cheryl Vogel, curator at Valley House Gallery and Sculpture Garden, will moderate.
Last summer we started the "We Shot A Mix" series in which we asked several of our favorite local bands and DJs to throw together an exclusive mix for us to share with all of you. We've decided to do that again this summer with a whole new crop of bands and Djs, and since we can't remember how many mixes we did last summer (and don't feel like looking it up), we're just going to start using 2. whatever to number this year's selections. What you're looking at is We Shot A Mix 2.0.
We're really glad that our first mix of the summer comes from Tommy Boy, one of our favorite new DJs in the area. The guy is REALLY playing some fascinating, hard to find (and often old school) stuff that you'll be hard pressed to hear from anyone else around town, and this mix is another great example of what I'm talking about. But instead of me going on and on about it, I'll just leave you with the track list, the download link, and the little message that Tommy sent us about his latest:
It's my pleasure to bring you an exclusive mix for the summer blog season. The track selection is a collection of favorites I haven't yet worked into previous mixes, so this is truly a first. My intention was to cover a variety of sounds while offering a unique perspective on dance music. I'm really getting sick and tired of the re-re-remixes and the new-new-new sound that is assaulting us from all fronts. I purposefully went back, way back... all originals, all old, all good.
1. Intro - Patrick Mcgoohan - Scanners 2. Mann's Earth Band - Angels At My Gate 3. The Who - Eminence Front 4. Unknown Cases - Masimbabele 5. Vangelis - Salomes Dance 6. Division of Labour - Criminal Minds 7. Venus Gang - Love to Fly 8. G.A.N.G. - Incantations 9. Escape From NY - Slow Beat 10. Escape From NY - Fire In My Heart Dub 11. Pink Project - Instrumental Project 12. Esavu - Spelling Love (Instrumental) 13. Massimo Barsotti - Right or Wrong 14. Nile Rogers - It's All In Your Hands 15. Zebras - For Your Love (Jaz edit) 16. Vivien Lee - Alright 17. Z.A.C.K. - Mr. Satellite 18. Supermax - Spooky 19. Zazu - Captain Starlight 20. Ganymed - Hyperspace 21. Savage - A Love Again
Snowden | Colour Revolt (The Cambridge Room-House Of Blues) Snowden is still plowing through the done-to-death "post punk" style that had so many screamo mall kids trading in their SG's for Junos, only a few short years after they had scrapped their "Blue Voodoo" rap-metal setups due to cultural shifts that they just could not have predicted. It's remarkable that Snowden still has the stamina to keep up in this style. One would assume that they surely would have "evolved" into dirty open chord Springsteen posturing the way their Post Punk contemporaries like The Killers and The Pharmacy have. Bland and formulaic as this stuff tends to be, it's still just a notch above doing something like that. Colour Revolt is one of two bands in America with a member named Sean Kirkpatrick. I just can't figure out which one is better.
Erik Thompson | Dana Falconberry | On After Dark (Dan's Silver Leaf) Erik Thompson is the frontman of Denton's veteran Lo Fi Chorus. Dana Falconberry puts on a fascinatingly flawless live show, and her best songs are complete with some really beautiful chord progressions that could almost pass for the melancholy melodic fragments of a Cole Porter piece.
The Scoop (Fallout Lounge) Schwa will be guesting tonight.
I’m going to start this review off by stating that I am a big fan of Faux Fox live. No matter how many times I have seen them over the last half-decade or so, and no matter what lineup I happen to be watching, a Faux Fox show has always been a dependably entertaining night out and about. There’s usually a decent sized crowd with some attractive people and someone you know in it, lead singer George Quartz will have assuredly put some time in to an “outfit” of some description (maybe thin moustache and a rayon shirt, maybe fringed suede boots and a ski jacket, and so on), and the band can always be counted on to give an edgy energetic performance that leaves you seriously wondering why they’ve never made much of a dent outside of their home turf.
With that being said, I’ve never had a great interest in listening to Faux Fox’ recorded work. Going back to their debut EP, 2004’s Black Glove Or White Glove, Faux Fox on record has been a rather sterile proposition almost completely devoid of what might be termed “Wow Factor.” Stripped of the charisma and charm that their onstage presence brings to the proceedings, their songs have generally come off as same-y and lackluster with the band’s obvious wit and emotion buried under icy drones of the C-grade Gary Numan variety. So, is All That Remains the album that turns it all around and finally captures the Faux Fox live lightning in a bottle that you can listen to in the shower? A little bit of “yes” and a whole lot of “no.”
With half of it’s eight tracks breaking the five minute mark, the album’s biggest problem reveals itself right out of the box with opening song, “Class Ring,” a fairly middling six minute track that could have been a great four minute song. Sure, those longish instrumental passages make for dynamic live moments when accompanied by Quartz’s dancing and crowd baiting, but on record they just stand as glaring lulls that had me reaching for the “Skip” button. It is a problem that crops up again and again on an album where good ideas are stretched beyond the limits of casual interest, allowing everything to sink into an easily ignored wall of background noise. Two saving graces do arrive as All That Remains enters it’s second half in the form of “Dirt City Rollers” and “Nothing Gold,” the former a muscular, hook-filled anthem that fully captures the visceral fun of Faux Fox in the flesh, and the latter a playfully brooding ode to lost glories whose dynamic sound fully justifies it’s six minute length (and whose motorcycle racing-themed video you should definitely check for on YouTube). These are followed by “Personal Best,” another gem of a song that has an odd hint of early Erasure-style melancholy until it disappointingly collapses under it’s own weight. Closer “Brass Ring” is the worst culprit in the “More Is Less” stakes, as it wanders through a repetitious eight and a half minutes of buried vocals and teases of heading somewhere epic until it abruptly cuts out and ends the album on it’s biggest “Huh” moment.
In the end, All That Remains may be Faux Fox’ most frustrating moment yet because there are flashes of how great they can be scattered throughout it’s forty-five minutes. You can see the traces of an amazing album in here, and I can’t help but think that with a bit of judicious fat trimming this just might have been their ticket out of The Golden Triangle. I’m sure it’ll all sound great at The Cavern, though. I’ll be there.
1 PORTISHEAD Third 2 MICROPHONES The Glow, Pt. II 3 SUN KIL MOON April 4 ANIMAL COLLECTIVE Water Curses [EP] 5 DOSH Wolves And Wishes 6 FRIGHTENED RABBIT The Midnight Organ Fight 7 PATTERN IS MOVEMENT All Together 8 ERIC CHENAUX Sloppy Ground 9 LYKKE LI Little Bit [EP] 10 TIM FITE Fair Ain't Fair 11 INDIAN JEWELRY Free Gold 12 TICKLEY FEATHER Tickley Feather 13 BORIS Smile 14 RUSSIAN CIRCLES Station 15 M83 Saturdays=Youth 16 DIZZEE RASCAL Maths And English 17 DEATH SET Worldwide 18 FRENCH KICKS Swimming 19 65DAYSOFSTATIC The Distant And Mechanised Glow Of East European Dance Parties [EP] 20 BLACK KEYS Attack And Release 21 LITTLE ONES Terry Tales And Fallen Gates 22 OKAY Huggable Dust 23 WYE OAK If Children 24 MUDHONEY The Lucky Ones 25 ISLANDS Arm's Way 26 MEHO PLAZA Meho Plaza 27 FOL CHEN Fol Chen Make The Orange Sound 28 MORNING BENDERS Talking Through Tin Cans 29 LAST SHADOW PUPPETS The Age Of The Understatement 30 WHEN DINOSAURS RULED THE EARTH Not Noiice
GOOD RECORDS LOCAL
1. Frogboy - Rides Golden Thread 2. Eleven Hundred Springs - Country Jam 3. Record Hop - Record Hop 4. Stumptone - Gravity Suddenly Released 5. Doug Burr - On Promenade
GOOD RECORDS OVERALL TOP 20
1. Death Cab for Cutie - Narrow Stairs 2. Mates of State - Re-Arrange Us 3. Portishead - Third 4. No Age - Nouns 5. Islands - Arm's Way 6. National - Virginia EP/A Skin, a Night 7. Pattern is Movement - All Together 8. Old 97's - Blame It On Gravity 9. Bonnie 'Prince' Billy - Lie Down in the Light (LP) 10. Bonnie 'Prince' Billy - Lie Down in the Light 11. Animal Collective - Water Curses 12. M83 - Saturdays=Youth 13. Frightened Rabbit - Midnight Organ Fight 14. Stars of the Lid - Carte-De-Visite 15. Foals - Antidotes 16. Black Keys - Attack and Release (LP) 17. Black Angels - Directions to See a Ghost 18. Mt. Eerie - Black Wooden Ceiling Opening 19. Samamidon - All Is Well 20. Santogold - Santogold
RECYCLED LOCAL TOP SELLERS AND NEW ARRIVALS
Top Two:
1. Mom - Little Brite 2. Record Hop - Record Hop
New Arrivals:
Admiral David V. - As American as Napalm (CD) Admiral David V. - Letters from the Earth Florene - Live at the House of Dang Florene/Verulf - Mtn. Hiss Florene - Room Fur - Black Castles cassette Mark Murphy - Real Country Mark Murphy - That's Who I am Neighborhood Allstars - Too Tight you Can't Deny It War Next Door - War Next Door EP Chris Watson - Just for Show Verulf - Is it the Heart or the Spirit
The Golden Boys | The Make Believers | The Spider Bags | DJ Andy Rambler Cox (Hailey's) Some shared influences here, filtered through three different groups and with varying results. The Spider Bags sound somewhat like "Sometimes A Pony Get's Depressed"-era Dave Berman, complete with bar clown lyrics. The Make Believers are the tremelo soaked new project from Current Leaves' Aaron White and bring to mind the pop lilt of the Left Banke as much as any of the obvious 60's country rock comparisons. And The Golden Boys seem to have toned things down a bit since I first saw them several years ago, but still have more garage rock grease stains than any of these acts.
WED:Snowden/Colour Revolt (House of Blues) THU:The Black Angels/Brothers and Sisters (Granada) THU:Scarily Terrible/Peace Corpse/Falkens Maze/Farah (The Cavern) FRI:Centromatic (Dan's Silverleaf) FRI:Night Game Cult/Silk Stocking/White Bitch/Violent Squid (Rubber Gloves) FRI:Marked Men/Teenage Cool Kids/Total Abuse/Back Stabboth (715 Panhandle) SAT:Strawberry Fields Last Concert at Oak St. Location SAT:Dub Assembly (Green Elephant) SAT:Female Snake/Division of Power/Rocket for Ethiopia (Exploding House) SAT:Margot and the Nuclear So and So's/Matthew and the Arrogant Sea/Red Monroe (Rubber Gloves)
First things first-- I know we've been a bit light on features over the past 10 days or so, but we have a number of things in the works that you'll see next week, including local record reviews and various other features. But we won't spoil the surprise. We're taking Monday off, but we'll be back Tuesday morning. Things to do in Dallas when you're hipster:
FRIDAY
Strawberry Fields' Denton Deluxe Vol. 1 with Nouns Group | Fight Bite | J Gray | Florene | Verulf | Violent Squid | Peach Street Gang | RTB2 (Rubber Gloves) Man, what a show. It should be said first and foremost that it is sad to see Strawberry Fields dissolve as a live music venue. After the end of what seemed to be the most recent golden age of Denton DIY with the demise of Secret Headquarters, Strawberry Fields really stepped up and became a great spot to see show, as well as functioning as a community center of sorts. But I suppose if the place has to go, they couldn't do so more appropriately, with three solid local shows starting tonight. Featuring quite a bit of musical diversity, tonight's show should give a little something to everyone. Lately, I've been particularly interested to see where Florene goes, as the solo work of Gavin Guthrie has indicated that the band might be taking a more adventurous yet accessible IDM/synth oriented route to wherever it is they are trying to go. Be sure to get there early to see what Violent Squid might cook up as well.
Age of Disinformation (Bath House Cultural Center): The highlight of the 2008 Bath House music fest, Age of Disinformation is a local improv supergroup of sorts, featuring members of Akkolyte, The Great Tyrant, Zanzibar Snails, Vorvadoss, Aphonic Curtains, and the Tidbits. The Bath House Cultural Center is located at 521 E. Lawther Dr. near White Rock Lake. The "suggested" donation is $5, but if you ain't got it man, it's all good. No one will bug you about it. I've never been to this place before, and I'm interested to check it out. Should be a fun show... is this thing BYOB I wonder? I'll try to find out.
The Utah Saints (Lizard Lounge) The Utah Saints come back to town for the second time in about a year. The Saints were probably the most important precursor to 90's English "Big Beat" like Prodigy and Chemical Brothers, bringing a big stadium, almost rock band approach to house music that, for better or worse, served as an indicator that dance music could be mass marketed in a manner similar to rock music. This isn't to imply that there is anything inherently pandering, commercial, or compromised in their sound, however, and if you're interested in that semi-progressive late 80's/early 90's pop oriented house sound, then seeing them at Lizard Lounge will probably be fantastic if you can somehow make the douche bags and 90's rave cultural burn-outs disappear from your field of vision for the duration of the show. Otherwise, you might want to be prepared for some gross outs.
Bavu Blakes and the Extra Plairs | D Madness | Verbal Seed | Element 7D (Liquid Lounge) You know how when Antony sings, especially on the new Hercules and Love Affair disc, he tries to sound like a black house diva? Well Bavu Blakes' main background singer sort of sounds like that, and it's pretty sweet. Neva Dug Disco and Vigilante have been hyping this show for a couple weeks now, and I'm sure their crews will be out in full force like usual. Bavu is certainly an adequate MC, and his beats are fairly tight as well, if a bit been there done that. Some of Austin's Element 7D's funk/electro fueled beats are pretty worth checking out too. Pretty chill show overall, although I'm not sure if it's worth going to Liquid Lounge to experience.
Ladyhawk | Neva Dinova | Thrift Store Cowboys (Hailey's) Jagjaguar's Ladyhawk sort of sounds like what happens when a term like "indie" rock becomes... oh Christ, I'm just too tired. Let me state it another way: just go watch an episode of 120 Minutes from 10 years ago and imagine what would happen if American "indie" rock hadn't progressed one bit for an entire decade other than the fact that people now equate having an organ and a few whirls and screeches to "being a little experimental" and kind of sounding like Spoon. Repeat this process until you fall asleep or start listening to Band of Horses or something. Neva Dinova, an Uncle Tupelo raiding alt country band from Omaha sounds exciting in comparison. Get it?
Skate Jam with the Party, Tommy Boy and DJ Lissa Monet (Red Bird Skate Land): Pretty interesting idea from Central Booking, as they bring their party to a skating rink and invite Toronto's Lissa Monet, who will be playing a lot of 90's stuff apparently. Oh, and if you are completely uncool and still haven't checked out one of the best local dance mixes I've heard during my entire time doing this blog, click here and discover Tommy Boy, as he'll be doing videos and such for this show. The rink is located at 1206 N. Duncanville Rd. in Duncanville, and shit goes down until 330AM.
Silver Pines | Tonite Tonite | Rival Gang (Swiss House, 3114 Swiss Ave) Starts at 11 and bands play on the hour. BYOB and $5, usually a keg at the beginning of the night. Rival Gang goes on at 1, so I guess I posted this backwards. Oops. And PS-- is that REALLY what Tonight Tonight sounds like? Ouch. UPDATE: Ouch indeed. I was just informed that I linked to Tonight Tonight instead of Tonite Tonite. Thank God. Fixed. Nouns Group | The Angelus | Darktown Strutters (Chat Room) Darktown Strutters don't have a Myspace page, but they are apparently a duo that combines minor key organs with live electronic drums played by Wes from Faux Fox. They have a new release out on Asex Tapes as well.
The Kills | Dax Riggs (House of Blues) Dear House of Blues, please don't make me walk through your gift shop to get to a show. Thanks ya'll!
Positive Education with DJ G | Walter Jones | Luke Sardello (Minc): Positive Education is a monthly event in which groups of DJs get together to spin tunes that they describe as not adhering to dance music's rather rigorous dictates as to what happens to be "in" and "out" of style during a given season. The even numbered months bring in one group of DJs and focus on techo, house and italo, while the odd months, such as May, feature DJ G and company spinning disco, funk, soul and jazz. Luckily, disco and funk happen to be all the rage in hip dance circles these days, so this should be a good evening whether you follow the latest trends in electronic music or not, particularly since this ISN'T a school night.
Mark Sultan | Bad Sports | The Lash Outs (Rubber Gloves) Mark Sultan's 2007 release (and the first under this alias) "The Sultanic Verses" was pretty well received, even by people who don't like garage rock. It's understandable, as there is something more authentic than cartoonish about his music when compared to others in what some refer to as the "Stillborn Genre." He really started to get attention with King Khan & BBQ Show after operating under various pseudonyms. I would go into all of the other names he's played under, but I just don't have the time, even if I had all day.
Lymbyc System | Florene | Top Secret...Shhh (Lola's) Lymbyc System partly hails from Austin, which for better or worse has a long history of tepid, borderline experimental groups that meander more than they ever fully arrive at a satisfied sonic conclusion. Not always a problem or even the point but man, Austin has always had a lot of it. Depending on who you are, this is a good show to either watch the band and concentrate sternly, or converse really loudly for four hours. Your call.
80's Night with DJ G (Hailey's) I'm just going to start using this space to talk about records I bought since everyone complains that we always list 80's Night. I was at this flea market recently and found a little stack of Giorgio Moroder (including the Oakey collab) shit, played out I know, but at two dollars apiece it was totally worth it. Also, a Divine 12-inch for the same price. Finally, the MVD reissue of the Target Video Flipper tape rules. Yes, I know how impressed you are, you don't have to tell me. If DJ G wants to start sending us a little list every week, we'd love to post it and I'll shut up.
Next weekend is the CADD Art Fair, get ready! This weekend, check out a couple of openings and closings in between stuffing your face with memorial day hot dogs. A little class would do your sloppy ass some good.
TODAY
El Franco Lee II (Angstrom) Be sure to check out these chaotic paintings from the recent recipient of the Artadia Award.
SATURDAY
A Walk in the Rain: Edwards, Abrahms and Stone (Haley-Henman) I've never been to Haley Henman, but this looks like it has potential.
The Police/Elvis Costello (Starplex) I've probably said this before on here, but I feel inclined to say it again-- I have honestly never really enjoyed a single thing Elvis Costello has ever done aside from his collaborations with Burt Bacharach a number of years ago. I couldn't even tell you why exactly, but Costello is one of those artists that I've never been able to connect with in any meaningful way at all. I'm sure a lot of people reading this do not share my view, but I find most of his music to be quite boring, even his "cool" early output, and no one has ever been able to change my mind. Sorry. Anyway, The Police apparently sold over 2.5 million tickets on their last tour (2007), making it one of the most successful tours of the year anywhere. And with tickets starting at $55 and going all the way up to $250 in most locations, I'd have to guess that the thing Sting can't stand losing... is money.
It's What We Get (Hailey's) This will be Alan Palomo's last appearance in Denton with It's What We Get, as he'll be moving to New York for the summer to begin his new musical projectbefore a permanent move to Austin later in the summer (a move that was one of the major forces behind the break up of Ghosthustler, apparently). Tonight's show will also feature a guest set from Keith P. Stop by and say goodbye to homeboy.
'Twas a bad day for the Myspace player to be down, but it was. I'll tell you what I know.
Capsule | Furnace | Hide And Secret | Trifle Tower (715 Panhandle) One of a couple of punk shows in Denton tonight, with this one especially heavy on the Skramz, both local and touring. For those that might not know, Skramz is what we say since this word has so much baggage attached to it. Trifle Tower is your best bet as far as local groups in this genre.
Test Patterns | The Wax Museums | Bad Sports | Vacation (Rubber Gloves) Much more light-hearted and garage-y punk show with some newer bands I've been hearing a lot about. Bad Sports is fronted by Orville Neeley, formerly of Chief Death Rage and I've been meaning to post the above video for months. Vacation is another young band with members of Bad Sports, Wax Museums, and the celebrated Marked Men. Somewhat unexpectedly, Denton seems to be known for its garage punk as much as anything else. A lot of these groups tend to sell a lot more records nationally than locally, which is ideal yet confusing. Looking forward to hearing a proper full-length from The Wax Museums.
Deep Snapper | Mother's Anger | The Delta Block (J and J's Pizza) I like the selflessness of these benefit shows, but there is something about the hippie presentation that weirds me out sometimes. I mean, if I show up to J and J's tonight is someone going to slip some sort of mysterious gnome-related tincture into my root beer? Proceeds go to Oklahoma tornado victims and Deep Snapper already has a new record out soon.
Gazelles is an indie pop group that's been around for years now, but you might also recognize one of the members from It's What We Get. Disqo Disco (Fallout Lounge)
Liars | Colourmusic (Lola's) I'm sure there isn't anyone reading this who doesn't already know Liars, and since they aren't touring behind new material or anything, I'll just say "hey, there's a Liars show in Ft. Worth tonight." Yes, they are currently touring HUGE venues and HUGE stages with Radiohead, so this will be a chance to see them in a venue that is much more suited for what they do. They've been very good every time I've seen them live, and I would be surprised if tonight was any different.
Efterklang | Slaraffenland | Mom (Hailey's) Solid show at Hailey's featuring Efterklang, a Danish group who I've seen compared to everyone from Max Richter to Godspeed to Sigur Ros to Mum to Steve Reich.
Cool Out (The Cavern) Schwa and Big J will be celebrating the one year anniversary of Cool Out by purchasing 100 drinks for all their regulars. I'm guessing it is first come first serve as far as that goes. Aside from a few off nights here and there, Cool Out has been a huge surprise over the past year, somehow figuring out a way to maintain a sizable and loyal crowd at, uh, the Cavern... on Monday nights. Yeah, what the hell, right? If you haven't ever been, this should give you some indication as to just how good these guys are at what they do. This should be one of the better nights to go for sure.
Attractive and Popular | No Way(Rubber Gloves) The obvious highlight here is No Way, a project featuring Shane English and Lars Larsen.
The Physics of Meaning | Gavin Guthrie | Verulf (1919 Hemphill) Perhaps if you're heading to Ft. Worth for the Liars show at Lola's, you might be interested in stopping by 1919 first to check out the solo work of Gavin Guthrie, a member of Florene, as well as Verulf, which ti me is still the best project associated with Matthew and the Arrogant Sea. I often wonder why Verulf doesn't get a little more attention.
